For I am divided for love’s sake, for the chance of union. This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all. For these fools of men and their woes care not thou at all! They feel little; what is, is balanced by weak joys; but ye are my chosen ones. (AL 1.29-31)
I once believed that I had many of the answers. Not all of them, mind you. Just many of them. They were as obvious as the nose on my face. As knowledge gives way to wisdom one of the more interesting results is how one approaches life in general.
Life runs in cycles. I’m not particularly interested through which cycle one chooses to examine their life, but I’m quite sure that any solid pattern could be used just fine. For me I find that the pattern of the Tarot is quite sufficient—and quite enlightening. But I think it is really blind to assume that life just goes and goes, unchanging or even randomly changing without the slightest hint of being able to see these patterns. They may truly, of course, be more akin to chaotic patterns in nature, but they are still patterns nonetheless.
Being able to see these patterns is not a gift. It’s an ability that can be learned and a framework that can be examined. Pick a door. Any door. Just pick one. You will be able to change your mind if you want later. The framework is unimportant so long as it is meaningful to you.
So where am I going with this? And especially in relation to "divided for love’s sake"?
Examining my own patterns I find an interesting trend of relationships that grows wider over time—and I don’t mean, necessarily, romantic or familial ties though those are included as well. That is to say, my relationships last longer and longer each time because they are built not only on the experiences of the previous ones but they are maturing over time. The youthful exuberance of flitting from bed to bed and from heart to heart is drawing to a close. It was fun. It was necessary for maturity. But it is nonetheless a part of a larger cycle that must eventually continue to spiral upward through evolution or it will continue to run in circles until it exhausts itself and dies from a lack of growth.
The verse says that we are "divided for love’s sake, for the chance of union." If union was not an option, then there would be no division in the first place. But we focus so much on the division, on the combination of opposites, that we fail to focus on the union or the result of that union. Yes, yes: I know—"delivered from the lust of results" and all that. We’re not talking about the "lust of results" but the results themselves. What is the result of union from division?
I think it is ironic that we see bloggers and forum posters all over the place that decry in some kind of mock amazement (or offer in some kind of mock enlightenment) that Thelema has many, many similarities and common themes of Christianity as well as the greater concept of religion in general. I’ve often been amazed and approached such "insights" with a sense of Duh! Union of opposites is not only not some kind of unique theme to Thelema or occultism as a whole but it is a part of all religions and all mystical experiences throughout time. What seems to be unique to Thelema is the focus on the temporal rather than merely the spiritual. It proclaims that the physical union is just as important as the spiritual union. This is one reason why the HGA event and communion cannot be merely a spiritual or initiatory experience. It must be a physical and rational experience as well.
But as I become older, and these cycles become wider, I find that I’m not as disturbed by this movement as I thought I would be when younger. I find just as knowledge evolves into wisdom so the more temporary, polyamorous movement from one passionate and fiery relationship to another that is abundant in youth evolves into a more monogamous and steadily burning commitment as age progresses. The peaks are less oxygen-depriving and the valleys are less monotonous. And I find that opposites don’t seem so opposing after all.
Unfortunately not everyone experiences this evolution into maturity. Mid-life crisis in men—something I apparently missed completely—could be attributed to this lack of maturity. The counterpart in women, a "cougar-ism" so to speak, also attributed to the same. I find both of these behavior issues to be distasteful and inane. Certainly, these fall under "weak joys."
Both physical and spiritual, external and internal, life is about movement toward union. I find myself at a loss to explain how I’ve missed this somehow.
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