"A man under this shadow doesn't guide others, as a Magician does; he directs them in ways they cannot see. His interest is not in initiating others by graduated degrees - degrees that they can integrate and handle - into better, happier and more fulfilled lives. Rather, the [Dark Sorcerer] Manipulator manoeuvres people by withholding from them the information they may need for their own well-being. He charges heavily for the little information he does give, which is usually just enough to demonstrate his superiority and his great learning. The Shadow Magician is not only detached, he is also cruel."
~ Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette
The Sarumans, the Morgan Le Fays and the Voldemorts (meaning 'Flight of Death') of this realm stand in their high castles, watching those they see as beneath them with detached observation. In this callous state, it is easy to see how they feel no remorse at enacting unemotional, manipulative plans to lord power over their "subjects".
This last word, this seeing of life as "subject" to their will, illuminates the pathology well. The Dark Wizard is of the Left Brain; a detached observer, disconnected from the Lover archetype (which feels connected with All "things"). Too much Lover and too little objectivity (the Magician) leads to a man being either addicted (constantly seeking union with the Divine), or impotent in Life (chronically depressed).
However, when any of the Magician, King or Warrior archetypes of the masculine Quaternity lack integration with the sensual and mystic Lover within, the Shadow Magician/ Shadow King/ Shadow Warrior possesses the man. Too much objectivity in the Sorcerer and the world is no longer vibrant and alive, no longer a unified movement (a Uni-Verse), but a "thing" that requires only observation and manipulation, rather than participation and exploration. In the cold laboratory of the Shadow Wizard one "murders to dissect", which is only possible when the heart of the Sorcerer has become ice.
Without the Lover archetype operating in its fullness, the Dark Magician no longer feels connected to the Whol(y)e; to the Holographic Real-it-Y of Life... not "holographic" as in something unreal in the sense of a "simulation" - as is so fashionable to beLIEve - but in-stead, Holographic in the sense of Correspondence, i.e. the Truth that the part contains the Whol(y)e. Nothing can ever be truly separate, that is, unless 0ne casts 0neself out of the Garden through thinking it so (a Left Brain delusion).
Art by Gary McMullan
When 0ne is solely in the ego, feeling totally a-part, it is easy to see how we become of the reptilian mindset - cold, dispassionate, in scarcity and seeking to DOMINATE others who he cannot see as part of his SELF. The Left brain Sorcerer is a true descendant of Cain and the Phoenicians/ Canaanites, (un)souley in service to (ego)self. As he sees himself as cool, logical to the point where the wonder, magick and mystery (MyStory) is withered, he is separated from the aliveness, from the magick-all re-all-it-Y of being connected to the world around him.
He is that tyrant who feels above others, better than, more deserving of a perceived "right" to rule. He is that joyless despot who wants those uninitiated in the mysteries (the teaching of which he withholds) to serve him and his vision. By attempting to raise herself above others, she destroys any hope of her connecting to a community, which only furthers her descent (erroneously seen as an ascent) into duality (separation) and unwHOL(e)Yness. Cut off and separated from the common man, there is little social feedback through which he may otherwise remain humble. He sees his actions, no matter how despotic they become, as justified; he knows better than the everyday folk... Who are they to question his "wisdom" (left-brain intellect)?
The practitioner of the Occult Arts often begins with positive intentions. They may well seek to gain personal power in order to defeat other forces in the world that are Evil (i.e. the FoE who would enslave/ destroy Life). However, the hubris and egoic possession (left brain/ Canaanite) that accompanies the drive to power are his downfall, and are that which result in him becoming the very thing he sought to vanquish.
So how does the Wizard become lured into Shadow and becomes imprisoned in the Towers of Babel he erects?
"Alone [the palantír] could do nothing but see small images of things far off and days remote. Very useful, no doubt, that was to Saruman; yet it seems that he was not content. Further and further abroad he gazed, until he cast his gaze upon Barad-dûr. Then he was caught!"
~ Gandalf
We see Saruman use the palantír (a seeing-stone) to see into the Mind of The Enemy, believing that his wisdom and skill to be incorruptible. But in the study of the plans of the Dark Power, by rashly exposing his egoic consciousness to the Dark Mind, his gaze becomes fixated on Sauron, on the Darkness, on Fear, and it is the death of his Hope.
Without the humility that comes from staying in touch with the humble folks of the world, it is all too easy for Empire/ The FoE to deceive the Wizard through the appeal to the ego - "join me and we will use our combined greatness to bring order to the chaotic and unruly world".
Our ego, seeing itself as separate from the Whole (which includes all the dark aspects of humanity) is easily hoodwinked into beLIEving that there is only shadow without and none within. And when we deny our own Shadow, we are likely to be recruited by Empire/ Sauron/ The Enemy.
In our Age, this analogy of the palantíri is easily applied to the lure of social media and it's apparent ability to connect us to what is really happening in the world, especially when the MOckingbird Medea - i.e. sources of information entirely controlled by Empire - were the only major sources of information. With so many sources now available, it is easy to determine that we are using our modern seeing stones to discern Truth. However, just like Saruman and Denethor, the mind and will of The Enemy often reveals itself to us in ways that serve its terrible agenda, rather than leading us to our own wise-dome. We can sit in front of our palantír all day, consuming information, deceiving ourselves into beLIEving that we are getting closer to the Truth, yet it is widely known and admitted by the programmers of these "social" platforms that they were being used to program the way we think and behave.
[WATCH: 'You Will Wish You Watched This Before You Started Using Social Media' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmEDAzqswh8]
Of course, these magickal tools have been vital in the dissemination of the Truth about the plantation and the administrative systems of Evil that have goverened us. Without the global networks of courageous freethinkers, would we have ever gotten to the point where millions now see the New World Order (not something in the future, but a global system of governance in place since WWII) and the FoE clearly?
However, all too often, rather than moving closer to the Truth (inner knowing) and maturity, the Dark Wizard (Saruman)/ Shadow King (Denethor) is hacked by the Dark One's ARTIFICIAL intelligence, and His corrupting viruses of Doom and Despair are uploaded into the collective through the seemingly infinite abundance of these new palantíri.
The "Truth" community spends countless hours castigating (rightly) the deception of the medea ('enchanters'), but then allows that same system's echo chamber of despair to dictate their reality... the Left Brain/ egoic/ dualistic state of Mind, sees only separation from the WHOLyE and so, ironically, they remain separated from The Truth. The in-form-ation overload is designed to keep 0ne in the intellect, scattered and divided, without being ABLE to SEE and in-TIU-t the WHOLyE tapestry.
And so Saruman, blinded by hubris and ego to the darkness operating within himself, projects his own lust for Power outwards. He sees it only in The Enemy and remains unaware of his own Shadow capacity for authoritarianism and, in doing so, he becomes possessed by it. What we repress (cast out/ deny) in our psyche ends up becoming the driving force behind our actions, for our SELF requires that we become conscious of both our Light and Dark polarities, in order to become WHOLyE. The Sarumans of the world determine that they have evolved beyond their Shadow, and it is this lack of insight that allows for their corruption and the destruction of their capacity to Care, guard and act as stewards of Life that was their original Duty.
The role of the (true) Wizard to act as a guardian, to CARE for Life in all its forms, is cast aside as thought for self (ego self rather than SELF) overrides her authentic Vocatio. Though they may be unconscious of the act, the Dark Sorcerer is in-deed performing the black magick ritual known as 'The Cremation of Care' - he has so withered his Conscience (Morality) by seeking to rule over those "beneath" him that to Care also seems beneath him.
"O Great Owl of Bohemia!
We thank thee for thy adjuration.
Begone detested care!
Begone!
Once more, we banish thee!
Begone Dull Care!"
~ Excerpt from The Cremation of Care ritual at Bohemian Grove
The voyeurism, aloofness and detachment from Life bring a hollow, wraith-like being who is unABLE (through the cremation of CARE) to FEEL the right course he should take (his CONSCIENCE). He is therefore stunted in his growth and fear, envy and materialism keep him from coming down from the Tower of Orthanc (a state of mind) that has become his prison.
Such (non)being is no longer able to generate power from within, as she has become almost entirely of the Left Brain/ Cainaanite worldview (atheistic/ materialistic/ scarcity-based). He has become lost in the labyrinth of thought and disconnected from his Heart's Knowing; from the Creator; from his Source.
And with this vacuum, this loss of Self, comes a hunger to feed from the Life-force energy of others, known in Occult circles as 'loosh' (FEAR, ENVY, GREED, LUST). The superiority complex, there to mask the inevitable inferiority which occurs when one closes off the Heart's Wise-dome (the Centre point; the third ventricle of the brain in which the EYE sits) cannot power itself, but must be fed from the energy-harvesting of 'loosh' from others.
The Dark Wizard therefore continuously puts down, demeans, exaggerates the failures and takes credit for the successes of others. The higher the perceived "elevation" (actually a regression; a falling), the greater the need for energy, and the more heinous the acts required to stimulate the energy harvesting - all the way down to literal vampirism (see '@drenochrome).
In-deed, as this energy is not Self-derived (through Righteous action and living harmoniously), it is unsustainable, unfulfilling and addictive, and therefore the hunger grows, leading to an ever-increasing need for dominion over others.
Art by Francis Goya
"Consistently he casts himself as a supreme manipulator, mastering the responses of a pliable, receptive population. “Conscious and intelligent manipulation,” “invisible governors,” “they who pull the wires which control the public mind,” “shrewd persons operating behind the scenes,” “dictators exercising great power,” and, below them, people working “as if actuated by the touch of a button”—these are but a few expressions of the icy scientistic paradigm that evidently drove his propaganda practice, and that colored all his thinking on the subject. The propagandist rules. The propagandized do whatever he would have them do, exactly as he tells them to, and without knowing it...”
~ Edward L. Bernays
Madison avenue, poly-tick-ians and all such modern day Sorcerers understand the human psyche as well as any depth psychologist. The think tanks employed by such entities - such as the Tavistock Institute - are tasked with studying exactly what makes us tick. Through this esoteric knowledge they are able, with great (if malelovent) skill, to poke and prod the insecurities and festering wounds of the heavily traumatised modern consumer. They play on the fear of scarcity, of being singled out, of catastrophism (the ancient cataclysms that rended our Mind into one of duality - see Julian Jaynes' 'The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind') with the Devil's own mastery of His fiddle, though it is they themselves who are also being played like an instrument by The Adversary who plucks their strings.
Rather than acting as The White Wizard - a harmonising, healing (wholing) influence - in-stead of adding balms to the psychic wounds, and in-stead of sage counselling and guidance, which would serve to bring the individual to a more integrated and Whol(y)e state of consciousness, the Shadow Wizard, the Saruman, casts spells (language designed to affect consciousness) of doubt, of separation, of inferiority.
This fear-based spell-casting serves to stunt the development of the Magi within (of those he sees as opposition), an archetype that we are ALL capable of nurturing; the loss of which brings an inABLEity to take true response-ABLEity for our own ever deepening innerstanding of the World. We then too FALL into the role of the Dark Wizard. We become the Uruk-Hai, the twisted hybrid of Orc and Man, full of hate and utterly Godless. We too seek to derail the efforts of those we see who are on their own Hero's Journey, especially if we resent their ABLEity to bring balance and Natural Order out of Chaos; just as Saruman imprisoned his "competition" (Gandalf) in Orthanc to prevent him from completing his Great work in Middle Earth. The Sorcer's words are designed to bind the Hero, to cut at the bottom rungs of the (Jacob's) ladder that would otherwise allow her to achieve her greatness.
"Beware of his voice", in-deed..
"You cannot think that this Ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor. This exile, crept from the shadows, will never be crowned king..."
"... A man of Rohan? What is the house of Rohan but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek and rats roll on the floor with the dogs? Victory at helms deep does not belong to you, Théoden, horsemaster! You are a lesser son of greater sires."
~ Saruman
So, the deep envy at the (cold) heart of the Shadow Magician's being is transferred onto those he has under his SPELL (language used to affect consciousness - see Neurolinguistic programming as an example). The manipulator sees those who want to live, love and teach to the fullest of their ABLEity as an insult to his own perceived inner desolation, yet these creatures attempt to hide their unwillingness to aid Creation either in a cool detachment, or in plots to dominate, rather than encourage the novelty of Life's expression.
Witnessing the magick-all abilities of others calls into question his "superiority" and this cannot be tolerated; anything but face the deep inferiority and loss of (true) SELF-esteem. When Life flourishes and those around him rise to their Kingship, or even attempt the Alchemical Great Work, the foundations of the Sorcerers' High Castle are exposed as rotten and unstable, especially when he re-cognises that the gentle, CARING work of the White Wizard brings the love of those whom he SERVES. But in his double vision (dualistic, as opposed to the SINGLE EYE, wHOLY vision of the Mystic) The Dark Sorcerer longs for adoration, rather than Love - the murder of his own Care renders him incapable of innerstanding the difference between these - but the closest he can come is Love's polar opposite... his will to have power over others brings only the FEAR of those he seeks to rule.
By coveting knowledge and information, in-stead of speaking the Truth freely, in-stead of using that wisdom to uplift humanity and bring greater freedom to the world, he hoardes it and uses it for his own aggrandisement. Saruman's ego swells with a sense of superiority as he lords over his ruinous (once beauty-full) realm from atop Isengard.
Isolated and alone, he stands aloof, with only the lidless eye of Sauron and the poisonous voice of Grima Wormtongue for company.
In the next piece we will turn our attention to the polar opposite of the psychopathic Dark Sorcerer: to the one who has completed/ is completing his Magnum Opus: to the White Wizard.
{to be continued}
~ A.J. Dunbar