Creation

Primarily we have singularity, the atman or brahman, that which is neither something nor nothing. Infinite potential sought manifestation and the source fractured into pieces. Arbitrary habits evolved from the earliest reactions and processes and they became our physical laws.

According to the standard Abrahamic perspective, we are powerless creations living in God's grace. However, according to the Hermetic perspective, we are co-creators with God. Magical terminology shares roots with language. In the beginning there was the word, and the word was God. To cast a spell means merely to spell, to curse is to curse, a Grimoire shares the etymological root with the word Grammar.

That's why they're called the Magical Arts. An artist could be described as anyone who commits action with the realization that the pen is mightier than the sword. The efficacy of our actions upon the world is often beyond our awareness. We typically cannot see the ripple effect of our attitudes, our thoughts and our words. We are mostly blind to the influence we wield over our reality, which causes us to swing this power around haphazardly rather than take responsibility for our circumstances in life.

Making decisions can feel easier when one has a sense of truth on their side. However, actions and beliefs cannot be considered more truthful than another, simply classified under different styles. In the same way that physical habits emerged from the infinite potential of void, evolutionary habits also emerged from the ecosystem of living things. In Hinduism the first fraction of Brahman manifested Vishnu, who represents Preservation, and Shiva, who represents Destruction and Recreation, or more simply, Transformation.

This is different from the masculine and feminine aspects of the Gods. The masculine aspects draw power from their feminine counterpart. For instance Vishnu's feminine aspect is Saraswati which can represent knowledge, music, art and science. Knowledge arises from ideas which have a strong enough foundation to survive the criticism of Shiva. This foundation invokes a sense of harmony like Music or a statistical advantage like Science. In this way, what Shiva fails to transform becomes sacred, and Vishnu draws power from this sanctimony. Shiva's female aspect, Shakti, is synonymous with power and without Shakti all beings would be inert. This power is analogous to the relationship between flame and heat for a fire. What the fire burns becomes the heat that powers the fire. This makes the term Destruction rather inaccurate. In fact, when your computer gives off heat, it is expelling excess bits of information, not destroying them. That which cannot be preserved is not destroyed by Shiva, it simply empowers Shakti which in turn empowers Shiva. That which can be preserved becomes knowledge, empowering Saraswati which in turn empowers Vishnu.

Speaking in terms of evolution, all adaptation is born from random mutation. If the mutation is not viable, it does not survive through time and instead reinforces the standard. If the action is viable, the transformation spreads throughout the system and becomes the new paradigm to be preserved and tested against further mutation.

In biblical terminology, people are the battleground between the Creator God and the Challenger God. In Zoroastrian terminology, people are the battleground between the Creator God and Destroyer God. In Nietzsche's Apollonian and Dionysian terminology, people are the battleground between that which Godly and Beastly or Civilized and Wild. We have the choice, not between Good and Evil, but between clinging to Statistical Advantage or Experimenting, between Pragmatism and Imagination. In this way, Art can be described as the bridge between Heaven and Earth, between the Animal Kingdom where our Corporal forms find their history, and the abstract sphere of Possibility our minds are capable of exploring. There is no certainty, we are all Gamblers placing bets. But much of the time, failure draws more reward than inaction. The failure of Shiva enables the growth of Saraswati, and the success of Shiva cleans the excess aspects from the realm of Vishnu.

This concept promotes a sense of balance when considering the reception and propagation of new ideas. If the mind is locked too deeply into preservation, it becomes immovable and thus cannot evolve, leaving it vulnerable to systems which are willing to evolve. If it is too open to transformation it becomes susceptible losing valuable aspects of its current fixture, or spreading destructive behaviors throughout the system.

Simply because there is no certainty in life, that is no excuse not to perform action. Only time reveals which actions and behaviors are viable. We are all a fragment of God, and because of that, all our experiences and the actions they lead us to are sacred.