Читать книгу Tarot and the Medici Patience. Grimoire - Petr Krylov - Страница 4

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1. Stage One.

The novice mage radiates puppyish delight and cocky self-assurance. The whole world, irrevocably and unmistakably, belongs to him and him alone.

He is bursting with strength, energy, and a total absence of negative experience.

He simply hasn’t realized yet that he’s young, but already a talented… idiot.

His first triumphs in Magic grant him the sacred conviction that he is capable of 'everything.' Granted, 'everything' itself has yet to learn that it is he who commands it.

Thus, he heeds no one; all advice, to him, is nothing but the hollow anxieties of the ancients. And so he barges forward, in the finest kamikaze tradition. Selecting, of course, the field where the rakes lie thickest and heaviest.

He has skimmed through Article One of any organization's charter—'The Commander is always right'—but pays it no mind for now.

He simply doesn’t have any spare time for that. He’s terribly busy! There’s so much wood to chop, so many bruises to earn! And now, if you please, a barrage of tedious rules, Laws, textbooks!

This is where the career of many an aspiring Mage, alas, ends—in a wheelchair and with a prodigious list of pills to earn or, at times, beg for, for the remainder of their Life.

Yes, yes, esteemed friends—an inevitable happy ending is but a covert marketing trick of Holly Wood, just to make the film sell better!

In the Real, you can't just save and reload!33

GAME OVER – you truly don't get a replay in this life!

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2. Stage Two.

After gaining his first real experience, the Mage discovers the World is not, in fact, the cherished, ever-accommodating mother’s bosom.

And this, one way or another, he must now take into account. It turns out, cavalry charges in Magic are a tad problematic—and, frankly, suicidal.

It’s better—and, far more importantly, safer—to do everything gradually and smoothly.

Then, perhaps, there will even be time to notice and reflect on where, how, and in what one was mistaken.

Those who become aware, surrender, and embrace this simple truth sometimes even manage to survive—and stand a fair chance of reaching the third stage of evolution.

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3. The Third Stage.

After the Mage has acquired a couple of spectacular bumps (all over his aura), tested his Health for durability, and his body and hide for regeneration, he cools off a bit and begins to behave more or less rationally. The Magician now sets about learning the fundamentals of Magic much more diligently and thoughtfully.

And not by leaping straight into practice, as he once did, but first by devoting attention to theory. And—oh, miracle of miracles—even seeks counsel and asks others, 'So how is it actually done, colleagues?' He even begins to heed the opinions of his senior peers, though they are hardly aflame with the desire to divulge their secrets.

The Magician’s transition to the next stage of evolution depends profoundly on his manners, friendliness, and powers of communication. Some, at this stage, succeed in falling out with the entire World. Others, on the contrary, choose their enemies in smaller numbers but with a much thicker, juicier aura—secure in the hope that these battle-hardened Magicians will surely do them in, properly, thoroughly, and with a lifetime guarantee.

The secret to a Mage’s passage to the next level is humility and a lack of malice. No Mage has ever died of humility. But every second one has ended up six feet under—thanks to swaggering bravado and cocky pride.

But even that often proves insufficient.

Only in celebrated TV series do underdogs—howling at anyone who'll listen from the very first episode—live on, just to spite their enemies and the mighty of the World, until the inevitable victorious finale: healthy, glowing, and happy.

Yet one should clearly understand that this happy ending is nothing more than a marketing trick for the world's largest focus group—outsiders and misfits.

In the Real, it is usually those modest souls who quarrel with no one and are desperately needed by everyone who survive. There are some you simply can't do without!

Like dentists or plumbers, for example.

Eras change, flags and dictators rise and fall, but the need for dentists, plumbers, janitors, cleaners, and all kinds of service folk endures under any regime worth its salt.

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4. Stage Four.

After the Mage gains access to global Flows and powers, he acquires a taste of Beyond-the-Limit interaction with force.

At last, on his own skin—vividly and painfully—he grasps his place in the evolutionary chain of Spirit.

A place as humble as it is fragile. He even begins to view ants—and all manner of little bugs—with newfound respect. For he too could so easily have been crushed by some passing Archangel, flattened like a bug, and never even noticed.

And yet, strangely enough, here he is—still alive, somehow. This singular fact casts him into a deep, lifelong contemplation, and endows him with a remarkable politeness, tact, and composure toward all.

Only then does he stand a chance of progressing to the next stage.

Those who fail to cultivate these skills sooner or later cross the path of a Siddha or a Demiurge—perhaps on holiday and decidedly out of sorts—and are swiftly and cheerfully reincarnated as stammerers and mutes (the latter is a precaution, and believe me, it's not the worst fate to be had).34

By the way, an Anecdote on this theme:

A hippopotamus is paddling down the river.

Suddenly, around the next bend, he spots a mob of baboons pummeling some hapless hippo for no apparent reason.

(B) – WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU MISCREANTS DOING! – bellows the behemoth at the monkeys with all his might.

(O) – Today, we're thrashing anyone who opens their mouth too wide, – the monkeys respond to the behemoth.

(B) – aaaaa… well, well…

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5. Stage Five.

At this stage, the Mage begins to realize that there is an enormous, truly monstrous, gap between theory and practice. This has to do with the fact that theory is always significantly divorced from the Real. And it is practice that constantly affirms this divide through experience.

Especially in the case of magic—where, damn it, the confirmation is overwhelmingly painful, and more often than not, delivered posthumously.

The Mage’s journey involves improving not only through practice, but by continually refining and revising their grasp of theory.

Otherwise, quite simply, survival is not an option.

Only as an experienced and cautious (read: still among the living!) practitioner does the theorist of magic stand a chance of making it to the next evolutionary stage.

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6. The Sixth Stage.

Those who survived the previous stages and, time and again, wagered their battered hides, have all stumbled upon a disarmingly simple revelation. All bicycles in this World are invented many, many, many times over.

And rather than squandering time and energy, or imperiling one’s Health and very Life, one need only stroll into the library and have a rummage among the shelves. It’s quicker, safer, and, as a Rule, more effective than those clumsy, self-assured solo exploits.

Indeed, books from different ages, races, and tongues often mutually complete one another.

And the older the book, and the deader the language in which it is written, the greater the treasures it tends to conceal, as a Rule.

This seemingly obvious Truth becomes a marvelous revelation—a tool—for those who have uncovered it through their own adventure.

And those who have taken it into their toolkit, branded upon bone and etched into reflexes, stand every chance of advancing to the next level.

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7. The Seventh Stage.

At this level, a simple truth is revealed.

In most cases, there's absolutely no need to stubbornly champion your own unique and irreproducible (usually, thanks to its distinctly elementary and one-of-a-kind foolishness) path. It's enough simply to synchronize yourself with The World and the processes unfolding within it. And thus achieve everything you so earnestly desired—and even more—virtually without effort.

Much like a sparrow, who fussily flutters its wings and crosses several kilometers. And the albatross travels thousands of kilometers without even ten wingbeats.35

It's a paradox, it appears utterly impossible, and yet so it is.36

Thus, mages become stalkers… At least, those who survive long enough to see it.

The chief distinction between a stalker and a mage (as the term is commonly understood) is that the stalker does not reinvent the wheel, nor does he force his way through the tunnel of probabilities. Instead, he treads already-made paths and rides ascending flows, arriving—almost effortlessly—precisely where the World needs him at this very moment. In that role which the world demands, and the stalker finds intriguing.

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…and for the one who walks the Path, there are always plenty of interesting roles, scenes, and worlds…

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