Original Magic: The Rituals and Initiations of the Persian Magi - Stephen E. Flowers Ph.D. 2017

The Râz
Theories of Mazdan Magic

An important yet often overlooked aspect of the Mazdan worldview is that of the mystery, called râz in the Pahlavi and New Persian languages. These mysteries or secrets are not unfathomable and illogical conundrums of doctrine such as one finds characterized in medieval Christian dogma. Rather they are both eternal Unknowns, which drive the conscious mind to uncover ever greater discoveries of all kinds, and certain secrets as to just how the magical technology works. The Mazdan tradition has always embraced the idea of progress, that the doctrines, although based on eternally true principles, can evolve as new discoveries are made. The idea of mystery spurs this progressive idea forward. Humans pierce the veil to enter new spaces and then are spurred on to repeat the process as we participate in the divine work of creation and re-creation in the universe, in partnership with the divine powers. Numerous ways in which the magical ideology can be implemented still await discovery, and there are many old and lost ways that await rediscovery. Each of these categories constitutes a mystery (râz) of some kind and is important to the work of initiation.

Another important dimension of the mystery is the fact that real spiritual understanding comes as a revelation of a mystery in the heart of the aspirant. One student will have a different, unique, and fresh revelation, which cannot be revealed directly to another, even if he tried to convey the mystery to someone else. Real inner understanding of innate wisdom comes as a flash of insight (daêna).

As a prelude to specifics of the Mazdan theory of magic, we must come to understand the nature of the world, of the individual, and of the divine forces that have created and which inhabit that world. We must orient ourselves within our spiritual and material environment to live life in a fully aware and conscious way and know what we need to do to practice magic effectively and bring ourselves closer to happiness (ushta).