--- In solomonic@yahoogroups.com, "Colin Low" <valkeerie@> wrote:

> > I chose to ask my irritating questions on this group because
> > the "solomonic" tradition is a modern survival of a particularly
> > archaic tradition, which links into some very archaic
worldviews.
> My
> > questions, however poorly posed, relate to the extent that
modern
> > practitioners have adapted and extended these older
> worldviews ....
> > not at all, a little, a great deal ... and how.

From this perspective, I can answer your questions in a generalized
way:

First of all - yes, I "believe" in the Angels and spirits and the
Seven Heaven model of the universe as much as I "believe" in
gravity, or that fire will burn me, etc. That is, they are as real
as MY senses can figure.

Of course, I also "believe" in the 365 Heavens (and Pleroma) of the
Gnostics, the various stages of the Egyptian Tuat, the three
Shamanic Worlds and the Four Worlds of the Qabalah. I "believe" in
Sheol, Gehenna, Hades, the Summerlands, etc, etc... I
also "believe" in the Gods of every pantheon throughout history.
Every bit of it exists and is as "real" as your or me.

The key, for my understanding, is memetics and information theory.
An idea is a living thing. It fights for survival, it consumes and
grows, it reporduces and (Gods know!) it produces waste. I think we
are way off the mark when we term ideas and memes as "not real." I
don't see what makes them "not real."

Gods, Angels and spirits work in the exact same fashion. They
evolve as natural creatures within any given human culture. They
are NOT "created" wholecloth by any individual. (And even when a
young God-spirit does spring from the mind of one prophet, it then
moves into the greater culture and begins to evolve on its own.)

Finally, you can extend this same philosophy into the greater
context of any given pantheon. If I'm talking to a Gnostic Archon,
then I'll expect to hear about the 365 Heavens (or 30!). If I'm
talking to one of Dee's Governors of the Aethyrs, I'll expect to
hear about 30. If I'm talking to one of the Seven Archangels, I'll
expect to hear about 7 Heavens.

Likewise, if I'm talking to "Scientist A", I'll expect to hear about
Light as a wave. If I'm talking to "Scientist B", I'll expect to
hear about Light as a particle. I tend to respect "Scientist C" who
can grok both truths at once. :) You can't confuse the map with
the territory. ;)

LVX
Aaron