Working With The Tattwas Options

"The properly trained clairvoyant need have no fear that s/he will thereby expose him/her-self to the powers of evil. It is the untrained natural clairvoyant who is in danger. Training will give him/her knowledge, discipline and protection, such as will protect him from the onslaught of the averse powers".

The universe had me bump into this statement in the Golden Dawn text book of recent and it applies well to a situation or situations I have found myself in, capped in a recent 'disaster' which took some difficulty to get through. Granted that situation has changed but if ever life could teach a lesson I'd have been blind to have missed that one. So... properly training oneself in clairvoyance is an important aspect of training as a magician, that or risk 'the onslaught of averse powers' confusing situations and what are thought to be higher level communications with the voice of ones own ego and complexes. From my harsh flirtation with reality in this regard I've personally decided to find room in my training as a magician to work with the Tattwa system, as well as a bit of vodun/hoodoo but thats another matter. Its a shame that I didn't or it isn't recommended that a practitioner take up the practice and training per grade, obvious that the Golden Dawn text gives the details and structure of practice and advancement for each person/temple to take and structure accordingly, theres more than enough information given to actually formulate a holistic Golden Dawn culture, as in one that is alive and involves all (or at least most) aspects of daily life into the advancement of its members but I digress.

Is anyone here into the Tattwa system or perhaps use them in any way? Am unsure how I'm going to fit working with them as elements in to things while being stuck within an elemental grade but there you go .lol. Thought it'd make an interesting topic.

Peace
/M/

This post has been edited by Mchawi: Oct 11 2011, 02:43 PM

Would like to add that I'm not reading into voudun or another form of folk magick to 'put the poppet' on anyone, its a simple case of needing an active 'ingredient' to ones practice that one can use when necessary, that coupled with the fact that I'm Afro-carribean and have always intended to take up the culture at some point, more as a priest of a North African cult than as an obeah man but thats for an old retired Mchawi, not the active engaged, youthful one you *see* here now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bigwink.gif)

Would like to add that I'm not reading into voudun or another form of folk magick to 'put the poppet' on anyone, its a simple case of needing an active 'ingredient' to ones practice that one can use when necessary, that coupled with the fact that I'm Afro-carribean and have always intended to take up the culture at some point, more as a priest of a North African cult than as an obeah man but thats for an old retired Mchawi, not the active engaged, youthful one you *see* here now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bigwink.gif)

I have a passing familiarity with the tattva system, but I'm not entirely sure what you're asking here. How to use the tattva practices to train clairvoyance?

I believe the purposes of the tattvas are as keys to the elemental planes, if I recall correctly. The practice of developing clairvoyance plays into their use as a kind of necessary effect - the development of clairvoyance is necessary to mental projection into the elemental planes, as well as the various spheres of the tree of life, the paths, etc. I want to say that the order of things is to start with the tattvas before progressing into the tree.

However, clairvoyance as a skill is independent of either of these practices. One way to develop such an ability is purely psychological - learning to quiet the mind and open up to seeing, projected upon the 'wall' of the inner sight, that which one requests to see - another aspect is physical, we must have the physical calmness to allow that aspect of the nervous system concerned with sense perception to be undisturbed by the sympathetic and parasympathetic elements; and finally another aspect will be energetic/spiritual, which is a practice of breathing in the akasa principle into the physical eyes as well as the third eye center in order to attune them with the akasic element, thereby granting access to clairvoyance through that element.

These are the foundational practices, upon which the application practices (tattvas, projection, etc) are mounted as a means of putting the skill to use. Somewhat akin to the differences between learning engineering and actually building something in order to become better engineer.

So, beyond the differences between the skill versus the application, did you need specific information regarding tattvas and their use?

peace

After running into a bit of trouble I bumped into some information regarding the tattvas in the golden dawn text book and found it to apply directly to what I have been experiencing, as a "natural" clairvoyant picking up on information that I didn't want, being subject to it rather than in control. A practice is outlined in the GD text detailing how one can use the Tattwas to train clairvoyance properly, travelling on the planes and attuning to each... have found a good site selling flashing Tattwa cards and intend to implement it into my practice... still... they are linked to Tantra as a whole and so I thought it'd be good to get a feel of how others may or may not be using them, depending on how many Sacred-Magickeers are into Tantra... is pretty much as you've outlined, stilling the mind and body through breath work to avoid being emotionally attached to elements in regards to ones experience, astral training being training in clairvoyance etc.

Perhaps I'm allowing it to sweep me but I'm glad to have found out about it and am prepared to dedicate an additional chunk of time each day toward using the tattwa images, perhaps dropping an interest I had in a more complicated system of working that involves fortifying the BoL. Will still end up in the same place.

When I was a teenager I kept a set of 25 printed Tattwa cards. The Golden Dawn document on scrying and Tattwas is not focused on the actual lore of Tattwas but upon an excercise in "spirit vision."

I have never found any significant connection between Tattwa visions and ordinary reality. It is an excercise in concentration and continuity of sensations and images which come into use in the magical ceremonies but are otherwise meaningless.

I suggest getting one small journal and keeping notes, and by the time you have filled the journal you will understand enough of the subject to be done with it. This practice is a training component of a magical practice and its use in traditional Indian religion is irrelevant in that context.

It is unfortunate that magicians are more likely to use Tattwa symbols, with the weight of Indian culture encumbering them, than their own personal figures of simiar suits, or Tarot cards or some other such device. The neutrality of the blank solid shapes, doorwys from which a variety of images might arise, is part of what lends them enduring appeal.

I once knew a man who found a Candyland card with a yellow square lodged into his sofa, who thought it was a "sacred vision card" and held it to his forehead. I am certain he thought it was a Tattwa card and had had no idea how to use it.