The Occult LibraryArticles on Occult and Esoteric subjects

Eliphas Lévi wrote that learning how to will is the first arcanum of magical initiation, and posed the question, “how can one learn to will?”. To understand this, it is important for the practising magician to understand the two psychic faculties that are essential for the practice of magic. Most occultists are familiar with Aleister Crowley’s definition of magic as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.” However, this secret of the occult was known a long time before and succinctly summarised by Paracelsus, who wrote that “determined will is the beginning of all magical operations. It is because men do not perfectly imagine and believe the result, that the (occult) arts are so uncertain, while they might be perfectly certain.”. In more recent times, E.E. Rehmus, author of The Magician’s Dictionary, aptly noted that the “Will is one of the two natural human powers for altering reality (the other is imagination).”

Émile Coué’s Four Laws of Imagination and Will

Émile Coué, author of Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion, wrote of the the antagonism between Will and Imagination. Coué wrote of the Four Laws of Imagination and Will:

1. When the will and the imagination are antagonistic, it is always the imagination which wins, without any exception.
2. In the conflict between the will and the imagination, the force of the imagination is in direct ratio to the square of the will.
3. When the will and the imagination are in agreement, one does not add to the other, but one is multiplied by the other.
4. The imagination can be directed.

Compare these rules carefully with the statement by V. H. Frater Resurgam, a senior member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, who wrote that “to practice magic, both the imagination and the Will must be called into action, they are co-equal in the work… The Will unaided can send forth a current… yet its effect is vague and indefinite… the Imagination unaided can create an image… yet it can do nothing of importance, unless vitalized and directed by the Will.” I believe that Resurgam’s comments are slightly more accurate that Coué’s. Coué suggests that the imagination can win over the Will, however this exemplifies the mistake of the “power of positive thinking” crowd (as promoted in the book and the video The Secret, and claimed as an age old secret that only a few successful people knew about). An image alone is unlikely to create change unless Will is used to vitalize it – this is one of the true secrets of magic.

Thomson Jay Hudson’s Three Laws of Psychic Phenomena

Thomson Jay Hudson formulated Three Laws of Psychic Phenomena, which were published in 1893. Hudson was well known for his theories of the subjective and objective mind, and his teachings were incorporated into some of the lessons of the Builders of the Adytum. While the Will and Imagination are not mentioned, the laws fit in well with this subject.

Hudson’s three laws are as follows:

1. Man has two minds: the objective mind (conscious) and the subjective mind (subconscious).
2. The subjective mind is constantly amenable to control by suggestion.
3. The subjective mind is incapable of inductive reasoning.

It is important to understand that the Imagination and Will are being used by the objective (conscious) mind to make changes within the subjective (subconscious) mind. It is only by using the Will and Imagination combined that the so-called “power of positive thinking” can be successful.

Paul Foster Case on Will and Imagination

Paul Foster Case, the founder of Builders of the Adytum and a well known occultist, summed up the principles of Will and Imagination in the symbolism of The Magician tarot card. Case explained the symbolism of the card as follows: “The primary manifestation of Spirit is Will, of which Attention-the wand-is the essence, and to which Memory-the wallet-is closely linked. Wisdom, having for its essence Imagination-the rose-is the secondary expression. Upon the progress of this vital principle in humanity depends the advancement of the sub-human forms, represented by the dog.

As Heh of Yod, the Magician is passive to Ain Suph, hence he is a symbolic antithesis to the Fool. He is God the Creator in the Beginning, in contrast to God the Principle before all beginnings. He is Kether, the Primal Will which initiates the creative process by selecting a particular point in space at which to begin.

The Magician’s left hand points toward the High Priestess. It is as if he were the medium through which the Limitless Light finds expression in Chokmah. This gesture also denotes concentration, and the selective action of Creative Will. The same selective action is also suggested by the table, which implies definite location, and is, in one sense, a symbol of the material universe. The emblems of the Tarot suits lying upon it are the elements used by the Magician in his work.

Because even the Primal Will is a limitation of Ain Suph, it possesses some degree of the quality of darkness. Hence the Magician’s hair is black; but a golden band surrounds it, to show that the Darkness is held in cheek by Light. Here is the antithesis to the Fool’s yellow hair and his green wreath.”

Conclusion

Learning the Art of Magic requires some deep thought and contemplation. This article is offered to give a very brief introduction to a deep and complex topic, one that a neophyte (beginner) should take very seriously and seek to learn a great deal more about. All the statements given as “Laws” or “Arcanum” are worthless if not understood, and the understandings put into action.

For further information on the Will I suggest the following sites: The Will Project and the Magick Wiki entry on Will.