In mediation during a magical operation, the practitioner reaches into states of consciousness or inner worlds where archetypal and transhuman entities are met. These may be perceived as aspects of divinity, god-forms or entities who have transcended human expression. Alternatively they may be experienced as a specific power, consciousness or energy. These two approaches are interchangeable, but as a rule they are used individually because of the effort required to maintain the necessary images to enable either to function. In mediation, the practitioner acts as a focus or gateway for the consciousness of such entities. Mediation is not however a matter of passive reception (as is the case of mediumship) but rather of refining and clarifying personal modes of awareness engendered by the resonance between these entities and their reflection within the practitioner.
As one of the most ancient and enduring inner disciplines, mediation is often undertaken as part of higher visualization and meditation, in which the transformed consciousness, guided by imagery, assumes or takes on the energies and qualities of a chosen god-form. Through this process the mediator acts as a channel for a specific power to flow out into a group or to the wider world. Practitioners can become deluded by the forces that they seek to mediate, especially when they are vulnerable to personal inflation. It is then only through experience that the mediation experience, however total, is recognized as temporary. Mediation is then accompanied by a disturbing echo of undeniably deep personal insight, frequently indicating areas of weakness requiring attention.
The principal aim of effective mediation is defined by the pattern of any ritual or visualization in which assembled energies are given inhabitual form and direction. Such work endeavours to realign energies that have become out of phase with higher patterns or with some form of spiritual awareness.
A basic distinction is made between mediumship and mediation. A medium is passive and generally unaware of what is communicated (to the point of being unconscious), while a mediator is active and in a state of heightened consciousness without any loss of individuality. There is also claimed to be a significant difference in the quality, power and type of entity contacted.
