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Volantia Decretism and Posism The Three PDF

Volantia, decretism, and posism are the three fundamental laws of Rosicrucian magic according to Paschal Beverly Randolph. Volantia refers to the calm exertion of the will through visualization techniques similar to meditation. Decretism is the dynamic commanding aspect of the will used to accomplish magical objectives. Posism is the receptive state necessary to receive and integrate the energies invoked through decretism. Randolph's system influenced later occult orders like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

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2K views4 pages

Volantia Decretism and Posism The Three PDF

Volantia, decretism, and posism are the three fundamental laws of Rosicrucian magic according to Paschal Beverly Randolph. Volantia refers to the calm exertion of the will through visualization techniques similar to meditation. Decretism is the dynamic commanding aspect of the will used to accomplish magical objectives. Posism is the receptive state necessary to receive and integrate the energies invoked through decretism. Randolph's system influenced later occult orders like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

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VOLANTIA, DECRETISM, AND POSISM: THE THREE FUNDAMENTAL

LAWS OF ROSICRUCIAN MAGIC ACCORDING TO PASCHAL


BEVERLY RANDOLPH
Frater P.D. Newman, VII
MS College, SRICF

Magic is a word that conjures up a whole host of ideas and impressions, and not all
of them positive. From the diabolical operations of the fictional Dr. Faustus to the
allegedly non-fictional interactions of Dr. John Dee and Sir Edward Kelley with all
manner of angels and spirits via the former's mysterious shew stone, magic is
permeated with an air of mystical fascination and phobic taboo alike. Therefore,
before exploring our topic, in order to rectify and rescue the notion of magic from
the realms of the sinister, the fantastical, and the absurd, it will first be helpful to
provide a working definition of the term magic as the same will be used throughout
this paper.

One infamous yet prominent English Rosicrucian defined magic as "the Science
and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with the Will." From this
definition it is apparent that the concept of magic need not be limited solely to feats
of the miraculous and impossible. Indeed, in the present context, the very
accomplishment of one's will is itself enough to constitute a successful act of
magic. To illustrate this Aleister Crowley wrote in Magick In Theory and Practice:

"It is my Will to inform the World of certain facts within my knowledge. I


therefore take 'magickal weapons,' pen, ink, and paper; I write 'incantations' --
these sentences -- in the 'magickal language' i.e., that which is understood by the
people I wish to instruct; I call forth 'spirits,' such as printers, publishers,
booksellers and so forth and constrain them to convey my message to those people.
The composition and distribution of this book is thus an act of Magick by which I
cause Changes to take place in conformity with my Will."

As Crowley makes clear, it is the accomplishment of one's will, and not necessarily
of miracles, which constitutes an act of magic.

Another Rosicrucian applying this same conceptualization of magic to his own


practice and teachings was American visionary and mystic Paschal Beverly
Randolph (October 8, 1825 -- July 29, 1875). An African American, Randolph
made a living as a healer and medium while espousing a form of Spiritualism that
bridged the ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg with those of Franz Anton Mesmer. At
the same time he incorporated into his techniques the age old methods and
philosophies of the Oriental Tantrics, e.g., the ritual use of breath, coitus, and
entheogens. While there is no evidence that Randolph was ever made a Freemason,
at least one source suggests that he, like his contemporaries Eliphas Levi and
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, was made an honorary member of Societas Rosicruciana
In Anglia. However, his Rosicrucian ties did not stop there as Randolph was
single-handedly responsible for establishing Fraternitas Rosae Crucis, the very
first Rosicrucian body erected on Americal soil.

In addition to his many exotic practices, in his book Eulis! The History of Love
Randolph set forth a fundamental, trifold basis for the laws of magic. These three
fundamentals he called volantia, decretism, and posism, and it is they which
constitute the subject of the present paper. Randolph had hinted at them throughout
his career as a writer, but it was not until the publication of Eulis! that a
comprehensive explanation for volantia, decretism, and posism was finally offered.

Randolph defined volantia as "the quiet, steady, calm, non-turbulent, non-muscular


exertion of the human Will." Comparable to Eastern forms of meditation, when
broken up into its three sub categories of attention, concentration, and abstraction,
we find that volantia has parallels within the system of the yogis. Attention and
concentration may be compared to the practices known in yoga as dharana and
dhyana, the same of which consist of fixing the attention upon a given object or
idea until, after steady, gradual intensification of that attention and concentration,
subject and object merge in the blissful no-thingness of samadhi. The final sub
category of volantia, abstraction, refers to one's ability not only to visualize, but to
independantly manipulate and control with the will the chosen object or idea.

As a prerequisite to mastering volantia the student was first expected to acquire


what Randolph called tirau-clairiam, the power to "think clearly to a point, and
know it...to use the will to bring any image, flash, spark or scintilla before you and
never take the mind's eye from it." Tau Allen Greenfield explains how this ability
was gained. "Place against the wall a black card, round with a white center, or
white with a black center, and gaze on it steadily, one minute... Then slowly turn
your face to the blank wall and the optical effect will be an apparition of the card --
colors reversed -- [slowly passing] across your line of vision." This visual
apparition the student was expected not only to eventually control, but also to be
able to conjure up at will without the assistance of the cards. A similar practice was
taught in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn using tattwa cards and organized
complimentary colors, and the resultant power essentially constitutes the third sub
category of Randolph's volantia, termed abstraction.
The second fundamental law of Randolph's system of Rosicrucian magic is
decretism, the "decreeing, ordering, commanding" power of the will. Where
volantia serves as the imaginative "quiet, steady, calm, non-turbulent,
non-muscular exertion of the human Will," decretism refers to the dynamic aspect
of the will that "leaps from the soul like a flash of vivid white lightening,
traversing space, centering on its object even though oceans flow between, or vast
spaces divide." John Patrick Deveney explains decretism as the power that
"accomplishes the clearly formulated object or goal," i.e., it is the moment in a
magical ceremony or ritual when the objective decree (hence decretism) is
ejaculated forth by the practitioner. We say ejaculated because decretism is quite
literally the moment when the seed-will is issued into the world to accomplish its
magical objective. As a further example, in Francis Barrett's system volantia would
relate to the imaginative aspect of magical practice. Decretism, on the other hand,
would relate to the will proper.

While decretism corresponds to the active aspect of the will, posism, the third
fundamental law according to Randolph's system of magic, refers to the will's
passive aspect. It is purportedly the most difficult of the three powers to acquire. In
the words of Randolph, posism is accomplished by "placing oneself in a receptive
position, state, frame of body, mind, and feeling." Where decretism corresponds to
the active decree of the will, posism refers to the receptive pose, mental and
physical, which is necessary to receive and retain the power of the seed-will that
was previously issued forth at the "decretic instant." It is said in physics horror
vacui, that "nature abhors a vacuum." In a certain sense, posism is the vacuum
created by a practitioner in order to absorb and integrate the qualities or powers
that have been conjured during the decretic instant, as the latter was called by
Randolph. An example of this practice can be found, again, in the Hermetic Order
of the Golden Dawn, where a technique known as the assumption of godforms is
employed toward similar ends.

Randolph's influence on the occult revival cannot be overstated. In addition to the


Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the pervasive spirit of his teachings lingers in
occult societies and orders such as the Theosophical Society, the Ordo Templi
Orientis, and even in the elusive Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, where
Randolph's notions of volantia, decretism, and posism are renamed and reissued as
Formulation, Execution, and Reception. And, it is no coincidence that in all four of
the above named orders and societies the omnipotence of the will plays a
prominent, central role.

Before closing it must be stated that willpower alone is not sufficient to master the
art of magic. Without love and compassion, the lone will is little more than a cold
and inert, passionless desire. Sans love, the will is and can only be a force of
selfishness, delusion, detachment, and domination. For, love is that which
potentiates and makes magic the will. It is the brilliant agent that unites, enlightens,
and enriches every facet of the human experience. Therefore, to whatever ends the
student should seek to direct his will, in all of his operations he must first and
foremost remember to be loving and compassionate toward any and all creatures
with whom he -- or his will -- might come into contact. It is a grave responsibility
that cannot be over-exaggerated. To quote Randolph:

"Fix this principle firmly in your memory, and roll it under the tongue of your
clearest understanding; take it in the stomach of your spirit; digest it well, and
assimilate its quintessence to, and with, your own soul. That principle is
formulated thus: LOVE LIETH AT THE FOUNDATION (of all that is); and Love
is convertibly passion; enthusiasm; affection; heat; fire; soul; God. Master that."

REFERENCES

Barrett, Francis The Magus


Blavatsky, H.P. The Secret Doctrine
Casaubon, Meric A True and Faithful Relation
Crowley, Aleister Magick In Theory and Practice
Deveney, John P. Paschal Beverly Randolph
Faivre, Antoine Western Esotericism
Godwin, Joscelyn The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor
Greenfield, Allen 19th Century Sex Magick
King, Francis Secret Rituals of the O.T.O.
Marlowe, Christopher Doctor Faustus
Melchoir, Frater Manifestations of the Neo-Rosicrucian Current
North, Robert Sexual Magic
Randolph, Paschal B. Eulis! The History of Love
Regardie, Israel The Golden Dawn
Vivekananda, Swami Raja Yoga

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