Crossing the Abyss

The word
“abyss” implies something unpleasant. The connotations are that it exists to
keep something in, or, in this case, to keep people out. It is there to deter
rather than to restrain.

There is
nothing pleasant about the word “abyss”. Other words such as
“chasm” or “canyon” do not carry the same hint of menace. The Grand Canyon is
not terrifying (unless you fall into it) but imagine a similar geographical
feature called the Grand Abyss. The word “canyon” does not trigger a warning;
the word “abyss” does. But it is the same thing. A gap, a space between one
place of land and another.

The
Abyss is that awful thing you go through or across to get to where you think
you want to be, that is, Adepthood. And then you find out that the Abyss was an
understatement because, when you get to the other side, you see why it exists,
to keep people out. When you are on the other side of it, you truly realise
that most contact or communication with other people at any real level is
finished forever. Your values change, most of your yardsticks by which you
measure have been altered. You realise why the Abyss is just that, to keep
people out.

You do
not cross it in one go. It is not a ferry-ride. You work your way across it day
by day. This is not sailing across the Channel. You work your way slowly across
the Abyss.

Everybody
does it differently, but they all stick to the task in hand and the main
concern is subduing your own subconscious and its lies. Some days it does not
give many problems, other days you might fall into the same trap two or three
times. Before you are aware of it, you are either thinking or speaking from a
stance, or you listen and react to someone without realising that they are
speaking from a stance. This serves to remind you that you are not yet as
accomplished as you thought you were.

The
Abyss represents the difference between one state of mind and another.

You can
cross the Channel from Dover to Boulogne; you can also cross from Boulogne if
you find tat you do not like France. You cannot re-cross the Abyss because that
would involve unlearning and unknowing, which is impossible.

There is
no question of choosing to take the Right Hand or the Left Hand Path. There is
only one route. You either cross or you do not cross.

But what
you do when you get to the other side is entirely up to you. You then have
access to everything.

Anonymous
article taken from the Dark Lily Journal No 4, Society of Dark Lily (London
1988).