~ May 23rd - 31st 2009 ~
Sunday May 31st 2009 - 5:40pm I was going to tack this thought at the bottom of Frater Orpheus' 4:45pm posting as a reply but I decided to give it it's own entry so it doesn't get lost.
All of you are coming up with some pretty interesting ideas; lots of stuff that I never thought of. But ok, here is what Grady told me; it's simpler than most of you have thought; which doesn't negate the gems that you've all sent in. Keep them coming. ... Anyway, it was during a talk at Brocken Mt. Lodge that I once had the opportunity to asked Grady what ΚΕΦΑΛΗ meant. He simply opened The Book of Lies, which just happened to be to Chapter 4 Peaches and he drew a line through the word; which is why my book has this pencil mark in it. He then chuckled as only Grady could and said, "That's it." Like here was a great revelation. He handed the book back to me and the line that he drew disected the word as follows: ΚΕ / ΦΑΛΗ. He then explained that this created a pun in English of KE/PhALC or "Kteis and Phallic" ... implying the Union of female and male - Nuit and Hadit. Grady then opened the book to Chapter 0 and pointed out Crowley's comments about "KTEIS, PHALLOS and SPERMA." And with this in mind you now know what Grady told me the Greek letters following ΚΕΦΑΛΗ 'symbolically' refers to with each chapter. Any of you care to elaborate on this thought? Think about it.Still, The Book of Lies is so intricate, never stop researching ... there is so much more yet to be 'discovered' ... and I should also like to point out that scribbled on the page of Peaches is something which has nothing to do with the chapter but rather, at the time of Grady's talk, it was simply a convienent piece of paper. I wrote it down when Grady said the clue to researching these chapters was to realize the "hunt is more important than the kill." Spoken as something only a true soldier could fully appreciate. And hence has been the hunt over this last month plus with discussing these chapters. The kill or solutions have not, nor have they ever been, important. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4:55pm Regarding The Sabbath of the Goat; Frater Orpheus writes:Jerry,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the LawΚΕΦΑΛΗ Is one of these words whose entomology is a long and twisted road. Yes by looking at certain roots we can get “Head” or even horn out of but in this sense its most accurate translation may be “Peak”… this same root letters can also be found in the words Lightening and Thunderbolt. It is also true that if we use Gematria we get attain 564 = Malkuth and even more telling may be that it also represents Adam “embodying” the Nephesh. By English QBL 564 is the “secret centre” of Al 1:6 and this all seems well enough but I venture that it is only the tip of the “Iceberg”…ΚΕΦΑΛΗ also means “Corrie”, also called Cirque (circle), is a steep hallow at the upper end of a mountain Valley. Because of their inherent topographical qualities, lakes and Glaciers which also means rivers and streams, often form there. These “Glacier Waters” nourish the flat lands below. A Holy Mountain with a flowing stream is often a common theme in Myth and depicted upon different Tarot cards. ΚΕΦΑΛΗ then can also be seen as the source of these Sacred Waters. So maybe ΚΕΦΑΛΗ embodies both Hadit and Nuit? Here represented as a Hexagram…ΚΕΦ = 525 = Netzach - VenusΑΛΗ = 39 = Dew and the Eternal OneOr maybe it is better understood as just our Dew Drops as that pure Venetian Dew! It would make sense then to have the word ΚΕΦΑΛΗ proceeding each Chapter as every number or word (Ra-Hoor-Kuit) would be an extension of Her manifested thru the Union, Hadit +Nuit = Ra-Hoor-Kuit. Sense Hadit is never know it also makes sense that he is implied in the Word ΚΕΦΑΛΗ but not its ‘true’ meaning.If the above is 'true' then "O" = Nu thru Nuit.By that I mean, and this is really my own madness, that I see the Primordial traid of Ain - Ain Soph - Ain Soph Aur as...Nu - Nut - Nuit...so that by the point of Ain Soph AUR Nut has the Solar Phallic Seed/Yod within just not extended...Love is the law, love under will Frater Orpheus------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4:45pm Regarding the word ΚΕΦΑΛΗ one student wrote - "I just always thought that meant Chapter... " ... good guess but the English word for 'chapter' is written in Greek as κεφάλαιο (kefalaio ).------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1:40pm I received a good question from Mike. He writes - "Do your students ever get leary about sending in stuff to be posted out of fear that you are just going to shoot them down?"Reply: I hope not. If they do it's probably ego screaming as a defense mechanism and, if so, it kinda says alot. This blog is not, I repeat, not a forum like other Live Journals where troglodytes beat their chest and post stuff in order to show others how smart they are. This blog was meant to be a learning tool where we can reach many students at once; its our way to teach, correct and guide. Remember, no one has ever been born knowing everything or always being 'correct' ... we all, myself included, make mistakes, learn and grow. As an example; if one student has misunderstood something from The Book of Lies, then it is quite possible others have done the same, and by guiding one we indirectly are able to guide many. For this reason our blog is a great tool.Finally, you'll never know just how much I have gotten out this Book of Lies discussion group ... and if I were afraid of taking a chance ... It's the heart, afraid of breaking, That never learns to dance.It's the dream, afraid of waking, That never takes a chance.It's the one who won't be taken, Who cannot seem to give.And the soul, afraid of dyin', That never learns to live. - The Rose------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:35pm Jerri from Sacramento writes - "Hi Jerry, 93 This is very brief...I will expound upon this further...but, ΚΕΦΑΛΗ means head...which could be attributed to the crown chakra, Sahasrara perhaps?? Indeed as well to the point within the circle-Pan, the Star in the endless night of Nuit... I've also found a Homeric dictionary which correlates the root of the word to the Latin, carum caput. It was often used as a greeting and means "dear head." This was used as a term of endearment or implied as "the source of voice." One could describe Pan as sitting at the Head of the Qabbalistic table as the divine source of our voice or Will. 93 93/93 Jerri."Reply: I am impressed, you're making me think .... new ideas ... hummmmm. I guess this is what the blog is all about, no? Ya know, I too am learning things from my students! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12:45pm Miguel has some thoughts about The Sabbath Goat. He writes - "93, Leaping into it, maaaa. Your reply to my last post had me consider the reality that even the most agile of goats can still occasionally loose thier footing but they leap none-the-less.ΚΕΦΑΛΗ is the Greek word for 'head' valuing 564 in Greek gematria. Interestingly enough the individual digits are the sephira of the "angelic" Ruach. Reduced (5+6+4) they value at 15 suggesting the Goat of Atu XV. Further reduced (1+5) we get 6 again the Sun, Tiphareth of whom The Devil is "the vice regent of the Sun upon Earth." Also, "head" is Atu XIX, the Sun, attributed to Resh meaning "a head" the path connecting the Sephiroth Hod and Yesod. It should also be noted that O as such appears 19 times throughout Liber VII ch I.The numbers following "the head" are the numerical values associated with the qabalistic content of each chapter, thus suggesting a particular "head space" or way of thinking is being imparted via the particular chapters that have been discussed.O! refers to the trinity which contains all contradiction within itself that preceeds Abyss. The manifested aspect of this unity, which preceeds all things, are the solar phallic trinity of KTEIS PHALLOS and SPERMA (cf. ch O! liber 333) which is PAN in the generic sense to which he was previously discussed in ch 11. PAN is also The Devil, the lord of the illusion, father of Lies, that is mind the disease of semen. O! paradoxically, as is the nature of lies, fact and fiction, is also the "field of night" as the core of N.O.X. The eye in the triangle where N is Binah and X Chokmah, or Chaos and Babalon.93/93M."Reply: Yes. This is a good beginning. 564 is also the numerical value of the title of 'Malkuth' in Hebrew. As for the 'head space' comment about the numbers following ΚΕΦΑΛΗ; this is abit off; or dare I say shallow. I won't disclose what it really implies until I see what others come up with first. Your next paragraph is also off. ... The letter O is beyond Kether; it's a reference to "The Ante Primal Triad which is NOT-GOD" ... this Triad begins with Nothing is or Ain. Then Nothing Becomes or Ain Soph and then Nothing is not which is Ain Soph Aur.... After this is "The First Triad which is GOD" which begins with I AM (Kether) continuing downward to Malkuth ... so, by saying O plus the ! "preceeds Abyss" is incorrect. Just the letter 'O' would be correct.O = Nuit I (!) = Ra-Hoor-Khuit and Hadit Finally, as for your thoughts after - "which is PAN in the generic sense to which he was previously discussed in ch 11. PAN is also ...etc & etc" ... Like Dave, you should have been weary about 'speculating' too much while the pull of a Retrograde Mercury is still strong. You're way off, too much psych-babble; especially when you start mentioning interpretations about 'semen' etc; you have a tendency to confuse the planes. Too many 'mis-placed' examples in this last paragraph.Anyway, this a good beginning ... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10:45am Dave from Florida writes the first thought about The Sabbath of the Goat. He sent me an email wherein he writes: "Jerry, 93! Now that the retrograde is over :) I can embarass myself with impunity. 1) is very close to the greek word for Cefalù but not quite, (Κεφαλοίδιον), but this is probably just a coincidence. The root of the word is head. Cefalu gets this name from it being a headland.
I would guess it is meant to mean thought.. such that each chapter is Thought number 1 ..etc..93 93/93DavidReply: I guess you should have waited a few more days just to be safe from lingering Mercurial insanity. Sadly, you're way off but its good to see you are at least 'thinking' ... Anyway, your comment reminds me of saying something like "ΚΕΦΑΛΗ is to Κεφαλοίδιον as apples are to oranges." In other words, where one are Greek words the others are fruit. Similarities? :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:50am Since posting the first chapter from The Book of Lies on April 19th it has been an amusing journey on this blog ... and here we are, posting the last of 'seven' theoretic chapters for a Seventh Degree Initiate of Ordo Templi Orientis to study. According to Grady McMurtry, the chapter known as The Sabbath of The Goat refers to the Thoth card of The Fool, or Aleph ... and so much could be written on this chapter that it could fill volumes. The length of Crowley's own commentary says alot. With that in mind, instead of me rambling on and on I am going to break from our standard format and begin the discussion of this chapter with two questions. No discourse of this chapter will be accepted until these questions are fully clarified.1. Every chapter in The Book of Lies begins with ΚΕΦΑΛΗ ... what does it mean? And what do the Greek letters following this word 'symbolically' refer to with each chapter?
2. The first line of The Sabbath of The Goat begins O! ... What does O! mean?
Click HERE to review the webpage
and to read Aleister Crowley's commentary to this chapter.
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6:47am If I've been brief with my comments and replies these last few days with in-coming blog entries its because of Friday night's Open House here and the fact that it's my son's sleep-over weekend and he comes first ... sorry. He and I were also busy watching the Japanese horror-thriller JU-ON2 (2000) last night; a great sequel; very scary. Its American remake, equally spooky, is called The Grudge 2. Anyway, my son is still asleep right now and I'm trying to catch up on things from Friday morning on ... hopefully by later today I'll be back on track!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:45am For the history buffs: Eliphas Levi, which was the pseudonym of Alphonse-Louis Constant, died on this date in 1875. He was a French occultist and author whose books greatly influenced many of the early revivalists of the 19th century, like Aleister Crowley who claimed that this gentleman was his previous incarnation. …..….. and Victor Neuburg died on this date of tuberculosis in 1940. He once had an affair with Ione de Forest (Joan Hayes) who had a role in Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis. For some reason, this infuriated Crowley who later wrote in Magick in Theory and Practice that he once found it necessary to slay a Circe who was bewitching a brethren. What Crowley is implying is that he cursed Ione de Forest who, two months after starting an affair with Neuburg, committed suicide by shooting herself. Neuburg never forgave Crowley for this treacherous act and they parted ways. …..…. And finally, on May 31, 2004 Phyllis Seckler celebrated her Greater Feast and passed away. She was sleeping peacefully within the arms of her Beloved Angel in Oroville, California and passed easily through the Veils at 4:34pm. [see yesterday’s blog entry for details on her life] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday May 30th 2009 – 7:55pm Jerri from Sacramento writes her views regarding The Glow Worm.
Jerry, 93Below the Abyss, all must exist through the veil of time. Obviously, it's manifestation must be subjective and objective, it's representatives are the Devil or the Beast and Babalon. Above the Abyss, the object and the subject are the "same." Pan is Nuit, The One Star in Her Endless Night. We cannot mentally grasp the subtlety which are the concepts that exist above the Abyss. We distinguish these subjects- Nuit, Hadit, Ra-Hoor-Kuit as separate so we have a method of describing these energies Below. But, all are lies down here, reflections of the unity which exists above. This unity is reflected downward. What does one experience when looking in the mirror but the opposite of what actually is. Imagine if Nothing could look into a mirror and see itself. Wouldn’t that reflection then be the object? So then, “who” looks in the “mirror?” Herein is the beautiful contradiction. And then those contradictions play upon each other…look in two mirrors, and what do we see?? Reflections of reflections and on and on…forever. Are those reflections "truth?” No…but are reflections of the truth...One way that we could describe these points of reflection is through the three grades of the AA: The Man of Earth, the Lover, and the Hermit. To the Hermit-where all is “unity..” Pan is Nuit. To the Lover, as being a vessel of that Unity from above or reflecting that Light of God in the Ruach to descend down through our Sun. Here’s where that reflection of God recognizes itself as the object, through Babalon and the Beast. The Man of Earth is then sifting through the shadows that are our “selves” as reflected through that Sun. The process by which the universe works above the Abyss is to reflect itself below. As Men of Earth, we seek to sift through the shadows of our Sun. To what end?? To become the Sun…or to achieve Knowledge and Conversation. As such, we seek to Know Thyself, and by so doing, we no longer experience the shadows or the reflections/lies/contradictions of it…The Sun by it’s nature doesn’t experience the shadow…it casts it. Men of Earth must “kill” the shadows in the Light of the Sun to become the Sun. This is the process of destroying contradiction…or, climbing up the mountain.The Lover still further refines this process by which he’s climbed to the Ruach through the foundation that he has built in The Man of Earth. The Lover receives the reflection of the energies Above and seeks to purify his solar vessel to receive that gnosis. If the Sun shines where does it get it’s power from??? Above. These are further contradictions which fall away…the separation between you as the Sun and it’s power source. So, once we get to the Hermit grade, or we cross the Abyss, we are now exempt from these contradictions…or reflections. We are "one" with the All.93 93/93JerriReply: Very good.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:22pm As we all know Mercury began Retrograding on May 6th in order for it to torture us for awhile but luckily, just this very moment, it 'finally' went direct! Yea; we made it!!! ... The next Mercury Retrograde for us to worry about will be between Sunday September 6th (Aries) 9:45pm to Tuesday September 29th (Aquarius) at 6:14am. Mark it on your calendar! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4:42pm As a man, let me tell you this fact; did you know that all the planets in our Solar Systen revolved counter clockwise except the planet Venus? This is the only planet which revolves clockwise and since it is associated with 'woman' what is this telling us about these foul little creatures? Are they the only ones going in the right direction? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3:33pm Ah, just when I thought that I wouldn't be posting much else on The Glow Worm Frater Orpheus sent me an email writing - "93 Jerry... these are thoughts from my journal this morning... 93 93/93."Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
If everything below the abyss is a LIE then what is the difference between fact or fiction…think???Lets look at this Filtering aspect of the Wheel a bit closer… Each and everyone of us is a Star… in our Divine essence we are identical… Yet we are as different as night and day. It is “Self” or Ego that is the lens through which Spirit is filtered which distorts this Light. In other words, on the Macrocosmic level we all Nurtured and live under the Light of the same Sun but on the Microcosmic level our own individual Universe is illuminated by the Nature of our own Star; this because the Light of the True Spirit must pass thru the lens of your Ruach. As long as we are in the Body we can not escape Ego. Instead we must clear the Astral waters of its muck and wipe clean the “lens: of our Ruach so that the True Light of the Spirit may shine thru our Heart. This is an inward path. In this practice of babbling we have brought many of our “thoughts”, which started as mere images deep within the subconscious waters, out onto this plane. But why? In this process what are we learning?Are we not planting the Seed of our thoughts into the Earth that they may follow the path of the Sun and be born, live and die? Is it not under the warmth of our own Star that these seeds are Nurtured and Death but a stage in this process just as Birth is? Maybe this very process is part of the “Purification” of the Ruach… as those ideas or images that are “false” will fall by the waist side while those images that were “True” will be reborn!… and Wheel just keeps rollin along…Consider the task of the Man of Earth. It is at this stage that we are taught to control our Bodies. We begin to write our bio’s and look to our history, yet our memories are but images; Myths that reveal more about the nature of your Souls interaction with the Spirit then the events themselves… Simply put we search out the Nature of the Acorn. All of this we record in our journal which truly becomes our road map; so that as a Lover you may pierce deeper into the veil of “Self” as you struggle to understand your own Myths. When you have “grasped” control of the Ruach and are Exempt from its complexes, then the “Gate” of the Anahata Chakra will open up and the Microcosmic Star and the Macrocosmic Star will be made as one and the Light of your Star manifest that deeper inner Light of the Universal Will; Dew Drops formed upon the deep Red Lotus of the Heart and gathered in the Mornings rays.This because the once murky Waters of the Subconscious now run clear and the complexes of the Ruach no longer distort the light of your Spirit. Better said the Inner Self and the outer personality are brought into “Balance” so that the “Ego” can no longer sway you one way or the other from your path; deluding you from understanding where you “truly stand“ or focusing your attention back towards Malkuth; Recall the Lesson of Salt and its “Fixation“. (Keep looking back at Malkuth and YHVH will turn you into a Pillar of Salt). On the other hand if you have built your “Fortress” upon sand then don’t be surprised when the foundation gives way. If on Malkuth then focus on Malkuth stay focused so that you may lay a solid foundation. Only Ego and this complex interplay between the Planetary forces and Myths that live within your Ruach may sway you from your Path; Remember that the True Spirit is completely outside of all this “Self”…beyond all emotions, or thoughts or anything of this plane…those things are but reflections of Microcosmic Light of your own Star. In this way it is “True” to say that we create our own realities… ahh but once again we can not escape the Ruach and Earth is where we get to enjoy the fruits of the Tree… here is a little clue… there is no disparity between the Spirit and the Earth; Kether and Malkuth are in total Harmony…but we are in between “Experiencing” our own “Fact or Fiction”, Creating our own Myths mostly because its damn entertaining! Remember that Achilles said “The Gods are jealous of Us”So what’s the difference between Fact and Fiction?? Nothing, even the question is stupid, am just babbling.Love is the law, love under will
Frater Orpheus------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:35pm I received an interesting piece from Joe regarding his understanding of The Glow-Worm. He writes:Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
AH ! I am enjoying reading your students thoughts on The Book of Lies- Here are some thoughts of my own on THE GLOW WORMThe worm could be seen as the “lowest of the low” which would also be its oppositeThe “Glow” could refer to “The inmost Light” That is “original Individual eternal essence” (One way done, When I Add, Multiply and Divide the words CHAOS and BABALON I end up with ZERO – The shape of which could be seen as a wheel. ) Wisdom and Understanding “as one” could be FIVE (2 +3) – Which may be an indication of the “Magickal Method” of Liber Legis 1:60The way of Left/right Brain The way of every thought meeting its opposite and resulting in Annihilation- resulting in a sort of “bliss”The Union with the Self and the Vision of the Self-Both at odds- and Reflections of Reflections, Contradictions of Penis and Vagina, IN and OUT(Liber Al 1:29-30 come to mind)The Letter KAPH in the Wheel of Fortune which brings to my mind the following from Liber Al Vel legis:“In the sphere I am everywhere the centre, as she, the circumference, is nowhere found”“I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. "Come unto me" is a foolish word: for it is I that go.”IF it is the Wheel of Fortune which this chapter indicates- the previous one was the Hermit- and thinking of the letters- The Hermit’s Hebrew letter ( YOD) of that card, in English translation “is” MY HAND or just HAND or CLOSED HAND and the WHEEL OF FORTUNE is THINE HAND ( Kaph – being PALM would be the Chalice – closed in on whatever it is that has been received by the Hermit) and then Life goes ON (“ The world keeps turning but Life goes on”—Utopia- Deface the Music ) THIS and THATThe whole chapter puts into my head the image of Tree of Life and the “distortion” of Light from Kether to Malkuth - not unlike the game “telephone” where one utters a word or sentence and how it changes as it passes through each person’s nervous system.Oh I am not making much sense today on this- It’s a bit jumbled-stressful week- Im searching in the dark, anyhoo…Also I think of this quote:“Someone who knows too much finds it hard not to lie.” -- WittgensteinAnyhoo I hope you have GOOD HEALTH today!Love is the law, love under will
Joe, from Beverly------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:30am For the history buffs: Joan of Arc, also known the Maid of Orléans, was a simple peasant girl who had claimed to hear the voices of ‘saints’ telling her that she must help the Dauphin gain the throne of France, which she did. However, not long after the Dauphin was crowned King Charles the VIIth, Joan was captured by the English, who tried her as a heretic, found her guilty and burned her at the stake on this date in 1431. ……... And Christopher Marlowe, the English dramatist and poet who wrote Dr. Faustus (c. 1588), died on this date in 1593 but his death is shrouded in mystery. The long-accepted version is that he and two close friends were dinning in a tavern in Deptford. The two quarreled over paying the bill, and in the fight that followed, Marlowe grabbed for his friend’s dagger and attacked him. However, his friend managed to wrestle the dagger from Marlowe and stabbed the author fatally in the eye. Marlowe was buried on June 1, 1593. …….... And it was on May 30, 1662 that William Backhouse, the ‘Alchemical teacher’ of Elias Ashmole died at Swallowfield, England. …...…. And on May 30, 1778 Francois Marie Arouet, who used the pen name Voltaire, died in Paris on at the age of 84. His remains were interred in The Pantheon. Throughout his life he was in constant trouble with French leaders because of his satirical outlook, rationalist approach, and freethinking beliefs. He once wrote, “If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated.” Perhaps his most famous work is his novel Candide (1759). …….... And finally, I’d like to mention that it was on May 30, 1985 that the movie ReAnimator opened in theaters. It was based on a Frankenstein theme written by H. P. Lovecraft called Herbert West: ReAnimator in September of 1921 to 1922. Herbert West is a maverick medical student whose ghoulish and gruesome experiments cause bloody corpses and body parts to jerk and come to life. Bruce Abbot is his studious roommate drawn into West’s extracurricular experiments, which soon involve the dean’s daughter, played by the frequently naked Barbara Crampton. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday May 29th 2009 – 3:45am Frater Petros replied to my comments about his 1:50pm posting by writing - "I was trying to avoid writing a huge tome, but maybe I was too brief. Better luck next time." He then jokingly adds "Does it help if you substitute 'annihilate' for 'union?'” to which I replied “Only if you're referring to marriage.”
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1:50pm Frater Petros writes to Frater Orpheus regarding his Thursday 7:20am posting:"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.Once again I'm enjoying what you've written about the Book of Lies. I don't have a whole lot to add, but here it goes.Principally "The Glow Worm" is a discourse regarding samadhi and the annihilation of opposites within the Adept. First we begin with the Thelemic trinity. Here Hadit and Nuit unite and produce Horus. These are brought below the abyss in a series of permutations of Tetragrammaton in paragraph four. This "seeming duality" could be thought of as the Buddhist Wheel of Life, or even the Angel and the Demon. We can see this idea echoed in the path of Kaph that unites Venus and Jupiter (Chesed where the VIIth degree works out of - A.O.), or the union of the upper and lower Ruach brought to the edge of the abyss. "The reflection of All is Pan..." (the descending solar-phallic energy) who is both "...the dual form Pamphage Pangenetor." (Little Essays Toward Truth, "Understanding") or the All-Destroyer and the All-Begetter. This idea of Pan is reminescent of the Eye of Horus that we found in our discussion of "The Stag-Beetle." "The Rosy Cross is the Ambassador of Pan." The cross in question would be the elemental nature of the Adept subjugated by the Will (chastity) which allows the rose to bloom on it (Knowledge and Conversation). This is the light manifesting below the abyss with the establishment of our own Sun. Here we see that "...he is ever a sun, and she a moon. But to him is the winged secret flame, and to her the stooping starlight." (AL I,xvi). This seems analogous to the idea of a sister of our Order being indwelled by Horus. This ego-death that is the Night of Pan, the dissolution of union, is best described in "The Sabbath of the Goat" (Book of Lies, Cap. A). The fist that grasps the idea behind Kaph, is also the same hand, Yod, that holds the lamp of the Hermit. Even though we are discussing the union of opposites, primarily the upper and lower Ruach, Kaph, Crowley points to another interpretation in his comment. If we take the formula of Babalon astride the Beast (Atu XI) we are told "This sacrament is the physical-magical formula for attaining initiation, for the accomplishment of the Great Work...the influence of the Sun and Moon." (Book of Thoth, "XI. Lust") It is interesting that like "The Stag-Beetle" that the path of Teth also links the two pillars, again bringing us to the edge of the abyss.Anyway, enjoy. I hope all is well with you and ------------- .Love is the law, love under will.Frater PetrosReply: My only advice; be careful not to go too far into the 'Union of Opposites' because we are, after all, discussing Seventh Degree magickal theory and as yet there are no physical partners involved so any magickal theories implying such have no place in this discussion. You're also throwing too many 'analogies' up and, although they might be correct, you're getting way too convoluted in thought. Explain yourself more. The rule of thumb for all students is if you have three lines in a row dropping different analogies to explain something then it's too many ... in other words, I am finding it difficult to follow your thoughts and if I have to decipher stuff, I get .......... well, you know. The man of Earth babbles with words and Speech,the Lover cannot. The Hermit babbles words out of Silence,knowing that IT confuses both ...Frater AO November 1983------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11:11am Well, if you must read Chapter 70 or Broomstick Babblings then you should note the verse "Let us seek the Mystery of the Gnarled Oak, and of the Glacier Torrent!" ... and then read Liber A'ash vel Capricorni Pneumatici (Liber CCCLXX 370) found at the back of Magick In Theory & Practice which begins - "Gnarled Oak of God! In thy branches is the lightning nested! Above thee hangs the Eyeless Hawk." ... It is said that the full interpretation of this Liber is given only to members of the Grade of Dominus Liminis which was the old 'Portal Degree' between 4=7 the Golden Dawn School and 5=6 the Rosicrucian Degree. In Grady McMurtry's A.'.A.'. lineage this portal has been lowered to reflect the division between the man of Earth and the Lovers. So if you're not of this degree don't ask me to explain things from this posting further. But you should note that 'Capricorni' refers to the sign of Capricorn the Goat which is attributed to The Devil card; ayin, the letter 'O' of the Formula of ON ... and is not the Sacred Oak in many traditions attributed to Saturn; the planet ruling Capricorn? ... Aleister Crowley further writes that the "Key to Magick Power is given in Liber CCCLXX" and that it "Contains the true secret of all practical magick." It is also known as The Book of Creation or of the Goat of the Spirit." ... Do you see how its all connected? The secrets are not found in just one book, but tidbits scattered throughout many.But if you figured out what the 'Gnarled Oak' is then you must be curious as to what the 'Glacier Torrent' is, no? "Now therefore thou knowest when I am within Thee, when my hood is spread over thy skull, when my might is more than the penned Indus, and resistless as the Giant Glacier." - Liber A'ash vel Capricorni Pneumatici verse 33"So therefore the beginning is delight, and the end is delight, and delight is in the midst, even as the Indus is water in the cavern of the glacier, and water among the greater hills and the lesser hills and through the ramparts of the hills and through the plains, and water at the mouth thereof when it leaps forth into the mighty sea, yea, into the mighty sea." - Liber A'ash vel Capricorni Pneumatici verse 39"Holy, Holy, Holy are these Truths that I utter."- The Glow WormThree mentionings of the word 'delight' and three of 'holies' ... it must be a Trinity thing, no?Again, I apologize ... I'm just babbling ... I wrote the above basically as an after thought in my diary and then wondered - "Hey, maybe others might find my musing of interest so I re-edited it for the blog." but then again, I'm going off the beaten path of which chapters from The Book of Lies we were to discuss on my blog and by doing such I'm contradicting what I previously wrote about not wanting to do this. .. Ah, but it's all Lies. ... and thank the Gods this is MY blog! ... Ok, I'm babbling again ... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9:45am Most people don't realize that Aleister Crowley attributed many chapters in different books to specific Thoth cards but the full rhyme and reason for such has never been fully explored. Here is something that Crowley taught to Grady McMurtry back during WWII and which I was lucky enough to hear him lecture on and take careful notes ... it details which chapters from Magick in Theory & Practice are attributed to which Thoth cards. Some are very, very obvious while others have me just scratching my head uttering I am perplexed! But enjoy ... 0 The Magical Theory of the Universe. ... THE FOOL
The Magical Theory of the Universe. ... THE FOOL I The Principles of Ritual. ... THE MAGUS
The Principles of Ritual. ... THE MAGUS II The Formulae of the Elemental Weapons. .... THE HIGH PRIESTESS
The Formulae of the Elemental Weapons. .... THE HIGH PRIESTESSIII The Formula of Tetragrammaton. ... EMPRESS
The Formula of Tetragrammaton. ... EMPRESSIV The Formula of Alhim: also that of Alim. ... EMPEROR
The Formula of Alhim: also that of Alim. ... EMPEROR V The Formula of I. A. O. ... HIEROPANT
The Formula of I. A. O. ... HIEROPANTVI The Formula of the Neophyte. ... LOVERS
The Formula of the Neophyte. ... LOVERSVII The Formula of the Holy Graal, of Abrahadabra, and of Certain Other Words; with some remarks on
the Magical Memory. ... CHARIOTVIII Of Equilibrium: and of the General and Particular Method of Preparation of the Furniture of the
Temple and the Instruments of Art. ... LUSTIX Of Silence and Secrecy: and of the Barbarous names of Evocation. ... HERMIT
Of Silence and Secrecy: and of the Barbarous names of Evocation. ... HERMITX Of the Gestures. ... WHEEL OF FORTUNE
Of the Gestures. ... WHEEL OF FORTUNEXI Of Our Lady BABALON and of The Beast whereon she rideth: also concerning
Of Our Lady BABALON and of The Beast whereon she rideth: also concerning Transformations. ... JUSTICEXII Of the Bloody Sacrifice and Matters Cognate. ... THE HANGED MAN
Of the Bloody Sacrifice and Matters Cognate. ... THE HANGED MANXIII Of the Banishings, and of the Purifications. .... DEATH
XIV Of the Consecrations: with an Account of the Nature and Nurture of the
Magical Link. ... ARTXVI (1) Of the Oath. ... THE DEVIL Part I
XV Of the Invocation. ... THE TOWER
Of the Invocation. ... THE TOWERXVI (2) Of the Charge to the Spirit: with some Account of the Constraints and Curses occasionally
necessary. THE DEVIL Part IIXVII Of the License to Depart. ... THE STAR
XVIII Of Clairvoyance: and of the Body of Light, its Powers and its Development. Also concerning
Divinations. ... THE MOONXIX Of Dramatic Rituals. ... THE SUN
Of Dramatic Rituals. ... THE SUNXX Of the Eucharist: and of the Art of Alchemy. JUDGMENT
Of the Eucharist: and of the Art of Alchemy. JUDGMENTAppendix - The Rituals etc .... THE WORLD
Humm, that's odd. Crowley attributed Chapter XVI twice, as Part I & Chapter II sandwiched between the Chapter which he refers to as The Tower and isn't this the path that connects the Left and Right Pillars in the Formula of ON? ... Odd, I wonder if this double attribute of The Devil card is found elsewhere in any of his works? Oh yes, in Liber De Natura Deorum, Sub Figvra CCXXVIII (228) he tell a Seventh Degree to study Chapter 15 The Gun-Barrel which he attributes to The Devil but, then again, he doesn't tell us to study Chapter 70 Broomstick Babblings even though he attributes this to The Devil too. Odd, don't you think? ... Oh, never mind, I'm just babbling ...------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9:30am To address a comment from a friend's email, who asked - "Don't you think there are other chapters from The Book of Lies that could help explain things that you are discussing?" Of course, there are many great chapters. And I hope that after this discussion of specific Chapters is over that my students now have the insight to continue to read the entire book ... but on this blog we are dealing with just seven Chapters which are mentioned in Liber De Natura Deorum, Sub Figvra CCXXVIII (228) – Of the Nature of the Gods. ... and when at last you realize why Crowley picked these specific chapters from The Book of Lies for the VIIth Degree OTO Initiate to study you'll have grasped the secrets the degree. They are the Foundation stones of his sex magick theory; the VERY FIRST THING an initiate in the Hermetic Triad is told to study. The First WORD as the last is ON. Ignore this and you're building your Temple on sand. And my friend also asked - "What prompted you to start openly talking about Seventh Degree"Well, first, in De Natura Deorum, Section III De Natura Dei Soli it clearly informs us to “make no attempt to disclose this inner Truth to the profane” ... adding - “For all attempts to initiate even the worthy before they initiate themselves are folly and fatality. The Secret of the Wise, although known of them, are not to be expressed in the language of common men.” .... and I agree, I can not teach anyone but I can lead 'the' Horse to water by the use of innuendos which in effect shows him the process whereby he walked there and if he grasps putting one foot in front of the other, he's off climbing the mountain by himself.... anyway, many of my students have written to me over the years asking questions about Aleister Crowley’s sex magick. Most have known that I was one of the few 'true' Upper Degree initiates in Aleister Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis while Grady McMurtry was still alive and, since I’m no longer a member, perhaps they were all hoping that I might spill the secrets. However, when push has come to shove; the vast majority of you have kept quiet on this blog and have not jumped into the discussion on The Book of Lies. It is no secret that the sexual practices of OTO begin with Seven Degree and that eight Chapters from Liber 333, The Book of Lies must be studied ... so, how many of you can honestly say that you understand not only these chapters but why you had to study them? If you cannot do this ‘First Task’ you are, in effect, admitting that you are either incapable of learning sex magick or that you have no real desire to learn its secrets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:00am Miguel sent in an excellent piece on The Glow Worm. 93, Br. Cornelius,After taking time to “Steep” the “Horsehair” of this chapter until an appropriate serpent is produced, the following illusion presents itself. Crowley’s comment to this chapter refers to several specific points about it that seem like appropriate points from which to approach its interpretation. He first states that the chapter may refer to the nature of the light to which the Glow-Worm’s “glow “as “a little light in the darkness” gives indication of. Crowley also states that the chapter “indicates a supreme magical method.” Emphasis on Crowley’s use of the word “indicates” as opposed to his not using the word reveals should be made; Crowley was very particular about the use of words. Crowley also makes specific mention of “the essential unity of the supernal triad” and that these are reached “by the annihilation of All” which is described as the manifested side of “this whole system” symbolically referred to as “Pan.” A note should also specifically be made concerning Crowley’s reference to “the manifested part of the Master of the temple” which “also reaches Samadhi, as the way of Annihilation.”The nature of the light is referenced in paragraph 6 “the Rosy Cross, the rapture of Union that destroys, that is The Way. The Rosy Cross is the Ambassador of Pan.” These lines also seem to indicate the supreme magical method which earlier in the verse starts out as a unity containing all contradictions which is then broken up into “a seeming duality” through the various assumptions of Chokmah and Binah. These are one above the Abyss but beyond the Abyss they are many. Pan taken as “a generic name, including the whole system of its manifested side” is the product of the interplay of Chaos and Babalon, their resolution through annihilation of their many assumptions provides the context for the aspirant’s entry into womb of “our Lady”, Nuit. The formula of the Rosy Cross is therefore the key to the mysteries expounded throughout these chosen chapters of Liber 333. The details of this formula is relayed in Liber Aleph ch 106-108 and is refered to in Magick ch XII and elsewhere. As this formula is specifically related to the G.’.D.’. Grade of Adeptus, and the sephira Tiphareth, it should be noted that 777 relates both to the formula ABRAHADADBRA. As has been suggested however, the way this formula is understood, while essentially the same across planes, is uniquely interpreted through the hierophantic task through which a Thelemite is particularly undergoing thus bringing the discussion to the subject of the manifested part of the Magister Templi referred to in the comment. If we’re to take the Magister Templi as analogous to the Thelemite Grade of Hermit “the reflection” occupies the context of the way the aspirant transits the Hierophantic task of the Lover and the man of Earth Grades. Taking the man of Earth as the principal point of manifestation we may associate the final line of verse 11 with the Man referenced in Dewdrops, verse 18, whom is noted as not being the master of the Dew of immortality “but the vehicle of It.” As a vehicle within the man of Earth Grade the formulas assigned to the associated sephira are ALIM and VITRIOL. How the obligations of this Grade within the McMurtry lineage of A.’.A.’. reflect these formulas can be of some use to the aspirant in that they prepare the temple for the Master of the 93 current who received ABRAHADABRA as a reward for his service to the Gods.93/93 M.Reply: Despite some rough emails in the past, I think you're beginning to understand that it is not so much 'what' you write but 'how' you write it. It's all LIES but if you keep your thoughts in Silence, or within, they might conceal Truths and we can't have that! ... We must drag all our students fleeting thoughts out into the 'light of day' to expose them and then, through the merging of opposites of inner and outer thought, naught will remain as one sees with time contradictions compounded upon contradictions. Yes, often one's thoughts when exposed to fresh air, crumble into dust. This is a good thing. Fret Not; a student must learn to be a good witness at a crime scene. What did you see? Describe it carefully, someone's life might depend on it! And the Life you save might be your own. ... I often feel like a psychiatrist who keeps asking, "What do you think?" and then trying to drag out of the couch sleeper what is really rolling around in his or her head. The key word for The Wheel of Fortune card which rules The Glow Worm is 'rotation' and it implies the moving of what some, like Paul Foster Case, would call "the Limitless Light" into a whirling motion by simply 'thinking'. Ah, the light of the little glow worm. Here is an important key to the process: Kaph, the Hebrew letter attributed to The Wheel of Fortune means a 'closed hand' as if grasping something, like an idea and then putting it to the test of Truth. The left side of the Tree is a descending current out of the Abyss, the right side an ascending current toward the Abyss and The Wheel of Fortune is found on the right side. In other words; Gnosis (ABRA - 'O') or the Dewdrops from our Higher consciousness must first be dragged 'down' via the left side, brought out into the Light of Day (Tiphereth) on Malkuth (HAD) and then re-thought within our Lower consciousness to be brought back upward on the right side of the Tree as a new Gnosis (ABRA - 'N') ... ah, Chastity ... but if what you think as a 'Word' is false, Nature will always right the wrong; hence the need for The Wheel of Fortune ... and remember, if you do not understand this process of DEATH then the knowledge that you're bringing back upward will be False and it will get lost in the sands of the Abyss. EGO then screams loudest for a distraught magician who claims that even though they're below the Abyss, what they are saying is the Truth for all to follow and "To Hell with everyone if they don't believe me!" or dare I hear it uttered in Third Degree OTO - "I am the Truth and in my Turban is wrapped nothing but God" and then Saladin throws three rocks at him, symbolic of many things and he kills the candidtate! ... Ah, "Holy, Holy, Holy are these Truths that I utter." ... A magician must learn and understand the nature of his or her LIES. They must carefully study all the facts of what they believe anything to be, then SEEK its opposite and merge them so that they crumble into dust. Only you can do this, I cannot. I can only teach the process. Always remember what Aleister Crowley once wrote - "People who avoid facing facts are bounded by phantoms." [private unpublished diary; October 25th 1939] but since this discussion on Chapters from The Book of Lies is about Seventh Degree OTO consider this quote from De Natura Deorum - “Of all our enemies those are most to be feared, who make false gods of their imagination.” ... Phantoms are the Kundry of our mind.Hopefully with time a student will finally realize that what they believe today will be wrong tomorrow, it just doesn't matter. Thoughts are only reflective of the mountain [wink wink] peak where you stand and no more. So, it's OK to be wrong with what you think ... we're All wrong. What is important is the process of taking the Lies to their next stage back up the Tree of Life until naught remains ... ah, Samadhi. Ah, the foundations laid in Seventh Degree OTO.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:00am For the history buffs: G. K. Chesterton was born on this date in London, England in 1874. Some have claimed that he was a charming, witty man with a rotund figure and that he was extremely popular in London literary and social circles. He once wrote in the Daily Mail: “We have all possible respect for Mr. Crowley’s religious symbols and we do not object to his calling upon Shu at any hour of the night. Only it would be unreasonable of him to complain if his religious exercises were generally mistaken for an effort to drive away cats. Gilbert Keith Chesterton died on June 14, 1936 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. …....... and it was on May 29, 1963 that the first James Bond movie known as Dr. No, starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress, opened in theaters. The New York Times called it, “natty, naughty, and nifty.” …....... and it was on May 29, 1981 that the last performance of the band Throbbing Gristle, which was held in San Francisco, playing such classic songs as “Looking for the O.T.O..”------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday May 28th 2009 – 7:20pm Well, finally, someone sends in some really meat when it comes to The Glow Worm. & it is a tome but one worthy of review. Frater Orpeheus writes:
Jerry,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the LawConsidering the “Glow-Worm“… “A little Light in the Darkness” sounds like Hadit inside the Womb of Nuit. As Initiates we use the Light to seek Truth, or our Word in Chokmah. We are instructed to Seek it in the Well or the womb of our Mother Binah. Together these Sepheroth of the Knower and the Known give birth to Knowledge/Daath and this Light, which represents the broken “fragments of Creation“, descends below the abyss in a constant interplay of opposites. Akasha and Prana come bound together thru the Sun as One and inseparable.Let us look closely at “light”.Hadit is the Light at the core of every Star but he is also the secret Center of Nuit, the point within the Circle. In Liber Legis we are taught that the Khabs, or the Light of your Star, is in the Khu, which Crowley calls the “Magickal identity of man”. This Light which is manifested thru your Star illuminates your Universe and is in this way attached to your Ruach. Hadit is “the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star… but below abyss, this manifested aspect of the Light must go by way of Samadhi and follow the path of the Sun. Consider this next time you recite “The light is mine; its rays consume Me.”Crowley wrote that “Eleven is the Great number of Magick, and this chapter indicates a supreme magical method”.”…but what is this magical method? Maybe it is how that manifested part of the Magister Templi reaches Samadhi by way of Annihilation; or maybe its how the Exemptus Adeptus prepares himself to become a Magister Templi by the final ‘mastery’ of those mysteries reflected in the path of Kaph; wherein we may, thru the inner self, become 'receivers' of the Gnosis; that “Dew of her light” from the High Priestess above…“the Glow”. This “Glow” then manifest thru the “Worm” or the Solar phallic principles embodied in the Priest who some say represents the Hierophant. (Note: Gimel + Vav = Peh) Nuit appeals for us to identify with Hadit (AL I:6), so that we may fully manifest her Word which is “US” below the Abyss. Consider this, if we intend for Ra-Hoor-Kuit, the “Child” of Hadit and Nuit to appear on the Throne of Ra or our Sun, then we must make open the ways of the Khu…to lighten the ways of the Ka… so that the Khabs may run through to stir or to still us.In a nut shell then, this “Magical Method” would be the key to obtaining that high degree of rapture wherein the Marriage of Opposites leads the Adeptus Exemptus, who is Exempt from the complexes of the Ruach, to enter the supreme state of Samadhi where ALL disappears in the Night of Pan and She is reborn as a Magister Templi. “Those which are above the Abyss are therefore said to live in the Night of Pan; they are only reached by the annihilation of the All” But how???… let’s consider Kaph…Kaph lies in the Ruach between Venus and Jupiter or the Anahata and Manipura Chakras. It is the “Wheel of Fortune” that mediates between the greater and lesser fortunes of Jupiter and Venus. In the most straight forward sense, this path mediates between the Higher Self and the Personality. Kaph means fist and is the hand “grasping” which symbolizes comprehension and “Mastery“. This path is attributed to the Planetary force of Jupiter who also rules our Path of the Moon and Samech; and is exalted in our Chariot card wherein it is said to be the “Wheels”. The spinning of this Wheel of Fortune refers to that initial whirling motion of the cosmos. Key to understanding this card lies in the duality of forces which affect this rotation within the Ruach. These two opposite forces of “Wealth and Poverty” pull and push us in different directions; there is the Angel and there is a Daemon! It is the Adeptus Exemptus who is free from the Law of Opposites that possess the ability to “Grasp”, comprehend and eventually master these waters. Hence why this path is also referred to as the “Rewarding Intelligence” or the “Intelligence of Conciliation”. From the point of view of the Adeptus Exemptus or the Magister Templi you may see how this little “Light in the Darkness” might be understood as that Morning Star which appears in the Heavens over Jupiter or even as that Light within the Hermit’s Lantern which guides humanity up the Mountain. Yet to really understand the forces at play here we must look closer at this Wheel. This Trump depicts three “Animals” on the Wheel; the Sphinx on top representing Sulfur; Herm-Anubis or Mercury is climbing up the left side and on the right side, “precipitating himself downward”, is Typhon who represents Salt… these as Crowley points out correspond to the three Gunas of Sattva, Ragas and Tamas. In the philosophy of Yoga all matter in the universe is reducible to one primary substance called Prakriti which is composed of the three prime qualities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. This Prakriti is the original state of pure potential of which all things are made possible. It is the “prima materia” of the Universe of which matter, energy and mind are manifested. (Time is only relative to them)In Alchemy these are the “Tria Prima” of Paracelsus who defines Sulfur as the Omnipresent Spirit of Life; Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods, as the fluid connection between the High and the Low and Salt as Base Matter.That is…Sattva = Mercury on left going up = Balance/Light/ReasonRagas = Sulfur on Top = Energy/Fire/ThymosTamas = Salt on right going down = Death/Matter/DesireThese three “Principles”, whether in Alchemic or Yogic terms, are said to contain within themselves all possibilities and in that sense not unlike YHV-H except that these look specifically at the Mysteries as related to the Triad. Even in Cabbala land everything is said to manifest in a tri-fold manner; consider the Supernal Triad, which is really a single concept as it contains within itself all contradictions just as the Magister Templi who lives in the Night of PAN must also. Yet even here in the Supernals we must conceptualize them as Three separate Spheres in order to begin to understand their mysteries… yes, it is true, below the Abyss all Knowledge is a duality bathed in Lies. You may further reflect upon the mysteries of the Trinity in IAO, AUM, TAO, OTO etc… all of which are directly reflected in Nature and mirrored in the Psychic body and the Psychology of Man; From the highest to the lowest, the Song remains the same…Plato simply took the Soul of Man and divided into three principles; Desire, Reason and Thymos.Now let us look at the Soul and Psychology of Man thru these three principles…Hillman states that Salt is the “Objective ground of personal experience making experience possible”. But, Salt also makes events “sensed” and “felt” and therefore Subjective. In other words Salt makes possible what psychology calls Experience. It is the Salt of our experiences which grows Soul. Consider this line from the Gnostic Mass, “Let the Salt of the Earth admonish the waters to bear the virtues of the Great Sea”. Yes this Salt is of the Earth and herein lies it’s inherent danger. Salt is “Fixation” and may potentially work horizontally within us dragging us down to Malkuth; recall the dual fold nature of this path, where shall you focus your energy? Consider the Biblical Myth of Lot and his wife, though already saved from the destruction of Sodom, she could not refrain from “looking Back” and therefore YHVH turned her into a pillar of Salt. We must understand that Soul is tethered to the Body and to “Experience“. But we are not our experiences. We must separate Inner self from the outer; to do this we must understand the root of our personality, our history and our story. “The danger here is always fixation, whether in reflection, child-hood trauma, or in a literalized and personalized notion of experience itself” (Hillman, “Salt” pg.117) Note that Typhon, who attempts to destroy Zeus, is “precipitating himself downwards” towards Malkuth… but this Wheel turns!… The key once again is where are you going to put your focus? Are you Exempt from these complexes? Have you “Mastered” the Lower Self?Sulfur is the Alchemic principle of combustion, the “Magna Flamma”. It is the Flame by which all is distilled; it causes change. Jung wrote that “Sulphur represents the active substance of the sun” and then calls it “the motive factor in consciousness, on the one hand Will and on the other compulsion.” (CW 14, 151) On one level it represents the Passions and Desires that arise in the Heart and on another our True Spirit. In a way it is our “drive” towards “Union” as Desire and its object are united. The Sphinx, who sits atop the Wheel, represents this principle of Sulfur. Remember that the Magician is expected have “mastered” the Four powers of the Sphinx; Knowledge, Will, Courage and Silence”. This he greatly achieves thru the Greek Axiom, “know thy self”. In a nut shell Sulfur is the directing or distilling aspect of the Higher Self centered in Tiphereth. It is the Gate keeper of the Spirit by which the personality of Man and his Soul are refined. Consider the Greek Myth of the Riddle of the Sphinx; that is, “What animal is it that in the morning goes on four feet, in the afternoon on two and in the evening three?” The answer of course is Man, who as a child crawls on all four, as an adult walks on two legs, and then as an old man walks with a cane. This Myth reveals to us a ratio very important in the Pythagorean and OTO mysteries, that of 4:3:2. It represents the formation of the pyramid and is directly related to the hand that “Grasps”…but I digress. The point here is that once the Initiate has mastered the four powers of the Sphinx and answered his riddle then this “Gate-keeper” is no longer needed! The Gate of the inner consciousness is swung open and the initiate stands ready to “master” the currents of the Thymos. This Inner or Higher Self can be seen as a descending triangle between upper Tiphereth, Mars and Jupiter who are bound by the Rose Cross (note that L-Th-Y = 49) which is pierced by Gimel from above so that the Dew Drops may descend into the Heart of Man. Is this Triad not a symbol of Ra-Hoor-Kuit? Master the Wheel, then Gnosis will descend and Ra - Hoor - Kuit “appear upon the Throne of Ra” or our Star. Remember that those who are unable to answer the Sphinx riddle are slain on the spot. So prepare yourself…In alchemy Mercury is the First Matter from which all metals were formed. In archetypal psychology Mercury is “Puer Eternus” which Hillman defines as “that archetypal dominate which personifies or is in special relation with the transcendent spiritual powers of the collective unconsciousness.” Puer impulses then are messages from the Spirit. And, hasn’t Mercury, the planet closest to our SUN always been considered the Messenger of the Gods. He may take many forms both in Myth and in our life but he is always directly connected to the Spirit and our Sun. His tendencies are towards verticality hence his winged feet. He does not use these to walk about the Labyrinth of the Horizontal world!! These teachings drag him down to Malkuth and cripple his winged heels…he is the Magic Phallus, “Glowing” and strong, divinely connected to the Spirit who Crowley depicts as Herm-Anubis, A composite god who is both Messenger of the Gods and the Jackal headed guardian of the Underworld. He is seen climbing up the left side of the Wheel. He mediates between God and Man bringing us the ability to balance the dualistic forces within the Ruach.So finally what is this Knowledge that the Adeptus Exemptus must Grasp?? The knowledge that leads to the Knowledge and Conversation of their Holy Guardian Angel is considered to be the Highest “Knowledge”. This is the Pure descent of our Dew Drops from above. There are many steps to that supreme knowledge, the final stage of attainment being complete Liberation. When the True Self is realized, the aspirant no longer fears Birth or Death but instead recognizes them as Gates to the Eternal cycle of Life…and the Wheels keep on turning…There is more then enough here to expound upon…but it is all Lies…Lies…it is all Lies…contradiction piled on top of contradiction
Love is the law, love under will Frater Orpheus
Reply: You're having too much fun :) ... it's like you understand Lies!!!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:15am For the history buffs: Ian Fleming was born on this date in Mayfair, England in 1908. It is written that he “was a large, healthy, exceedingly naughty child.” During World War II he worked for the Department of Naval Intelligence in Britain and hatched a scheme to have the notorious Aleister Crowley interrogate the ‘captured’ Nazi leader Rudolf Hess about ‘occult’ matters. Crowley actually accepted his offer but Fleming’s superiors decided that it was not a good idea and they vetoed the overall plan. Ian Fleming ‘s biography, John Pearson, wrote in 1966: “It is a pity that this had to be one of Fleming’s bright ideas which never came off: understandably, there was hilarity in the department at the idea of the Great Beast 666 doing his bit for Britain.” Years later in March of 1952 when Ian Fleming wrote his first James Bond novel titled Casino Royale, he looked for someone on whom he could base his arch-villain. He needed an evil figure so he dredged up his past images of his old friend Aleister Crowley. After all, Fleming “always knew a good villain when he saw one.” He decided to give his villain the name Le Chiffre which is a corruption of the word ‘cipher,’ since the villain claimed he was only a number on a passport. This idea stems from the fact that Le Chiffre was once a Jewish prisoner of Dachau who suffered amnesia, not knowing his real name, only his concentration camp number. Fleming further described Le Chiffre as clean shaven, his complexion was very pale or white, fat, slug-like, with sadistic impulses, constantly using a Benzedrine inhaler and with an insatiable appetite for women. He also had a rather feminine mouth. It is written that “parallels exist between them [meaning Crowley & Le Chiffre]. Both called people ‘dear boy’, and both, like Mussolini, had the whites of their eyes completely visible around the iris.” But does this really sound like Aleister Crowley? Especially being Jewish! On August 12, 1964 Ian Fleming died at the age of 56. ….....….. And to continue with our birthdays, Llee Heflin was born on this date in Denver, Colorado in 1939. After Grady McMurtry arrived from Washington D.C. to California in April of 1969 and he tried to reactivate the O.T.O. using ‘emergency’ powers given to him by Aleister Crowley. On July 21, 1969 he held his first initiations at a public camp ground on the Russian River at Duncan Millswhich is near Jenner, California. Assisting him in the role of the Black Guard was Mildred Burlingame. Phyllis Seckler decided not go. She would later write that these people were “a bad choice in my opinion.” She admitted that one of them she knew was on drugs for quite a few years, “a Haight-Asbury type.” She didn’t think it was a good idea to re-activate the O.T.O. with these types of individuals and she though Grady was making a big mistake. She thought he should have had higher expectations for the O.T.O.. She believed these people, meaning the hippies, would give the Order a bad outer appearance to the world. Heflin would later admit that he knew Phyllis “didn’t particularly care for us little band of ‘hippies’ that Mildred Burlingame found and brought together with Grady.” One of the four people who was initiated on this date was Llee Heflin. Heflin, who was one of the originally founders of Level Press, went on to publish such books as The Island Dialogues (1973) and a pamphlet called Word From Kohoutek (1974).------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Wednesday May 27th 2009 – 8:45pm Ricky replied to the 7:30pm posting. He writes - "93 Jerry, Seems I have tread off path... Damn sun spots....
I was waiting to attack the Sabbath Goat until its respective week but you've provoked some thought toward it. Just some quick notes that seem 'note worthy'PAN= Generic term for the ALL.The Night of Pan is the Annihilation of All... Makes sense right. NOX Latin for night... in Greek Ananke and for us Nuit... which is also French for Night...Duality, Energy, Death.= ΠΑΝ Death Begetting the supporters of O!.. Interesting. Us and our Daimon is Duality, the quest for union with our daimon is Energy (because it is relatively impossible to measure energy without a point A and point B, or duality), then the consummation of that union is Death.... and then, please press repeat. Just some thoughts on your reply.OK... now let me form this into something presentable...93 93/93Ricky------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:25pm Here are some thoughts on LAM which started earlier today as a marble rolling around inside my head at the local Cafe Mediterranean. Present were myself, Ben, Luna, Casey, Jay and Jennifer. A fun crowd! And a lot of people at the other tables who probably thought we were all crazy.Anyway, in Crowley’s The ‘Blue’ Equinox Vol.III No.1 there is a drawing of a large headed Master which is entitled The Way. Crowley writes that this is LAM which “is the Tibetan word for the Way or Path, and Lama is He who Goeth, the specific title of the Gods of Egypt, the Treader of the Path, in Buddhistic phraseology.” ... Here is a story: when a friend visited Crowley’s apartment in London during World War II he commented on this drawing, wondering if it was the product of his imagination, the Beast replied, “That?” “He’s my guru!” ... To this day LAM has remained extremely perplexing amongst Crowleyites. We know this entity appeared to Crowley while he was in New York around 1918. Some claim this occurred during the infamous Amalantrah Working but unfortunately the full record of this magickal working has not survived, only the first six months and that which does survive have no mention of LAM. Regardless, scholars of all types have expressed with deepest sincerity their beliefs as to whom or what LAM is, myself included. Some of the theories border on the bizarre as when an author claims the drawing looks like a ‘gray’ or rather a certain type of alien which is seen by abductees of UFOs. Other theories simply refer to LAM as a hidden gateway, which I personally feel is closer to the truth. LAM represents the frequency whereby the hidden door is opened and the energy descends. He is truly The Way. ... Crowley’s magick being so phallic and tied closely to the solar currents found in the Muladhara chakra it’s only natural that he would follow this path and refer to it as his Guru. This is because the sacred three letters which are the vibrational rates of the Muladhara chakra which reflect the ability of the universal life-force to manifest, is the word LAM. Crowley attributed LAM’s Qabalistic numerical value to 71 to reflect the Hebrew word for Silence but during one of our own Ouija board workings in 1982 we learned that although this is true, LAM is portrayed by many numbers, one such being 631. This is because in Hebrew Qabalah the letter ‘L’ has a numerical value of thirty while the ‘A’ is one, and the ‘M’ being Mem final in the word is numerically six hundred rather than just forty. In Liber AL vel Legis III:38 it claims that there is a "secret door" and these two words numerically, using English Qabalah, add to 631. So LAM not only represents The Way but is also the secret door made into the four quarters (see III:38) which will enable students “to make actual magical contact with the spiritual energy of the sun” as Crowley has stated and thus each individual will be able to draw the actual force into themselves. At this point I suggest that one use this mantra in conjunction with Liber Resh vel Helios, preferably right after the Resh evocations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:30pm Well, finally a comment on The Glow Worm! Ricky takes up the challenge and writes - "93 Jerry, This is getting a bit more difficult now. But I must cast off the lids of my eyes and as a Serpent stare directly into the Sun, unflinching. 11! Great number! Great Work! The Lust of Our Lady and the Beast whereon she rides. This path is the middle horizontal path on the Ottz Chiim that connects Chessed to Geburah. It is the path of Leo and thus the Sun. This is all a part of our higher Ruach and represents the Higher Self. The crossing path is that of Gimmle the Moon and this is Babalon as depicted in Atu XI riding the Beast or the path of Teth. This chapter so far as I can understand it, is a direction to the aspirant. It is literally a little light at the end of a long darkness. We are told some basic truths as pertain to us below the Abyss such as the the annihilating Light of the Rosy Cross that is Union, that is The Way and the ambassador of the All. This declaration is followed by almost a demonstration of what is meant by this. The piling up of contradictions onto one another which appall the rational mind almost stunning it into submission. Then, in the 11Th paragraph is the true secret revealed, that Truth cannot be 'revealed' through speech it is forever in silence. 93 93/93 Ricky Reply: Yes, it is getting more difficult. You threw me with the Lust card (Leo) stuff; this Chapter according to Crowley is attributed to the path of The Wheel of Fortune; Kaph or Jupiter. But I was amused by your thoughts. Anyway, consider this Chapter as thoughts from a Magister Templi, a Hermit who stands above the Abyss holding a lantern on the peak of a mountain ... whose Light is like that of a Glow Worm; a Star shinning in Heavens of Nuit to guide a weary traveler. I am also curious as to why so many of you haven't commented on The Night of Pan, or NOX which is mentioned in this Chapter. To give you an idea without spelling it out for you: Plato refers to the image of the Universe as ‘The Spindle of Necessity’ which is named after the primeval Goddess of Compulsion and Necessity known as Ananke. She was born of no parents, self-formed and existing since time began and whose outstretched arms encompassed the breadth of the entire universe and on whose knees the giant spindle rests. She is the darkness 'before' stars and in which all stars exist. Ananke had three daughters or Fates who sit upon Thrones and oversee each ‘Thread of Life’ which their mother spins. The first Fate is called Lachesis and it is she who gives us 'Duality' being ourself and a daimon; the second Fate is Klotho and she gives us 'Energy' to animate our Life and the third Fate is Atropos who bestows upon us 'Death.' Ah, the supporters of 'O' ... The Roman form of the Goddess Ananke is NOX.Finally, a Magister Templi knows that Truth cannot exist below the Abyss ... for once Truth descends it becomes Lies bathed in This and That which are but contradictions upon contradictions. Sooner or later, by the mere Marriage of Opposites the Magister Templi finds, according to Crowley - " ... a higher degree of rapture, with ever sentence, until his armoury is exhausted, and, with the word Amen, he enters the supreme state.” ... and ALL disappears in the Night of Pan.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4:44pm Here it is Wednesday afternoon and I posted The Glow Worm on Sunday morning and still, almost four days later, not one person has sent in any thoughts or emails on this chapter. Week after week I am beginning to see a pattern. No one wants to start off the discussion by reviewing one or two simple lines and everybody wants to write the 'perfect' summation of the whole after reading everyone else's postings. ... Then again, perhaps I'm too harsh? Maybe last week and this week merely reveals why the sexual teachings of Aleister Crowley have become lost ... it's because, just like sex itself, most people lack the stamina for any serious staying power or focus. Do we need some magickal viagra? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:00am For the history buffs: Enoch Arnold Bennett was born in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England on this date in 1867. His childhood was spent in genteel poverty, which gave way to prosperity as his father succeeded as a solicitor. From his provincial background he became a novelist. After winning a literary competition in Tit Bits magazine in 1889, he moved to London in order to pursue a career as a writer. He became assistant editor of Woman in 1894. Just over four years later his first novel, A Man from the North (1898) was published to critical acclaim. He once wrote in his private journal in 1905, “I dined at Chat Blanc. Aleister Crowley was there with dirty hands, immense rings, presumably dyed hair, a fancy waistcoat, a fur coat, and tennis shoes.” When Aleister Crowley bought Bennett’s novel Paris Nights (1913) he was also amazed to discover that it had been written by his old friend Arnold Bennett. After reading the book he wrote, “Arnold Bennett had gratified the public with a highly spiced description of me.” This description of Crowley appeared in Chapter III titled “An Evening with Exiles” and takes place in a Montparnasse restaurant in Paris. Bennett describes a character whom he calls ‘the Mahatma ‘, who walked into the café “wearing a heavily jewelled red waistcoat, and the largest ring I ever saw on a human hand.” Bennett never mentions the actual name of the Mahatma but Crowley knew it was obviously referring to himself. On March 27, 1931 he died. …...... also, on May 27, 1878 the famous dancer, Isadora Duncan, was born as Dora Angela Duncan in San Francisco, California. She moved to London with her family in 1899 and traveled throughout Europe. Her free-flowing forms of personal expression as a dance style was based on improvisation rather than the strict formal structure of traditional ballet of the day. Her secretary was Mary d’Esti Sturges. Crowley met both Duncan and Sturges during a rather boisterous party at the Savoy Hotel in London on October 11, 1911. This event was being hosted by Isadora Duncan in honor of Mary’s birthday. Crowley was the guest of a youth named Hener Skene whom he refers to as an “obscure prig,” and a “brainless and conceited youth.” Obviously Crowley didn’t like the boy and he used him simply to gain access to the party because he wanted to be introduced to Isadora Duncan. Instead, during the course of the evening, he discovered Mary. At that time Crowley was four years younger than Mary d’Esti who was celebrating her fortieth birthday. He described her as “a magnificent specimen of mingled Irish and Italian blood,” adding that she “possessed a most powerful personality and a terrific magnetism which instantly attracted my own.” …...….. and on May 27, 1911 Vincent Price, the film and stage actor known as the king of horror, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. …...….. and to continue, on May 27, 1922 Christopher Lee was born as Christopher Frank Caradini Lee in London, England. After a long and distinguished career beginning in 1947, as one of the greatest movie stars of horror and fantasy, he took the role of Saruman the White in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). …...….. lots of births to report on May 27th!!!!!!! - like Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart (aka Diana Moore) was born on this date in 1948, of Irish and Choctaw Indian ancestry, in Long Beach, California. She is a Neo-Pagan poet and Priestess of Shamanic Arts who, along with her husband Oberon, was a co-editor of The Green Egg magazine. …..….. and for the Thelemites, Michael Staley was born on this date in Bedford, England in 1951. He has been a prominent member of the Typhonian OTO since 1976. He is founder and editor of the magical journal Starfire and managing director of Starfire Publishing Ltd, the publishers of amongst others Kenneth Grant. Particular interests of his are the Typhonian tradition, Lam, Eastern Mysticism, the artwork of Austin Osman Spare, and the Delphic Oracle. He lives in London with his wife, Caroline Wise. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday May 26th 2009 – 5:55pm Inquiring minds have asked; my reply to you all is that today's doctor's test confirm that I still have a heart ... and that I'm going to die but as to when, they don't know.
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4:00pm Just got home; its been a day from Hell at the doctors; lots of heart related tests etc ... so, before I forget again, for the history buffs: The widow Alse Young, the first person in the United States to be accused of the crime of witchcraft, was hung on this date in 1647 at Meeting House Square in Hartford, Connecticut. …...…. On this date in 1897 in North Rome, Ohio, Charles Lukins and Bob Forner were attacked by a curly-haired Bigfoot. No one was seriously hurt and the creature escaped. …...…. Also, on May 26, 1913 Peter Cushing was born in Kenley, Surry, England. He would eventually play some of the most enduring literary characters of all time like Dr. Frankenstein, Dracula, and Sherlock Holmes, although Star Wars fans might remember him best as Grand Moff Tarkin. He starred in such classic films as The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Horror of Dracula (1958), Brides of Dracula (1960), Dr Terror’s House of Horrors (1965), She (1965), Island of Terror (1966), Tales from the Crypt (1972), to name but a few. He died on August 11, 1994, in Cantebury, Kent, England after a long bout with prostate cancer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday May 25th 2008 – 8:00am Heather from Seattle writes - "I'm having a hard time focusing on The Glow Worm because I keep giggling every time the frog grins at me again! This chapter makes absolute sense to me too but for now I refuse to focus on it instead of enjoying my bliss. The descent is more challenging for the mountaineer once they realize there's no other way to live. I'd much rather leap off so I'm not leaving yet but I will be ready once I know that I am..." .... I replied: Heather 93. Enjoy the bliss, I am glad that you are enjoying the frog image that I put on my blog, its a favorite of mine ... so smile always like the frog and leap when you are ready. Glad to see you are also enjoying The Book of Lies postings. Miss your smiles ... Much love ... 93 93/93 Jerry."
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6:30am For the history buffs: On May 25, 1581 John Dee and Edward Kelly began working together. …......... and I should mention that Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the English dramatist, novelist, politician and Rosicrucian, was born on this date in London in 1803. He was one of the most popular writers of his day, who wrote arguably the most famous opening line now plagiarized my many. It appeared in his 1830 novel titled Paul Clifford which begins, “It was a dark and stormy night.” Although many remember him as the author of The Last Days of Pompeii, others associate him with his utopian, almost fiction-like, novel, Vril; The Coming Race (1842) which is about a mysterious energy (Vril) which is used by a subterranean race, survivors of the ancient Biblical Deluge, to power their advanced civilization. Another of his works, Zanoni (1842), is a fictional account of the eternal conflict between head and heart, between wisdom and love, played out by Rosicrucians during the dramatic days of the French Revolution. Bulwer-Lytton, described Zanoni as “a truth for those who can comprehend it, and an extravagance for those who cannot.” Basically, the book indicates the sevenfold path of spiritual development and the fourth section, ‘The Dweller of the Threshold,’ is the centerpiece of the book, and reveals significant esoteric facts and experiences. He died in Torquay at the age of 69 on January 18, 1873. ….....…. And it was on May 25, 1884 that Walter Duranty was born in Liverpool, England. He has been judged by many to be one of the most controversial journalists of the 20th century. He met Aleister Crowley around 1911 At the time, although Crowley was still living in London with his Scarlet Woman, Leila Waddell, he was also having an affair with Jane Cheron, “a devotee of that great and terrible god, Opium.” Of the three, Crowley, Duranty and Cheron, all had a mutual interest in smoking opium, having homosexual sex and sharing Jane, or simply having a ménage a trois. Years later Duranty married Jane Cheron. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday May 24th 2009 – 7:20am I love great NEWS stories! The headline reads - "Passer-By Pushes Suicide Jumper" ... It seems that yesterday, a 66-year-old man named Lai Jiansheng had made his way through the police blockcade, climbed to where another man named Chen Fuchao sat; a man heavily in debt, who had been contemplating suicide on a bridge in southern China for hours which had caused traffic to be stopped in both directions. ... Upon reaching Chen, Lai smiled, greeted him with a handshake, then "pushed him off the ledge." Lai later said how he "had been fed up" with what he called Chen's "selfish activity." Man, talk about a tough crowd!
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6:05am We are coming down to the wire folks; I have posted another chapter from The Book of Lies that I'd like us all to discuss for the upcoming week; it is the 11th Chapter titled - The Glow-Worm. ... and what is a Glow-worm you ask? It is a common generic name for various different groups of insect larvae and adult bugs which glow through bioluminescence; some resembling worms, others are female fire flies, some are even beetles. Aleister Crowley's COMMENTARY on this chapter is as follows:“The Glow-Worm may perhaps be translated as “a little light in the darkness”, though there may be a subtle reference to the nature of that light. Eleven is the great number of Magick, and this chapter indicates a supreme magical method; but it is really called eleven, because of Liber Legis, I, 60. The first part of the chapter describes the universe in its highest sense, down to Tiphareth; it is the new and perfect cosmogony of Liber Legis. Chaos and Babalon are Chokmah and Binah, but they are really one; the essential unity of the supernal Triad is here insisted upon. Pan is a generic name, including this whole system of its manifested side. Those which are above the Abyss are therefore said to live in the Night of Pan; they are only reached by the annihilation of the All. Thus, the Master of the Temple lives in the Night of Pan. Now, below the Abyss, the manifested part of the Master of the temple, also reaches Samadhi, as the way of Annihilation. Paragraph 7 begins by a reflection produced by the preceding exposition. This reflection is immediately contradicted, the author being a Master of the Temple. He thereupon enters into his Samadhi, and he piles contradiction upon contradiction, and thus a higher degree of rapture, with ever sentence, until his armoury is exhausted, and, with the word Amen, he enters the supreme state.”
Liber AL vel Legis I:60 - "My number is 11, as all their numbers who are of us.
The Five Pointed Star, with a Circle in the Middle, &the circle is Red.
My colour is black to the blind, but the blue & gold are seen of the
seeing. Also I have a secret glory for them that love me."
Although not directly related to The Book of Lies topic consider this info from Achad Osher's private Commentary on The Book of the Law: - "Crowley writes that “I failed to hear a sentence, and (later on) the Scarlet Woman, invoking Aiwass, wrote in the missing words.” (Eq.of the Gods pg.119) However, in the original handwritten manuscript Crowley begins writing the sentence which he could not completely ‘hear’ as “The shape of my star is -” it then abruptly ends. Later Rose Edith Kelly, invokes Aiwass and scribbles “The Five Pointed Star, with a Circle in the Middle, &the circle is Red.” What might be confusing is that only a few pages further on in The Equinox of the Gods (pg.127) Crowley writes that; “Aiwaz is none other than mine own Holy Guardian Angel, to Whose Knowledge and Conversation I have attained, so that I have exclusive access to him.” If this is the case, that Crowley has “exclusive access to him” then how could Rose evoke him, or better yet - who was she really in communication with and is what she’s written really valid? A similar problem occurs with Chapter III:72 where Crowley “got a phrase indistinctly, and she (i.e. Rose) put it in.” (The Equinox of the Gods pg.119). ... Further, if we are to consider The Book of the Law as a sacred manuscript, Chapter Three, verse 47 clearly states, “This book shall be translated into all tongues: but always with the original in the writing of the Beast; for in the chance shape of the letters and their position to one another: in these are mysteries that no Beast shall divine.” The problem being, wouldn’t Crowley’s original handwriiten ‘beginning’ which is actually written in the manuscript with its “chance shape of the letters and their position to one another” contain the real “mysteries” as The Book of the Law would imply? A similar problem occurs with verse 26 in Chapter One." Ok, enough of Jerry's digressions and ramblings ... back to Lies!My comment: for all those bioluminescence 'fireflies' (Lampyridae), who have partaked in this exercise of meditating upon these chapters, all I can say is that you may not be functioning constantly, on a daily basis, as Magister Templi for which The Book of Lies was written but you sure as Hell are testing the depths of the water in your Ruach. And those of you who are functioning within the Lover Grade, especially when focusing deep within by meditating on these chapters, you are entering 'dangerous' waters wherein the 'Circle Squared' numbers reverse whereby you can become 'receivers' of Gnosis or the 'Dewdrops' from Above. Can any of you really say that you already knew what these chapters meant or did you have epiphanies? Never forget this process: how what you once thought each chapter meant while you resided in the flatlands, you later realized differently as a Mountaineer and then, compounded by more and more climbing, you may someday realize and come to the Understanding that each chapter stands AL-One until naught remains.About the number that Crowley attributes to The Glow-Worm or it being the 11th Chapter ... Ok, Mr. Pat Sajak, the host of The Wheel of Fortune; I spun the Wheel and for $666 I wanna pick the letter 'K' ... and then Vanna White with a big smile and a short skirt, slowly goes over to the board and reveals that the puzzle has '11' such letters in it! Ah, what does all this mean? ... Well for starters the 11th Hebrew letter is Kaph the letter 'K' and Crowley added this letter to the word 'magic' and then preferred the alternate spelling as 'magick' to differentiate it from the fraudulent practices of charlatans and stage magicians. In their Introduction to Crowley's Magick John Symonds and Kenneth Grant write: "The Anglo-Saxon k in Magick, like most of Crowley's conceits, is a means of indicating the kind of magic which he performed. K is the eleventh letter of several alphabets, and eleven is the principal number of magick, because it is the number attributed to the Qliphoth - the underworld of demonic and chaotic forces that have to be conquered before magick can be performed. K has other magical implications: it corresponds to the power or shakti aspect of creative energy, for k is the ancient Egyptian khu, the magical power. Specifically, it stands for kteis (vagina), the complement to the wand (or phallus) which is used by the Magician in certain aspects of the Great Work." ....... I might further add that the Hebrew letter K is also attributed to the Thoth card known as ... are you ready folks? The Wheel of Fortune! And at this point the crowd cheers and applauds! ... Yes, the mind of a Cancer is a terrible thing to waste. ... and I should also like to point out that Kteis is not only the Greek word for female genitalia but it is also the Greek word for a "scallop shell." ... Ah, tasty little buggers they are; sautéed in butter, or else breaded and deep fried and personally, I like them with a light semi-dry white wine ... and I should mention, scallops are tasty too! Ok, this little glow-worm has said enough; I've babbled on and on and given you enough 'light' to follow while hopefully totally confusing the Hell out of you! Hummmm, did you know that adult female glow-worms 'glow' in order to attract a male for mating; others bugs glow as a warning signal to predators like toads not to eat them as they are mildly toxic and on the other hand, the glow-worm larvae of most species glow in order to attract prey like midges into sticky snare lines to fed upon them ... ah, makes you wonder what this posting of mine is intended to do.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:00am For the history buffs: On this date in 1883 James Ingall Wedgwood, a ‘closet homosexual’, was born in England. By 1910 he had received all the degrees from two Egyptian Rites. From 33 to 94 in the Rite of Memphis, and from 33 to 90 in the Rite of Misraïm (including the 66th, which is allegedly a Bishop consecration). He already had received all the degrees to the 33th of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Cerneau from John Yarker himself, and the highest degrees of the Martinist Initiation by Theodor Reuss. He was also a member of the Theosophical Society, was the founder of The Temple of the Rosy Cross and the creator of the ludicrous co-Masonic ‘Verulam Working.’ Of all his shenanigans, none are more infamous than what caused him to be finally ‘defrocked’ and no longer allowed to publicly preach, which was his continual habit of stripping himself naked while in the pulpit. …....…. And on May 24, 1996 near Magalia, California Sheila Charles was driving her son, Shane to school when a strange monster darted out in front of the car. Swerving to avoid hitting it she lost control and had an accident. She described the creature as being about four to five feet long, generally “dog-like” but with a sleek serpentine head set on a sleder 30-inch neck. Its eyes were “reptilian” and it was covered with shaggy fur or hair. She also claimed that its hind limbs were very long, its front limbs notably shorter and that it had no tail. A driver in another car also saw the creature and witnessed the accident.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday May 23rd 2009 – 10:00am Last night's lecture at our Open House went well but after reviewing my notes today I realized that about a quarter of what I wanted to talk about, I did not bring up. This is due to an incident which needs to be discussed. ... Sadly I had to throw an older gentleman out in the middle of the talk. I am not mad, pissed at him or anything like that but I've had repeatedly told him in the past about how the A.’.A.’ is not like ‘horizontal’ schools. We teach differently. But he just doesn’t listen nor does he get it.
Anyway, as everyone knows, on ‘Lecture Nights’ I design my talk directly around specific students who are attending ... but it has always been my policy to allow outsiders to be present at these lectures .... however, our A.’.A.’., just like any ‘College’, has a rule that non-affiliated individuals must be semi-quite in order for the talk unfold to those students who ‘are’ members; they have priority. If an outsider asks a question it must be in such a way that it does not digress the over-all lecture or force the lecturer (i.e. me) to deal with subject matters to which my 'students' did not come to hear. If so, I gently try to steer the conversation back on course, if the outsider repeatedly interrupts with more questions or thoughts which I consider ‘sidetracking my initial talk’ ... then I have issues. Well folks, last night the older gentleman consistently asked one question after another which seemingly took an enormous amount of time and energy to explain. He was not clear and it was difficult to follow where he was going with his questions, or to understand what he was asking. In fact, I even lost track a few times of what I was talking about while trying to figure out what the Hell he was talking about! I have repeatedly told him in the past to ‘get to the point’ but more often than not, the point has little or nothing to do with my lecture as much as it has to due with him trying to ‘appear’ intellectual. But he’s not a member of the A.’.A.’. and these nights are not “all about him.” Often I found myself forced to listen to comments which he thought important and pertinent but he doesn’t understand that regardless if what he says is 'correct', if I feel that it digresses me off my planned talk then I must consider my students above him. Last night was the final straw. He kept getting more and more irritated every time that I kept trying to steer the lecture back on course while not dealing with ‘him’ until finally I had enough, I asked him to leave; to which I might add many of my students and attendees applauded. Yes, I threw him out.Hence the reason why I forgot to discuss certain things about The Book of Lies. I got sidetracked; let's just say 'Mercury Retrograde' and leave it at that. So, again I must remind all those who wish to attend an A.'.A.'. Clerk House; if no lecture is planned then it is more less anything goes with the topic, if a lecture has been planned and you're an outsider ... try to keep quiet. If this simple rule cannot be followed then lectures in the future will become closed to outsiders.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:15am In responce to yesterday's 1:40pm posting Miguel sent in this piece late last night:93, Br. Cornelius, I once had the opportunity to ask dream teacher and counselor Jeremy Taylor, author of several great works on dreaming and dream interpretation, what exactly a dream was. His answer was reluctantly given after having spent several weeks primarily focused on learning his interpersonal method of dream interpretation, which in some ways is similar to what we have been doing with this practice of Liber 333. Mr. Taylor's answer at that time was that a dream is "any upsurge of material from the unconscious during sleep." He further qualified the definition by stating that he felt uncomfortable providing such because it could mislead the process of interpretation. None-the-less it was the implication of the answer that struck me; the things it did not say. We all have "upsurges from the unconscious" all the time so how do we define sleep? Charles Tart, the leading researcher in altered states of consciousness of the last 30-40 years, would likely define sleep as a discrete state of consciousness(dsoc) similar to trance. Which is exactly what we are discussing here right, trance? At the very least I think we can definitively say that Crowley keeps refering to the trance known as Samadhi as a critical experience which distinguishes a particular class of mind. Crowley's comment on the Gun-Barrel notes "The formula of samadhi is the same from the lowest to the highest." Samadhi in some Indian philosophies has been categorised as having at least four manifestations: 1. Laya Samadhi: This might be likened to ecstatic joy or the trance of beatittude refered to in little essays toward truth. 2. Savikalpa Samadhi : This might be likened to Crowleys description of the trance of wonder in Little Essays. 3. Nirvikalpa Samadhi and 4. Sahaja Samadhi : These seem reflective of aspects of the trance of sorrow. I think it can be argued that these verses of liber 333 thus far have been sort of entraining the interpreter to tap into the river of samadhi, to have us recognize how the lower reflects the higher and vice versa. Study of these verses seem to be a sort of entrainment where by meditation we may attune to a mental state, or trance, similar to that from which they were created.Wish I could've made it for the open house tonight. Car is out for care. :-/ These meditation have been a great joy.93 93/93M.Reply: Good thoughts ... yes, sorry you missed last night's Open House; I rambled on and on as only a Cancer can. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:10am For the history buffs: Elias Ashmole was born on this date on Breadmarket Street in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England in 1617. He was a great antiquarian, chemist, healer and philosopher. Some sources credit him as being the first person whose name is recorded as having been made a speculative Freemason; this being on October 16, 1646, at Warrington in Lancashire. In 1675 he began to make arrangements for his scholarly book and manuscript collection, which included many manuscripts by the magician John Dee, to be handed over to Oxford University, where it was to be housed in a special museum. This building, now known as the Old Ashmolean, was completed in 1683 and became the first public museum in the British Isles. On May 18 (19?), 1692 he died in South Lambeth (virtually London). …....… and on May 23, 1734 Fraz (Friedrich) Anton Mesmer was born in Iznang auf der Höri, near Radolfzell, on the German side of Lake Constance. He studied in Vienna where he developed his theories in “animal magnetism.” He developed this into a system of treatment of psychosomatic illnesses which he termed, appropriately enough; mesmerism. However, an unsympathetic medical and scientific community called him a fraud and caused him to be expelled first from Vienna and later, in 1778, from Paris. He retired to his native Austria and into obscurity without ever realizing that modern man would consider him the father of ‘Hypnotism.’ He died on March 5, 1815 in Meersburg, Germany at the age of 85 …....… And who could forget that it was on May 23 in 1844 that the Bahai faith began after Mirza Ali Muhammed declared himself a ‘god’? …....… But more important, and along the same lines, on May 23, 1921 Aleister Crowley assumed the Oath of Ipsissimus in the AA, or 10=1. The Qabalistic sphere of Kether on the Tree of Life. …....… and speaking of Hidden Gods, Kenneth Grant was born in London, England on this date in 1924. Grady McMurtry met young Grant during World War II. He claimed to have had only fond memories of this meeting but jokingly described him as looking like a “young Bela Lugosi.” …....… And finally, on May 23, 1945 the Nazi leader Henrich Himmler who held the titles of the Reichsfuhrer of the SS, the head of the Gestapo and the Waffen-SS, as well as the Minister of the Interior, committed suicide. Aleister Crowley writes in his diary on this date, “Himmler, the Schweinhund & worse, who put Karl Germer in Concentration Camp chiefly because he was my friend! - killed himself after capture.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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