READERS’ QUESTIONS (DL5)

1. I’m still confused by this talk about not taking stances. You say it’s important, so I’d like to find out for myself, but how do I go about it?

People automatically take stances without realising that they are doing so. There is no point in advising ‘keep a notebook and jot down every stance that you find yourself taking during the day’ because most people will not realise that they are taking a stance on so many trivial everyday matters. So make a note of every incident and your reaction to it. A portable cassette-recorder is quicker than a notebook and this exercise is, in the early stages, quite time-consuming. With practice, you will discover a considerable number of stances in one day (and don’t be annoyed by the large number, that would be another stance). If you can then analyse each stance and see the benefit which you would have felt by not giving a reacting to that person/circumstance/event, you have made an excellent start.

2. I am researching for an article about the Occult significance of feet. The idea came to me when I noticed the odd connection between the Egyptian god, Set, who lost a foot (as well as other attributes) in his struggle with Horus, and the Aztec god, Tezcatlipoca (a somewhat similar deity) who also lost a foot. The foot seems to be important in so many cultures. There is a Masonic ritual, using one slipper. Orthodox Jewish practice – marrying deceased brother’s wife, placing one foot into one of deceased brother’s shoes. The Gaelic first footing. The original footman was a Roman slave whose task was to make sure everyone who entered the house entered with the correct foot first. Then there is left-right marching (note that it starts with left). Many generally-used phrases such as put ones foot in it; stepping into his shoes, best foot forward. Can you offer any advice? And can you explain why ancient magicians and shamans are so often represented as standing on one foot whilst spell-casting?

One-footed gods are symbolic. Until you take a second foot, you are not committed. If you do not have a second foot, you cannot take a second step. An Adept cannot be committed. This is the origin of the practice of standing on one foot when undertaking Occult work.

3. Can you tell me when the first Adept existed on Earth and in what country?

Adepthood is Adepthood. The time, the place, the practices, the clothes do not matter. Those who attach importance to such things are not Adepts. As far as history is concerned, there was no-one in England saying the things that Lao-Tzu was saying, or, more certainly, there was no-one recording them, but it is too arrogant to say that there were no Adepts in England at that time. There were Adepts before people stood up on their back legs.

4. I can’t believe it! A pro-bloodsports article in an Occult mag. How can you justify this?

“Justification” is not what it’s all about. Supposing I asked you to “justify” giving the standard reaction instead of thinking for yourself? You have the right to decide not to hunt, but you do not have the right to prevent others from doing it. Everyone has the right to work for animal welfare if they wish, but not if they have been wrongly or emotionally motivated.

Both grouse-shooting and fishing wound or mutilate the prey; why has there been far less outcry about these activities? Because someone on a horse induces feelings of inferiority in those who are not mounted.

At this stage you cannot live without stances. But something can appeal to you without affecting you to the extent that you take a stance on it. You are not taking a stance by caring about animals, so long as your concern does not motivate you into courses of action that you would not normally take.

This could be one of the best examples you will ever have, so take the opportunity to learn from it. Analyse the arguments, your own emotions and reactions, then try to assess the matter logically. Break free from the propaganda and think for yourself.

5. Are there differences in the paths one can take towards Adepthood? I’m not asking which is the easiest way, but is it correct to say that the LHP is not so bogged down in rules and superstitions as the RHP?

You can choose any path to Adepthood. It can be non-spiritual. When you have it, you are there. There is no classification. If you have got it in you to be a Adept, and not everyone has, it is the effort which you yourself make which gets you there. It makes no difference whatsoever which path you take.

In terms of time, the split between the Left Hand Path and Right Hand Path is very recent. They are just convenient labels so that you know which jar you are taking off the shelf. To say it is one or the other precludes everyone prior to the date the split was decided upon, and this is not so.

6. Do you think that science is the way forward? Will genetic engineering produce the brainpower for many more people to become Adepts and, if so, would this be a good thing?

It is conceivable that the brainpower needed to advance the frontiers of science could be created by science, but Knowledge is an entirely different matter. Artificial creation will not solve any problems, but that is not going to stop the genetic engineers from doing it because they do no listen and they are incapable of seeing any further than next day’s experiments. Scientists will soon be able to create an animal out of all the types of animal that have not yet become extinct. They do not realise that they have got to feed it.

7. When I first became involved in Occultism, I was seeking power, and I think I misunderstood it as power over others. Now I have come to realise that the only real power is power over oneself. Am I on the right track?

There is nothing wrong with wanting power in everyday life. If I was interviewing someone for an executive position and he said he did not want power, he would not get the job. But that kind of power has nothing to do with Occultism. Money does not mean power. Successful entertainers have money but no power. A merchant banker earns less than a pop star, but he has more power. Occultists are seeking knowledge. Trying to achieve power without knowledge is like wiring a house for electricity and equipping it with all the latest electrical gadgets, without being connected to the mains. When your house is connected to the mains (Knowledge), then you can switch on the gadgets and they will work (Power), but you will know by then that there is no point in switching on an appliance unless you need it.

8. Your advice not to take stances seemed a bit weird at first, but, having been practising it for some months, I am beginning to see a very real benefit. Though I realise it will take a long time to achieve perfection, even now it seems to be making life so much easier. This seems odd, because I thought that Occult practices made life harder. Why should this be?

Valid Occult practices are not devised for the purpose of making life difficult, though they may at first be a test of one’s determination. Remember the first time you drove a car or operated a computer? It took time for those skills to become automatic, but now think how much more difficult life would be without the ability to use such equipment. Similarly, acquiring Occult powers is hard at first, becomes easier, then the benefits are discernible.

9. For most of us, things are becoming easier nowadays. Of course there are still a few christian fanatics who try to make trouble, but they usually succeed in making fools of themselves. Now that the gutter-press has become so widely discredited, the old fear of libellous attack in a Sunday scandal-sheet has vanished. So why is Dark Lily still hiding behind a Monomark address? Why is only one member of your staff prepared to disclose her name? And who is the Adept? It seems that he just appeared from nowhere, as there have never previously been any published writings which bear any resemblance to the DL style.

This is a good example of falling into the trap of asking questions to which you do not need to know the answer. The Monomark is a protection from time-wasters; one member of staff signs the letters because she types them; and how could it benefit you to be told a name which you have never heard before?

All that matters to you is whether or not what we have to say has any relevance for you. If so, these are not the questions you need to ask.

10. All the Occult Paths place great emphasis on reaching Adepthood. But, at the end of the day, what is the purpose in doing so? Is a higher plane of existence so much better than this one?

Many magazines are run by non-Adepts, so they talk of attaining Adepthood as if it was an examination for which one could study and, having passed, be rewarded with a certificate and that’s that. In contrast, DL warns you of what may happen if you embark on that quest. It is a far from easy road, but there are still some people who, even when their illusions have been removed, want to go for it. Those who, having become aware of the drawbacks, decide not to continue beyond a certain point, should not feel that they have in some way failed.

Becoming an Adept is a personal and very lonely course. No-one who is qualified to advise you will advise you whether or not to attempt it. It is your decision, but valid decisions depend upon possession of all available facts, and that is what the Society of Dark Lily provides.

Taken from the Dark Lily Journal No 5, Society of Dark Lily (London 1988).