Preliminary Comments and Warnings
There are many ways of working magically with the fire element. You can pore breathe the element in and out of your astra-mental body like Bardon has you doing in Step 3 of IIH. You can work with the element in a circle via the techniques of ritual magic. You can also work with the element as it expresses itself in nature via exercises like the Sea of Fire exercise. Regardless of how you choose to work with the fire element magically, your soul and spirit end up interacting with the fire element in the process. This causes the “fiery” personality traits you possess to become enhanced and strengthened. Therefore, before doing any magical work with the fire element, it is imperative that you rid your personality of all negative fiery traits – irascibility, lustfulness, arrogance, etc. It is also advisable to develop positive fiery traits such as charisma, assertiveness, self-discipline, etc. Effective methods for carrying out this purification, balancing, and ennobling of one’s personality can be found in my upcoming book The Elemental Equilibrium: Notes on the Foundation of Magical Adepthood.
Introduction
The Sea of Fire exercise was developed by William Mistele as a way of exploring the masculine mysteries. These mysteries relate to will, power, conviction, and action. The exercise consists of imagining an underground ocean of molten lava, merging your consciousness with this underground ocean of molten lava to get a taste of the fiery aspect of Divinity, and then analyzing some problem, task, or relationship through the perspective of the fiery aspect of Divinity.
One thing it’s important to know about the Sea of Fire exercise and the Sea of Love exercise is that they are magical exercises, as opposed to mere visualization exercises. Some people might think that if you are good at the Sea of Love exercise, you are automatically good at the Sea of Fire exercise, after all, both exercises involve visualizing a giant ocean of something. This would be true if they were mere visualization exercises, but again, they are magical exercises. As a result, both exercises involve a change in consciousness. The type of consciousness you find in a sea of watery love is not the same as the type of consciousness you find in a sea of fiery power. Therefore, just because you can easily and comfortably merge your consciousness with one does not mean you can easily and comfortably merge your consciousness with the other.
Most of the time, I practice magical exercises while sitting in my asana. Currently, I’m in a hotel in Toronto. Since all of the chairs are too low to sit comfortably in the Throne Posture, I’ve decided to sit cross-legged on the floor with my back leaning against the side of a bed. Upon doing this, I close my eyes, envision a giant underground sea of fire somewhere in the world, and extend the mental portion of my awareness into it.
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Mental Plane
Uniting with anything on the mental level is always easy for me. Therefore, it is no trouble for me to unite with the sea of fire on the mental level. Once I do this, I can easily say something like “Some forms of consciousness happen to be birds. Others happen to be humans. Others happen to be clouds. I happen to be a sea of fire.” My work at this point is purely mental. It’s not astral, so there is no feeling involved. Thus, I don’t feel happy, sad, excited, bored, etc. about being a sea of fire. I just know that I am a sea of fire, and that’s that.
To enter any new state or form of consciousness is to enter new world. For some people, the term “world” refers to the objective universe. A lot of the time, in both magical and mundane subjects, the term “world” refers to a subjective model that a particular individual, culture, or civilization uses to process and interpret its perceptions of the objective universe. Since this sea of fire is clearly not a member of human society, to unite with this sea of fire by merging your consciousness with it is to transition from your own human world into the very different world of the sea of fire. The completion of this process requires that you leave your world behind. Since your world arises in part from your ego, this requires you to detach yourself from your ego. Most people identify with their egos, but the process of objectively observing and analyzing your mind and personality in the work of Step 1 serves to teach students of magic that they are different from their egos.
Of course, this kind of work requires mental flexibility as well. On the magical level, mental flexibility can be seen in the ability to manipulate your awareness into the shape of a stone, a cloud, a sea of fire, or anything else you are interested in experiencing with great intimacy. On the mundane level, mental flexibility can be seen in an open mind and a willingness to consider multiple points of view. Those who are narrow-minded and those who possess rigid minds are not suited for this kind of work.
Astral Plane
Since I’ve worked regularly with the fire element for many years, uniting with a sea of fire on an astral level doesn’t make me uncomfortable. However, it is still very easy for me to see why some people might feel uncomfortable doing this. For one thing, there is a lot of dynamic power. When this power is properly tapped into and harnessed, it can be put to good use. There are many buildings around the world that run on geothermal energy. As of now, this reservoir of power just sits below the ground. As with all planes, the astral plane is a gradient. On one end of this gradient, the feeling I get from this sea of fire is chaotic, turbulent, and unpredictable. On the other end, it merges with the stable and permanent omnipotence of Divinity. By adjusting the vibration of my consciousness, I can explore the different levels that are contained within the astral aspect of this sea of fire. In this way, I can see how human traits like enthusiasm, self-discipline, and independence are lower octaves of the Divine quality of omnipotence.
I remember the first time I transplanted my consciousness into a great white shark. This type of consciousness was much older than modern human consciousness and very different from it. The experience was unnerving. The type of consciousness found within this sea of fire is even older than that of the great white shark, and even more different from modern human consciousness. Again, it’s clear to me that some people who come into contact with this form of consciousness may be frightened.
Despite this, I notice that interacting with this form of consciousness on the astral level reinforces certain astral qualities that I possess and that I use quite often in my normal everyday life. Charisma is one of them. I think that anyone who has an elemental equilibrium and is proficient in the sea of fire exercise would do well to practice this exercise shortly before any job interview. This exercise will reinforce his charisma. Of course, if the person does not already possess the trait of charisma, then there will be no charisma for the sea of fire to strengthen. Many people wrongly believe that these kinds of elemental meditations develop elemental traits within you. That’s not correct. They only strengthen the traits (positive or negative) that you already possess. Thus, you would first need to use conscious eating, conscious breathing, and autosuggestion to develop the trait of charisma. Only then can you use the Sea of Fire exercise to enhance and strengthen your charisma before an interview, date, or major public appearance. Of course, the more flexible your mind is and the stronger your imagination is, the more effective this exercise will be when used for this purpose. Mental flexibility and the plastic imagination are developed through the course of a magician’s training.
I usually think of magic as either a form of art or a form of engineering. However, magic is also a form of spirituality. The Sea of Fire exercise is just as much a spiritual practice as prayer or japa. The sea of fire you work with is a mirror. It reflects the fiery aspect of Divinity, but it also reflects the fiery aspect of your own personality. By looking into the sea of fire, you can come to understand the relationship and essential unity between the fiery of side of Divinity and the fiery side of your personality.
Furthermore, the soul and spirit of any individual long for that individual to fulfill and express his highest potential. Contemplating the sea of fire can give you a glimpse of your highest potential. However, your highest potential is multi-faceted. Working with fire can give you a glimpse of one facet of your highest potential, but you will need to work with the other elements to learn about the other facets.
Physical Plane
I am primarily interested in the astral aspect of the sea of fire. The physical aspect doesn’t really interest me; however, the astral level is the synthesis of the physical and the mental levels. Thus, the presence of the mental and the presence of the physical help reinforce and stabilize the presence of the astral. For this reason, I work with the physical aspect of the sea of fire.
Of course, my physical body does not come in contact with a physical sea of fire. Instead, my astra-mental awareness expands downward through the planes so that it encompasses the physical as well as the astra-mental. When I do this, I get a great sense of heat. The physical body is the medium through which your soul and spirit perceive and experience the physical plane. Similarly, the physical aspect of the sea of fire is the medium through which the astral and mental aspects can perceive and experience the physical plane. This relationship becomes clear to me when I turn my attention to the physical aspect. The sheer immensity of this sea of fire on the physical plane also strikes me. It is clearly bigger than any city constructed by humans, and I begin to wonder just how deep underground I am.
After spending some time experiencing the sensations flowing into my consciousness through the physical aspect of the sea of fire, I turn my attention back to the astra-mental level.
Insight
There are four aspects of Divinity – omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and eternity. These correspond to the four elements as follows.
- Omnipotence Fire
- Omniscience Air
- Omnipresence Water
- Eternity Earth
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The sea of fire I have united with reflects the omnipotence of Divinity. Thus, by uniting myself with the sea of fire, I have also united with the omnipotence of Divinity to some extent. This omnipotence is symbolized by light. At the beginning of time, Divinity said “Let there be light.” The light appeared, and it was through the light that the universe was created. Thus, through light, anything in the universe can be accomplished.
Light is also the means through which one may gain insight. The light penetrates into the darkness and reveals the secrets hidden by the shadows. Thus, by uniting myself to the sea of fire, I have united myself to the light and gained the capacity to see with penetrating insight.
The first thing I notice about this insight is that it can be invasive. The light I have become one with can permeate and penetrate through all layers and all aspects of whatever it is focused on. Thus, by turning my attention toward a specific person, I can potentially acquire deeply personal information about him. I consider this a violation of privacy and an abuse of this magical state of consciousness.
The other thing I notice about this insight is that it can be dangerous to the user. The shadows hide secrets, but often, it is because we are not ready to learn those secrets. We must become stronger and more mature before we can safely learn them without being destroyed in the learning process. The light reveals all, but if you are not ready to learn all, then you had better be careful when in this state of consciousness.
I turn my attention to the process of establishing an elemental equilibrium and immediately see this process from the perspective of the fire element. It is a lot like the process of creating a sword. First, iron is refined into steel. This involves using fire to burn away the impurities within the iron so that it becomes steel. After the steel is refined, it is forged into the right shape. In this way, I come to understand the process of establishing an elemental equilibrium as a process of refining and forging. The impurities within your soul and spirit are removed in the refining aspect of the process. In practice, this consists of eliminating your negative traits. In the forging aspect, your soul and spirit are made into the correct shape; that is to say, a balanced shape. In practice, this consists of developing the positive traits you need to develop in order to obtain a balanced personality. For example, if you have very few air elements, you could develop positive air traits like intelligence, optimism, and creativity.
In this essay, I can only describe this process of refining and forging using words, and therefore, present a rather shallow description and understanding of this process. During the exercise, I was able to experience this process of refining and forging and thus come to understand it on a deep level, but this level is deeper than the linguistic part of the mind, and therefore, I cannot convey this understanding through a written medium. You will have to practice this exercise yourself.
After viewing the process of establishing an elemental equilibrium from the perspective of fire and the light, I then turn my attention to a problem in my life that is very personal. I view this problem from the perspective of fire and the light. I gain a few useful insights, but it is again difficult to translate these insights into words. This is somewhat frustrating to me because it makes it harder for me to record them so I can contemplate them later.
After spending a few more minutes experiencing what it is like to be a sea of fire, I return to my body and my normal state of consciousness. About a half hour has passed. It will take a few weeks before I can figure out how well the insights I’ve gained from this exercise aid me in my outer life. Any exercise like this also affects the inner life of an individual, so it will take some time to observe how those play out as well. Of course, nothing much ever happens if you just practice an exercise once, so I will be returning to this exercise regularly for a while.
To find out more about Virgil, read articles and an interview with him, please visit his author page.
Check out his latest publication ‘The Spirit of Magic’ Rediscovering the Heart of our Sacred Art available in Paperback and on Kindle.
The Spirit of Magic is a book written for all aspiring magicians who have just begun walking the road to adepthood. The author, a long-time practitioner of Franz Bardon’s system of magic, addresses many of the questions about magic floating in the minds of beginning students, gives numerous helpful tips and hints for advancing safely and steadily, and warns against the most common pitfalls and distractions. If you are considering undergoing magical training or have recently begun your training, this book was written for you. Through its pages, you will come to a clear understanding of the art of magic and grasp the inner inspiration that flows through its heart.
This book is truly unique. In a world where genuine magic has become diluted, corrupted, and distorted by ignorance, greed, laziness, and arrogance, Virgil provides a serious yet engaging exposition of the true nature of the sacred art. In doing so, he begins the process of redeeming the art and restoring it to its rightful status as a powerful tool for blessing society, dissolving suffering, and filling the world with joy.
To read excerpts from Spirit of Magic, please view Chapter 1: Asana
Future Publications: Coming soon, The Elemental Equilibrium by Virgil An in depth guide dedicated to working on the soul mirrors.
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