The Astral seeks to deceive?

I've read that phrase in various Golden Dawn related books now. But I think I don't quite get what it means... some scrying techniques of the GD require angels to identify themselves so the adept can be sure they are who they assume to be. But the context in which I last saw the warning "the Astral seeks to deceive" was working with the Tree of Life and not contacting any higher beings.

My own spiritual practice is heavily defined by Zen meditation and it's goal is to free us from illusions. When I'm in deep meditation there is a feeling of being in a flow and a somewhat elevated state of mind... if it occurs I ground myself in reality and try to grasp the knowledge that even this flow is just a passing illusion of my brain.

That's what I understood when I read "the Astral seeks to deceive". That in spiritual practice we are tempted to think we have reached the pinnacle of wisdom and serenity when in fact this thinking is the source of egoism, suffering and whatever.

How do you see that? Can anyone explain further what this phrase means in context of the GD?

I'm not sure how GD look at it but I'll share my own point of view.

First of all, I believe (or better to say, know in my case) in many different beings which are living in the same space as us. In Islamic tradition we would call such energies as djinns, and in Europe (some parts) - fairfolk. And definitely, they can deceive people. Folklore is full of such stories. Ok, now the part about Islamic tradition which gave me the core in such problems. Angels in Islam have no will - their will means the will of God. They can't do anything against God/Allah/Absolute. I'm not into this concept in 100% but it makes sense. Angels like Gabriel (Jibril in Arabic) are giving me this vibe - the vibe of perfect servants of God. Djinns have their own will, just like humans. In the tradition is known that they can pretend to be angels (but not telling specific names, like no djinn will call him or herself Jibril). We can't forget that djinns, just like fairfolk, are using glamour to trick someone etc. If you really want to get in contact with something "astral", it can be easy to stumble upon someone/something which would like to deceive you.

My understanding is that one would be required to "work on oneself" in order to be able to 'see' all the ways one can be deceived. So if you haven't addressed your own ego issues, projections, or haven't dealt with childhood beliefs and traumas, this 'baggage' would be the thing we carried with us which could potentially (and most likely, will) interfere with our ability to be objective and discerning. This 'stuff' could muddy our experience and have us believe that we had 'achieved' a certain state when in truth, we're only deluding ourselves. Because we're having what we believe to be 'openings' or connections to the astral world, we can be fooled into thinking that we've reached some kind of ultimate enlightenment when we haven't. We can have that first 'flash' of something powerful and never move beyond that and think that we've 'achieved' ultimate perfection which is clearly a deception. I'm always wary of new age folks who try to sell you a way to enlightenment without having to do any work. The thought goes - Just do as I say and think as I think, and voila, you're 'there'. But that is the ultimate lie. We need to be able to 'verify' for ourselves. When you consider all the seekers who've come before us and what they had to do, the work they had to do, in order to generally attain something that could then be 'transmitted' to others, I don't see how 'real' work isn't a prerequisite. Anything worth having, requires practice, dedication and commitment.

I think of Spinoza's closing lines to the Ethics, which I just read earlier today.

"If the road I have pointed out as leading to this goal seems very difficult, yet it can be found. Indeed, what is so rarely discovered is bound to be hard. For if salvation were ready to hand and could be discovered without great toil, how could it be that it is almost universally neglected? All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare."

Flames said:

The thought goes - Just do as I say and think as I think, and voila, you're 'there'. But that is the ultimate lie. We need to be able to 'verify' for ourselves.

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Amen. Very true. I once spoke to a psychic woman who told me that I would have the ability to see "beyond the veil". She paused for a long time and then said that I should question everything. That my mantra here in the physical and astrally should always be "interesting!...if true." Never to take things at face value. That has always stuck with me.

So on this topic, from a Christian point of view, the "astral seeks to deceive" makes me think of how in the Bible, Satan is described as appearing as an Angel of Light. Highly seductive. Pulls people in. Makes them believe he is safe. But it's all a deception. Most wouldn't know until it's too late. I haven't studied this a lot so this is very superficial discussion on the topic, it's just what popped into my head when reading that phrase.

I want to read more about Golden Dawn but my library has NOTHING on it. Sigh.

Farzon said:

That's what I understood when I read "the Astral seeks to deceive". That in spiritual practice we are tempted to think we have reached the pinnacle of wisdom and serenity when in fact this thinking is the source of egoism, suffering and whatever.

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Not being a student of the Golden Dawn teachings, I cannot further your knowledge along that specific line but you seem to have already formed a well rounded understanding.

'The Astral seeks to deceive' is an open ended but very definite statement. What or who does it seek to deceive and what is the Astral (as a definition)? The word 'seeks' suggests that there is a consciousness behind this deception which is active in the pursuit of this goal. If all of existence is interconnected, and consciousness is interconnected also then our own consciousness is party to the deception so what you say about egoism and belief, then fits with the deception of having reached some kind of pinnacle or ultimate state of being. The mere search for that state is a deception in itself. Or at least, that's as far as my understanding has reached.

There are many forms of deception from the moth with big eyes painted on it's wings to the new age guru who seeks adulation from followers in order to feel valid. Deception is part of nature and life. Our response to it, if a response is required, seems to be more important.

Milfoil said:

Not being a student of the Golden Dawn teachings, I cannot further your knowledge along that specific line but you seem to have already formed a well rounded understanding.

'The Astral seeks to deceive' is an open ended but very definite statement. What or who does it seek to deceive and what is the Astral (as a definition)? The word 'seeks' suggests that there is a consciousness behind this deception which is active in the pursuit of this goal. If all of existence is interconnected, and consciousness is interconnected also then our own consciousness is party to the deception so what you say about egoism and belief, then fits with the deception of having reached some kind of pinnacle or ultimate state of being. The mere search for that state is a deception in itself. Or at least, that's as far as my understanding has reached.

There are many forms of deception from the moth with big eyes painted on it's wings to the new age guru who seeks adulation from followers in order to feel valid. Deception is part of nature and life. Our response to it, if a response is required, seems to be more important.

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Exactly! I also think the question is "what deceives us?" They could have written "the experiences on the Tree of Life are deceiving" but it's this active form...

Of course there is the possibility of beings like djinns or spirits that have the freedom for good or evil just like us. In the context of the GD it might also be the most probable meaning as they dealt with angels and demons the like.

Today I had to think about the first enlightenment of Buddha when Mara tried to lure him from the right path through lust and fear. But I don't know of that really describes an encounter with "the Astral". In meditation there sometimes occur feelings of sexual arousal or of fear and trepidation. That story might just describe this psychological phenomena. This also goes along with your statement of deception in nature. It's just a state of mind in this case.

EmpressArwen said:

Amen. Very true. I once spoke to a psychic woman who told me that I would have the ability to see "beyond the veil". She paused for a long time and then said that I should question everything. That my mantra here in the physical and astrally should always be "interesting!...if true." Never to take things at face value. That has always stuck with me.

So on this topic, from a Christian point of view, the "astral seeks to deceive" makes me think of how in the Bible, Satan is described as appearing as an Angel of Light. Highly seductive. Pulls people in. Makes them believe he is safe. But it's all a deception. Most wouldn't know until it's too late. I haven't studied this a lot so this is very superficial discussion on the topic, it's just what popped into my head when reading that phrase.

I want to read more about Golden Dawn but my library has NOTHING on it. Sigh.

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I like this "mantra". Goes well with my life motto "question the authorities".

I read and heard a lot on Satanism and the luciferian deception lately, since a friend of mine turned to fundamental Christianity. I highly doubt their teachings. I had to read every part of the Bible myself to be 100% sure, but most sources say that the bible says nothing concrete about Satan. Even the word is difficult, it means enemy and is also used for an angel sent by God to stop someone. So the interpretation where it means lucifer and where not is in some way questionable. There is a Latin prayer that calls Jesus Lucifer... If you want to deal with that topic be prepared: these Christians work with fear. It's not very pleasant to study their videos and websites... [emoji33]

Interesting quote. I can attempt to answer to the best of my knowledge, and I can use Tarot to help me. A very rough explanation but I will do my best.

The spiritual map of the Golden Dawn was based mainly on the kabbalistic Tree of Life. Everything they did, including their Tarot decks, was placed upon that scheme. The main purpose of the GD was to explore ways to ascend the Tree and achieve full unity with the universe.

The Tree's different parts were attributed, by a certain process that is unimportant for our purposes, to either a planet or sign which illustrated the different characteristics of each "station." Each station was also attributed to different angels that ruled over it (so in fact, working with the Tree in a system of magic does in fact entail contacting higher beings). Now, we are in the lowest station, the real world that is the culmination of all the different influences that come from above. The station directly above is in fact the "astral" station, where one can begin to see the bigger picture of creation and to look upon what makes our own reality "tick." It is called Yesod. Some of its influence can be seen in our own world in things like scrying and Tarot reading.

Now, Yesod is not without its dangers, and some training is required to understand what exactly goes on there, and this is why the GD attributed it to the Moon.

Now, the Moon is one the most special attributions because of its dual existence. On the one hand, we have the High Priestess attributed to the Moon, implying that it rules over spirituality, imagination, "higher consciousness," intuition, the archetypal female and the like.

On the other hand, the more deceptive aspects of the Moon are illustrated in the Moon card. Here we have fear, illusion, darkness, prejudice, nightmares, wishful thinking, and straying from the path.

Whenever you do anything remotely "astral" you're risking falling into the trap of believing that the illusions are real. This can be seen in many things, which is why a healthy dose of skepticism and humility about your own abilities is important. When you do a Tarot reading, for example, you may have a strong intuitive hunch only to discover later that you were all wrong. And other things in that vein.

Part of the reason why the GD system was so structured is the attempt to get beyond that natural tendency to fall into illusion.

Farzon said:

Of course there is the possibility of beings like djinns or spirits that have the freedom for good or evil just like us. In the context of the GD it might also be the most probable meaning as they dealt with angels and demons the like.

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Yes, this too. There is more to this Multiverse than we can know and more dimensions, aspects or layers to the 'Astral deception' than we may realise.

Zephyros said:

On the other hand, the more deceptive aspects of the Moon are illustrated in the Moon card. Here we have fear, illusion, darkness, prejudice, nightmares, wishful thinking, and straying from the path.

Whenever you do anything remotely "astral" you're risking falling into the trap of believing that the illusions are real. This can be seen in many things, which is why a healthy dose of skepticism and humility about your own abilities is important. When you do a Tarot reading, for example, you may have a strong intuitive hunch only to discover later that you were all wrong. And other things in that vein.

Part of the reason why the GD system was so structured is the attempt to get beyond that natural tendency to fall into illusion.

Click to expand...

Very interesting and I agree with the healthy dose of skepticism and humility. Aspects which are often sorely missing in New Age threads of belief. We can all fall foul of wanting to believe that which serves our purpose or seeing connections where none exist, having a system in place to test that is very useful.