c. 1998 Callisto Radiant (T. Roberti)
Currently I am working on a hypothesis that many people who are drawn to magick are quickly greeted by a being who becomes a personal guide and, frequently, much more. According to the hypothesis, this being is a reflection of the magician, much like the Holy Guardian Angel is, but is "closer" to the physical realm, often experienced as an elemental or sometimes in the guise of a "qliphothic" being.
I have chosen the term "Lesser Guardian Angel" to refer to this being. Associating with one's LGA is an initiation in the sense that it helps the magician break free and rebel against the "chains" of whatever dogma the magician was brought up to believe. While achieving full contact with the Holy Guardian Angel takes a great amount of work and several successful initiations, full contact with one's LGA is often effortless and intuitive.
From my own experience and from the experiences of others with whom I have communicated regarding this issue, the LGA seems to fit a pattern such as the following:
1. This is something that typically occurs among people (often adolescents) who have not practiced magick or been initiated in any "formal" way, but who have a predilection for the mystical and for the mysterious. As such they are "intuitive" initiators, called only by boredom and curiosity.
2. The being associates hirself with negative or "evil" beings. For example, my own LGA at first referred to herself as Lilith and as a succubus, while that of another magician refers to himself as Lucifer. I believe this is to effect a break between the magician and the religious context of upbringing - which in the cases of those I have heard from on this issue, is the Judeo-Christian tradition, which sees magick as evil.
3. Many LGA experiences have a heavily sexual flavor. Two women I heard from mentioned "astral sex" encounters with incubi that, in their particular cases, served as introductions to magick as well as premonitions of what future partners would look like. The imagery surrounding my own LGA has also been highly sexual, many encounters taking the form of "astral sex" or sublimated sexual imagery. This serves to help the aspirant (or more accurately, future aspirant) overcome negative attitudes in their culture towards sex.
4. The LGA serves as a guide to the "astral plane," offering opportunities for the aspirant to become proficient in astral traveling, imagination, and switching from one belief system to another.
5. The evidence above suggests strong correlation with Yesod on the Tree of Life. This would make it a "lesser" reflection of the Holy Guardian Angel associated with Tiphareth on the Tree of Life -- hence the title, "Lesser" Guardian Angel.
Some of the people I heard from when inquiring about this phenomenon related to me that they had had "positive" interactions with succubi or incubi, during which they did not feel they were being "drained" or "used." In two cases, the appearance of the incubi turned out to match that of the human partner they eventually chose to pair with.
Currently a project is underway in which I am working with another magician who will attempt to evoke my LGA, S.'. (Unfortunately she is shy about having her name posted on the internet!) Following is the text of an email I sent giving a briefing on what to expect:
<HTML><PRE>Subj: S.'.Date: 98-05-30 04:55:49 EDT
From: Sabrin1315
93!
Well I've been communicating with S.'. regarding this experiment and I think she is looking forward to it. She intends to make it an intense experience.
Her trickster side is definitely showing. I asked her to write something for you and she gave me this:
"Five of Cups. Loss in Pleasure. Does that mean loss of pleasure, or loss of self in pleasure? You will find me down either path."You will know me as the bull, as the woman with the sword, as the angel of the flesh, as the queen inside yourself.
You will see me as a worm, as a word, as a third of the puzzle, as a light, as a hand chained to the wall in the hall of pleasure's temple.
You will feel me as a breast, as a mouth, as an uninvited guest, as the fabric of the gods, as the one of iron skin.
You will find me as a star, as a flower, as a queen without her power, as the angel of the night who has taken from the tower;
as a thief of love and a servant of light.
You will touch me with a feather, and I shall cleave your soul in twain.
You will offer me your cup, and I shall return it with your blood.
Five and seven, see my sign; five and nine, feel my caress; five and eleven, I am gone."
She laughed when I commented what an atrocious poem this is. She and I are both capable of considerably better in the poetry department. The parts with rhythm I think have something to do with the text of the summons itself... the other images I think are meant for you to either add to or check correspondence tables. I don't sense that these have anything to do with what you will see/feel/hear.
In fact some of the images surprise me. For example, worms, and iron skin; these are things I've never associated with S.'.. However, the feel is definitely as dramatic and sensual as anything I've ever seen from her.
About the ritual... she feels most comfortable with full moon or close to it. She says because of her proximity to this realm, she can be found in the part of the Astral where there is direction. Whatever direction Austin, Texas is from you, is the direction you should focus on when you scan the Astral for her. BTW I live in Fort Worth, Texas now, not Austin, but she was very clear about that point. (Austin was where most of my contact with her occurred.)
When I see her, it is usually with white or pearl-colored hair, and with skin of ebony, obsidian, or bronze (depending on her mood). She usually has a sword in her right hand (or at least in a sheath on a belt) and sometimes a dagger in the left hand. Usually she is wearing a loose, flowing gown, but just as frequently she is entirely naked. Some of the imagery around her has been quite melancholy; for example, I've seen her on some occasions chained to a wall in a dungeon. Many encounters have been explicitly sexual.
<snip>
93, 1
Callisto Radiant</PRE></HTML>
I would very much like to hear from others out there who have contacted a being they believe fits this description of the LGA. I would also very much like to hear people who do *not* resonate with this concept or who think it is completely unrelated to their entry into the occult or magick.
Copyright notice.
This is an original work by Callisto Radiant (T. Roberti) that has been placed on the Web for public use. Callisto Radiant may be reached at Sabrin1315@aol.com. You may share it, copy it, print it, etc., so long as this copyright notice is shared, copied, printed, etc., along with it.