DE MATRIMONIUM ET RECONCILIATIO INTER INGENIUM ET MOTUS ET FRUCTUS CONIUNCTIO SUUM Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Balance has lately become the object worthy of much controversy within the Oasis recently. Hod and Netzach, Intellect and Emotion: in particular. And much good advice was given as to how to co-exist with people of one or the other preference. It is an important issue for many good reasons. One of which that Hod could be seen as Law and Netzach as Love. I have been distressed by statements like: "practical Magick is, by nature, a Hod activity". I disagree in this wholeheartedly. Crowley's interpretation of Magick is as follows: "The Science and Art of causing change to occur in conformity with Will". Science being attributed to Hod and Art to Netzach. Meditation on the Art Tarot card will reveal this and many other mysteries. While Magick has alot to offer to those who are adept in Mathematics, Geometry, Qabalah, Astrology, etc., it has just as much to offer to those who move instinctively and are sensitive to the energies and images around them, those adept at Tarot, Iching, and other methods of divination. They rely not so much on the Hod activity we call "Intellectual Knowledge", but trust on the inner voice of the Beloved to guide them through life. While things like Musick sound great when played properly it must be remembered that Musick is a Netzach function, those who allow the musick to move them through their emotions are much better musicians than those who have attempted to turn it into a mathematical procedure. Sometimes a "mistake" sounds better than the way in which the piece was written. The best known musicians are those who dared to defy the laws of musick and create something totally new. If nobody dared to deviate from the norm from fear of breaking tradition I am afraid that music would be rather boring. Balance is the basis of the Work. Those of us who are intellectual by nature, should aspire to use this Hod function to stimulate the emotional aspects of Netzach. Failing to do so would make us cold, calculated and calloused, incapable of feeling the subtle energies stimulated by our Magick. Nothing more than a thinking machine, unable to hear The Voice within because we feel it is beyond logic. We would be lost in Its simplicity. On the other hand, those of us who are of an emotional nature should use this Netzach purpose and employ it to stir the discriminating genius within us all. Should we fail to accomplish this task we would become nothing more than foolish idiots, gullible to the point of abuse and superstitious to the level schizophrenia. We would not recognize The Voice of The Beloved or the intricacy of His language, thereby falling prey to the Demons of deceit. Per chance what is needed is for those who are Intellectually inclined to lend a helping hand and help those who are having a difficult time expressing the Hod aspects of Magick. Maybe making the time to help a fellow Brother or Sister would be a positive step in opening the heart? And perhaps those who are Emotionally responsive should take the time to touch those who are having difficulty displaying their emotions. Just reach out and hold them an extra few seconds the next time you give them the famous Thelemic bear-hug we greet each other with. Acknowledge that it is more than a habit we have gotten into. It is far more important to have Hod/Netzach balanced people in a group, than to have a group balance by people who are either Hod or Netzach. Thelema is primarily concerned with the growth of the individual. Any group that is genuinely connected to the Universal Order is a vessel capable of distributing Knowledge and Wisdom to its members; if the emphasis is removed form the individual and focused on the group, forgetting that it exists solely for the service of the aspirant, it will soon become an empty vessel. Love is the law, love under will. Gerald del Campo