In Western Occultism, the false persona that an Adept cloaks themselves in is known as "the outer robe of concealment". Without generating this robe, an Adept cannot enter into the third order known as the "inner college", which corresponds to the sphere of Saturn in terms of initiation. The purpose of this robe is threefold. The first reason why this "robe" is necessary is for the privacy of the Adept, and it renders those who are too dull and lack the necessary discrimination to penetrate falsehood unable to access the teachings of the Adept. The second reason is to cultivate a aura of disrepute or a seeming character flaw to protect the teachings from those who would imitate the outer behavior of the Adept, instead of practicing their actual teachings. The 3rd reason deals with the ego of the Adept and is the mechanism that generates the robe itself. Crowley stated that "the brothers of the A.A. are women" and by this he was emphasizing that to attain entrance to the inner college, they must cultivate absolute and total passivity, thus rendering them female. This passivity often entails a sexual act that is tailored to the ego of the aspirant that causes their ego to be shattered to pieces that then form the fabric of the robe that conceals them. There are a lot of rumors about entrance to this order for men requiring passive homosexual acts but, while this might have been true for Crowley, it can also revolve around total submission to a woman depending on the nature of the individual Adept. All outer forms are illusions and the outer form of the Adept is the ego or shell that they reject. In this way, they are perceived by others to exhibit a character flaw that is precisely what they inwardly are not. As "the Book of Lies" so poetically tells us "A red rose absorbs all colours but red; red is therefore the one colour that it is not." In this way, the profane will always only be able to see the outer robe of the Adept (everything casted off as repulsive to him), and thus attack the unworthy with this illusion, proving their own impurity and unworthiness.
In this way, we can see the curious link between Occultism and the fields of espionage, both of which spread deliberate misleading information to reveal traitors or unworthy spiritual students that copy the false outer personality of the Adept, thus ensuring their destruction. In this way, without developing your interior faculty, you will never be able to distinguish between an actual Adept or a fraud, unless you truly desire spiritual growth and are not in it for egotistical or business purposes. In Western Magick, Adepts of the Inner College are called Hermits, and this is why on the Hermit Tarot Trump, a robed figure is depicted holding a lantern. The term "Hermit" is misleading, however, as in this context is not used to describe an individual who has renounced the world or who lives in isolation, but in this case designates a follower of Hermes Trismegistus and hence a practitioner of Hermeticism. The Hermetic Adept lives in the world but is not "of it", and he does not renounce any aspect of reality or insulate himself from it in any way. The Hermetic Adept is best described in the following two passages of the Book of the Law, which states, "Behold! these be grave mysteries; for there are also of my friends who be hermits. Now think not to find them in the forest or on the mountain; but in beds of purple, caressed by magnificent beasts of women with large limbs, and fire and light in their eyes, and masses of flaming hair about them; there shall ye find them. Ye shall see them at rule, at victorious armies, at all the joy; and there shall be in them a joy a million times greater than this. Beware lest any force another, King against King! Love one another with burning hearts; on the low men trample in the fierce lust of your pride, in the day of your wrath. Ye are against the people, O my chosen!" The Hermetic Adept fulfills all 4 aims of life and does not avoid things like sexuality, intoxicants, or conquering his or her enemies. The Hermetic Adept is against the "common man" who values servitude and slavish dependence on others, and seek to restrict those who would choose the Thelemic way of liberty and life and will always labor for increased freedom in all areas of society. This includes areas of sexuality, finance, entertainment, and everything else; a true Adept knows that every person is condemned to their own "freedom" and must take total spiritual responsibility for themselves. To be a Thelemite means that you have the maximum possible freedoms that are only possible in our current age and which can only be seized by those who have the self-respect to adopt the codes of conduct. To those who are truly Kings or Queens, they will love the emphasis on freedom and self-sufficiency, but to the self-hating and vampiric individual, will despise these teachings because they deep down have no desire for self -realization and total independence, and instead violently try to continue feeding off of those who they are dependent on. It is important to understand, however, that no one can escape the law, as it is present on every plane of causality... and that law is Love under Will. Take your fill of it, and let no one impede you from doing so.
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