I use yellow magic a lot more than the other 8, after much reading and studying I can see why :)
- Oculus
Most of the extant texts on what are traditionally called "solar magic", contradict each other or suffer from internal confusion. Astrological commentaries on the supposed powers of the sun are amongst the most idiotic nonsense that discipline can produce. This is because the yellow power has four distinct but related forms of manifestation within the psyche. This fourfold division has led to immense problems in psychology, where various schools of thought have chosen to emphasize one in particular and to ignore those which other schools have alighted upon. The four aspects can be characterized as follows.
Firstly the Ego, or self image, which is simply the model the mind has of the general personality, but excluding most of the extreme behavior patterns that the selves are capable of.
Secondly Charisma, which is the degree of self-confidence that a person projects to others.
Thirdly, something for which there is no single English term, but which can be called Laughter-Creativity.
Fourthly, the urge to Assertion and Dominance. All these things are manifestations of the same yellow power; although their relative emphasis varies greatly between individuals. Success in most human societies usually results from a skilful expression of the yellow power. The strength of the yellow power in an individual seems to bear a direct relationship to levels of the sexual hormone testosterone in both sexes; although its expression depends on personal psychology.
There is a complex interplay between testosterone levels, self image, creativity, social status and sexual urges, even if they are unexpressed. In esoteric terms, the moon is the secret power behind the sun, as most female magicians realize instinctively, and most male magicians discover sooner or later. The Ego gradually accretes through the accidents of childhood and adolescence, and, in the absence of particularly powerful experiences thereafter, remains fairly constant even if it contains highly dysfunctional elements.
Any type of invocation should make some difference to the ego, but direct work with it can achieve much more. Several tricks are involved here. The very recognition of the ego implies that change is possible. Only those who realize that they own a personality rather than consist of a personality, can modify it. For most people a preparation of a detailed inventory of their own personality is a very difficult and unsettling activity. Yet once it is done it is usually quite easy to decide what changes are desirable.
Changes to the Ego or self image or personality by magic are classed as works of Illumination and are mainly accomplished by Retroactive Enchantment and Invocation. Retroactive Enchantment in this case consists of re-writing one's personal history. As our history largely defines our future, we can change our future by redefining our past. Everybody has some capacity to re-interpret things which were considered to have gone wrong in the past in a more favorable light, but most fail to pursue the process to the full. One cannot eliminate disabling memories, but by an effort of visualization and imagination one can write in parallel enabling memories of what might also have happened, to neutralize the originals. One can also, where possible, modify any remaining physical evidence that favors the disabling memory.
Invocations to modify the ego are ritual enchantments and personifications of the new desired qualities. Attention should be given to planned changes of dress, tone of speech, gesture, mannerisms and body posture which will best suit the new ego. One maneuver frequently used in yellow magic is to practice the manifestation of an alternative personality with a specific mnemonic trigger, such as the transference of a ring from one finger to another. Various god forms such as Ra, Helios, Mithras, Apollo and Baldur are useful to structure fresh manifestations of the ego, and for experiments with the other three qualities of the yellow power.
Charisma, the projection of an aura of self confidence, is based on a simple trick. After a short while there is no difference at all between the pretence and the actuality of self confidence. Anyone wishing to remedy a lack of confidence and charisma, and uncertain as to how to begin pretending to these qualities, may find that a day or two spent pretending to absolute zero self confidence will quickly reveal both the effectiveness of pretence and the specific thoughts, words, gestures and postures required to project either pretence.
Laughter and Creativity may not immediately seem to be related, but humor depends on the sudden forging of a new connection between disparate concepts, and we laugh at our own creativity in forging the connection. Exactly the same form of elation arises from other forms of creative activity, and if the insight comes suddenly, laughter results. If you don't laugh when you see a seriously brilliant piece of mathematics then you have not really understood it. It also takes a degree of positive self-esteem and confidence to laugh at something creatively funny.
Persons of low self-esteem tend only to laugh at destructive humor and the misfortunes of others, if they laugh at all. Laughter is often an important factor in the invocations of the god forms of the yellow power. Solemnity is not a prerequisite for ritual. Laughter is also a useful tactic in drawing conscious attention away from sigils or other magical conjurations once they are finished with.
The deliberate forcing of hysterical laughter may seem an absurd way of ending an enchantment or an invocation, but it has been found to be remarkably effective in practice. This is yet another sleight of mind maneuver which prevents conscious deliberation. The "pecking order" within most groups of social animals is usually immediately obvious to us, and the animals themselves. Yet within our own society such dominance hierarchies are equally prevalent within all social groups; although we go to quite extreme lengths to disguise this to ourselves.
The human situation is further complicated by the tendency of individuals to belong to many groups in which they may have different degrees of social status, and status is often partly dependent on specialist abilities other than displays of naked force. However, assuming that a person can appear competent in the specialist ability that a social group requires, that person's position in the group depends almost entirely on the degree of assertion and dominance that person exhibits. It is basically exhibited through non-verbal behavior which everybody understands intuitively or subconsciously but which most people fail to understand rationally.
As a consequence they cannot manipulate it deliberately. Typical dominance behaviors involve talking loudly and slowly, using lots of eye contact, interrupting the speech of others whilst resisting the interruption of others, maintaining an upright posture of concealed threat, invading the personal space of others whilst resisting intrusion into one's own, and placing oneself strategically in any space at the focus of attention. In cultures where touching is frequent, the dominant always initiate it, or pointedly refuse it. Either way, they control it. Submissive behavior is of course the reverse of all the above, and appears quite spontaneously in response to successful dominance from others.
There is a two way interaction between dominance behavior and hormone levels. If the levels change for medical reasons then the behavior tends to change, but more importantly, from a magical point of view, a deliberate change of behavior will modify hormone levels. Fake it till you make it. There is nothing particularly occult about the way some people are able to control others. We simply fail to notice how it is done because nearly all the behavioral signals involved are exchanged subconsciously. Dominance signals do not tend to work if their recipients perceive them consciously. Thus in most situations they must be delivered subtly and with gradually increasing intensity.
One of the few situations where such signals are exchanged deliberately is in military hierarchies, but this is only possible because of the immense capacity for direct physical coercion that such systems exhibit. Break the formal rules of non-verbal communication with an officer and he will have a sergeant instill some submission by direct means. Eventually the formal rules become internalized and function automatically, allowing enough obedience to permit mass self-sacrifice and slaughter. The yellow power is the root of most of the best and the worst of what we are capable.
