“When somebody loved me, everything was beautiful. Every hour we spent together lives within my heart.” – “When She Loved Me”

We all want to be loved. It’s probably the most human thing we do. Full stop.

Like most things in the world though, I’m about to ruin love by dissecting it under the lens of magical philosophy. Crowley, being among the most hated men in the world in his lifetime, had much to say on the subject – “There is aught that can unite the divided but love”, “Love is the Law, Love under Will”. But what does it mean?

On it’s face, love appears to be nothing more than connecting with a subject in a tone of adoration. Across the miles, across the years, we love. And that love shines like the gentle warmth of the sun. We literally shine on the ones we love, and when we forget them, that warmth and light is withdrawn. It’s a one-sided exchange of energy, a blessing we bestow upon our beloved. We literally give of ourselves to our loved ones.

*”Люди любят, когда их любят
Когда их вместе любовь разбудит
Чтоб рядом быть
Людям просто нужно любить” – Slava (too heartbreaking to translate here)*

Even when that love is betrayed, we still give. We give in an extinction burst, hoping that if we love just a little harder, that love will be returned and they will shine on us again. EVEN when bitterness turns that love to hate, we still give! Hate is just love on it’s other face – a raging inferno rather than warm sunlight. This is probably the *second* most human thing we do.

Done properly, love becomes a two-way exchange, a reciprocal flow of light and warmth that heals and protects those who partake. Love is the ultimate participation.

NOW I’ll ruin it.

Magically speaking, the only real love humans can experience is the love of one’s Holy Guardian Angel, the part of you which is part of God. It is that hidden part of the complete Being we were all meant to Become.

For the purpose of discussion, let’s say every person is 10. 10 what? Doesn’t matter, it’s only a model. Part of you is manifest and part is hidden, but both parts add to 10.

Say the manifest part of you is 6, which means the hidden part is 4. You will spend your life looking for this 4 to make you complete, but it is only within, and the two halves fit together like a puzzle piece. You will occasionally meet another person whose manifest part is maybe 3.5 or 4.2 and that’s pretty close! You’ll feel an instant attraction beyond the physical. Maybe you’ll even meet a manifest 4 and BOOM that’s your Soul Mate….. kind of.

You’ll meet this 4 and feel absolutely complete with them and they’ll feel the same with you. Even more so, because the hidden parts of both of you (your 4 and their 6) will also match perfectly. You might easily spend the rest of your life in absolute bliss, full and complete… kind of.

But even this perfect happiness is an illusion, because it still requires external validation of yourself both physically and spiritually. You aren’t *really* a complete Being in and of yourself, and this completion can be taken away at any time. The world is a rough and hateful place, where rough and hateful things happen every day. This person is only serving as a stand-in for your hidden self, a pacifier to soothe your torn soul. What’s worse, this person, through no fault of their own, in standing in the way of your True spiritual attainment by causing you to stop where you are.

Yeah, this is kind of a downer so far. But bear with me while I make it worse.

Even things you create (art, children, etc) has this image of your Lost 4 imposed on it, and those who create express this with their constant high expectations and eternal disappointment. ONLY when you’ve attained true Knowledge and Conversation will you be complete as a Being, and you can live anyone or anything without attachment or expectation.

The other aspect of this is more social than personal, and it deals with cults. Being the head of a community brings the love of many, and the hate of many others. One’s followers, fans, admirers, etc all shine on you with their love and approval, which feels good. Even the hatred of those who distance themselves from you feels warm, because it’s from a distance. In a way, the hate of your detractors serves to validate the love of your followers by contrast, because you get the dopamine rush of approval from them.

We’re seeing a global epidemic of this in the Information Age, with all the “influencers” who feed on the approval of their followers online, using them as a source of energy and even wielding them like a weapon when they don’t get their way. We see this all the time now on social media, with influencers boasting of their tens of thousands of followers, and openly mocking their “haters”. But it’s all still just an illusion, the same illusion mankind has suffered since the Fall – replacing genuine spiritual connection and fullness with external validation. This is compounded by money of course, when corporations pay you to maintain a certain number of followers to whom they can advertise a product.

Now, I’m not knocking the “Influencer Gig” as much as it sounds. I’m simply pointing out how online cults can easily and effectively block your spiritual attainment by distracting you from the Great Work. Some influencers have already *done* the Great Work, and use their influence to further the message of personal attainment. I don’t need to point out who these people are, because their authenticity shines through in everything they do.

So I should close with the standard “Influencers Call To Action” as they suggest on Instagram – love without attachment. Shine on those who don’t just reflect but shine back. Never forget what you actually seek in yourself. And above all, go get it.