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Introduction

Magic by many authorities is using the will to cause changes in the universe. Therefore, the next subject that needs to be addressed is "what is the will, the self and the true nature of the individual?". Magic also requires stamina of the body, stability of the personality and strength of the will (or, in other words, development of the etheric bodies). Once we define the antropos, we need to start a program to strengthen ourselves and the various parts of our personality.

Ancient Models

The Hellenistic anthropology consists of the demas (the physical body), the psyche (the soul or active portion of the body), the thymos (the emotional part of the body), the nous (the logical and intellectual part of the body) and the daimon (the divine portion of the body). The daimon is the part that causes magic to work under the direction of the thymos either through communication with the divine, communication with other daimons or changing the actions of the other parts of the body.

In the ancient Egyptian anthropology, there are three parts: the corporeal self, the social self and the psychic self. The corporeal self consists of the body and the mind which are considered to be one. The social self is the actions of each person as they relate to society (until the Hellenic period, the Egyptians had no concept of a person as an individual). The psychic self is the combination of knowledge and emotions.

The ancient Hebrews believed in three souls: the nefesh (vital soul) which remains with the body after death and could be contacted through magic, the ruah (spirit) which goes on to the garden of Eden in the form it had on earth, and the neshamah (inner soul) which joins with the One.

One example of a Hermetic anthropology says that we are a reflection of the universe. If we consume and produce without any pleasure or thinking, then we are reflections of plants. If we exist only to gratify our senses (again without any thought), we are reflections of beasts. If we think, we are reflections of what is human and, if we do magic, we are reflections of the divine.

Modern Model

Although Hermetics draw from many sources to define the psychology and physiology that makes a human, I prefer to work with the Hellenic anthropos as described above. This includes seven parts: daimon, pnuema, nous, thymos, psyche, demas, and soma.

The two physical parts are the demas (which is the framework and structure of the body) and the soma (which is the material substance). The way I understand this is that two people of the same mass could have a very similar substance (soma). If one of these people were tall and thin and the other short and stout, they would have a very different structure (demas). The soma and demas are not immediately effected by death and it was thought that the body must be intact or the spirit would wander the world, unable to cross the river into Hades.

The part of the spirit that can be detached from the body by death or magical techniques (out of body experience) is the psyche. The psyche survives death and can later enter a new body to participate in another incarnation. Unresolved issues (karma) become attached to the psyche from one incarnation to the next until they are resolved.

Similar to the left-brain / right-brain model popular in modern times, the conscious or personality of a person is divided into the thymos (emotional content) and the nous (knowledge, memory and reasoning). These can be developed within a single incarnation but they do not survive death.

Relatively speaking, the pnuema (breath) as a part of the soul is a new concept brought to Hellenics by the Hebrews. This is the part of the soul that goes to eternal reward or eternal punishment after each incarnation. I have difficulties with "living correctly in this life for rewards in another" and "eternal reward or eternal punishment being for anyone less than a deity". Therefore, I tend to associate pnuema with the potentials of life and with the karma that follows the psyche from one incarnation to the next.

The daimon is the part of a person that connects to the group mind and to divinity (there's a little of the divine within all of us). This is the part that is of considerable importance to those who practice magic since this is the source of the energy that magic uses. Any development of the connection between the psyche and the daimon is carried over from one incarnation to the next which is why magic is easier for some than for others.

Mating and Soul Mates

People crave to mate on each plane and are constantly looking for someone that matches them on all of the planes at the same time. If a person is mated with someone that fulfills their needs on some planes but not others, they will have a desire to find someone to mate with on the unfulfilled planes and will often mate with others in spite of any commitments to the first mate. In example, if someone is married to a person that fulfills their physical desires but not their intellectual needs, they will often form friendships with "people they can talk to" who fill their intellectual needs.

People are also at different levels of development. The more primitive person, who is only developed on the first and second levels, is quite content if the physical needs are met. If they mate with someone who is developed on the mental levels, disaster usually results. The more primitive person is quite content while the person developed on the higher planes is unfulfilled and craves something more. These two mismatched people can work together to develop the higher plane bodies of the less developed person and create a better match but, as this is difficult and requires considerable effort, this is rarely done. What happens more often is that the unfulfilled person looks for others to fill their needs or their upper plane development is destroyed, dragging them down to the lower developed person's level.

The perfect mating doesn't require two people to be equally matched at every level. It requires two people to be matched at each level that they have developed and for them to develop the upper levels at the same rate. In this way, each new level of development enriches the relationship, making it get better all the time. As the upper planes are developed (fifth plane and above), it becomes much more difficult to find someone that matches development on each plane.

When two people are equally developed on the upper planes and they have mated on each plane that they have developed, they start taking on matching karma. If the incarnation is interrupted by the death of one or both of these people before they are matched on all seven levels, this matching karma will tend to bring them together in subsequent incarnations so they can once again can continue their development. This is commonly referred to as being "soul mates" and is only found in those who have developed at least to the fifth plane. Since the goal of soul mates is for two people to become one, those who consider this to be a loss of identity will find being a soul mate to be uncomfortable.

WORKS CITED