Testing Spirits
One of the biggest issues in magic is the threat of self-delusion, or delusion by exterior forces (spirits, etc.), making testing a vital requirement. This is emphasised time and time again in Golden Dawn material, with a variety of methods given. I devoted a chapter to this in my recently published book Enochian Magic in Practice , including a slew of techniques, from challenges Dee himself used, to the "utility belt" of tests that Mathers and Westcott supplied. For now, however, I want to look at how the 5=6 Ceremony guides us on this matter. If we look at the Obligation taken by an Adeptus Minor, the tenth clause, relating to Malkuth, states the following: "Finally, if in my travels, I should meet a stranger who professes to be a member of the Rosicrucian Order, I will examine him with care before acknowledging him to be so." This is sound advice on a mundane level, but it also (like all clauses of the Obligation) has a magical application: that,...