Magickal Principle of Opposites and Dynamic Balance

As part of my rethinking and re-presentation of the generally accepted and used Laws of Magick in my Post No. 562 - A Rethinking of the ‘Laws’ of Magick, I proposed the Fiery Magickal Law of the Taijitu, which encompasses the , as described in the extract below.

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Before I discuss the Fiery Magickal Law of the Taijitu, I need to make sure we all understand what the Taijitu is. In a nutshell, it is this:

Oh, you recognise that? And, no doubt, you’ve called it the ‘Yin-Yang symbol’, until now. Well, now you know what it is ‘officially’ called :)

My take on this symbol - and I actually don’t care what the official take is, or what so-and-so says it is :) - is that is shows two polar opposites in a dynamic situation: the opposites seem to be chasing each other around the perimeter of the circle, which is repelling the opposite and also, when viewed from a single point, transformation. To further complicate matters, each polar opposite contains the seed of the other within it.

From this, we get the three Magickal Principles covered by this Law: Dynamism, Opposites and Dynamic Balance and the Opposite Seed Within.

Because this symbol illustrates transformation, I have associated it with the Magickal Element of Fire. 

 

The Magickal Principle of Opposites and Dynamic Balance is, in a sense, another statement of the obvious - namely, that the taijitu shows polar opposites. In Asian traditions, this would often be described as yin-yang (receptive vs. active - often completely erroneously misidentified as female-male); in the old Scandinavian and Germanic cultures, this would be the fire of Kenaz and the ice of Isa. Other examples can be found - and this aspect is akin to the old, fallacious ‘Law of Gender’, which states that everything has an opposite.

The truth of the matter is that, whilst, yes, it may be possible to find an opposite, they should
(a) be seen as ends of a gradually sliding scale, not polar opposites, and
(b) there is a point of dynamic balance.

(There can also be other permutations - for instance, bi-gendered people, or people who reject gender altogether.)

Go back to the diagram: note the gradual change - most easily seen in the ‘tail’ of each section? We’re not looking at a circle which has a straight, hard and fast division across the middle …

Meditate also on what it would be like to be in the centre of this diagram, with varying ‘depths’ of each pole all round. How could you not see this as a dynamic point, a place where the varying gradations along the scale all manage to keep a perfect balance, whilst all the time moving.

Yes, active principles or energies have a balancing influence (balancing is a better way to consider this than ‘polar opposite’, actually), but they represent points on a sliding scale, and there is ALWAYS a third point, a point of dynamic balance.

Oh! Those people who misidentify yin and yang as female and male are, in my experience, often guilty of the mistake of assuming that the gender stereotypes of the last few hundred years have some sort of validity: by doing so, they are guilty of attempting to impose a stasis on a situation, and thus are in conflict with the Magickal Principle of Dynamism.

This and the next Magickal Principle supercede the hermetic ‘Law’ of Gender.

Now, the Magickal Principle of the Opposite Seed Within: is based on that small essence of the opposite colour in each half of the taijitu, which is particularly significant if one contemplates the Magickal Principle of Dynamism - all things change, and some things may transform into their opposites.

In terms of just having a seed of ‘the opposite’ within us, this can possibly be understood for many people by thinking of Jung’s concept of the anima/animus, the concept that each person has some of the ‘opposite’ gender within themselves - which immediately shows why it is flawed, as I’ve just been describing how gender is actually a continuum and there are at least three points to consider anyway.

Nevertheless, I contend that, a s a general principle, it is likely that one can find an essence of ‘the opposite’ within - possibly deeply buried and denied, but it may well be there. This can be fortuitous when it gives us the chance to understand someone who is different to us, and thus be able to relate to and interact with them more effectively. As a light-hearted example, perhaps one is disorganised and messy: the inner seed of being organised may enable us, if found, acknowledged and accessed, to understand the reactions of someone who is more organised and neat and work towards an amicable way of co-existing.

Perhaps a more useful explanation is that based on homeopathy. Now, ignoring science’s recent assertion that homeopathy doesn’t work (I would like to know whether they took the one size fits all approach), the idea of homeopathy is - to simplify - that a small essence of something that causes a problem, can lead to a cure. if I was to view this from the point of view of the Magickal Principle of the Opposite Seed Within, I could say that the substance/problem has the seed of its cure (its ‘opposite’, in a sense) within, and that manifests into the cure.

Keeping in mind that all this is about magickal work, some sources have stated that if one tries too hard, then the opposite of what one is trying to achieve can occur. This has led to discussions about whether one ‘should’ do a spell and then let ‘the Universe’ manifest it, or keep doing work to strengthen the spell. I would suggest actually observing what is happening, and determine whether the Magickal Principle of the Opposite Seed Within is stronger in a situation than the Magickal Principle of Dynamism, which suggests do it once and then leave it to ‘the Universe’, or the other way round, which suggests keep making an effort - and be aware that this may well change as time flows on, or as external magickal and other influences wax and wane.

This Principle is associated with the Magickal Element of Fire. That in itself illustrates that everything has its seed within, as, when a fire has consumed all its fuel, it will go out - and thus, the fire becomes its opposite, ‘not fire’, because of its key attribute of transformation of fuel into something incombustible (not able to be burned). In the physical world, this means a deliberate fire, for heating or cooking or magick, may need to be fed new fuel to sustain it. On the other hand, a bushfire needs to be cut off from new fuel to put it out - and hence things like firebreaks. So … transformation is not necessarily always a good thing: the old saying is “Fire makes a good servant, but a bad master”. Thus one thing to keep in mind is that spirituality is not always assured: it is possible to backslide …

This Magickal Principle encompasses the Hermetic ‘Law’ ‘As Above, So Below’.