Preface

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THEURGY
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E. J. LANGFORD GARSTIN
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OR THE
HERMETIC PRACTICE A Treatise on Spiritual Alchemy
1930 LONDON: RIDER & CO. Paternoster House, E.C.4
Printed in Great Britain at The Mayflower Press, Plymouth. William Brendon & Son, Ltd.
sUAen ELE; Lip) ae A\ Vie 4
BRIGHAM YGUNG UN; VERSITY PROVO, UTA
PREFACE
HE title selected for this short treatise may at
first sight appear to be either very ambitious or presumptuous or even both. Alternatively it may be held to be misleading on the ground that this is not really a practical textbook.
It would therefore appear advisable, from the very start, to warn the intending reader that no claim is made herein to any special knowledge of the Art other than that which can be gleaned from the careful study of the published works of the Alchemical writers, and the use of such powers of insight and intuition regard- ing their admittedly involved and cryptic phraseology as the author may possess.
Of necessity various subjects usually classed under the general heading of Occultism will have to be considered, and some preliminary remarks under this head may not be inappropriate.
Many people fight shy of Occultism because of its undesirable associations in their minds with credulity -and superstition, neurotics and hysteria, charlatanry and fraud, and because they are accustomed to regard what genuine residuum there may be left as consisting in undesirable and dangerous practices.
On reflection, however, it will be found that the
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PREFACE
same impression is prevalent im toto among many regarding Spiritualism, and in part regarding Mysti- cism, while the Orthodox Religions do not escape altogether scatheless.
It is not intended herein to indulge in apologetics on behalf of Occultism, which, divested of the illusions held about it, is quite capable of speaking for itself as it were, and requires no defence. It is merely proposed to discuss what is termed Theurgia, which is the practical part of Spiritual Alchemy, as far as the limits of space and the avoidance of undue technicalities will permit.
Theurgy, defined a little more carefully, means ‘ same as the Telestic or Perfecting Work. In Alchemy it is called the “‘ Great Work,” which is the purification and exaltation of the lower nature by the proper application of scientific principles, so that it may become united with its higher counterparts, whereby the individual may attain to Spiritual, and ultimately Divine, Consciousness.
By scientific principles are to be understood “ known principles,” though the fact that these are not gene- rally known is the origin of the term “ occult,” which merely means, according to the dictionary, “‘ escaping observation, not discovered without test or experi- ment,” which definitions apply with equal force to any department of scientific research. |
PREFACE
Were this definition more commonly recognised, it is possible that there would be less misleading talk and less misunderstanding on the part of the opponents of the Arcane Sciences than there are at present, and that there would not be so much condemnation where there has been no previous careful investigation.
We would also say a word by way of apology to the reader who may feel that we have made too lavish a use of quotations. Our object is twofold. Firstly, that no one may imagine that they have to rely merely upon the speculations of some dilettante dabbler in the Occult Sciences, but that they may see for themselves the sources from which our conclusions are drawn. Secondly, because we feel unable to improve upon the sayings of these writers, save only by bringing together the references that are not merely scattered through their various works, but also, on their own confession, placed very often out of their proper sequence and relationship even in their individual books. Passages thus correlated often assume fresh importance, and from them, sometimes, the unexpected truth emerges, If we have to any extent succeeded in thus throwing light upon the sayings of the sages, however little it may be, we shall have more than achieved our object.
THEURGY