Christopher Penczak - The Mystic Foundation: Understanding and Exploring the Magical Universe

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Acknowledgments

Profound thanks go to my husband, Steve Kenson, and my parents,
Ronald and Rosalie, for keeping me grounded.

Thank you to Laurie Cabot, for teaching me the science behind the Craft.

Thank you to Timothy Bedall, Kevin Castelli, and David Boyle for inspiring me to write this book and showing me that it was needed. As always, students make the best teachers.

For all the thoughts, teachings, and input, a very special thanks to Crystal Bear,
Chris Bashaw, Stephanie Rose Bird, Steve Bir, Gita Bryant, Sandi Liss, Stephanie Rutt, Danielle Serge Everton-Bouchard, and Beth Washington.

Copyright Information

The Mystic Foundation: Understanding & Exploring the Magical Universe 2006 by Christopher Penczak.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the authors copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

First e-book edition 2013

E-book ISBN: 9780738716343

Book design and layout by Donna Burch

Cover design by Kevin R. Brown

Edited by Andrea Neff

Interior illustrations by Llewellyn art department and Mary Ann Zapalac on pages

Tarot cards from the Universal Tarot by Roberto de Angelis 2000 by Lo Scarabeo and reprinted with permission from Lo Scarabeo

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Contents

Part One: The Fundamental Forces of the Universe

: The Powers of Creation

: The Elements

Part Two: The Fundamental Forces Within Us

: Vital Energies

: Subtle Anatomy

Part Three: Exploring the Universe

: The Worlds Beyond

: Entities of Spirit

: Sacred Space, Sacred Time

Part Four: Exploring Ourselves

: Going Within

: Developing Intuition

: Psychic Development

: Magic

: Healing

Part Five: Exploring the Paths

: Mystic Traditions

: The Paths up the Mountain

: Picking a Path

: Sacred Teachings

Charts and Figures

Charts

Chapter One

: Traditional Sun Sign Dates

Chapter Three

: Chakra Correspondences

Chapter Seven

: Planetary Days

: Gemstones of the Zodiac

Chapter Eleven

: Magical Color Correspondences

Figures

Chapter One

: Yin/Yang Symbol

Chapter Two

: Earth Triangle

: Pentacle

: Earth Signs

: Water Triangle

: Water Signs

: Air Triangle

: Air Signs

: Fire Triangle

: Fire Signs

: Elemental Triangles Together

: Earth Cross

: Elemental Quality Wheel

: Pentagram

: Pentagram with the Elements

: Devil Tarot Card from Lo Scarabeos Universal Tarot

: Hexagram

: Tattwas

: Chinese Pentacle with Creation and Destruction Cycles

Chapter Three

: Chakras

Chapter Four

: Elemental Bodies

: Seven Subtle Bodies

: Banishing Pentagram

Chapter Five

: The Veil and the Infinity Loop

: The World Tree and the Shamanic Worlds

: Elemental Ladder

: Planetary Spheres

: Tree of Life

: Four Qabalistic Worlds

Chapter Seven

: Cutting the Coat Hanger

: Dowsing Rod

: Pa Kua Modern Nine-Square Image

: Pa Kua Traditional Octagon

: Wheel of the Year

: Twelve Houses

: Twelve Houses with Their Natural Rulers

: Twelve Houses as the Signs Rotate

: Sidereal and Tropical Zodiacs

: Vesica Pisces

Chapter Eight

: Magician Tarot Card from Lo Scarabeos Universal Tarot

: Om Symbol

Chapter Nine

: I Ching Hexagram

: Rune

: Fool Tarot Card from Lo Scarabeos Universal Tarot

Chapter Eleven

: Sigil Creation Examples

: Altar

: Goddess Position

: God Position

Exercises

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

INTRODUCTION

A few weeks after teaching a meditation class, I got an e-mail from a student who was concerned about demons. Someone told him that if you meditate and open yourself up spiritually, you will attract dark forces. This person then proceeded to tell my student ugly stories that mixed urban legend with Hollywood horror script. The meditation technique he learned was perfectly safe, but when someone knows only one technique and doesnt have a strong foundation in mystical thinking, a little misinformation can cause a lot of fear. Fear is one of the biggest obstacles to spiritual growth and mystical understanding. I would be more concerned about fear than demons, since such demons and devils are most often reflections of our fears.

Most fears come from misunderstanding. Those of us living in the modern Western world were not raised in a culture of metaphysics. Our mystical knowledge has survived only as superstition. It is easy to either dismiss a superstition as having no wisdom, or become fearful of it, because the idea that has devolved into an ignorant superstition is not understood.

Most of our superstitions come from metaphysical ideas. Meditation, psychic development, healing, spirit communication, and magic all are based on sound philosophies and concepts and can be found in cultures across the world and across time. Our modern Western culture is one of the few that allowed this wisdom to devolve into superstition. In an effort to exert greater control, certain institutions within our society allowed this empowering wisdom to be lost, or imbued it with fear and misunderstanding. Even as we enter a time of increased personal empowerment through these techniques, we lack a basic understanding of the building blocks of mystical and holistic principles. With the new interest in herbalism, holistic healing, crystals, yoga, and other topics considered New Age by the public at large, we need to develop a common metaphysical tongue. The subjects most people consider to be New Age actually come from an older agethey simply have been reestablished in our current time.