AEON AND AEONICS

The rise and fall of civilisations within a period of time is known esoterically as an 'Aeon' (Greek for "age"). The term 'Aeon' is used to describe a stage of evolution, which is a result of an ongoing process. An Aeon could be described as 'Acausal' energy manifesting in the 'Causal'. The way in which this form is ordered in the Causal is expressed by a higher civilisation. In this perspective, an Aeon is related to the rise and fall of the great chapters of history. The process of these stages is described through the process of Aeonics. Aeonics are known collectively as the rise and fall of both the higher and the lesser and degenerate civilisations. The term is a synthesis of the theories of Oswald Spengler's 'seasonal' cycles of civilisation and ancient knowledge, such as the Aryan Veda-scriptures. Each civilisation would hence develop through stages similar to those of a year cycle. The last stages of each Aeon are the phase of winter or as known by the Vedas, being the 'time of troubles'. This is the phase of disintegration. The civilisation must eventually decline and fall, and is then followed by the emergence of another by the destruction of the old.

Goethe´s drama Faust, is the embodiment of the Zeitgeist of Western man. It is the theme of man striving to obtain the status of a god on earth. He disregards heavenly rewards and provides a new aristocratic perspective on life. Western man contains this essence which is rooted in his Aryan descent. The Aryan is unique in upholding a creative and exploring spirit. To build a world oneself, to be oneself God, that is in essence the Faustian inventor (designer of machines). Herein lies also the weakness and the seed of destruction when the material inventor governs the spiritual aspect, which gets lost in the process. A balance must be restored.

Spengler describes Western Civilisation as 'Faustian'. Its symbol is Limitless Space. This is reflected in its exploration and colonisation, art, architecture (e.g the Gothic spire), and a form of science that seeks to unveil the secrets of nature. Its reach is Infinite. 'Faustian' is the 'race soul' of the West that makes it unique. As we've seen, while Spengler points to the conclusion of Western Civilisation, like others before it, we should consider what might come after it if the opportunities are apprehended by those few who have a sense of destiny.

The old Aeons are named in the ancient Aryan Sanskrit texts. By the end of the Aeons, everything must dissolve and return to the primal stage. This dissolution is called 'Mahapralaya'. This Sanskrit term, derives from 'great' (Skt., maha) and 'dissolution' (Skt., pralaya). The total annihilation of the Universe will take place at the end of mahakalpa. Then there will be as an absorption of all existence, including time, space and individual consciousness. This destruction hints at the eventual breakdown of the Universe and the death of all its inhabitants, more or less portrayed as a collapse into a black hole from which, with a big bang, a new one will arise destined to go through the same cycles of becoming and being and dissolving once more. The whole process could be compared to several spiral-shapes, which are unfolded individually and are sometimes pushed into other shapes. The intentions of Aeonic cycles are similar to those of evolution, where one stage will process into a new and where creatures not able to rise, become smashed in the turmoil.

An Aeon is basically a manifestation in the physical, Causal world, of a particular Acausal energy, which affects the Causal. Each Aeon is associated with a certain ethos, which is the superior driving force in each civilisation, or its "reason". Each Aeon has therefore a particular civilisation associated with it. For example in the cultures of Neolithic Europe, ethos formed in the great constructions of stone and the worship of the Sun. Their civilisation was associated with fertility, homeland and heritage. An Aeon occupies a finite space over a certain period of time and is said to last about 2,000 years of Causal time, compared with a civilisation, which lasts around 1,500 years. An Aeon is a month (2,155 Causal years) of a cosmic year (25,860 Causal years). It is however not very useful to count Aeons into Causal time as if they were evolving regularly like clockwork. It is an organic process, not a mechanic one, and thus it is possible to assist or aid the turn of the Aeon.

From this perspective, an Aeon is greater in length of time, manifesting itself in material and spiritual culture within the civilisation. It will last also when the culture declines and disintegrates. A good example is the rise and decline of the Hellenic civilisation, where it becomes integrated in a new and rising culture, the Roman, which was born from the ideal concept of the Hellenic. There is also a difference between historical Aeons and spiritual Aeons. The rise and fall of the Hellenic civilisation is an historical Aeon, while the spiritual Aeon is exemplified with the passing from a Shamanistic society towards a Pagan or Monotheistic society. The Hellenic civilisation represents a certain Aeon, with it the Iliad is a formulation of the ethos of this culture. This central work shows the martial spirit of the Hellenic, both the dramatic and yet tragic themes. A similar spirit is shown in the tradition of Northern Europe, with its bard's tales, romanticism and tragedy. In the Western civilisation, the true ethos took shape within the teachings of National Socialism, uniting the heroic and the conquering spirit of the Aryan race. With the loss of this true ethos however, Western culture is declining. However, there is still a sub-conscious will within this civilisation to return to this ethos, which might return in a new shape, in another time. A proof thereof is shown after the Nuremberg trials, where several of the leading individuals of the NSDAP were murdered, Rudolf Hess uttered:
'What the death of these Eleven will one day mean, but few today can suspect, much less can I write about. We are standing on the threshold of a great new age. What we are all going through are its birth-pangs. Everything seems negative - yet despite it all, the time is coming when something new and great will be born.'

Through a civilisation, the Acausal energy is revealed by the practical changes detected within the culture. Each civilisation is bound to a certain Aeon and remains destined to develop within this Aeon and according to the ethos of it. The stages of evolution will correspond to its complexity and they will be different for each civilisation depending on such differences as spiritual and physical race and physical and psychological surroundings. Each civilisation should thus evolve according to its own destiny and ethos. It is by refining the grand shape and exposing the inner strength or weaknesses, that evolution would test and dispatch those who prove themselves less fit.

These forms of identifiable manifestations of ethos, should not be considered from a Causal or moral standpoint. Instead they should be seen from an Aeonic point of view. With this in mind, we are currently in the Age of Pisces, moving into the Age of Aquarius, a period which is ruled by Saturn (Nidhögg), where the spiritual power present in the Black Sun once again could develop. The present, now fading Piscean Age, has been ruled by Jupiter, under the hidden influence of Neptune. This is also the influential reason of the upsurge of Communist ideals. The Aquarian Age is ruled by Saturn and is enlightened by the higher octave, Lucifer. This emerging spirit (Saturno-Uranian) will bring a new order out of the present chaos. The Aquarian Age will only appear to be logical, rational and representing a humanitarian egalitarianism. The Saturno-Uranian reality will instead be the system of a ruling elite enlightened by the Black Flame. This development aids the manifestation of Acausal energy within the Causal. A civilisation, which lost its original ethos and destiny, such as the present Western civilisation, is not able to channel this energy, as it is dying and degenerate. The material developments of society show a decay into Atheism and Nihilism, where the Western Civilisation reached its nihilistic phase, where magick and transcendentalism exist in opposition to this paradigm and where the Monism turns to a static and slowly dying presence.

Individual beings who possess a greater understanding of the Aeonic destiny of the societies in which they live, also have the opportunity to influence those societies in ways the unknowing is unable to do. This is also the Sinister Dialectics and the aim of The Black Order. Such individuals should be able to handle the manifestation of Acausal energy within the Causal, as their unconscious becomes present and they are open to the current of this energy. The sorcerer working according to the Sinister Dialectics, wants to enhance the development of the destruction of this Aeon, in order to progress to a new cycle and downfall. His or her strategy is to utilise Aeonic Dark Magick to cause cosmic effect. Each Aeon will accordingly be influenced by a magical inspiration, given from a natural force that gives birth to certain archetypes and associated myths forming the ethos of the particular civilisation.