a big topic (and one of the reasons of my second mental breakdown) on this board is Slavery. Roger talks a lot about it, and i guess some other people do to, but, what are we talking about?
to what level are we slaves? just as tax-paying obedient consumers, or on a level deeper than that?
Slavery is on so many levels: Tax paying consumer it just the most blatant manifestation of it. We're also slaves to the laws of the country, to familial obligations, to societial rules, to our own beliefs, etc.
Every level of slavery we overcome reveals a new level we haven't overcome yet.
oh i see. that's a lot of levels of slavery. hmmph. i need to go think.
I think I'm free. We can do anything but some things have negative consequences, like jail. In that way you are free, but simultaneously bound to certain realities. Laws of man and nature. Some people think they'll be more free by declaring that there is no reality, i.e. the chaos magic trend, but someday we have to grab the bull by the tail and look the facts in the face. I think chaos magic is mostly done as a counter balance to the pervasive Christian culture.
Reality does exist, but there are several levels of reality, like the layers of an onion, and only the most fundamental layer, the physical realm, can't be completely remodelled by the will. All the layers above that physical level can be changed, and the further up they are, the easier it gets, and those changes will eventually affect the physical level as well.
For example, look at the layer of pure ideas. Let's say you want to spread a certain way of thinking, so you invent some kind of ritual that makes it more likely for you to think that way, and you teach other people to perform that ritual, who in turn teach it to others. After a while, even people who never took part in that ritual will inevitably be affected by that special way of thinking, and some of the ideas that spring from it will pop up in hundreds of minds at once. People will also start to act in a different way, dispersing the original investment of energy from the level of pure ideas to the level of social reality, and after a while, this will also reach the physical level, so that in the end, the whole of reality has been changed. That, basically, is what occult orders do - create rituals to establish a bubble of alternative reality, first only on the mental level, then also on the social, and in the end on the physical.
Well, back to slavery: We are only slaves to Fear. I you are a slave to Fear, you will never 'Do what Thou wilt', because you are afraid of the consequences. Once you are able to face any consequences without obeying Fear (you may listen to what Fear is trying to tell you, but don't let him possess you), you are absolutely free. If you really want to do it, do it. If it might kill you in the end, try not to get killed, but if it happens, you die a free human being.
Quote from: Slartibartfasta big topic (and one of the reasons of my second mental breakdown) on this board is Slavery. Roger talks a lot about it, and i guess some other people do to, but, what are we talking about?
to what level are we slaves? just as tax-paying obedient consumers, or on a level deeper than that?
It's not so much a deeper level, as across the board.
The Machine has managed to worm its way into every facet of most peoples' lives...from what you buy (and when), to what you WILL find attractive (or else!).