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The Llewellyn Encyclopedia

Term: Life Purpose

DEFINITIONS

Life Purpose:

 In John 1:1-4 of the Christian Bible, it says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was

With God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him; and without him was not

Any thing made that was made.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Here the "light" of men is identified with life. We know what light is—we see natural light every day and artificial light whenever we flip the switch. And we know that sun light is essential to life, but this statement seems to be saying something additional: that life is, or was, "the light of men." "Light" has an alternative meaning, as when we "turn light on the subject" which identifies that aspect of directed consciousness that leads to intelligence about a subject. We see consciousness everywhere, but is it this particular aspect of focused, analytical, consciousness seemingly unique to humans that is the "light of men?"

Life evolves into new forms, but the statement seems to characterize the life of men as different than other life, and relates it to a particular kind of light. We speculate that this "light of men" is that of Soul Consciousness and is the light referred to in the word "Enlightenment."

Carl Llewellyn Weschcke


ARTICLES

Amulet
A magical device for general protection and good fortune. An amulet differs from a talisman in that talismans are made and ritually consecrated for specific tightly focused purposes, while amulets are more general, and are often not formally ...
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Astral Reunion
Where do people go when they leave their bodies? Frequently they go to see those persons they most care about: absent family members, friends and sweethearts. One famous example of astral reunion occurred in 1862 and concerned a Bridgeport, ...
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Aleister Crowley
(Edward Alexander Crowley) English writer, occultist, Antichrist, and self-proclaimed messiah of the New Aeon, 1875-1947. Easily the most controversial figure in the recent history of Western occultism, Crowley was born into the Plymouth Brethren, a ...
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The Lo Scarabeo Tarot Review
Summary:A unique and masterful blending of three of the most important Tarot decks, with beautiful and symbolic art. Highly valuable and usable by new and experienced Tarot workers. Name of deck: Lo Scarabeo Tarot Publisher: Lo Scarabeo ISBN: ...
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The Astral Adventure
Imagine for a moment that it is possible for you to leave your body. You feel a blissful sensation of peace and excitement as the nonmaterial part of your self rises from its physical shell. You gently ascend about eight feet into the air and look ...
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Visualizing Fear Away
Psychologists and psychiatrists increasingly make use of visualization techniques to deal with patients’ fears and anxieties. Two psychiatrists independently devised methods of using negative imaging for positive purposes. One of them, A. Beck of ...
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Ostara Ritual
Setup Items needed for this Ostara ritual include: Four green altar candles for the directions; Two lavender or purple altar candles for the Goddess and God; At least one cut flower for each participant in the group ritual. For solo ritual, have a ...
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Vodou - An African Shamanic Tradition
At first sight, shamanism and Vodou - what Hollywood has introduced into the popular imagination as "voodoo" - seem to have little in common. The former seems based on peaceful co-existence with nature and the elements, while the latter, in so far ...
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Imbolg Ritual
Setup The items needed for this ritual include: Six green candles for the altar; Enough candles to place at the perimeter of your circle; A white altar cloth (white is the predominant color to symbolize winter’s hold, with the green candles ...
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Cults
The word "cult" used to be synonymous with the word "sect" It meant a religious group. Therefore, Judaism, Christianity or any religion could be considered a cult. But today the word "cult" has taken on a very ominous meaning. Today when the word ...
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Are You Vulnerable to Psychic Attack?
The answer, in all likelihood, is yes. You are immune to psychic attack only if you have learned how to protect yourself from this kind of assault—and most people don’t even know psychic attack is possible, much less that they can learn techniques ...
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Whatever your background is, it's bound to happen to you: the scary paranormal case. We're not talking about your run-of-the-mill haunting here. We're talking portal hauntings, negative entities, and bad earthbound spirits—in a nutshell, things that scare us! These cases usually start out as a seemingly routine investigation; then, somewhere... read this article
Evolutionary Astrology: How Our Nodal Axis Defines the Soul's Path
The Mibramig Magical Tarot
Cultivating Bliss: 4 Ways to Explore Your Inner Garden
Exercise: Asking for a Dream Visit from a Loved One in Spirit
The Final Secrets of Enochian Magick

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Black Cats Tarot
Right. I like  RWS-style deck as well as the next person. I like cat decks pretty well (which is good, considering I designed the Pagan Cats Tarot)...

The Hidden Factor of Magick
"Will this ritual or spell really work?" There are really only two possible answer to this question: "No" or "I don't know." There are some...

Dreaming with the 4 of Cups
The Book of Shadows Tarot, volume 2: So Below is now available! This morning, I shuffled my deck, fresh from the box and drew a card for this...


One of the questions I often receive is a request for contact with an occult group, order, coven, etc. As a policy, I don't recommend such...



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