We’ve been following Christopher Warnock’s new book, The Celestial Way: The Spiritual Path of the Stars and Planets, to get a grip on (1) a personal worldview that (2) supports a spiritual path that will (3) help us find meaning not only in the world around us but also in our personal lives. 

In line with the ancient Hermetic traditions that have heavily influenced modern-day Western religious philosophy, Warnock reminds us the meaning for which we search, will be found all around us. As the Corpus Hermeticum (the primary text of Alexandrian Hermeticism), suggests, our job is to look for symbols because all symbols point to God (or the One), and if we learn how to read these symbols, then we will know Him.

Warnock reminds us that spirituality is an experiential endeavour. It is not an armchair – read a few books – enterprise.

The Hermetic by-line is ‘as above so below (a popular paraphrase on the 2^nd verse of the Emerald table, a key Hermetic text). Thus what better to gain spiritual experience (so below) than through the personal experience of the seven (visible) planets (as above)?

Yesterday’s blog post covered some first step ideas/techniques in this regard. Now the question comes as to how we’re meant to take this forward.

Warnock looks to Buddhist star veneration, magical ritual, and Japanese tantric schools for inspiration. As a result, he suggests a basic pattern of ‘treating the planets and other celestial factors as deities and invocating and venerating them’. 

We are treated to strangely familiar devotional rituals incorporating offerings, prayers, and repentance. Unlike the Picatrix and similar traditional sources for astrological magic, the goal isn’t so much on achieving material aims such as wealth, love, and protection (as is usually associated with practising magic) but, as Warnock puts it, ‘unity with the divine’. 

This is not to suggest that every spiritual being encountered in this process will work in our best interests. Some will do, whilst others could care less: equally, some spiritual beings are evil.

This is also not to suggest that such beings are projections of our own personalities. Warnock warns that they are entities in their own right and wield tremendous power. To think for one moment that our human ego framework can contain or control these entities is both foolhardy and dangerous.

And so, along with our low-intensity meet-and-greet encounters with the planets noted in yesterday’s blog post, we prepare to meet with the angels associated with them. As Warnock reminds us, these angels are exalted beings, which we must always revere and honour. But, he also suggests at least some of them will welcome our personal connection and ‘friendship’ if we make a good effort.

If we choose to proceed where Warnock leads us, we have significant Western precedent for working with angels, especially astrological in nature 😉- to learn a bit more check out https://archetypalassets.com/2021/05/29/the-western-esoteric-traditions-part-5/.

(to be continued)