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The purpose of these studies is to acquire self-mastery. Therefore, it is a profound doctrine that only has power in accordance with the depth of our application. Everything we learn in this tradition should be practiced and experienced. It is only through such discipline that we can overcome suffering, realize our true nature, and receive the necessary force to accomplish our spiritual duties. Such duties relate to how we help others eradicate the causes of suffering. However, this is only possible through confronting our own negativity and relying on divinity’s power. In this way, we can dramatically improve our lives and our communities.
It is the purpose of this lecture to provide some universal principles that can benefit anyone in spiritual self-defense, no matter their level of development. However, we want to be very clear that this lecture is not about ordination. It is a preparation for those who seriously long for such a role―if divinity allows it. This comes about after many years of serious work and participation with a physical Gnostic institution. Also, the school must maintain the three-chamber system established by Samael Aun Weor, without exception. Lastly, the student must successfully conquer many rigorous tests and ordeals, proving their seriousness via ethics, service, and chastity. There is a process of true ordination within the Gnostic Churches that we do not publicize. Anyone who does violates the divine law and will have to face the consequences from the Lords of Karma. The principles we will discuss today are practical. They will only work if we are serious about transforming ourselves for humanity’s redemption. As we sincerely practice what Samael Aun Weor taught in his books, we discover that we have the awe-inspiring potential to fully express the divine within our very thoughts, words, and deeds. This is how we can become initiates. 
The Definition of a Magician
Whether or not we know it or not, every man must become a priest and every woman a priestess. This is because a true priest or priestess is a magician of the White Lodge.
The word magician comes from magh: "to be able, to have power." Such power is the capacity of our Innermost, our inner Being, to command our interior and help elevate our neighbor’s spirituality. The term magh derives from the Persian magu: "priest, one of the members of the learned and priestly class," or from the Old Persian magush; the Sanskrit mahas, "power,” as in mahatma: “a great soul.” The Latin magis and German mebr signifies “more,” whereby divinity expresses with greater potency within us through practical works. The word magic is derived from the ancient word mag, which means “priest.” Also, the term priest comes from the Greek presbyteros, “an elder in the church.” This refers to those initiates who, through tremendous ordeals and inner purifications, develop greater maturity in the secret path. With more mystical experiences comes more responsibility for manifesting the divine on earth. Anyone in this path can become a magician. In fact, it is mandatory. As we learn to protect our spirituality from negative forces, it is fundamental and necessary to exercise the divine priesthood. What some people do not realize is that this term “priesthood” applies to both men and women. It was through the degeneration of the Esoteric Christian tradition whereby men were exclusively conferred power and responsibility as a priestly class. Meanwhile we know even from popularized accounts, like The Da Vinci Code, that Jesus of Nazareth was married to Mary Magdalene. Every true priest has his priestess, and the mag of Mag-dalene signifies a “mage.” Mary Magdalene can mean Mary of Magdala, the name of a village on Lake Galilee. גליל Galilee in Hebrew means “district,” “province,” or “circle.” The Hebrew מגדל migdál signifies a “tower.” As you can see from these examples, Hebrew is a symbolic language. Therefore, Mary Magdalene is an alchemical and kabbalistic symbol, how an initiate, through divinely-sanctioned marriage, raises the creative waters of sexuality up the tower of the spine to illuminate the mind. Mary Magdalene, historically, was an authentic priestess of the Gnostic Church. However, she represents any woman who enters, like Jesus, into the path of initiation through the perfect matrimony. Traditionally, all religions, whether from East or West, trained and ordained priests, albeit with different names: lamas, brahmins, imams, shamans, etc. The list goes on. Every culture refers to holy persons who commune with God after a ritual process of purification and initiation. These ceremonies are symbolic of a much deeper work: how divinity perfects the soul for the betterment of humanity. Therefore, even if you do not seek to be ordained as a priest or priestess―since women have the same rights as men―you must still become a priest, priestess, or officiant within your own psychological temple. We must become practical magicians so as to defend ourselves from negativity, both within and without. When you fully command your own psychology, you also become a vehicle through which divinity can reach others. 
Religion is Magic
Unfortunately, many religious traditions have forgotten how to do this. Christianity once taught practical methods for inner transformation. Rather than promote beliefs or convictions without evidence, gnostic aspirants learn to personally experience divinity. Priests and priestesses can provide special help, relaying instruction, guidance, and spiritual force, but only if they are proper intermediaries between divinity and the congregation.
Religions today are merely cadavers. Their corpses may be beautiful, venerable, and ancient, but they are lifeless without authentic magic, magicians, priests, or priestesses. When some hear the term “magic,” they become scandalized and terrified, ignoring that Jesus walking on water, healing the lame, the sick, and the blind, transforming water into wine, resurrecting the dead, and performing miracles, were acts of white magic, pure magic, divine priesthood. This is why Eliphas Levi wrote: Religion is magic sanctioned by authority. ―Eliphas Levi
While authorities ignore the magical dimension of religion, we the gnostics like to explore them in depth. The deepest mysteries of the invisible world open to us through the sense of psychological self-observation.
In gnostic psychology, we pay close attention to the quality of our psychological states, whether mental, emotional, motor, instinctive, or sexual, the five centers of our human machine. Our internal states cannot be perceived with physical senses, but psychological ones. Through self-observation, we directly perceive our quality of mind for what it is, our thoughts, feelings and impulses. This is the invisible world―invisible to material taste, touch, smell, vision, or hearing. However, it is visible to the Essence, the consciousness that knows how to maintain vigilance like a watchman in times of war. By observing our human machine, we discover the secret causes of so much pain. By comprehending and eliminating our secret faults, vices, or defects through meditation, we enact genuine religion, religare in Latin, reunion with the divine. It is important to recognize from experience how our ego, our inner devil, cannot mix with God. We have to choose, moment by moment, whom we want to follow in our consciousness. What we are psychologically determines our life, in every level of experience. This is why Samael Aun Weor wrote in The Mystery of the Golden Flower: Magic, according to Novalis, is the art of influencing the inner world consciously. ―Samael Aun Weor, The Mystery of the Golden Flower
Acting consciously in social situations is a tremendous feat of magic, because our psychological states invisibly affect others. We tend to ignore this fact unless we pay attention. However, a white magician directly perceives this reality and seeks to inspire what is best in their neighbor, even if they are unaware of it.
The Gnostic Church
It is precisely in this invisible world, the superior dimensions, where we find the Gnostic Church. To defend ourselves from negative forces, we always invoke and connect ourselves to this Transcended Church, governed and maintained by the Cosmic Christ.
The head of the Gnostic Church is the Master Aberamentho, who was known as Jesus of Nazareth on Earth. In terms of hierarchy, he is the highest initiate of the cosmos, since among the masters there are levels of perfection. Imagine different light bulbs with greater or lesser capacities to transmit light. The greater the vehicle, the greater the light. The same with the masters of the White Lodge. Master Aberamentho is known in Sanskrit as a परमार्थसत्य paramarthasatya, an inhabitant of the Absolute, the region of Barbelo: the fire and light of the Cosmic Christ as described by the Gnostics. A paramarthasatya signifies “absolute truth,” from para meaning “beyond,” or parama, “that which knows, or the consciousness,” artha, “that which is known,” and satya, “existence, Truth.” In synthesis, a paramarthasatya indicates a being with “the supreme knowledge of all that exists: Truth.” The Master Aberamentho, Jesus of Nazareth, therefore, governs the Gnostic Church, both in the superior and the physical worlds. The Venerable Master Samael Aun Weor reinstituted the Gnostic Church on Earth under the auspices of Jesus of Nazareth. Samael Aun Weor serves the Cosmic Christ and is its patriarch, since he is the human soul or bodhisattva of the Martian Logos, the Archangel Samael. This archangel is a servant and expression of Christ, the God Ares or Mars, who wages war for divinity against the ego, against corruption. This explains why he is very severe in his writings, because his teachings are a battle against degeneration. His name in Hebrew means “the bitter potion or medicine of God.” His wisdom is poison to the ego, but healing to the soul, because it comes from Geburah, the strength and justice of divinity. As we work on ourselves and defend our spirituality from black magic, we constantly invoke the aid of Christ, the superior forces, within our psychological interior and our homes. It is necessary to remember that we cannot do this spiritual work alone. We must receive divine help. We do so through many prayers, practices, conjurations, invocations, and even rituals, since these exercises were instituted by the Gnostic Church to help us connect with Christ. The Gnostic Church can come to our aid, particularly in our own homes as we elevate our level of being through different practices, as we will explain. We can also receive help from the Gnostic Church by physically attending a group that maintains the three chambers, once we have been properly prepared and initiated. This is why Samael Aun Weor wrote the following in The Perfect Matrimony: Our Gnostic Church has its sacraments, rituals, and its convent life. […] We have the path of the monk in our Gnostic religion with its patriarch, archbishops, bishops, and priests. Our Gnostic Church is the Transcended Church. This church is found in the Superior Worlds. We also have many temples in the physical world. In addition, we have opened thousands of Gnostic Lumisials where holy rituals are celebrated and the secret doctrine of the Beloved Savior of the world is studied. We must not forget that our Gnostic Movement has both a school and a religion. ―Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony: “The Two Rituals"
For those who are unfamiliar with some of our terminology, a lumisial means “a place of light.” Any temple, whether physical or internal, that follows, invokes, and assimilates the Cosmic Christ, is a place of light. It is an atomic energy plant, whereby the priests, priestesses, and congregants receive inspiration and spiritual force to perform the great work.
Everything you learn from lectures and books is public knowledge. What we teach online and on our podcast is part of the exoteric, public level instruction. It relates to the intellectual brain, whereby we receive necessary instructions for how to begin the path. We learn different ways to defend ourselves from negativity. However, there are more expedient and powerful methods for inner transformation relating to the heart. For that one must be prepared, trained, and educated, so as to treat such tools with conscientiousness, with delicacy, with responsibility. 
The Sacraments and Duties of a Priest
Those who wish to enter the Gnostic Church do so through the sacraments.
This term sacrament comes from “sacred,” the Latin sacramentum, “solemn oath,” from sacrare “to hallow,” from sacer, “sacred.” It also derives from אמן amen, the Hebrew word for “sealing an oath,” as in “so be it!” The suffix of sacramentum is “tum,” an exceptionally powerful Egyptian mantra for invoking the three primary forces of nature, the Cosmic Christ, known in Egypt as Osiris-Ra. The sacred amens, the sacraments, are divine principles that guide the consciousness back to Christ. Their power originates within the top three spheres of the Tree of Life: Kether, the Father; Chokmah, the Son; and Binah, the Holy Spirit; or the Crown, Wisdom, and Intelligence of Christ, the Solar Logos, the solar divinity. The sacraments of the Gnostic Church must be lived within the consciousness. They are not only rituals with sacerdotal power, but they are symbolic of steps and stages in the path of initiation, which any serious aspirant must follow to return to divinity, reality, the truth. If we wish to protect our spirituality from the negativities of the world, the black lodge, our mind, we need to fulfill the sacraments within us. We connect ourselves to Christ and the White Lodge through the sacraments, both in their symbolic and practical applications. With Baptism, the initiate is cleansed, purified, and initiated through ritual water. All religions teach about purification through water, such as the ritual bath of Judaism, the מִקְוֶה Mikva, or الوضوء al-wudu, ablution or spiritual cleansing before Islamic prayer. Water symbolizes the creative sexual energy. When it is transmuted, the consciousness is born. After baptism or sexual transmutation, the initiate must enter the wilderness of life, states of suffering, so as to face their own inner devil, the ego. Confronting our own evil is the Sacrament of Penance, psychological work, the elimination of the animal “I.” Just as Jesus entered the wilderness after his baptism in the River Jordan, he then faced his own inner temptations, demons, defects, egos, through meditation. He did so for forty days and forty nights. The number forty represents the Hebrew letter מ Mem, since each Hebrew letter is also a number. מ Mem represents water, as in the Hebrew word for water, מים mayim. By working in chastity, we have the power to see, confront, and conquer our mind. As we eliminate defects in meditation, we open ourselves to receive superior influences. This is where the Sacrament of Communion comes into the picture. When we strive against our own selves, we realize that our own will alone is not enough to conquer the ego. We need help. By performing the Eucharist in our own homes, the transubstantiation, by transforming bread and wine (non-alcoholic wine or grape juice) into the body and blood of our Redeemer, we elevate our level of being and receive tremendous force for our spiritual work. We pray and invoke Christ to descend into the bread and grape juice of our altar, so that the Christic force may saturate our hearts with inspiration, spiritual strength, and clarity. As we prove ourselves in the path, we are confirmed in the light. The Sacrament of Confirmation was obviously applied to teenagers who, knowing the sexual teachings of transmutation, must prove their seriousness. Children under the age of thirteen are allowed to attend the Gnostic Church, but upon reaching this age―the beginnings of puberty―they must be confirmed. The sexual energy activates around this age and transforms the child into a teenager, who must eventually decide whether or not they will pursue the path of chastity. It is the role of the godparents to teach them chastity and transmutation for singles. Youth should learn around this time how to perform pranayama, mantras, runes, and other exercises for individual sexual transmutation. When they become adults, they can be confirmed in the path because they will be ready for a matrimony. The Sacrament of Matrimony comes next. Upon becoming adults, a young couple, married and in love, can begin sexual magic. Young men mature at twenty-one and girls at eighteen, since women tend the mature faster. Sexual magic must never be practiced before this time, because children are seeds in development. A seed cannot reproduce. Neither can a teenager, the seed of an adult, spiritually reproduce. They must mature first. This is why godparents should educate children about the seriousness and responsibilities of sex. Now, after dedicating themselves to the path, aspirants have physically and psychologically prepared themselves to enter into marriage. Man and woman must know how to work together to transform the sexual energy and harness it as a couple. The term matrimony signifies the work of mater, the Divine Mother in Latin, and monium, “action,” “state,” or “condition." A matrimony is therefore “the action, state, or condition through which the Divine Mother acts” within us. Therefore, marriage had always been considered a sacred act presiding within the religious domain, not the state. Through the perfect matrimony, the husband becomes a priest and his wife a priestess. The Sacrament of Priesthood is achieved by married couples who mutually harness the sexual energy. Through working with the Holy Spirit in the sexual act―transforming it into a ritual of delectable spirituality and chaste love―the couple gains sacerdotal power by which to express divinity. Sexuality is the power of God to create through love. There is no greater power within the human being than this. It is this energy―which some call Kundalini, the Pentecostal Fire―that allows the priest or priestess to heal. This is the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. Genuine priests and priestesses are able to manifest the powers of the Holy Spirit through prayers, laying of hands, sacred mantras, chains of protection, healing rituals, elemental magic, exorcisms, and more. Also, they heal the mind by teaching this doctrine, not only through their dissemination of spiritual practices for eliminating suffering, but through the power of their Word. 
Who is the Real Priest?
But despite this explanation, we must ask ourselves: who is the real priest?
Our Inner Christ is the real magician, the real officiant or priest. Jesus represents the role of any terrestrial person who mediates between divinity and the congregation. Jesus, representing the human soul, is a conduit between the Christic energy and humanity. The human soul, תפארת Tiphereth in Hebrew, is the beauty or splendor of the soul that follows the will of God. Bear in mind that among priests there are levels. There are degrees, organized in accordance with greater understandings, realizations, and perfections of the soul. Just as a light bulb can transmit more or less light, the same principle applies to the consciousness in relation to divinity. To become a more effective vehicle for divinity, we must purify our psychology. This is why we talk about the ego. The ego, the self, the “I,” is an obstruction, an obstacle for the full expression of Christ. If we have more ego, we have fewer capacities to express Christ. With less ego, we become greater vehicles for expressing Christ in our interior and for others. Therefore, the quality of a practical magician or priest depends on psychological purity. If our pride and anger is very fat, then the humility and sweetness of the spirit cannot express in our hearts. If we are lustful and greedy, we cannot manifest chastity and altruism. If we are vain and lazy, then our self-love and sloth will eclipse our Being, like the moon before the sun. Now, single people can enter the priesthood of magic, because bachelors or bachelorettes can still harness their sexual energy, but to a limited degree. Some people have even officiated in Gnostic temples while being single. However, they have less power than a priest who is married. A true priest is an alchemist who works with his priestess wife to eliminate the ego. With greater sexual fire comes greater power and potential for psychological purification. Some things to consider: a good priest knows how to be present, mindful, and aware. A true priest knows how to be here and now, to express the Being in each moment and circumstance. The Being is perfect, whereas the human soul is not, so long as the ego exists. Unless the bodhisattva or terrestrial person works on him or herself, then they cannot become fully absorbed in Christ. Sadly, people do not grasp that magic is dual in accordance with our psychology. If we are pure of mind, heart, and body, then we can become manifestations of Christ. If we are impure, hateful, or egotistical, then we continue as participants and perpetrators of black magic, whether intentionally or not. Real magic, white magic, is performed by the soul, the Essence that knows how to put aside selfishness, personality, and conditions of mind―the animal ego―so as to express divinity. However, this again is only possible through psychological work. 
Simony, Simoniacs, and Fallen Priests
There are many groups who call themselves “gnostic” but who do not follow Christ. This can be confusing, but easier to understand when we remember the duality of priesthood. There are priests of the White Lodge and priests of the Black Lodge. When speaking about the Gnostic priesthood, it is essential to clarify misconceptions using the example of Simon Magus or Simon the Magician.
Simon the Magician is often described as a gnostic priest. If you read his writings, you do not discover anything suspicious or alarming. While he knew, taught, and followed gnosticism, while he knew and practiced sexual magic, Simon became a black magician due to pride. He rejected Christ and the solar hierarchies. He believed he could perform the spiritual work without the help of Christ, manifested through Jesus of Nazareth, the highest initiate of the White Lodge. Rather than edify his heart through the assimilation of the Christic energy, he fortified his mind and divorced himself from divinity. The Cosmic Christ works through different messengers in distinct epochs. While the Cosmic Christ brings new, revolutionary forces into the world, a Simoniac lives attached to traditions, to the past. Simoniacs do not follow or accept the Christic currents revitalizing humanity. This is why Dante in the Inferno depicted such individuals walking with their hooded heads facing the other direction, towards their backs. These are the fortune tellers of the abyss, seers and infernal prophets, who only see within hell. They do not see reality, only their desires. Currently, the Christic current is working through the Archangel Samael. As the Logos of Mars, the Martian Christ, the God Ares or Samael is responsible for instructing the fifth root race, our present humanity, designated in Theosophy as the Aryans. This term was misappropriated during World War II. Rather than exclusively qualifying the Germans, the term Aryan instead refers to our current humanity, which is operating under the jurisdiction of Ares, Mars, Samael. There are many who call themselves gnostics, but who reject the Martian energy of the Cosmic Christ. Christ is now active through this powerful angel and the Sacraments of the Gnostic Church, especially Communion. Those who reject the body and blood of the Christic currents pronounce themselves against Christ, and therefore define themselves as black magicians. You can prove this to yourself. If you awaken within the astral world and attend a gnostic group, speak to their priests and congregation about Christ. If they are really black magicians, they will become extremely mad at you and will try to convince you why Christ is bad. Then you will have your answer. Also, in the biblical book of Acts, Simon Magus wanted to pay the apostles to acquire powers. He was fundamentally mistaken that divinity would confer powers based on desire and materialism. The term Simony also stems from this, referring to those who bought or sold ecclesiastical pardons. Clerics had also sold absolutions and divine favors, promising salvation for money. Simony also occurs if we charge patients for ritual healing. A true priest heals for no charge, because it is the Holy Spirit who heals. Samael Aun Weor mentions in The Divine Science: Logos, Mantra, Theurgy, that a priest once charged for healing. The Holy Spirit reprimanded him internally in the superior worlds, because it is the Holy Spirit who heals, not the human soul. No one can buy powers. Powers are earned through another type of currency, which is good deeds. Therefore, all of those institutions that offer you powers, Kundalini awakenings, and abilities for money are black magic. These are crimes against the soul, because only the Intimate Christ can grant abilities when we have proven ourselves in our ethics, chastity, and service. As a black magician, Simon Magus levitated in the air. But through the conjurations of the apostles, fell to his death. This is a powerful symbol. The powers of the air are often synonymous with black magic in the mental plane. Intellectually, Simon Magus was a gifted speaker, writer, and thinker. However, the mind alone, divorced from Christ, is demonic. If we wish to protect ourselves from black magic, we have to remember our Intimate Christ and work with the Archangel Samael. 
The Power of Ritual
Let us talk about the power of ritual.
We can easily become victims of black magic if we do not utilize effective tools. Rituals were instituted to strengthen our relationship with the divine. However, it is irresponsible to ordain priests who do not fulfill the Sacraments of the Gnostic Church, primarily baptism or chastity. In the worst case, people who mix rituals with lust create a lot of suffering, because rituals amplify and express our current state of being, for good or for ill. On a basic level, fornicators cannot channel Christ through ritual because they have no power. A car cannot run without fuel. Rituals cannot be empowered except through sexual energy. This is because the power of creation through love is sexual. God creates through sex in every level of nature. The same applies to spirituality, since Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:1-8).. Abstinent priests and monks who do not transmute make their waters stagnant and dirty, since lust is not comprehended, transmuted, and purified. We know that fuel degrades in a car after a few months of neglect. The same with sexual energy. When it builds, it must be consciously directed, otherwise it feeds cynicism, fanaticism, lust, and nocturnal pollutions, because the ego takes over. When we seek to protect ourselves from negative forces, we must comprehend this essential tenet of spiritual self-defense, of ritual: how we think, feel, and act determines the quality of our blood and semen. Ever experience your legs falling asleep? This occurs when blood stops circulating freely. Blood is the source of strength. If you lose blood, you become weak and die. The same with the semen and sexual energy. We know from science that a single drop of semen is made from sixty to a hundred drops of blood. If you expel your semen, you lose your physical and spiritual strength. You slowly kill yourself. A person’s state after orgasm is known in French as petite morte, the “little death.” Blood has magical properties because it is the medium through which the sexual creative fire circulates in the body. This is why some of you might have heard that blood transfusions are generally not recommended, because psychological tendencies are transmitted through blood donors. Our blood carries the psychological imprint of our entire mind, emotions, impulses, instincts, and sexuality. Therefore it is important to purify the blood to the greatest degree possible by performing spiritual practices. This is why Samael Aun Weor wrote the following in The Perfect Matrimony: All rituals have to do with blood and semen. Ritual is a double-edged sword that defends and gives life to the pure and virtuous, but hurts and destroys the impure and tenebrous. Ritual is more powerful than dynamite and the knife.
According to this, gnostic priesthood should only be conveyed to responsible people who can handle power without corrupting it. Would you give a weapon to a young child? Rituals are spiritual weaponry against the ego. One must be prepared, mature, and trained in their use.
Another point of consideration in spiritual self-defense: there is danger in trying to accumulate energy while directing it to the ego. Remember that for every step we take in the acquisition of spiritual powers, we must take a thousand steps in sanctity. This is why a probationary period, or years of trials, must test and prove the candidate. 
The Three Priesthoods
We become skilled in spiritual self-defense by exercising the three priesthoods. It might seem unusual to mention three. However, this becomes clearer when we study Kabbalah.
We study and practice these three to be real priests, authentic priestesses. These three priesthoods relate to our three brains (intellect, emotions, and sexuality):
By commanding our mind (Netzach), we can in turn work with the forces of nature to heal. By controlling our emotions and working with Communion (Hod), we awaken the fires of superior emotions. By transmuting our sexual energy (Yesod), we conquer our body and open the door to our inner worlds. 
Sexual Magic
Let us begin with sexual magic.
Where else do we find the power of god to create through love? It is, obviously, sex. A real priest must be able to create through love. As with any sexual creation, two polarities are needed to create life, male and female. The same sexual pole cannot create no matter how much one may “love.” However, to go a little deeper, two poles are not enough. There must also be love, not ambition. Marriages of convenience go nowhere. Conscious love must be the foundation. There must be an affinity within body, soul, and spirit. Love is fundamental. Spiritual ambition results in failure. Marriages of convenience result in pain. Just because two persons are in Gnosis does not mean they are right for each other. The two must truly be unified in all seven levels of being: physicality, chemistry, emotions, mind, will, conscience, and spirit. This is how love ignites and grows, in accordance with the death of the ego. Some marry because they are gnostic, not because of love. Pride and desire do no create a perfect matrimony. The three factors do: chastity, sanctity, and service. A perfect matrimony must be developed. There must be compatibility in all seven levels, yet we do not begin with perfect compatibility because we have ego. If we eliminate the ego, then love can grow. People assume that marriage in Gnosis will take them on the one way track to heaven. It is partially true. It accelerates things since there is more energy involved. However, the greater the energy, the more frequent and intense the ordeals. Ordeals test our true worth. The path of marriage is filled with ordeals relating with the four elements, correlating with how we control the air (our thoughts), fire (our emotions), water (our sexual energy), and earth (our physicality). 
Ceremonial Magic: The Eucharist
Contrary to popular belief, the Eucharist was instituted by Melchizedek to Abram or Abraham in the Bible. Jesus brought it back to the consciousness of humanity.
Jesus said that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). By this he stated that alchemy is not enough, symbolized by bread. Bread is made of flour (the earth), water, heat or fire, and air (through yeast). We can assimilate the four elements within our matrimony, can transmute and elevate them, but again it is insufficient of itself. We must receive Christ through the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Word of God. On the most superficial level, the Word of God is often interpreted as scripture. But in reality, the Word is Chokmah, the Logos, the Christic energy, which we accumulate through the bread and grape juice of the Eucharist. All you do is prepare an altar with a white cloth, a pentagram, a candle, a piece of bread and a glass of grape juice. Pray the Pater Noster, the Our Father, on your knees, and imagine the bread and wine accumulating superior Christic forces. Afterward, consume the body and blood of our Redeemer. This was demonstrated in a video from Glorian Publishing, which you can find via this PDF and on their website.
Also, this practice of the Eucharist can be performed every day in you own home. You can officiate as a priest or priestess in your own temple, your house, apartment, bedroom, wherever it may be. Samael Aun Weor explained how in his explanations of Arcanum 14: Temperance in Tarot and Kabbalah and The Seven Words, included in The Divine Science.
Hermetic Magic, Mantras, and Extreme Unction
We also should learn hermetic or elemental magic related to the mind.
A priest commands the cross, symbolizing the four elements, so as to heal others. Sicknesses of any type correlate to the four elements. Imbalances or conflicts occur within our physical and internal bodies. The four elements are referenced in the alchemical traditions as spiritual principles, not literal scientific elements in the sense of the periodic table. We can also call them Tattvas: Vayu (air), Apas (water), Tejas (fire), and Prittvi (earth). These elements are not only found in our foods, but also in our internal bodies: mind, heart, vitality, and physicality. By mastering our own minds, we can consciously utilize the souls of plants to heal others in accordance with the law of karma and the will of divinity. Priests also work with the hermetic arts, the science of Hermes, Mercury, another symbol of how the transmuted sexual energy can awaken the true capacities of a superior mind, a solar mind. Priests can perform chains, whereby disciples hold hands in a circle of prayer, and the officiant leads the congregation in invoking Christ. These are very powerful practices that you can only perform at gnostic institutions maintaining the three-chamber system established by Samael Aun Weor. To perform plant magic, a priest utilizes mantras. Mantras or sacred words are universal. They convey power so as to help the congregation and practitioners in the remembrance of divinity. Also, the power of God, as we said, is in sex. The larynx and sexual glands are intimately related, as demonstrated by the development of men and women’s voices during puberty. The true power of the Word comes from sex. However, there are three ways to utilize the Word, evidenced by Samael Aun Weor’s statement from Esoteric Medicine and Practical Magic: One can articulate with the creative larynx, one can vocalize with his thought, and one can vocalize with the superlative consciousness of the Being. ―Samael Aun Weor, Esoteric Medicine and Practical Magic
Also, the ultimate form of healing is through gnostic knowledge, teaching, and instruction for how to change. Superior knowledge, applied and practiced, is what leads individuals to self-transformation and healing.
Conjurations
We have spoken at length about the conjurations and invocations before. Here we will summarize some key details.
Every Gnostic priest should officiate using the conjurations and invocations. These must be memorized so they can be used spontaneously at will in any circumstance, especially in dreams when you lack A Gnostic Prayer Book. Obviously you cannot take a physical book with you into the internal worlds. However, you can remember, recall, and apply its contents. Also, the conjurations prepares our home environment for ritual. It cleanses any space for prayer, meditation, or alchemy. These prayers prepare the mind and heart for any situation. Conjurations call upon the power of Christ to heal, protect, and cleanse. If you are in any danger, whether physical or internal, recite these prayers with all of your soul. As stated in the Gnostic Prayer Book: To conjure (Latin, cum-jurare; to swear together) is to evoke a superior force in order to reject its opposite or inferior force. To conjure is to make a common act of faith with the invoked force or forces. The greater the strength and enthusiasm of this faith, the more efficacious the conjuration will be. ―Gnostic Prayer Book Prayers for Spiritual Protection
We have included here some videos from Glorian Publishing for how to understand and perform the Conjuration of the Four, the Conjuration of the Seven, and the Invocation of Solomon. Every magician or priest must know how to spiritually defend themselves using these prayers. They are exceptionally powerful. When performed with consciousness and divine remembrance, they radically reject any negative influence.
There are also courses on how to comprehend their meaning, such as Defense for Spiritual Warfare on Glorian.org. We will not detail everything about each prayer today, since that will be covered in future lectures. Here we are providing them as a resource for your continued study and practice.
Exorcisms and Healing
We will introduce, in relation to becoming a practical magician, the practice of the four exorcisms. Exorcisms have been a long-standing tradition in the Catholic Church. However, the roots of these exorcisms comes from the Transcended Gnostic Church. Here is what the Gnostic Prayer Book has to say about this practice:
To exorcise is to call up or conjure spirits or to claim an isolated spirit. It is important to recite the following exorcisms in Latin (not in English) since Latin is the language that is most in tune with the forces of nature than any of its derivatives. ―Gnostic Prayer Book
Some people become intimidated or discouraged by Latin, because it sounds difficult. However, Latin conveys tremendous powers, because it is a sacred language in tune with the higher worlds. A priest must know these exorcisms by heart so as to use them when necessary. Do not be discouraged, since you can learn, memorize, and apply these prayers effectively. It just takes time, consistency, and practice.
A real priest, in commanding his own psychology, must purify the four elements. The hurricanes of disturbing thoughts must cease. The raging fire of negative emotions must be extinguished. The tempests of sexual passion must calm. Lastly, the earthquakes and tremors of desire must rest. The four exorcisms can bless any home, space, or temple after having cleansed it internally with the Conjurations of the Four, the Seven, and the Invocation of Solomon. These exorcisms invoke the intelligences or angels who govern these principles, not only without, but more importantly within. I will recite these exorcisms for you along with their accompanying mantras. You also can face the four cardinal points while performing these exorcisms: Fire to the South, Air to the East, Water to the West, and Earth to the North. 
The Exorcism of Fire
Facing the South, we recite:
Michael, King of the Sun and Lightning,
The mantras are either INRI or S, pronounced as follows:
The Exorcism of Air
Facing the East, we recite:
Spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas, et inspiravit in faciem hominis spiraculum vitae. Sit Michael dux meus, et Sabtabiel servus meus, in luce et per lucem. Fiat verbum halitus meus; et imperabo Spiritibus, aeris hujus, et refrenabo equos solis voluntate cordis mei, et cogitatione mentis meae et nutu oculi dextri. Exorciso igitur te, creatura aeris, per Pentagrammaton, et in nomine Tetragrammaton, in quibus sunt voluntas firma et fides recta. Amen. Sela, fiat. So be it. ―Exorcism of Air
For the sake of clarity, I will read a translation:
The Spirit of God hovered above the waters and breathed into the face of man the breath of life. Be Michael my leader, and Sabtabiel my servant, in and by the light. May my breath become a word, and I will rule the spirits of this creature of air; I will curb the steeds of the sun by the Will of my heart, by the thought of my mind, and by the apple of the right eye. Therefore I do exorcise thee, creature of air, by Pentagrammaton, and in the name Tetragrammaton, wherein are firm will and true faith. Amen. Sela: Fiat. So be it. ―Exorcism of Air
The mantra for this exorcism is a prolonged sigh of exhalation, as follows:
The Exorcism of Water
Facing the West, we recite:
Fiat firmamentum in medio aquarum et separet aquas ab aquis, quae superius sicut quae inferius, et quae inferius sicut quae superius ad perpetranda miracula rei unius. Sol ejus pater est, luna mater et ventus hanc gestavit in utero suo, ascendit a terra ad coelum et rursus a chelo in terram descendit. Exorciso te, creatura aquae, ut sis mihi speculum del vivi in operibus ejus, et fons vitae, et ablutio peccatorum. Amen. ―Exorcism of Water
The Latin is translated as follows:
Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters; the things which are above are like unto things which are below, and things below are like unto things above, for the performance of the miracle of the unity. The sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath gestated it in its womb. It ascended from earth to heaven, and again it descended from heaven to earth. I exorcise thee, creature of water that thou may become unto men a mirror of the living God in His works, a fountain of life, and ablution of sins.―Exorcism of Water
However, for those with more knowledge of Kabbalah, we have included some deeper knowledge in brackets. It is not our intention to explain each exorcism in detail today. However, we will do so in the future of this course.
Let there be a firmament [Tiphereth] in the midst of the waters, and let it [the heart] divide the waters [of Daath] from the waters [of Yesod]; the things which are above [in Adam] are like unto things which are below [in Eve], and things below [in Eve] are like unto things above [in Adam], for the performance of the miracle of the unity [the sexual act]. The sun [in Tiphereth] is its father, the moon [in Yesod] its mother, the wind [Aleph, Mercury] hath gestated it in its womb [the spinal medulla]. It ascended from earth [the female] to heaven [the male], and again it descended from heaven [the male] to earth [the female]. I exorcise thee, creature of [the sexual] water that thou may become unto men a mirror [image] of the living God [Shaddai El Chai] in His [alchemical] works, a fountain of [eternal] life, and ablution [expiation] of [comprehended] sins. ―Exorcism of Water
The mantra we perform is the letter M, as follows:
The Exorcism of Earth
Lastly, we face the North and recite:
By the pole of loadstone which passes through the heart of the world, by the twelve stones of the Holy City, by the seven metals that run inside of the earth, and in the name of Gob, obey me, subterranean workers! ―Exorcism of Earth
The mantra for Earth is IAO, as follows:
The Exorcism of Salt
There is one more exorcism to cover. When you wish to perform healings, you bless and exorcise the element salt. This is most especially important in The Divine Science: Logos, Mantra, Theurgy. You can perform the Exorcism of Salt and utilize this element to consecrate items, to give them Christic charge and sacerdotal power. The prayer is pronounced as follows:
In isto sale sit sapientia, et ab omni corruptione servet mentes nostras et corpora nostra, per Chokmahel et in virtute Ruach-Chokmahel, recedant ab isto fantasmata hylae utsit sal coelestis, sal terrae et terris salis, ut nutrietur bos triturans et addat spei nostrae cornua tauri volantis. Amen. ―Exorcism of Salt
Here is the translation:
In this salt there is sapience, thus, we must keep our minds and our body from all corruption by Chokmahel (the wisdom of God) and by the power of Ruach-Chokmahel (the spirit of the wisdom of God), phantoms go away from this substance as the salt of heaven, the salt of the earth, and earthly salt that nourishes the threshing cow and increases our hope in the horns of the winged bull. Amen. ―Exorcism of Salt
If you wish to perform healings with exorcised salt, whether for yourself or a loved one, you can study The Divine Science: Logos, Mantra, Theurgy. See the chapter on Light and Darkness, especially the section “Symptoms and Theurgic Therapy.”
The Three Chambers and Gnostic Groups
Despite these explanations, some will still ask: how can I be ordained as a Gnostic priest?
We will not unveil this process. If you wish to pursue that path, you must be a serious member of a physical Gnostic institution maintaining the three-chamber system established by Samael Aun Weor. You must attend a school for years before the missionaries or instructors determine your qualifications. There is no other way. As we mentioned, with great power comes great responsibility. We become prepared through following the three-chamber system instituted by Samael Aun Weor. First chamber is exactly what we are doing now: classes, lectures, seminars, workshops, and public teachings to guide the intellect. Second chamber pertains to the heart, whereby practitioners cultivate superior emotions through the rituals of Hod, the astral world, splendor. This obviously requires more seriousness to initiate, utilize, and perfect. Third chamber is even more serious, relating to the motor-instinctive-sexual brain, to action. Samael Aun Weor used to lead rituals in a temple known as the Summum Supremum Sanctuarium in the Sierra Nevada. However, he said that eventually this temple would enter the Jinn state, the fourth dimension, and that the only way to attend would be in the Jinn state. Therefore, you must be serious about this work to proceed further. Priests must always strive to embody these three levels of knowledge, which are the balance of the three brains and the three chambers. Priests always teach and lead rituals, but we also look for qualified candidates who show more seriousness in entering higher levels. This is a patient process, one guided by divinity within the internal worlds. Even though you might not have a physical gnostic school to participate with, today’s lecture will prepare you internally and psychologically for finding and participating with one, if that is the will of your Innermost, your divinity. Divinity always determines the time and place to enter second chamber or attend a physical group. It must always be earned. However, be patient, because you can always make great progress internally. You can even attend the Gnostic Church internally through Dream Yoga and Astral Travel without any physical school. Some think that progress can only be made in a physical group. This is not true. There are many who attend groups who do not progress, and many students who work in solitude and suffering to awaken within the superior worlds, so as to attend the rituals of Christ in the astral dimension and even beyond. A physical group is a blessing and can provide extra strength. We need help. However, if you cannot physically attend a group now, you can still make leaps and bounds if you are serious, if you take advantage of every day to die to your ego, transmute daily, and serve humanity. The three factors for spiritual revolution will prepare you for dream yoga, astral projections, jinn states, etc. Remember too that a physical lumisial, temple, or school is merely an instrument of the transcendent Gnostic Church of the higher worlds―if its practitioners are working seriously. If you find a group, be patient and take the time to assess if it is effective, accessible, and supportive of your spiritual work. Many students, out of yearning and loneliness, long to find a community and get involved with any spiritual group, for which they later regret. In some ways, these circumstances are due to karma. In others, it is making poor choices when knowing better. The truth is that when you attend any gnostic school, you will face heavy ordeals. It is true when people say that groups will help one advance. But every exaltation is preceded by terrible and frightful humiliations. This is the requisite and reality of initiation. Groups accelerate processes that are already present amongst the congregants, for good and for ill. These ordeals originate from your own inner Being and unfold as a result of karma, your own past deeds. How your karma plays out in your life will be particular to you. For some, conflicts arise because of members in the school. It could be the head priest or priestess, the missionaries or the association. For some students it can be their spouse or partner who does not like the knowledge. There are many reasons why conflicts emerge. They are inevitable. In many ways you cannot avoid them, because your Innermost is applying your karma to your life for your own benefit, so that you can grow spiritually and mature. What is normal is for ordeals to afflict groups. What is unusual is for individuals to conquer them. All of that depends on us, what we choose to do and how we choose to respond to karma. 
The Training of a Gnostic Priest
While we do not talk about how to ordain priests, we can speak about some general requirements for becoming a serious student, instructor, missionary, or magician on the path. While there may be some differences in how gnostic groups instruct and train new teachers, a white magician, a real priest, derives their authority from the Being, from within, not from lineage, inheritance, belief, or mere intellectual study, as exemplified by Jesus in Matthew 7:28-29:
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. ―Matthew 7:28-29
Jesus spoke with authority as a gnostic priest because of his conscious development, not merely from titles or recognition. While the Master Aberamentho was cultured and educated in the mysteries, his real power came from his connection with the truth. However, it would be impossible to teach the greatest spiritual wisdom without knowledge of how to communicate it, without proper training.
The primary focus is of our work is to realize the Being, divinity. We do so by developing our Essence, the consciousness, the soul. The personality, in this process, must become cultivated to a relative degree, since it is the intermediary between our psyche and the social realm. Our personality is constituted by our language, customs, inheritance, and social characteristics. It is necessary to develop a personality in our youth so as to know how to interact with the world. If we lack knowledge of how to effectively communicate with others, we cannot be a real priest, because a priest must know how to appropriately lead and instruct others. We must always provide spiritual wisdom in an accessible way, dependent upon the idiosyncrasies of our character, students, time, and place. A missionary or instructor program can provide basic communication, pedagogy, or teaching skills to develop a Gnostic personality. It can also help you get serious about developing your personal practice. Yet real wisdom and brilliance comes from divinity. There must be a balance of knowledge and being. Both are necessary for comprehension of the doctrine. While a physical Gnostic monastery, a missionary or instructor program can provide training―in accordance with the three-chamber system instituted by Samael Aun Weor―the cultivation of your Being comes about through your own practice. This is why Samael Aun Weor wrote in The Great Rebellion: Being and knowing must be balanced to establish a sudden blaze of comprehension within our psyche. When knowing is greater than being, it causes all kinds of intellectual confusion. If being is greater than knowing, it can produce cases as serious as that of a stupid saint. ―Samael Aun Weor, The Great Rebellion
It is noble to train as a Gnostic missionary, a priest, since one learns essential skills for living and teaching the doctrine. Yet despite this gift, there have been missionaries who have fallen short due to poor character. A real priest or missionary will always seek improvement, especially when it is humiliating and difficult. This is the basis of initiation, whereby we strive to eliminate fanaticism, fear, and pride. Otherwise we remain as scribes and Pharisees, inheriting traditions but not living the doctrine.
We should always strive to be humble and learn from everyone, especially our students who may know more about certain things because of their sincerity, enthusiasm, and experience. For any instruction to have force, we must always strive to teach from experience. The most potent teaching comes from conscious development. However, patience is fundamental because we are all in process. A priest with knowledge but no Being is a charlatan, because his deeds contradict his words. We may speak about kindness, but be inwardly cruel. A priest with Being and no knowledge lacks facility and skill for transmitting the teachings to others. Neither position is optimal or encouraged. We must develop through both study and practice to be a practical magician, a Gnostic priest. 
Resources
We have included below some links to relevant books by Samael Aun Weor that will prepare you for the divine priesthood. The Major Mysteries describes how to prepare for initiation, the importance and dangers of spiritual schools, and many aspects of ceremonial magic.
Esoteric Medicine and Practical Magic provides numerous gnostic methods for ritual healing, invocation, and performing elemental and hermetic magic. Igneous Rose is its sister or companion, discussing the elemental magic of Netzach or how to work with the souls of plants. The Perfect Matrimony introduces everything in the gnostic teachings. It is fundamental, especially how to work in sexual magic. The Divine Science is a combination of three books: Logos, Mantra, Theurgy; Esoteric Treatise of Theurgy; and The Seven Words. The first two books provide the best techniques for spiritual self-defense. The Seven Words teaches how to work with the Eucharist in the privacy of your own home. Questions and Answers
Question: What does sacerdotal mean?
Instructor: It relates to the priestly power, the sacred power that a priest or magician invokes and manifests. We do so through conjurations, prayers, invocations, and especially working with the exorcism of salt, which you can learn more about in the book The Major Mysteries. Question: Does one need to be a priest to use and benefit from the various rites and rituals for personal needs? I live in a part of the world that is somewhat remote, and although I aspire to these more advanced levels, I do not have a group or any gnostic people anywhere near me. What I am learning through these studies have been my deepest wish since I was eleven years old, so I am kind of lost and a wee bit discouraged. How does a 61-year-old dude living in the Yukon elevate himself? Instructor: It’s a genuine concern. You do not need to be ordained as a priest from the Gnostic Church to begin using these practices. Everything we are using or describing here today is something that you can train with wherever you’re at, whether you are in solitude or in company. In fact, if you are seriously training in these practices, they will prepare your consciousness to enter that role if it is something that is your destiny. You do not need to be ordained to work with the Conjurations of the Four, the Seven, the Invocation of Solomon, the exorcisms of the elements, the exorcism of salt. You can work with these rituals and practices at your degree. Obviously there is more power to be conferred by levels of development, which correlate with eventually entering the priesthood in the Gnostic Church. I would not be discouraged because personally when I studied in this teaching, I was alone for quite a long time. I was not around any gnostic groups physically and I desperately sought to have company and to discuss these teachings with people of like mind. Eventually, because I was serious, and especially practicing dream yoga, working on myself, the initiates of the Gnostic Church started to visit me in the astral plane. They were giving me comfort and guidance, and teaching me what I needed to know. Eventually I physically encountered groups. It took about two years, I think, before I physically met other gnostics. But initially I was meeting them in the internal planes. So sometimes that can happen. You can have that inner experience before you physically meet a group. It is very beautiful and profound. It is a beautiful thing. It is obviously your karma to live where you are at and to find these teachings at your age. So be patient. Do not be discouraged. In fact, if you are making fundamental changes in your level of being, transforming your mind day by day, you naturally begin to resonate with higher levels, and you start to experience these things, not only physically, but internally. Then eventually your physical life might shift around. Who knows? Your Being is the one who is managing that karma. Have faith in Him. Question: How do we find these gnostic lumisials? Instructor: Obviously, you can look on Meetup. There are different gnostic groups throughout the world, especially in the United States who are open and having schools. They have their lectures and classes you can attend. Obviously that is the first level or first chamber of any gnostic institution. But obviously, to enter any spiritual temple, a gnostic lumisial or the Gnostic Church, you have to be a part or a member of that school for some time, so they can determine your qualifications, and based on your own psychological work, and your seriousness and your dedication, may open the doors. Better said, they may open the doors to second chamber and deeper levels. Question: How do I transmute my semen? Instructor: We have a lot of books, lectures, and courses on that topic. You can study The Perfect Matrimony, especially. That is perhaps the best book that introduces the fundamentals of sexual alchemy and transmutation. If you are single, you can also practice with pranayama. That is perhaps the best practice that single persons can use to begin working with the waters of baptism, the sexual transmutation of the creative force. You can study Kundalini Yoga by Samael Aun Weor, or The Yellow Book. Those two books are profoundly practical, teaching different forms of pranayama, how to transmute. We also have a course on our website. It is called Gnostic Meditation. The third lecture, I believe, is called Pranayama and Sexual Transmutation. You can study that and learn more about how to practice pranayama. Very powerful and effective. Question: How does the holy Megillah fit in with gnosticism? Instructor: We have to understand that gnosticism is a beautiful and vast tradition, and incorporates many religions. Actually, gnosis in its original sense is the Greek word form for experiential knowledge of the truth. To clarify for people, I believe the Megillah has to do with the Book of Esther, especially, one of five megillahs (מגילה scrolls) that are included in the biblical canon or Hebraic writings. There are a lot of scriptures that fall under this category of gnosticism, not merely just the first Christians of the Middle East in the first to second centuries, especially. We know that in the Gnostic Church, we study Hebraic Kabbalah, the Hebraic scriptures, the Buddhist Tantras, Zoroastrian scriptures, the Qur’an, the Bible, the New Testament. Many scriptures attest to the universal experiential knowledge of the divine. We talked about this a little bit in our course called The Gnostic Gospels. You can study that course, especially the first lecture called The Esoteric Christian Tradition, where we discuss some of the universal roots between Hebraic Kabbalah and the gnostic teachings because they are the same fundamental science. They are all very integral. We can study them in separate courses and lectures but they are really different keys to the same door. They have different perspectives that can help us be more well-rounded in our knowledge of the divine. That is why we study all religions in their unification, in their synthesis. So those Hebrew scriptures do relate―whether apocryphal writings or the canonical Gospels themselves, or canonical scriptures of the Old Testament―these all work together to show us different aspects of the same truth. Question: Can you please repeat when and how to use the exorcisms of the elements? Instructor: You can use them to bless any home, your home or any space. Now, you can also work with the exorcisms to bless any element around you. If you are out in nature too, you can work with these exorcisms as well. You can even bless a cup of water when you need it for ritual as described in Logos, Mantra, Theurgy. We work with the four exorcisms especially after the Conjurations of the Four, the Seven, and the Invocation of Solomon. When you want to elevate the energy of your environment, you first cleanse it of any negativity through those previous conjurations. You invoke Christ through the Invocation of Solomon, and then you purify the elements within the internal planes with the four exorcisms. Very powerful. Question: Can you please explain how someone is selected, appointed, or trained in priesthood through a gnostic lumisial? Instructor: Obviously as priests, we look out for people who are more dedicated and serious. Obviously people may attend a group for a long time. It is more common for people to just come and go. But those who really stick around and are really dedicated to this path, obviously, “by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:16). We do have a process by which we reflect internally, we meditate, we get guidance from divinity, and when a particular individual is very serious, we offer instructor courses and a program that can help train the student to become a teacher. As we were explaining, that process will depend on the institution that you are with, because there are many gnostic groups and some have different procedures, certain trainings or qualifications that they expect. Some institutions will have a three-month program at a monastery. But entering that particular level of instruction depends on the group you are with. Obviously, one has to be very serious and to take the time to study, practice, and live the teaching. But again, that is something you will be guided internally about. Your inner Being will show you the process, and more importantly, if you are very serious in yourself about transforming your mind and eventually becoming a member of second chamber, which is really the prerequisite, you will be taught how to become a priest. But that process we don’t explicitly detail to the public because people have to be responsible and enter that path themselves. So you can find that if you attend a school that is very seriously maintaining the three-chamber system established by Samael Aun Weor. Again, the one who really selects and appoints the individual to enter the Gnostic Church is precisely your Inner Being. Now when your Inner Being promotes that, as well as demands it of you, He will show you, and then your circumstances in your physical life will come to reflect that. Things happens internally first and then physically. Question: How do I overcome anger, resentment, disdain for the teachings, teachers, and chamber system after so much bad experience and failure? Instructor: Comprehension is what heals. Comprehension is what gives strength. Understanding occurs through meditation. It is not enough to intellectually label and understand or identify anger, resentment disdain, these negative emotions. We have to look at them. We have to examine them. We have to patiently meditate upon them. There is no other way. Meditation is the fundamental science of the gnostics. Any negative emotion, any negative thought, any toxic element of the mind which pollutes our wellbeing, makes us sick, makes us confused, that is the enemy. That is our worst enemy in itself. Other people, external people and groups, are merely the karma of our life. What is more important than the people or situations we find ourselves in is the psychological reactions that we have. The fundamental purpose and crux of this teaching is learning how to transform our reactions to life. This is how we become a real priest, a real magician. You make magic when you look at anger and you do not feed it. You see it for what it is. If you wane in your ethics, if you let in the beast at the door, if you open up the hallway door a crack, even a little bit, even if you allow a sliver of anger in your mind, then it takes over. You have to catch it before it blooms. You have to nip it at the bud. You have to really be cautious with negative thoughts and negative emotions because they are infections. They make you sick. They make us despairing and in pain. They are not useful in any way. In fact, they are precisely some of the biggest obstacles to the path. We learn through meditation and with patience to taste the quality of the conscious states of divine being, which are free from ego, free from any resentment or pride or vanity. That quality can only be recognized if we are willing to sacrifice our pain. We have to give up our pain, the pain of “so-and-so wronged me,” the pain that “such-and-such a person betrayed me.” Or that “this person did not help me, did not give me what I needed.” We have to give it up. It doesn’t mean we don’t act and do not speak our mind and to say the truth about our emotional state or where we are at, to communicate it with diplomacy, with art, with skill, with sincerity. It does not mean that we bottle up and suffocate our heart. Instead we have to look at it for what it is, to voice it if we need to, but not out of spite and resentment. Really, anger makes us fail. Resentment makes us fail. The more we churn in the quicksand, the deeper down we go. So negative emotions are like that, and negative thoughts. I recommend that you study the chapter from the Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology by Samael Aun Weor called “Negative Thoughts.” Really he clearly gives a powerful teaching about the real source of culpability, of problems, of conflict. When you understand that ego in you or defects in you that churn that negativity, you can start to become free of it. But so long as you give it space in your mind, the more sick it will make you. If you are already in that state, you can do a breathing exercise. You can do a pranayama, and that will help you calm your mind and your heart, so that you can ease your mental state and get control and rein of your own mind. Mantras are effective for that for protecting you from your own negativity.
The mantra Klim Krishnaya Govindaja Gopijana Vallabaja Swaha—which forms the gnostic pentagram—sing it in your mind. Pray to your Inner Being to reject this state.
Also in a moment of anger you can breathe deeply. Inhale and count for six seconds. Hold for six seconds, and exhale for six seconds. You can do it for longer time than that, whatever is natural for your breathing capacity. That is one way to diffuse that element. Question: Can everything be done silently? Anything that can’t? Instructor: You can do all of these mantras and prayers in the mind, whispered, aloud, or in your Being. It depends on the circumstance and what you need. Obviously if you are around other people and you do not want to be whispering or perhaps muttering, or saying these prayers aloud, especially when people do not know what you are doing, and obviously that can alarm them. So you can do it in the mind, especially, but you can vocalize in the privacy of your home. Question: What is the best time to partake in the Eucharist? Would it be OK to do this at nighttime? Instructor: You can perform the Eucharist at any time of the day. Do it when you have the most energy and zeal to work. Question: Could you provide your thoughts and insights on the Apostle Paul’s statement, “Be ye married and unmarried.” Instructor: He said if you are married, live like you are single, or better said, act like you are single, and if you are single, act as if you are married. This is a psychological teaching, not a literal one. If you are single, live like you are married to your Divine Mother, so that by working and dedicating yourself to chastity, to sanctity, and to service, you prepare yourself for the dharma of marriage. If you are married already, live like you are single. That means learn to become hermetically sealed, meaning: learn to conserve your sexual energy and to not be attached. Do not be attached to your partner. You can love them but we have to be psychologically strong, and not driven by desire. To live like one is single is to be unitary, to give up those egos of perhaps dependency or attachment especially. You also when you are married want to live like you are single, meaning: learn to transmute the sexual energy. Obviously if you are in a relationship, through marriage or before finding the teaching, you already are married, live like you are devoted to your Divine Mother for the first time, obviously. We begin where we are at. It is a psychological attitude. Question: How important to gnostic studies is the study of kabbalah? Instructor: It is essential. Gnosis is based upon two trees, the Tree of Life (which is kabbalah) and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (which is alchemy). There is no way to understand any scripture, religion, teaching, science, methodology, or practice without knowing these two trees. Now kabbalah obviously for some people can be complicated. Some people find it to be very disconcerting or difficult. But the truth is that when you learn the basic principles of the Tree of Life, you will become very skilled with dream yoga if you are practicing seriously. Kabbalah is the language of the internal worlds. If we do not know the Tree of Life, the kabbalah, the different sephiroth, the different symbols and principles related to each sphere, when we have dreams in the internal worlds that relate to these diagrams, we will be very confused. We need to know the map, and kabbalah is a map of the Being. It is a map of the universe. Without it we become lost. We have to know how to navigate the internal worlds. We do so through knowing the map, and once we travel there, we use this tool in order to be competent investigators of the higher worlds. Question: How does the potentiality of the perfect matrimony work? How does one enter into a perfect matrimony? Instructor: We find our partner based on our level of being. If you are lustful, proud, vain, arrogant, deceitful, then your level of being will attract its corresponding partner. If we are eliminating lust, pride, anger, vanity, jealousy, then the qualities of our heart will attract a corresponding partner. We attract our partner based on karma. Obviously, we have many recurrences in life. Perhaps we meet people who may be a potential partner or someone who was our partner in a past life. But knowing whether or not that is the right person to enter with into the spiritual work is another thing. There are levels of affinity within the Tree of Life, but also psychologically, more importantly. We talked about a few. Obviously, the best relationship is one that your Being gives to you, and your Being will show you internally, if you are working seriously, who your partner will be. It is a very beautiful thing when you see that for yourself and watch it manifest. But the process of it is developed in accordance with our actions. If we are working to be a better person, really working on our lust, our anger, our ego, then by law of nature we attract the partner that corresponds to that level of work. But even in a very compatible matrimony or compatible partnership between a husband and wife, there are levels of work because the couple in the beginning obviously has a lot of ego. Through the work, they can eliminate more. This is why single people would prepare for a long time, whether as monks or nuns before becoming married, becoming priests or priestesses. The potentiality of a perfect matrimony becomes realized when you perform the corresponding deeds that relate to that level of being. So our actions determine everything. Be patient. Be patient. Also it is important to remember that a perfect matrimony doesn’t start at the beginning. It is something that is developed because there are levels of compatibility based on the elimination of the ego. It is the ego that is not compatible. The soul, the spirit, are unified. Question: Will you please give an example of knowing and being in balance? Instructor: This is a really good question. It is not enough to read about astral projection. One has to experience it and know it for oneself. When you not only read but experience what is written, you have comprehension, because it really validates and gives you faith. For example, it is even more beautiful when you read about something, such as in the works of Samael Aun Weor, and then you experience it. It is a very powerful thing to witness in oneself. You can also see something internally and then you can read about it later. That can give you even more faith because you see that the knowledge corresponds with your level of being. The facts are verified. It is real. It gives you certainty. When you have intellectual knowledge that is comprehended through experience, you have faith. It gives you a lot of strength to continue against ordeals and challenges in the path because you know this teaching is real. It keeps you going. Question: What is a great practice to astral project? Instructor: We gave a whole course on that. Study our course called Dream Yoga and Astral Travel. There are fifteen lectures in it. Dive in, practice what’s there, and see the results. Question: If gnosis is a personal connection with the divine and we are guided internally, how do we know that the exoteric rules that you laid out apply to everyone and are not just applicable to the person who originally received them? Basically, are there different paths for everyone depending on their internal guidance? Instructor: That is a really good question, really nuanced. Hopefully I can give a very adequate response to that. The principles of the Gnostic Church are universal. They have been known in different traditions with different terms. They are laws of nature. They correspond to scientific truths about the awakening and development of the soul. Obviously the Gnostic Church has its terms and its terminology for these principles. Baptism has been known in different traditions in terms of different languages and names, in accordance with the traditions. I gave a few. The Jews refer to it as the Mikvah. Ritual cleansing in Islam is known as al-Wudu. You even find rituals of purification and water even within Buddhism. Now the terms are different. The names are different, but the rules are the same. They are eternal because they are laws of nature. If you wish to resonate with superior laws of being, we have to enact the causes and conditions of their fruition within us. So they are applicable to everybody, but obviously the traditions and religions that teach these principles have different ways of expressing them. We obviously give them in accordance with the Gnostic Church because currently the Gnostic Church is very active within the physical world. As for what religion, tradition, or teaching you follow, obviously that is dependent upon your idiosyncrasy, the inspiration of your inner divinity, because there are many practitioners of different religions who are seriously working in their faiths, who are working with the creative waters, whether through pranayama, prayers, mantras, different exercises, because different religions do teach this science although in a more veiled way. If you practice them, then you or those people or individuals will receive the benefits or results of those actions. Basically, those principles are the same. We can say that although different religions and traditions of the world are diverse, have different languages, terms as we said, they speak about or point to a unified science. In our lectures we are trying to be as explicit as possible about what these terms mean, what do they practically mean for us, but more importantly, not only what the symbols mean but the practical application of them. These are not just my beliefs. These are some things that you can internally verify from experience. So yeah, different traditions, different names, different religions. I hope that answers your question. Question: Are we supposed to keep our spiritual life and experiences with divinity secret from others or should we share stories? Instructor: It is a good question. Samael Aun Weor gave a recommendation to beginners, especially, to keep experiences private, usually, and he did for a very conservative reason, one of many being sometimes students when they talk to other people about experiences can get ridiculed. Some people may be skeptical, negative towards our experiences, our spiritual, mystical states. For beginners especially that can be very harmful. In the beginning people can be very sensitive as you are learning to work with these exercises, pranayama, transmutation, meditation. In becoming aware of one’s own mental states and mind, and also seeing the minds of others, sometimes exposure to negativity can be harmful for oneself. That is why it is important to be cautious. Obviously, it can be good to ask for clarification, especially from people who are more experienced. I remember for a long time having many mystical experiences, I would go to my instructors in gnosis to help give me understanding, and they did help me. They gave me a lot of orientation to navigate my own inner worlds, but they did state, “Even though this is our interpretation, you need to know this for yourself.” They emphasized and encouraged me to be more independent. With time, obviously, I started to become more competent in understanding and interpreting my experiences, keeping my spiritual life very rich, robust, cultivated, and secure. Sometimes when we have taught, we have given examples from different experiences, but one has to be cautious about that too because we can develop pride. We can become very proud about having astral projections. What happens with that is that if we become very proud, our head fills up, our heart depletes. If you remember studying our course on Dream Yoga and Astral Travel, the real faculty that develops astral projection is the heart. Pride, ego, negative emotions pull us out. Sometimes we can lose experiences because of talking too much, talking about things that we should keep secret. Samael says we should become like a walled garden. We should not really talk to others about our experiences in general for those two reasons I gave. But I know my instructor who studied from Samael Aun Weor how he would relate his experiences to the master all the time, and Samael Aun Weor would help him. You can have that dialogue with someone or an instructor, especially if you have a relationship and if it is a good one. So follow your heart. Examine your heart. Question: So what would potentially happen to my current partner who is not understanding of this spiritual practice? Instructor: It is a good question. I know a lot of people maybe worry that if one is studying gnosis and the other partner is not, then that could be a source of conflict, and it can. It can be a source of conflict, obviously, if we or if the partner is perhaps not working on the ego. What causes divisions in relationships is the ego, not the religion, not the teaching, not the doctrine. If you are in a situation where your partner is against gnosis and you are studying spirituality and they may have a dislike for the teaching or may criticize you for it, obviously that is your karma. You have to be patient and demonstrate with your actions these teachings. We do so through love, through forgiveness, through patience—infinite patience—compassion. We have to understand the partner who is perhaps averse to gnosis, who may not follow this teaching, who may not like it. We have to respect their level of being. We have to respect their will. People who do not respect the will of their partner create problems. That is where fights begin, and when there are fights, if you let anger and resentment corrode your relationship, then it will rot. But if you transform a hard situation and ordeal of this kind with patience and love, with ethics and responsibility, with purity and practice, and with forgiveness, then your partner might see your level of being and be inspired by you. Paul of Tarsus said in the Bible that how do you not know, husband, that you shall save your unbelieving wife? Or how do you not know, wife, that you shall not redeem your unbelieving husband (1 Corinthians 7:16)? Sexual union is a serious connection. It is a sacrament. It is marriage in God’s eyes. We have to respect that. But if the partner is against gnosis, we have to respect their will, and reflect the teachings, the integrity of the doctrine through our actions. It is not easy. It is not simple. You have to learn that through a lot of patience and meditation, especially meditating on your own reactions to criticism. But who knows? Maybe by your good deeds, your partner may change, may even become inspired to enter this knowledge. So you would be the vehicle of your partner’s spiritual elevation. Question: What if you are working hard and your Being seems to be guiding you to a potential partner, maybe, but black magicians and other external adversaries are constantly interfering and putting blocks in your way to achieve what you need to? Instructor: It is an interesting question. We have to understand that when black magicians confront us in the internal planes, or in our physical life, that they are there because of karma. They are there because of our actions. They are there because of what we have earned. They come to us because we have a connection with the black lodge. Therefore we have to get rid of the fear and perhaps resentment or anger, which are very common emotions when being attacked by black magic, or being the victim of negative attacks. Now in truth when these black magicians put blocks in our way or try to obstruct us in any particular work, they are really showing us indirectly something about ourselves. Our Being allows them to enter our life, like the snake of temptation entering the walled garden of Eden. It wasn’t a perfectly protected place but there is the possibility of potential temptation and downfall. We need temptation. Temptation is fire. Triumph over temptation is light. The common thing is to react, get afraid, get angry, get resentful. But these are wrong responses. Look in yourself to see what egos are brought up in you that are making your situation worse. In truth, demons are really doing us a favor. They are showing us weaknesses in ourselves that we need to comprehend and eliminate, so we have to not blame them for what they do. For even as Christ said on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). In terms of potential partners, finding a spouse obviously is a very difficult thing for a lot of people because we have too much desire. If we are clouded with desire, if we want to fulfill perhaps our longings for partnership and companionship, to no longer be alone, we have an interest in a particular person of the opposite sex and they are in our life, but we maybe fantasize or imagine things—we have to really put all of that aside. Put it all aside. Look at it, and if there are conflicts in the external situation, the circumstances, the environment, we have to look at the psychological and internal source within ourselves. That is the only way to be free of that karma and for things to resolve themselves magically. Then as you may be encountering black magicians or negative entities, really, they cannot do anything, because if that ego in you is dead, then they will have no leverage. There is no way they can break down your door, so you’re safe. So meditate. Meditate on your reaction about what in you may be flustered or frustrated or is in doubt and confused. You have to go into the astral plane to seek the answer. Seek the answer from your Innermost Being. Your Inner God will show you in dreams and will teach you the right way of acting regardless of the situation or the intensity of the ordeal. OK! Well I thank you all for attending!
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We introduce this topic recognizing that while appealing to a broad audience in name, it is quite controversial and unpopular content, once you get to the nuts and bolts about what genuine spirituality really is. It is understandable that humanity does not like the Gnostic teachings, specifically the necessity for chastity, as we have explained in previous lectures, because it is a war against commonly held assumptions, dogmas, habits, beliefs. It is ironic that different spiritual communities abhor the very principle of sexual magic upon which their religions are based. It is an unusual paradox to be attracted to the secret mysticism of religion, while at the same time being repulsed by it.
Chastity really violates a very precarious sense of self. This teaching goes against the grain, and anyone who begins to seriously practice this knowledge, comes to confront within him or herself the reality of desire, its struggle, its conflict. Despite the fact that many dislike the sexual aspect of these teachings, it is a general rule of thumb that the more people agree on a belief, the greater the probability that it is wrong. In the words of Jesus of Nazareth: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
It is also important that when approaching this subject of spiritual warfare, we do so from a point of humility. This is because we should not assume that we are great students, instructors, or missionaries. We should not assume that we are warriors of God, because it is all too common to present ourselves to others in the best light, which tends to be primarily for selfish reasons, if we are to be honest, if we examine ourselves. It is rare to really want to edify the spirit of another person, to really uplift our neighbor, and not for ourselves.
We likewise should also learn in this path to not assert our will, our beliefs upon other people, but to learn to be a student to everyone, especially one’s enemies. We also tend to ignore our weaknesses. It is an instinct, because the mind does not like us to be conscious of our mistakes, and this is the principle upon which spiritual warfare is realized. As we are changing psychologically, fundamentally, working against our own defects, we naturally attract negative forces that seek to obstruct our development. This is a defence mechanism, our own mind, which Samael Aun Weor referred to as resistance or countertransference, which is when the ego evades responsibility. We make an error, and the mind tries to hide its mistakes. It fights. It resists analysis, observation, and comprehension. The ego knows its life is threatened, and that it will die through this work, and so it comes up with many excuses, justification, evasions, and escapism whenever we observe ourselves and look inside. While it is difficult to look at ourselves fundamentally and honestly, we state many times that Gnosis is lived upon facts, it withers away in distractions, and is difficult to find even in the noblest of thoughts. We have to be very sincere with our own culpability, our own mistakes, because there is a tendency in people, in spiritual movements―whenever approaching the study of white and black magic―to blame the oppressor, to condemn sorcerers, to hate one’s persecutors, and this is really wrong. We do not transform a situation, a conflict, by reacting with ego, by being filled with fear, with hatred, with antagonism, thinking that we are the representative of God, and we need to punish the evil doers, when in fact this sentiment is precisely the fulcrum upon which this struggle subsists and has no end. The reality is that if we wish to overcome black magic, within ourselves especially, we have to understand our own weaknesses, our own faults. We have to be very sincere. Look at the facts! None of us is really special, and none of us are really spiritual, because to be a spiritual person really signifies someone like Jesus, who when he was crucified, only blessed his enemies, and did not complain. We cannot even handle a sly comment at work, an offhand remark, without our entire psychology churning with revenge. To be spiritual is to be a god with the consciousness and power of a planet, a sun, a solar system, a galaxy. We are not divinity. We are the shadow of divinity. We are really demons, because anyone who has one ego has perdition inside, and therefore we must resolve to die to everything that is false. In truth, the soul is a warrior, yet better said, the Innermost is the warrior. Our inner divinity fights against our own defects so that we can change, and the more we yield to His response, the greater His effort and force, His realization within us. In the process of becoming perfected, we must confront our own flaws, but at the same time we need to be very careful. We must be considerate and cautious. If we approach the subject of white and black magic, of spirituality, from the perspective that we already know, then we enter a really serious risk, that eventually we are going to learn a very hard and irredeemable lesson, once the time and conditions are ripe. So let us not think anything of ourselves, to assume, to believe. Instead, let us rely on proven principles for self-defence in the spiritual realms, the psychic realms, but also techniques that really transform who we are. These are principles that we are going to relate today that are very effective. They are expedient. They are powerful, and they allow the soul to really go to task against the obstacles we carry within. I hope that you will find these helpful, and that you find them impactful and practical for you. 
What is a Spiritual Warrior?
Many great spiritual warriors have existed throughout world mythologies. We have Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita: The Song of The Lord. We have Perseus, Theseus, Aeneas, and Odysseus amongst the Greeks. We have Rama or the Ramayana, the Hindu Epic. Within many Buddhist monasteries we find the Dharmapalas: the guardians of the sacred Buddhist doctrine who were once demons, but by transformation through divine compassion, have become the servants of the law. We also have the Prophet Muhammad of Islam who defended himself in Arabia against the black magicians who sought to kill him. There are many examples throughout our history and mythologies.
These narratives are symbols of internal truths, of internal principles. They are archetypes. They are blueprints for the creation of the soul. These are not literally exclusive of some type of history to believe in. Instead, these are conscious truths and symbols that express the language of the consciousness. Despite the diversity of religious forms, characters, names, situations, dramas, conflicts, we find a unifying thread that unites all of these heros that fight on the path of love. They defend themselves not only through skillful means, but through profound wisdom and conscious love for humanity, compassion. Wisdom is the power to perceive. It is the ability to see in an unfiltered way, to be free of desire, to not have the ego present, to see objectively, clearly, precisely. Conscious love is the understanding of our true nature, our real Being, because when we know who our real Being is, and experience the presence of our inner divinity, we feel great love for those who really cause us to suffer, and therefore we endure for them. The real spiritual warrior combats their own inner defects while respecting the will of others. It is not a battle against other people and their beliefs. It is not about arguing and coercing others to think like we do. It is not about attacking the black magicians who seek to harm us and pull us from the path. This spiritual war is about our own relationship to ourselves. There are two forms of holy war in Islam, which unfortunately have truly degenerated, but their esoteric principles are very unique, but also universal. We have Jihad al-Asgar: the lesser holy war, and Jihad al-Akbar: the greater holy war. It is said that the Prophet Muhammad was speaking to his companions after a battle. He said, in the oral tradition of Islam: The Prophet said to those returning from a battle, “You have returned from the lesser jihād to the greater jihād.” When asked what the greater jihād was, he said, “A servant’s jihād against his passions.”
It is impossible to defend oneself from black magic when we ourselves continue to act unconsciously, asleep, without awareness of who we are, what we are doing, where we are at. Some people become very afraid when they hear these terms, especially Jihad, in the propaganda of both East and West. This word simply means “striving,” “to go against,” “to combat.” It is said by the Prophet Muhammad that “the best striving is a word of truth.” It is not about hurting those who do not follow our religion. This is a deviation.
What is that great spiritual war? It is learning to confront our own problems with efficacy, with clarity, with wisdom, with patience, and then we teach others how to change, not based of coercion, suppressing or violating the minds of others, by arguing on internet forums and social media. It is about giving the example of the teachings by our own fruits, the blossoming of our own consciousness, our soul, our ethics. So true spiritual warfare is realized from a point of humility, and in order to achieve that rare virtue, we have to be humiliated. Humiliation before honor: this is the principle of initiation. There is a saying from the Hindu tradition, from the Bhishma Parva. I believe it is the Mahabharata. This is stated by Sanjaya: They that are desirous of victory do not so much conquer by might and prowess, as by truth, compassion, piety and virtue. Fight without any arrogance, for victory is certain to be there where righteousness is. ―Sanjaya, Bhishma Parva
Or stated in the book of Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 4:
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain. ―Isaiah 40:4
People often reference the archetype of the peaceful warrior. It is very common on the internet, which bares credence to esoteric principles. The human soul, or consciousness, is a warrior. In Kabbalah he is the root of our Essence, or soul, who has to fight like Lancelot against the dragon, which is our own mind, our lust, our desires, our passions. תִּפְאֶרֶת Tiphereth must overcome great adversity, not with aggression, but with perfect serenity. In a state of equanimity and dispassion we learn to be like Christ. Samael Aun Weor wrote in his book on Sexology:
Christ does not react against calumnies, slaps, mockeries, threats, whippings, etc. Christ overwhelms because of his terrific serenity. When crucified Christ said only, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The “I” does not exist inside the Christ; this is why he neither reacts nor judges anybody. ―Samael Aun Weor, Sexology: The Basis of Endocrinology and Criminology 
The Myth of Achilles
Let us examine some principles, or a myth that demonstrates these essential qualities. We have a very famous Greek myth of Achilles from the Iliad of Homer. In the myth, Achilles’ mother Thetis was concerned about her child’s mortal state. She tried to confer upon him immortality, and so she burnt him over fire while anointing his wounds with ambrosia. Afterword she dumped him in the river Styx, which are the waters of divine immortality and invulnerability. However, when she did this, as you may be familiar, she held him by the heels, and did not wash him there, which made Achilles invulnerable everywhere except for his heels, which is where we get the Achilles’ heel within anatomy. But what does this represent?
Burned by temptations, and ordeals, any initiate like Achilles can be healed with the divine ambrosia, which is a symbol of chastity―the sexual energy, the creative force. It is really this energy that can heal our greatest wounds, which can really give us strength. It can really make us powerful, because that power, which can give life to a child, is instead conserved, and transformed to give birth to a god. The heel in Kabbalah, the Tree of Life, represents יסוד Yesod. It is an internal symbol of how we walk the spiritual path. So if you have dreams about shoes, it is in relation to your sexual life. This is why Moses in Exodus could only approach the burning bush, the Tree of Life, without his sandals. He had to show purity and respect for God in his sexual conduct. So the waters of chastity are the powers of transmutation, and is the limitless powers of the gods. If you have ever studied cosmogonies, you find water at the center, the foundation and basis. There is no religion, or narrative about divinity, without water. It is irrefutable, but it takes familiarity, and study, and great meditation to go at the heart of what these symbols relate. So here we are just giving one to emphasis these factors. So Achilles was known for being very terrifying. His ferocity was immense. When he went in to battle, he was unconquerable. A lot of scholars interpret this as blind rage, but the symbol is that it is the intensity of force, the severity of Mars, the spiritual force of love that knows how to go to battle for what is right. Some people like to think of Aries, the god of war, Samael, as someone hateful, but they mistake severity with anger. The Martian force is disciplinary. It is harsh and hard to the ego, but it is done from a place of great compassion, a love that is so profound that it resists and endures all types of conflict in order to enact the will of divinity. In the myth of the Iliad, we find that Achilles even fights a river. Some scholars have laughed at this, ignoring its Kabbalistic symbol. This is a symbol of his battle, or any initiate’s battle, with their own lust, because desire works within the waters. 
So in the myth of Achilles, his armor was made by Vulcan, Hephaestus, the god of smithery and fire, and so all the great heroes have received armor from Vulcan, which is a symbol of a marriage, because in the fires of a matrimony, the sexual, igneous forces are harnessed and transformed to give birth to superior vehicles, which are the solar bodies that Samael Aun Weor mentions all throughout his writings. Vulcan is the Holy Spirit, the creative power of sex. It is the energy that can give the armory to the soldier of divinity. It is a force and vehicle that allows Christ to express.
So what is very interesting about Achilles in the Iliad is the emphasis placed on the artwork of his shield, and a lot of scholars and academics argue about what these represent, because you have a figure of great severity and strength, a great warrior, and then you have images of peace, and many icons that would seem to contradict his purpose, which is to fight the Achaeans and win back Helen of Troy, and so Achilles’ shield is embossed with sacred iconography. You see the earth, sea, sun, moon, and constellations. These are representations of mystical states, as we have explained in the lecture on Striving and our Sufi Principles of Meditation Course. You see beautiful cities, and countries filled with people on his shield, a wedding, or a court case, which represents our psychology, the psychological country wherein we are always roaming about, usually lost within our own mind, going from defect to defect, identity to identity. We also see a court, or a wedding, which is a symbol of karma, the law. You also see a seed, or a feuding army, an ambush, a battle. This has to do with our own psychological warfare against our own faults, because as a former lecturer mentioned at the beginning of this course, as soon as we begin to conserve our energies, the mind resists and fights to retain and take back the very energies that gave it life. We are starving the mind, and so therefore the battle ensues. 
We also see on the shield a field that is ploughed for the third time, according to the Iliad. This is a representation of Arcanum 23 of the sacred tarot: The Plower. Why is the plower plowing for the third time? Because three relates to the Holy Spirit within Hebraic mysticism, within Kabbalah, the third force of reconciliation, the force that balances all conflict within.
According to the description of the sacred tarot we find the following verse: The plower is in the act of cultivating the earth and his consciousness. Symbolizes the virtue of a human’s self-realization. ―Arcanum 23: The Plower
Every arcanum has a transcendental axiom, and for this one it is:
My mill is grinding flour for me and flour for my neighbor. ―Arcanum 23: The Plower: Transcendental Axiom
It is how we work in this world to produce physical and spiritual benefit for others.
We also see a harvest of a king’s estate. This signifies: we reap what we sow. Likewise, a vineyard with grape pickers, a very explicit symbol of the transubstantiation of the bread and wine of the Gnostic Unction, the Eucharist: how the soul receives Christ. We also see a sheep farm, and a heard of straight horned cattle, which represent the solar values of the lamb, the Christ, and the bull the Egyptian Apis: the Holy Spirit within Egyptian mysticism. There is a dancefloor of men and women, and what greater dance is there between any species or beings, except the perfect matrimony, when all seven levels of the human being are consummated? We also and finally see a stream from a great ocean on his shield. It is the spiritual path of chastity that leads to the ocean of the Absolute, the uncreated light. All these images represent the archetype of the peaceful warrior, the individuals who strive within themselves, to express the highest ideal of humanity and divinity. Serenity is the ultimate defence. It is the armament and shield we wield in order to endure karma. As Samael Aun Weor said in Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology: The best weapon that a human being can use in life is a correct psychological state. ―Samael Aun Weor, Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology 
Our Greatest Weaknesses
To better understand what spiritual warfare is, we have an interesting case of a German initiate by the name of Fredrick Nietzsche. He is very controversial, especially among the Gnostics, because he was a Gnostic much in the same manner that Hitler was a Gnostic.
Initiates fall because of weaknesses. Hitler’s fascination with the occult is very well documented, and this demonstrates how often our curiosity for the arcane, for the esoteric, the obscure, the novel, gets us in to trouble. Hitler knew and practiced sexual magic, before a Tibetan from the black lodge came and converted him, precisely because this Tibetan initiate was able to exploit Hitler’s weakness, which was pride. While Nietzsche also knew the path, and provided valuable teachings, he made tremendous mistakes, grave errors that led him to insanity. We have a saying from one of his books Thus Spoke Zarathustra: Invulnerable am I only in the heel. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: The Tomb Song
Nietzsche meant to say he was invulnerable only in chastity, which was arrogant of him, because he eventually fell sexually and that led to him to deteriorating his mind. While some people can really benefit from his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra, we must approach him with caution, with distance. It is interesting that Samael Aun Weor mentioned in The Perfect Matrimony, in his chapter about “The Two Rituals,” chapter 12, I believe, how the wise author of Thus Spoke Zarathustra stated:
Write with blood, and you will understand that blood is spirit. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
There is wisdom to be taken here, some valuable knowledge that we can extract, and we will provide an excerpt from this book to demonstrate how a real spiritual warrior has to find inspiration from any source, knowing how to discriminate for advantages and its weaknesses. We accept what is useful and reject what is useless. Therefore in this way we avoid fanaticism. We can read from this book, and learn from it even though Nietzsche fell, much like we continue to utilize the Invocation of Solomon even though this solar king fell into black magic.
We highlight Nietzsche because we emphasis the point that people from every spiritual group ignore. While we all like to think and declare on social media that we are spiritual warriors, we often ignore that even the greatest warriors have been slain in battle. The question is not how, but why? The reality is that the enemy found a weakness and exploited it. In this way, the black lodge sees a vulnerability in our mind, in our defects, which we tend to overlook and ignore, and this is how they capitalize on our mistakes, to accelerate devolution, to push us in that way, in that direction. How many myths have related this truth? Look at Samson! Look at Hercules. What about Achilles? Despite how great Achilles was in battle, the myths relate, in Dante’s Inferno I believe, that he is in hell. So what about our boasted spirituality? It really does not mean anything if we remain with flaws, which we can gloss over and repress, and hide from, and label with the intellect, but not really comprehend. What is even worse for a lot of people is that we can believe that our greatest mistakes are in fact our best friends, our greatest virtues. This is how black magicians think. They do not think they are evil. It is very scary when you think about it, and so we must be cautious, and concerned. Therefore, as evidenced by Nietzsche’s quote: “Invulnerable am I only in the heel” ― what we think or perceive to be our greatest strength is in fact our greatest weakness. What is our psychological image? How do we approach ourselves? How do we relate to ourselves? How do we think about who we are? How do we represent ourselves to others? What is our image, the ideal we carry within? The following is from The Revolution of the Dialectic: We need to undergo a total revolution and a definitive change in this matter of image, values and identity.
We will comment that, if we are experiencing a lot of attacks of black magic, it is because our ego is attracting those situations. It is due to karma. So if we want to change the situation and overcome the problem, we need to understand what in us is evoking that influence. We do so by developing the image of our inner self, the spirit, divinity. Samael Aun Weor continues:
Self-image is different; it is the inner K-H, the Kosmic Human, the Kosmos Human, our divine prototype, the Real Being.
Some people may resist this statement, but we ask you to analyze: Nietzsche thought he was strong in his chastity. But how did Samson fall? ― he trusted Delila. Why did Troy burn? ― because they mistakenly accepted the Achaeans sabotage as a gift.
We do not really have the time and opportunity to be complacent, to lack prudence, to be very smug with ourselves. We should not assume that we know everything. In fact, it is better to lean on the side of caution because there is too much at risk. This does not mean we become paranoid, fanatic, fearful, morbid. It means to be critical of the ego, to be severe with ourselves, but also to have patience with ourselves. 
On War and Warriors
Let us examine a few quotes from Thus Spoke Zarathustra, to take out what is useful for our work. I am going to provide some commentary on these verses.
We do not want to be spared by our best enemies, nor by those whom we love thoroughly. So let me tell you the truth! ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
Honestly and self-criticism, we can say, in the beginning, is essential. It is how we approach self-transformation. We can learn from those who oppose us, who do not agree with us, who do not flatter us, who tell us our errors, especially when we do not like it. We must not spare our ego, our vanity. We have to learn to accept humiliation, to accept when we are wrong, and in this way, we enter initiation.
My brothers in war, I love you thoroughly; I am and I was of your kind. And I am also your best enemy. So let me tell you the truth! ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
Are not the Gnostic missionaries, we could say, or the masters of the White Lodge, our worst enemy? Samael Aun Weor mentioned many times that people resisted him in his lectures. They fidget. They move. They scratch an itch. They become very uncomfortable, because he spoke openly about the death of the ego. The collective unconsciousness and the egoistical desires of his listeners knew that their existence is threatened by the doctrine. Therefore, people and students do not like the teaching. It is why you have synagogues, mosques, and churches filled with millions of people, because they do not teach how to die to desire.
Nietzsche continues: I know of the hatred and envy of your hearts. You are not great enough not to know hatred and envy. Be great enough, then, not to be ashamed of them. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
In the beginning we are filled with a lot of ego, which can be very discouraging. While we are not great enough to be pure and innocent—wise as serpents and harmless as doves—we must be great enough not be filled with morbidity, with shame, with pessimism for being fallen.
Remorse is a different quality. It is important to have repentance and recognition for our faults, but it does not mean that we become filled with the opposite of pride, which is inverted pride: shame, pessimism, self-doubt, self-flagellation, etc. We must not identify with negative emotions, egos, which are repressive. We must comprehend them, not to be identified. And if you cannot be saints of knowledge, at least be its warriors. They are the companions and forerunners of such sainthood. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors"
Earlier in this book Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche explains how, or it is implied that sainthood is mastery, the fifth initiation of fire, which is demonstrated when Zarathustra meets the hermit at the very beginning of this text. If you cannot be a master of Major Mysteries, then at least learn to fight in the way of truth against your faults.
I see many soldiers: would that I saw many warriors! "Uniform" one calls what they wear: would that what it conceals were not uniform! ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
It is very common for people to proclaim themselves to be mighty soldiers of God, because they believe in a religion. However, what Nietzsche is critiquing here is the tendency in people to wear their religion, their spirituality, or their political affiliations like a badge, a uniform, which is pride. However, the apparel does not often proclaim the man, or the woman, which is a contradiction of Polonius’s advice in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. People wear and adorn themselves with all sorts of things, religious apparel, regalia, customs, observances, attitudes, platitudes, thinking that this makes them strong. However if our adherence to religion is all that we are, if we are not awakening in the internal planes to know these truths, then it is a fact that we are barely cleaning the outside of the cup. We need to clean the inside, stated Jesus in the Gospels, to not be a Pharisee, a fanatic of any tradition.
You should have eyes that always seek an enemy―your enemy. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
We need adversities. We do not like it. It is not pleasant. We complain about it. We do not like it when things in our life go wrong, especially when we start Gnosis, but that is a realization that these teachings are working. It is karma that enters our life to test us. We need hardship. We need situations that contradict who we are, otherwise, we are never going to grow. That is why Rumi states beautifully in one of his poems:
How can you become polished like a mirror if you resist every rub? ―Rumi
Samael Aun Weor, when he was advancing in the later stages of his work, when he was really annihilating the totality of his defects, he often sought people in life who were very averse to him. He intentionally went out of his way to find people who would condemn and criticize him, so that his most hidden defects would emerge. But that is something for a very psychologically clean person to do. I do not advise you to go out of your way to look for problems, because honestly, we do not have the capacity to transform it. But we should learn to accept our situation and our karma, because our Being knows what we can handle and what we can do, and therefore manages the situations with intelligence.
Here is a statement from Nietzsche that is somewhat controversial: And some of you hate at first sight. Your enemy you shall seek, your war you shall wage―for your thoughts. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
So we wage war against our own mind, and for the realization of our most divine principles, which is denominated as "thoughts" here.
And if your thought be vanquished, then your honesty should still find cause for triumph in that. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors"
We have to be very severe with our ego, but also be very patient, because we are going to make a lot of mistakes. If we do not live up to the principles of this tradition, then the honest reflection of our failings should be a cause of triumph, because by recognizing our errors we can change them. This is humility.
You should love peace as a means to new wars, and the short peace more than the long. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors"
So what war is he talking about? I mean, obviously, people read it literally as a physical battle, but instead it is a war with oneself. According to Samael Aun Weor, he stated in The Great Rebellion, in a chapter called “Decapitation”:
The worst circumstances of life, the most critical situations, and the most difficult deeds are always marvelous for intimate self-discovery.
Therefore, “we should love peace as a means to new wars,” more ordeals, so we can radically change, and “the short peace rather than long.”
To you I do not recommend work but struggle. To you I do not recommend peace but victory. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
Work is mental exertion. It is when the mind exerts some effort to accomplish a task, and of course, this type of direction of energy does not produce a lot of deep results. Instead struggle, which relates to the Arabic striving, Jihad, is precisely how the consciousness exerts energy and effort, and enforces the will of divinity against the ego. This is the striving the Muslims advocate. In Prophet Muhammad’s words in one of the Hadiths, the oral tradition, this is Jihad al-Akbar.
Or as you see in this image of a samurai, or Japanese bushido, the way of the warrior, which in its ancient roots was a divine teaching, but unfortunately like any mysticism and spiritual code, devolved. We find when the samurai would commit seppuku, which is a literal interpretation of a symbolic function, of how we must kill our own ego, but when that tradition degenerated, obviously, we see the results that common history would have us believe, or better said, what the samurai had become.
So peaceful moments, and a lack of hardships are not really conducive for this work. If you really want internal discovery and realizations, we must face adversity, but do not seek it out. Let it come to you. Your Being knows what you can handle, what you can manage, as I said. Let your work be a struggle. Let your peace be a victory! One can be silent and sit still only when one has bow and arrow: else one chatters and quarrels. Let your peace be a victory! ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
What does it mean that your peace be a victory? You have to be serene when the hammer of karma falls on the anvil of your mind. It is not pleasant to face friction and fire, contradiction and paradox, condemnation and humiliation, uncertainty, doubt. However, if you are serene, you can really forge something beautiful with yourself, with your soul.
You can only be silent and still, concentrated and in remembrance of divinity, when you work with the bow and the arrow. These are symbols of self-observation. The arrow represents concentration. When you stretch a bow unto you to fire an arrow, you are introspecting your inner worlds. When you aim at a target, you are aware of your surroundings, and you are focused on your immediate environment. These are the main principles of mental gymnastics, or dynamics, how we comprehend defects. If we do not have knowledge of both the internal and external reality, we cannot comprehend the link of our conditioned self in relation to external impressions. This results in comprehension and transformation, when you understand the interdependence of all things, your mind with phenomena, and phenomena with your mind. If you want to know more about the transformation of life and impressions, you can study the last lecture in our course Beginning Self-Transformation, Transform Your Life it is called. You say it is the good cause that hallows even war? I say unto you: it is the good war that hallows any cause. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
Nietzsche’s language obviously is very provocative. He intentionally plays with people’s assumptions in this book. People think that a noble ideology justifies physical bloodshed. If we look at any history book, to look at any political or economic system, patriotic systems or beliefs that are propagated in different eras, it does not matter which side of the political spectrum that you follow, because according to the subjective logic of the mind, any ideology can be used to glorify violence, and of course this is wrong.
However, if you read between the lines here, “It is the good war that hallows any cause.” What war are we talking about, or better said, what cause are we supporting? We use Gurdjieffian terms: it is the Being Parktdolg duty, the self-realization of the Being. You hallow that cause in you when you really engage with yourself, and do not run away from the facts. War and courage have accomplished more great things than love of the neighbor. Not your pity but your courage has so far saved the unfortunate. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
If you really study this book, you find that Nietzsche is really very much against complacency, admiring our neighbor’s ego, loving our neighbor’s ego. I believe he states elsewhere:
Myself I sacrifice to my love, and my neighbor as myself. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
This is a play on the Christian doctrine, which unfortunately has been misinterpreted to believe that we should love our neighbor’s defects. We should love the soul of other people, the spirit of other people, the Christ within other people. You can only do that when you have “the courage to save the unfortunate,” by not letting their ego manipulate your ego, to not act in a mistaken way. We act consciously with our neighbors, so that we can teach others through our example, not pitying others, or having, better said, complacency with wrong, feeling bad for someone because they are unfortunate. It is really not enough. We must comprehend others, to have compassion for others.
This is quite different from pity, not to look down on someone because we think we are in a better position. This is the ego that Nietzsche was criticizing here. We must have the courage to do what is right, what you comprehend from your experiences, especially in the superior worlds, even when people hate you for it. Now this next line obviously gets Nietzsche into trouble here: "What is good?" you ask. To be brave is good. Let the little girls say, “To be good is what is at the same time pretty and touching." ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
Especially later on in Nietzsche’s works, he is misogynistic. To give him credit, at least in this book, before he went off the deep end, here he references woman in relation especially to Kabbalah, in relation to the lunar, mechanistic nature of the mind, and we have to have solar willpower in order to combat our mistakes. This is a statement that Nietzsche gave in a chapter called “Little and Old Women,” and Samael Aun Weor clarified for students because people were confused. Nietzsche stated:
“You are going to women? Do not forget the whip!" ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On Little Old and Young Women”
Samael Aun Weor clarified that Nietzsche was intentionally provoking people who do not really know, who do not study the doctrine. He played with words. In reality, what was meant here was that if men are going to their wives, a husband to his partner, they have to dominate their lust with the whip of willpower, not because, obviously, someone is going with a whip to be oppressive.
They call you heartless: but you have a heart, and I love you for being ashamed to show it. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
People think Samael Aun Weor and these teachings are very cruel, that they are unsympathetic. However, the initiates and alchemists have a heart, and they are honorable because they do not allow their own pain to obscure the message.
You are ashamed of your flood, while others are ashamed of their ebb. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
So masters have restraint because they are humble. They do not want to make others feel ashamed for their lack of Being. If you want to draw comparisons here, there is a line from King Lear by Shakespeare:
Have more than thou showest
People often become very concerned about their appearances, and while we should always dress well out of respect for our neighbor, we should not feel shame for our body, or our features. Remember according to Nietzsche, his funny reason why the Greeks sent Socrates to death was because they thought he was so ugly. It is a funny anecdote, but we must remember that Socrates is an initiate who gained a huge following because of his sublime character, his transmutation, his work in alchemy.
And when your soul becomes great, then it becomes prankish; and in your sublimity there is sarcasm. I know you. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
We often get the question, that people in Gnosis never laugh or joke around, or they are people who are just serious all of the time. Now the greatest masters have the greatest sense of humor. It is funny that people can think that Jesus could never tell a joke, who is the inhabitant of the highest dimension known to us, the realm of complete liberation and happiness.
People who are working seriously in this path need a healthy dose of humor. We have to find joy even in hardship, because we see the results even though they seem sporadic or withheld. We have to learn not to be infected with morbidity, pessimism, with sourness. If you are dark or negative, we have to examine our application of the teaching. In reality, this really stems from not maintaining chastity, for most people―sublimating the energy, becoming sublime, become holy. When you learn to really be faithful to your transmutation practice, you will understand divine humor, like The Divine Comedy of Dante. Nietzsche continues: In sarcasm the prankster and the weakling meet. But they misunderstand each other. I know you. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
A weak person is sarcastic with ego, is coercive, is cruel with his or her words. The initiate knows how to have fun, to be awake and happy, to be balanced. These two are very distinct from each other. They do not agree: the humor of an initiate, and the humor of Eddie Murphy, his stand-up shows, which are a very different quality of mind.
You may have only enemies whom you can hate, not enemies you despise. You must be proud of your enemy: then the successes of your enemy are your successes too. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors"
This is a very difficult statement, but let us read between the lines here.
If you despise someone, you think that you are superior. You think that you have nothing to learn from them, but if you have the ego of hatred or enmity manifested there in your relationship, we recognise that this person is provoking our ego, and this should inspire us to work upon our mind. If we lack respect for our enemies, or those who provoke our vanity or pride, we are not going to be open to learn from them; and really, according to Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism, the greatest jewel that one can receive is an enemy, someone who can really bring out your faults. Without confronting them, we cannot really change. Recalcitrance―that is the nobility of slaves. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
So recalcitrance means stubbornness. To be attached and addicted to suffering is to be a slave as a consciousness to the mind. To not have any will to change makes us stubborn, makes us animals.
Your nobility should be obedience. We can say that our real nobility of character comes when we obey our intuition, our inner divinity, our inner Being. Your very commanding should be an obeying. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors”
So when we act with conscious willpower, with comprehension, with remembrance of the divine, the truth, it is because we obey our inner God from our heart, from our intuition.
To a good warrior "thou shalt" sounds more agreeable than “I will.” And everything you like you should first let yourself be commanded to do. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors"
A spiritual warrior obeys the divine law, which is chastity, “Thou shall not commit fornication, adultery, covetousness of our neighbor’s goods, etc.” We have to leave behind personal will and enact Christ’s will. We let our Being command us in the right moment through intuitions, through hunches, through guiding us in the moment, inspiring us in what to say, do, think, and act in a given circumstance.
Your love of life shall be love of your highest hope; and your highest hope shall be the highest thought of life. Your highest thought, however, you should receive as a command from me―and it is: man is something that shall be overcome. ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors"
What is the highest hope that he mentions? It is the self-realization of the rebel Christ, the intimate Christ of the Superhuman within us. This should be the source of our highest thoughts and aspirations. So this path is learned and predicated upon one principle: it is that our current state as intellectual animals is but a bridge to the divine, a means to an end.
Thus live your life of obedience and war. What matters long life? What warrior wants to be spared? ―Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On War and Warriors"
So why should we want to be attached to a long life of debility, of complacency with wrong, of ego? What warrior wants to spare his ego? He or she instead has to fight a very difficult battle, a cruel war to the death, in the words of Samael Aun Weor.
I do not spare you; I love you thoroughly, my brothers in war! 
Collective Mind and Individuality
We are going to examine a couple of principles that are very important when we want to ground ourselves, in evaluating our internal state, as well as examining certain faults and errors that we can rectify even on a basic level.
We have the collective mind. These are distinctive types of thinking within individuality, in which we can find numerous examples within humanity. Any type of group thinking, a collective of thoughts, especially that which we can find in religions and political ideologies, relates to tendency of the animal mind: to belong to a group. However, merely going along with the flow of others does not guarantee that we know where we are at, or we know what we are doing. Religions tend to be very popular, because, as I said, they do not teach you the Buddhist Annihilation: they do not teach the death of the self. We find collective mind in relation to any type of school or system, we can say, and of course we can find it in Gnosis too, as with any spiritual group where we attend, because we feel a sense of belonging. Of course, the spiritual community is beautiful and necessary, but it important to transcend that. We have to learn to become individuals. An individual evaluates, discriminates, and understands diverse teachings, diverse paths, knowledge, wisdom. It means to really understand the anatomy of one’s inner Being. Individuality is a very sacred thing, says Samael Aun Weor. Right now, we have a multiplicity of mind. In one moment, our anger emerges. We feel pride, then vanity follows with its own thoughts, feelings, and impulses. Suddenly we are overtaken by fear, instinct, desire. Our life tends to be pushed and pulled around by multiple aggregates. So in truth, because we have a multiplicity of conflicting desires, we can state with clarity that we do not yet possess individuality, and this is something very important to recognize from experience, not merely to accept as a belief, but to accept as a crude reality. So long as we are not integral, in that we do not unify parts of the consciousness that are trapped in these different defects, it means that we are not going to be unified in our will, in our efforts. We are 97% ego according to Samael Aun Weor. We have 3% of consciousness that is free, which needs to be freed and awakened, so that by working on the rest of our faults, we begin to awaken more and more consciousness, from conditioned self to unconditioned perception. In this way, we start to become unified, singular, whole. When we are a multiplicity, our minds become diverted and diluted through attachments, through prejudices, through beliefs, through concepts of mother flag, of countries, of schools, of religions, orders, and sects. Humanity is very invested in belonging to a group, even though the ideologies they think are contradicting others, or aggressively assert dominance over others. This is animal tendency that you find in the animal kingdom. It is not a quality of a real human being. Human beings respect the will of others. One does not assert their way of thinking, feeling, and acting upon any other individual. This is very important, because without recognizing the multiplicity of our distractions, we become fascinated. The most a spiritual school can give you are teachings and practices that can really help you to change, to acquire knowledge for yourself, experience for yourself, to learn to think, and feel, and understand for yourself. Therefore we do not believe in anything. We are not here to teach you to believe in these principles. These are something you can verify from experience. It is a fundamental axiom in nature and reality, but in order to do that we have to overcome many ancestral prejudices and fears. The fear of “I won’t belong if I teach, or study, or practice this type of knowledge.” This is a very common sentiment for a lot of people. In a chapter of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, it is spoken about very beautifully, in probably the best writing of his book, called On the Way of the Creator. You can access the article on our website, where you feel the pain when really entering in to yourself, reflectively and changing your errors, how people around you see that you are not who you used to be, and so that can become a real source of conflict, of struggle. But it is important to reflect upon our experiences, our consciousness, to merely not accept, or to believe, or disbelieve anything, but to verify, to experiment, to evaluate, to perceive, to know. 
Bodhichitta and the Paramitas
So spiritual warriors are not defined by their prowess, their skill, and their ethics, but by their virtue. We must understand that it is not enough to love somebody, to have compassion for somebody, to really feel for someone who is suffering. You have to have effective methods that rectify the problem. Therefore real initiates are examples of humility and of love, conscious love. They have the inspiration to help. You cannot help others if you do not know how. You can have the inspiration to do so, but if you are not trained in expediate means, in their skillful application, in their utility in different contexts, then even our greatest love for others cannot do anything.
You cannot apply such methods when you lack in compassion and are lacking understanding of other people’s suffering. Otherwise, we have selfish motives. We are not seeking to edify the spiritualty of others but seeking to enthrone and idolize our vanity and pride. This is why we study Buddhism especially, specifically bodhichitta and the paramitas. These are essential tenants of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism. बोधिचित्त Bodhichitta means the “enlightened, awakened heart and mind of compassion.” बोधि Bodhi means “enlightened” in Sanskrit: “wisdom,” “awakened,” “awakening.” धित्त Chitta means “mind,” “heart,” or “aim.” This traditionally has to do with in Buddhist studies, the divine aspiration to work for self-realization, perfection, to bring others out of suffering, and the पारमिता paramitas are the principles and the laws that help one to achieve that in a very systematic, divine and practical way. We recommend reading The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva especially, or The Path of the Bodhisattva of Course, on Glorian.org. In truth these पारमिता paramitas refer to “that which has reached the other shore.” It is the quality of consciousness that one has to really enact in order to have power over oneself, one’s spirit, one’s soul. The first is generosity, to have the longing and the aspiration to help others, to have love for others in a conscious way. However, this has to be developed with ethics. This is why we study many religions and traditions, because we learn not to steal, not lie, not to kill, not to fornicate, not to adulterate. While these are codes that apply to physical life, they also apply to our mind-stream. So even though we might not killing people physically, we kill with a sarcastic look, or a sardonic smile. We can commit fornication or adultery through our gaze. Even Jesus said, “You shall not commit adultery, but anyone who looks after a woman, or the opposite sex out of lust, has already committed adultery within their heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). It is a psychological teaching. Ethics has to do with restraining your defects, and understanding them, but of course, as you working to fulfil these principles, we need patience. It is not easy to endure the reality of our mind. It can be very horrifying. Many people when they see themselves for what they are, they want to run away, and many do. However, when you learn patience, you are enduring your own ego, and also the afflictions of other people, recognizing that other people are not necessarily responsible for their actions. We are all asleep. We all make mistakes. We are not really conscious of what we do. None of us are self-observing and remembering divinity in what we do. We have to recognize that other people are afflicted by a conditioned state of mind, and therefore we have to have compassion for them, and endure their criticism, or their sorrow, or their sarcasm. As you are patiently enduring the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, you learn to enact a heroic effort, diligence, practicing every day, doing your best, studying what you can, applying as much as you can, looking at your mistakes, your faults, but not to be filled with morbidity and shame, but learn to act with superior laws. Heroic effort has to do with willpower, Christ, superior will, divine will. As you are applying your consciousness to different endeavors in life, and you endeavor in concentrative meditation, we focus on one activity or thing without thinking of anything else. This allows us to develop penetrating wisdom or insight, comprehension of a given problem. Study the paramitas. They are very deep. We are going to give a course on the Way of the Bodhisattva at some point, but here we are just giving a brief overview. 
Psychological Equilibrium
What is psychological equilibrium? It is the conscious management of our three brains―the intellect, our emotions, and the motor-instinctual-sexual center. Balance, equanimity, and serenity is necessary if we really want to disarm very unpleasant situations. However, while it is beautiful to develop this and acquire it, maintain it, inner equilibrium is the platform on which genuine insight can arrive.
Without clarity of attention, we cannot perceive clearly. Psychological equilibrium is necessary for true magical operations of self-defense. Obviously we are not going to be perfect in the beginning, but you learn through trial and error how to maintain stability of concentration, and remembrance of divinity as you face different circumstances, different difficult situations. The purpose of the conjurations and the prayers is to stabilize your mind, your emotions, your body, your impulses. You do not begin with perfection, but when you consistently apply these principles when you need them, you learn to balance yourself. Sometimes prayers, and conjurations, and incense are really needed more than other instances of life. However, when you are consistent, we accumulate, and saturate our psychology, our atmosphere, our home, with positive energy. This makes it much easier for us to work. It is like a vacuum in which we can really put in to it our deepest longings, and our home should reflect our spiritual life. We should really make our home like a temple. These energies really support us when we need them most, but learning to balance ourselves takes time. We reach our goals in accordance with the consistency and depth of our practice. So if we get angry or upset throughout the day, we are wasting energy. We lose our balance, even only for a moment. We really have to rely on ethics. We have to curtail desires, thoughts, negative emotions, negative attachments, because we recognize from experience how these certain behaviors make us suffer, make other people suffer. So do not run away from pain. Look at it. You gain balance by looking at it calmly, serenely, and not identifying with it. This is a very delicate skill that takes a lot of time to master, so do not think you are going to get it in a few days, or a few years. But gradually with time, you begin to retrospect and see how your state of being has changed, and this gives us genuine faith. So conscious control is necessary. We should not suppress or justify our ego. Comprehension is a third force. It is when you look at something without giving in to it, or pushing it away, but to fully understand its function, this is equanimity, serenity. If you break your ethical discipline and you get mad―as we all do―when you should be kind and considerate, we need to reflect on those egos that manifested in those moments. This is why retrospection meditation is essential. So we need some degree of discrimination, of understanding how to apply the techniques in order for them to work. But just like you are riding a bike, it takes time. It takes practice. You are not going to be perfect. We learn to balance ourselves so that we do not make serious mistakes, and often your divinity will guide you in that process. Without psychological equilibrium, we cannot respond appropriately to life, so this is something that we have to verify for ourselves. When dangerous or difficult situations arrive, we can use the prayers or conjurations of this teaching to protect ourselves. 
Meditation
Meditation is fundamental. We have given different courses on meditation on this site, and also on Glorian.org. We have a variety of different teachings that discuss how to meditate. This is the daily bread of a Gnostic. I am just going to summarize a brief teaching, which gets to the heart of why we practice this science. They are three principles and stage of meditations: discovery, judgment, and execution.
Discovery has to do with identifying our weaknesses. We can only do that when we are observing ourselves actively, looking within as the different impressions of life stream within our consciousness, and we learn to observe our different egos that arrive spontaneously, without expecting it in the moment. We have to see that we are separate from the ego, separate from desire. We need to discover that when you are not the ego, when you are not desire, you gain a quality of joy, because you recognize that fault, which you can meditate upon later, or even then―depending on your circumstances―so that you can enter into judgment. Judgment is when you close all your senses. You introspect within to ask, invoke divinity. You can do mantras or pranayama, transmutation exercises to calm your mind, and you visualize the different events of your day. You review them. You retrospect so you can look at the facts: what defects emerged in a certain situation. Examine the ones that you discovered, and in this way, as you are reflecting upon them, praying for inner guidance and understanding, your Divine Mother can provide you with judgment, discrimination, conscious understanding of the fault. When you have comprehended an ego you ask for elimination. You pray for it. You can do so within the meditation itself or within alchemy if you are married. Study The Revolution of the Dialectic, and the Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology as well as The Great Rebellion. These books explain this process very beautifully. 
Transmutation
Transmutation is also essential. The preservation of the lifeforce is the source of virtue. So the word virility, sexual potency, relates to virtue, to become a वीर्य virya, the Sanskrit term for a warrior. You cannot really go against your defects if you are feeding them, and the main one is lust.
This is why within the teachings we speak very openly and clearly about the need to refrain from orgasm, to refrain from lustful activities, but also not just only conserving that energy, but also transforming it, directing it with will. It is not enough to be abstinent, to retain the sexual energy and not do anything with it. If you put gasoline in a car and do not drive it for three to six months, eventually the gasoline will degrade, and the same thing happens to people spiritually. When that energy is not in use, is not flowing up the spine through intentional practices, or deep devotion, and listening to classical music and prayers, then that energy is going to devolve. Conserve that energy. Raise it up your spine. You can use mantras and vocalizations of the chakras to direct that energy towards those centers. You can do pranayama, sexual alchemy. We also have some resources at the end that you can rely on, to study more deeply about this, but transmutation is simply how we carry over and transform the brute entity of our sexual matter into a spiritual force. It is what gives us virtue. It is virility, the very essence of a spiritual warrior. If you lose the energy, then you have lost the battle, so to speak, or lost the skirmish, depending on the magnitude of the fault. But if you wish to become like a Valkyrie, a warrior of Valhalla, according to Nordic mythology, we learn to drink the ambrosia form the horn of the gods, which is a symbol of sexual potency. 
Cleanliness and Health
We should also take care of our body, our home, and our cleanliness. It is important to get enough exercise in our day, and to manage our diet well, to be as balanced as we can, to engage in constructive activities. I would like to relate some words for you from The Yellow Book by Samael Aun Weor where he explains some principles about this which are simple but very effective, very important to realize:
The Gnostic must be temperate. He must not slander people. He should not be gluttonous or lazy.
Specifically, our diet, our needs, our temperament are going to be unique, but we have to find what works for us in terms of a regiment, health, cleanliness, and balanced diet. We need purity of mind, body, and heart. Take care of our home. Let our home be a temple. Every time you come home, it should be a place of inspiration and comfort for you. If it is disorganized, in disarray, if it is chaotic―change it. Take small steps. Start with one room. Tidy it up in accordance with your time and ability, and make the effort to create a space where you can really thrive.
Take care of your health. Do not smoke. Do not drink alcohol. Obviously, do not do drugs, because these elements condition the consciousness. They do not awaken the free consciousness but awaken that which is trapped within defects. So this is an obvious thing. 
Harmony with Superior Laws
It is also important to be in harmony with superior laws. We have to understand how karma works. We need to remember that actions create related consequences, that there is certainty with cause and effect. If we act with an inferior state of mind and being, we will suffer, and make others suffer.
Likewise, the consequences are greater than the action. This is the second principle of karma. Sometimes we like to think that our actions are meaningless, and we may feel doubt, but the truth is that just as you throw a stone in to a lake, your action reverberates within nature. It expands towards other beings, and so the consequences are going to magnify and amplify. For example, if we have an angry person speaking to an audience on television, you can have millions of people become upset, and this is very easy to see when looking at the news where we see politicians and political figures who say what they say and provoke the multitudes and the consequences thereof. So, the consequences are greater than the actions. If we act positively, then are our actions will produce beneficial results. It will magnify. It will amplify. A third principle of karma is that you cannot receive the consequences of something without its corresponding action, and this is important, because if you want to be in harmony with your Being, you have to fulfil the causes for their fruition. You cannot realize divinity if you do not practice, if you do not really make efforts in daily life, if you do not fulfil ethical conduct. The fourth principle of karma, which is the last which Tsongkhapa gives in his Lam Rim Chenmo: Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, states: “Once an action is performed, a consequence cannot be erased.” So we cannot take back the bullet. It is impossible. When an action is performed, it is permanent. However, there is a superior law, which is forgiveness, which is mercy. A superior law transcends an inferior law. So even if we make a mistake, really, if we have a lot of remorse and repentance, we can rectify it if we act consciously, and in this way we can avoid many consequences that are painful. We can avoid the law of retribution, of coercion, of pain. 
Intellectual CultureWhosoever works in realization of the Self is liable to do foolishness. ―Samael Aun Weor, Tarot and Kabbalah
It is important that when we study these teachings that we have a broad and deep sense of the different aspects of this knowledge. While Samael Aun Weor mentioned how we should avoid intellectualism and overly relying in the mind, it is important that we study different aspects of this teaching in relation to our spiritual life. We can read in our life, but we can apply and meditate on its meaning. People who do not have an intellectual sense of what these teachings involve create a lot of problems. This is evident in many spiritual communities where people, who only study a partial aspect of this doctrine or their religion while neglecting the rest, can become very fanatical and judgmental.
It was very common in Western esoteric traditions where people were developing clairvoyant powers: the ability to see into other people’s minds, especially―imagination we could say. The problem was because people did not study the teachings, were not educated, they saw things in people that were very blasphemous and disturbing, and therefore judged those people physically. Sometimes there have been people who have had dreams about their neighbor. Mistaking their dreams for reality, they ended up slandering that person in the physical world, condemning them as a black magician, a criminal, an adulterer, or a fornicator etc.―even when these people were completely innocent. We have to learn how to question what we perceive, but the only way you are going to do that is when we know what the diverse prophets and teachers emphasized in the scriptures. For us, we use Samael Aun Weor’s writings because they are most explicit, but even then they are people who do not read what Samael wrote, and they teach and practice this doctrine, but continue to gossip to other people, referring to them as sorceress, demons, and black magicians. This type of behaviour has destroyed many groups. It is very sad. The truth is that someone who is educated in ethics and Theosophy, and Rosicrucianism and compassion, principles and truths and scriptures, not from an intellectual position alone, but from experience, that person is not going to be fooled easily. By looking at a certain phenomenon through someone’s imagination or clairvoyance―without the influence of the ego, but with the remembrance of the advice of the prophets―one gains comprehension that is very deep, and therefore does not really attack others. I believe there is a saying by Ibn ‘Arabi. He is one of many Sufi masters, the greatest of his tradition, who said that even if you know that someone is a devil, a demon, Satan, it is wrong to go out into the public and condemn them. “By their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:16). You cannot judge anybody. I do not go around calling people black magicians. I do not go around publicly doing that, even though I have had experiences with certain people and certain groups where black magic was very common. It is important not to judge people. If you are waking up consciously, then study the teachings. You are not going to be fooled easily. Instead, we develop an intellectual culture. I would like to read a few quotes from the book Sexology by Samael Aun Weor, where he explains these principles very beautifully, explicitly, in that the clairvoyant is not responsible for seeing people as demons: The clairvoyant is not to blame for those errors. The cause of all those errors is the lack of intellectual culture and the lack of respect towards our neighbor.
Our perceptions can be easily influenced by other people. An example of this is when a family member can relate an experience they had with a former friend. We can even hear such a narrative and we even crystalise such an image in our mind about such a person. Therefore, we see them as bad, unethical, etc. Therefore, we have many bad impressions of people that we have never met, or have never known, and this is a very common phenomenon. All this is unconscious.
But there are people who exist, black magicians who know how to influence the mind of others. They know how the mind functions, and therefore they have a lot of tactics and utility to impact, to manipulate people consciously, in evil. So be careful. But at the same time, do not be paranoid. Study the teachings. Apply them, and do not judge other people by what you can see, because even if so-and-so may be a black magician attacking you, causing you harm, you have to look inside your own mind to see if you are sinless, because “let he who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7). 
White and Black Magic
Finally, we will talk about white magic. People who are in military training study different disciplines to be well-rounded. When they study combat training, they may study a verity of fighting martial arts disciplines, exercises, so that they can be skilled, to apply different remedies in certain situations so that they can neutralize threats.
The important thing to remember is that these practices are not a game. They are very powerful, and when you apply them with energy and consciousness, you get results. These rituals are exceptional, and it is important to bear in mind that we need to treat them with respect. The following is from Samael Aun Weor in The Perfect Matrimony: All rituals have to do with blood and semen. Ritual is a double-edged sword that defends and gives life to the pure and virtuous, but hurts and destroys the impure and tenebrous. Ritual is more powerful than dynamite and the knife.
Testing and experimenting just for the sake of doing it does not really produce anything, so we have to work with exercises consistently, daily, like with elemental magic, ceremonial magic, and even sexual magic (just once a day if you are married). We do not get results if we are intermittent, but if we are disciplined. All these practices help to accumulate the Christic force, nuclear energy, so that when we are conscious and wielding those force with intelligence and wisdom, we really procure the benefit and healing of humanity.
Conclusion and Resources
In conclusion we have a few books. If you want to know more about the role of these exercises and how to really go against your own mind, study The Revolution of the Dialectic, but also The Major Mysteries by Samael Aun Weor. These teach you about a lot of practical techniques, and ritualistic exercises, especially in The Major Mysteries, that when combined with meditation, produce marvellous results, so that we can really advance quickly, with patience and with love.
So at this point and time I would like to open up the floor for questions. Questions and Answers
Question: Can you speak a bit on not allowing yourself to be a doormat for abuse, but practicing patience with those who are aggressive?
Instructor: It is a great question. There is a fine balance to be found in each circumstance. It is important to remember that we need to forgive other people, even when it is very difficult, when it is painful. Samael Aun Weor mentioned how our progress is determined based on our forgiveness for others. Now we have to forgive people, to have compassion for them, to understand why they acted in ways that are harmful and mistaken ways, and we have to learn to patient, to learn how to endure certain situations that we cannot change. But if there is something that we can do, then we should definitely act, not with anger, not with pride, not with aggression, not with coercion. We have to learn “to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16) according to the Gospels. To be wise as a serpent means to learn how to direct the sexual energy, without harming others. That is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. If you find that a situation or a relationship is very toxic for you, it would be good to end it, but you have to really meditate and understand what the consequences are thereof. But there are situations that you cannot change no matter what: your job, or what life may be leading you towards. We can learn to patiently endure the abuses of others when we have understanding of their situation. Now being a doormat is one thing. We can really yield to people, and attempt and work to perfect a space within ourselves so it is not afflicted by all of this, but if you find that you cannot transform the situation well, that it is creating more problems for you, then it could be good to give yourself some space if you need to or try to. But if there is nothing that you can do, obviously, we must endure it. But if there is something we can do, then it is contingent on us to act appropriately, with the love and respect, that we would long for another person to give to us in the same situation if we were the aggressor. So if there is physical violence, then you need to get out of the situation, obviously. That is a serious problem, but in terms of emotional abuse, too, that can be challenging. You must gauge your heart. What does your Innermost want you to do in such a situation? That is why meditation is so essential. There is not a perfect answer for every single circumstance, but you want to gauge in yourself your own capacity for transforming a situation, and if you cannot, then find some space, time, and ability in which you can, and go to your Innermost to guide you in how you can approach such a person in the physical world. Your Innermost can show you in meditation what you need to do. Rely on the wisdom of your Being, because He can provide you, really, a lot of comfort. When you know what divinity wants from you the situation dissolves, there is no pain there. It is usually when we are uncertain about what we need to do in life that we struggle, and churn in the mud, so to speak. I hope that answers your question. Question: Can you speak a bit on the ego? What is it exactly, and how to use it in its proper form? Instructor: We explained in the courses on psychology how the ego is all of that which we identify with. It is a conditioned state of being. It is anger, pride, vanity, lust, envy, laziness, defects―everything that is wrong that creates problems for us. The consciousness is the soul that, for most of us, is trapped in large proportions within the ego, desire. The ego says: “I want, I need, I desire.” It acts selfishly. The consciousness knows how to act for the benefit of others. It is constituted by the virtues of our inner divinity. I recommend that you study Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, especially. That will help clarify for you what the ego is, what the self is, what is the consciousness, and what is the personality, especially. You can also study The Great Rebellion, which is a wonderful companion book by Samael Aun Weor, to the text I mentioned. Question: When you speak on judging others, can you elaborate more on judging others, versus recognizing others by their actions? Would that not be then a form of judging? Instructor: Yes, it is a very good question. It is a very nuanced thing. You have to examine your mind. Obviously, we can make observations about people that are very accurate, and obviously, people can make observations about us that are even more accurate, because in truth, people tend to see us and other people more accurately that we see ourselves. We tend to be very blindsided by our own predispositions, character traits, habits etc. The ego judges people, makes a concept, an idea, a belief, an assumption, an attitude of another person based on a perception, but those perceptions tend to be very flawed. They are not objective. They are usually conditioned by our own defects like anger and pride, which might see a fault in others that is not necessarily there, and in truth it is a common thing where the very fault that we project in others is really a reflection in our own mind that we refuse to see in ourselves, and that which we label onto other people. However, a clairvoyant like Christ, or Buddha, or Muhammad, masters who really annihilated all their ego, they are able to see people very objectively, clearly. They do not judge people. They do not judge other people. They do not criticise them, or assume such and such is a demon, or a sorcerer or a black magician. It is one of those qualities that Christ, as a mentioned in an earlier quote, does not have an “I,” and therefore does not judge or slander people. Now we have to judge ourselves, judge our own defects, and be very critical with our own selves, not as an ego saying: “I am such a bad person,” feeling shame, but looking objectively with our own conscious abilities, our own conscience. But in reality, a master who has no ego, seeing other people clearly for who they are, they do not judge them. This is why Jesus said to the Pharisees and Mary Magdalene, when people were trying to stone her: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” He said to Mary Magdalene when the Pharisees left: “I do not judge you, but go and do not sin again.” That is comprehension. That is love. One can be strong and severe with another person, but without judging them, but that takes a lot of development and skill, and unfortunately with a lot of us it is not something that we can manifest. Question: Did you say that married people can benefit from having sex once a day? Instructor: Married couples can practice sexual alchemy only once a day, no more. So there is a certain pause that needs to be fulfilled, a Creative Magnetic Pause in which the couple’s energies settle, subside, rejuvenate, and regenerate after practicing alchemy. You can study that in The Mystery of the Golden Flower by Samael Aun Weor. People who enter the sexual act more than once a day, more than once every 24 hours, they create a great crime. They violet the law of the Holy Spirit, which is chastity, because one can only practice once a day. Those energies must stabilize, and balance, and harmonize, especially when it has been transmuted by the couple. Study The Mystery of the Golden Flower, that explains that concept really well. Comment: I realize that in the war against myself, my lack of willpower against lust, I feel like I am on a roller coaster going up and down. Instructor: That is very common for people in the beginning, but with consistent practice and application, when you really begin to renounce lust and eliminate its causes, you gain a temperance and stability which is really profound, and that begins to emanate, pervade, and penetrate every aspect of your life. So be patient. Do not give up. You can develop serenity, temperance, and stability when you really commit to chastity, and if you make mistakes, obviously rectify them. Change them, but more importantly, prevent them. In that way you really avoid the roller coaster going up and down. Things begin to settle in your mind stream, even to the point that when you have difficult situations in life, you do not get phased by them. You can confront them with dispassion, and conscious will. Question: When you say the Being cannot give you more than you can handle, I do not see how this is true when many people have fatal tragic ends, such as all those who commit suicide. How can one reconcile these opposites? Instructor: The sad reality is that people, first off, do not have the teaching. This is changing, obviously, because of different websites, and different videos, and lectures given openly to humanity. So this knowledge is more accessible now than it ever has been. But also there is more conflict, more pressure, more suffering on this planet than there has ever been. When I was referring to the fact that the Being gives us what we can handle, I am referring to when people are really diligent with chastity. That energy is the conduit, the key that allows your Being to act within you. It might seem blasphemous, but divinity cannot help us if we cannot help ourselves. If we do not have that foundation with the creative energy, then obviously we cannot be guided. That sexual energy is the power to create, and when we give it to divinity, He and She has the power to handle our situation, and therefore can handle our karma in a way that is really intelligent, because really, we are a part of divinity, the Being. We are a consciousness that has the ability to follow divine will, or the egotistic will, but without that foundation, divinity cannot really enter into us. We have to suffer the consequences of our actions, and obviously people who commit suicide are suffering terribly, have suffered terribly, but people have a choice in how they behave ethically. The solution is if people are suffering that type of trauma or feel suicidal, obviously, they need to get professional help. I have known instructors and people with whom I teach that have some professional backgrounds in mental health, who have given a course on Spiritual and Mental Health on our website. We are going to talk more in depth about these types of problems, but people who commit suicide, because of really big egos, have really disconnected themselves severely, and therefore, because they cannot connect themselves with divinity, they squander the energies that can really give them divine communion. Therefore, they feel very lost. Therefore, they have killed themselves, commit many errors. This is very sad. The way to resolve this issue is to teach people how to work with the energy that gives life, emotionally, mentally, psychologically, spiritually. Once you work with the creative energy, then divinity handles your circumstances, takes it upon Himself to manage the karma that inevitably you would have to pay with pain. Question: Could you speak with a bit more detail on how to reach the Jinn state, and a reference to any instructors who have had any success? Instructor: The Jinn state is a practice in which, similar to astral projection, we enter the internal worlds. With astral projection, it is something very common. People do it all the time, but unconsciously. Physically, you go to sleep, and your consciousness leaves the body and enters the world of dreams: the fifth dimension in the Kabbalah known as הוד Hod, the astral world. However, people tend to go into that dimension unconsciously to experience their dreams, projections of their subconscious state, and upon returning to the body, either remember nothing, or have some scattered recollection of an inner experience or dreams, which tend to be very conditioned and dimmed. Jinn science is much more different. Actually, we could say in Jinn science, you take your physical body in to the astral world, the internal worlds. You enter, with your body, hyperspace, the fourth dimension. Now, the fourth dimension relates to the etheric world, יסוד Yesod in Kabbalah. It is the vital, sexual creative energy. It is the energetic potential that permeates all of space and is the functionality of time itself. The fourth dimension is time and space: hyperspace. It is the energy that permeates all physical matter, which is reflected in even the mountains such as the blue color of the earth, which is the etheric, vital aura, the vital depth of the physical earth itself. All our physical bodies have a vital body as well. It is what gives us chemistry, vitality, metabolism, catabolism, digestion, circulation. All the life and vital forces that we have in our body is the realisation of our vital depth, and certain medicines like the Taoist practices, or acupuncture, study the vital body very well. But in a deeper sense, you can learn how to integrate your physical body through the vital conduit of your vital double to enter the fourth dimension with your physical body. 
There are different practices that you can do. Primarily, you rely on your Divine Mother and faith. This is something that is usually considered with a lot of doubt by people, because it sounds very fantastic, but in a sense, Jinn science is in the story of Prophet Muhammad who ascended the seven heavens with his physical body. He travelled from Mecca to Jerusalem by meditating on the stone, which is a symbol of working with that vital energy, the sexual creative force, and he went physically. This is a commonly accepted belief amongst the Muslims, but it is something we must verify through experience.
Jinn science is something very sacred, and it is not displayed to the public because it is a very private thing. People are very sceptical and have very materialistic doubts about how one can travel with the physical body into the internal worlds, something that seems very outlandish. But if you study and practice the techniques given by Samael Aun Weor, in which he provides ways of approaching this science―all of which come from working with the creative sexual energy―you can experience these realities. Personally, I have worked with Jinn science, and I have had results. I am not going to talk about what I have experienced because it is too sacred. But it works. Question: How can I strengthen my willpower against lust? 
Instructor: I recommend that you work with the Rune Dorn. Study the runes, such as the Magic of the Runes by Samael Aun Weor. The Rune Dorn is exceptional, and it is the rune, or the energetic yogic exercise, by which you adopt the posture of your right hand on your right hip, heels together in a military style, left hand to the side.
You pray to your inner divinity to give you strength, to teach you willpower, of Christ’s divine will, so as to help you overcome lust. This rune helps you transmute sexual energy. It helps you to accumulate a Christic force: atoms of a high voltage that charge your physicality, your vitality, your mind, your heart, your willpower. Your arm forms like a hammer relating to Dorn, the god of war, who is Thor in Nordic mythology, but also the Holy Spirit. He is the god of war against desire.
You do the mantras: Ta, Te, Ti, To, Tu, prolonged. Prolong the mantras and focus on the vibration in your chakras. Study especially that book Magic of the Runes. Those exercises are exceptional for helping you train your body, your mind, and your heart to work against lust.
Question: Are you able to speak of the Wim Hoff method as a breathing technique? Is it a form of moving energy, and also the cold therapy to learn from your body how to manage instincts? Instructor: I know some people who practice the Wim Hoff method. I personally have not myself, so I cannot really comment. I know there is some similarities in other teachings such as Tummo yoga where people learn to maintain their physical heat despite cold weather and adversity. There are some really tangible examples of how that is actually fulfilled, but as for Wim Hoff, it is not something that I personally practiced with, so I cannot comment. Question: As we seek answers from our Being, how can we differentiate answers of our Being from our ego? Instructor: It is a good question. I just gave a lecture for the Sufi Principles of Meditation course called Certainty and Insight, where one of the quotes that really stands out from the writings of the Sufis is a saying that is something along the lines of: “The first intuition that arrives in to your consciousness in relation to an experience is the answer.” If your mind and ego struggles and debates about it, then it is probably a projection of your mind, in relation to the first question, the first concern. We learn to differentiate the messages from divinity from our ego by reflecting on the experience we are considering, especially, and experience in dreams. We have to analyze:
What are the archetypes present in the dream? What are the symbols and the dramas associated with those symbols? This is why we need to study the doctrine, because we learn the general significance of certain internal representations and archetypes, so that when we experience them, and we feel that natural longing in the soul that there is something deep and meaningful here, then we can learn to interpret without the interference of the ego. But the only way you can discriminate and differentiate what you perceive is by putting your ego completely aside. If you are struggling to understand your inner experiences, you should learn to suspend your senses. Really develop serenity first. Calm the mind. Establish equanimity. Let your mind settle, and abandon your body, heart, and mind. Let them all be still, and then direct your will and visualize the experience. When you are looking at the experience without any type of anticipation or projection of the mind, any type of aversion, the insight, the intuition, emerges spontaneously, usually in combination with another experience, so that it can compound and add to your understanding of the dream. But also you gain insight by putting everything subjective aside. There is no other way. Be patient because it takes practice. When you really learn the suspension of the senses, suspension of the mind, and the heart, and really concentrate will with serenity and peace, you can start to see things in a new way. Question: How does one work with their sexual energy when they are celibate, and one does not have a partner? Instructor: We have many exercises for single people. I know many people get concerned when they study The Perfect Matrimony by Samael Aun Weor where he talks about how a marriage is necessary for entering the higher stage of initiation, but this does not mean that single people cannot begin to work. Celibacy itself, merely restraining the sexual energy, is one thing that a lot of people do practice in traditions of yoga, but unfortunately what is lacking from those methods is the key practices to transmute the energies that one is conserving. You can study The Perfect Matrimony especially, by Samael Aun Weor. You can also read The Yellow Book where you can learn practices of pranayama. Pranayama is the method where you interchangeably breathe through your nostrils to circulate the sexual energy. So as a single person you can practice this daily for as long as you want. There is no danger in that. In fact, the more the merrier. The more energy you have, the more calmness of mind you will experience, especially when you are working and you are controlling your ethics. The Yellow Book especially is good. Kundalini Yoga by Samael Aun Weor is exceptional for that, for single people, and you can also study a lecture that we called Pranayama and Sexual Transmutation. It is in the Gnostic Meditation Course. Question: Could you speak about the difference of discrimination and judging another, and letting another know what you observe in them for their benefit? Instructor: I think the important thing to remember is that we should be very judgmental of ourselves, and we should be very cautious about how we approach other people. If we have even a tinge of desire in our action, it is going to be corrupt, even if our observation is right. We need to learn to balance our interactions with people with internal work. We can only really benefit another person when we know how to communicate with them in relation with their inner world. Nietzsche even said something very beautifully in Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “The smallest [narrowest] cleft is the most difficult to bridge.” And he was talking about relationships with people. We may not be far away from someone. We may be face to face with someone, and our minds can be worlds apart. Since our minds are 97% ego, we need to be very cautious. We are probably going to be judging the other person, even if we do see things that are objective, but if you have the time, ability, and circumstance to help someone, and if they ask you for your help especially, then offer your observations without coercion―just being open, and honest, and sincere, but following your intuition. It is your heart that will tell you the right way to behave, not your mind. Question: If divinity cannot help those who cannot help themselves, how do we help them, and hold compassion without becoming an ailment? Instructor: With these teachings we can learn to become vehicles of divinity, and through our example, we help others learn to become vehicles for their divinity. So if someone is suffering, and because we have the knowledge and training with these methods, we can learn to be really efficacious with these people. We have to have compassion for people, but also to know effective ways if helping others. Obviously, we have different careers, and I know people who have worked in different jobs where helping people is very difficult, because certain circumstances are disastrous and catastrophic. Compassion does not mean complacency. When you really love someone and you are really affected by it, we do not enable people to commit harm, meaning: we act in ways where we enable their consciousness to act virtuously, to speak to people’s soul. If we are just watching people suffer and not doing anything about it, obviously there is a problem, but if you want to know about how to help people best, it really depends on whatever the circumstances is, whatever the problem is. This is why we have to really put our mind aside, and we have to develop conscious clairvoyance, understanding others by understanding our own internal world first. But in many cases, the divinity of a person cannot help them because there is so much ego. There is so much conditioning there, but let me remind you of the story of Beelzebub, and how Samael Aun Weor helped convert him. You can read it in The Revolution of Beelzebub, where Samael Aun Weor communicated with the Innermost of this prince of demons in the internal worlds, and the inner Being of Beelzebub said that he is trying to help His soul because he is not listening to Him, therefore he needed help from Samael Aun Weor to help teach that soul. So we can become a vehicle in which our divinity speaks to another person, but in order for that, we need to get out of the way. Let divinity act through us. In that way, we do not enable people, and we do our best to diminish harmful circumstances. There is an add on to that question… Question: I am specifically referring to the mentally-ill, of the population which is growing wider by the day. Instructor: So yeah, that is a very challenging job. I know of one Gnostic instructor who was actually a mental health coach, a counsellor, who eventually made the decision to leave that type of job because it was very draining. It can be very challenging, but if it is a person’s mission to do that type of work, obviously there is more honor in that, especially if it is a very humiliating and difficult job. People who are mentally ill obviously have to be treated professionally, but also we have many methods that we use in our tradition that can help. Study the book Sexology: The Basis of Endocrinology and Criminology by Samael Aun Weor, but also you can study our ongoing course on Spiritual and Mental Health, where we are going to approach this issue more didactically, because there is a lot of people who are working in these fields that need help. There is a previous question about: how do we discriminate between judging another person and letting another know what you observe in them for their benefit? This question continues… Question: I ask because since we are generally 97% ego, we would not have great progress in discrimination. Sometimes a situation does not allow us to have comprehension in all 49 levels of the mind. Is this where we have to forgive and be patient with ourselves, acknowledging the sincere desire to help, but also acknowledging that egos are functioning in that as well? Instructor: Yes. Be patient with yourself. Do not beat yourself up. If you made a mistake, OK. Learn from it. Make the changes that you can. We have to be hard on the ego, but we also have to know when to really be calm in our mind and heart, to forgive ourselves for our errors. Question: How do we grow and keep faith in our Being, and to keep hope despite the darkness, especially when we are so blind, deaf, and ignorant? Having real hope and strength to keep going is hard when our Being has isolated us from others, and we cannot see the changes in us that we intuitively know that we need, and we are struggling. Doing deep ego work is exhausting, realizing how we lie to ourselves. Was it an attempt to help ourselves and look for love etc.? But of course the ego can never do this. It is the cause of our problems. When we have too little to no contact with others, not of our own choice, but keeping faith and help is hard, even with bread and wine: the Eucharist, the ritual of the Gnostic Unction is difficult. The work hurts, and realizing all of our mistakes, our foolishness and pain is difficult, etc. Instructor: My suggestion is that whenever you become very morbid, filled with pessimism, and doubt, and pain, shame or loneliness, or a feeling of deficiency or inadequacy, we have to go into meditation, not because it is something that we are told to do, but from the necessity. We gave a lecture in the Sufi Principles of Meditation called Repentance. We talked a lot in that lecture precisely about that question, how when we feel pain, and when we see no light at the end of the tunnel, we have to recognize and remember certain principles in relation to repentance. Having remorse is one thing. It is necessary, but having shame and morbidity is something else. It is an egotistical quality. The truth is that when you discover egos in yourself, and that they are separate from you, the consciousness feels joy. There is great happiness in the cathedral of the soul of the one which repents, because the person who has never made a mistake, cannot celebrate as one who failed before and then changed. There is a great joy when we recognize our faults from the consciousness, not from an ego, not from the mind labelling it and calling it a horrible defect, and “I am a horrible person,” or “I am a failure as a Gnostic,” “or I am not good enough for these teachings etc.” That is all lies. Do not listen to your mind. Study the chapter in the Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology called Negative Thoughts. It is a powerful chapter that address everything that you talked about. So usually when we are alone by ourselves, the worst egos emerge. The only resolution that you will find, the only peace you will find is by remembering God. If you just focus on your defects, on your aggregates, on your own desires, and faults, and failings, then we become one-sided. We have to reflect on both sides of the issue. Reflect on your issues, reflecting on those things that you do well. Meditate on compassion. Meditate on love. Meditate on happiness, contentment, even despite adversity. Reflect on your consciousness, because if you just focus on your own negative states of mind, we become very imbalanced, and this is harmful. So, focus on both, in balance and harmony. Question: Where can we find details regarding the Vajroli Mudra energizing exercise? Instructor: You find that in Sacred Rites for Rejuvenation by Samael Aun Weor. Any more questions? I thank you all for attending, and I wish you a wonderful rest of your night! 
It is my pleasure to serve as your instructor for Defense Against the Dark Arts. While a serious topic, we begin with an amusing reference to Harry Potter to emphasize two things. While white and black magic have captivated audiences in our popular media, entertainment, and movies, the reality, despite its cute and intriguing representation, is a crude reality. But more importantly when studying this topic, we should always maintain our humor.
Too many people, when approaching the study of light and darkness, white and black magic, have been filled with intense fear, anxiety, paranoia, or even morbidity, anger, distress. Ironically, people who experience psychic attacks often become very enraged, filled with hate for their persecutors. What such people ignore fundamentally that these are weaknesses, which are exacerbated and utilized by negative forces. We can only be manipulated so long as we have the ego, so long as we have conditions of mind. Therefore, to overcome temptations and attacks, we must conquer our own vulnerabilities, our own psychology. The purpose of this lecture is to identify various types of psychological attacks, but more importantly, what the remedies are. But let us provide some contexts. Within the literature of Samael Aun Weor, who is the founder of the Gnostic Tradition in which we study, countless initiates like him make ample references to what are known as black magicians, black magic, demons, sorcerers, witches, warlocks, etc. In truth, there have always existed and always will exist two lodges, which are constantly in eternal struggle: the white and the black. The White Lodge is constituted by beings who develop and express divinity for the benefit of humanity. The term white does not refer to race, but to the conditions or purity of the psyche, whereas the Black Lodge is a reference specifically to the dullness, the heaviness of desire, conditions, impurity. What is the Black Lodge? In truth, it is both collective, but more importantly, it is individual to us. There exists Black Lodges where people dedicate themselves towards what is known as mystical fornication, which is the expulsion of the sexual energy for the egotistical acquisition of power. We are also a Black Lodge as individuals, as people. This is due to the fact that our own subconsciousness, our own unconsciousness, our own infraconsciousness affects us without us even knowing. So, while we maybe interested in these studies, the truth is that we have the ego. We may not be aware that we carry these tendencies, but that does not mean that they are not there. If you are seriously working with the practices of this tradition, you will start to see how we all carry affliction within, the causes of suffering that many people like to blame others of possessing. As we strive for spiritual edification, ethical advancement, there are many obstacles that present themselves. These are always, in most cases, of a psychological nature. Anyone who studies and practices Gnosis eventually faces hardship. It is inevitable because the neophyte aspires to perfect him- or herself. The law of karma provides ordeals. These are situations that are very difficult, which tests our sincerity, not out of punishment, or out of blind retribution, but to help us discover our defects. Without hardships, you cannot discover your faults, the secret causes of pain. In truth, many scriptures relate this process. They always describe how divinity always tests the disciple. Yet for most people, facing hardship becomes an excuse to leave the teachings, to run away, much like the character Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potter series. People do not like challenges. They do not want to be afraid, to face uncertainty, to be in struggle. People see how their life is falling apart. Maybe they lose their job, or their spouse, family members, friends, and then they blame Gnosis. They say, “This is ruining my life!” However, what people ignore, or what those people ignore, is that the teachings are working. Without challenges, we cannot grow. As Rumi stated: How can you be polished like a mirror if you resist every rub? ―Rumi
This is why we learn spiritual self-defense. It is inevitable that when we awaken positively, our consciousness, as we seek to understand ourselves, we begin to perceive a terrible dichotomy. It is a struggle between two opposing factors: our unconditioned, free consciousness, the Essence, and our own conditions of mind, desire, animal ego, pluralized selves, defects, vices, etc. The manner in which our own negativity, our defects, our egos, obstruct our development is known with the term resistance. I will read for you a quote from Samael Aun Weor in The Revolution of The Dialectic:
Resistance is the opposing force. Resistance is the secret weapon of the ego. Resistance is the psychic force of the ego that is opposed to us becoming conscious of all of our psychological defects. With resistance, the ego tends to leave on a tangent and postulates excuses to silence or hide its error. Due to resistance, dreams become difficult to interpret and the knowledge that one wants to have about oneself becomes clouded. Resistance acts upon a defense mechanism that tries to omit unpleasant psychological errors, so as not to have consciousness of them. In this way, one continues in psychological slavery. ―Samael Aun Weor, The Revolution of the Dialectic
Resistance occurs specifically when we practice chastity. As the former lecturer in this course mentioned, the moment you start to save your creative energy and use it for a spiritual purpose, you immediately face the opposing force, which is resistance, opposition. When we starve our animal impulses and desires, they fight. They do not want to die. They want to feed and to stay alive. The mind has many excuses: “We should fornicate, orgasm, masturbate, sleep around, commit adultery, watch pornography, and do every behavior that feeds and fortifies lust.” Even if we know that these behaviors―if we study these teachings for some time―are mistaken, even from a fundamental understanding and experience in our life, we still have the force of contention within our interior, which still pushes and fights to be expressed, to be nourished, to manifest. This is very painful to see in oneself.
In order to face this resistance, we learn different techniques, which is the purpose of this lecture. The ego knows it is going to die through this work. It is threatened. So it does everything it can to dissuade the sincere aspirant. But not only do we mislead ourselves and are filled with internal conflict, but there are entities and people within the physical and the internal worlds who dislike what we are doing. They do not like the audacity of the aspirants in this teaching, because it is a threat to their agenda. We call these entities―who have developed power in conditioned consciousness, the ego or hell realms―demons. They have power and abilities, but through desire. They have strengthened the cage of their mind. They fortify hatred, pride, vanity, lust, greed. They have abilities. They can travel in the astral plane. They can travel in the fourth dimension. They can manipulate elemental souls of nature. They can influence and coerce the minds of others. They have power and abilities, which for the lay person are very attractive, primarily because we are so hypnotized by our own desires. Likewise, we may assume and feel that we want those abilities, but usually it is for selfish reasons. This is something that is capitalized upon by sorcerers. It is very easy to fool us, because we are so asleep. So these entities see that we are working to eliminate desire and develop abilities within divinity. Obviously, that is a threat. It is the opposite of what they do, and so they push very hard to pull the candidates for initiation away from the path of chastity. So, how do we combat these forces? How do we face them when we are being influenced, manipulated, deceived, coerced? We use prayers. We use our consciousness most especially. We must comprehend and eliminate our own defects. But most importantly, we need to develop the art of happiness. As Samael Aun Weor states in Aztec Christic Magic: Do not worry; cultivate the habit of being happy. ―Samael Aun Weor, Aztec Christic Magic
This is advice from a man who, ever since he entered again upon the path of initiation, has been assaulted by legions of demons, black magicians. The founder of this tradition, Samael Aun Weor, his innermost divinity is the archangel of the planetary influence of Mars. He has been known in Greece by the name Aries, or the God of war against corruption and egotism. The bodhisattva or human soul of the Master Samael Aun Weor, the terrestrial person, was working to achieve self-realization again. In his lifetime, he received death threats, imprisonment and even assassination attempts, many times. He would give congresses and teaching publicly, and the Black Lodge would send many of their disciples and adepts to kill him. However, he always maintained his serenity, his happiness, his composure, and most importantly, his compassion. He knew that sorcery is overcome through conscious love, which is evidenced by his success in converting the demon Beelzebub into a master of the White Lodge. You can read The Revolution of Beelzebub for more details.
At these congresses, where black magicians were sent to murder him, Samael Aun Weor would foil their efforts. He would use the power of his compassion and his serenity. He would greet his enemies and his friends by covering his solar plexus with his left hand and extending his right hand in the form of the gnostic pentagram, saying: “Paz inverencial!” or “Inverencial peace!” “Peace unto your innermost Being!” We know from these studies that this is a form of conjuration, to conjure, to invoke divine forces in order to elevate the souls of people around us, towards divinity, towards the Being. He would always do this at the beginning of lectures and congresses, which practically was a means of disabling these entities, these people, and because the force emanating from his inner Being was so strong, like a battleship moving forward and immovable, these assassins were terrified. They refused to touch him.
We, on the other hand, like to think that we are so strong, are really very weak, because our ego constantly reacts towards criticism and persecution. But in reality, the Intimate Christ responds with love. As Samael Aun Weor states in the book Sexology, the Basis of Endocrinology and Criminology: The “I,” the myself, does not exist within Christ. Christ does not react against calumnies, slaps, mockeries, threats, whippings, etc. Christ overwhelms because of his terrific serenity. When crucified Christ said only, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The “I” does not exist inside the Christ; this is why he neither reacts nor judges anybody. Christ is a perfect clairvoyant who knows how to see with comprehension, without judging, without translating, because he does not have the “I.” Christ is the clairvoyant who sees, comprehends, and knows. Christ is the universal spirit of life incarnated inside Jesus of Nazareth. ―Samael Aun Weor, Sexology: The Basis of Endocrinology and Criminology
This is the fundamental skill, the basis of spiritual self-defense. If you have listened to the first lecture or have read the transcription, you see that the lecture mentioned how your state of mind is the most important key, the essence of protecting yourself. If you respond with consciousness, you can transform even the worst situations into wisdom.
White and Black Magic
Black magic is very common today. We like to believe that witches are an exception, or a few who perform some very strange satanic rituals with a complex or obscure liturgy. While true in the internal planes, we experience attacks of black magic all the time. It is so pervasive and prevalent, that we no longer see it, because it is a part of our society and culture, which we are expected at all times to never question, to never confront. To do so is to be ostracized, to be condemned, like on social media or other outlets in which communication is very open.
People think that these studies are irrational, superstitious, insane, or even cultish. But let me give you some examples of what we are talking about. When someone directs their anger at you, when someone attempts to manipulate or confuse you, to control or confound you, presenting words that do not match with their intentions, he or she is performing black magic. Any action of a person that seeks to direct or inspire you towards egotistical behavior is an act of sorcery. By this definition we can see very clearly that all of us, without exception, are black magicians, sorcerers, demons. In synthesis, magic is merely the influence of the mind, the consciousness, the spirit, over matter. It has nothing to do with circus performances, or public stunts, like making people disappear in a cloud of smoke, or cutting a person in half on stage. Magic constitutes some of our most venerated traditions. It comes from the 5000-year-old Indo-European term magh, which means “priest.” This priesthood is about manifesting the power, the energy, of divinity, to help humanity elevate its consciousness. Specifically, white magic calls upon divinity to influence matter, energy and consciousness in harmony with divine law. It is pure. It is simple. It is not mixed with conditions or desires. Examples of such white magicians includes Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Krishna, all the angels, all the prophets, the masters, the buddhas, the gods. They have power to influence nature for the benefit of others, not for circus tricks, or to impress people, but because they are manifesting divinity in their actions, which is selfless love, kindness, philanthropy, altruism, patience, aspiration, faith. The Bible speaks abundantly about the innumerable supernatural powers of these masters over nature. You simply have to look at the New Testament of Jesus walking on water, or Moses utilizing white magic to free the Israelites. Black magic, on the other hand, is the opposite. It calls upon egotism, selfishness, desire, to intensify the conditions of matter, the conditions of energy and the conditions of perception. So, this is the question that everyone likes to ask: “Who are examples of black magicians?” The truth is that they are everywhere. They are within politics. They are within business. They dominate our movie industry. They work in advertisement. They run our governments, and our religions especially have been influenced by many of these people. We like to think that black magicians are some perverse figures in robes, capes, tunics, tattoos, piercings, and spiked hair. The reality is that black magicians look like everyday people. They often have very sweet and pleasing appearances. Many of them are very kind and have very amiable personalities. This is why it is very difficult for people to discern who is really on the black path. It has to do with the ignorance of not knowing our own psychology and not being able to understand the psychology of others. This ignorance is of great advantage and utility for such people, because if you do not suspect the existence of these types of influences, then you will not protect yourself. So, how do you recognize that there are black magicians? As Jesus said: “By their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20). Where do they get their power? Where do they get their influence? Is it from within? Or is it from others? Black magicians always seek to gratify their desires by stealing energy from people, because they do not create with the sexual energy in themselves. They seek to gain power. They seek energy. They seek attention by manipulating, coercing, and deceiving people. In truth, a black magician is very weak, because they only have power and influence if we consent to give it to them, if we acquiesce our energy and will. A white magician respects the law, respects our will, and therefore does nothing to violate the harmony of nature. But the reality is that black magicians do not think their practice is harmful, and this is the scary thing. They are very ignorant. They say that they give people what they want. They say: “We respect the law because it is an exchange. It is equal.” The reality is that this is a false logic. Feeding one's desires is a violation, because when you condition yourself and others, you create a disharmony, an imbalance within the law. So, while listening to this, knowing the difference between white and black magic can be very tricky. Samael Aun Weor fortunately gave us a very simple clue, a very obvious one, but it is effective. If you want to know the key for discrimination, ask these individuals if they practice chastity: the conservation and sublimation of the sexual energy. Anyone who advises the orgasm is a demon. It does not matter how much they speak of morality, of ethics, of God, of love. If they are expelling their sexual energy, then they have no energy by which to express divinity. They are instead manifesting desire, and if you study the Laws of Manu, the oldest scripture on the planet, or one of the oldest scriptures, it states that desire is never eliminated by feeding it. It only grows stronger like butter added into a fire. So, when you feed desire, it gets stronger. It needs more force, more energy, more attention, and therefore it becomes insatiable. This is a demonic quality. These people or entities, because they expel their own sexual energies, they have to steal it from other people. They cannot create. So this is a futile attempt to balance what they lost. It is very simple. People become very confused. How can someone who speaks eloquently of divinity, of yoga, of Catholicism, of Judaism, of gnosticism, of religion and spirituality, be a black magician? In truth, the weapon they use to mislead people is the intellect. They justify behavior that produces suffering. There are many people who call themselves priests of divinity, and yet they are exercising their will upon others. They violate the freedom of their neighbor's mind. They pollute the minds, the hearts, and even the bodies of their followers. This is very common today. If you look at many religions of the world and see the behavior of the priesthood, it is very shameful. This is because all religions have really divorced themselves from this essential practice, not only to conserve the sexual energy, but to transform it, to use it, to direct it. Abstinence is not enough. We have to conserve that energy and use it with the consciousness, otherwise it builds up and it will feed our own repressed desires. It becomes a big problem, a monster, a demon. So we can act with unconditioned consciousness, which always produces harmony and cohesion. If we act with desire, the ego, the conditioned self, we influence others to act in the same way. Have you ever heard of mob mentality? Rioting? Lynching? Did you hear what happened recently in Washington DC? Crowds impelled by violence. Black magic works upon the collective mind. It uses the noblest ideas to justify hell. Some people hear the term conjuration and they think that “So-and-so, a witch, was conjuring me,” as an example, “so I conjured her back.” Some people have a misconception that this has to do with when a black magician uses very elaborate demonic prayers to hypnotize or influence us. As white magicians, we use prayers to protect ourselves in response. This is true especially in the internal worlds. Physically, it can be a little different. Conjurations have more meaning than a set of words, a sequence of mantras, sacred sounds, or prayers. To conjure comes from the Latin conjurare, “to swear together or bind by oath.” This means simply to influence another to resonate at a particular level of being, whether positive or negative, unconditioned or conditioned, superior or inferior. With this definition, I hope that it is much clearer because there are a lot of misconceptions about what black magic is and what the struggle is in the moment. Struggles between white and black magic occur when a person, intentionally or not, attempts to influence your conditions of mind to get you to act a certain way, to react with pride, with anger, with fear, laziness, resentment, and most especially without you even knowing it, especially the defect of lust. That is the one defect that is capitalized and utilized by our media, television shows, and by the Black Lodge.
Pornography is a huge business which had misled millions of people. It is actually the primary weapon that the Black Lodge has used since the inception of the book The Perfect Matrimony by Samael Aun Weor. Samael Aun Weor was told internally that after writing The Perfect Matrimony, the Black Lodge was going to retaliate, so he waited many years, looking at the news and waiting for someone to talk against him. But in truth, the way that the Black Lodge is fighting against chastity is through that industry, pornography.
So, we have to eliminate these temptations from our daily life, if you really want to be serious, to change, because lust is a cause of suffering. It does not bring harmony and peace with oneself. So, with conjurations especially, there does not to be some sophisticated exchange, or a battle with mystical mantras and words, which is often caricatured in modern media and films like if you’ve seen the Harry Potter series, like Dumbledore versus Voldemort―something fantastic. There is that reality in the internal planes. But more practically for us, this has to do instead with whether or not we respond to egotistical impressions with cognizance, intelligence, and wisdom. “Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves,” says the Bible (Matthew 10:16). Conjurations do not need to be a specific formula, although the best protection that we do have is the Conjuration of Four, the Conjuration of the Seven, the Invocation of Solomon, and Fons Alpha. In order for these conjurations and prayers to work, we have to be awake. We should memorize these prayers, these formulas, because they have a lot of power. They are an emergency distress call to divinity. They grant you access, like a smart phone, to an unlimited access of all sorts of wisdom, of protection, of knowledge. They have a lot of utility. But for any of them to work, you have to be alert and trained in their use. Anyone can pick up a knife, a sword, or a gun. But the question is, are you trained to use them effectively in combat? The same is true with conjurations and prayers. Just because you repeat these prayers, does not mean they will work. In truth, their success lies exclusively in the quality, the precision, the clarity of their application. Specifically, chastity is the power of prayer. If you have no sexual energy cultivated, you simply cannot empower your consciousness. It is like trying to drive a car without fuel. Or you are driving a vehicle and you are asleep at the wheel, and you are not attentive in what you are doing. You simply cannot do it without getting hurt. In truth, your consciousness is the best weapon against any negative influence. In synthesis, conjurations occur when two or more entities encounter each other. They form a type of matrix, a combination or influence of psychological atmospheres, emotional atmospheres, mind, mental influences, whereby a choice is made, whether to follow the conditioned psyche, or unconditioned perception. It is a pact that is made between two people. A psychic battle then, or struggle occurs, when these two different entities meet, one who seeks to manifest the unconditioned consciousness while the other seeks to evoke the conditioned consciousness. So they seek to influence the other person to swear an oath, to make the other person resonate at a particular level of being. Ever been in an argument? What is it like when you assert your will, your beliefs, on someone else? Or what is it like to be attacked in a debate, even if but verbally? You ever had a verbal struggle with someone? I know we like to think that we live in a psychological bubble where we can think and feel whatever we want, seemingly without consequences, because no one else can know our thoughts and desires. This is an illusion, and it serves the agenda of many witches and sorcerers, because their crimes cannot be registered according to materialistic skepticism and the penal code. How can the law condemn something it does not accept, whose existence it rejects? So, based on material criteria, the law ignores how a vast majority of crimes are committed beneath the radar, because there are psychological and energetic methods to which a person can be influenced, extorted, manipulated, harmed. Judges, especially in western countries, are very skeptical, and black magicians know it, so they use their ignorance to advantage. If you do not believe me that we are interconnected on a psychological level, I will pose you some questions. Have you ever felt someone looking at you, even if your physical eyes have not seen them? If you are a woman, have you ever felt the lustful stares of men, without physically seeing them? Or when someone is angry at you, but says nothing? You know their intentions, even if there is no apparent evidence. These are psychological senses, which for most people in us tend to be very blunted. They are dull and atrophied. The ability to sense another person’s mental and emotional psychology is known as telepathy, which for most of us is unconscious. It tends to be mechanical. It can happen spontaneously, sometimes against our voluntary will. It is not conscious or intentional, mastered, developed. We tend to go on life on auto pilot. We sense people’s feelings and know their instincts, maybe their desires, but we do not have much clarity or depth. We do not really comprehend other people because we barely even understand our own thoughts, our own feelings, our own impulses, because our psychology is muddled. We do not really perceive external danger when there is, when it is prevalent. However, when you practice self-observation and self-remembrance, you begin to notice the ways in which people, consciously or not, intentionally or not, exert influence upon our own psychological states, for good or for ill. This is why martial arts like Aikido―it is a Japanese form of self-defense―the best technique is to be relaxed and to be aware. If you are tense, if you are agitated, if you are afraid, you can make a mistake. Likewise, you can get injured if you are not aware of your surroundings, if you are not paying attention to yourself, if you are not conscious of the technique, and if you are not aware of your opponent. Let us give some examples in how this relates to our psychology. Perhaps as a man, a beautiful woman approaches you, gives you a compliment. If you are not vigilant, you may not be aware of how your own lust, your own pride, your own vanity emerges in reaction to this impression. It is only when your self-observation is unfiltered that you are going to perceive an interchange of egotistical desires, an exchange of forces, the influence of attention, an influence of energy. However, self-awareness is really not definitive. You can be completely aware of committing a murder. A lot of people like to deify awareness as if it is a new thing, as if it is the end-all-be-all of spirituality. In reality, you can do many mistakes with awareness, commit them with profound attention and concentration. Obviously, this does not make it right. The problem with many new age sophisms is that they think that simply being mindful, being aware of your surroundings and yourself, that you are advancing. It is not true. It is not enough. Be aware. Be attentive. Be vigilant. But more importantly, be very deliberate in how you respond to life. You need superior action in these circumstances, so that we do not complicate our karma and create problems. This is why Samael Aun Weor states in Fundamentals of Gnostic Education: Wherever we direct attention, we expend creative energy. ―Samael Aun Weor, Fundamentals of Gnostic Education
So the question is, where is our attention moving? Where is our energy flowing? A lot of people become fascinated with energy. They identify with it. They glorify it, not understanding that it is merely the cosmic currency, the energy, the vital values, that can be used for consciousness or ego. Having a lot of fuel in your car does not make your car better. It simply gives it the capacity to drive. How you drive is what matters. So, are we using our energy for our consciousness, to stay on the road, to obey the rules of the road? Or are we drunk with desire, and therefore we get someone killed and get ourselves hurt? This is our spiritual situation, because when we act upon our own defects, we create a lot of suffering for ourselves and for others. People who intentionally commit black magic, or even unconsciously do so, create a lot of suffering. So we have to be mindful of this.
In the case of the example I gave you, the man who receives the compliment will most commonly saturate and feed his desires, will not question his lust, will not discriminate or analyze it, but simply get indulge in it, mechanically, because it feels good. People give in to desire because it is strong in us, but more importantly it is difficult to separate. Sensations are very convincing for people. But we have to get beyond sensations, whether physically or psychologically. Through self-observation and remembrance of divinity, we recognize the qualities of pure consciousness from the desires of lust, animal satisfaction. If you are really observant, you will see a transaction like a bank exchange. You see multiple egos that want to react to the situation. They all want to satisfy their desires, to expend creative energy, to feed lust. So, this is conditioned perception, and it goes contrary to unconditioned perception, which is the Essence. When you identify with desire, when you feed it, when you go along with it, you give it strength and energy. You condition yourself, and this is the problem. This is what must change if you really want to protect yourself and really begin learning how to transform your situation. We have to make a choice. I know a lot of people like to think that we do not have agency. The truth is that while we have a lot of conditions of mind, we still have the opportunity. We have 3% free consciousness that can work. 97% of it is conditioned, according to Samael Aun Weor. If you give power and space to your free consciousness to act without desire, then there is an internal transformation. A transformation of impressions occurs. So, instead of acting with vanity and lust, the man in that example would maintain his chastity, with purifying the energies, not reacting out of desire, but acting with purity and kindness, equanimity and dispassion. In fact, by acting in this way, by restraining the mind, we conserve and liberate energy. We create a reservoir for our consciousness. So, in most cases for most of us, this is very difficult to do. We tend to ignore our heart, our intuition, our conscience that knows right from wrong, and this is what we have to follow in all circumstances. If you sense a situation is wrong, is problematic, you should probably really reflect on that and act according to your intuition. The intellect will debate, argue, theorize, label, and chatter in accordance with associative thinking, not really looking or having an answer. Do not use the intellect. Rely on your heart, about how you must behave in life, on how you must work, how you must change, how you must behave. Our Being can influence our experiences for the benefit of everyone. But also our ego can assert its cravings and desires upon others to get what it wants. This usually happens when we do not listen to our conscience. This always occurs at the cost and expense of others’ wellbeing. Therefore, demons attempt to control others for the fulfillment of desires. That is basically it. They think that their desires are helping people, but they are not. They seek to control through conditioned perceptions the will of others. Here is a very clear demarcation between white and black magic. It is very subtle, but it is very beautiful. White magic is persuasion. We offer solutions, valuable options to problems, while respecting the will and freedom of other people. A black magician uses coercion. They always seek to gratify their desires, no matter what the cost. They violate the will of others and do not respect other people’s will. So examine your mind. How do you behave in certain situations? Do you act with altruism? Do you give to others without wanting for yourself? Are you patient when you are humiliated? When people deride you? Are you humble when you did not get that job promotion, when your neighbor did? Do you feel compassion for the person who crucifies you? Are you being selfless? Or do you try to get what you want in any way you can, even if in the mind? Even if under the banner of friendship, of neutrality, and even friendly advice? Selfishness, desire and ego have very distinct qualities. The “me,” “myself,” or “I” is characterized by a density, a heaviness. It is a state of suffering. It is hell. The ego is hell. The more selfless your actions, the more unconditioned and pure they are, the more compassionate, the more loving and philanthropic, the more kind, the lighter your states. You experience more freedom, more happiness, more contentment. You feel inspired when others succeed in life. You do not wish for their downfall, even in your mind and even if you tell yourself when you do not. You can access greater serenity, peace and equanimity, even if the world is falling apart around you, as we see today. So you cannot learn to defend yourself spiritually from negative forces when your level of being does not change. If you are unaware of how your own defects, your own egos, your own desires produce suffering for yourself and others, then there is no basis by which you can defend yourself, because you are going to be an aggressor. Unfortunately, we are going to be black magicians in this case, a demon, not a defendant. So demons will not bother you when you are acting on your desires, and especially when you are not practicing chastity. Such entities only try to obstruct you when you are making fundamental changes in your psychology, in your behavior. If you are not changing your level of being, or if you are not practicing chastity, then they are going to see you as one of them. So you are a perpetrator, not a victim in their eyes. 
Attacks During Dreams
Let us talk about some particular ways that black magicians attack us in the gnostic path, and also the remedies. In most cases, when people are assaulted psychically, it is in the internal worlds. So physically you go to sleep, your consciousness leaves the body and enters the world of dreams, known as the fifth dimension or הוד Hod within the Kabbalah, the Tree of Life. It is the astral plane, or better said, the lunar astral plane, because there is a superior astral plane and an inferior astral plane.
I know we like to think that we are spiritual, but in reality, because of our ego, we gravitate towards those places in nature that resonate with our level of being. So, there is a superior astral world for those angels, and buddhas and gods, which we can access when we free our consciousness, when we eliminate the ego. Those are very elevated and pure states. But for most of us, we tend to enter what is known as Limbo. Limbo is the inferior astral world, which is where we tend to gravitate at night. It is the first sphere of hell within Dante's Divine Comedy. It is the lunar sphere within the inverted Tree of Life, the Kabbalistic diagram. Because we are filled with desire, we tend to go toward these inferior levels of nature, because of our conditioning, and because of this, as we are beginning to awake our consciousness, we start to perceive ourselves in these realms. We wake up where we are at. We start where we are at. We do not begin in heaven, because that is the goal. Instead, we have to learn to walk on our two feet in our current situation, our current psychology. So a lot of attacks occur at night when the body is asleep and when your soul, or consciousness is within the internal worlds. These are mostly achieved through erotic means. There are Black Lodges who exists in the astral world where they have tenebrous members that are sent to make gnostic students fall sexually. This is the cause of many wet dreams of disciples. You are starting to practice transmutation, conservation of the sexual energy, you learn the value of the sexual energy and seek to work with it. But these entities know that if you lose your sexual force, you become weak, and therefore that is their primary target by which they seek to pull people, to mislead them or to discourage them. They know that when a student loses the sexual energy, they become disempowered, and when they have the kundalini risen to a degree, in accordance with alchemical work, that serpentine fire descends down the spine in accordance with the magnitude of the fault. 
The Mantra Belilin
So there are many remedies that we use to protect ourselves in dreams and even before we go to bed at night. The first one we will talk about in defending your home, whether before you go to sleep or when you are in the astral plane, is the mantric prayer Belilin. We have an image of an angel, representative of Aroch, who Samael Aun Weor states was the master who delivered this conjuration and prayer. Angel Aroch is an angel of power, and בלילין Belilin is a beautiful word which has Hebrew and even Aramaic roots. Bel refers to the light of divinity. Belilin invokes the forces of the region of Barbelo, within the gnostic esoteric cosmology.
We know from esotericism that the angels create from the power of the verb. Therefore, when we speak with intentionality and with focus on sacred sounds, we create a conduit or channel by which divinity can act within us, in accordance with the level of our psychological purity, or sexual purity. We remember that the angels sing at the creation of every cosmos. They did so with profound love and emotion, remembrance of the truth, empowered by the force of chastity and the Holy Spirit. So likewise, when we perform these prayers, these sacred sounds, this song of Belilin which you have to sing, you have to do it with superior emotion, with longing, with concentration, with faith, with an understanding of how this mantra works. It is sung. It is a song, and like with the other conjurations, I will recite them for you, for your understanding. You sing it like this: Belilin... Belilin... Belilin...
If you are awake in the astral plane and pronounce these mantras―you can do them three times, in sequence―you will see a spiritual wind appear, that will, like a hurricane, sweep away all negativity and negative forces from you. It is the force from the אין סוף אור Ain Soph Aur, the Limitless Light above the Tree of Life. So in synthesis, we can pronounce these prayers before we sleep, especially when we prepare for bed, or even before alchemy.
So sexual magic trains our body, heart, and mind never to fornicate, and therefore, if we are diligent with using these prayers, nocturnal pollutions will cease. Belilin can protect oneself from these negative, materialistic forces. The amphora has to do with our soul, which receives salvation, or the positive spiritual influence of the solar energy, the “Bel” from Barbelo, Bar, the fire, and Bel, the light of Christ. 
The Conjuration of Jupiter
There is another very powerful prayer we use, a conjuration, known as the conjuration of Jupiter. Jupiter is the father of the gods, יהוה in Hebrew, Christ, the solar power that wields the power of the Holy Spirit, the lightning or vajra of the great heroes, the divine energy, which can really reject any inferior influence.
Jupiter reminds us of IO-Pater, the stone of IO. IO is the Divine Mother, and Patar, Pater, the Father, is the masculine, projective force. This lightning energy is the ray of divinity. It is the ray of justice, according to Samael Aun Weor. It is the power used by Zeus and Indra to punish and reject demons. 
So, when you perform this prayer, you cover your solar plexus with your left hand, and you extend your right hand in the form of the pentagram, which means your pinky and ring finger close to your palm, the middle finger, index finger and thumb extended. So you see often the picture of Jesus who raises his hand in the form of the gnostic pentagram, which is the symbol of the human being in the image of God perfected. You say:
In the Name of Jupiter, Father of all the Gods, I conjure thee! Te Vigos Coslim! ―Conjuration of Jupiter
These words Te Vigos Coslim constitute an internal language, a superior language of divinity, and when you concentrate your will, your consciousness, your attention in this prayer, you are sending out a ray of light or energy from your fingertips. So you extend your hand that is the form of a pentagram towards an entity which is trying to harm you, or whom you question.
I remember once, many years ago in the astral plane, I was being pursued by a black magician who was trying to disguise herself as a sibling or family member of mine. I used this prayer, saying this conjuration, and I remember a beam of light shooting out from my fingertips and it struck her, immediately transforming her appearance and unveiling her true identity, because, when you work with the power of Jupiter, Zeus, יהוה Iod-Havah, you are conjuring, or making this entity resonate with superior forces, so that their identity is revealed. But also, this conjuration can disable and disarm the energy of a black magician. I used it once even on a witch who was trying to tempt me, and many other times you can disable these entities from trying to retaliate and to pursue you further. So it is like being hit with a stun gun almost. It really disorients the entities you trying to protect yourself from. 
The Magic Circle
We also have the magic circle. Before you go to sleep at night, before you meditate or perform any ritual, such as alchemy, you can concentrate on your heart, invoke your Divine Father and your Divine Mother, ask your Being to command your Elemental Advocate, who is a part of your Being, responsible for performing elemental magic or what we are going to rely on today as well. This figure is like an angel with a sword of fire. You imagine this entity, or your inner Being, tracing a circle of fire around you home. You can do it clockwise if you want. There is really no specific direction you can do it, but I always do mine left to right, circling around either my bedroom or my home. So, you trace this circle with your imagination and your willpower, pronouncing the mantras:
העליון מעליון יהוה
This mantra invokes the light of Helios, the cosmic Christ, and Tetragrammaton, to descend in order to trace an energetic field, a barrier, that will not allow for any negative entity to enter your space. So this is particularly good if you want to go deep in your practice and you feel that you are being attacked. More importantly, if you live in an―really―anywhere nowadays, you lock your door at night when you go to sleep, especially in the city. For those of you who live in the country areas where it is safer, you may not lock your doors, but internally, we should lock our home every day, every night, before we go to sleep.
So you should trace this circle with your imagination and willpower, so that no entity can trespass. If you wake in the astral plane, you can see, especially when you trace this circle with a lot of faith, a circle of light, or fire encompassing the area that you have protected. Any entity that will try to get in, will not be able to unless you allow it. The magic circle will break if you physically walk outside the area that you traced, so be mindful that, if you, for example, trace a circle around your bedroom and physically you get up to use the restroom, you break the circle if you leave the area. It is good to remember to retrace it when you go back. Personally I like to trace the magic circle around my entire home, so that when I need to move around to any room or area, I do not break the circle―some practical suggestions. 
The Elemental of the Aloe
You can also work with the aloe plant. Elemental magic is tremendously powerful, because the souls of nature, the souls of plants, are still in Eden. Now, we study what is known as the cosmic transmigration of souls, in which consciousness develops from a very virginal state within the mineral kingdom, graduates through many of millions of years of evolution, in order to enter the plant kingdom. After many millions of years of experience in different plant bodies, the souls of those beings enter into the animal kingdom, graduating into different degrees of hierarchies of existence, in accordance with the complexity and development of elemental perception. Until finally, after many millions of years of existing in animal bodies, the soul graduates to become a humanoid, which is us.
Now, I know a lot of new-age groups like to work with stones, the souls of minerals. But unfortunately, the great majority of those exercises are black magic. Primarily because, if you read the writings of Samael Aun Weor, he says explicitly how the hell realms are the infernal or inferior mineral kingdom. So when souls enter into the black path, when they develop powers in ego, they descend into the internal planes into greater stages of density and suffering, within the inner layers of the earth. This is symbolized within The Divine Comedy of Dante. Minerals, mineral elemental souls, are not really developed. They do not really have as much force or hierarchy in comparison with plants. This is why we emphasize plant magic so much within our studies. When you click on this link for the Aloe plant, you can read a chapter from Igneous Rose, which is a powerful book that teaches how to work with the elementals of nature, the souls of plants, of creation. So the plant of the Aloe is related with reincarnation, according to Samael Aun Weor. If you want to remember your past lives, you can meditate on the soul of this plant. Concentrate and visualize it in your imagination and then fall asleep asking to converse with the elemental of this plant, the soul, so that you can remember your past existences, your past states. Now, specifically for protection, the Aloe is very effective. You can hang a piece of silver or crucifix. Samael mentions you can hang the pot or hang this plant on a wall. It has tremendous solar properties. The beauty of the Aloe plant is that it is very resilient. It can often survive and subsist in homes in which is not much light, because it absorbs the solar light within the atmosphere and within the internal planes as well. So, he also states that the aloe plant is very powerful for rejecting negative influences. You can use the Aloe for many rituals. For healing, for protection, for remembrance of past lives. It is really a very eclectic plant, and we should always have an Aloe in our home, because it purifies our environment, attracts good luck and solar force, the forces of Barbelo, the light. There is a prayer we use when we concentrate on the plant, asking our Elemental Advocate, our inner Being, to command the soul of the plant to work for us. These prayers have to be done daily, consistently. The prayer goes like this: Cross, thou art holy and divine. Sorcerers and witches withdraw from this home. Such persons who intend to arrive here, let it be known that I am with God.
Remember that the Elemental Advocate is a part of our innermost Being, who developed and acquired knowledge when we were evolving through the elemental kingdoms, especially through the plant kingdom. Our inner Being, our Elemental Advocate, or part of our divinity, has a very profound knowledge of how the souls of nature work. Plants are basically like a conduit that can channel certain forces. They have a certain purpose and medicinal purpose, or application. For our purposes, we use for what is known as elementotherapy. We command the souls of these elemental forces in accordance with the will of divinity and in harmony with karma, with the divine law. We do not command the Aloe plant or other souls of nature with selfishness, but in accordance with the balance of divinity.
Attacks During the Vigil State
So there are other ways in which we can be attacked. Many times in the vigil state, or the so-called vigil state, when we are physically in our bodies, we can often be tempted by the opposite sex, sent by the Black Lodge in order to pull us from the path. Now, like in this image, if we have a clouded mind, if we are not paying attention to our own psychology, if we are not aware of our own intrinsic egotistical urges, how they feed, how they manifest, how they interact with the world, we will not recognize the danger and we can fall into lust.
We can use the mantric song Belilin, in order to establish an atmosphere of purity, devotion, chastity, serenity, and faith, to rely on our Being. So if you want to clear your mind of obscurities and negative influences, you can use the mantra Belilin, and the prayer, like a whirlwind, it will sweep up the dust of our psychological and even physical environment―better said―the energies in our home. 
Works of Black Magic
There are other ways in which black magicians can influence us. Very famously within the Caribbean there are examples of voodoo, such as with dolls, in which adepts of the Black Lodge utilize dolls and pins, needles to inflict pain on their victims. They concentrate and imagine with their ego, their desires, and concentrate their hatred towards these people and utilize the pins in order to pass psychic harm upon them.
There are also other ways in which we can be influenced, negatively. There are often, according to Samael Aun Weor, inexplainable black spots which can appear on one’s skin. “Maculae,” he calls them, in which we experience types of sicknesses that we can not explain, even with the best medical treatments. There are also other substances that are used, such as funerary substances according to the master, which are transmitted consciously or unconsciously. This is astral and etheric larvae, which people can pick up from graveyards, or cemeteries. We do not recommend visiting these places, unless you really have to, because they are environments that are filled with pestilences on a psychic level. They are Black Lodges essentially, because black magicians use these polluted and decaying substances within the internal worlds in order to direct them at their victims. So, black magicians can utilize them in order to make us sick, to infect us. 
Organic Illnesses
There are many sicknesses that start in the internal worlds and then they manifest physically. Since our astral and mental vehicles, our vital body, possesses its own energy, its own materiality, its own ultra-physiology, with organs and health, etc. There are many unexplainable sicknesses that occur for people, such as delirium or psychosis, even madness, paranoia. Many students write to us on our website, about having mental illnesses when they start this teaching, and they face many types of perceptions that are very terrifying for them, which traditional medicine would denominate as delusions. Of course there is a certain subjective reality to these perceptions. They are real in the sense that they exist, and that they have a type of experiential dimension, but they are particular and subjective to the conditions of the person’s psyche [see Spiritual and Mental Health to learn how to complement professional treatment with spiritual techniques].
So, many people can get sick. They can become mentally ill, diseased. They have certain obsessions or problems that they cannot resolve. They are afflicted mentally, and even going to the best doctors they cannot be healed. They cannot explain why they are suffering so much. There is a story of one instructor from Glorian who mentioned in his lecture on Compassion and Lust, the first in that series, how he became very sick and investigating internally after the doctors could not help him. After about a week he had the experience of a student of his, or a student he knew, who in the internal worlds was a black magician, one of his egos. He [the student] was unconsciously practicing black magic and therefore was making him [the instructor] sick. So he confronted the issue with a lot of compassion and understanding and eventually resulted, became healed again. 
Exorcisms and Healing
So, there are other ways in which we can heal these types of illnesses if we do not necessarily have enough consciousness to investigate internally. There are different methods that we can use, specifically exorcisms and healing methods. Now the definition of exorcisms is, “to call up or to conjure spirits, or to claim an isolated spirit.” We need to take control of negative influences and also to bring forward positive influences.
Exorcisms are commonly utilized to purify our environment. Our psychology is often filled or made up by four elements: earth (the physical body), air (the mind), fire (the emotions), and water (our creative sexual energy). It is good to utilize exorcisms for the elements in order to heal ourselves, to purify the elements we take in so that we have a better atmosphere in which to work. There are four exorcisms that we will cover in a future lecture, for the earth, air, fire and water. You can access them at the end of this lecture in our resources [see also The Secret Doctrine of Anahuac: “The Elementals”]. Now specifically, it is important that when you recite these exorcisms, we do them in Latin, not English, because Latin is the language that is most in tune with the forces of nature―any of its derivatives, according to the Gnostic Prayer Book. 
Exorcism of Salt
So specifically, one exorcism that we use is for salt when we want to perform healing. So when you have an illness that you want to treat, there is a powerful prayer and method that you can use, that does not have side effects, unlike many other treatments today. Now, if a person is suffering under the works of black magic, like voodoo dolls, funerary substances, organic illnesses, you can work with the exorcism of salt and perform this particular ritual that I am going to explain.
It is important to remember that salt is inherent to life. Salt alchemically represents the brute semen or the entity of sperm and ovum. As Jesus stated in the book of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 13: Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” ―Matthew 5:13
Now, what is this salt of the earth that if it is has lost its savor, it will no longer be good for anything? It has to do with our sexual energy. Now, it is important that we purify our body, our mind, our heart. That is why we practice transmutation. But if you work with the elements of the salt, through a particular exorcism, you can bless salt and use it to purify your home and environment, but also to invoke healing.
So, particularly for the ritual I am going to explain, you will need a table, with a glass of pure water, either for yourself or for any sick patient you want to heal. So, this is where the Master of Medicine will place healing substance within the internal worlds, during and after the ritual you are going to perform. A white cloth should decorate the altar where the water is placed. It is important to have a crucifix and a white candle as well. So, the theurgist or the magician, the exorcist or healer can sit, but personally I like to stand up when performing this, with the prayers and invocations, mostly because it is more assertive, gives more power. Other concerned people you may be related to or whomever you are trying to heal can be present, so long as they possess some level of faith and are not going to mentally effect the patient. You are going to place a metal skillet or heavy pan with rubbing alcohol on the floor. You want to put this away from other objects to maintain safety, because you are going to light a fire. You will need to exorcise salt. It does not matter what kind―really―the purer, the better, obviously, and then you are going to place it within the alcohol. Now, let me recite for you this exorcism of salt. Place your left hand over your solar plexus, your right hand in the form of the pentagram over the salt and perform the Latin prayer: In isto sale sit sapientia, et ab omni corruptione servet mentes nostras et corpora nostra, per Chokmahel et in virtute Ruach-Chokmahel, recedant ab isto fantasmata hylae ut sit sal coelestis, sal terrae et terris salis, ut nutrietur bos triturans et addat spei nostrae cornua tauri volantis. Amen. ―Exorcism of Salt
Basically in Latin, translated, it has to do with purifying the wisdom, the sapience of the salt, so that it is not corrupted, to not serve merely our corporal or bodily needs, but through the spirit, if Chokmah, the Christ, the virtue in spirit of Ruach Chokmael, so that it can purify this element, for the benefit of our body, heart and mind.
Place the salt in the alcohol, and when you are ready, light a match. Drop it into the pan, and then you are going to stand back as the fire ignites and lights up into the air. Now, obviously you want to be careful with how much alcohol you put in it. You do not want to put too much, but enough so that with time and practice you will be able to better gauge it for being able to sustain the fire long enough, so that you can finish the conjurations and prayers that we are going to relate to you now. Basically the power of the salt, that has been blessed, and the fire from the alcohol opens up a conduit. It opens up the atmosphere in the astral plane, so that the Master of Medicine can descend within our home, the masters of healing, and then they can help the sick patient. Now, if you have multiple people that you are trying to heal with this ritual, you want to have a cup for each person. Designate via more than one person you are trying to work with, you should have a cup designated for each individual with clear water, pure water. You should basically have each people concentrate on their glass and on their imagination, to see the Master of Medicine descend from Barbelo, down to deposit the particular healing within the water. Invocation of Solomon
When you are performing this ritual, when the fire is ignited, immediately you have to recite the Invocation of Solomon. So imagine the clouds parting. Personally when I worked with this ritual or even having awakened in the astral plane, I have been able to see that certain prayers like this, you will see in the astral atmosphere the clouds part and the angels, and the אין סוף אור Ain Soph Aur, the Limitless Light, looking down. So this is a very practical and very real thing. Imagine these entities healing the patient, healing yourself. Recite the following prayers from the Invocation of Solomon:
Powers of the kingdom, be ye under my left foot and in my right hand!
We study the link in this PDF, you will see the video recited by another instructor, as well as graphic representations of which verse is related to which sephirah on the Tree of Life. Each of the spheres or sephiroth represent different qualities of being, or different classes of angels. So if you work with the Invocation of Solomon, you are calling upon the angels of those different dimensions, of those spheres, to descend down, within the entirety of the Tree of Life. So I recommend you study the link to this prayer. We are going to give entire lecture on this prayer itself, but I want to sum it up for you in synthesis.
Prayer to the Solar Logos
Also, when you finish the Invocation of Solomon, when you are performing the ritual with salt and alcohol, you can perform a prayer to the Solar Logos for healing. This Prayer to the Gnostic Church is also very powerful for when you are doing the runes, as you can see in this image of a woman in the form of the Rune Man, with arms upraised receiving the effluvia or solar energy of divinity. This prayer is also very powerful for healing. I recommend you use it when you work with this ritual. It is recited like this:
Oh Thou, Solar Logos, igneous emanation, substance and consciousness of Christ, powerful life whereby everything advances, come unto me and penetrate me, enlighten me, bathe me, go through me and awaken within my Being all of those ineffable substances that are as much a part of Thee as a part of me.
The Solar Logos is Christ, and that igneous fire, or emanation, that substance and consciousness will descend down in order to enter the water of the glasses which you are asking for medicine, for the Masters of Healing.
Also, for those who are sick and attacked by larvae, you can also, as a medic, or priest, as a Gnostic doctor, perform magnetic passes over a patient's aura. Remember that our psychological atmosphere resonates with our aura, our energy, our expression, and that we often carry within our psychological and psychic environment different elemental substances which tend to be very negative, because our mind attracts these forces. So, if you purify your home with these conjurations and prayers, you can also cleanse your aura by imagining, as you pass your hands over the aura of yourself or a person, that you are grabbing these negative forces, and then you take them and throw them into a lit brazier. You have to have some kind of fire going, like some hot coals or a hibachi grill even, in which you imagine taking these negative auric substances and then throw them into the fire, because the fire, physically, is the vehicle of Christ. It purifies our environment, our home. The Conjuration of the Seven
In order to finish with the Invocation of Solomon as well as the prayer for the salt and alcohol, you can recite the Conjuration of the Seven as well. So, utilize the Invocation of Solomon, Prayer for the Solar Logos, and Conjuration of the Seven when you want to perform the ritual for the salt and alcohol. Now, when we work with the Conjuration of the Seven, this is especially useful for eliminating toxic substances and also purifying our environment. This prayer invokes the seven mighty archangels, who govern the seven spiritual planetary rays: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, otherwise known as Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Michael, Samael, as well as Zachariel, and Oriphiel. So, let me recite this for you, in synthesis:
In the name of Michael, may Jehovah command thee and drive thee hence, Chavajoth!
Recite this conjuration when you are cleaning your aura as well. It helps to reject the seven primary archdemons of the Black Lodge, because they are entities that are so big and malignant and powerful, that the Conjuration of the Four is not useful for that, which I elaborate a little bit later on here. The Conjuration of the Seven is especially necessary when defending yourself, especially when the entity is beyond your capacity. I personally have had many unfortunate encounters with one of these archdemons mentioned in the Conjuration of the Seven. In one instance, this entity appeared much in the form and size of like a Balrog from The Lord of the Rings―huge horns, a big demon. So, there is some relevance to these cultural icons that we find in fantasy films. Pretty interesting and disturbing actually.
The Magic of the Roses
Let us continue with some more prayers. It is important to utilize practices that heal our heart. The elementals of the rose are exceptional for spiritual and emotional healing, to heal psychological and emotional traumas. This prayer invokes a master by the name of Llanos. Samael Aun Weor mentions that we should pray to this master related to the spiritual influence of the planet Venus. You pronounce his name:
Llanos... Llanos... Llanos...
These prayers and mantras invoke this master of the ray of Venus in order to help heal our heart. Specifically with these prayers and practice, you place three glasses of pure water on a white table, or a clothed altar. Place a rose in each glass. Trim each so that the flower blossoms upon the water line. You bless and you consume each glass before drinking. Before breakfast you drink the glass facing east, before lunch the glass facing north, before dinner the glass facing west. So this follows, this sequence, the trajectory of the sun, the Solar Logos, which astrologically relates with Venus within the kabbalistic sphere of Tiphereth.
When you do this, you have to pray for emotional healing, whatever pain you are feeling. It is important that, when you are performing the magic of the roses, that you really ask for help. Now often times we protect ourselves against negative influences, we have to make sure the quality of our heart is pure as well. So, the magic of the roses is especially great for fortifying superior conscious, superlative emotions, compassion, conscious love. 
Trapping Witches
There is another technique we can use. We can trap witches and stop them from harming us within the physical and also the internal planes.
We know from the writings of Samael Aun Weor that witches, or female sorceresses, often travel through hyperspace, known as the fourth dimension. They place their body within the inverted, inferior vital world, the fourth dimension, in order to travel across the world or globe to affect students, like vampires. They steal the energy of their victims. There is a lot of literature throughout the world that relates this reality. Especially, you can read the book The Mystery of the Golden Flower by Samael Aun Weor. He explains this. Now, these witches often come and attach themselves, and even copulate with their victims, to extract their energy by hypnotizing and manipulating them. These are the images of hags, or old women, who rejuvenate their health and youth through vampirism, as I said earlier. All these beings cannot create on their own, so they steal force from others. 
We can defend ourselves from them by placing black mustard seeds and steel scissors open as a cross. So, we have to remember that the seed is the sexual energy. Black mustard seed has very powerful potencies for trapping witches when you combine them with steel scissors, especially in the form of a cross, like you see in this image. This works to cut and severe their abilities to travel in the fourth dimension. So, usually we keep scissors underneath our beds. You can do it in a box and fill it with seeds, black mustard. You can also place small vials of black mustard seeds and place them in the corners of your home, like the four corners of your bedroom, or throughout the perimeter of your house, your home. It is very effective. It will neutralize their ability to affect you.
Psychic Obsessions
There are other ways in which we can be affected. We can become obsessed with fixed ideas. People are often filled with mania and lust, and oftentimes, people who attend séances filled with mediums tend to be infected with astral larvae, which make people obsessed over ideas or actions and behaviors. Most notably, one of them is lust, especially pornography and fornication. So, while a person can remove these temptations from their physical life, they may have the impulse and desires for that state internally, and this can be influenced by witches and sorcerers.
The Conjuration of the Four
The best way to defend oneself from breaking these obsessions, purifying one's aura especially, is the Conjuration of the Four. Now, the Conjuration of the Four, unlike the seven, works with the four elements: earth, air, fire, water―mind, heart, body and sex, and specifically as the Conjuration of the Seven rejects the seven primary archdemons of the Black Lodge, the Conjuration of the Four rejects their legions.
We can use smudges of sage and rue while reciting the Conjuration of the Four. So, remember that if you feel obsessive over something, a behavior or a idea, or you feel like you are being influenced negatively, if you are heavy of mind, you can calm down by using this conjuration and smoking yourself with sage and rue. I will recite this conjuration briefly. Most of it is in Latin and the translation you can access via the PDF. Caput mortum, imperet tibi dominus per vivum et devotum serpentem!
* At this point you can do the sign of the cross, left hand on your solar plexus, right hand in the sign of the pentagram. Trace the cross by gesticulating by your head, your heart, and then down towards your sexual organs, then raising your hand up to your left shoulder and crossing over to your right shoulder. So this sign is the sign of the cross, for protecting ourselves. When you perform the Conjuration of the Four, you are working with the cross, the four elements, to balance your mind, heart, body, and sex.
Writhing serpent, crawl at my feet, or be tortured by the sacred fire and give way before the perfumes that I burn in it! 
The Gnostic Pentagram
It is also important to have pentagrams in our home. You can place them before entrance ways, especially if you feel like being attacked. You place the bottom, two legs towards the entrance of the door, so that when you are coming into a room, the point of the head is facing inwards towards the home or towards the area that you want to protect. So the pentagram should be upright.
The Gnostic Pentagram is the human figure with four limbs, and one unique apex which is the head. The sign of the Pentagram is also called the sign of the Microcosm. It represents what the Kabbalist Rabbis of the book Zohar call the Microprosopos. When the superior point of the Pentagram is aiming upwards towards the sky, it represents the Savior of the world. ―Samael Aun Weor, The Gnostic Bible: The Pistis Sophia Unveiled
And it rejects the legions of demons where you are protecting yourself from. So, utilize the pentagram in your home diligently. Protect the entrance of your home, as well as your bedroom.
The Microcosmic Star
You can perform the microcosmic star as well, in which, if you watch this video, you see exactly how to perform it. After rituals you seal your energy, or after alchemy you can do the same, because the pentagram, when you perform it with your body in combination with imagination, visualization and prayer, you seal your psychic forces. It is good to do it after runes and especially alchemy.
Enmities
Now black magicians also influence us through enmities. They try to make us the enemies of others, and if we do not master self-control, overcoming and restraining our own mind, we can leave the path easily by getting into a conflict or argument, a really negative situation. The solution is to relax and meditate. You can concentrate on the heart of your enemy, or someone who is giving you particular struggles and imagine that their heart is a treasure trove of love. You want to see the area between the enemy’s eyebrows and place your image there, filled with compassion, conscious love. You have to really feel love for them, otherwise this will not work.
Elemental Magic of the Maguey (Agave Americana)
But if the conflict still persists, you can work with the Agave Americana, the maguey plant. This plant is exceptionally powerful for disintegrating negative thoughts and psychic ties to people. So, with this plant―you can get it in a greenhouse or garden shop, although it is more common in Latin America especially―you trace a circle from right to left about eight hand-spans radius. You can use a branch or a sword for rituals.
You want to pray, cut the leaf or needle of the plant, by blessing it. Then you keep the needles of the stems in your hands, in your palms, that you want to carry with you in some kind of bag or pouch, in order to invoke the elemental in order to protect you whenever you need it. Imagine this elemental disintegrating the evil thoughts of the person who is harming you. You want to perform the mantras: Libib Lenoninas Lenonon
Recite it and sing it.
A Prayer for Protection
In combination with the maguey you can work with the mantras Klim Krishnaya Govindaya Gopijanavallabhaja Swaha. The mantra Klim attracts solar force and invokes Christ into the body of our earth. Krishnaya reminds of Krishna, the Christ, relating to our sexual waters. Govindaya is “he who is famous on the earth and in the Vedas, and amongst the seraphic cows.” So Christ tends to the sacred cow, or the divine feminine and this mantra relates to the fires of our heart. Gopijanavallabhaja literally means “he who entrances the Gopis.” It is the feminine divine, the spirit of love in Christ, and this is accomplished through the air, the domination of our mind. Swaha seals the energies of Tiphereth, the divine truth. This pentagram, or this mantra performs, or creates the solar pentagram in the astral planes, which rejects negative forces. You can listen to the audio of this by clicking the link.
Vices
There are many ways in which we can be tempted, whether through drugs, alcohol, fornication, smoking, even movie theaters and very poor art, degenerated art. As I said, fornication and pornography really sway people easily. The foundation of Gnosis is to abandon lustful activities. Without this, there is no understanding.
Smoking also pollutes the body. So, in our teachings we want to be pure, in our sexual energy especially. Smoking essentially corrupts our capacity to assimilate prana, the force of life. We also know, very commonly, that alcohol is a poison. It is also unnecessary for self-realization. Yet even one drop can make us leave the path, can lead to many things. Samael Aun Weor mentions in the book Logos, Mantra, Theurgy how there are certain initiates who are very strong, who know how to, at a party or social gathering, have a little bit of alcohol, and he is very specific here and I will recite the verse for you. But to drink more than a certain amount is to break the law, to create an imbalance in us. Regarding social gatherings: those initiates who have strong will, sometimes politely allow themselves to sip or to taste up to three small quantities of liquor or up to three small quantities of beer. They never go beyond three; if they do, they violate the law. ―Samael Aun Weor, The Divine Science: Logos, Mantra, Theurgy
They never go beyond three, because if they do, they violate the law. Alcohol can resuscitate dead egos. It is a poison for the body, the mind and the heart. It is also responsible for 50% of murders. So, there is nothing really good about it, but our society and culture glorifies it. Yet, we should avoid it.
Movies are, as I said, are in control by the Black Lodge especially. Now there are a lot of lustful images in films especially, and also in movie theaters which infect the mind. Now, people who go to lustful films, or watch pornography as I said, the lustful images enter the psyche and then they become mental formations in our own mind, in which the student will copulate with within the mental world when the physical body is asleep. This is how nocturnal pollutions occur. So, also the astral environment of theaters and cinemas have a lot of larvae. They are very dense and heavy. So we should abstain from these two. He also mentions that nightclubs are a big problem. These are environments that are very lustful and heavy, perverse specifically. So, if we want to purify our psychological environment, it is important to be mindful where we spend our time.
The Prayer of the Lord
We can also work with the Prayer of the Lord, the Our Father. If you are really tempted, whether by desire to drink, smoke, look at pornography or lustful things, to do things you know you should not do, you can pray the Pater Noster.
The Pater Noster is especially very powerful in Latin. I will not recite this prayer for you, you can basically access it via the link, which is a lecture from Glorian Publishing about this topic.
Culture
There are also many other means of culture which can influence people. We state in these studies that intellectualism is one of the biggest ways in which people are pulled from the spiritual path, because people have reasons and justifications for the behaviors that are wrong, especially lust, why chastity or transmutation are repressive, or not expressing our true being, our true potential, but the reality is that such people do not discriminate between their desires and their soul.
We have to follow our conscience. In reality, we have to analyze if these behaviors really bring us joy, or do they just bring pleasure. So, we have to meditate and reflect on the voice of our own heart, our conscience, to find our soul, and our intuition, not the mind, because the mind is mechanical, and only operates in according to prescribed dualistic mechanisms, theses and antitheses, good and bad, yes and no. It is a machine. It does not have real intelligence or autonomy, like the consciousness. We have to learn to use the intellect, but not with desire. But unfortunately, our culture and society today is very much saturated with imagery and impressions that feed the intellect, and feed desire. It is important to learn how to discriminate what we perceive in life, the impressions in the world, and also our own psychology. 
False Prophets
Another great means that people are lead away from the path is false prophets. We will be very brief with this, in that anyone who advises or justifies the orgasm is a demon. As Jesus stated: by their fruits you shall know them. Such people may have a lot of power and abilities, can control people and influence others, but if they are not following the law of ethics, of transmutation and chastity, it means that their powers are within desire. Therefore, we should really consider avoiding or not associating with such people. They can really manipulate and influence us towards negative behaviors.
Elementaries
So, the last way of self-defense in this lecture is elementaries.
Elementals in nature are not good or bad. They are not evil or positive. They are really neutral. They are innocent. They do not know morality or ethics, or good and bad. They simply are innocent creatures that obey the forces of divinity, or even the influences of black magicians. So, there are many types of elementals that black magicians use. Even the black cat has a terrible reputation, especially today, primarily because of medieval witchcraft and the Inquisition and all sorts of persecutions that occurred against people who utilized the black cat, which is an innocent elemental, a beautiful soul, with a lot of magical properties. That is why white and black magicians can utilize them. The obey whoever commands them, but we have to learn how to command those souls with love, and with respect for others, with respect for the law. Otherwise we create harm for ourselves. There are elementals that are sent to harm others, like the elementaries or energetic larvae as well. Elementaries can relate to different types of psychic larvae as well, like bats, incubi, succubi, dragons. You can read the book The Elementals by Franz Hartmann for more information. Now, we have to remember that masturbation engenders incubi and succubi. These are what push one to fornicate. They drain our vitality. So our environment has to be purified with asafetida smudges especially. You can put sulfur powder in your shoes, to cleanse your psychic aura and we can burn sulfur in our homes as well, but you have to be mindful that you do not have plants or living things present in the areas that you are cleansing. The perfumes are toxic. So if you burn sulfur there is a danger of toxicity, but if you put it in your shoes there is not. So, if you do not want to burn sulfur, you can trace powder in your room or in your home that you want to cleanse. The perfumes in the astral plane will rise up and purify it. I remember once I was in an environment where I was not allowed or able to burn sulfur, because of neighbors and people, so I took sulfur powder and spread it across certain rooms, and I remember seeing in the astral plane the wind blowing on the ground, and out of the dark, I could see the carcasses of dead insects, which were the dead larvae that were killed by the sulfur fumes that emanated from the dried sulfur powder. Obviously, when you burn sulfur, it is going to be much more powerful, because the fire renews nature incessantly, according to Samael Aun Weor. So if you want to learn more about elementaries and elementals you van study the book The Elementals by Franz Hartmann. 
Elemental Magic of the Lemon Tree
The best practice you can use to defend yourself and really cut your ties with the Black Lodge is the elemental of the lemon tree. It is used in the book The Major Mysteries, at the end. I will read for you how to work with this plant.
Now specifically, the elemental of the lemon tree is exceptionally powerful. It is very wonderful, and you should use it as a last resort if all other options are not working for you. If you are still being attacked consistently and heavily and severely, this is the best way to really cut your ties. So I read for you the directions from the book The Major Mysteries. This chapter is called Invocations. On the ground, trace a circle around a lemon tree. Near the tree, dig a small hole and firmly insert nine small wooden sticks (distributed into three groups of three) inside the hole, and thereafter fill it with water, making a small puddle. You must also light a fire (in a portable grill, such as an hibachi). You will then beg the elemental of the lemon tree to serve you (each lemon tree has its soul which has a remarkable power). Using the following procedure, you must throw nine lemons into the fire, one by one: look fixedly at a lemon, then pick it, and repeat until you have three in hand; throw them one by one into the fire; gather three more and repeat, until you have thrown nine lemons in the fire. If a lemon explodes (producing an explosion), it is because the black magicians are performing sorcery on you. So, command the elemental of that lemon tree to defend you. When fallen into the fire, each one of the nine lemons will explode in the astral plane like a bomb, destroying the works of sorcery from the black magicians. Thereafter, the elemental will come out of the lemon tree and, shapeshifting itself into the form of a dog, will go and attack the tenebrous ones. ―Samael Aun Weor, The Major Mysteries, “Invocations”
I used the lemon tree in different occasions and had exceptional results.
I will relate to you one story to conclude here, how there is one instructor I know at one of our retreats who was being consistently attacked by a group of black magicians, who came and were affecting people negatively. He decided to do the ritual of the lemon tree and stated that the next day, after performing this practice, one of the members of those black magicians in that group, had all sorts of bite marks on his body―visibly, like visible bite marks all over his skin, and obviously that coincides with what Samael Aun Weor mentioned about the elemental of the lemon tree, which is like a canine, like a dog, that will attack the tenebrous ones and bite them to reject their negative influences. It literally manifested in this person’s skin. So, very real and very effective. 
Resources
In conclusion we have a book called The Divine Science, I have quoted it in part, especially certain chapters in order to give this lecture. This is the best manual you will find on self-defense against the dark arts. It is a manual literally written from the God of War, Samael Aun Weor, who is the bodhisattva of the archangel of Mars, who is the God of strength and severity and justice.
So, I open up the floor to questions. Question and Answers
Question: Doesn't one have to be cognizant in the astral plane to be able to defend against black magic in that plane? How does one develop that technique? Instructor: Yes. If you want to neutralize a threat, you have to be conscious. So, if you are in the astral plane and you are unconscious and asleep, eight hours go by and then you wake up in the morning, it means that we do not know what is going on, and that is the scary thing. We have to be very attentive and conscious and awake. Now, we have different resources on our website. We are going be giving a course about Dream Yoga and Astral Travel especially, but Glorian also has a course, for free, about astral projection and dream yoga, which you can study. There is a book which is called Dream Yoga, which is a compilation of writings of Samael Aun Weor, where he explains how to astral project consciously and to be awake in that dimension. So, if you want to use these techniques we explained today in the astral plane, of course, you have to be awake in order to use them. So you develop that perception yourself, by learning to awaken your consciousness. Study the book Dream Yoga. That will tell you how to learn to develop awareness in that dimension. 
Question: How is the sign of the pentagram performed with the right hand?
Instructor: So, you want to have your pinky and your ring finger folded into your palm―your middle finger, your index finger and your thumb extended out. So if you look at your right hand, you want your thumb, index finger and middle finger extended up. So those are three points. Those are the head and the two arms of the pentagram, and the lower two feet are the pinky and the ring finger that fold into the palm. That is how you perform the symbol of the pentagram with your right hand.
Question: You have discussed the fifth dimension and also on another occasion the inverted fifth dimension. What are they, and more specifically, what is the inverted fifth dimension?
Instructor: So, the fifth dimension is divided into a superior and inferior aspect, which has to to with the qualities of our perception. Now, the superior fifth dimension is known as הוד Hod on the Tree of Life. If you look at the Tree of Life, it is the first sephirah on the left pillar, referring to Splendor, the astral plane, the superior astral dimension. That is where solar initiates go, where they are projected to. It is a conscious plane which is very positive, that has superior symbolism, and which is part of the lighter densities of the Tree of Life. When you ascend, you go towards more heavenly states. When you descend down into the infernal worlds, the inverted sephiroth, or Klipoth, you enter into the hell realms.
The inverted fifth dimension is the lunar sphere. It is beneath the Tree of Life. The inferior astral plane is the surface of the earth. Most people wander there when they go to sleep and when they die physically. It is called Limbo. Dante defines it as Limbo in The Divine Comedy, specifically. Now, we tend to go towards the inverted fifth dimension, the lunar sphere, the lunar astral world, which is the sphere of demons and asleep souls, because we have ego. But if you learn to awaken your consciousness, especially, and eliminate your defects, you can learn to vibrate with the superior astral world, and learn to have positive, conscious, unconditioned and mystical experiences in those states. So, you learn the differences by tasting them in meditation and also when you project there. Question: How to protect specifically against nocturnal pollution? Instructor: Utilize the prayers and conjurations, like Belilin, Conjuration of the Four, Conjuration of the Seven, Invocation of Solomon, before you go to sleep every night. Seal you home with the magical circle for protection. Now, these are preventative measures, and very helpful, but the sickness of nocturnal pollutions is caused by lust. If you are not comprehending your own lustful desires that produce those pollutions themselves, then you cannot be healed. So, the solution is to observe and comprehend those defects, and to eliminate them in meditation, deeply. Also, if you are working with alchemy, that can help to redirect the sexual energy so that you do not spill when you have a lustful dream. With enough training in alchemy, you retrain your body to transmute the sexual energy, so that it flows from outward to inward, and not the opposite―from inward to out. In that way, even if you have a lustful dream, you will have more control and you not necessarily make a mistake, but it is still possible. So, the best solution is to comprehend your lust. Meditate and annihilate the egos of nocturnal pollutions. Avoid filling your mind with media and images that are lustful. This also provoke pollutions as well. Question: There are angels that work with the pentagram? Could you explain their part? Instructor: Yes. Samael Aun Weor refers to the angels of the pentagram as the first five archangels of the seven spiritual rays―Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, and Mars. He refers to them in the Gnostic Bible as the five helpers: Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Michael and Samael. When we bless the pentagram or necklaces, we work with those five angels especially, because they represent the five points. Now, the archangels are in charge of many legions of initiates and beings, which are summoned when you work with the pentagram. So, when you work with the upright pentagram, you are developing those superior energies in yourself, because you are asking to channel, or basically become a conduit for Christ in yourself. The pentagram is especially useful as a medallion of the seven metals especially, because those metals represent the energetic life force of the seven planetary rays, the spiritual archangels. I mentioned that we often do not use minerals in our rituals and practices because those tend to be black magic, but in the case that we do use metals in our practices and rituals has to do with having the pentagram with the seven metals especially, which are silver, mercury, copper, gold, iron, tin and lead, relating to those archangels. The metals are the nervous systems of these given planets. We can invoke those angels, the five helpers, the pentagram, when we fashion medallions or purchase one and bless and consecrate them. Question: Is the magical circle traced counterclockwise when doing the maguey plant? Instructor: Now, when you do a circle of protection around yourself, it does not really matter which direction you point. I know a lot of students presented this question to Samael Aun Weor and he said it does not matter, basically, if you do it from left to right or right to the left. Now for the Agave Americana, he does get specific and say: “trace the circle from right to left about eight hand-spans-width, or radius.” So, the important thing is your concentration, your prayer, visualization and remembrance of your inner divinity. So, be mindful of that. That is the important thing when you seal your home. When he is specific in terms of his direction for a particular practice with the plants or rituals, I suggest you follow them, because they are very mathematical and precise. Rituals have a lot of power. They are dynamic. They are explosive and they are very volatile. You have to learn how to control them with perfect serenity, concentration and imagination. Therefore it is important to adhere to any directions or stipulations that he gave, so that we have the best results. Question: What is the number one reason that someone who has had many conscious travels in the astral and leaving the body, could revert back to unconsciousness? I have not had a real conscious experience in about a year. Is there a lesson here? Instructor: Yes! This has to do with the fact that awakening and spiritual development does not occur in an evolutionary arc. It happens as a result of individual efforts here and now, and there are periods of ebbs and flow, in terms of spiritual experiences. Study the Sufi Principles of Meditation. We gave a lecture on Contraction and Expansion, different principles of meditation, as well of Absence and Presence, which really talk about a lot of these details in a synthetic way, in terms of our meditation practice. Now, while consciousness fluctuates in terms of unconditioned and conditioned states, because obviously we have periods when we have a lot of light, and periods when we have a lot of darkness. But the important thing is that we remain consistent during our spiritual nights, in which we do not have that vision ready. We feel that we are alone and wandering spiritually in the dark. That happens to everybody. It happens even to the greatest masters, especially, because they have to face temptations and trials in order to develop themselves. So, oftentimes we revert to unconsciousness because we are not trained. We are weak. But fortunately we have techniques and tools that we can use, and the important thing is to practice regardless of whether or not we see the end goal in sight. So, be patient. Remember your experiences. Have faith in them. Do not lose sight of them, but also do not be attached. If you are craving those experiences, we are attached as a result of desire, because we have a condition of our ego that is creating our suffering. But having that longing is a normal thing. It is a natural sentiment of the soul. But do not strain yourself. Work hard. Train yourself in meditation, and eventually the light will come back. If we received all the light from our Being immediately, without enough development and a gradual process of training, we would be annihilated, because the light of divinity is so powerful. That is why we have gradual awakenings and experiences here and there when we need them, not when we want them. Question: When the home is sealed, do you have to reseal every time you go out and return? Instructor: Yes. So, you seal your home physically, with your imagination and visualization, and perhaps you leave the area that you sealed. If you go out of your home, or perhaps you seal your bedroom and leave, in the middle of the night, you should reseal it when you get back. Now, personally I like to imagine my entire home, when I visualize and seal, because I do not want to have to keep resealing when I am getting up, sometimes at four in the morning if I have to use the restroom or something. Practically speaking, you do not want to keep having to do that, so just seal your home, I recommend a head of time, so that you do not have to move about later. When you need to leave your home, you can . You do break the seal when you leave, so you do need to reseal it if you want to protect yourself again. Comment: I noticed, the more you work with your own inner God, you have more protection, even with not doing so much in this way of protection, as long as I am doing the inner work and being sincere. The only time I have noticed being able to be attacked is when my Being allowed it to happen, either due to karma, or specifically as a learning experience, for me to learn my weaknesses, or to learn who, why and what is attacking me, to make me aware. Instructor: Yes, that is a really good point. Now, one thing I will mention is that our nightlife―not going to clubs or bars―but when you physically go to sleep, and perhaps eight hours go by and we do not remember anything, that is a barometer of our psychological state in the day. That means that we are very asleep. Now, we may feel that we are, to a degree, safe and protected, which we do receive that as a result of sincerely working on ourselves. The reality is that we do face those conflicts in accordance with karma and the will of divinity, as even stated in the Qur’an that all good and bad comes from الله Allah. Now, most people who are interested in Gnosis have some degree of ego developed in black magic. It is inevitable. The reality is that if we are interested in these types of studies, it is because we probably delved in witchcraft in a previous life. Some of us may have done it to a greater degree, some of us less, and so we receive those types of experiences as a result of karma, meaning, we have to face certain situations and learn from them. That is a very good, valid point that you made. Now one thing I will mention is that just because we do not sense anything does not mean that it is not there. So that is the scary thing we have to be mindful of―not to be paranoid or really afraid―but it is important that we are cautious and that we take precautions against certain effects or influences in a preventative way. That is the best approach to have. So I mean, if you feel like you are not being attacked, it is good that you do take measures to energetically seal your home and psyche because when the moment does come, when you do have that experience, you will be much more prepared. Question: My question was basically: how do I go about talking to somebody who may have a demon possession or something or another, in that fashion, without them getting provoked and angry and lashing out in the simple act of talking about it? Instructor: I would say that the best way you can help someone is to be conscious and to have love for them, compassion. You know, sometimes, unfortunately, a lot of our motivations tend to be driven by selfishness, even if it is in in spiritual matters, especially. Whether you are teaching Gnosis or some other spiritual path, or having studied something like this for some time, we do have defects of mystical vanity and pride, which we have to be cautious against. But the real solution to help such people is to approach them with love and understanding. If they are suffering a lot, we can offer solutions like the ones I’ve been mentioning. You know, they have to be open to it! That is the difficult thing. If someone is really suffering a lot and is possessed by these negative entities, they may feel like there is no solution or that they cannot be help, or what we offer them may not be of benefit. Now we have to respect the will of others, especially, but it doesn’t mean we do not make the effort to offer them help. But also, we have to be patient regarding the response because sometimes people can react and think, “Oh, this is just a bunch of crazy stuff! This is a bunch of cultish behavior, or superstition, or whatever!” We have to respect people’s viewpoints. Now if they really want help, we have to reach them by giving them our compassion, especially. That is a psychological attitude that you can only develop when you are really meditating on your own defects and are eliminating, especially, pride and anger. When we are really genuine, when speaking from our heart, people can sense it and it has a remarkable influence on others. Question: What does it mean that I do not remember my dreams at all for years, but my brother can remember every dream, and astral and lucid dream, but can actually dream about what I am doing in my waking hours? Does there seem to be a way to the path of sevens (or the seven spiritual influences)? Instructor: Some people in the past or in past lives have developed psychic abilities. I know a lot of times we like to think that certain people are gifted, that they received some kind of boon from the gods, but the truth is that, usually, people who have a lot of dream recall and memory and astral experiences is because they once worked with certain spiritual teachings that developed that. Now if we cannot remember our dreams or we struggle to remember what we are doing in our waking hours, it is because we are very conditioned by our own psyche. We have, in many cases, obscured our own potential. But those are rectifiable. We can change that. We can develop our own abilities again or recapitulate our past development by working again with these methods. It is important not to be jealous of people who have those types of abilities, and I am not saying that this is necessarily your case, but often times we may get frustrated with our own selves because we feel like “Other people are doing it, but I am not.” The reality is that we are all at our own level of being and we all have our own karma to pay. Some people may have the right to have those experiences, but we may have to work and earn and even maybe suffer a bit in order to have it. But we should be patient with our circumstances and learn to work effectively with where we are at. That is the best way in order to really ascend the spiritual path and work with the seven primary virtues, because remember that the law of seven, according to the Tarot, relates to seven archangels, but also the seven demons, as I said, but also the seven capital sins, but also the seven virtues. So it is important to remember those virtues, but also to eliminate the seven primary sins or defects so that we can give birth to genuine love, virtue, chastity, compassion, altruism, philanthropy, humility, faith in ourselves. Continuing with the former question… Question: Thank you! I also want to know: how can I remove demons from other people because the simple act of talking about demonology brings these people to rage and anger, and they lash out? Instructor: Yes, obviously people have their own presuppositions and beliefs, and we have to respect them. If people are open to learning, we can offer these teachings. Obviously, we can not necessarily remove a person’s demons that are afflicting them. Now, it is a subtle teaching in relation to exorcisms and conjurations. I know there is the conventional belief that a person who is possessed is influenced by external demons, which can be true, but the only reason that a victim can be hurt is because they have their own egos that allow for that. That is the weakness that black magicians capitalize upon in order to inflict harm. So while we can protect their environment and cleanse their aura through certain prayers and conjurations, through exorcisms, through cleansings, that is basically like giving them a shower after they have been dirty for a while. That is a very external thing, but while it might seem superficial, obviously hygiene is important for many things. We feel better, even physically with taking regular showers ― you know, hopefully! ― people taking care of themselves, and brushing their teeth, doing what they need to do, because these are ways that we respect other people in society, through cleanliness, but it also has to do with keeping a positive state of mind. Now you can do all these things, whether even physically through routines and health and hygiene, and even through psychological or psychic and spiritual hygiene by doing prayers and conjurations, but that is not going to remove the fundamental problem of a person’s psychological afflictions. We cannot remove the ego of another person. We can purify their environment and help them not be influenced by other entities, but so long as that person has pride and anger and envy and hatred and lust, they are going to hate whatever we may have to say, especially, whether it is about demonology or other things. So we have to respect other people and approach them with conscious love, with compassion, and offer solutions when they are open to it, not by forcing our own way of thinking on others. I know we are eager to really help people by teaching these types of things because it really changes who we are in a positive way. But the best way we can help others is by example, not by being, according to the Biblical narrative of the Pharisees of the temple who become very proud, and I know we may have good intentions, but our ego we have to be very careful with, because our good intentions can be the impetus and the mask by which we harm other people. This is why Samael Aun Weor stated that “Crime often hides itself within the perfume of prayer.” We have to be very critical of our own desires, and when we are more selfless, we can help people more effectively. Question: How do we define lying? If I am honest, that is just my opinions. I do not know the real truth, and I would just insult people, probably. If I go about telling everyone my intentions, I could get manipulated by more selfish people. Is there a line between untruths and lies? Instructor: Lying has to do with, in esoteric terms, not representing reality. Obviously, there is some gray area in terms of what we determine is real, primarily because we have 97% subjective reasoning or ego. The ego or self only sees reality in accordance with its desires. Therefore, in a truly disturbing statistic, we can say that 97% of the time, we are invested with lies, and this is the terrible reality that we have to be facing in ourselves and to confront. Now, we lie when we, in truth, don’t perceive the truth. The force of the Father in the intellectual brain―we can say in Gnostic psychology―relates to the Father, the Truth. When we understand reality as it is to whatever degree possible, and when we do not represent that accurately, we lie. We distort our honest perceptions and our experiences of life, no matter how flawed or unconditioned they may be. Now when you lie, whether saying something that is not accurate in representation to a certain phenomenon or event, we are in truth distorting the energies the Father within our intellectual brain. People who lie a lot, who do not really have any honesty or integrity with themselves, end up having lots of problems, whether socially, maritally, emotionally, psychologically, especially. The word integrity means “to integrate,” to be one, to be unitary. The consciousness is unitary. The Being is unitary, but our multiplicity of defects are not. So our multiple selves and egos, aggregates, desires, lust, pride, vanity, anger, hatred, morbidity, shame, selfishness, etc., that constitutes a multiplicity of identities. There is no integration there. It is not a unified whole, but a multiple, imperfect unity, the multiple expression of many defects, a legion of demons, we can say. We have many legions in our psychology, and so any time we act on an ego, we are, in a sense, lying, in the ultimate, objective meaning of the term. But we have to begin this path where we are at. We cannot begin like saints. The liar becomes a saint by being honest with him or herself, confronting what is real and objective and perceptive, unconditioned, and what is just conjecture, what is opinion, what is a half-truth that the mind tells us, and this is how people become easily manipulated. It is because they do not discriminate their own psychology, what is subjective to their own reality or perception, and what is objectively real, spiritual, we can say. I know sometimes we may feel hesitant to tell our intentions to people, and obviously we have to be careful of not expressing our ego, so that we do not get manipulated. So we can say that an untruth or a lie―there really is no demarcation between. They are the same thing. You learn how to follow truthful action by following your conscience, your heart, your intuition. Any other final questions? Question: Yes. I just wanted to say thank you. It was very―there is so much in this lecture, just lots of nuances of feeling and experience. So it was very helpful. I just want to ask one small question. I have some elder friends in their 80’s, one of them who watches my dog in the day, and cuddles with them for an hour, and her husband is really sick. I was wondering when you are praying for those who are struggling with their health and stuff like that, do they have to know? I do not think they would really be so into like a lot of the things I just experienced tonight with you with some of the prayers. I think they would think it was witchcraft and crazy even though they are Christians and everything. So when you are praying for others, do they always have to participate and know, or is it being, like, not having respect for their will if they do not know that you have that intention for them and willingness to accept it? How does that work? Instructor: Great question! You can perform those rituals and practices without them knowing. Now, whenever I perform any type of ritual for healing or protection for myself or others, I always pray to my inner divinity to help the person in accordance with the law, in accordance with His will, not mine, primarily because our will cannot be trusted. But if you perform the practice for healing, you have to do it in the remembrance that this person has their own process in accordance with karma and that they are going to face whatever they have to face, regardless. But if our own compassionate understanding and love for them, our conscious love, can be of benefit, obviously our prayers are going to be effective. Now we can pray for their wellbeing and perform the ritual for them in secret, and they do not have to know anything about it physically. Personally, I do not tell people when I do certain practices when I want to help certain relationships. You know, I just do it in silence, in secret because those things may be judged. They may be labeled as witchcraft or whatever, you know, due to people not being educated or experienced, but “by their fruits you will know them.” Look at the results. We have to give our consci0us efforts and works for humanity but without expecting any particular results but allowing divinity to take care of it. Hopefully we can become a better vehicle for that facilitation and that healing. Comment: Thank you! Instructor: You’re welcome! Any other questions? Comment: I found reading the story of the Buddha was really helpful as there are lots of living examples of concepts that have been a great help, comprehending how we lie to ourselves and all the ways we do it, why we do it, and what we think it gives us, versus what we were hoping it would do, enables us to begin understanding what lying is and how not the do it, etc. This helps us to see how others lie and to understand as well and have more compassion for ourselves and others. The more inner work we do in comprehending the ways we do lie to ourselves gives us experience of truth. We slowly gain comprehension of the wisdom we are yearning to comprehend. Instructor: I agree with you. The more ethics and development we have in working on our own defects and egos, the more understanding of others we can have in ourselves. Yes! Question: Hi again! I have another question. I really loved hearing the singing because I know I have heard in lots of classes about that some things should be sung, but I really do not know how to sing it, and so sometimes I just do it on my own, but it is always kind of experimental and awkward and takes away from my focus. Maybe that’s ok that it should be just experimental in my own ways, or maybe it should be a certain melody that is particular to the prayer? I was just wondering, I tried to sing along with you and take voice memos of some of the things I was able to do, but not others, but is this recorded somewhere so that we can listen to it again, or is there somewhere where like the Belilin prayer is sung somewhere that we can listen to again? Instructor: Sure! This is going to be in the course Spiritual Self-Defense. You can also access on our website, there is a section for practices that we have recordings of certain mantras and prayers, at length, so you can access all of that online. I will include a link for that in the chat box. Comment: Ok. Thank you! Instructor: You’re welcome. Any final comments or questions? So I thank you all for coming! Appreciate the attendance. I know we ran over a lot, and I am really appreciative of the questions you put forth because they help us go deeper into these subjects. 
Today's lecture is about spiritual self-defense, and it is the first in a course that will be ongoing, about how do we defend ourselves from the various challenges, obstacles, and attacks that we might face as we engage more seriously in our spiritual work.
The most important question I want to begin with is, what is black magic? For many of us who are new to this path, we hear it mentioned, and it might evoke some fear or uncertainty. So I want to clarify upfront a simple basic understanding of what we mean when we talk about black magic. Yes, black magic does include demons and individuals who are in physical bodies out there, performing rituals and cultivating energy, whether through sexual practices or other rituals― that we don't teach in our school, specifically―in order to be able to gain more power over other people and in the internal worlds. However, to clarify, the power that those people are gaining is fortifying their ego, which means that they will have power in the internal dimensions of the inverted Tree of Life, what we call the hell realms, the infernal dimensions. Our goal on the white path of initiation is to enter into the higher levels of consciousness, to enter into the divine and heavenly realms, and it is important to know that black magicians, as much power as they may have in the lower realms, do not have power in the higher realms in which the divine law reigns. Some say that in the hell realms, whatever is the divine law is inverted, meaning that what is against the law in the divine realms becomes “the law,” the mandatory law in the hell realms. So if fornication and adultery is against divine law, in the hell realms, it is mandatory that everyone must fornicate. Everyone must commit adultery. This is a basic example to give us an understanding. Additionally, we have to realize that all of us on this path are trapped between the two realms. We have a bit of our consciousness which is free, which is longing for the divine, which is virtuous, with many beautiful spiritual qualities, and we also have a large percentage of our consciousness that is trapped in infernal psychological states. It is that part of our consciousness through which black magicians can manipulate and control us. And so, whenever someone is trying to control the will of others, to steal energy from them, by getting them to lust after them, to envy them, to worship them, whenever a person is trying to dominate others, confuse others, manipulate others, or hurt others, this is black magic. As you can tell with that general explanation, many of us in many points in our lives have used black magic. We have used our mind and our cleverness in order to try to manipulate or harm others, but at the same time we have also tried to get others to lust after us or to be envious of us, to make others feel that we are better than them. These are all forms of black magic. And so while yes, we are looking out for black initiates, individuals out there who have actually been initiated into black paths and are working with black tantra, magical forms of energy manipulation and control of the elements, in order to gain power and steal power from others, our biggest weakness, when it comes to self-defense, is that we ourselves are very egotistical and we are very easily controlled. The Buddha Gautama said that “It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him into evil ways.” About a year ago, I was watching the opera Parsifal, which many of us know from the books of Samael Aun Weor, specifically the book Parsifal Unveiled, and in the particular rendition that I was watching, there was a powerful scene when Parsifal, who represents the pure but foolish young initiate on a quest to save his Lord, has to enter into the kingdom of Klingsor, representing our egotistical foe. And Parsifal, once entering this kingdom, has to pass through a garden filled with beautiful and seductive women. Because of his purity of heart he is not seduced by these women and is able to enter into the chamber, in which he meets the temptress Kundry, and what happens from there, you'll have to watch the opera to learn the rest. But as I watched the scene, it struck me that Parsifal did not need any weapons to defend himself from these beautiful and seductive women, because he in his mind was strong. If we have a fantasy in our own mind of a attractive man or woman, and then that person comes into our physical life and begins to try to seduce us, manipulate us, get our energy, or get us to lust after them, make us fall off the path, so to speak, we are very easily manipulated and able to fall in that case. But if in our mind we have already seen the truth of this person, we have no temptation towards lust for them, and then they come and approach us with the same lustful behaviors in an attempt to seduce us, we have nothing to fear, because it will be much more difficult in that case for them to be able to control us. Our best self-defense is cultivating the purity of mind, heart, and body that makes it impossible for any black magician to be able to manipulate us. I think that this quote from Samael Aun Weor in his book Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology sums this example up perfectly. He wrote: The best weapon that a human being can use in life is a correct psychological state. One can disarm beasts and unmask traitors by means of appropriate internal states. Wrong internal states convert us into defenseless victims of human perversity. You must learn to face the most unpleasant events of practical life with an appropriate internal uprightness. You must not become identified with any event. Remember that everything passes away. You must learn to look at life like a movie; thus, you shall receive the benefits. You must not forget that if you do not eliminate mistaken internal states from your psyche, then events of no value could bring you disgrace. ―Samael Aun Weor, Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology
We need to know that in order to defend ourselves, our best weapon is to be conscious, to be awake in every moment, to be self-observing what is happening inside of us, and to be self-remembering our inner divinity, so that we behave with internal uprightness.
We behave according to our own conscience. This is not worrying about morality or what others will think of us, but knowing in our own heart we are doing what is right in God's eyes. And this is based on our own inner relationship with our own inner divinity that we cultivate through daily meditation and prayer. If you are meditating, you will have a better sense of what is a correct psychological state, because in certain moments in one's meditation practice, one can access this. What is my psychological state when I am, for a few moments, free of ego? And then when I sink back into an egotistical state, when I become identified with some defect, like pride or anger lust or envy, what is the change that I witnessed there? Because if I am self-observing, then I know if my consciousness is truly free and being guided by divinity, or if my consciousness is conditioned by a certain egotistical element in myself that I still need to further comprehend and eliminate. If we break down this passage, which is filled with very deep wisdom, we see that it is possible for us to disarm beasts and unmask traitors by means of appropriate internal states. This means that if we are awakened, if we are self-observing, have our consciousness active and free of ego, we can see exactly how another person might be trying to manipulate or harm us. And rather than reacting with anger or with fear towards this person, we can become conscious internally of what is the correct response in order to protect ourselves, to guard ourselves in this situation. When we have wrong internal states, we become defenseless victims of human perversity. If we have truly meditated in this tradition for quite some time, we are aware of the depths of perversity within our own mind. How often we wish to harm or control or dominate other people? And so we must have compassion for the human perversity that exists in others and be aware of it. The best way to protect ourselves is not to let our own lust or anger or pride seduce us into wrong behaviors. As I mentioned in the example before, if we see an attractive man or woman and we are cultivating a fantasy, a lustful fantasy of the day that they will come and talk to us or ask us out and we are really putting a lot of energy, conscious energy into that fantasy, it is our own mind which has already set the trap for us. And when that person shows up in our physical life and begins to talk to us, it does not take much effort on their part in order to have a profound level of control over us. Many times in our lives, perhaps we have had our heart broken or we felt betrayed, and the other person may not even have willingly done so to us, but it was our own mental state which set us up for that scenario. We have to recognize that as a consequence of karma, we have many ties to other people and each of these will play themselves out, and we must accept that because we have done wrong in this lifetime and in previous lifetimes, we will suffer. But, if we suffer consciously, and if we take those situations of pain and we transform them into an opportunity to learn about our own inner defects, to cleanse ourselves internally, to respond with more love and strength of heart towards the difficulties of life and towards our problems with other people, we will truly become an initiate, a warrior on this path, which is what we need. It's a very difficult work. It's a work of a lifetime and not something easily achieved and not easy to follow through with. That is why these temptations come along in order for us to go to battle, to prove whether we are going to be defined for the will of God or whether we are going to fall fulminated at the feet of our own inner egos and defects. Temptations are a chance for us to purify ourselves. However, most of the time we become identified with an event. We look at other people at our life situation as very real and as something that demands for us to react to it with a lot of self-esteem. When other people come along and insult us, or when life is not going the way that we had desired, we get identified. We have a lot of pride that comes out and says, “I don't deserve this. These people shouldn't be talking about me like that. They are so much worse.” Or “this situation shouldn't be happening to me. I am great and I have done all this hard work,” etc., etc. This is becoming identified with an event, and we will suffer much more through that identification. It is much better to take a step back, to calm down, go for a walk or do something that calms us down, and then enter into meditation. Separate from our identification with the event and reflect on it serenely, allowing God to show us not what is wrong with the other person or what is wrong with the situation, or how can I change other people and situations to make them more the way that I want them to be, but rather, “what is it in me that is incorrectly responding to this circumstance?” By understanding ourselves, which is truly the only thing that we can change, we will be able to find more peace. We will be able to radically change inside, and as we change inside, we know that the outside world will begin to reflect more and more our inner level of being. This is a process of alchemy, of transmutation, radical transformation of oneself from darkness, unconsciousness, and egotism, into light, selflessness and consciousness, unity with divinity. That is what we are doing. We are taking a heavy base metal like lead and transforming it into the purified gold of the spirit. This is a long work. Events of no value, such as an argument with someone, which in the moment feels very serious and very real and causes a lot of anger in us, can bring us a lot of disgrace if we respond with that anger. However, if we transform that state, we feel peace with the situation. We accept it. We express kindness or compassion for the other person involved, then that event passes away. Everything passes away, is what Samael Aun Weor is writing here. If we keep that in mind, no matter how much we burn in the moment, we can find a rope to hold onto, a continuity of consciousness so that we do not lose our integrity over an event of no value. 
Chastity: God’s Covenant
Most importantly, in maintaining the purity of our state of mind and of our soul, is chastity. For anyone who has been in this doctrine for some time, you know that we speak repeatedly about chastity as the renunciation of orgasm and the practice of sexual magic with one spouse, or the practice of pranayama: to transmute one’s sexual energy in a pure way for single people.
Chastity is our covenant with God, and when we break that covenant, we lose the divine protection which that covenant grants us. It is a very serious covenant to make, and I recommend that when you make that choice to commit to chastity as part of your spiritual practice, as part of your life, that you don't go back on it―that you fight with all of your being to preserve that chastity, because when one falls, depending on the severity of the fall, the consequences are very severe. So we have to be very serious about chastity, when we take that step, because it offers us a lot of protection. What chastity does is it strengthens our inner connection with our inner Father, what we call the Innermost, related with Chesed on the Tree of Life, in Kabbalah, and with our Divine Mother, both of whom want us very much to succeed. This doesn't mean that difficulties will never happen to us because, of course, we have karma, and because we need to face our karma in order to develop our soul and to become strong souls to purify ourselves. But it does mean that we will have the comfort of the Holy Spirit with us in those moments, because our sexual energy is our direct connection with the Holy Spirit. And when we are transmuting and raising that energy up the spine, and conserving it in our body without ever letting that energy out, we are creating a hermetic seal in which our connection with God becomes stronger and stronger, and is never broken. Years ago when I first took this step, I was seeing in a vision, in meditation practice, God's covenant with Abraham, and I realized that this symbol is about our sexual chastity. If you are familiar with the story from the Bible, God makes a covenant with Abraham that his seed will be as numerous as the stars. And this covenant is made because Abraham, at the time named Abram, was lamenting that he was childless. This is our situation. We want to give birth to the soul. We do not want to be just an Essence, just the seed of a soul. We want to give birth to that child, that Christ child within our own soul. And so we go to God and we pray, “Give us a chance to achieve this work,” which is very sacred, and God says to Abraham that he must perform a sacrifice, an animal sacrifice. Abraham does so, cutting the animals in two. Sometimes this is known as the covenant of the pieces. For us, it is important to realize that the sacrifice of the animal is the sacrifice of our own ego, all of those drives that cause us to become identified with situations in life: lust, anger, hatred, pride, gluttony, greed―all of these animal defects in us which are constantly controlling us and causing us to perform wrong actions that create more and more problems for us and for others. This is what we must sever, and of course the greatest example of the animal instinct is lust. When we commit to chastity and we are renouncing orgasm, we are severing our ties with that animal. We are taking the animal instinct and we are taming it through sexual magic, or through pranayama if you are a single person. And we are transforming that animal into knowledge, into the power of God, the willpower of God. And this work takes time. Also, the covenant that God made with Abraham required that all of his children and Abraham himself becomes circumcised. Obviously, this is a symbol of chastity: the circumcision while, yes, it is performed literally and physically, is truly about circumcising our own mind, our own animal instinct, and becoming pure in the way that we approach sex and sexuality. This takes time, and I recognize that preserving chastity is a challenge for many people, but it is the most important front in which we begin to define ourselves. That is why I have listed here that we must master self-control. If you are tempted in a moment to look at pornography or to engage in some lustful fantasy of a person, to engage in behaviors that you know are directly counterproductive to your spiritual work that you are attempting here, you have to develop ways to control yourself, most importantly to control the mind. We often describe the mind as a donkey which must be whipped and controlled. This does not mean to repress and to beat oneself up, but merely in the beginning, find a way to redirect your mind. If you are at home and you have access to things that will feed your lust, get rid of them, or go for a walk or read a spiritual scripture. Find a way to control yourself, and later on when you have calmed down, enter into meditation, and without becoming identified with what you are meditating on, pray for your inner divinity to help you, to keep your covenant. If you cannot control your own mind, then of course you are at great risk for black magicians or demons to control you. When we engage in orgasm, we are opening up the doorway into the infernal worlds, and we are allowing lots of negative atoms into our inner bodies. So energetically, emotionally, mentally, we are filling ourselves with toxins and weakening our ability to be strong in our chastity. That is why we have to be very serious on this point, and why I put it so early on in this lecture. This is really the foundation of our work, and this is the way that people are so commonly swayed into the black path. In many of the schools of black magic, they preach virtue and godliness and purity, and many of the same things that we teach in this school, but the defining difference between a white path and a black path is the orgasm. Samael Aun Weor says that if you are ever awakened internally in the astral plane and you believe that the person, the master who is talking to you may be a black magician, to ask them what they think of chastity, what they think of renouncing the orgasm. And without fail, if the person says to you that orgasm is good or orgasm is okay, then you know that this is someone of the black path and you need to protect yourself. We will get into ways of how you can protect yourself in an encounter like that in a few moments. But the seriousness of preserving chastity just cannot be overlooked. Temptations come along to force us to define ourselves. If you fail when you are facing a temptation, learn from it. All of us fail when facing temptations, but this is not an excuse to give up or to just continue in bad behaviors. If we fail, we should feel genuine remorse, and we should meditate seriously on that circumstance or that failure, praying to God with our whole heart, day after day, for comprehension, and really creating the circumstances in which that comprehension can come to us, by meditating and separating ourselves from bad influences. Additionally, even when we can physically preserve our chastity and maintain that in our physical lives, sometimes we are attacked internally and we may be seduced, whether by men or women, in the internal planes. And this can cause us to lose our energy, what we refer to as wet dreams or nocturnal pollutions. This can happen for both men or women.
So if you wake up and you know that you have experienced an orgasm or a wet dream, there is a remedy that you can make, the melon drink remedy. And I have a link to it in the resources that I mentioned earlier, also at the end of this presentation. So that link has a beautiful video which illustrates exactly how to make that melon drink, and to continue to make it until you are able to recover from that.
So if this happens and you lose your energy, continue to transmute, continue to practice pranayama everyday. Do runes every day if you feel that you have a very fiery sexual temperament. You may need to perform runes in addition to pranayama. There is no limit on how much pranayama you can do. You can perform as much of it in a day as you need to. So if you are feeling particularly tempted, go outside. Go for a walk. Take a break. Come back and perform pranayama for as long as you need until you have calmed down. Conjurations
Okay, so this bit about knowing the conjurations is really your homework. If I were to give you an assignment on how to protect yourself, it would be to begin today memorizing these conjurations.
Choose one. Pray it every night before you go to sleep, and whether you have written it down or you are reading it, the more that you pray it, the more familiar you will become with it. And just as you had to memorize things in school, some of these conjurations will be a little bit difficult to memorize at first, but it is possible. And truly, of all the ways to defend yourself, memorizing these conjurations is one of the easiest and most valuable to do. Now the first one that I have listed here is not exactly a conjuration, but more a mantra for protection. Klim Krishnaya Govindaya Gopijana Vallabhaya Swaha. There are videos related to all of these mantras and conjurations at the end in the resources section. So as I mentioned before, I am not going to go in depth into every resource, but give you an overview of where you should be looking, and then you will be able to refer to the videos and the articles on these very powerful prayers, in order to understand the true depth and meaning of each one of them. 
Mantras of the Flaming Star
Now, Klim Krishnaya Govindaya Gopijana Vallabhaya Swaha will project a pentagram, a flaming star, in the astral plane.
This is also a mantra that you can repeat in your head internally, mentally, whenever you are feeling threatened in the physical world. Sometimes during the day, I do not feel threatened by other individuals, but I feel that my own mind is becoming sleepy or perhaps angered by a situation, and so in order to conjure my own mind, I will use this mantra mentally. No one else knows that I am doing it, but it truly helps me to focus. I notice more brightness of consciousness coming in as I use this mantra. It is very helpful.
So while it may sound a little complicated to memorize at first, it's one of the easier mantras that can really be helpful in many, many moments.
About Pronunciations
Additionally, with all of these mantras, which are often in other languages such as Hebrew or Latin, it is okay if you are mispronouncing them. Yes, the videos give us an opportunity to know how they should be pronounced, and there are some audio clips as well of one of the other instructors pronouncing them, but what is most important is the sincerity of your heart and prayer, your inner connection with divinity, your purity. So do not get caught up over whether or not you are mispronouncing it. There are some conjurations, which I realized I was slightly mispronouncing a word for some time and then I corrected it, but even before correcting that mispronunciation, they still brought a lot of force and power. So do not let the mispronunciation piece become a barrier for you.
The Conjuration of the Four
Next is the Conjuration of the Four. This refers to the four elements, and this conjuration is used to reject all of the legions of demons, which can manipulate the elementals in order to attack us. And so this is usually the first conjuration that one would say before going to sleep at night.
The Conjuration of the Seven
Additionally after completing the Conjuration of the Four, one would then say the Conjuration of the Seven. This conjuration invokes the seven archangels in order to reject the seven archdemons. And so, for demons which are more powerful and not able to be rejected with Conjuration of the Four, we can use the Conjuration of the Seven.
The Invocation of Solomon
And finally, the third prayer that one would use before going to sleep would be the Invocation of Solomon. So with these three, we can protect ourselves before we go to sleep and enter the astral plane. The Invocation of Solomon actually works with the entire Tree of Life to be able to draw the forces of God to protect us.
Fons Alpha et Omega
In addition to these, one of my favorites is the Fons Alpha et Omega. This is actually a variety of mantras combined into one conjuration, and it is very powerful for rejecting negative forces. It also can help us to penetrate the meaning of a dream or a vision, so you can say it when you are sitting to meditate and asking for greater clarity on an experience that you have had. This conjuration can be used to mirror back the attack that someone has directed at you.
So we have heard it said that one who lives by the sword falls and dies by the sword. If an individual is directing harm towards you and you use the Fons Alpha et Omega, this actually will redirect that energy back at the creator of that conjuration.
So in that sense, we must be very careful that we are not trying to use these prayers to harm anyone, but are keeping compassion for the ones who might be attacking us in our hearts whenever we are using them.
Belilin
Finally there is a song that we can use before bed, which many like, which can invoke the Angel Aroch. So Belilin is a song which we must sing as we are falling asleep, and the Angel Aroch will come to protect us and be with us.
All of these prayers that I mentioned in the slide are in A Gnostic Prayer Book, which is sold in the Gnostic Store on Glorian.org. As well, I have linked the Gnostic Store and the Gnostic Prayer Book in the resources section of this lecture, so that if you want to find copies of these prayers and have them all in one place to be able to memorize them, you can do so through that book.
So we will use these conjurations a lot in protecting our home and our body, and that is why I felt it was important to assign it to all of you as homework, that you really need to be memorizing them one at a time. And if you only have one memorized, go ahead and start using it all the time when you are praying. If you are walking around through the day and you are trying to strengthen your self-awareness, you can repeat that conjuration in your own head to give you strength of consciousness and to reject your own ego, your own defects within. 
Gnostic Pentagrams
Additionally, in our home we want to include pentagrams. So a pentagram can be drawn with a charcoal pencil, which is something that does not leave a permanent, lasting mark on the floor, if you are worried about that. We also have some wonderful pentagrams which are very affordably priced on the Gnostic Store as well. So I have linked the Gnostic Store in the resources section for those who would like to buy them.
A pentagram should be placed on one's altar, and I will talk a little bit more about the altar. In addition to the altar, we should have a pentagram above our bed where we sleep at night and we should also have a pentagram at the doorway of our bedroom. When you place a pentagram in a doorway, you want to put the two feet facing out of the door so that if you were to stand that pentagram up on its two feet, it would be standing in the doorway. If we mistakenly reverse that, then we would be summoning negative forces into the bedroom. So it's very important that when you place it on the floor, you have the two feet facing out of the bedroom and the top point facing into the bedroom to reject the negative forces. 
In addition to this, we have clear pentagrams, which you can place in windows. Some people as well like to place a pentagram in front of the doorway to their home. So again, with the two feet facing out of the doorway and the top point facing into the home. You can cover it with a rug if you are not wanting any visitors to see it. Clearer pentagram stickers can also be great for your car if you want a little bit of extra protection there.
A lot of those are optional, but the three main ones that we stress that Samael Aun Weor indicated are to have a pentagram on your altar, in the doorway of your bedroom, and above your bed. Personal Space and Altar
Now I recognize that not everyone has their own personal space in which they can be displaying pentagrams. In which case I advise you to do what you can with all of the practices and techniques and strategies that I am giving in this lecture, and if it is something that is not possible for you because of your relationship with your roommates or significant other, then choose other ways to protect yourself. You don't need to do all of these. I advise all of them as best practice for those who are able, but of course, I recognize that not everyone will have the opportunity to do so, and that's okay.
If you do choose to draw the pentagram with charcoal, again, it's important that in the doorway, you have the two feet facing out of the door. In addition to the pentagram we would like to create an altar. An altar is a space where we can pray and meditate, do our conjurations at night and this is where we can cultivate a lot of spiritual force. We can do runes there and practices, whatever we feel is our sacred practice in order to strengthen our connection with divinity. It is great to have an altar. This can be a plain table. It doesn't have to be something elaborate, but it is a wonderful thing to do if you have the opportunity. So to give you a little more context on this altar, we are going to read directly from one of the resources that I linked. Here are the Basic Elements for a Gnostic Altar: A Gnostic altar should be a table or stand of some kind covered with a fine cloth, usually white. Some even cover this with glass. While you can make the altar from anything humble and inexpensive, the best altar will be made from scented wood such as cyprus, cedar, sandal, etc. (On the altar you should also include) a copy of the Gnostic Bible: The Pistis Sophia Unveiled by Samael Aun Weor, and representations of the four elements.
For the element of water you can have “a bowl or a glass of water.” Keep this water clean. So you may need to refresh it over time.
To represent the air you can have “a feather,” and to represent the Earth, you can have flowers, a stone or something else of significance for you. Some people like to have a dish of soil. In addition, on one's altar, we would include “a pentagram” as was already mentioned, and we would use “perfumes, incenses, or scented oils.” I highly recommend that you use incense regularly. This draws a lot of positive forces into your home and it rejects negative forces. 
Essential Oils
So while we can of course use incense, if you are worried about the scent or you have a partner who does not enjoy the smell of incense, you can use essential oils. You can find a diffuser in which you can mix a few drops of essential oil with water and diffuse that scent through the home. Or you can of course put the essential oil directly on your skin in a small amount.
With essential oils, we recommend therapeutic grade. A lot of essential oils that are cheaper on the market have been diluted and are not pure qualities. So therapeutic grade is really the best that you can get when it comes to essential oils. 
Beautiful Images and Sacred Environments
In addition, when we are trying to cultivate a spiritual atmosphere in our home, we want to have images, sacred images, like images of the Buddha, Christ, or any type of religious or spiritual master that really inspires you. This can be really powerful, and these of course can go on one's altar. You can put other sacred scriptures like the Qur’an, the Bible, the Sutras.
You can put sacred symbols like the cross or the menorah, and sometimes people like to include a symbolic blade, sword, or knife to represent the psychological work: to cut through the illusions of our own ego. 
In addition, Samael Aun Weor wrote this about the home of Gnostic initiates:
The home of Gnostic initiates must be full of beauty. The flowers that perfume the air with their aroma, beautiful sculptures, perfect order and cleanliness, make of each home a true Gnostic sanctuary. ―Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony
This is from the Perfect Matrimony and in The Yellow Book, he again emphasized that:
Flowers, perfumes, symbolic pictures, and beautiful music contribute to creating an environment filled with wisdom and love. ―Samael Aun Weor, The Yellow Book
When we talk about beautiful music, we are talking primarily about classical music that elevates the soul, not popular music of nowadays.
Prayer to the Aloe
In addition to be able to protect one's home, there is a prayer that one can do with the aloe plant. Again, this prayer is written down in the Gnostic Prayer Book. I believe it is also in Igneous Rose.
So the prayer to the elemental fairy of the aloe vera plant is beneficial in order to protect against negative forces. Every Gnostic home should have an aloe plant. Use this prayer to invoke its assistance. Cross, thou art holy and divine. Sorcerers and witches withdraw from this home. Such persons who intend to arrive here, let it be known that I am with God. Sovereign God, set me free from treason and from ruination. Blessed be the most Holy Mary and the consecrated host. ―Gnostic Prayer
After you say the prayer, bless the aloe plant with the sign of the cross.
Elemental Magic of the Maguey
Similarly, there is a ritual for a maguey plant (Agave Americana) that is very powerful to cut one's ties with the Black Lodge and to be able to conjure or reject any forces from a direct attack, if you suspect that a person is attacking you internally, and that prayer can be found in the book The Divine Science: “White Magic and Black Magic” if you are interested in learning about that.
Black Mustard Seeds
Mustard seeds can be used to protect us from psychic attacks. So you can purchase online small tiny jars with a cork to put in the top, and then mustard seeds are available again from the Gnostic Store. You fill four little jars with mustard seeds and you place them in the four corners of your home where they will be able to create a sort of force field in order to protect you from psychic attacks. This can be helpful if you feel that when you are sitting down to practice or as you are falling asleep, you are being attacked psychically.
The Circle of Protection
And finally, the circle of protection is very powerful for protecting one's home and can be done every night before going to bed. If you are living in a home with other people, you can also perform the circle of protection directly around the room in which you sleep. If you get up in the middle of the night and you leave the circle for example to use the restroom, then come back in and draw the circle again before you go back to sleep.
So the circle of protection can be drawn by circling the room three times with a sword, which again is an item that some keep on their altar, a sword or a blade or with the sword of one's own imagination. So when I do this mantra, I will chant the mantra “Helion Melion Tetragrammaton” three times as I am imagining the fiery light circling around my room.
This mantra along with that entire practice can also be found in the Gnostic Prayer Book which is linked at the end.
Pentagram Medallions
Now to protect one's body, you can wear a pentagram. Pentagrams I have seen available in ring form and also in a form of a pendant, which you can wear around your neck. Those pentagrams have to be consecrated through a ritual that have linked again at the end in the resources, so you can find more information about that.
If you are interested in buying one of these metal pentagrams, we have some contact info for someone who makes them in seals of metals in the back of a gold pentagram, and you can contact us at help@chicagognosis.org if you are interested in that. However, if you are not able to buy one of these nicer pentagrams, then you can go and buy a simple silver or gold pentagram, and that should be helpful as well. 
Sulfur Powder
In addition to wearing a pentagram, you can put sulfur in your shoes. If you are going to a place, for example a bar or restaurant for a work event or a family event that you feel you need to be present, then you can put sulfur in your shoes, and this will help to keep astral larvae off of you and negative influences so that you will be able to stay cleaner, psychically-speaking, throughout that day. And of course each day, you might want to put sulfur in your shoes, especially if you live in a big city.
Spiritual Strength through Blessed Food and Drink
The Eucharist is a very powerful ritual which can be performed using bread and grape juice, as symbolic wine, every day after you finish transmuting your energy. So if you are a couple, you can perform this ritual after sexual magic, and if you are a single person, you can also perform this ritual after you are transmuting with pranayama. This is extremely powerful in awakening your consciousness. This ritual is actually invoking atoms of Christ to come into your system and to protect you not only from forces outside of you, but also within you. I cannot recommend it highly enough, and so that as well as linked in the resources section of this.
The Microcosmic Star
We have an excellent video which demonstrates how you can form the pentagram, also known as the microcosmic star, with your body to invoke the Holy Spirit, to reject negative forces. And this can help you to protect your physical body.
Juniper Berries
And finally, juniper berries are a way that we can protect ourselves from contagion. I think that in a time like this, this is particularly relevant. So one can chew on juniper berries after blessing the berries and praying that that they will protect one from any contagion. And so if you bless the berries each day, that's sufficient.
Sage
Another great way to purify your home and your body is with a spiritual cleanse. The most common is a sage smudge. You can see it pictured here on the background of the slide. The sage smudge can be bought on the Gnostic Store, in any metaphysical book shop, and even Whole Foods sells sage. So it is pretty common and it's a good way to come home at the end of the night, after being out and about in the city or at work, and to be able to pray the Conjuration of the Four and the Conjuration of the Seven while you bathe yourself in the smoke of the sage. So you can light it, begin to pray and bathe yourself in that smoke by moving the sage smudge around your body. You can put out the sage smudge in a small bowl of sand and then you can use it again the next day.
Camphor
Camphor is also an easy way to purify your environment. You can buy camphor incense sticks and you can burn them. This is a great purifying incense if you burn them around your home, whenever you feel that the energy is becoming a little bit too dense.
Rue, Sage, and Mugwort
A more powerful cleanse can be done with rue, sage, and mugwort. So these three herbs you can buy online or in a metaphysical bookshop. You would probably need to use a mortar and pestle to be able to grind them up into a powder. And from that point, you would use a charcoal censer, which is, usually in most cases, a small iron pot into which you can place a small hot burning charcoal. After a few minutes when the charcoal is heated up, you can place a little bit of the powder of the rue, sage, and mugwort mixture onto the charcoal. You can go around your home using the Conjuration of the Four and the Conjuration of the Seven, trying to move the smoke into the shape of a cross, in order to purify and bless your home.
I have heard it recommended that when you move into a new home, you can perform this cleanse for 14 days after moving in and then again every 14 days or every month, in order to keep the impurities out of your new home. Burning Sulfur
You can also burn sulfur if you are leaving for a few days. This is one of the most powerful cleanses. However, it is very dangerous to breathe sulfur in. So if you do burn sulfur in your home, make sure that you are going to be away for at least the rest of the day, if not for a weekend, and to keep a window open so that some of that smoke can get out of the home. If you breathe sulfur in directly, it is toxic and can harm your lungs. So be very careful with that.
If you would like to use sulfur in another way, you can take a little bit of sulfur powder, mix it into your warm bath, and bathe your body into that sulfur bath and be able to purify your body in that way. 
The Egg Cleanse
Additionally, there is an egg cleanse. What you can do is you can begin with one egg and you can use two or three if you feel that you have a lot of impurities to remove. You want to rub the egg around your body in circular motion. All the parts of your body: your head, your arms, or legs, etc. And as you are using this egg, you are praying to your elemental advocate to work with the element of the egg in order to suck all of the toxins and impurities out of your internal body, your astral body, your mental body, your vital body. And then that egg, which is very gelatinous, will actually suck up the toxins from those inner bodies, and you should throw the egg onto a fire to destroy those toxins and expel them.
Some Gnostics like to say that the louder that your egg explodes, the more toxins that you had within you, so that can be an interesting twist on that cleanse as well. So as you might have noticed with many of these cleanses, you are going to be using the Conjuration of the Four and the Conjuration of the Seven. If you don't have those memorized you can try to use another conjuration as well. 
Relationships and Environments
In addition to all of these practical steps that we can take to protect ourselves, we should also be very aware of our relationships and our environments, and what types of elements we are inviting into our environments and into our relationships.
So, natural and religious sites can have a pure psychic atmosphere. This is what I find when I visit very old churches or temples. For those who were at the retreat in the Buddhist temple, I am sure you're aware of the very elevated conscious atmosphere of that place. Nature as well. Some say that God's temple is nature, so that can be a way to purify your mind, to purify your heart, to get away from the city for a little bit if you live in a crowded place, and to be able to invite some of those higher vibrations into your life. Being aware that those environments are positive and healing and can be good places to visit on a regular basis. 
Conversely, places like bars, clubs, cinemas, cemeteries, etc., attract astral larvae. So astral larvae, we say, are like little bugs that will latch onto you and suck away your energy. They are attracted to a lot of Gnostic students because we are conserving so much energy through our transmutation practice. You can say that on the astral plane, we are glowing like candles with the amount of energy that we are conserving, and that is why the more serious you are in your chastity and in your practice, you may attract certain attacks. If you go to places like this because you are unable to avoid them for some reason or other, put sulfur in your shoes and cleanse yourself with sage or another form of a cleanse soon as you get home, if possible. This is the best way to try to keep your inner bodies clean if you are exposed to those types of places. But if possible, just try to avoid them altogether.
Additionally, we do not recommend seeing spiritualists, such as mediums, people who communicate with the dead, hypnotists, fortune-tellers, and people of that ilk. These types of people, even if they have good intentions, are many times letting in negative forces. Channelers as well come to mind. So while these people may think that they are communicating with positive entities and beings, talking a lot about Jesus or positive energies and things like that, much of the time, they unfortunately are being manipulated by other entities that are not so kind―entities that actually want us to fortify our desire rather than to become free from desire and to guide ourselves internally with the guidance of our own inner divinity. You don't want to put your own mind and consciousness under the influence of another person. So if you go to a hypnotist, that is exactly what you are doing. Hypnosis means sleep. So we don't want to go and give someone else control over our mind. We want to develop the strength of our own soul and consciousness so that we can go and investigate any questions that we have internally. With the help of our inner divinity, we can pray and beg to our Being to take us to find the answers that we need. I do not recommend going to places like that because interacting with individuals like this may expose you to negative entities, which can come internally and attack you. More commonly, you should use conjurations mentally if you feel attacked. So I mentioned before using the mantra Klim Krishnaya Govindaya Gopijana Vallabhaya Swaha, whenever I feel a little bit uneasy with my own ego manipulating me. But also, if you feel that someone else is trying to manipulate you, or confuse you, or dominate you, you can try to center yourself in your Being, and you can be able to use that conjuration to protect yourself. It is really, really important that you are not using conjurations out of fear or anger. We should be trying to use these conjurations out of compassion for the ones who are attacking us. People who are trying to control others many times think that they are doing what is right, that they are benefiting other people, and so we have to have compassion for their level of being and for the harm that they are causing. This individual who is attacking someone is cultivating a lot of bad karmic consequences, things that will come back to hurt them in the future. And so we have to really have compassion for them, and by protecting ourselves, we are actually preventing them from cultivating more negative consequences for themselves. In addition, we should try to develop relationships with morally sound people. So these don't have to be necessarily spiritual people. I know many people often complain that they don't have enough spiritual friends who are into this. What is really important is that you have people in your life who are living with integrity, who are honest, hard-working, exemplifying virtues that you can learn from. This is excellent. Sometimes people involved in spiritual movements can be some of the least virtuous people, so do not depend strictly on someone's point of view on spirituality to determine whether or not they are going to be a good influence on you. The best way to find out if someone is a good influence in your life is to meditate on the experiences that you have with them, and to see if they are someone who is really helping you to cultivate your own character and your own integrity, or if they are someone that is constantly dragging you into problems and negative states of being. There is a careful distinction there. If somebody makes you angry, that does not necessarily mean they are a bad person. It could mean that you just need to see your anger and that person is really helping you to see your anger, which could be a good thing. So meditation will reveal the truth. But especially, I cannot stress enough, that your intimate relationships with people, your romantic relationships, should be with people that you consider morally sound, ethical people, people who are living an ethical life style. The choice to have a sexual relationship with someone, which is considered by the law and by nature as a marriage, whether or not we call it a marriage, is a powerful connection to that person, which will have ramifications for future lifetimes. So the quality of the person that you have a relationship with is really essential to determining the future lifetimes that you will have. So if you are serious about overcoming suffering and elevating your level of being and your consciousness, you may have to make some hard choices about who you choose not to have in your life. Sometimes this means that you have to love people from a distance. We may have friends whom we care for but whom we know are not particularly good influences on us. So if we have friends who are, perhaps, always inviting us to bars and clubs, we could invite them to do something like go for a hike in nature or do something that is less negative. Or we may just have to distance ourselves from them. This doesn't mean to lose compassion towards them, but rather just to create an environment that is more conducive for our spiritual work. Obviously, this is a very personal decision and none of us can tell you how to cultivate your own relationships. This should be something that you are continually reflecting upon, meditating on, and asking for guidance from your inner divinity. Because it can be very difficult to lose relationships, but in the long run, if we have relationships that are really draining us energetically and bringing us into bad behaviors and we really don't want to live that way anymore, by changing our own level of being, by changing our behaviors, we can attract relationships that will guide us into the direction that we have consciously chosen to go. So just be conscious of your environments that you are traveling into and be conscious of your relationships that you have with other people. It's important when you are thinking about protecting yourself. Our Greatest Enemy
Finally circling back to that original quote, our greatest enemy, our greatest danger to ourselves, is our own mind, is our own ego.
We need to create a lifestyle of spiritual protection. The conjurations, the incenses, and the mantras: these are great tools for us to use, but what is most important in determining the circumstances of our lives is our karma. Karma is cause and effect. Whatever we do today, we will reap tomorrow. If you are practicing black magic, if you are going around trying to manipulate and confuse other people, trying to exert your own will on other people to get them to behave how you want them to, trying to dominate others to gain their respect, or force others to think the way that you think, even if it is about Gnosis or about spiritual topics, and you think that you are benefiting the other person, this is harmful. This is black magic. We must respect the free will of all people. If we are abusing others, this is the number one sign that we ourselves will attract that type of manipulation from other nefarious entities. So be careful about the way that you are living your life. Are you living ethically with remembrance of divinity? At the end of your day, ask yourself that question. “How did I live today? Did I remember my Divine Mother? Did I remember my Being? Did I live in a way with consciousness of what I was doing? Am I learning from my mistakes? Am I truly seeking to be virtuous and to sacrifice for others?” This is the best protection we can ever have. When someone is angry at you, when they are insulting you, and when you take in those impressions and you transform those impressions into understanding of the pain and suffering of the other person, and you respond with sweetness, with kindness, and with love, you have protected yourself from that anger. And who knows, you may have radically transformed that situation into a very positive relationship with the other person. So the best tool that we have is to be conscious, to be aware, to transform our situations. How do you respond to life's events? If life's events come at you and you have a lot of negativity about them, you have a lot of negativity about other people, then meditate on that. Of course, we all need to start where we are at, and it is not good to just repress your negativity and pretend to be kind to everyone. You should act kindly to everyone, and then if you are feeling like being unkind, meditate on what is causing that. Is it anger? Is it jealousy? Is it lust? What is driving your response to life's events? We should be less concerned and identified with what is going on outside of us and more concerned with what is happening inside of our psychological world. How are you feeling, thinking, and behaving towards other people? Conclusion
To conclude, I will say that we have a duty to protect ourselves. If we are really working on this path, it is because we believe that there is a way to really serve God and help humanity in the process. And so when other entities try to seduce us, to manipulate us, to attack us, we have a right to protect ourselves and we have a duty to protect ourselves, because the work that we are doing at this time is very important.
Many many people are suffering and the work that we are doing to become better human beings, to connect with divinity, to follow the will of God, the guidance that we are receiving internally, is very important, because as we see every day on the news, this planet is going through an intensifying period of suffering. So the more that we are doing to preserve our covenant with God and to work with the three factors to strengthen our consciousness, to live ethically, to follow the guidance of our own inner divinity, the better it will be for us, for everyone around us, and for humanity as a whole. So take spiritual protection seriously, and do what you can, but most importantly, know that by purifying your own mind through daily meditation and following God's guidance and comprehension, that is the best protection that you can have. At this point I will open it up for questions. Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you for the lesson. My question is with the sulfur. When you take a bath and or when you put it in your shoes, can you use it in your shoes every day?
Instructor: Yes. So what I what I usually do is, I put the sulfur directly in my shoe, and then I put a sock on. However, my husband puts it directly into the sock. I will say, though, if you wash your laundry, try to wash the sulfuric socks separate so that all your clothes don't end up smelling like sulfur. Question: Then, how much? Instructor: I just use a pinch in my socks. When you take a sulfur bath, again, you can use again just a pinch. If you feel like you are quite dirty, then you might want to add a little bit more, but it doesn't take a lot. Question: Can you do that with your hands? You can just pinch it with your hands? Instructor: Yes. To touch it with your skin is fine. You just don't want to burn it and breathe the smoke. That is when it's toxic. That's a great question. Question: So the first question is what is your advice or experience with salons, such as massages or waxing salons? Instructor: Personally, I do find that it's challenging to find a place where you feel that it's a good person cutting your hair or touching your body, especially with massage. People can definitely steal energy through massage, through touching you. In general, if you feel that someone around you may be trying to steal energy from you, don't let them touch you. Especially don't let them touch your back, your spine. That can be a way that people, black magicians, can steal energy. So yes, you have to be cautious with this. I have been able to kind of feel out different places and find places where I think the individual is, you know, at least a decent person, but if you go to a place and you feel very uncomfortable, then yes, you should probably not go back. I know my husband in particular doesn't advise massages. But let's say that you have an injury and massage therapy is going to be helpful for you, just look around to find someone that you don't get a bad feel from, is my advice. I know that's still a little vague, but really, the longer you have been practicing, you might have a better sense of people's energy. Question: Would having a pentagram at my door prevent demonic or possessed persons from gaining entrance? There's an unusual smell that comes about once or twice a week now for a month. It comes with headaches and pain elsewhere, but it goes away when I do the conjurations. Could this be a spiritual attack? Instructor: Yes, it could be a spiritual attack, especially if it's going away when you're doing conjurations. That can be a sign that there's some kind of entity or attack going on there. So, again, protecting your home in the ways that we talked about can be really important if this smell, this entity is coming into your home. Physically, a person may still be able to come into your home if they are a possessed person and you have a pentagram at the door. But energetically, it's going to prevent those demonic and possessed people from gaining entrance. Question: The sword. When you said to go in a circle. Does it matter the direction of the circle, you know in your room? Instructor: Yes, I would visualize the circle around the floor. You would want to go clockwise. So if you are visualizing that circle being drawn around the floor of your room, then you would mentally visualize that circle being drawn clockwise, or you would spin clockwise around the room. So turning towards your right around the room in that way. Question: If you are using our imagination, do you point if you don't have a sword, or just your imagination is fine? Just envisioning a circle, is that what you do? 
Instructor: You can point. In fact, if you'd like to use the pentagram with your hand, what you can do is you raise your hand, you raise your thumb, index, and middle finger up, representing the three upward points of the star, and you would put your ring finger and your pinky finger facing downwards.
Using this pentagram, you can reach out and draw the circle as you would with a sword or a blade. However, if you are in a position where you can't physically draw that because maybe other people are in the room, then absolutely, you can imagine a point of light with your imagination, moving around the room and creating a flaming circle or a circle of light, circle of protection around the room. You don't need to physically point in that case. Question: For egg cleanses, does it matter the source of the egg, for example a natural egg or a GMO egg? Instructor: I would say with most things, we try to go with a more natural, organic egg. But in this case, whatever egg you are able to get a hold of should be okay. Question: Is there a video on how to properly consecrate a pentagram? Instructor: No, there is not. So you simply have to read the article. The article here in Daily Life on the Path, that is going to list I think five or six different articles. For example, one about the Eucharist, one of them will be about pentagrams and how to consecrate a pentagram (See Chapter One of The Gnostic Bible: The Pistis Sophia Unveiled). We have also had that question on the forum, and so you can log into the forum and read about that question as well. And you know if there is a certain point about that that you are not sure, then you can also log on to the forum and check. Question: If I am being attacked and I asked an elemental if it is an alignment with divine will to heal the attacker, is that considered black magic? Instructor: No. We can do healing rituals. As long as we have a center of compassion, then any conjuration in a sense is a healing ritual. If we are considering someone who is attacking us and we are really trying to reject the negative forces in them, we are really conjuring their ego, not their soul, so to speak. So we are really trying to help them, but this again shouldn't be done in a way that has a lot of hate. Question: I do not feel I have any enemies or anyone out to harm me that I am aware of. Should I still take all of these precautions? Also related, are there groups of black magicians who are attacking the general populace? If so, how common are these groups? Instructor: Okay, with the first question, I would say yes, and be conscious of if you notice a difference. If you take these precautions and you do notice that you feel a little bit more energized or more conscious of yourself, less susceptible to your own vices, then that could be a sign that there might have been some energy being drained away from you that you just weren't aware of. In addition, the cleanses are good for everyone. I would say, try doing a sage cleanse at least, once a week, or some form of cleanse once a week if you can, because in our world, anywhere we go, we are probably picking up astral larvae. So it's good to do that to protect ourselves. Are there groups of black magicians who are attacking the general populace? Yes. In fact, you know a common example of black magic is advertising, right? We are trying to get others to agree with our will. We want someone to buy our product, not because it will help them, but because we want their money. We see black magic all the time in cinema and on television and many places, when we see sexual degeneration or pornography, things like that. That is all tapping into the entire population's energy. And so I think we can see that it's pretty abundant in our society. Right now the Black Lodge has a lot of power in the physical world. This isn't a need for us to suddenly be afraid and paranoid all the time, but to just be aware that the work that we do to keep ourselves pure―and to not try to manipulate and control others, and also to think for ourselves, to follow our own inner conscience, our own connection to divinity―is very important, because there are not many people in the world you can trust. Even Samael Aun Weor said, “Do not follow me. I am just a signpost.” What we are trying to teach in this tradition is really to be reliant on our own inner divinity. But in order to connect with one's inner divinity, we have to strengthen that connection through the practices and the steps that we have outlined in many courses. Question: So are we not our own best pentagram? Instructor: So yes, the human body is the shape of the pentagram, and when we do the microcosmic star, which is linked spiritual protection with the microcosmic star right there, that video, you can see exactly how to make a pentagram with your own body. Question: So now mentioning cemeteries?… Instructor: This is an interesting question. So, sometimes cemeteries, because of the corpses and the decaying bodies, can attract a lot of astral larvae and negative influences. Certain groups do practices of black magic in cemeteries. They can just be not good places to hang out. However, of course, if we have a loved one in a cemetery and we would like to go see them and leave some flowers, you know, that is a very personal decision. I just mean maybe not hanging around in them, and using the sulfur in your shoes and purifying yourself afterwards, that can be a good practice. Comment: I have had my job and been at work like usual, and things were changing, and I know people are suffering, and things kept escalating, and I kind of had this little emotional meltdown at work, because I started feeling like they are going to come and get me and try to force me to take a vaccine, you know, like I started really freaking out about it, and my sister's really into all the conspiracy theories. It is not that I don't believe it, but I generally don't let it get to me. But some people were laid off and then I was thinking, “Oh my God, this is really going!” I mean, this is really serious, you know. Not that I didn't think it was serious, but... Instructor: It's hitting close to home now. Question: It's hitting close to home. Yes, that's true. And that's the one thing that sends me over the edge. I am just wondering, out of all the things that you mentioned, when you start spiraling out of control, like nothing does it for me better than the thought of like... can you imagine having a world where your vehicle or body to go back to divinity is, you know, ruined, because they are forcing you to take things that are toxic, that have mercury or aluminum, that can ruin your neurological functions? You know? Instructor: Samael Aun Weor said certain vaccines destroy the internal bodies. So this is a popular question. We have been getting this on the forum lately. Our best advice on the vaccines question is, sometimes you have to accept a lesser evil over a greater evil. Ideally, none of us would want to take the vaccines that have been contaminated, but in many cases, it would be impossible for you to get a job, or you know, if there is a public health requirement for us to protect the community, we have to accept vaccines. Regardless of our personal beliefs, we have to make a difficult choice there. Are we going to be able to support our livelihood depending on our profession? Are you able to avoid vaccines because your profession allows that or not? Because sometimes through our job, we do a lot of good for humanity, and it would be worse for us to kind of selfishly avoid the vaccine and then lose our opportunity to serve. But that doesn't mean that if we do choose to avoid vaccines that there aren't other ways that we can serve. It is a very personal choice, but that's our best advice we have given so far. Comment: To me, this is like a frontal black magic attack if I have ever seen one. Instructor: It is a good point that you are bringing up here, because I think as as we see more and more of this, we see that sentiment going around in society. Many people are confused. “What am I supposed to believe, and especially with politics and things like that?” This goes back to the earlier question about, are there groups of black magicians really out there trying to attack the populace? We can see that many of the structures in our society are centered around money, power, sex―all of these ways that people are continually manipulated, and in response to your question, I do not think that any situation or any crisis on this planet is unaffected by ego. The egos of people in power, the egos of people oppressed, the egos of everyone caught in the middle. So we have to be really conscious of ourselves, because while we go out there and we try to do the right thing, if we become consumed with negativity about what the people in power are doing, or all of these other horrible things that are going on, we become unable to help anyone. I, myself, am a pretty sensitive person, and there are many times when I weep at the state of humanity and how much pain and suffering is going on. And all of that we know has its root in ego. Until we can address the root of ego within ourselves, we will not be able to overcome ego as it manifests in our societies and in our civilization. First we have to conquer ourselves, and that can be very difficult. Sometimes it's easier to point the finger and to get upset with the way that others are behaving, but it's most important and most useful to start changing ourselves. And then we will cultivate more power and more consciousness to be able to make a change in society. I am by no means trying to blame anyone for getting upset with the way that things are in this planet. It is the worst on this planet that it has ever been, even in past root races like in Atlantis and Lemuria. It was never as bad as it is now. We have become extremely materialistic, turned against the true divinity so that even many religious institutions merely use divinity as a pawn for power, and they will be able to really take Christ and betray Christ in that way. More than ever, it is important that we find a way to protect ourselves from our own negativity, from the negativity of the world, and each day be conscious of what good we can do, in what good we can bring to others. With any type of controversy where we feel divided, who draws the line and who is right? God is right and God draws the line, and many times nature draws the line. For us, like I said, it is most important that we focus on understanding in us what is causing our reaction to those situations, but it is best not to seek a physical person to tell you what is wrong and what is right. When it comes to making your everyday decisions, yes, we try to make our best educated guess, but in terms of misleading information in the world, no matter which side of that debate that you fall on, there is a lot of misinformation. Even with the best intentions and the greatest intellectual knowledge, many people can really do a lot of harm, because they are rooted in a very materialistic view of the world and the way that things work. Science unfortunately has become dogmatic and quite separated from the spiritual aspect. And when we look just at the materialistic effects, the physical effects of certain things, we sometimes do not become aware of the internal, energetic, emotional, mental, and spiritual effects of those processes. So I advise you whenever you have to make a personal decision based on a controversy, rather than watching hours of YouTube videos or reading lots of news pages, or checking what your friends are writing on social media, the best thing to do is to meditate and ask your inner divinity to send you a dream or to send you a vision in meditation over the next few days to guide you on that. Question: You answered my question a bit earlier, but you do have all this information going on like a circus, and all those things, but when you say you should go meditate on it and go to your inner divinity, then that is extremely difficult though, because you have like all these aggregates. You know, you are trying to kill that part of yourself. I find it is easier to write first and then go into meditation and try to make it a bit easier for myself, because when you do meditation, you are kind of just jumping right off a cliff. My issue right now would be like the mask issue. I believe my side of the view is right. So is it better like to sacrifice your point and just go with other people on it? Or how would you differentiate that? Instructor: That's a great question. I am so glad that you asked, and of course, it is very difficult in the beginning. So you are talking about being able to write out your ideas, and I often do that. I have a spiritual journal where I write down what I am struggling with, and it helps me to kind of clear my mind and calm myself down, and see on paper the different elements in me that are getting frustrated or upset, and then entering meditation and reflecting on that. So that is a great idea. Sometimes the noble thing to do is to sacrifice one's pride and to do what everyone else is doing. And sometimes the noble thing to do is to do what you know to be right in your heart and not go with the crowd. So, of course, my advice to you is that only you can know what to do, and none of us can give you advice whether about wearing a mask or any other issue. I feel that it is most important for us, the ethical integrity of our action, regardless of what we do. What is most important is the quality of our heart. If we are doing something out of fear or out of pride, thinking we are smarter than others on either side, because everybody on one side says, “We are smarter than the people not wearing masks,” and then the people who are not wearing masks say, “We are smarter than the people who are wearing masks.” Regardless of which side we fall on, we have to recognize what is driving us. And that is something that we really only can find in meditation. So again, neither me nor any other physical person, whether in the news or YouTube or anywhere can tell you what is the right action for you. But I will say that sacrifice, when we talk about sacrifice in this tradition, sacrificing of one's own ego, is often painful. When Abraham went to the altar to sacrifice his son Isaac: can you imagine the tremendous psychological and emotional struggle that he was going through to do that? But he knew that that was what his inner God had commanded to him and he knew it to be right. Now, of course at the last moment, he was spared from making that sacrifice. When we sacrifice our own ego, in my experience, many times leading up to that action can be very stressful and painful and hard, but after the ego has been sacrificed, feeling joy and relief, and not understanding why that was so difficult. To give a basic example, let's say you are really mad at someone, and you know from your meditation and in your heart that the right thing to do is to go and apologize to them for how you acted. But you are mad. And it would mean: sacrifice your anger and your pride and what you think the other person should do for you. If you went and apologized, all the way leading up to that apology, you might really be struggling with pushing yourself. That self-control that I mentioned early on in the lecture is to do what is right, to overcome the temptation to be angry and to be cruel to this other person, and to do what is right, to humble yourself and apologize. But after you have apologized and your friend smiles and hugs you and is happy, you see how that situation was really of no value, as Samael Aun Weor says in his quote, and that overcoming your anger is such a greater gift than any action could ever be. Regardless of what physical actions we are taking, we need to be concerned with psychological integrity. For what motive are you doing that action? I am less concerned with what you do versus why you do it. If you are being driven by an ego, by a sense of self, which is a delusion and which is false, then that is probably a harmful action. But if you are being driven by your conscience, by your inner divinity, by doing what you know is right and beneficial for you and for others, then that is a positive action. Question: What is astral larvae? Instructor: Astral larvae, I kind of described it as a little energetic bug. And in fact, you can see them in the astral plane. They look like grubs and bugs, and they can basically attach to you, your astral body and suck energy out of you to feed themselves. So if you are in places that are filled with a lot of negativity, a lot of lust, a lot of greed, a lot of violence, these places would have a lot of these bugs sucking up the energy, because that is what they get drawn to. And in places like that, which we call filthy, energetically-filthy places, it is just a breeding ground for astral larvae. Question: Since Gnostics strive to see objectively, can Gnostics be on different sides of an issue, like needing a vaccine, but also may be needing a vaccine for our livelihood? Who draws that line and who's right? Instructor: Of course we can be on different sides of an issue, because as we are, we are striving to see objectively, but at this point we are caught between our own ego and our own confusion. It is said that when the gods want to punish humanity, they confuse them, and that is exactly what we see. We ourselves feel very confused. Our entire humanity is confused and arguing and fighting over many things, some things which don't really matter, some things which seem much more consequential. But again, I want to refer back to this quote towards the beginning of the lecture. Remember that everything passes away. That's the heart of it, even as painful as the suffering and the level of suffering on this planet right now, it will pass away. What we want to do is make sure that as we are living our lives and moving through it, we are taking this opportunity to take what's beneficial from a human existence, and that, we can obtain by comprehending ourselves first. As we come to know ourselves, we will be able to then see more and more objectively the outside world. But as long as we are not aware of our own internal states, which can confuse and manipulate us―the illusions of our ego―then how can we cut through the illusions of the external world? On any issue that you feel divided on, you can meditate. See what in you is trying to control you. Are you being controlled by fear that does not want the vaccine? By pride that says, “I am smarter and I am not going to fall for this trap”? Or conversely, are you being manipulated by fear that says, “I have to take this vaccine for my livelihood to be able to keep my job.” Much of the time it is fear. And so at the end of the day, what is going to be more important than whether we receive a vaccine or whether we don't receive a vaccine is going to be what have we done with the reaction that was created in us in response to that stimulus. So if the case is a vaccine or a certain take on what is going on with the coronavirus in our world right now, use that circumstance not to try to make judgments about what is the truth in the outside world, but use it as a circumstance to see “What is the truth of myself?” and “Can I use this as fuel for my own transmutation?”―to become a wiser and better individual. As II mentioned before, as horrible things as the Black Lodge can do and is doing in our society and to us as individuals, what is much worse is our own state of slumber and delusion. And if we don't clean up our own mind, wake ourselves up, and get rid of the illusions that are keeping us hypnotized and asleep, then we are sheep on the way to the slaughter, so to speak, in terms of any attacks from the Black Lodge. Question: I have two quick questions. The first is while you were talking, I felt inspired and I drew two pentagrams for myself for the bedroom and altar, and I was just wondering, because you specified how to have the pentagram at the at the bedroom door, is there a certain way to use it on the altar? How it should be positioned or to use it? Instructor: Yeah, that's a great question. I can't believe I missed that. Thank you so much. Of course, when we position the pentagram above our bed or on the altar, we might pin it to the wall against or upright above the altar for example, or prop it up on the altar. You want to make sure, again, that those two feet are facing down to the floor and that the top point is facing up to the ceiling. Okay? Question: Okay. The other question was in the Gnostic Prayer Book, I sometimes look at the healing prayers and there is the exorcism of salt that is performed. Two things on that one, because you mentioned how with the sword you use your imagination and use the fiery sword in your room. I often use my imagination for the exorcism of salt and seems like that's okay. Do I need to go put salt in a tray and get the alcohol and do it physically? Instructor: It's best if you can do it physically. Of course, you know fire indoors can be challenging for some people. I myself bought a small bronze pan that was relatively inexpensive, where I can put a little bit of alcohol so that when I light the salt on fire that it doesn't get out of control. But of course, as I mentioned before, I recognize that not all of these things are possible for everyone, and when we do it with sincerity in our heart and our imagination, that's better than not doing the ritual at all, if you understand what I mean. Question: Is there a certain type of alcohol? Instructor: I use rubbing alcohol. Audience: Okay, cool. Thank you. Instructor: Actually, this reminded me of another point. You know, with my first altar, I wanted to put up some pictures of sacred images, sacred masters that inspired me, and at the time being a very poor student, I actually went to the school library where I was able to print and print off those images and just tape them up to the wall. So if there are ways like that, that you can find a way to make your home personalized and inspiring for you, and really bringing divinity's presence into your home, that can be great. It doesn't have to be going all out and spending hundreds of dollars on these different steps that are mentioned. Just do what you can and bring your own soul into it, because the soul has a beauty and an art to it that the mind could never have. Question: Is there a link to nicer pentagram necklaces? Instructor: No, unfortunately, but I will send you the email here: help@chicagognosis.org. Just email us and we will get that information to you if you are interested in the pentagram. Resources and References
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