Xeper - What does it mean in your practice?

[Hapu]

This is directed to Setians and those who are Setian-adjactent:

I know Xeper means to come into being. But those are just empty words to me. When you strive to Xeper, what are you actually (in realistic, practical terms) trying to accomplish? When you've succeeding in your efforts to Xeper, what have you actually (in realistic, practical terms) accomplished?

Presumably your pre-Xeper self and your post-Xeper self were (or will be) different from one another. But what kinds of differences are being aimed at?

The more concrete you can be, the more you'll help me to get it, but by the same token, I'm not asking you to reveal parts of yourself (or of your life) that you consider in any way off limits on a public message board.

 

[Setamontet]

Xeper is an ancient Egyptian verb/noun (pronounced Khefr) written as a stylized scarab beetle, which in English roughly translates as “ To Become” or “ To Evolve” or, “I Have Come Into Being”.  We all have within ourselves our own individual hidden truths of higher being.  The path and quest of Xeper is to uncover and to ultimately become the very embodiment and most complete and supreme manifestation of these truths.

It is a dynamic spiritual transformation in one’s life in which the horizons of the potentiality of one’s own being expands.  It is the establishment of a new higher mode or state of existence.  Xeper, like in Alchemy, is the transformation of the soul or psyche from a lower state or base element into that of a higher state or divine element. 

Xeper happens.  For instance, Xeper happened to me on that day when I first truly heard that piece of music which would inspire me to devote the next eight + years of my life learning music theory and piano technique.  Xeper happened to me on that night when I first invoked the Name of Set in a Working of Greater Black Magic and Came Into Being as a Setian.  In those moments of dynamic spiritual transformation, major paradigms in my life were shifted and I was changed forever.  Xeper is that which transformed humans from what we were 2 million years ago to that which we are today, and which will continue to transform us into other higher more refined forms.  Hence, it occurs on both a macrocosmic (racial) and a microcosmic (individual) level.  Xeper continues to occur through the self-directed Remanifestation of these self-directed transformations of being.

Xeper and Remanifest.

[Hapu]

Xeper happens.  For instance, Xeper happened to me on that day when I first truly heard that piece of music which would inspire me to devote the next eight + years of my life learning music theory and piano technique.  Xeper happened to me on that night when I first invoked the Name of Set in a Working of Greater Black Magic and Came Into Being as a Setian.  In those moments of dynamic spiritual transformation, major paradigms in my life were shifted and I was changed forever.

Thank you especially for the above concrete examples. Your answer makes me think of the currently active thread about initiation moments.

Xeper, then, seems to entail a turning point in one's life. I had one in 2009 when I took up karate. Over the next ten years I worked with martial arts in various different ways. Just this year I decided I was done with that for now. But along the way I brought to the light of day some parts of myself I'd kept hidden previously. I made contact with more of my Yang. In many ways my whole life has been an uncovering of more and more of my hidden Yang.

Would you say that Xeper is most often a bit of a surprise? In practical terms, what I'm asking is, when you engage in what I would call the Great Work, are you most often aiming consciously at a desired growth opportunity, or are you most often opening yourself to energies you have no particular need or desire to direct?

Xeper is that which transformed humans from what we were 2 million years ago to that which we are today, and which will continue to transform us into other higher more refined forms.  Hence, it occurs on both a macrocosmic (racial) and a microcosmic (individual) level.  Xeper continues to occur through the self-directed Remanifestation of these self-directed transformations of being.

Makes me think of this:
http://www.wowzone.com/monkey.htm

[Xepera-maSet]

Xeper  (pronounced keh-fer) is  an  Ancient  Egyptian  word meaning  "to  come  into  being."  Xeper  is  what  we  could  call  a  "static verb," meaning  that  it  is  something  eternally occurring  in  the background  of  the  universe.  It  is  something  that  never  ceases, something  that  is  mostly  natural  in  its  occurance,  and  without  the need  for  anyone  to  be  aware  of it. When  a  Star  collapses  into  a  black hole,  an  egg  and  a  sperm  combine  to  form  an  embryo,  a  child  learns how to  say the  alphabet  or  how to  do  basic  mathematics…  that  is Xeper.  The  examples  are  literally  endless  –  the  entire  cosmos  is always  undergoing  Xeper,  on all  levels  of  existence,  whether  it  is recognized  or  not.  ~95%  of  the  time  this  Xeper  is  as  mindless  as  your breathing  and  heartbeat.

The  main  goal  of  Setianism,  one  of  the  defining  traits  of  the religion,  is  the  belief  that  one  can,  and  should,  learn  to  become capable  of willfully controlling  their  own  Xeper. At  first  glance,  it  is obvious  that  we  cannot control  all  kinds  of Xeper  –  we  are  not  going to  keep  our  cells  from  dying  and  replacing  each  other,  impact  distant Stars  or  galaxies,  or  stop  the  planets  from  orbiting  –  but  we  can indeed  control  certain  aspects  of  Xeper.  Setians  believe  in  free  will, but  that  it  is  something  which  must  be  consciously  and  continuously worked  for,  not  something  inherent. One  can  choose  to  learn  about any particular  subject,  form  any  particular  argument,  and  imagine virtually anything. One  can,  at  least  to  an  extent,  learn  to  selfregulate,  to  be  aware  of  and  redirect  one's  subconscious  thoughts and  bodily reactions,  and  to  engage  in  therapy and  other  service  to help  whatever  may  be  ailing  them.  Doing  this  –  a  process  in Setianism  known  as  “Greater  Black  Magic”  –  changes  the  individual at  an  esoteric  and  fundamental  level,  which  in  turn  impacts  the universe  and  other  individuals  in  it.

There  are  also  ways  to  control  Xeper  on  a  more  exoteric level.  How one  speaks, what  one  wears,  who  one  associates  with, where  one  works,  how one  spends  their  time,  even  what  tattoos  and body modifications  one  chooses  –  all  these  are  acts  of  Xeper, conscious  or  otherwise,  that  have  an  impact  on the  external  world and  those  in  it,  including  how they perceive  and  react  to  you. In most  Left  Hand  Path  organizations,  and  even  many Right  Hand  Path occult  groups,  this  is  known  as  “Lesser  (Black) Magic.”

It  is  due  to  the  Isolate  Intelligence,  the  "Gift  of  Set",  that human  beings (and  possibly  other  life)  are  able  to  control  their Xeper. When  summed  up:  this  conscious  control  of  Xeper  is  what  is known  as  "Black  Magic",  due  to  the  fact  that  one  is  controlling  their own destiny rather  than  aligning  themselves  with  something external  or  being  swept  along  by the  flow of  Nature/God. Again  it should  be  clear  that  “Black  Magic"  in  this  esoteric,  Left  Hand  Path sense,  is  not  something  evil  in  any sense  or  supernatural  by any traditional  meaning  (though  it  is  esoteric).   

[Km Anu]

Writing from work, will be brief. I rely primarily upon the Kemtetian creation myths for my definition. It is the same as all others, but the dissonance between the words and the process are bridged through metaphor.

Inspiration is gleaned, a decision is made, an action is taken, and an old ingrained aspect of self is changed into a form that more closely reflects the individual in relation to attaining their desires. I must rise against the status quo (be it internal or external)  in order to become something more beneficial. The whole process when self directed is Xeper.

Nemo 93 provides Kelly's interpretation of Xeper in his article in TIS 4 (pg 21)

VIII LUST Desire is the beginning of the process
IX HERMIT Channeling from the isolate Core Self
XIII DEATH Causing change and transformation
0 FOOL Leading to a new beginning with a blank slate
XII HANGED MAN A fresh immersion in a new arena of Play, sacrificing self to Self
IX HERMIT So that Self may learn new lessons through manifestation
V HIEROPHANT And Understand the Mysteries it Seeks
IX HERMIT Taking them deep within its Being, making them a part of itself
0 FOOL So that it may gain yet more Being
XIII DEATH And trigger another remanifestation, a Fresh Cycle of Becoming

[Km Anu]

Makes me think of this:
http://www.wowzone.com/monkey.htm

This is not dissimilar from my view of the aforementioned creation myth. The ingrained behaviors are cyclic, re-occurring whenever a sweet potato is encountered. This is the embodiment of Osiris.  Imo embodies Set by destroying this process in herself. The 100th Monkey may be seen as Horus, a rebirth of the old cyclic behavior in a new form. The majority takes up this behavior and it becomes the new process, the re-birth of Osiris.

Granted I have no reference, this is how I see the myth. A simplified version of Xeper that excludes the internal process that inspire the change and mold its conceptualization in the mind (Nephthys) as well as how those concepts develop once birthed to the material world (Isis)

[Hapu]

When  a  Star  collapses  into  a  black hole,  an  egg  and  a  sperm  combine  to  form  an  embryo,  a  child  learns how to  say the  alphabet  or  how to  do  basic  mathematics…  that  is Xeper.  The  examples  are  literally  endless  –  the  entire  cosmos  is always  undergoing  Xeper,  on all  levels  of  existence,  whether  it  is recognized  or  not.  ~95%  of  the  time  this  Xeper  is  as  mindless  as  your breathing  and  heartbeat.

Thank you. That's a good clarification. "All is flux," as Heraclitus would say. Up till now, I hadn't perceived Xeper as another word for flux.

The  main  goal  of  Setianism,  one  of  the  defining  traits  of  the religion,  is  the  belief  that  one  can,  and  should,  learn  to  become capable  of willfully controlling  their  own  Xeper. At  first  glance,  it  is obvious  that  we  cannot control  all  kinds  of Xeper  –  we  are  not  going to  keep  our  cells  from  dying  and  replacing  each  other,  impact  distant Stars  or  galaxies,  or  stop  the  planets  from  orbiting  –  but  we  can indeed  control  certain  aspects  of  Xeper.  Setians  believe  in  free  will, but  that  it  is  something  which  must  be  consciously  and  continuously worked  for,  not  something  inherent. One  can  choose  to  learn  about any particular  subject,  form  any  particular  argument,  and  imagine virtually anything. One  can,  at  least  to  an  extent,  learn  to  selfregulate,  to  be  aware  of  and  redirect  one's  subconscious  thoughts and  bodily reactions,  and  to  engage  in  therapy and  other  service  to help  whatever  may  be  ailing  them.  Doing  this  –  a  process  in Setianism  known  as  “Greater  Black  Magic”  –  changes  the  individual at  an  esoteric  and  fundamental  level,  which  in  turn  impacts  the universe  and  other  individuals  in  it.

Am I right that you're talking about directing the energies toward specific predefined goals? Like, "I want to become better at X" or "I want to start doing Y" or "I want to stop doing Z."

There  are  also  ways  to  control  Xeper  on  a  more  exoteric level.  How one  speaks, what  one  wears,  who  one  associates  with, where  one  works,  how one  spends  their  time,  even  what  tattoos  and body modifications  one  chooses  –  all  these  are  acts  of  Xeper, conscious  or  otherwise,  that  have  an  impact  on the  external  world and  those  in  it,  including  how they perceive  and  react  to  you. In most  Left  Hand  Path  organizations,  and  even  many Right  Hand  Path occult  groups,  this  is  known  as  “Lesser  (Black) Magic.”

Makes sense. Xeper helps those who help themselves.

[Hapu]

Writing from work, will be brief. I rely primarily upon the Kemtetian creation myths for my definition. It is the same as all others, but the dissonance between the words and the process are bridged through metaphor.

Thank you for moving, in what follows, beyond the myths to something a little more concrete.

Inspiration is gleaned, a decision is made, an action is taken, and an old ingrained aspect of self is changed into a form that more closely reflects the individual in relation to attaining their desires. I must rise against the status quo (be it internal or external)  in order to become something more beneficial. The whole process when self directed is Xeper.

I take it the driving force could be a desire like, "I want a new car." Many magicians would try to change the world in such a way that a car materializes unexpectedly. Xeper-oriented magicians might instead direct magical energies at themselves, so as to become, let's say, better at saving money for a down payment. Am I right?

Nemo 93 provides Kelly's interpretation of Xeper in his article in TIS 4 (pg 21)

VIII LUST Desire is the beginning of the process
IX HERMIT Channeling from the isolate Core Self
XIII DEATH Causing change and transformation
0 FOOL Leading to a new beginning with a blank slate
XII HANGED MAN A fresh immersion in a new arena of Play, sacrificing self to Self
IX HERMIT So that Self may learn new lessons through manifestation
V HIEROPHANT And Understand the Mysteries it Seeks
IX HERMIT Taking them deep within its Being, making them a part of itself
0 FOOL So that it may gain yet more Being
XIII DEATH And trigger another remanifestation, a Fresh Cycle of Becoming

I like that. Thoth deck major arcana used to delineate a cosmic process at the personal level. These same cards in this same sequence could delineate the cyclical birth/death/birth of our universe as experienced by the immanent transcendence.

[Onyx]

Xeper continues to occur through the self-directed Remanifestation of these self-directed transformations of being.

I share this essay by James Lewis quite often:

https://xeper.org/pub/pub_jl_word.html

And always point out the formula described near the end of the writing:

Thelema -> Indulgence -> Xeper -> Remanifestation

To explain why I wrote it that way, it is through Indulgence in Thelema (the Will) that we reach moments of Xeper, which are made stronger over time through the process of Remanifestation.

[Xepera-maSet]

Am I right that you're talking about directing the energies toward specific predefined goals? Like, "I want to become better at X" or "I want to start doing Y" or "I want to stop doing Z."

Correct.

[Km Anu]

Thank you for moving, in what follows, beyond the myths to something a little more concrete.

Of course! What good is history unless it is used to drive us forward? While many story lose their significance as the world evolves around them, those built around timeless processes remain. We should be using them to make sense of ourselves and everything else, otherwise why keep them around?

I take it the driving force could be a desire like, "I want a new car." Many magicians would try to change the world in such a way that a car materializes unexpectedly. Xeper-oriented magicians might instead direct magical energies at themselves, so as to become, let's say, better at saving money for a down payment. Am I right?

Precisely. I structure events to create INSPIRATION in illustrative rituals and PREPERATION in operative rituals. One gets the ball rolling, the other compounds will to increase ability which is then used to accomplish the goal. You could also consider that creating and surviving an ordeal to prove that you can do so that when the time comes you do.

I like that. Thoth deck major arcana used to delineate a cosmic process at the personal level. These same cards in this same sequence could delineate the cyclical birth/death/birth of our universe as experienced by the immanent transcendence.

I'd love to see that deck, I haven't done much complex divinatory work. Most of my techniques are derivative or self developed, and those for divination are water based.

Lately I've been exploring the relationship between magic and the brain. If my application and definition of LBM and GBM is correct its effect can be measured. I found an interesting TEDx presentation that's fresh in my mind, I'll link it below if you'd like to check it out. Just know its the tip of the iceberg.

https://youtu.be/QMu5XLux_GA?list=LL6P9m1EsMzKjtKVuKa0qcgg

[Hapu]

...And always point out the formula described near the end of the writing:

Thelema -> Indulgence -> Xeper -> Remanifestation

To explain why I wrote it that way, it is through Indulgence in Thelema (the Will) that we reach moments of Xeper, which are made stronger over time through the process of Remanifestation.

Do you perceive (and utilize) indulgence as Greater Black Magic?

Incidentally, I've never agreed with indulgence being LaVey's Word of the Aeon. I personally consider the third Satanic Statement to be LaVey's real focus in life and greatest contribution to the Left Hand Path:

Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit!

I think LaVey's Word was Undefiled Wisdom. Which is why I started the thread about the Grotto of Pollyanna's Demise.

I guess I could try this alternate formula:

Thelema -> Undefiled Wisdom -> Xeper -> Remanifestation

The greater my clarity as to what I really want, the greater my access to energies that will bend Xeper to my will.

[Hapu]

I hope you'll forgive my presumption, but I have it in me to write this, and would like to.

The Xeper Litany

All is Xeper.

Xeper is the immanent transcendence.

Xeper is the alpha and the omega, for all originates and culminates in Xeper.

If Deity has spoken a Word, that Word was, and is, and forever shall be Xeper.

That the magician undergoes Xeper is mundane, for everything everywhere undergoes Xeper.

That the magician undergoes Xeper by act of will, this is the very opposite of mundane.

That the magician sees Xeper in the world is mundane, for nothing but Xeper is ever visible.

That the magician sees the reins by which Xeper in the world may be guided, this is the very opposite of mundane.

To fill one's mind with a goal is to become the mind of Xeper.

To dedicate one's hands to a goal is to become the hands of Xeper.

To cherish a goal in one's heart is to become the heart of Xeper.

To command a goal to manifest is to complete the sentence whose first Word is Xeper.

Xeper best obeys those who dare to know what they want.

Xeper best helps those who dare to help themselves.

Xeper best transforms those who dare to become what they must.

Xeper is All.

[Hapu]

Writing The Xeper Litany (see prior post) was in fact a pretty big Xeper moment for me. It wouldn't have been possible without all the input on this thread from experienced Setians. I thank you all for that.

Maybe this thread is one of those that might get bumped now and then. I suppose I flatter myself to think so, but truth be told, what is more fundamental on a Setianism board than an ongoing discussion of Xeper?

I'm not one who cares about pantheons or myths. I know many of you care deeply about such things and I love to watch you indulge your passion in this regard. I admire that passion, even though I don't share it. I'm always looking for the structural paradigm of a system and once I find it, I tend to discard everything else and just focus on that structural paradigm. In Odinism, the structural paradigm is the oft quoted but almost never fully appreciated axiom, knowledge is power, with Odin the archetypal personification of that axiom. In Setianism as I currently understand it, the structural paradigm is this axiom, All is Xeper and Xeper can be made to obey.

The first part of that, All is Xeper, challenges a root assumption of the Western mind, an assumption so ingrained that I, for one, wasn't aware of it in the least. That assumption is, "The default state of matter is stasis." This is expressed in magisterial fashion by Newton's first law of motion, sometimes called the law of inertia, which states, "An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." No doubt this law is true. Stand a coffee cup on a table and that cup will remain there unless and until something causes it to do otherwise. But here's the thing: something will cause it to do otherwise. It's not a question of if, but when. That cup will move, because the immanent transcendence is not Being, but Becoming. Because All is Xeper, that cup will move.

Until now, I was never satisfied with neo-Darwinism as an explanation for the origin of species. Oh, I had no doubt that mutation happens and natural selection happens. But something nagged at me. I felt there needed to be a third force, or principle, or agent. Yet I couldn't bring myself to believe in Intelligent Design, because my intuition has always been that our universe is fundamentally free, and Intelligent Design would contradict that. But now I have my third force, or principle, or agent, or what I now call the immanent transcendence. Xeper! The defailt state of matter is metamorphosis over time. That changes everything. Now meaningful mutation has a systematic reason for "constantly" happening as the Earth measures constancy. Not in a directed fashion. Not with any sort of intelligent design. But driven by a mandate nonetheless. Become!
   
The second part of Setianism's structural paradigm as I perceive it, Xeper can be made to obey, justifies and explains a great deal of magic as practiced in any system. "Let X become other than X" is a perfect summary of so many magical incantations ever vocalized. It succeeds, when it does, because our universe's immanent transcendence is relentlessly pushing for precisely this, that every X become other than X.

This structural paradigm contradicts another one, which has sometimes been put forward as the structural paradigm of Hinduism. Brahma: Creation. Vishnu: Preservation. Shiva: Destruction. (This is a gross over-simplification of the pantheon and its attendant myths, but people like me don't care much about that.) The Western mind likes that trinity of creation-preservation-destruction. It fits how we perceive reality. The Western magician, accordingly, can be counted on to cast spells of creation, or preservation, or destruction, those three. Yet Setianism's structural paradigm would repudiate that. Creation? No such thing! Preservation? No such thing! Destruction? No such thing! There is only Becoming, and Becoming, and Becoming, world without end, Amen.
   
Per the foregoing, creation spells, preservation spells, and destruction spells are wrong-headed. Cast metamorphosis spells! Do that, and you will align yourself with what the universe "wants" to do and is already doing and will persist at doing whether you cast a spell or not. Xeper will happen, with or without you. Even within your very self, Xeper will happen, with or without your permission and with or without your guidance. But Xeper can be made to obey. That is the Sorcerer's Secret.

[Onyx]

Xeper does happen on it's own, but often these moments are rather subtle or fleeting "ah-ha" thoughts in the mind. So understanding the process of Xeper and Remanifestation is crucial in terms of identifying when and why it is occurring, and how one might "grab the Devil by the horns" to make the most of it.

It comes recommended that I keep a magical journal instead of relying totally on memory, as I tend to be forgetful. I do keep many notes in the form of random text files, but I suppose it's high time I got organized.