Against Homophobia: A Perspective from the Franz Bardon Tradition - Virgil

Any student of the Bardon system can tell you that this path is not without its dangers. Yet, the biggest enemy of aspiring magicians is not negative spirits, black magicians, larvae, or any of the typical occult things that are thought of as hostile. The biggest enemy of aspiring magicians is ignorance. That said, aspiring magicians aren’t unique in this regard. Ignorance is also the biggest enemy of society in general. If you’re a fan of William Mistele’s writings, you probably know that his website is dedicated “to the enlightenment of the world.” Since the spirit of this dedication is something that resonates well with me, and since homophobia is rooted in ignorance, I wanted to write a brief essay commenting on this issue from a Bardon-trained magician’s point of view and offering practical suggestions for dealing with it.

The Importance of Love

There are multiple degrees of homophobia. Some people straight-up hate homosexual people. This is a high degree of homophobia. Other people don’t hate homosexual people, but still think there is something wrong with them. This is a different degree of homophobia. Obviously, straight-up hatred of homosexuals is not something any serious student of the Bardon system would exhibit. In the epilogue of IIH, Bardon wrote the following.

All men seeking this path to, and union with, God should always remember the words of Jesus Christ, the great master of the mystics who said “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” This sentence ought to be a sacred command to any seeker of illumination on this spiritual path.

Hatred is not compatible with love. Homosexual people are as much our neighbors as heterosexual people are. Love is not distant. Real love is intimate and only possible between those who truly understand each other. Trying to love our neighbors means doing our best to really understand everyone around us. It means dropping our biases and prejudices against others so that we can learn what they are really like as human beings. This is actually an important skill in magic, but homophobic people do not do it. Homophobic people look at homosexual people and see something that deserves contempt or something that needs to be fixed because their prejudices distort their vision. If your vision is distorted, you won’t be able to function properly on the physical plane, much less the astral plane or mental plane. You might think that I am confusing literal seeing and metaphorical seeing, but from a magical point of view, they are related. Perception is perception, regardless of whether the mind or the sensory organs are used as the instruments.

The Black Soul Mirror

I recently had a conversation with William Mistele about the relationship between religion and magic. During this conversation, William stated that committing to a religion often involves joining a tradition and “accepting its doctrines, practices, authority, and morality.” He then remarked that the student of magic, in contrast, “consciously works on developing the four elements composing the light and substance of the soul and seeks to connect directly to akasha, which in effect means he has his own source of authority from within.”

This voice of akasha, or the voice of the divine within you, is your conscience. If you are following the path of magic, your conscience is your authority. Your authority isn’t a scripture written by homophobic people. Your authority isn’t a homophobic priest or guru that you have surrendered yourself to. Also, your authority isn’t a homophobic society that you are trying to fit in with. Your authority is always your conscience. Sometimes, it can be difficult to listen to the voice of the divine within you. Your ego also has a voice, and it is possible to hear the voice of your ego and mistake it for the voice of the divine within you. However, if you are the sort of person who should be engaged in magical training, then it is better to take this risk than to rely on external sources of moral guidance forever. As you advance along the magical path and spiritually evolve, your ability to distinguish between the voice of your ego and the voice of the divine within you will improve.

Some students are conditioned to consider homosexuality wrong. Maybe it is a homophobic religious leader who is responsible for this conditioning, or maybe it is a homophobic parent who is responsible for this conditioning, or maybe it is a homophobic society in general that is responsible for this conditioning. If these students are themselves homosexual, they may feel inclined to put their homosexuality on their black soul mirror. I sometimes receive messages from these students asking about these issues, and I have to teach them how to identify their conditioning so they can ignore it and listen to their conscience instead. Eventually, this conditioning should be not just ignored, but removed. The work of IIH involves discovering and strengthening the gnome, sylph, salamander, and undine within you. Removing your conditioning will strengthen the sylph within you, because a pure and positive air element is associated with a clear and open mind, much like the sky. A mind filled and bound by ideas others have transmitted into you is neither clear nor open.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the second mental exercise of Step 1. One of the benefits of mindfulness is that it can help us prevent ourselves from contributing to the stigma associated with homosexuality. For example, sometimes, people who are not homophobic still use the word “gay” as an insult. Even if the person using this word as an insult has nothing against homosexual people, the use of this word as an insult contributes to the stigma associated with homophobia because it implies that there is something wrong with being homosexual. Otherwise, why would the word “gay” work as an insult?

In addition, when we are conversing with others, we can sometimes say things that assume those we are conversing with are heterosexual. This is inconsiderate if the people you are conversing with are homosexual. For example, have you ever asked a female acquaintance “Do you have a boyfriend?” In this scenario, you are assuming she is heterosexual. She might not have a boyfriend, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a girlfriend. It would be better to ask “Do you have a partner?” If we are mindful, then we can catch ourselves when we ask questions like “Do you have a boyfriend?” This allows us to modify our questions so that they are less problematically worded.

Mindfulness can also help us notice when homosexual people are being bullied or targeted. According to a survey conducted by the British research and data analytics firm YouGov, almost three quarters of homosexual people who are the target of hate crimes because of their sexual orientation do not report the hate crimes to anyone. If we ourselves notice such bullying or hate crimes occurring, we can take it upon ourselves to report them. If we are absent-minded, we probably won’t notice them occurring.

The Four Pillars of Solomon’s Temple

The four pillars of Solomon’s Temple are qualities that can help the magician in every one of his endeavors, and the endeavor to resolve the issue of homophobia in the world is no exception. In the following subsections, I offer some specific comments on how each pillar can help the magician with this particular endeavor.

Knowledge

Knowledge is an important asset for those who would play a role in solving the problem of homophobia. Since ignorance is the cause of homophobia, ignorance cannot be the solution. There are a lot of people out there who think God hates homosexual people, so it is ok to commit hate crimes against them. These people need to learn that God loves all his children, regardless of their sexual orientation. There are also a lot of people who think homosexual people go around trying to influence heterosexual children into becoming homosexual. These people need to learn that homosexuals have no such agenda. If you are a magician committed to resolving the issue of homophobia in the world, you need to know how to educate people in such a manner that effectively dispels their ignorance.

Courage

Speaking out against homophobia can take courage. This is especially the case if you live in a homophobic society. In very homophobic societies, speaking out against homophobia can even be considered a crime, or cause people to hate you.

Volition

Even if you are not homophobic, you may be pressured to behave in homophobic ways if you live in a homophobic society. In these instances, resisting the pressure requires volition. Remember that volition is the pillar associated with the fire element, and assertiveness is a trait associated with the fire element. It shouldn’t be a surprise that assertiveness is an expression of volition. When people pressure you into behaving in a homophobic manner and it is not your will to do so, express your will by using assertive statements that make it clear that you will not conform.

Silence

For the purposes of this essay, I will interpret “silence” to mean inner silence, and not to outer silence. It’s important to speak out against homophobia when the opportunity presents itself. However, you must do so from a position of inner silence, which is to say, tranquility. Although it is understandable to get angry at homophobic people, it’s not helpful. Homophobia is a product of ignorance, and ignorance can be removed via helpful discussions, but not through screaming matches. Since we are all sons and daughters of God, we are all brothers and sisters. Therefore, it is fitting that we all remain patient with each other.

Final Remarks

These days, there are many people working to resolve the issue of homophobia in the world, and there are many different approaches and tactics they are trying. Some of these, I am not exactly a fan of. For example, some people try to publically shame those who make homophobic comments on social media. While I personally am determined to do what I can to eradicate homophobia and appreciate that those who engage in this sort of public shaming share my determination, I would feel very uncomfortable using this tactic myself. From my perspective, homophobic people are our neighbors just as much as homosexual people are, so we must show love to homophobic people too. Public shaming is not an act of love, but an act of contempt and animosity. While it is important to give constructive criticism to those who behave in ways that target homophobic people, it’s also important to ensure this constructive criticism is worded respectfully. Otherwise, it is not so much constructive criticism as it is destructive criticism. The bottom line is, when you decide what sort of role you want to play in the effort to resolve the issue of homophobia in the world, make sure that the approaches and tactics you use do not go against the values at the heart of the Bardon system.