Published by Psychoanalysis since Freud has unravelled a spectrum of seemingly unrelated behavioral tendencies but are actuality of the same orientation. For example, a lady with obsessive compulsion for food and another lady who is almost starving herself to death may seem to be the extremes in a polarity. However, it is very possible that the former had resorted to food in order to gratify herself because she has no lover while the later may already be suffering from anorexia because she wanted to appear attractive to a man not paying attention to her. Such is the workings of the human mind which actually influences behaviour.
Do not therefore be surprised if magi or practitioners of magic may either be self-indulgent such as Alester Crowley or ascetic as Abremalin. The behavioural tendencies may be different such as those who will mystify a whole crowd which some will be reclusive and living like hermits. And yet, they have the same end in view. They are magicians because they would liked to possess the ultimate power. Some of them have started with noble intentions but halfway are adepts, they have already been transformed by the power that corrupts.
In the end, what the magician almost always achieve are superhuman feats that are simply fruits of price. And fruits of pride lead but to a dreadful and ascerbic decay. But this writer had been fortunate, he had been seeking the truth and before it became to late, the Lord has shown him the Way.
For the contagion of magic and other esoteric traditions play up on the human ego so well that the psychoaddictive process works like a quicksand. Consider the Tadtad and similar cults found in the Philippines. Men usually would be interested in making themselves formidable in battle. This is where the kabal is actually related to the ancient Jewish Kaballah except that it was bartardized and ritualizied in a manner wherein a singular function becomes the goal. Here there are no semiphorathic rituals but the rites are surprisingly Christianized. The kabal user will perform the simple rituals and mumble burnai and later perform the simple rituals the test of faith. He will be hacked by a bolo but the blade will not cut through his skin. In Korea, those who are trained for mediumship don various colourful costumes to appease the inering spirits which will protect them. But the kabal phenomenon is different. The Filipino practitioner goes half-naked to really show where the blade will strike the skin. And there is no possession for the adept remains consciously himself all the time. The more advanced ones will impress the followers more by chewing and swallowing broken glass like common snacks.
In Alfonso, Cavite, the Sanghiyang practitioners walk on the fire after a simple Christianized ritual. The principle applied is almost the same as those in Greece. Only the Greeks are more elaborate. They bring out the relics from the church to protect themselves from the fire. The Sanghiyang isolated themselves before. They do not like people judging what they do as diabolical. These peasant men are pleasant to talk with. This writer feels their sincerity in what they do that is why it makes him feel more sad.
There are also some groups who choose to pick up venomous snakes to show their faith. These Christianized rituals have indeed endured the times. And there are those who allow themselves to be crucified to show they are sorry for their sins while being documented on film.
The writer is not impressed. Super human feats no matter how phenomenal they are, are not necessarily the handiwork of God even if hears the name of Christ being mumbled. It is felt that true faith should not be staged because the fruits they bear, the good works are obvious as themselves are, Furthermore, faith that is lacking should strive to complement and complement itself for obvious reasons. No matter how the intentions may be, the fruits of pride are simply disposable phenomena. They do not bear fruit for the soul.
