These days, you see a lot of people talking about magical or spiritual “paths.” In a way, it makes sense. Students of magic want to get somewhere – namely adepthood. If you want to get somewhere, following a path to that place is a good way to get there. However, is it the only way to get there?

If you think about it, if you want to get somewhere, you don’t need to follow a path. You just need to go in the right direction, at least most of the time. However, sometimes, it’s difficult to know what the right direction is. If you don’t know what the right direction is, then you could be going in the wrong direction.

On the conscious level, most people aren’t afraid of going in the wrong direction. They don’t believe it’s possible for them to go in the wrong direction because they’re walking on a path and the path is always leading in the right direction. That’s why the path exists, right?

However, although on the conscious level they aren’t afraid of going in the wrong direction, deep down inside, they are in fact terrified of going in the wrong direction. This terror is why they cling so strongly to the belief that they are walking on a path.

If you want to reach adepthood, you need to walk in the direction of adepthood. Everyone who practices or does magic is walking, but they’re not necessarily walking in the direction of adepthood. In fact, many of them are walking in the opposite direction of adepthood. Magical advancement means getting closer to adepthood and consists in part of becoming more balanced. If we examine the exercises in IIH, we find that they will make you more balanced if you are ready to practice them. However, if you practice the exercises of IIH before you are ready to practice them, they won’t make you more balanced. They make you more unbalanced, and thus, bring you further away from adepthood. I see this happening all the time. People move on past Steps 1 and 2 before they have completed the work of those steps. They practice the elemental energy work of the later steps, and they create serious problems in both their inner and outer lives. They then come to me asking for help. Of course, I can’t help them because I have absolutely no idea how to fix the problems they have caused themselves or undo the damage they have done to their astral and mental bodies. I ask them if they want to become magicians, and if they say yes, I give them the best advice I can think of for people in their situation, which is to give up magic completely.

Now, you may think, if they give up magic, they won’t be advancing and therefore won’t be moving toward adepthood. Yes, but if they give up magic, they won’t be regressing either. If you want to get to adepthood, it is far better to remain in place than it is to keep moving further away from adepthood. They can resume their training when they are mature enough to take Bardon’s warnings serious and patient enough to remain on each step until they have become truly proficient at each exercise in that step.

Some people aren’t walking toward or away from adepthood. They’re just walking in circles.i In my opinion, they would also be better off giving up magic. They could be skydiving, zip lining, dancing at the local club, spending time with their kids, hiking, learning to figure skate, eating ice cream, or dating someone who is hilarious and fascinating. Right now, however, they can’t do any of those things because they’re too busy walking in circles.

The point is, you can regress, and you can walk in circles. Why? It’s not the case that because you are walking on the path, and because the path leads to adepthood, you will eventually reach adepthood. Just because you’re walking doesn’t mean you’re walking to where you want to go.

A path has the nature of certainty and security. If you know the path, you know exactly where you are going and what your next step is. There’s no need to use intelligence. There’s no need to think. There’s no need to be creative or innovative. Just follow the path. It sounds easy – too easy – because it is.

Look at the image of the Fool card in the Major Arcana. He is about to begin his journey to adepthood. Is he stepping onto a path with all its certainty and security? Nope, he’s stepping into the exact opposite of a path. He’s stepping into the unknown. He’s stepping into an open space where there is no certainty but there are endless possibilities. This is what the journey of the aspiring magician is really like. There is no path that you can follow so you always know you’re doing the right thing. You’re always in a space filled with endless possibilities. Although there’s no path, you still need to make sure you’re going in the right direction. That’s what IIH is for. It points you in the right direction – the direction of increased mastery of your physical, astral, and mental bodies. It provides guidance but not certainty. It teaches you the exercises you must master, but you’re still going to have to exercise your intelligence and creativity to overcome the problems and obstacles you encounter as you forget about trying to find the path and just walk in the direction of adepthood.

Read this article by Ludvig Prin. If you spend all your time reading books like the ones he describes, you are walking in circles.

Please view Virgil’s author page to find out more about him. Virgil currently has two publications available both in Paperback and Kindle, The Spirit of Magic and The Elemental Equilibrium, please view below to purchase:

wp_xyoc_wpbooklist_jre_virgilpublications 9869492576 3 The Spirit of Magic: Rediscovering the Heart of Our Sacred Art (Second Edition)1 9869492525 1 The Elemental Equilibrium: Notes on the Foundation of Magical Adepthood1 9869492533 2 The Covert Side of Initiation1 9869770525 4 Equipoise1