THE HOLY OLY GUARDIAN ANGEL A GOLDEN THREAD IN THE TAPESTRY OF BEING AND BECOMING B Y C COMPANION ABRAXAS
“Every human being is led and guided by the Holy Guardian Angel. Yet only a few are aware of this.” -- Paul Foster ase
The study of the Holy Guardian Guardian Angel is multifaceted and has its image image in the heart hearts s and minds minds of many many cultur cultures es and throug through h the arcane arcane histor historie ies s of huma humani nity ty One One of thes these e image images s is foun found d in !lat !lato" o"s s #yth #yth of Er$ Er$ %her %herei ein n &ocrates descri'es ho% souls are sent into this %orld$ each %ith a di(ine guid guidin ing g s) s)ir irit it or An Ange gel$ l$ and ho% ho% thes these e An Ange gels ls guid guide e each each huma human n 'ein 'eing g through this incarnation incarnation Ho%e(er$ the )rocess$ )rocess$ as %e read$ read$ 'ecomes one of self*disco(ery as those %ho return in the ne+t incarnation must cross the Plain of Oblivion %here Oblivion %here the River of Forgetfulness ,Ri(er Forgetfulness ,Ri(er Lethe- .o%s
1
Each soul %as re/uired to drin0 some of the %ater$ in (arying /uantities$ and as the ne% soul dran0 ** they forgot e(erything &o in regards to the Holy Guardian Angel to %hom %e are granted as our guide in this incarnation$ it 'ecomes a tas0 of rea%a0ening from our forgetfulness as to our true nature1 that the Angel is not something se)arate from %ho and %hat %e are 2 'ut is that innate s)ar0 of intelligence that is gradually unfolding %ithin each )ersonality from one incarnation to the ne+t$ until full reali3ation is clari4ed and %e are 4nally made %hole in the 'onds of the One Uni(ersal Life The Holy Guardian Angel is the essence of our true nature$ our higher sel(es )erfect and %hole in that totality %hich aligns it to us and us to the One Life1 the 5a'alistic idea 0no%n as the Yechidah or the Uni(ersal 6ather2#other The Holy Guardian Angel is an archetype to %hich %e can align oursel(es in the )rocess of 'ecoming %hole as individuated )ersonalities through that %hich %e call$ 7no%ledge and 8on(ersation of the Holy Guardian Angel Through the Holy Guardian Angel one disco(ers the hidden %ord of one"s calling 9(ocation: %hich leads to the de(elo)ment of a )ersonality through a )rocess 8 G ;ung called$ individuation Through this rectifying )rocess the Holy Guardian Angel guides us through a host of trials and tri'ulations along our !ath of Return$ %hich can 'e seen as an alchemical )rocess %here our seven interior stars or metals 9cha0ras: are re4ned and aligned to a cleaner and clearer e+)ression of that < still small voice’ of our Holy Guardian Angel A great )art of this )rocess of regeneration is facilitated 'y a burning of the dross as I call it$ %hich at its heart is a )sychothera)eutic )rocess of )uri4cation It is im)erati(e to the )rocess of Knowledge and Conversation that %e slo%ly and %isely remo(e the mental and emotional o'scurations that 'lind us from the 7no%ledge of our Angel And in so doing allo% oursel(es to listen to that su'tle$ intuiti(e communication that has 'een %his)ering to us from ince)tion ** and in that ne% found a%areness see0ing the inner dialog of true con(ersation %ith our Higher &elf That said it is on this im)ortant note of dross 'urning that I %ish to share an insightful /uote from !aul 6oster 8ase regarding the )rime im)ortance of this alchemical action= "Incineration burns to ashes the dross and refuse of the old ways of thining! It consumes all the residue of our erroneous interpretations of eperience! #his residue remains in subconsciousness even after putrefaction is complete!
2
#hat is to say$ even when we consciously attribute all action to the One Reality and deny the personal origination of anything whatever$ latent tendencies remain which must be purged out! %e ourselves cannot purge them out because self&consciousness cannot penetrate into the depths of subconsciousness! 'ence the wor of putrefaction must precede that of incineration because in the process of incineration something has to be brought to bear which cannot be done by the alchemist himself! ( higher power has to be invoed! #his is one reason that all sages are agreed that they owe their success in the )reat %or to the )race of )od!" In the wor of incineration$ a higher power taes the place of the alchemist! Recognition of this higher power is given in the Rosicrucian vow connected with Key *+, "I will loo upon every circumstance of my life as a particular dealing of )od with my soul!" -y "soul" we are to understand the whole psychic nature of man! In magical tets this stage of incineration is sometimes !alled "the #nowledge and !onversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Incineration$ therefore$ is the purging and re.nement of the desire nature$ which$ when it is thoroughly cleansed and puri.ed$ having passed through the death of its old forms$ becomes the )reat /edicine! Our own personal consciousness$ as we have said$ is inade0uate for the performance of this part of the wor! 1et the wor itself proceeds from the level of self& consciousness into the subconscious .eld where the actual incineration occurs!2 Herein then is the )rocess from %hich the seven interiors metals are 4red 'y the life 'reath of the Holy &)irit 9the Holy Guardian Angel: and made )ure in that self*reali3ation that )ro>ers ade)thood$ %hich in turn is synonymous %ith indi(iduation or that state of %holeness and 'eauty that comes %hen %e are )erfectly aligned %ith our True ?ill and the (ocation or our life That said the )rocess is not for the faint of heart 'ut solely for those %ho desire to such a state of %holeness that they are %illing to enter into the regenerati(e .ames %ith their %hole 'eing and face 2 the good$ bad and the ugly To do the Great ?or0 of transmuting their interior lights to resonate %ith that one Light %hose source is the One Life 91echidah: Ho% to engender this )rocess as an act of em)o%erment and not a lifeless e+)ression of intellectual e+amination and emotional (enting@
3
Here is %his)ered the anecdote to all life"s ills and the )rime agent of %holeness and healing Lo(e In the %ords of !aul 6oster 8ase$ I share the follo%ing %isdom= "#hus the practice of the )reat %or calls for a third endeavor$ in addition to the invocation of spiritual power from the level of superconsciousness$ in addition to the daily and hourly turning of the mind inward toward the Center! #his third endeavor is summed up in one word&&3O45! For we can see power from above$ and mae strenuous e6orts to reach the Inner Center$ and yet miss the one indispensable thing! %e may now intellectually that power comes from the superconscious$ and be persuaded that the treasure of treasures is hidden within man himself! 1et if we see power in order to wield it over others$ or hunt for the treasure in order to give us an advantage over our fellows$ we shall fail miserably in our 0uest for the 7tone of the %ise! #he true occultist never forgets that he is in this school of life to gain nowledge and understanding of man$ and to perfect himself in the art of 3O45! In all alchemical writings$ the red stage is said to be the .nal completion of the Operation of the 7un! #hat is$ nowledge and understanding though necessary$ are but preliminary to 3O45$ and without 3O45 there is no ful.llment! It is all summed up in the wise counsel of the best of alchemists, "3O45 your enemies$ bless them that curse you$ do good to them that despitefully use you!" 'ere we spea without any veils of metaphor! 8ot for the wise occultist is the meaningless$ abstract 3O45 for humanity that fools prate about! In the practice we spea of now$ the ob9ects are de.nite and speci.c! 8ot those who are "our sort$" not those for whom we feel a spontaneous sympathy$ but those who "rub us the wrong way$" and seem to us to be our natural antagonists$ provide us daily and hourly with an inehaustible supply of raw material for this part of the practice of alchemy!2
It is through this )ractice of Lo(e that %e heal that %hich lies 'et%een self and other$ %hich is the error that has se)arated us from the 8all of our Angel$ from the %ord %hich %ould unite us %ith our totality In the )rocess of engendering lo(e for oursel(es$ 4rst and foremost and then to those near and dear and 4nally to the %hole of humanity %e 'egin to 'ridge the ocean
4
to that other shore %hose solar radiance is our o%n re.ection in the mirror of a%a0ening Ultimately$ that is %hat has created and dri(en us from 'irth to death$ the
eros bathus? to draw it bac to the gods! #he deep eros of the Oracles$ lie the innate gnosis or essential desire >ephesis? of the soul vehicle?!" ** ,Gregory &ha%$ Theurgy of the &oul$ )g BC"#hat the soul@s embodiment was the ultimate sunthema >receptacle? of its ascent remains an insoluble parado$ but appropriately$ for the lover it is a commonplace eperience! In the erotic dialectic discussed by Plato in the 7ymposium >ABB&ABA?$ the separation of the lover from the beloved was the sine 0ua non of their attraction and uni.cation$ !!!" ** ,Gregory &ha%$ Theurgy of the &oul$ )g BCAs is /uoted in the Foo0 of the La%=
“For $ am divided for love%s sa#e& for the !han!e of union.” ** Li'er AL (el Legis$ I$ C
Through the )ractice of Lo(e %e de(elo) s)iritual eyes %hich are granted a truer (ision of %hat has se)arated us from the di(ine ?hen these eyes are o)ened the enemies and ad(ersaries of our life are recogni3ed as friends %earing terri'le mas0s %hile they sho% us ho% to engage in this game of life Through this instruction %e learn to transmute the illusory desires of the outer sense im)ressions$ and are ena'led to remo(e the edi4ce of mista0en assum)tion that there is a real se)aration 'et%een us and all sentient 'eings In time$ %e disco(er the truth that e(erything in the 4eld of manifestation is inter*related ?e 'egin to see our )ersonal e+istence as )art of the %hole cycle of 'eing and 'ecoming ?e )ercei(e that the e(ents of today are directly connected %ith the entire )ast$ and ust as rightly united %ith the future This 0no%ledge releases us from the 'ondage of delusion and su>ering 'y un(eiling the Truth of our relations %ith the One Life$ as %ell as connecting us to the 'igger )icture of human e(olution as a larger )rocess of the Great
5
?or0 6or those %ho ha(e arri(ed at the Gnosis of their Holy Guardian Angel and are in con(ersation %ith that intelligence there is the de4niti(e reali3ation that the )rocess is one of ser(ice to those still %ith o'scurations (eiling them from self*disco(ery As !aul 6oster 8ase informs us= =It is conscious identi.cation with niversal 7pirit! !erfect )eace$ )erfect 'liss$ )erfect 0no%ledge! (ll this it is$ and more than this >Key A*?! #he (dministrative Intelligence$ which corresponds to the .nal #arot Key >A*?$ really means =the serving Intelligence!2 Cosmic consciousness$ or the realiDation of identity with the universal 7pirit$ .nds epression in wor for the more complete manifestation of the heavenly order here on earth! 'e who nows the truth must live it! 'e becomes thenceforth a servant of the (33! 'e does this$ not as a duty hard to carry out$ but as a natural epression of his realiDation of his true place in the cosmic order >Key A*?! For such a person$ all sel.sh preoccupation with personal aims is automatically at an end >Key *E?! 'e loos on his personal eistence as being a manifestation of that e0uisite ad9ustment which maintains the cosmic e0uilibrium! In his vision$ all he does is naught but the manifestation of Karma and because he has made himself$ as a personality$ utterly receptive to the inGu of the niversal %ill$ whatever action he engages in is etraordinarily e6ective >Key **?!2 And %hat aligns us to this Uni(ersal ?ill and that desire to connect it to our li(es and the Great ?or0@ U)on reca)itulation$ it %ould seem that the %hole )rocess of life is to%ards the collecti(e reunion of family %hether in Hea(en or the recollection of future incarnations of sentient life** %hich seems to 'e re.ected in the day& to&day dynamic of our o%n )ersonal li(es from 'ar'e/ues to 'ar mit3(ahs$ 'irths to deaths$ the family is the collecti(e core of our relation on )lanet Earth ?hich as the Hermetic saying states$
6
fearlessness and lo(e to rectify that fear of the %ic0edness of %orld into a return to that )rimal Eden %e call home for all of us$ com)leting our ;ourney u)on this li(ing tree of life
!a+ !rofunda
7
B&lo'raph() B- On !age B$ JE(ery human 'eing is led and guided 'y the Holy Guardian Angel Yet only a fe% are a%are of thisK = !aul 6oster 8ase$ Tarot 6undamentals$ Lesson C C- On )age C$ JIncineration 'urns to ashes the dross and refuse of the old %ays of thin0ingJ = !aul 6oster 8ase$ The Great ?or0$ Lesson - On )age $ JThus the )ractice of the Great ?or0 calls for a third endea(orJ = !aul 6oster 8ase$ The Great ?or0$ Lesson B - On )age $ J6or I am di(ided for lo(e"s sa0e$ for the chance of unionK ** Li'er AL (el Legis$ 8ha)ter I$ Merse C - On )age and $ JJAccording to the 98haldean: Oracles the Demiurge 4lled each soul %ith a dee) erosK ,eros 'athus- to dra% it 'ac0 to the gods The dee) eros of the Oracles$ li0e the innate gnosis or essential desire ,e)hesis- of the De #ysteriis$ %as )resent in the soul 'ut anterior to consciousness It %as the desire that dre% the soul do%n into a mortal 'ody and led it 'ac0 to its immortal ochema ,soul (ehicle-J ** ,Gregory &ha%$ Theurgy of the &oul$ )g BCJThat the souls em'odiment %as the ultimate sunthema ,rece)tacle- of its ascent remains an insolu'le )arado+$ 'ut a))ro)riately$ for the lo(er it is a common)lace e+)erience In the erotic dialectic discussed 'y !lato in the &ym)osium ,CPP*CPC-$ the se)aration of the lo(er from the 'elo(ed %as the sine /ua non of their attraction and uni4cation$ J ** ,Gregory &ha%$ Theurgy of the &oul$ )g BC- On )age $ JThe Administrati(e Intelligence$ %hich corres)onds to the 4nal Tarot 7ey ,CB-$ really means the ser(ing IntelligenceK ** !aul 6oster 8ase$ Tarot Inter)retations$ Lesson P
8
