“It should never be forgotten for a single moment that the central and essential work of the Magician is the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Once he has achieved this he must of course be left entirely in the hands of that Angel, who can be invariably and inevitably relied upon to lead him to the further great step—crossing of the Abyss and the attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple.”
"It is impossible to lay down precise rules by which a man may attain to the knowledge and conversation of His Holy Guardian Angel; for that is the particular secret of each one of us; as secret not to be told or even divined by any other, whatever his grade. It is the Holy of Holies, whereof each man is his own High Priest, and none knoweth the Name of his brother's God, or the Rite that invokes Him." - Crowley, One Star in Sight
“In his writing, Crowley often stated that every magician’s path will be unique, but that two experiences are necessary to all. He called these two experiences “the angel and the abyss”. The angel refers to the process known as “achieving the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel” in high magick. This holy guardian angel - known to magicians throughout the world as the HGA for short - is similar to what the ancient Greeks referred to as one’s “daemon” or “higher self.” Even though it’s referred to by some as the higher self, it is often experienced as a separate being, completely independent of the magician. In some traditions of magick, connecting with the HGA is the most important milestone to reach, because a side effect of it is that the magician become’s aware of his or her true will. Our will is defined as both our destiny - the reason we manifested our current life within the physical world/material plane - and also as a daily path of action that allows us to move in harmony with the entire universe. In magick, the word Will is often considered to be similar to “dharma” in Buddhism. Magick is a complex path which ultimately allows us to do two things in the material plane - to discover what our true will is, and to achieve union with the all.” - Damien Echols
Knowledge & Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel
- Contact(?) - Receiving the Name
- Knowledge
- Conversation. Union
Recieving the Name
(After following the path of magic up to completing the shem operation…)
“If you follow this process and are successful, you will receive the first of two names. This first one is a “public” name that can be shared with others. The second will be a private name, but will not come until later. This can happen in many ways, perhaps as many different ways as there are people - but there will be absolutely no mistaking it when it occurs. That name will indicate the next step of your process. You will begin to invoke the entity attached to that name with all your might, just as you have been invoking the angels and archangels up until that point. You will invoke it before you, behind you, on your right hand and on your left hand, as well as above and below you. You should do this throughout the day, even when not doing the big rituals. Until you receive that name, you can use the names others have given to their students. For example, with Crowley it was “Aiwass”. For me it is “Enlil” - ancient Sumerian for “Lord of heaven.” By invoking Enlil before you, behind you, on your right hand, on your left hand, above and below you, it can facilitate contact with your own HGA.”