Sharing Diamonds: Spiritual Hints from Sa, Part II

 

During the conversation between William Mistele and Sa, Sa discusses how she might attempt to halt the advancement of an aspiring magician who has an appetite for lovers and is lucky in love. While discussing this subject, she makes the following statement, which is a diamond.

Obviously, I give him too much love or too many lovers. Too much of a good thing and you lose your harmony. It takes a severity to master magic and a person who is satiated with love? No self discipline. You have heard the song, “Loving her was easier than anything I’ll ever do again.” Yah, it is I who give those feelings so soft and tender, feelings never felt before, and then magic just gets thrown right out the door. 

Those who aren't lucky in love may think that this diamond isn't relevant to them, but this diamond isn't about having too many lovers. It's about having too much of a good thing. The good thing could be lovers, but it could also be something else, like tasty food. Really, it's about having too much of a seemingly good thing. What seems good to someone enslaved by their appetites may not actually be good. But it's often not until you pass this test that you look back and see that whatever it is you had an appetite for wasn't really good for you. Then it is on to the next test, whatever that may be.

In this diamond, Sa states that "It takes a severity to master magic." The use of the word "severity" here is interesting. In Qabalah, the Pillar of Severity is associated with all forms of restriction and limitation, including self-discipline/self-restraint. Sa here is using "severity" as a synonym for "self-discipline." If you give someone with binge eating disorder access to an unlimited supply of tasty food, they are going to have two options. The first option is to destroy themselves by overeating regularly until they die of complications from obesity or diabetes. The second option is to develop self-discipline. Similarly, if you give someone with alcoholism access to an unlimited supply of alcohol, they are going to have two options. The first option is to destroy themselves through alcohol poisoning. The second option is to develop self-discipline. As someone with a rather unattractive physical appearance and a reclusive personality, I never had access to an unlimited supply of lovers. However, as someone with a decent salary and an apartment located close to many good restaurants, I did have access to an unlimited supply of tasty food, so I still had to develop self-discipline. In some ways, having an unlimited supply of tasty food while you have binge eating disorder or an unlimited supply of alcohol while you suffer from alcoholism is far worse than having an unlimited supply of lovers. You can eat yourself to death and you can drink yourself to death, but I don't think you can engage in so many romantic activities that it kills you. Of course if you spend all your time engaged in romantic activities, then you will have no time to practice the exercises of IIH, so those with an appetite for lovers and access to an unlimited supply of lovers still need to develop self-discipline if they are to attain adepthood. But in my opinion their situation is not as dire as the situation of those who suffer from binge eating disorder or alcoholism and have enough money to buy as much tasty food or alcohol as they want. 

Anyhow, the primary takeaway from all this is that at some point during your training, you may find yourself with too much of a seemingly good thing. When this happens, don't get excited. This is the time to reflect upon Matt. 26:41. This is the time to study writings pertaining to the active night of the senses. This is the time to mortify your sensory appetites and develop self-discipline or risk destroying yourself and your opportunity to attain adepthood.