Alright I'm going to save you a LOT of trouble. Priest, I know
exactly what you are going through and I did the
exact same thing by doing heavy research long before actually practicing magick. I myself am a Christian and I too had virtually the same concerns as you. In fact, it was astrology that finally convinced me that there is more to spiritual existence than what is specifically outlined in the Bible. There are several things I would like to point out that influenced my decision, and some things that reinforced my decision to practice magick. Trust me I'll be saving you a lot of research in this post because I've done it myself.
The CanonFirst off was a group called the Canon. This group was commissioned by Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, better known as Constantine I, or simply Constantine. Constantine, Emporor of Rome at the time, brought together the clergy from the many different strains, variations, and churches of Christianity that were springing up. His goal was to unify the Christians under a single doctrine and prevent it from being diluted. This has several merits, but also some very,
very steep flaws, particularly its leading to the formation of the Catholic Church and later the Crusades. But I'll only briefly get into that later since it's off-topic.
The Canon was constructed by Constantine to be very much like the Roman Senate, each priest having a vote on what doctrines would later become the 27 books of the New Testament. There were literally HUNDREDS of doctrines and manuscripts written about Jesus, what he said and did, and the apostles and what they taught. It was the job of the Canon to weed out all "false" doctrines and agree among themselves what Christians should believe in in the future.
Given the sheer magnitude of writings and the fact we are left with only 27 originals, it is apparent that the Canon aired on the side of caution in its jugdements by being quick to throw out manuscripts. As I digged deeper, I found that a lot was left out of the final version of the New Testament. Have you ever wondered why Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the only ones out of the 12 diciples to write
The Gospel According To's? What about Peter? Sure we have two of his letters in the New Testament (I and II Peter), but no Gospel. And what about the letters? I doubt Peter and Paul were basically the only ones who wanted to keep contact with others.
Guess what? There's more. A lot more.
Even if you take a stance from a Bible-thumping fundamentalist view, you cannot deny history, because there was a
Gospel According to Peter, a
Gospel According to Mary, a
Gospel According to James -- to just name a few. And there were far more letters written by the apostles circulating about than what we are left with. The
Revelation of John (or simply Revelations), was nearly thrown out by the Canon and replaced with the
Gospel According to Peter. In fact, the early Eastern Orthodox Church didn't recognize the Book of Revelation as part of the Bible and left it out despite what the Canon decreed.
All of this proved to me that there was much more to reality and spirituality that what I was traditionally taught.
Now for a short overview of how far one man's actions can reach. Due to Constantine's overzealousness about being a Christian, he eventually outlawed all other religions besides Christianity and established the Catholic Church, complete with the Pope, Bishops, Cardinals, etc. Most Christians today agree that what Constantine did was wrong because people should have a choice what religion they should follow. Constantine also started the Crusades centuries after his death due to his claim of seeing a cross in the sky with the message "In this sign, you will conquer" written on it. A few centuries later, this lead to the formation of the Knights of the Red Cross, the Knights Templar, etc., etc.
The future Popes took Constantine's "vision" as a cue to begin invasions and reclaim the Holy Lands. Personally, I think Constantine had a problem with "Love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 19:19 ) so he made up the vision because he wanted religious backing for his war efforts. A millenium later the Inquision was formed from this domino effect using the religious wars as justification bloody purge because they were all supposedly "fighting for God," or in the case of the Inquisition, "torturing for God." All they did was put words in God's mouth and claimed He said things He didn't say and sanctioned acts that were actually unholy. The only reason the Inquision even survived is because of the illiterate masses who couldn't read the book for themselves. But I'm going on a long tirade. Back to topic.
Astrology and DivinationA year or two after establishing that there was more than what the traditional Bible says, a friend introduced me to astrology. Prior to this, I didn't believe astrology had any merit at all. I thought they were simply generalizations so vague that it could be applied to anyone. Man was I ever wrong. Go to this website
http://astro.cafeastrology.com/cgi-bin/astro/natal and type in your birthplace, birthdate, and time of day you were born, then read. You'll be amazed at how specific it gets. And if you're having doubts, put in a random birthday and read the results. I can guarantee you'll say "That's not me at all." Cafeastrology.com is the best astrology site I've found so far. It is there that I learned about the detailed planetary aspects of the Zodiac.
So, after establishing the extreme accuracy of astrology (and not getting it from Joe-Wannabe-Astrologer), I thought "Lucifer couldn't have done that; it's too accurate." Besides, who created the stars? Who created the planets? Furthermore, does Lucifer have dominion over the other planets and stars? Nope. The Bible states that Lucifer has dominion over the earth, not the planets and stars. Also, Vagrant Dreamer is 100% correct in citing Genisis 1:14 and highlighting "They shall serve as omens." Imperial Arts is correct as well that the Catholic Church's anti-astrology policy was just propaganda to keep themselves in power.
Other forms of divination are found in the Bible too. Let's take a good look at the many verses regarding this. Even Joseph practiced hydromancy (divination by looking into pools of water or wine).
Genisis 44:5 and
155. Is this not it (the silver cup) in which my lord (Joseph) drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth?
15. And
Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that
such a man as I can certainly divine?
Using a silver container for water was common practice in ancient times, for those who could afford it, as a means of divination. Some still practice it today, and some instead pool water in steel basins because it reflects just as well.
Numbers 27:21And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the
judgment of Urim before the Lord:
Urim and Thummim were two stones used by the High Priest to, for all intents and purposes, perform divination. It is not clear in the Scriptures whether these divices were cast like lots or stared into like dark mirrors. In some instances they seem to be cast like lots or dice, but others refer to them being set in a breast plate. In either case, divination is obviously occuring.
1 Samuel 28:6And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by
dreams, nor by
Urim, nor by prophets.
Daniel 5:11-1211.There is a man...(blah, blah, blah great guy)...the king Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made
master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
12. (blah, blah, blah more "exelent"s and "great"s) ...let
Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.
One set of verses that is regularly cited by Christians against divination is
Deuteronomy 18:10-12.
10. There shall not be found among you anyone who maketh his son or daughter pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of the times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11. Or a charmer, or a consulter of familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.
What most fail to mention is right from verse
ONE it clearly stated that these rules applied to the Levites only. AND if you look at verse 14 it says the following:
14. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of the times, and unto diviners:
but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
Verse 14 clearly states that any non-Levi, which is 99.9% of the world, could be an "observer of the times" (astrologer) or be a divener (one who practices divination). The High Priest also seems to have been an exception to this rule as well since they used the Urim and Thummim.
Ceremonial Magick (my personal favorite)
Yes! There is even a Biblical reference condoning the conjuration of Lucifer!
Ezekiel 28:17Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground,
I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.The Keys of Solomon the King were written by Solomon (the oldest reference to it, however, dates back to the 1st century B.C.; these are very old records) as a way to conjure up spirits, and later manuscrips were heavily influenced by the Lesser Key of Solomon to conjure additional spirits. If you're interested, look up verses 13-19 to see just how much of a bitch God makes out of Lucifer in the end.
ClosingWhew. I am beat. That took 5 hours to type, check, and look up those specific references, and I didn't even mention everything I wanted! There are lost Old Testament books, additional divination references, etc. but this is a long post as it is and I'm very tired. But before I go I'll do a quick review:
1. There's more than just the Bible, even in its own collection of manuscripts.
2. Even with what little we are left with, there are Biblical references to divination.
3. Astrology is exceedingly accurate, and God did make it after all.
4. It's part of Lucifer's punishment to be at the beck and call of man.
5. Constantine was an ass who was the epitome of "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
It's not much of a clincher, but considering how tired I am, it'll do. Final words (for this post):
You interested in magick? Go for it. I'm going to catch some Z's. ZzZzZzzzz.....
This post has been edited by Slayden: Jan 26 2008, 06:56 AM
Astrology A Sin?
Priest Astrology A Sin? Jan 25 2008, 08:13 PM
Jan 25 2008, 08:13 PM
