The Star in the West

THE NEW WINE 323 " 1 lingering farewell , and kisses upon kisses ! ” “ Let the sparks fly upward , and the embers glow ! We will back to our old Gods again .” There is an idol in my house By whom the sandal always steams . Alone , I make a black carouse With her to dominate my dreams . With skulls and knives she keeps control ( O Mother Kali !) of my soul .” Crowley's interpretation of Ceremonial Magic , the getting back to the old gods , so to say , is lucidly described , under the terms of a rational system , in his introduction to the “ Goetia ” of King Solomon . It is as follows : I am not concerned to deny the objective reality of all “ magical ” phenomena ; if they are illusions , they are at least as real as many unquestioned facts of daily life ; and , if we follow Herbert Spencer , they are at least evidence of some cause . Now , this fact is our base . What is the cause of my illusion of seeing a spirit in the triangle of Art ? Every smatterer , every expert in psychology , will answer “ That cause lies in your brain .” English children are taught ( pace the Education Act ) that the Universe lies in infinite Space ; Hindu children , in the Akása , which is the same thing . Those Europeans who go a little deeper learn from Fichte , that the phenomenal Universe is the creation of the Ego ; Hindus , or Europeans studying under Hindu Gurus , are told , that by Akása is meant the Chitakása . The Chitakása is situated in the “ Third Eye ,” i.e. , in the brain . By assuming higher dimensions of space , we can assimilate this fact to Realism ; but we have no need to take so much trouble . This being true for the ordinary Universe , that all sense i The Bride of Corinth , Goethe . 2 Gargoyles , vol . iii, p . 97 .