The magician encounters the first abyss when he first steps onto the Path. It turns out that the world of people and the world of Magic are based on completely different principles, and an evolutionary transition between them is impossible. The abyss itself lies in the need for complete entry into the Path. At the same time, the one-sided development of the magician both in the element of Reason and in the Element of Feelings destroys him in the corresponding aspect of the Abyss

The second abyss appears when the magician’s knowledge, experience, and achievements stand in his way, paradoxically leading him away from the Force. The same biner of the Primary Elements of Psychocosmos takes place here. This abyss lies in the opposition between the Strength and Powerlessness of the magician. This Abyss is precisely that nothingness, the chaotic space that appeared when the primary creative potential of the universe arose, when “heaven” and “earth” (the Transcendent and Immanent faces of the Unified Reality) were separated

In the case of the First Abyss, overcoming is accomplished by entering the World of Magic without any reservations or expectations. At the same time, it is important not to fall into either the blind pride of understanding - the Apollonian aspect of the Abyss, or into the blissful idiocy of “all-unity” - its Dionysian aspect

The Second Abyss is much more serious. The Demon of the Abyss puts the Traveler face to face with his past, destroying the personality with the feeling of its inferiority, imperfection, and the Hierophants put the Traveler face to face with his Prototype, and destroy the personality with the feeling of the incompatibility of its imperfection with this Prototype

However, few reach the Second Abyss, and even fewer cross it. If overcoming the First Abyss turns a person into a magician, then overcoming the Second turns a magical traveler into a Master