Lbrp, Middle Pillar, And Kundalini Options

I recently on the advice of this site purchased a copy of MODERN MAGICK: Eleven Lessons on the High Magickal Arts.

I have begun practicing the LBRP and found it quite useful, leaving me with powerful shielding, a banished and clean atmposphere, and also a highly charged magickal / spiritual energy.

I then moved on to the Middle Pillar Ritual which as it stated in the text is quite similair to Eastern practices having to do with the chakra and kundalini, which i have been practicing for years now.

I was wondering, is there any particular reason / difference in experience that i should know about when practicing these rituals or would it perhaps better to continue with my chakra / kundalini work as a "MIddle Pillar" sort of ritual since i already know the technique.

Overall, the style of Ceremonial Magick is more complicated then i'm used to, but i think that having set up my altar, gotten some rudimentary tools, and begun practicing that aspects of it will be quite useful to add to my repitoire of other magickal styles.

Any comments, thoughts, advice, as i continue my practice?
(See my entry in the profile piece if you wish more background on the type of magick i am used to performing.)

*bows*

Light and Darkness,

Velarius

I am in the same boat as you, Velarius,. I have been practicing in the western occult tradition for about 4 years now, but had been practicing eastern mysticism, including Kundalini yoga disciplines for more than 20 years and can speak plainly , empirically, and informatively about all that alarmist jargon about what a Kundalini crisis is and is not and how to safely practice. The first 2 folks posting about the subject, while they may know about it from the western perspective, don't seem to know what they are talking about in terms of Kundlalini and chakra work. The only folks who "spin their chakras" are New Agey types --not real yoga practiitioners (and you did not make mention of "spinning chakras" anyway, Velarius).

Ceremonial magic--and Chaos magic theory as well --have strong parallels in content and effects with Tantric Hindu, Yogic, and Buddhist disciplines. Modern and post-modern magick in fact is strongly influenced by eastern Tantra --and I don't just mean the sex practices, which is a minor and marginalized aspect of Tantra overall. Furthermore, in medieval Hermeticism, the archonic planets and also the Cabalist sefira are treated in a way similar to how the chakras are treated in eastern mysticism, including in relation to doctrine about the emanation of the elemental / sefirotic planes and also in relation to symbolism related to the lightning bolt and serpents and also ritiual magical objects, such as the staff. A primary difference is that in the west--as in performing the Kabbalist cross either in the GD, Thelema, or Aurum Solis (all with their own special names for these things), etc.,--the line of energy is seen as coming from above and descending into the person; in eastern mysticism, it is generally (but not always) treated as coming from within the person and moving up in a path of ascent/return. Part of the reason for this *might *be the west's focus on dualism, and the east's on nondualism. They are just templates and constructs to help open up the central channel. I use have no problem doing an LBRP or a western type energy circulating exercise when required and a chakra meditation when required. It's all the same to me and has the same effects.

This post has been edited by Zosimo: Sep 14 2008, 09:17 PM