7
" Confidence is usually described as a quality that people possess to varying degrees. We “gain” or “lack” confidence, yet it is also perceived that being “over-confident” is a negative trait, so that overall, confidence seems to be something which is finely balanced. For the present discussion, I will define confidence as a skill: the skill of being relaxed in the immediate present. I shall explain what I mean by that as follows… A person who lacks confidence in general, tends not to attempt something which lies outside his rehearsed repertoire of behaviors—he fears the possible consequences of moving into an unknown area—be they imagined, or predicated from past experience. Similarly, a person who is over-confident may attempt something and fail, as he is limited by ‘gazing’ into a future where he has already succeeded, and so his attentiveness to the immediate present is blunted. If one is relaxed within the immediate present, then one is neither projecting/anticipating future scenarios, nor is one limited by the boundaries created by previous experience and past conditioning. Here, the ability to relax refers to being aware—attentive, of the immediate present, without rigidly patterning that present as it unfolds. "
― Phil Hine , Condensed Chaos: An Introduction to Chaos Magic
9
" Ra-Hoor-Khuit is an Egyptian deity who is an aspect of the hawk-headed god, Horus. He is of some significance within the magical paradigm of Thelema, which has evolved out of the magical work of Aleister Crowley. Among other things, he is described as the god of “strength and silence.” He appears as a hawk, or as a hawk-headed man. Ra-Hoor Khuit is generally associated with martial prowess. He is a warrior-god, but we can gain a further insight into his nature by looking at the qualities of a hawk. A hawk is powerful, aggressive and predatory, but in a very controlled sense. It hovers high above the land, until it spots its prey, whereon it swoops in for the kill. Ra-Hoor Khuit also has solar associations, and a powerful representation of him is the ‘Aeon’ card in the Crowley-Harris Thoth deck. So, when invoking Ra-Hoor-Khuit, we are identifying with these qualities; the power, confidence and poise of the god, the perceptual acuity of the hawk, and also a sense of freedom and detachment from the object (target) of our will. "
― Phil Hine , Condensed Chaos: An Introduction to Chaos Magic
