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- The Egyptian Revival, or The Ever-Coming Son in the
- Light of the Tarot
-
- By Frater Achad
-
- Transcriber's notes:
-
- The text of this electronic edition is taken from
- the Samuel Weiser printing of 1974. The work is not
- copyrighted.
-
- Due to the limitations of the medium, certain
- changes have been made from the printed edition:
-
- Text shown here in ALL CAPITALS was printed with
- an initial capital and small caps in place of
- lowercase. The remainder of Achad's highly
- idiosyncratic capitalization is shown as in the
- original.
-
- Text shown here _surrounded by underline
- characters_ was shown in italics in the Weiser edition.
-
- The diagram of Frater Achad's "Restored" Tree of
- Life is in an accompanying file titled ACHDTREE.GIF.
-
- Benjamin Rowe
-
- August 1992
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Preface
-
- This little book has been written in the spirit of
- Suggestive Inquiry, and the writing of it has led to
- many illuminating ideas in regard to the Universal
- Tradition as disclosed by the Tarot Trumps.
-
- Some months ago, I prepared a treatise entitled
- "Q. B. L. or The Bride's Reception," purporting to be a
- simple exposition of the Qabalistic Process and an
- explanation of "The Tree of Life" with its
- Correspondences according to the system I had studied
- and practiced for a number of years.
-
- While writing it I obtained some "New" ideas which
- seemed to indicate the possibility of the Restoration
- of the Order of the "Paths" to their Original form.
- These ideas I put down as they came to me, and included
- them as an Appendix to the main body of the book.
-
- Briefly, the nature of the suggested change was as
- follows: The Qabalistic Tradition of the last few
- centuries is that the "Ten Sephiroth", or "Numerical
- Emanations", were formed by the "Lightning Flash" of
- Creation, while the "Twenty-two Paths" were produced by
- the Ascent of the "Serpent of Wisdom" from Malkuth to
- Kether.
-
- The recognized Numeration of these Paths was from
- Number Eleven, transmitting the Influence from Kether
- to Chokmah, to Number Thirty-two, transmitting it from
- Yesod to Malkuth the Tenth and last Sephira.
-
- I questioned this, since the Serpent is said to
- have _Ascended_, and suggested that the Eleventh Path
- should be from Malkuth to Yesod, and so on up the Tree
- in exactly the reverse Order.
-
- Upon experimenting with this arrangement I
- discovered that although there seemed to be a decided
- improvement as regards the Paths below the Abyss, above
- it, all the symbolism became reversed and confused.
- Even so, there were some interesting combinations.
-
- The main point was, however, that the new
- arrangement of the lower Paths suggested the
- possibility of a wonderful Astrological Harmony, since
- many of them were now united with their Planetary
- Rulers, etc., in the Sephiroth.
-
- The next step was the discovery of the Symbolism
- of the Middle Pillar, when the Three Mother Letters of
- the Elements were attributed to the Three Paths which
- unite the Four Sephiroth which are in equilibrium.
- These, when placed in position, showed the Symbolism of
- the Universal Mercury under the form of a Caduceus and
- Winged Globe.
-
- I decided, therefore, to adopt this arrangement of
- the Three Elements, and to try to place the Planetary
- and Zodiacal Signs in such positions on the Tree that
- the Astrological Symbolism would be perfect.
-
- I discovered that this was possible. There was one
- variation, which, if adopted, disclosed some other
- valuable Qabalistic Symbolism in regard to "The
- Beginning". I explained this fully in the Appendix to
- Q.B.L. With my original notes left in their rough form,
- I published the complete book in a limited edition for
- Students of the Qabalah. This has met with a very good
- reception in all parts of the globe. I have received
- many encouraging letters, all of which express interest
- in the revised arrangement. The press reports have been
- favourable, and a conservative Magazine "The Occult
- Review" admits the importance of the discovery.
-
- One great Authority, however, while admitting that
- many of the ideas are brilliant, says that he cannot
- accept this Reformed Order in the face of several
- hundred years of the old tradition, and maintains that
- the previous arrangement is the correct one.
-
- While I realize that great changes in the
- recognized Systems of Initiation in certain Orders
- might be necessary if the Reformed Order of the Paths
- were adopted, and while recognizing the importance of
- the opinion of the Authority mentioned above, I still
- maintain that this New Arrangement is worthy of the
- most careful consideration and study. One would expect
- to find some reason for the arrangement of the Paths,
- and this present plan seems to me the most reasonable;
- in fact it suggests that there was an Absolute Reason
- in the Primitive Universal Tradition, though this
- became lost to view as time went on.
-
- My aim is to discover the Truth insofar as that is
- possible to man, and to uphold what seems to me most
- true, until I am convinced of error; but, to change my
- viewpoint, if necessary, as soon as more Light is given
- me. If this "New" arrangement is correct, it will prove
- itself to be so in the minds of those who study it in
- an unbiased manner. In any case it is of interest as
- one aspect of truth, and its right place may be found
- in due course. It may lead the Student to other
- important discoveries as it has in my own case. I am
- convinced that the enquiry is by no means exhausted.
-
- The Tarot Trumps, being a sort of Universal
- Alphabet, may of course be interpreted in a variety of
- ways, but I shall discuss their Symbolism when arranged
- upon the Paths of the Tree of Life according to the
- Reformed Astrological Order given in the Appendix to Q.
- B. L.
-
- If by this means we obtain "More Light on the
- Tarot Trumps" and the Universal Tradition, which
- transcends what we call Light and Darkness, becomes
- plainer to my readers, the book will not have been
- written in vain.
-
- Before discussing the matter in detail, I am
- giving a brief summary dealing with the earliest
- traditions of Mankind and their effect upon the present
- day, or the New Aeon, the Cycle of Aquarius, in which
- we are not living.
-
- I trust that this book will lead to further Light
- on the very vital issues of this present Age, and
- perhaps to a solution of some of the most perplexing
- problems.
-
- At least, I hope so.
-
- Frater Achad
-
-
-
- Chapter I
-
- Light on the Egyptian Revival
-
- The more than ordinary interest displayed by all
- classes of people in the recent discoveries connected
- with the opening of the Tomb of King Tutankhamen,
- indicates, what may be termed, an Egyptian Revival.
-
- This, to some, may appear quite unaccountable; in
- fact one of the popular writers in the daily papers has
- questioned just why the public should suddenly show
- such great interest in this particular discovery, while
- many similar ones have created little or no stir at
- all.
-
- There may be a very deep underlying reason for
- this, and in order, if possible, to discover the hidden
- causes it will be necessary for us to make a brief
- survey of the Egyptian Current of Thought from the
- earliest times to the present day.
-
- Again, we do not find the public interest centered
- alone in the treasures found in the tomb of
- Tutankhamen, but in nearly every instance reference is
- made to his immediate predecessor King Amenhatep IV, or
- to use his more familiar title King Khu-en-Aten.
-
- King Khu-en-Aten is reported to have been the
- first King to attempt the establishment of a
- Monotheistic Religion in Egypt, and the Worship of the
- Aten or Solar Disk; whereas, after his death,
- Tutankhamen is said to have re-established the old
- order and the worship of Amen-Ra in place of that of
- Aten, or perhaps more properly Atum.
-
- What was the cause of this controversy, and what
- is its bearing on the thought of the present day?
-
- One of the immediate effects of the public
- interest in these matters has been the production of a
- charming little book by Robert Silliman Hillyer
- entitled "The Coming Forth By Day". This consists in a
- number of Hymns translated from the Egyptian "Book of
- the Dead", as it was erroneously called. But the chief
- item of interest is the introduction, giving a brief
- but sympathetic outline of The Egyptian Religion, which
- ends as follows: "For the mystics of the world have
- always, under all systems, escaped beyond the externals
- of faith, and held close to the Presence enthroned in
- the inner court of the temple; the same Presence in how
- many different sorts of temple! The God who walked by
- the Nile walks also among men today; whether we call
- him Christ or Osiris, whether we see him betrayed by
- Set or Judas, he is always here, he is always betrayed.
- Osiris was not the shadow cast before by the coming of
- Christ, nor Christ a remembrance of Osiris; they are
- the same, the same significance in different syllables
- over the earth. The machinery of religion changes, but
- whatever the modern man finds in his heart, that the
- Egyptian found also; for that is not the Christian
- Religion or the Egyptian religion; it is Religion, and
- the rest is merely an attempt to name that which is
- nameless."
-
- We can hardly imagine a statement of this sort
- being made in a small, popular book a few years ago. It
- is surely a sign of the times and of the Influence of
- the Ever-coming Son, the Crowned Child, Lord of the New
- Aeon.
-
- But Mr. Hillyer does not go back far enough into
- the past to throw the most truly significant light on
- the present and future. In order that we may properly
- understand the matter, we must delve deeply into the
- remotest times; somewhat in the way Gerald Massey did
- in the "Book of Beginnings." In fact his research work
- is invaluable, but unfortunately far too lengthy and
- recondite for the popular taste.
-
- Let us then endeavor to piece together a few of
- the most vital and interesting fragments, so as to
- obtain, if possible, a bird's-eye view of the whole
- matter.
-
- The beginning of mythology with the mother and boy
- is universal, and still survives in the Virgin and
- Child of Rome. The sonship preceding the fatherhood
- represents the most ancient form of belief, and when
- recognized in that light, is found to explain many of
- the early mysteries.
-
- The first boy and his mother were called Sut-
- Typhon.
-
- Sut means "The Opener", and this may be taken in
- the physiological as well as the astrological sense.
- The Child was the opener in the sense of being born of
- the un-mated Mother. The Sun is the Opener of the Day,
- while Sut as the Star-god was considered the Opener of
- the Year with the rising of Sothis, and on his rising
- was the Great Bear cycle founded.
-
- The earliest conception of the great Mother was
- under the form of the Hippopotamus, the Devourer of the
- Waters. This led to that of the Water-Dragon, Typhon.
- But the Great Mother was She who brought forth the
- Starts, thus we find Her assuming the form of the Star-
- Goddess, Nuit of the Heavens, who is represented by a
- beautiful human form arched over the earth. Her change
- to this human form was portrayed as "Beauty and the
- Beast in one Image", and from this was the ancient
- fable derived.
-
- We find the Child described from the very earliest
- times, as of dual type, so that he became known as Sut-
- Har or Sut-Horus. Later the idea of twins arose, and
- these became the Gods of the Two Horizons. Sut the
- Opener and Horus the one who Shuts or Closes. The
- earliest phenomenal form of these twins was as darkness
- (Sut) and light (Horus).
-
- Har or Horus as the Sun was an earlier type than
- Ra who later became the principal Sun-god. Har, as the
- son of Typhon the Great Mother, became known as the
- earliest of the Pharaohs and rulers of Egypt.
-
- Primarily the word Pharaoh is derived from Har-Iu,
- which means the Coming Son of a two-fold nature, and of
- the two (Iu) houses. This, again, was Har of the Shus-
- en-Har or the Bar or Baal of the Heksus.
-
- Now the rulers of the Shus were called Heks, and
- thus we may trace the early name of the God Hak which
- is a form of Harpocrates, the God of Silence, the Babe
- upon the Lotus; who is sometimes considered to be the
- twin of Horus, and concealed within him.
-
- Har-Makhu was the Star-God of both Horizons. Sut-
- Har developed into the Solar Deity afterwards called
- Aten, or Atum. Thus we begin to see the Typhonian
- origin of the God Aten, and we shall learn from this
- something of the nature of the revival of Aten-worship
- under King Khu-en-Aten, the father-in-law of
- Tutankhamen.
-
- But we first need some further links in our chain,
- and these may be supplied as follows:
-
- As time went on there was mention of Four Suts,
- and the worship of the Mother Typhon and her son Sut
- began to fall into disrepute. A father was needed to
- account for the generation of all things, and gradually
- the idea of Tum the Old God of the Setting Sun arose,
- and he was said to be the Father of the Four Suts.
- (Thus the four Quarters were established, or perhaps
- the Equinoctial points and the Solstices). Tum then
- became known as Atum, and the Solar Fatherhood was
- established. Also the twin Lion-Gods assumed the type
- of Sut-Horus in Atum-Ra.
-
- The quarrel which rent the monuments arose on
- account of Sut-Horus (Sut as brother of the Sun) and
- the Egyptian Amen-Ra who was identified with the Greek
- Jupiter-Amen. An alliance was made between the
- Ammonians and the Osirians against the followers of
- Sut-Har, or Sutekh or Sebek, and the ancient genetrix
- Typhon.
-
- The taunt flung by the Osirians at the Sut-
- Typhonians was "Orphan", intending to brand them as
- Fatherless in a religious sense because they worshipped
- only the Mother and the Child, who became looked upon
- as the Harlot and the Bastard.
-
- This led to many unpleasant things being said on
- both sides, and we find a period when the followers of
- both forms or worship accused the others of every form
- of immoral practice.
-
- We should now take up a slightly different angle
- of the situation. Atum was the same as the first Adam
- of the Hebrews. The Rabbins taught rightly that their
- typical Adam, of the same name as the monkey Udumu, had
- carnal knowledge of every tame and wild beast that he
- could dominate, and was not satisfied until Eve was
- made for him.
-
- Atum as the Second Adam represented the first
- purely Human Deity without any animal admixture. We now
- get a glimpse of one of the reasons for the strange
- half-animal half-human types found in the ancient
- doctrines. There is another explanation of this,
- however, which will be discussed later. At the same
- time we begin to see how it was that King Khu-en-Aten,
- who revived the early traditions, had many purely human
- figures made, quite unlike the other Egyptian Images,
- and that these came to light in the recent discovery of
- the Tomb of Tutankhamen, who preserved them.
-
- We have made mention before of IU, which means
- Twin, or Dual being, male and female in one. As in the
- case of Pharaoh or Har-Iu, we again find IU as the root
- of the word Jew.
-
- So, too, we find in Iu-Sif the origin of Joseph,
- of whom more anon.
-
- We find in Unicorn, Sut the Sun and Typhon the
- genetrix, and how this type preceded the Bullock or
- Osiris.
-
- Sebek (The Crocodile) was a form of IU-Sif, as
- well as Har-Makhu and Aten of the Disk, who were each
- the Iu of the two horizons, as Son of the Mother.
-
- After the reign of King Apehpeh in Egypt, the
- religion again changed hands and there arose a "King
- who know not Joseph" i.e. who did not worship IU-Sif or
- the Coming Son.
-
- IU, as the Genetrix, became IU-Pater or Jupiter;
- and IU the Son who Comes, became IU-Sus, or Jesus. The
- Ever Coming Son was the prototype of the Wandering Jew,
- originally a symbol of Eternal Youth.
-
- If there is any historical Joseph to be found in
- the monuments he is Aiu. He was a protΘgΘ of Amenhetep
- III.
-
- This King was of the Black Aethiopian type, son of
- a black mother, but he married a fair wife. He was the
- father of Amenhatep IV, who changed his name of Khu-en-
- Aten, or the Adorer of Aten. Amenhatep the IV's nurse
- was the wife of Joseph. On account of his parentage,
- Amenhatep IV was probably of a Reddish type, and the
- Aten whose worship he adopted was the Red Disk of the
- Sun. He may, however, have obtained a glimpse of the
- Concealed Father or Sun behind the Sun, and thus
- recognized that in one sense the old Sut-Typhonian
- tradition was nearer the truth than the prevalent
- worship of Atum Ra, or Amen Ra. He was of course
- misunderstood, most people thinking he had gone back to
- a dark and despised tradition. I shall endeavor to
- show, later on, how this confusion arose. We must
- remember that Atum was born as Horus or IU, child of
- the Mother and afterwards developed into Atum-Ra as God
- the Father. Hence he became the make of the Gods and
- men, the Begetter who succeeded his father Ptah. Atum
- means "Created Man" or Adam.
-
- When the human soul had come to be considered as
- derived from the Essence of the Male instead of the
- Blood of the Female, the woman was naturally said to be
- derived from the man, as she is in the second of the
- Hebrew Creations described in Genesis. A soul derived
- from Atum was dual in sex. The soul was divided into
- Adam and Eve, the typical two sexes of the Hebrew
- legend.
-
- Again it is recorded "When Horus had fulfilled the
- period of 2155 years with the Easter Equinox in the
- Sign of Aries, the birthplace passed into the Sign of
- Pisces, when the Ever-Coming One, the Renewer as the
- Eternal Child who had been brought forth as a Lion in
- Leo, a Beetle in Cancer, as one of the Twins in Gemini,
- as a calf in the Sign of the Bull, and a Lamb in the
- Sign of the Ram, was destined to manifest as the Fish,
- in the Sign of the Fishes. The rebirth of Atum-Horus,
- or Jesus, as the Fish Iusaas, and the Bread of
- Nephthys, was astronomically dated to occur in Beth-
- Lechem -- the House of Bread -- about 255 B.C., at the
- time the Easter Equinox entered the Sign of Pisces, the
- house of Corn and Bread."
-
- There had been a time when the two birthdays
- assigned to Horus of the Double Horizon, were allotted
- to the Child Horus in the Autumn, and to the Adult
- Horus at the Vernal Equinox; but when the Solstices
- were added to the Equinoxes, in the new creation of the
- Four Quarters established by Ptah for his Son Atum-Ra,
- there was a further change. The place of Birth for the
- Elder, the mortal Horus who was born of the Virgin
- Mother, now occurred in the Winter Solstice, and the
- place of Birth for Horus the Eternal Son was celebrated
- at the Vernal Equinox, with only three months between
- the two instead of six.
-
- As above stated, the Entry of Horus into the Sign
- of Pisces occurred 255 B.C., and another period 2155
- years added to this, brings us down to the year 1900
- E.V. at which time Horus should astronomically be
- expected to appear in Aquarius. This is a purely Human
- Sign, the Sign of MAN, the Water-bearer or Bearer of
- the Waters of Life in his own person.
-
- In the year 1904 the Law for the New Aeon was
- received by one of the Adepts, and the reign of Horus
- duly proclaimed as Ra-Hoor-Khuit.
-
- Since then many changes have occurred on the
- earth, and few can fail to recognize the coming of
- Horus in one of his aspects as the Avenger of his
- Father Osiris, so plainly manifested in the great World
- War, and in other ways. But Harpocrates, his twin, is
- hidden within Him, and we may look for the Crowned
- Child to be born in every Heart, during the Coming
- Period.
-
- I have given this brief sketch, which is not by
- any manner of means complete, in order to prepare the
- mind of the reader for the explanation of the Universal
- Alphabet of the Book of Thoth, or the Tarot Trumps, in
- relation to their proper Paths on "The Tree of Life" of
- the Ancient Qabalah, as reformulated in my book Q. B.
- L.
-
- I shall hope to show by this means that there is a
- still deeper meaning under all these things, that the
- Universal Tradition, long lost, may be revived to our
- great advantage in understanding not alone the Past,
- but the Present Period of the History of Mankind on
- this Planet.
-
- But I shall first supply those who are unfamiliar
- with these ideas, with "The Essence of the Practical
- Qabalah," and even those who have read "Q. B. L." will
- do well to refresh their memories by a study of the
- brief outline which follows.
-
-
-
- Chapter II
-
- The Essence of the Practical Qabalah
-
- It is not our intention that this chapter should
- represent a complete exposition of the Mysteries of the
- Holy Qabalah, but rather to give a brief outline of
- some of the principal doctrines which may lead the
- Student to a clearer conception of the value of the
- Qabalistic System as a method of drawing the Infinite
- within.
-
- The Plan of the Ten Sephiroth, or Numerical
- Emanations, forms the basis of the Work, for, by
- erecting upon this foundation the scaffolding of our
- Temple, we may learn to restore our lost Equilibrium,
- thus canceling out the "Pairs of Opposites" which
- ordinarily obsess us.
-
- Briefly, this process may be described as follows:
- Prior to any manifestation, the Supreme was NOT. This
- being inconceivable, may yet be slightly apprehended if
- we consider the Air Suph or Infinite Space, followed by
- the potential existence of Infinite Light.
-
- Only when we conceive this Infinite Light as
- concentrated upon a Central Point, does the first
- positive Idea arise. This Concentrated Light is called
- Kether -- The Crown -- the First Sephira. From this all
- else proceeds very much in the same way that Light may
- be broken up into the Colors of the Spectrum.
-
- The next highest Idea is that of Wisdom,
- represented by Chokmah, the Second Sephira or
- Emanation. This is equivalent to the idea of the Logos,
- the Word of Creation which was in the Beginning with
- God and which was God. This is the great Creative Word
- -- the Divine Fiat -- and represents the Highest
- Intelligence of the Archetypal World.
-
- Next, co-equal with Wisdom, is Understanding,
- Binah the Third Sephira, the Highest Intuition which is
- capable of interpreting the Word correctly and of
- transmitting It to the lower Spheres. This is the
- Creative World of the Qabalah, the Great Mother
- Substance, energized by the Divine Will and Life.
-
- These Three -- Light, Life, and Substance -- are
- the Supernal Triad, One and Indivisible. For Life is
- the substance of Light and the Second and Third
- Sephiroth are but aspects of the Living Substance which
- is Light Itself.
-
- Next we come to the Formative World, composed of
- the following Six Emanations:
-
- Chesed or Mercy, balanced by Geburah or Severity
- and forming thus Two Great Pillars which support the
- Arch of the Trinity. These balanced Ideas are
- harmonized in a third, the Sixth Sephira -- Tiphereth -
- - which equilibrates them and is Itself called Beauty
- or Harmony. Following this we find the triad of
- Victory, Netzach, the Seventh Sephira; balanced by
- Splendor, Hod, the Eighth Sephira; and equilibrated by
- the Foundation, Yesod, the Ninth Sephira.
-
- All the above are summed up in the Material World,
- the Tenth Sephira which is called Malkuth or The
- Kingdom. This sphere is pendant to the others; it is in
- reality One with Kether for all proceedeth from the One
- and is within the One. Yet in order that we may learn
- to comprehend the Nature of Unity, we must first
- contemplate the diverse and apparently complex. The
- limitations of Time, Space and Circumstance make this
- necessary to us at our present state of development.
-
- But the ideal before us is to return to the Pure
- Conception of Unity, thus ridding ourselves of the
- Illusion of duality and accomplishing what is called
- The Great Work.
-
- Had the Qabalistic Plan ended with the production
- of Malkuth the Kingdom or Material Universe, we should
- have been forced to admit that the creative process was
- one of degeneration. And so it Must appear to us from
- our limited viewpoint, until we have learned the Plan
- of Redemption and profited by it.
-
- Chokmah, Wisdom or the Higher Will, is called The
- Father; Binah, Understanding or Intuition, represents
- the Great Mother; the next Six Sephiroth are centered
- in Tiphereth, The Son, and represent the Intellect;
- while Malkuth, The Kingdom or Animal Soul which
- perceives and feels, is called The Daughter.
-
- The Daughter must marry the Son and so become the
- Mother, true mate of the Father, before all is re-
- absorbed into the Crown of Light. In other words, by
- means of Intellect we may control our animal nature and
- eventually Understand through Intuition, which in turn
- is capable of receiving the Wisdom of the Father and
- thus making us true representatives of God upon Earth
- capable of doing His Will as it is done in Heaven.
-
- The Qabalists further postulate a series of Graded
- Intelligences higher than Man. These are the Celestial
- Intelligences, the rulers of the Sephiroth. They
- reflect and re-produce the Divine Ideas, and also
- actively transmit them for the illumination of man and
- the control of Nature. Thus each is in itself both
- active and passive.
-
- The Human reason is also active and passive. The
- reason proper is the active aspect, the passive side is
- usually termed intuition. This intuition is capable of
- absorbing truth from above and below. The active reason
- is capable of forming a thesis, antithesis, or
- synthesis in regard to the truths presented to it by
- the intuition.
-
- The Nature-reason is to be found in the
- intelligibility and order of all natural things,
- according to their form and the material of which they
- are composed.
-
- All corporeal things may be said to have a three-
- fold existence. They exist as Ideas in the Mind of the
- Logos. Materially they exist in themselves, and
- Spiritually in the minds of Created Intelligences. It
- is important that we should grasp this three-fold idea
- of existence, as it makes many things clear that would
- otherwise be obscure to us.
-
- If, for instance, we perceive a table, we should
- remember that since we are of the Order of Created
- Intelligences, the table exists Spiritually in us. What
- a table is in itself we do not know. Nor are we able to
- comprehend with certainty its Nature as an Idea in the
- Mind of the Logos.
-
- Thus things may appear imperfect to us, while in
- truth they are perfect but for our limited idea of
- their nature.
-
- The Great Work consists in correcting our
- distorted vision, thus making us capable of perceiving
- all things in the White Light of Truth, unrestricted by
- the limitations of our narrow outlook.
-
- This may only be accomplished by our obtaining
- what may be termed a world-view or vision, free from
- distortion. The aim of all the Great Teachings is to
- give us such a view of the whole Creation, so that we
- shall be enabled to cooperate consciously in the
- fulfillment of the Divine Purpose.
-
- Every Celestial Intelligence is said to be
- interiorly united with all things and to contain them
- in a spiritual manner. Thus the Great Work is to unite
- the Microcosm with the Macrocosm.
-
- It is also said that every mundane intelligence is
- capable of taking all things into itself in a spiritual
- manner, and that in proportion to the extent to which
- this is accomplished does it become one with them. Here
- we have the key to the use of "The Tree of Life" or
- Qabalistic Plan of the Sephiroth and Celestial
- Intelligences. As we travel up the "Paths" of this
- "Tree" we must gradually absorb and so become One with
- all things in the universe in a spiritual manner. This
- must be accomplished by gradual steps, represented by
- the Grades of the Great Order. Each step taken must be
- fully mastered, ere we proceed to the next.
-
- We must learn to balance and equilibrate all
- things as we go, for there may be no false summits in
- our Mystic Pyramid, nor missing spokes in the Great
- Wheel.
-
- The Daughter, the nature-will, must be united to
- the Son, the personal-will which makes man more than
- mere animal, and gives him the power of choice. What is
- more, the Intellect -- or Son -- is naturally above
- Time and Space and is capable of containing time and
- space and all that is within time and space.
-
- Thus, by means of Dhyana, does the Mystic
- transcend these limitations and becoming one with them
- absorbs them into himself. But the little "self" is no
- more, for he comprehends the nature of the Higher Self
- or Holy Guardian Angel. This is what is meant by the
- destruction of the ego; not a lessening of the
- conception of self but a recognition of the Nature of
- Self in its wider aspect.
-
- The little self sees Nature as extremely complex;
- there are so many things to know that the task seems
- endless and impossible. The Qabalah teaches us to group
- all ideas according to their fundamental nature and
- correspondences, thus as we proceed, we are able to
- know a greater and greater number of things in the
- light of a smaller and smaller number of ultimate
- ideas. The thirty-two Paths of Wisdom enable us to
- classify all things in the universe in terms of thirty-
- two; from that we go on reducing our ultimate ideas and
- increasing the field they cover, until Unity is
- reached.
-
- The formula of 5 = 6 (that of the Adeptus Minor in
- Tiphereth) is represented by the Pentagram and the
- Hexagram. Man, the Microcosm is symbolized by the
- Pentagram composed of the Four Elements Crowned by
- Spirit. The Solar System is summed up in the Hexagram
- with its Planetary Correspondences, and this represents
- the Macrocosm.
-
- Man must learn to draw the Macrocosm into himself,
- to absorb spiritually the Ideas represented by the
- Planetary and Solar Intelligences; thus may this part
- of the Work be accomplished. He obtains the Knowledge
- and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel or Higher
- Self. Beyond this, again, is the great Star Universe,
- wherein every man and every woman is a Star. He must
- absorb the Ideas of this Sphere, and at the same time
- recognize that every atom is a star in his own being.
- Thus at last will he come to Understanding, the Throne
- of the Great Mother.
-
- Then will he, who is called Nemo, absorb the
- Wisdom of the Father, the Logos, so that in turn he may
- not only Understand but Will and Create according to
- the Divine Plan. He will then become Illumined by the
- One Light of the Crown upon his head; yet this, too, he
- must absorb so that Selflessness becometh Self and the
- Final stage of the Solve formula of the Great Work is
- accomplished. This Light must then penetrate deeper and
- deeper into Matter till the Plan of Creation is
- fulfilled.
-
- Remember these words: Things exist because God
- knows them. Man knows things because they exist.
-
- And again: Man ascends from things to ideas; God
- descends from Ideas to things.
-
- Thus ye have the keys of the Great Gateway in your
- hands.
-
- Now it is well that we should consider once again
- the very essence of the Qabalistic Process and the
- nature of its mystery of Number as the basis of all
- ideas.
-
- If we can succeed in reducing our ideas to a
- numerical basis, we are better able to deal with them
- and to bring them back to Unity.
-
- The Ten Sephiroth give us a basis of the decimal
- scale for all our main Ideas, which must be grouped
- accordingly. The Twenty-two connecting Paths, based on
- the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which is itself
- numerical, enable us to link these ideas and to travel
- from one set to another with perfect ease and
- certainty. The Plan of the Four Worlds, The Archetypal,
- The Creative, The Formative, and The Material, enables
- us to increase the number of things known by
- considering the Sephiroth and Paths as existing in all
- of these simultaneously, yet at the same time to
- classify all Elemental ideas in terms of Four. These,
- crowned by Spirit, make the true Microcosm, Man the
- Pentagram. Our main Universal Ideas are to be summed up
- in the Hexagram as before said. Unite the Pentagram
- and Hexagram and an Eleven-pointed Star give us the Key
- of the Aeon with its Word Abrahadabra as our Magick
- Formula. Thus we unite with the Word, the Logos, and
- finally with the Divine Breath which produced It.
-
- Remember again the Qabalistic means of reducing
- all Words to their Numerical basis. For in Hebrew every
- word is also a number. Thus we may discover the Word
- and Number of our own being, and our place in the
- Creative Scheme. The correspondences between words of a
- similar numerical value will help us to form Galaxies
- of Stars, which are men and women, traveling in groups
- in a common direction, without friction, each in his
- proper orbit. Thus shall we come to comprehend the
- Mystery of the Starry Heaven, the Body of Our Lady
- Nuit. For as every atom in our bodies is itself a
- little solar system, so are we in the Body of the
- Mother of Heaven, and She is energized by the Invisible
- Point which is Not, yet which is the Life of All.
-
- Remember too: The more universal ideas and reasons
- to which we attain, the nearer we approach to thinking
- the God Thought, which is the universe itself. There is
- but One true Thought, the ultimate Thought which is All
- Things. Normally, that which can be thought is not
- true, as the Hindus tell us, for until we reach the
- Smooth Point all things are but relative, and so is
- truth.
-
- But: The Highest Reason, which is in God and which
- is God, is absolutely ONE. God knows all things by One
- Idea, which is identical with His Being.
-
-
-
- Chapter III
-
- More Light on the Tarot Trumps
-
- In the Appendix to "Q. B. L. or The Bride's
- Reception" I have shown the possibility of arranging
- the Twenty-two Trumps of the Tarot on the Paths of the
- Tree of Life so that the Astrological Attributions are
- in perfect order, and I shall now trace out the
- Symbolism of the Cards themselves, and attempt to show
- that this arrangement is the Original one, long lost in
- the mists of antiquity.
-
- The Diagram of the Tree of Life, with its
- attributions according to this re-arrangement, forms
- the basis of our present study.
-
- Kether, The Crown of Light, is called AHIH or
- Eheieh which means Pure Being, that which Is, prior to
- "existence" or the "standing out" or "coming forth" of
- the manifested Universe. It is also call The Concealed
- of the Concealed, and the Supreme and Concealed One
- which is therefore Amoun. In Egyptian the hieroglyphic
- is two feathers, which represent AA. From this we
- obtain the idea of The One First and the One Last,
- similar to Alpha and Omega. This sign also represents
- the inherent idea of possible duality, or the apparent
- duplication of the One. But again it may be translated
- IU and is therefore the Root of "The Ever Coming One"
- of a dual nature. From this idea sprang that of IU-
- Pater or Jupiter as the Father, and Io, the root of
- Jove or Jehovah, which also symbolizes the Number Ten,
- or the Ten Sephiroth inherent in the Being of the One.
-
- Kether is also called the Sphere of the Primum
- Mobile, the First Whirling Motion. It represents the
- Living Substance; being potentially both Life and
- Substance in the Pure form of Light.
-
- From Kether proceed the Ideas of the Father,
- Mother, and Holy Spirit or Son.
-
- The First ray produced Yod, in Chokmah, the next
- He in Binah, and the third Vau in Tiphereth, and from
- this proceeded the final He, the Daughter, in Malkuth.
-
- On the Path from Kether to Chokmah is the Tarot
- Trump called "The Wheel of Fortune," the Key of Destiny
- which is one with the True Will, and also, some say,
- with Chance. This is the Card of Iu-Pater, Jupiter the
- Father, and it symbolizes the Great Wheel of Life; the
- Whirling Forces of the Primum Mobile, which resulted in
- a System of Revolving Orbs, the Star Universe or Sphere
- of the Zodiac, in Chokmah.
-
- This Card depicts the Three Principles of Alchemy,
- Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt; the Three Gunas, Satva,
- Rajas and Tamas; the three forms of Force, Radiation,
- Conduction and Convection; the States of Peace,
- Activity, and Sloth. These are symbolized by the
- Sphinx, Hermanubis and Typhon upon the rim of the
- Wheel; while the "Centrum in Centri Trigono" is
- concealed within.
-
- This Life Force is active in the One Substance,
- which becomes differentiated into the Four Elements as
- symbolized by the Four Cherubic Beasts at the Corners
- or the Card. Also this is the birth of Tetragrammaton,
- the Word of the Elements, coming into Existence, or
- Becoming, as shown by the Letters Yod, He, Vau, He on
- the Wheel. On this we also find the letters Taro or
- Rota and the suggestion of the Beginning of Law as
- Thora.
-
- This Ray of Light is the Essence of Wisdom, the
- Higher Will or Purpose of the Universe, and as the Star
- Universe this becomes apparent in Chokmah, the Sphere
- of the Zodiac, the Second Sephira. It is the root of
- the Jupiter-Amoun Tradition of the Fatherhood of God as
- a Supreme and Concealed Force, which on that account
- was little comprehended by those who accepted the
- Tradition of a Mother and Son, with the Son preceding
- the Father.
-
- This Ray is the Essence of Light, but it becomes
- represented in Chokmah as Grey, a mixture of colors
- which partially concealed the Supreme Essence, thus
- causing the Root of Duality. From this Path cometh the
- Tradition of the Light as the Word or Logos, who was in
- the Beginning with God and who was God.
-
- The Path from Kether to Binah is attributed to the
- Trump called "The Universe" corresponding to Saturn,
- Kronus, or Time. This represents the early tradition of
- SUT, who later became identified with Set or Satan.
- Here we have the beginning of the Tradition of the
- Fatherless Child and the Mother, the Sut-Typhonian
- Mystery, as we shall see more clearly later on.
-
- The Card shows a Female Figure as the Mother of
- All Things, but this conceals a figure of Dual-Sex, or
- the Idea of the Two-Sexed Son, which afterwards became
- the Twin Horus, and later the Two figures Sut-Horus, as
- Darkness and Light, and the Two Horizons. The Ellipse
- shows the beginning of the Time Cycle, for Saturn or
- Kronus was the Devourer of his Children, the Hours. It
- also indicates how the Gods, the Tellers of Time, were
- to be born from the Elementaries or Elements, under
- which form the earliest ideas of the gods existed. The
- Card indicates the essential natures of the Four
- Elements in the Undifferentiated Substance from which
- they proceeded; or in the Womb of Time. The Four Beasts
- at the corners again show this clearly, and the Card
- itself is called "The Great One of the Night of Time."
- In this Path "The Light shineth in Darkness but the
- Darkness comprehendeth it not," for the Children of
- Time know not the mystery of the Here and Now.
-
- This Card is the synthesis of the Elemental
- Forces; the Figure in the center directs the Positive
- and Negative Currents. It is attributed to Saturn and
- symbolizes the Influence from the Crown which resulted
- in the formation of the Sphere of Saturn or the Sephira
- Binah, the Great Mother. The early tradition connected
- the idea of the Great Mother with Typhon the Mother of
- Sut.
-
- Binah is the Sphere of the Substance of all
- things, and it balances that of Chokmah wherein is
- concentrated the Life Force. Together they represent
- Living-Substance, the Father-Mother from which all
- proceeds.
-
- Binah is also called The Great Sea. All is said to
- have been produced from Water brooded over by Spirit.
-
- Uniting Chokmah and Binah we find the Path
- attributed to "The Star" and the Sign Aquarius. This
- Sign is Ruled by Saturn, and it will be noticed that it
- is connected with that Sphere. But it also represents
- the mystery of the Star Universe, which symbolism is
- derived from Chokmah.
-
- The old G.D. Ritual (although attributing this
- card to the wrong Path, as in the old order) states:
- "This Key represents a Star with seven principal and
- fourteen secondary rays, altogether twenty-one, the
- number of the Divine Name AHIH. (Notice AHIH is the
- Divine Name of Kether immediately above.) In the
- Egyptian sense it is Sirius, the Dog-Star, the Star of
- Isis-Sothis. Around it are the seven planets. The nude
- figure is the symbol of Isis, Nepthys, and Hathoor. She
- is Aima, Binah, and Tebunah, the Great Supernal Mother
- Aima Elohim pouring upon Earth the Waters of Creation.
- In this Key she is completely unveiled. The two urns
- contain the influence of Chokmah and Binah. On the
- Right springs the Tree of Life, on the Left the
- Knowledge of Good and Evil, whereon the bird of Hermes
- alights, therefore the Key represents the restored
- world."
-
- This symbolism is so clear according to the
- Restored World Plan of the Paths that it would seem to
- need little comment. But there is much more that might
- be said.
-
- The earliest calculation of Time centered in the
- revolution of the Serpent round the Dog Star. The First
- Mother is said to have given birth to the Seven
- Elementaries, who became the Seven Gods or Planetary
- Intelligences, the tellers of Time. I may go into this
- aspect more fully later on.
-
- I have purposely made no mention of the Path from
- Kether to Tiphereth, as this will be better understood
- if we first deal with those from Chokmah to Tiphereth,
- and from Binah to Tiphereth.
-
- According to the Tarot Keys these are "The Sun"
- and "The Devil"; the twins of Light and Darkness.
-
- The Card of "The Sun" represents the Influence of
- Chokmah or the Star Universe upon Tiphereth. The old
- G.D. description may again be quoted, but how different
- it appears when the card is in its proper place. "The
- Sun has twelve principal rays which represent the
- Zodiac (Chokmah), these are divided into 36 Decanates,
- and again into seventy-two Quinaries. Thus the Sun
- itself embraces the whole Creation in its rays. The
- Seven Hebrew Yods falling through the Air refer to the
- Solar Influence descending. The Two Children, standing
- respectively upon Water and Earth, represent the
- Generating influence of both, brought into action by
- the Rays of the Sun. They are the two inferior and
- passive elements, as the Sun and Air above them are the
- superior and active elements of Fire and Air.
- Furthermore these two Children resemble the Sign of
- Gemini."
-
- Now, if we place the "Key" in position on its
- proper Path, glancing for a moment at the complete
- diagram of the Paths, we shall be able to draw some
- further conclusions.
-
- The Sun, as a Star from the Sphere of Chokmah, is
- seen descending to take up his Office in Tiphereth, as
- the Son of the Father. The symbolism of the Sun shows
- the corrected division of Time according to the
- Precession of the Equinoxes, viz.: the Osirian
- calculation of the 365 1/4 days in the Year, instead of
- 365 according to the Sut-Typhonians whose calculations
- were made by the Dog-Star. Gerald Massey states "There
- is an Egyptian legend which relates how Osiris in the
- 365th year of his reign came from Nubia accompanied by
- Horus to chase the Sut-Typhonians out of Egypt. By this
- we may understand that the perfect Solar Year of 365
- 1/4 days was made to supersede the Sun and Sirius Year
- of 365 days. In the battle for supremacy Horus was
- aided by Taht, the Lord of the luni-solar reckonings."
-
- The two Children, or Twins, represent the twin
- theories, and also the Horus Twins, and the Two
- Traditions, which resolve themselves in Tiphereth.
-
- Also the Wall of Red with its Blue Top represents
- the Barrier and the Waters of Death. The Path
- attributed to the Key "Death" is that from Chesed to
- Geburah, and it crosses this Path of "The Sun." Again
- the Twins appear on the Path of Gemini, which runs from
- Tiphereth to Hod.
-
- Rider's Pack shows a different symbolism. The Sun
- and Wall appear as before, but the Twins are replaced
- by a Child on a White Horse. This is the Crowned Child,
- the Son of the Sun, who has overcome Death and is the
- ruler of this Aeon.
-
- Chokmah is the Root of Fire and this Card is
- called "The Lord of the Fire of the World" showing the
- Sun as representative of the Star Universe while ruling
- the World or Malkuth the Tenth Sephira.
-
- This is the Path of the Tradition of Light.
-
- We may now examine the Path from Binah to
- Tiphereth which is represented by "The Devil" and the
- Sign of Capricorn which is ruled by Saturn from whose
- Sphere it springs.
-
- This Key is called "The Lord of the Gates of
- Matter, the Child of the Forces of Time," and it
- represents the Birth of Matter from the Great Sea, or
- Mother, the One Substance. This is the Way of the
- Children of Time, Saturn or Kronus. It is the Path of
- the Tradition of Darkness, the twin-brother of Light,
- of Lucifer, the Satanic Saviour who Fell from Heaven.
- This gave birth to the idea of the Sun as the Devil or
- Satan, for it represents the Sun in his material
- aspect, the Red Disk of Atum.
-
- The Key shows the Twins chained by Time, while
- those of the "Sun" Card are Free, since they receive
- the influence of the Divine Will from Chokmah. The
- Italian Pack clearly shows The Devil standing upon the
- Sun, and so does Levi. This is the Card of Ayin, the
- Eye. It represents the Eye doctrine rather than that of
- the Head or Heart. The Sut-Typhonian calculation of
- Time was incorrect in representing the Year by 365
- days.
-
- Notice in this card there is also a Wall, but the
- color symbolism is reversed. This again indicates the
- Wall of "Death" whose path this one crosses in the same
- manner as that of the Sun on the opposite side of the
- Tree.
-
- This Path of "The Devil" represents the Sut-
- Typhonian tradition of Set or Satan, as its ruler was
- afterwards called. The Path of "The Sun" represents the
- tradition of the Jupiter-Ammonians with Horus as its
- ruler. Horus of the Star is the reconciler between
- them.
-
- Both the traditions of Light and Darkness as
- opposed to each other sprang from the Primal Idea of
- the Pure Spiritual Light of The Ever Coming Son, IU,
- the Holy Child of Kether. So we may now examine the
- Path from Kether to Tiphereth, that of the Influence of
- the Supreme and Concealed Father of All becoming
- Manifested in the Son in whom Glory and Suffering are
- identical.
-
- This, by Tarot, is the Card called "Judgment"
- attributed to the Letter Shin, the true Fire of the
- Spirit, and the progenitor of the Sun behind the Sun.
- This is the equilibrated Triple Flame of the Supreme
- Godhead, the Winged Globe of the Three Supernals, the
- Head of the Staff of the Universal Mercury, the
- Absolute Reason of All Things.
-
- The Influence of this Path causes the Dead to rise
- from their tombs in the Resurrection of the pure Spirit
- and the Regeneration of Matter. It passes through the
- Path of "The Star" as the Child of Chokmah and Binah
- which overcomes Death. It is the Path of the Ever-
- living One coming into Manifestation, it represents the
- Absolute and Universal Tradition of the Golden Age. "It
- is called the Card of Perpetual Intelligence because it
- _regulateth_ the motions of the Sun and Moon (Tiphereth
- and Yesod) in their proper Order, each in an orbit
- convenient to it" (Sepher Yetzirah).
-
- The Paths of "The Sun" and "Devil" merely suggest
- man's attempts to discover the true Motions and Order
- of the Universe, and to translate them into Time. This
- Path _actually regulates these motions_, therefore
- suggests, perhaps, the true calculation of the Course
- of the whole Solar System round the invisible Center of
- All.
-
- It is said in the Old G.D. Ritual: "This card is a
- glyph of the powers of fire. The Angel crowned with the
- Sun is Michael, the Ruler of the Solar Fire. The
- Serpents which leap in the Rainbow are symbols of the
- Fiery Seraphim. The Trumpet represents the influence of
- the Spirit descending upon Binah (this according to my
- opinion should be Tiphereth), the Banner and Cross
- refer to the rivers of Paradise."
-
- But in this Card we are able to trace the
- symbolism of the Divine Breath of Kether, not
- whispering the Work in Chokmah, but coming to us
- through the Trumpet of the Sun, ever proclaiming the
- Brightness of the Lord and Giver of Life to all men.
-
- And this Trumpet is the Horn that is exhalted for
- ever. The Path combines the Mysteries of the Death and
- Resurrection as shown in "The Sun"; and the Erection
- and Re-erection of "The Devil" with the Generation and
- Regeneration of the Spirit.
-
- As shown in "Q. B. L.," Shin represents the Roots
- of the Elements, the essences of Kether, Chokmah and
- Binah, concentrated in Tiphereth. It also represents
- "Number," the first of the Three Creative Sepharim of
- the Sepher Yetzirah.
-
- Having dealt with the most direct influences
- descending upon Tiphereth, and we must next consider
- the supporting Pillars and the indirect influences
- through Chesed and Geburah.
-
- Let us take the Path from Chokmah to Chesed, and
- then follow the one from Chesed to Tiphereth, thus
- completing the Right side first.
-
- The Key to the Influence between Chokmah and
- Chesed is called "Temperance" and is attributed to the
- Sign Sagittarius. A Figure is seen pouring fluid from
- one urn to another. It represents "Preservation," as
- opposed to the "Destruction" of the Path of the
- "Blasted Tower" on the opposite side, while the
- equilibrated Path in the Center is that of "Creation"
- and "Regeneration" as before noticed.
-
- Sagittarius is the Sign symbolized by the Archer
- who is half man, half horse. The Horse is said to be
- the gift to man of the Goddess of Wisdom, viz.:
- Chokmah. This Sign is Ruled by Jupiter and it receives
- the Influence of the Path of IU-Pater through Chokmah.
- It is also connected directly with the Sphere of
- Jupiter or Chesed. This gives us some indication of the
- dual-symbolism of the Forces of Life in the two Urns
- held by the figure on the Card. We may also glimpse
- some idea of the Ascending and Descending Arrows of the
- AA or IU. Again we have the ascent and descent of the
- Wheel of Life or Zodiac which revolves, so to speak, as
- Chokmah, between the two Jupiterial influences.
-
- The Figure is clothed in Red and Blue, for Chokmah
- is the "Root of Fire" and Chesed the "Sphere of Water."
- It stands on Water, or Chesed, but the Robe immediately
- above the Water is Red, for Sagittarius is a Fiery
- Sign.
-
- In Rider's Pack we actually see a "Path and a Sun"
- to the left of the Figure, just where the Path of the
- Sun comes in this arrangement. The Sign of Fire is on
- the Breast of the Figure, above which is faintly seen
- the Hebrew IHVH, the Word of the Father, Chokmah.
-
- Chesed is the Sephira of Mercy (opposed to that of
- Severity, Geburah) and also that of Authority for it
- Transmits or reflects the Word of the Father or Logos.
-
- The Path from Chesed to Tiphereth is that of "The
- Moon" by Tarot and is attributed to the Sign of Pisces,
- which in turn is Ruled by Jupiter. Through this Path
- came the Piscean Tradition of the Fish-God, another
- aspect of Horus as the Solar Deity or Son.
-
- The Card itself is described in the old G.D.
- Ritual as follows (we should place the card in position
- on the Tree and study the symbolism carefully):
-
- "It represents the Moon in its increase in the
- side of Gedulah (Chesed), it has sixteen principal and
- sixteen secondary rays. Four Hebrew Yods fall from it
- (4 = Chesed the representative of the Law of the
- Father). There are two Watchtowers, Two Dogs and a
- Crayfish. The Four Yods represent the letters of the
- Holy Name (transmitted from the breast of the Figure of
- Temperance). The Crayfish is emblem of the Sun
- (Tiphereth) below the horizon, as he ever is when the
- Moon is increasing above."
-
- As we shall see later the Path of the "Sun" is
- that of the Setting Sun. The Moon God was known as
- "Sin" whose word is restriction, and this has been
- characteristic of the Piscean Age just passed. The true
- tradition of the Sun became clouded in that age.
-
- The Moon transmits some Light even if it is but a
- reflector of the Sun. The Word of Sin being
- Restriction, we may notice how the influence of
- "Preservation" became that of "Repression" which is but
- a partial understanding of the idea.
-
- On the other hand, we should next study the Path
- from Binah to Geburah and then the one from Geburah to
- Tiphereth. These represent the opposite tradition of
- Over Indulgence, or "Destruction" through Waste of
- Life.
-
- The Path from Binah, the Primal Mother, to Geburah
- the Sphere of Mars, is by Tarot "The Blasted Tower" and
- it is attributed to the Planet Mars. Here we see
- another aspect of Horus as the God of War and
- Vengeance.
-
- The G.D. Ritual says: "It represents a Tower
- struck by a lightning flash proceeding from a rayed
- circle and terminating in a triangle. It is the Tower
- of Babel. The flash exactly forms the Astronomical
- Symbol of Mars. It is the power of the Triad
- (concentrated in Binah, 3) rushing down and destroying
- the Column of Darkness (the Pillar of Severity, also
- the Dark Tradition). The men falling from the Tower
- represent the fall of the Kings of Edom."
-
- "On the Right Hand side of the Tower is Light and
- the representation of the Tree of Life by Ten Circles,
- on the Left Hand is Darkness, and eleven Circles
- symbolizing the Qliphoth."
-
- Here the tradition of Light and Darkness is
- clearly indicated. The fall of the Tower of Babel
- resulted in the loss of the Universal Language, since
- when confusion has prevailed. The Sons of Darkness for
- a time retrogressed, while the followers of the
- Tradition of Light were advancing. This is the result
- of the Positive and Negative Currents from the "Path of
- Saturn" through Binah the Dark Sphere.
-
- The influence of Mars, passing through Geburah,
- the Sphere of Mars and of Severity, is transmitted to
- Tiphereth by the Path of Aries, or "The Emperor." Aries
- is Ruled by Mars and is the House of the Exaltation of
- the Sun. The Ram or Lamb was sacrificed as a
- _substitute_ for Man, so this path represents
- "Substitution" as that of Pisces, on the opposite side,
- represents "Reflection." Both are partial truths. This
- Path also transmits the "Personal Will" of Geburah to
- Tiphereth. When the Personal Will is substituted for
- the Divine or True Will trouble arises. In Tiphereth,
- The Heart, both the Personal and True Wills are
- harmonized, or apparently so.
-
- Aries and Pisces are seen with the Sun, or
- Tiphereth, as reconciler between them, as in the
- beginning of the Great Cycle, with the Sun in His
- Natural place, unaffected by the Precession of the
- Equinoxes. In this position the Jupiter-Ammonian, and
- the Sut-Typhonian controversy is temporarily
- harmonized.
-
- The Reciprocal Path from Chesed, Mercy, to
- Geburah, Severity, is that of "Death" the Great
- Transformer. The Sign Scorpio is its Yetziratic
- attribution, and this is Ruled by Mars the Destroyer.
- Death is both the enemy and the friend in one, for in
- truth there is no "death," but only a "Change of Life."
- The Card shows a Skeleton with a scythe, he is cutting
- down heads (one of which is crowned) but the "rise
- again" as soon as he passes over them, for the
- Influences of the Paths of "Resurrection,"
- "Regeneration," and "Re-erection" all play upon this
- one. The Path of Shin, equilibrating Light and
- Darkness, rules over all, for this Path is that of the
- Influence of IU the Ever-coming Son, the true Horus
- whose appearance in Aries is as the Lamb, in Pisces as
- the Fish, or in the earlier Signs as The Lion, The
- Beetle, The Twins, or the Bull.
-
- We have seen how the Influence of the Tradition of
- Light flows down into Tiphereth through two channels.
- The Paths of IU-Pater, Chokmah, and The Sun, and those
- of IU-Pater, Chokmah, Sagittarius, Chesed, and Pisces.
-
- We have likewise traced the Tradition of Darkness
- through the Paths of Saturn, Binah and Capricorn, to
- Tiphereth; and also through Saturn, Binah, Mars,
- Geburah, and Aries, to the same Sphere.
-
- The Universal Tradition which transcends both the
- Light and the Darkness, descends from Kether-Pure
- Being, by the Path of Shin or Spirit, through the Path
- of Aquarius, The Star of Hope, and that of Scorpio,
- Death and Despair, directly upon Tiphereth. This is the
- Line of Equilibrium between the Balanced Ideas of Good
- and Evil; Light and Darkness; Preservation and
- Destruction, etc. This is the Path of the Doctrine of
- the Heart, which unites with those of the Eye and the
- Head (Ayin and Resh) in Tiphereth the Sphere of the
- Heart, or the Son, wherein all things are Beautified
- and Harmonized.
-
- It should be noticed that the Direct Influence of
- the Supernals upon Tiphereth comes from the Paths of
- Resh and Ayin uniting with those of Shin and Tzaddi.
- The Numerical Value of these Letters added to Tiphereth
- is 200 + 70 + 300 + 90 + 6 = 666, the Grand Scale
- Number of The Sun, and of the Beast or Man. Again, the
- Descending Triad of the Sephiroth Binah, Chokmah,
- Tiphereth is 326 [i.e. by concatenating the numbers of
- those Sephiroth. -- B.R.] the Numeration of IHShVH the
- Redeemer, the formula of the Descent of Shin into IHVH
- or of Spirit into Matter. 326 is also the Numeration of
- PARChVAL in the oldest form, which became PARZIVAL who
- is 418 in the New Aeon; thus connecting him with
- ABRAHADABRA, the Word of the Aeon, and the Reward of
- Ra-Hoor-Khuit; as will be more fully discussed later
- on. For the moment we should notice that The Beast, The
- Word of the Aeon, and Parzival are Harmonized in
- Tiphereth, as are all aspects of the Sun and the Son,
- although there may appear to be "division hither
- homeward."
-
- The Sephiroth and Paths so far taken into
- consideration, form the great Heavenly Hexagram, the
- Center of which is Spirit, although this central point
- is not indicated by any Sephira, but only by the Path
- of Shin. In the Tarot Key "The Judgment" this Invisible
- Breath of Spirit proceeds from the Mouth of the Trumpet
- in the Center of the Card.
-
- If we examine this Hexagram, we notice that the
- Hebrew Letters on the Paths forming the Hexagon, are as
- follows: Kaph, Samek, Qoph, He, Pe, Tau: or
- 20+60+100+5+80+400 = 665 which is the number of BITh
- HRChM, meaning The Womb. This does represent The Womb
- of Creation, for these paths outline the Circle of the
- "Key of Life" or Ankh, upon which the Tree of Life is
- built.
-
- We should notice also the peculiar arrangement of
- the Hexagram. There are four interior Paths, forming
- the bases of four similar Triangles. These Paths are
- those of "The Star," "The Sun," "Death" and "The
- Devil". They may be said to symbolically represent the
- Sun in the Four Quarters. Thus, "The Devil," although
- the basis of the Tradition of Darkness, represents the
- Rising Sun of the Eastern Horizon; for SUT is the
- "Opener" of the Day. This Dark Tradition gradually
- resulted in a Lurid Dawn. The Path of "The Sun"
- represents the Setting Sun, since the tradition of
- Light tended to become "Twilight." This is the Path of
- Horus, Lord of the Western Horizon, who closed the Day.
- Together they are Sut-Horus the Twin Lion Gods. The
- Path of "The Star" represents the Sun of Midday, at its
- height; thus "The One Star in Sight" during the Day.
- This position of the Sun has been called AHAThOOR, and
- in the Tarot Card we see that Goddess. But AHA is also
- a title of Horus, as is HAR and HAR-MAKHU, which means
- Horus of the Star. This is his Name as Opener of the
- Year, and it is His Influence which descends through
- the Path of Shin, as the Sun behind the Sun.
-
- The Path of "Death" represents the Sun of
- Midnight, in the Underworld.
-
- There came a period in Egyptian tradition when
- Four Suts were recognized as those of the Four
- Quarters, these were then called the Children of Tum,
- the Setting Sun, who became Atum, and afterwards Atum-
- Ra, the Solar Deity as Father of All Things. This was
- the period when the Supreme and Concealed Father had
- been entirely lost to the followers of the Tradition of
- Light, while the Doctrine of the Mother and Child as
- First Cause had fallen into disrepute as representing
- the Tradition of Darkness. The Influence of the Supreme
- still descended upon Tiphereth, the Sun, through IU,
- but was only recognized by the few followers of the
- Universal Tradition of the Golden Age. All these
- traditions became merged in Tiphereth and there
- Harmonized, though the result was not an absolutely
- true one. An attempt to establish the truth was made by
- Amenhatep IV, or King Khu-en-Aten, who revived Aten
- Worship in place of that of Atum Ra, or Amen Ra; but he
- was ahead of his time, and it remained for the Present
- Aeon to re-establish the truth, as we shall endeavour
- to show more clearly further on.
-
- We may remark, however, that the Universal Mercury
- is said to be "All present in Heaven and in Hell" so
- that we find the Ideas of Lucifer or Satan as the Sun,
- blended with those of the Sun of Light, and the Sun of
- the Universe, in the Heart of Man. Also we may notice
- how the Higher Will comes down to Tiphereth from
- Chokmah, and the lower or personal will through
- Geburah. These are both blended in Tiphereth, the
- Heart.
-
- The "Circle" of the "Key of Life" having been
- formed; now follows the "Cross" which completes the
- Ankh. But at this point we shall notice a "Passover" or
- Crossing over of the dual Currents, for the "Middle
- Pillar" is the Caduceus, and the twin-serpents, while
- knotted together in Tiphereth, cross and re-unite lower
- down. This is symbolized clearly by the Three Mother
- Letters of the Elements, or the Three Sepharim of
- Number, Writing, and Speech; as explained in Q. B. L.
- These are Shin above Mem, above Aleph. We have already
- dealt with Shin as IU, which it symbolizes perfectly,
- since if we place the "I" inside the "U," the letter
- Shin is formed. These are the letters of the Father
- and Son, who are united in Tiphereth.
-
- Let us now trace the Currents as they "cross-
- over". The Influence from the Path of Aries, joining
- Geburah and Tiphereth, passes through the latter and
- emerges as a channel from Tiphereth to Netzach. This in
- the Tarot is the Key called "Strength" and it is
- attributed to the Sign Leo which is Ruled by the Sun.
-
- The Card shows a Woman closing (or opening) the
- mouth of a Lion. This is clearly the Woman of Venus, or
- Netzach, united with the Lion of the Sun or Tiphereth.
- The Ram, or Lamb (another form of Horus) has been
- sacrificed as a substitute, and passes through the
- Solar Fire at the "Passover." In the City of the Sun it
- may truly be said that "The Lion lies down with the
- Lamb"; both are aspects of Horus, their paths are seen
- united in Tiphereth.
-
- This Lion may be called "The Green Lion" where the
- Path meets Netzach (Emerald Green), and "The Red Lion"
- as he approaches the Sun. Again we find symbolism of
- the Twin Lions of Horus (as later they appear as the
- twin Sphinxes of the Charioteer). We see the "Strength"
- of Geburah, transmitted through the Ram and the Sun, to
- this Path, where its Animal Nature becomes subdued by
- the Pure Love of the Woman of Netzach. Thus the Dark
- tradition becomes purified through this process.
-
- On the other hand, the Path from Chesed to
- Tiphereth ("The Moon" by Tarot, or Sign of Pisces)
- emerges from its Solar Bath, as the Path of "The
- Lovers" or Gemini, which unites Tiphereth with Hod.
- Gemini is Ruled by Mercury whose sphere is Hod. We may
- then trace the "Wisdom" from Chokmah, through paths of
- Light, as it flows into this reservoir of pure Reason,
- carrying with it the ideas of the "Pairs of Opposites"
- from "Temperance", "The Moon" (with its twin towers),
- and "The Lovers" or Gemini.
-
- This Key, "The Lovers", depicts the Symbolism
- perfectly. The Card shows the Sun above the heads of
- the Figures, just as they are relatively to Tiphereth.
- Beneath it are the Twins, the same Children we saw in
- the path of "The Sun" transmitting the Tradition from
- Chokmah. They have overcome the illusion of the "Moon"
- with its restrictions. Cupid is seen with his Bow and
- Arrow (perhaps the Bow of the Moon and the Arrow of
- Sagittarius). Sometimes this card is shown as
- symbolizing a Man between two Women representing Virtue
- and Vice (so-called). He must learn to treat them both
- alike, and harmonize these ideas in the Light of
- Tiphereth, the Heart. This was a very necessary lesson
- for the followers of the White Tradition to learn, for
- the twilight had made their view narrow and restricted,
- therefore an elements of Sin (the Moon God) had
- entered, and the earlier Wisdom had been lost.
-
- We may now consider the Influence of the Side
- Pillars. On the one hand we find "Justice" or Libra
- which is Ruled by Venus, bringing down the Mercy of
- Chesed to Netzach the Sphere of Venus. Here we see the
- Law of Love coming into operation under the Will of
- Chokmah, as it is written, "Love is the law, love under
- will". Love needs to be Balanced in Netzach, thus
- avoiding extremes. Opposite to this Path is that which
- transmits the Strength of Geburah to the Sphere of
- Mercury or Hod. The Influence herein operative is that
- of "The Hermit" or Virgo, which is Ruled by Mercury.
- One must be reasonable in regard to one's Virginity,
- but the Power of the Virgin is great.
-
- Herein we find the Dark Tradition transformed into
- a wise Reserve or Secrecy. The Hermit merely conceals
- the Light in his Cloak, while he carries his Staff in
- his hand. This represents a better adjustment of the
- Life, which is the Substance of Light; the excess of
- the Path of the "Tower" is tempered down to a wise
- control. This refers also to the Control of Speech; the
- Tower was that of Babel, and its destruction caused the
- confusion of tongues, while here we see a re-adjustment
- as this path enters the Domain of Mercury, which
- contains the influence from Chokmah, the "Word" lost to
- the Dark Brothers for a time.
-
- Few realize the secrets of the Tradition of the
- Widow's son, and the Substitute, and the Lost Word, as
- depicted in this Left Hand side of the Tree.
-
- Uniting the Sephiroth Netzach and Hod is the Path
- of "The Hierophant", the Initiator into the Mysteries
- of Osiris the Bull. This Path is attributed to the Sign
- Taurus which is Ruled by Venus or Netzach. Venus and
- Mercury are herein united in a Wise and Initiated Love
- of a reciprocal nature. We see two Figures in this
- card, presided over by the Hierophant who is blessing
- them in the Sign of the Trinity.
-
- There is yet another Path from Tiphereth to Yesod
- which crosses this one and influences it. This is the
- Path of "The Hanged Man" attributed to the Letter Mem,
- and the Element Water. It refers to "Writing" as the
- second Sepharim, and by means of Written Tradition have
- the true mysteries been transmitted, even thought the
- "writer" may never have been recognized or known to
- men.
-
- Here we see a figure of a Man suspended by one
- foot from a gallows, his head and arms forming a
- triangle, above which his legs form a cross. He is the
- Sun of the Sun, bringing down the Light as far as
- Yesod, the Subconscious Mind of Humanity. His body is
- reversed, as if reflected in the Waters, his Head is
- surrounded by Glory, the reflection of Tiphereth and
- Kether. His Head is thus in Yesod, the Sphere of the
- Moon which reflects the Sun upon the Earth, or Malkuth.
- The shape of the Figure in Rider's Pack perfectly
- symbolizes this position on the Tree.
-
- His is the power of the Redeeming Love, usually
- considered as self-sacrifice, but more truly
- representing the Justified One, who says: "This is my
- body which I destroy, in order that it may be renewed."
- The Mysteries of the Rose Cross are transmitted through
- this Channel, the Initiation being attended to by "The
- Hierophant". Two other Paths exert their influence
- directly on Yesod, the Foundation, or Sphere of the
- Moon; one leading from Netzach, and the other from Hod.
- The Coils of the Twin Serpents fold back again here,
- the Current having absorbed the influences of the Paths
- of the Side Pillars through these two Sephiroth.
-
- The Path from Netzach to Yesod continues the
- Influence from the Path of Leo united with that of
- Libra. By Tarot it is "The Chariot" which is attributed
- to the Sign Cancer, ruled by the Moon (Yesod). This is
- a very important card indeed. The Hebrew letter
- attributed to it is "Cheth" which is 418 the number of
- the Word of the Aeon ABRAHADABRA. The Charioteer is one
- aspect of the Lord of the Aeon, and he is in a certain
- sense the Initiator, for in this age the Influence of
- the Constellation of Taurus comes to use through the
- Sign Cancer according to the Precessional. He has
- harnessed the Black and White Sphinxes, the Traditions
- of Darkness and Light, and he uses them to draw his
- Chariot. He is under the Starry Canopy of Love. He is
- the Child of the Powers of the Waters, for he has
- descended by devious channels from the Great Sea; he is
- also the Lord of the Triumph of Light in its higher
- sense. He has the Strength of the "Lion" and the
- balance of "Justice" combined with the Power of Love.
-
- Dual Moons are shown on his shoulders, for, as
- Cancer, he is closely connected with The Moon. The
- Lingam-Yoni and Winged Globe appear on his cubical
- Chariot which represents "The Foundation" or Yesod.
-
- Opposite to him on the Tree is the Path from Hod
- to Yesod, that of "The High Priestess" or "Priestess of
- the Silver Star". This is attributed to "The Moon" with
- which Sphere it unites. This is the Channel of the
- Serpent of Light winding back from Hod and bringing
- with it the Influence of the Paths of Gemini and Virgo.
- The High Priestess knows the secret powers of the
- "Lovers" and of the "Virgin". These she has under
- control in the same sense that the Charioteer controls
- the Sphinxes. She is truly his Counterpart. On her Lap
- is The book of the Law, the lost Thora of the Wheel of
- the Tarot, transmitted so wonderfully from the Path of
- IU-Pater through Chokmah, "The Sun", Tiphereth, "The
- Lovers", and Hod. Note that the Descent of this Law
- upon Tiphereth through Chokmah, was by the Paths of
- Kaph (20) and Resh (200) and that Liber CCXX is the
- Book of the Law; also that from Tiphereth, which is 6;
- representative of the Father 10 and the Mother 5 (as
- Wisdom and Understanding or IH) which make 15 and again
- through addition 6; it passed into the path of Zain
- (The Sword) 7 and to Hod 8, thus 15 = 6 and through
- Gimel 3 (6 + 3 = 9) to Yesod 9, where it entered the
- Subconscious Mind of Humanity as a seed of the Aeon.
-
- The "Priestess of the Silver Star" is the Pure
- Influence of the Higher Self on the Subconscious Mind,
- transmitting the secret of the Star Universe and of the
- Silver Star. She is the Initiator into the Mysteries of
- Nuit, as "The Charioteer" indicates those of Hadit.
-
- Our work, so far, has led us to an understanding
- of how the Universal Tradition has been imbedded in the
- Subconscious Mind of Humanity; built into its very
- Foundation and Substance. It is our Great and Glorious
- Heritage from the Past, made up from the Universal
- experience of the Race. But all men are not yet aware
- of this. It is still "Unconscious" in most.
-
- Now we come to the final stages of our Journey,
- wherein these ideas are Manifested on the Material
- Plane. Malkuth, The Kingdom, is the Sphere of the
- Elements, and is saturated with the subtle influences,
- whereby the Fallen Daughter may become the Mother and
- bring forth Man as the Crowned Child of the Aeon.
-
- The Path from Hod to Malkuth is by Tarot "The
- Magician" attributed to Mercury. This is the Wisdom and
- Will of the Father in Heaven brought down to the
- Kingdom of Earth. (Have we not prayed "Thy Will be done
- on Earth as it is done in Heaven" and has it not been
- answered "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the
- Law"). The Magician controls the Elements by means of
- his Four Elementary Weapons under the Direction of the
- Higher Will, as shown in the Card by the Wand, the Cup,
- the Sword, and the Pantacle. His is the Path of the
- Magic of Light and of Occultism. He is then the
- representative of the Great Father upon Earth, and his
- influence is within every father who realizes that he
- is a star.
-
- The Path from Netzach to Malkuth is that of the
- "Empress" and of Venus. She represents the Love which
- regenerates the Kingdom when properly understood. The
- key shows her crowned with the Diadem of Stars. She
- Transmits the Understanding of the Great Mother. (So
- long misunderstood and thought of as the unmated and
- despised Woman of the Dark Sphere). Hers is the Path of
- Mysticism and Devotion, and of those who would be
- absorbed in the Absolute. She Represents the Great
- Mother upon Earth and is the Influence within every
- mother who knows Herself to be a Star.
-
- Thus is this Kingdom supplied with Wisdom and
- Love, and lastly with Power, for we must finally
- consider the Path from Yesod to Malkuth, that of the
- "Pure Fool", and the All-Wandering Air, the Reconciler
- in all things. This is the Path of the Crowned Child of
- the Spirit who is in the Heart of all Humanity when he
- is brought to birth upon the Earth. This is the Path of
- those who follow neither the way of Magick nor of
- Mysticism, but the "Way of the Tao". These are the
- Masters of both Will and Love for they UNCONSCIOUSLY do
- the Work of the Father. Just as a Child naturally rules
- over his parents and is able to obtain his slightest
- desire, without effort, so must all Serve the Crowned
- Child the Lord of the Aeon.
-
- This Path transmits the Universal Tradition of the
- Central Pillar -- the Pillar of Mildness and Peace.
- This is the Pathway of the Light to be discovered amid
- the contending forces and the darkness of matter. This
- Path of the Holy Spirit of the Sun behind the Sun is
- that of the Letter Aleph. In it the two A's of the
- Beginning have become One. It is the Path of Air, the
- third Sepharim, or of Speech. But this is the Power of
- Speech in the Silence, of Harpocrates hidden within
- Horus. It is also the true Power, as it is written;
-
-
-
-
-
- Unity uttermost showed,
-
- I adore the Might of Thy Breath,
-
- Supreme and Terrible God
-
- Who makest the Gods and Death
-
- To tremble before Thee,
-
- I, I adore Thee.
-
- This is the Path of IU, Horus-Harpocrates, the
- Ever Coming One, and of Har-Machis, Horus of the Star,
- the Opener of the Ways of Eternity. This is the Path of
- the Here and Now, transcending those of Time and Space.
- This is the Path of Truth, which Is Now, as It Was in
- the Beginning, and Ever Shall Be, Malkuth without End.
- Aumn.
-
-
-
- Chapter IV
-
- The Sun, The Devil, and the Redeemer
-
- One of my aims in the foregoing chapter has been
- to show that this is the Aeon of the Foundation of the
- Kingdom upon Earth, characterized by the Incarnation of
- God in the Heart of every Man, Woman, and Child.
-
- It is not so much a question of "Climbing the Tree
- of Life" as of recognizing how all things have been
- working together for good so that the Source of All
- might become manifest in Matter, here on Earth, and the
- Kingdom of Ra-Hoor-Khuit be established.
-
- We have seen in tracing out the Traditions that
- there have been two Wills at work, the Divine and the
- Personal, and that through the Ages these have appeared
- in conflict. One is the Bright Star or Pentagram of
- Unconquered Will, the other the Dark Star of the
- Reversed Pentagram. These two Starts are symbolized by
- the hands of Man, or the Magician, one raised to Heaven
- in the Sign of Solve, the other directed downwards in
- the Sign of Coagula. When united they form a Ten-fold
- Star, just as the hand of the man who has fallen may be
- grasped by the one who Raises him in the Grip of the
- Lion, which exactly symbolizes this uniting of the
- Rising and Setting Sun, or the Twins Sut-Har. For the
- Two Wills are Harmonized in Tiphereth.
-
- But when we consider Malkuth, it is a question of
- Raising the Fallen Daughter, the Animal Soul, or
- Matter, to the Throne of the Mother, Understanding.
- That is a more difficult task, but we now have the Keys
- in our hands.
-
- The Union of the two Stars as a Tenfold-Star in
- Malkuth is the Work before us, for this represents the
- Covenant God made with Abraham, as promised by the
- Rainbow of the old order. Having apparently lost this
- Symbol of the Rainbow through the alteration of the
- Paths, we may hope to find instead the Fulfillment of
- the Promise of the Covenant.
-
- In the old order of the Paths we found Q, Sh, Th
- as the three influences descending upon Malkuth. QShTh
- is the Hebrew word for the Rainbow of Promise.
-
- The Authority on the Qabalah, referred to in our
- Preface, rejected the reformulation of the paths of the
- Tree, partly on account of the fact of this symbolism
- being lost in the new arrangement. But what have we in
- its place? Wisdom, Love, and Power directly descending
- upon the Earth; the Paths of Magick and Mysticism,
- united by the "Way of the Tao". More than this, we have
- the direct influence of the Three Supernals upon the
- Kingdom. Kether, the Crown of Light, is upon the Head
- of the Crowned Child of the Path of Aleph, who wields
- the true Power of the Breath; the Wisdom of Chokmah is
- seen in the Path of Beth or Mercury, the Great Magician
- who represents the Father on Earth; while the Great
- Mother, Binah the Third Sephira, is translated into the
- Path of the Empress, the Woman of Venus, on the Path of
- the Mystic. So we find Father, Mother and Holy Spirit
- or Son, all prepared to raise the Fallen Daughter. Yod,
- He, and Vau once more symbolically united with the
- final He. Thus the Missing members of the Body of
- Osiris are all brought together again; the Lost Word is
- recovered; the Rulers of the Four Elements of Malkuth
- are shown in their respective offices; and in the midst
- is the concealed Power of the Spirit of Shin, IU, or
- Io, which is 10, the number of Malkuth, as well as
- Kether.
-
- The same Authority objected the some of the
- Alchemical Symbolism was destroyed. The Alchemists tell
- us that in order to make Gold, we must have Gold; and
- this the Gold of the Sun. What now makes Gold in our
- Revised arrangement? The influences descending upon
- Tiphereth, the Sun. We have shown how the principal
- Paths of Influence, which are all Solar in nature, give
- us 666 the Grand Number of the Sun in Tiphereth. The
- secondary influences are from Aries of the Golden
- Fleece, Scorpio the Path of "Death", or the Sun at the
- Dark Stage, and from Pisces which is by Tarot the
- "Moon". These together make the True Gold of the Sun.
- Again they tell us that the First Matter is the Soul of
- Man, and we have shown how the dual soul became divided
- as Adam and Eve, etc., so that you may work out this
- Alchemical Symbolism on other planes. But there is an
- even more important aspect, which this study may lead
- us to understand; the Inner Mystery of the Sun, the
- Heart of the Beast 666 which is Man. Herein we may
- discover the answer to the riddle of the Sphinx, who
- with fixed gaze of impenetrable Mystery looks on at all
- the Changes of Life. Here, too, we may learn something
- of the Concealed Mystery of the Strange Baphomet of the
- ancient Templars, for all is made clear in the Reformed
- Order. If this is the Age of Horus the Revealer and
- Opener, there is nothing hid that shall not be
- revealed.
-
- Let us turn our attention for a little while to
- what, to some, may appear the absurd idea of The Devil.
- Eliphas Levi, wisely states: He who affirms the devil,
- creates or makes the devil. But it has elsewhere been
- written: Since every idea, theory or doctrine must, in
- the very nature of things, have some truth as its
- basis, it happens that the more difficult,
- unreasonable, or even absurd, any idea seems to be, the
- more illuminative does it become when thoroughly
- understood; for only some very important truth could
- have availed to give currency to a teaching of extreme
- incredibleness and difficulty.
-
- Thus it is with doctrine of the devil, which, in
- one form or another, is found in almost every religion
- of the world.
-
- The chief snare of the Devil is the Illusion of
- Time. Man is limited by the ideas of Time and Space,
- which are but modes of the human mind, as is now
- becoming scientifically recognized. The Black Tradition
- is based on Time. Saturn, the God of Time, and the
- Progenitor of the Devil, or Serpent of Time, is shown
- on the Path leading from Kether to Binah. This
- influence is further transmitted from Binah to
- Tiphereth by the Path of "The Devil" as explained
- before. The Hebrew letters of these Paths are Tau and
- Ayin, whose numerical value is 400 and 70. Ayin, Tau,
- or OTh is the Hebrew word for Time, or a period of
- Time, 470 is also the numeration of other Hebrew words
- meaning Eternity, or literally, a cycle of cycles. This
- should be sufficient evidence that the Paths are
- rightly placed. Taking into account the other two Paths
- influencing Tiphereth on this side of the Tree, which
- are Pe and He, or 80 and 5; we obtain 400 + 70 + 80 + 5
- = 555 which is the Numeration of the Hebrew word for
- Obscurity. This certainly proves that the Dark
- Tradition is operative in this part of the Tree, and it
- accounts for much of the confusion of the "Tower" of
- Babel.
-
- We have shown how the Sut-Typhonian tradition
- arose, so that the Son was thought to have preceded the
- Father, and the Mother to have been the First Cause by
- means of Blood. One should note in passing, that the
- Reciprocal Path of "The Star" is that of Aquarius which
- Sign governs the Blood Stream.
-
- This tradition as far as Time is concerned led to
- the calculation of the Year as 365 Days, based on the
- Sun and Sirius Cycle. We may also notice that the
- Sephiroth Numbered 3, 6, and 5, are those whose
- influence is here depicted. They form a Triad, linked
- by the paths we have been discussing, and the base of
- this Triad is the path of "The Devil", and of the
- Rising Sun.
-
- We shall have more to say in regard to the Devil,
- but for the moment let us turn to the other side of the
- Tree, and examine the Channels of the Light Tradition.
- We might have done well to call these the Traditions of
- Black and White, for Black is that which absorbs all
- colors, and White that which reflects them all. The
- True Light is Equilibrated and Concealed in that
- Darkness which is higher than eyesight.
-
- The Force of the Primum Mobile of Kether produced
- the Whirling motions of the "Wheel of Life" resulting
- in the Star Universe and Sphere of the Zodiac. Thus
- originated the illusion of Space, the other great
- limitation of the mind of man.
-
- This Space became narrowed down till the idea of a
- Straight and Narrow Way limited all the conceptions of
- the followers of these Paths. The Light became but a
- Twilight, and a reflection of the primal Truth, as
- indicated by the Path of Pisces, and the Tarot Key "The
- Moon". The Primal idea of the Supreme as the Concealed
- Life of All was soon lost. Infinite Space, filled with
- the Infinite but Invisible Life, became 3rd dimensional
- space in the minds of men. The Paths of Influence are
- of interest; Kaph 20, and Resh 200, give us 220, the
- numeration of the Book of the Law of Thelema (Will),
- which will eventually redeem this narrowed conception
- and bring back the Truth. Will is Chokmah the Sphere of
- Wisdom and of the Word or Logos, which was not
- comprehended by the Children of Darkness. This being
- the 2nd Sephira, makes the complete Channel from Kether
- to Tiphereth 222, which is the Hebrew numeration of the
- word for "Whiteness", thus proving our earlier
- speculations Qabalistically.
-
- Taking the Sephirotic Triad as before, we find the
- Base is the Path of "The Sun". This in the Twilight of
- the Setting Sun of the White tradition, they mistook
- for the Lost Father of the Gods. The Sun is, of course,
- the center of the Solar System and Ruler of the
- Planets; He is truly the Father of this Earth, but He
- is NOT THE FATHER OF THE WHOLE UNIVERSE. That is where
- the followers of the White Tradition made an even
- greater mistake than those of the Black.
-
- The Sephiroth Tiphereth, Chokmah and Chesed, as 6,
- 2, 4 or 624 give us a number equivalent to the Hebrew
- Word for "His Covenant". The Arrow of Sagittarius
- (which in the old arrangement of the Paths was said to
- be the Arrow that pierced the Rainbow, on account of
- its position below Tiphereth) is seen on one of the
- other Paths of influence connecting this triad, and
- the "Moon" or "Bow" on the other. If we take these
- Sephiroth in the order of 264 we get the numeration of
- Hebrew Words for "Footprints" literally "Foot's
- Breadth", and "A Straight Row" indicating the "Narrow"
- Way referred to before. Or as 246, we obtain "Vision"
- or "Aspect" denoting Space, as before indicated. This
- also seems good enough Qabalistic proof.
-
- We may now better understand how the True Sun of a
- Bi-une Nature, became looked upon as Sut-Har, and how
- the Traditions of the Sut-Typhonians and those of the
- Jupiter-Ammonians, were blended in Tiphereth.
-
- The Influence of Har-Machis, Horus of the Star,
- was little understood owing to the limitations of Time
- and Space, though it descended as the Mediating
- Influence upon Tiphereth, and Welded the Twin
- conflicting Ideas together. The Osirians of the Right
- Hand Path, examining Space with great care, discovered
- the more correct calculation of the Year as 365 1/4
- days. The Four Quarters were established, the Four Suts
- arose, and these were accepted as the Children of the
- Father Atum-Ra. Ra became the great Sun God, and the IU
- was lost to view in such an apparently Harmonious
- arrangement. So he who was the Son, became looked upon
- as The Father, and the Supernal Triad was no longer
- taken into consideration. The Pillars of the Temple of
- the Sun were set up. Boaz and Jachin were established
- in strength, as Geburah and Chesed, Severity and Mercy,
- and the Sun was seen between them as the Sole Lord of
- Light.
-
- Followers of the old Sut-Typhonian Tradition might
- still secretly Symbolize Him as The Devil; followers of
- the Osirian Cult, as The Sun of Heaven.
-
- Let us now return to our discussion of the Devil,
- or Baphomet fairly depicted, but the Symbolism of
- Rider's Pack is wrong. Eliphas Levi drew him correctly,
- and also described him perfectly. Let me quote: "The
- name of the Templar Baphomet, which should be spelt
- Qabalistically backwards, is composed of three
- abbreviations: Tem., Ohp., Ab., "Templi ominium hominum
- pacis abbas", "the father of the temple of universal
- peace among men." According to some, the Baphomet was a
- monstrous head; (Resh, the head, is the Sun); according
- to others, a demon in the form of a goat. (Capricorn is
- the Goat). A sculptured coffer was disinterred recently
- in the ruins of an old commandery of the temple, and
- antiquaries observed upon it a baphometic figure,
- corresponding in its attributes to the Goat of Mendes
- (Osiris) and the androgyne (two-sexed Horus) of
- Khunrath. It was a bearded figure with a female body,
- holding the sun in one hand and the moon in the other,
- attached to chains. Now this virile head is a beautiful
- allegory which attributes to thought alone the
- initiating and creating principle. Here the head
- represents spirit and the body matter. The orbs
- enchained to the human form, and directed by that
- nature of which intelligence is the head, are also
- magnificently allegorical. The sign, all the same, was
- discovered to be obscene and diabolical by the learned
- men who examined it. Can we be surprised after this at
- the spread of medieval superstition in our own day! One
- thing only surprises me, that, believing in the devil
- and his agents, men do not re-kindle the faggots."
-
- The was written by Levi in 1855; even today there
- are many people who refuse to see the light of truth;
- but we are progressing.
-
- The Figure of Baphomet, or the XVth Key of the
- Tarot, depicts the Symbolism of Tiphereth perfectly,
- from the point of view of the combined Traditions of
- Sut-Har, as shown on the Revised Tree.
-
- The Flaming Torch between the Horns is the Holy
- Spirit of the Path of Shin, his Horns are the Paths of
- Sut-Har or of Capricorn and the Sun. The female body
- shows the Tradition of the Mother, while the Legs of
- the Goat are crossed to indicate the Passover or
- Crossing of the Ways after this point, as explained
- before. His head is that of an Ass, showing that the
- followers of the "Head" Doctrine of the acceptance of
- the Sun as the Supreme Father were foolish, but that in
- Tiphereth, the Heart, all things might be Harmonized.
- He makes the sign of Solve and Coagula, thus indicating
- "That which is above is like unto that which is below,
- and that which is below is like unto that which is
- above, for the performance of the Miracle of the One
- Substance". This is the sole Hermetic Dogma of the
- Microcosm and the Macrocosm; their Equivalence is found
- in Tiphereth. This sign also indicates the two Currents
- of "Will" and "will", harmonized in the Heart. This
- Figure should be studied with care, and it will reveal
- many other truths. The Caduceus in his lap, for
- instance, clearly shows that the Central Pillar of the
- Tree of Life is the Staff whereon the Twin Serpents of
- Time and Space are Twined.
-
- We have explained how the Sut-Typhonians first
- looked upon the Great Mother as of Animal Nature,
- afterwards assuming her into the Heaven as the Star
- Goddess, Mother of the Sun. In this latter assumption
- they were absolutely correct, but the Worship of Nuit
- is practically pre-Dynastic, as is Her Symbol the
- Crossed Arrows. In the Darkness the idea arose of half-
- human, half-animal beings as representing the earliest
- types. The Hebrew Tradition of the First Adam
- corresponds to this. The Universal Tradition of the
- Sons of God on Earth, was lost. Man, today, is the
- highest of the Animals, but the lowest of the Spiritual
- Beings. It is the personal will and power of choice,
- which makes him more than animal, for he has within him
- a spark of the Divine Intelligence which makes it
- possible for him to direct his own actions, though
- until he discovers the Divine Will in the darkness of
- his own being, and aligns the personal will with It, he
- cannot progress. The personal will transmitted to the
- Heart of man from the Sphere of Geburah, is harmonized
- with the Divine Will of Chokmah, to the extent to which
- the Channels of Light are Open. But Har, the Sun of the
- White Tradition, was "Closer" and the True Will was
- little realized and understood.
-
- We can now see that Tiphereth is a perfect Image
- of The Beast, 666, as Man. This aspect combines in
- itself all that is Animal with all that is Human and
- all that is Spiritual and God-Like. This is the Great
- Solar Image which all men have worshipped and all men
- will worship for a long time to come. Yet it is not the
- Highest Truth in itself, it is a Harmonious Combination
- and Synthesis of Light and Darkness. Only through this
- Synthesis may the Truth be arrived at, however, as the
- Son of Man, Who was also the Son of God, has before
- remarked "No man cometh unto the Father but by Me". For
- the Son is always the visible Aspect of the Invisible
- and Concealed Father, who may never be known because He
- Is the very Essence of our Being.
-
- The most truly representative Man of his time is
- always The Beast, for he displays all the qualities of
- the Race of the Period in which he lives. We look at
- such a Man and see in him Ourselves, for we can only
- see what is within us. To some he appears an Angel of
- Light, to others the grinning Devil of Darkness. Thus
- is Genius always misunderstood and blasphemed by some,
- while recognized and praised by others. He is the Son,
- wherein Glory and Suffering are identical. He is always
- betrayed, always Crucified, as we see in the Path of
- "The Hanged Man" immediately below Tiphereth. This is
- the Path attributed to Water, and Water was the enemy
- of Horus. Why? Because his Mother was the Great Deep,
- and She was misunderstood and reviled as the Harlot
- because the true Father was invisible. Thus are Man's
- greatest enemies those of his own household. The Son
- must suffer on account of the fact that he is born of
- Matter, and the Soul within him is crucified, by those
- who see naught but Darkness, while that same Darkness
- conceals a Higher Light than their own.
-
- See the proud followers of the White Tradition,
- whose Sun has the Head of an Ass. For Intelligence
- cometh from Binah the Great Mother of Understanding,
- and without Understanding the Way of Holiness is indeed
- Narrow. These are the people who are always Right,
- while the others are always Wrong in their sight. Their
- 1/4 day additional in the Year makes them too proud to
- perceive Wider and Grander Spaces and Cycles.
-
- But, as I hope to show, the age of narrowness is
- passing, and for the first time in 25,000 years, Man
- has the opportunity of coming into his own.
-
-
-
- Chapter V
-
- The Mystery of Babalon and the Beast
-
- The Beast, or Man of the Sun, represents, as I
- understand it, the Soul of Humanity, or of Man, between
- Spirit and Matter, ashamed of neither since both are
- essential to His existence. The Substance of the Sun
- descends upon Tiphereth from Binah through the Path of
- "The Devil"; its Life is transmitted from Chokmah
- through the Path of "The Sun"; it exists as a Spiritual
- Idea through the Channel of "Shin" which descends from
- Kether. Kether is its Final and Efficient Cause,
- Chokmah its Formal Cause and Binah its Material Cause.
-
- "ON" is the Ancient Egyptian Word for the Sun; as
- long as we are prepared to go ON, all is well since we
- are in line with the natural urge of Evolution. But we
- may rise above the ordinary idea of Evolution into a
- consciously free co-operation with the Divine Purpose.
-
- The numerical value of ON is 120. This is said to
- have been the Age of Christian Rosencreutz at the time
- he passed ON.
-
- Those who try to reverse the process of evolution,
- to retreat or retrogress, saying "NO" in their hearts,
- fall into Sin which is restriction, and therefore get
- themselves into trouble.
-
- ON is formed of the Hebrew Letters Ayin and Nun,
- thus this idea arises at the junction of the Paths of
- "The Devil" and "Death".
-
- People of the "NO" type arose on the other side of
- the Tree, on the Path of the Setting Sun. NO may be
- spelled Nun, Vau, or NU, who was called the Father of
- the Waters, the reflector of Nuit.
-
- However, we may look for a reconciliation of these
- ideas in the Path of "The Star" which represents the
- Sun at High NOON.
-
- It was at High NOON that Parzival wrought the
- Miracle of Redemption, when the Spear and Cup were re-
- united. This Path unites the Spear of Will and Wisdom,
- Chokmah, with the Cup of Understanding and Intuition,
- Binah. The Father and Mother being thus united, the
- "One Star in Sight", Har-Makhu, or Horus of the Star,
- is recognized in His True nature as the Spirit of the
- Concealed Light of Kether.
-
- The Truth was never lost to the Supernal Triad,
- but the Supernals were lost to the sight of man. We may
- wonder how this could be, and the time is now ripe for
- its revelation. But before an attempt is made to
- explain this, it is best that we should glance at the
- remaining Paths of the Tree, below Tiphereth.
-
- Let us consider the Path of "The Hanged Man",
- sometimes called the Redeemer. Exoterically this Tarot
- Key is said to signify: "Enforced and not voluntary
- suffering"; while Esoterically it means "Self-
- sacrifice", but not as usually understood.
-
- ATUM or ADAM, as the first purely Human type or
- Soul, is said to have been Two-sexed until he became as
- Adam and Eve. Tiphereth is the True Son but the false
- Father.
-
- When the representative Son at this stage became
- mistaken for the Father, many women followed Him,
- seeking redemption. Thus an embarrassing situation of
- "enforced and not voluntary suffering" might be
- supposed to have arisen. The only reasonable course of
- action would be a concealment of the facts and a
- teaching which might be inferred to imply "Chastity",
- Celibacy, and other doctrines of repression. This is
- merely the exoteric view, but it accounts for the
- mistaken zeal of some who failed to understand the true
- teaching.
-
- The Physical Sun is just as impotent to fertilize
- the whole Universe, although He may be entirely capable
- of attending to His own Solar System. He is all right
- in His place in the Order of the Universe; only when we
- misunderstand that place, do we fall into error.
-
- The same trouble might arise in the case of a man
- who preached a doctrine of promiscuous sexual
- intercourse to a following of women; even were he a
- regular Lion he would be unable to supply the needs of
- an unlimited number and therefore be liable to attempt
- to retract his teaching.
-
- The above instances could only arise on account of
- the lack of a true interpretation of the Words of the
- Justified One, Osiris arisen from Ammenti. Destruction
- is essential or there can be no renewal, and IU the
- twin-sexed supplies the answer if interpreted by means
- of "The Hierophant" whose Path crosses that of "The
- Hanged Man" and shows a reciprocal current between the
- Spheres of Venus and Mercury.
-
- We have noticed how the twin-serpents "crossed
- over" below Tiphereth, and have studied the Symbolism
- rather fully. Having separated they must again re-unite
- in Yesod -- The Foundation -- and continue as One to
- Malkuth by the Path of Aleph, the Pure Fool.
-
- We may now consider Malkuth, the Fallen Daughter,
- who, according to the Qabalah, in order to be redeemed
- must Unite with the Son, be raised to the Throne of the
- Mother, re-awaken the Father so that all things are re-
- absorbed into the Crown.
-
- This process has been much misunderstood, it has
- bee thought to imply a return to the Crown. The Mystics
- have all wanted to be re-absorbed into the Absolute.
- The Magicians, on the other hand, have tended to keep
- going ON, and to attempt to usurp the Throne of God,
- which rightfully belongs to the Mother.
-
- Both met with a terrible Abyss, while working on
- the old methods.
-
- The Magician traveled up the "Tree" till he came
- to Chesed as an Exempt Adept who had built up a
- wonderful system of knowledge, only to find the whole
- structure must be broken in pieces in the Abyss, if he
- hoped to Attain to true Understanding and Wisdom. Few
- passed this Ordeal.
-
- The Mystics, on the other hand, being of the
- negative type, opened their minds and souls to the
- "light" and often mistook false lights for the True
- One. Having a very limited basis of experience as a
- foundation of their Pyramid, the Apex was
- proportionately low, and the Light they saw at that
- point, they attributed to their own pet divinity as
- their savior and redeemer. The Dawning of Solar
- Consciousness (Dhyana) tended to come as such a shock
- that most of these Mystics lost their balance for a
- time, if not for the remainder of their incarnation. If
- they went further, they were literally flooded with the
- Dark Forces of the Abyss. Some of these truly saw the
- Devil, and believed in him, and preached his existence
- to their followers. They certainly never say God.
-
- Many of these people lived a very holy and chaste
- life, according to the standards of their time, before
- reaching this stage. Afterwards, the ignorant believed
- in them as men of good reputation, and were even
- content to "believe" without further desire for actual
- experience.
-
- So we find a line of "Theorists" arose, under the
- guidance of "Partly Disillusioned" people who feared to
- go further and so taught a doctrine of Fear which is
- the forerunner of Failure, a doctrine of implicit
- belief in the leader of the movement, amounting in some
- cases to a "blind faith" in Substitutes, Reflections,
- Vicarious Atonement, and anything else but the
- necessity of working out their own Salvation. Yet there
- is an element of truth even in such apparently absurd
- notions as Vicarious Atonement; just as we found an
- element of truth in the doctrine of the Devil. Every
- man and every woman who Attains, make it just that much
- easier for the rest of Humanity to reach perfection.
- The whole Race must eventually Attain, for it is bound
- together by the closest ties, so that the process
- cannot be finally complete in the individual until the
- Last has become as the First in the Kingdom of Heaven
- upon Earth.
-
- We seem far from that issue, but the Way is now
- OPEN, as before it was Closed, for Horus the Opener has
- taken his Seat in the East at the Equinox of the Gods.
-
- But, to return to Earth, or Malkuth, as the Fallen
- Daughter. The true teaching, as I see it, is this.
- Malkuth, the Sphere of the Elements, or Matter, has
- been mistaken for the Planet Earth in place of _All the
- Material Substance of the Universe in manifested form_.
- Matter, as we should know, is _continuous_.
-
- The Sun is the God of this world, its Physical
- Father, and as such he is worthy of our utmost respect
- and reverence. We do well to salute and recognize Him
- as Ra in the four Quarters. We "see" Him in the Rising,
- the Midday, and the Setting Sun; we "believe" in Him as
- the Sun of Midnight, our "heads" tell us that He is
- Osiris of the Underworld.
-
- These are the old doctrines of the "Eye" and the
- "Head" transmitted to our subconscious minds from the
- Paths of "Ayin" and "Resh". "Seeing is believing", is a
- saying that held sway until the Scientists showed us we
- could not believe in the testimony of our senses. But
- the whole doctrine of the Birth, Death and Resurrection
- of the Sun or Son, was based on this dogma.
-
- Also, just as of old the Sut-Typhonians tradition
- became despised, so Woman has been despised and held
- down by Man, by the son who had usurped the place of
- the Father. In this Man is truly a beast, and it
- required a Greater Beast, a practical living example,
- to show him his error, folly and wrong-doing. But man
- misunderstands and fears the Beast, who after all
- offers him the Secret of the Solar Pathway to the
- Stars. Why does he fear? The old Dark Tradition in his
- subconscious mind, holds him back. He fears to enter
- the Darkness of Night, lest he lose what little light
- he has therein. But this is the result of his limited
- earth-bound conception, which is quite un-scientific
- and gross.
-
- If we truly believe in Osiris (or Christ) why
- should we fear to descend with Him into the Underworld?
- Jesus is said to have done so, before he rose again in
- Spirit to His Father in Heaven, thus uniting His True
- Self with the Invisible Central Star of the Universe.
-
- Day and Night only exist for us on this Planet;
- the Sun does not travel round the Earth for our
- convenience. We, on this Planet, travel round the Sun,
- revolving as we go. Thus his Light only reaches certain
- parts of the Earth at any one time, and the rest of the
- Planet is in darkness. The Sun is always Shining, and
- if we come to consider things from the point of view of
- the Sun, we shall begin to shine too.
-
- But the Sun, although Father of this Planet, is
- but the Son of the Great Mother, the Star Universe.
- Where then is the True Father? This is the question
- that puzzled the old Sut-Typhonians in the earliest
- times. The difficulty arose through the original
- Illusions of Time and Space, which have kept the World
- in ignorance since the last Golden Age. The Universe is
- Infinite in the Here, but men have tried to
- circumscribe it. The Infinite is ever present in the
- Now, but Men have looked backwards and forwards as if
- time were a line. There are Two Infinites, or
- conceptions of the Infinite, the Infinitely Great and
- the Infinitely Small. The extent of the One escapes us,
- the Present Moment of Pure Being escapes us. The
- Infinitely Great, is Nuit, Continuous Matter, Mother of
- the Stars. The Infinitely Small and un-extended point,
- is Hadit, the Inmost Essential Self of All, the Flame
- that burns in every heart of man and in the core of
- every Star. Both these are invisible to our Senses and
- Minds.
-
- Since these are the Infinite, the Center is
- Everywhere and the Circumference Nowhere. Every point
- in Space is equally the Center of the Whole, there
- being no Limit. The True Father is Invisible, but the
- Center of all. Men called him "Father Time" but he is
- Father "Now." The Now became extended as the Serpent of
- Time, Saturn, who tempted Eve, Matter, and caused the
- Fall but Now is the accepted Time, Now is the Day of
- Salvation. The Illusion of Space, on the other hand,
- made it difficult to imagine or find the Center; study
- the Stars as we would. Imagining a possible Limit, men
- failed to perceive how that Center could be everywhere
- present at the same moment of Time.
-
- The Long Lost Father, Hadit, is the true Life of
- All, and the Eternal Energy of All. Matter and Energy
- can never be separated, one always merges into the
- other in a continuous and continual Marriage Union. The
- Universe, as we know it, or may come to know it through
- Spiritual Perception, is the Result of that Union, the
- Crowned Child in the fullest sense.
-
- Men and women of this Planet may think of the
- Secret Father as the Sun, till they draw that Sun
- within the Heart, and look at things from His
- viewpoint. This is the Balanced and Harmonious
- conception of the Great Beast which is MAN. Then we
- realize that the whole Solar System revolves around Its
- Central Sun, and so on to Infinity. There is No Limit
- to the Expansion of Consciousness in the Here and Now,
- for Hadit, the true Father is Now in each one of us,
- veiled by the Light of the Sun of our being, His
- Manifest Son of Light. Truly the Kingdom of Heaven is
- within us, it will never be found outside amid the
- illusions of space and time. Those who have sought the
- Kingdom of Heaven within, have rejoiced therein; but
- that is an experience each must Attain for himself by
- Work. Let us then return to the general discussion of
- the subject.
-
- We have said that Malkuth was mistaken for the
- Planet Earth, which she only is in a narrow sense. If
- united with the Son, or Sun, she begins to view the
- universe from His standpoint. Around her revolve the
- planets of the Solar System, of which Earth is one of
- the smallest. But it is said she must be raised to the
- Throne of the Mother from which she fell. She must be
- understood as the Original Substance, or pre-elemental
- matter. Also her throne is the Sphere of Saturn, the
- outermost of the (then known) planets. On reaching
- Solar Consciousness she must not imagine that she has
- arrived at the Goal. This is the mistake made by those
- who are obsessed by the results of Dhyana, the earliest
- Illumination. She must _expand_ to the Rim of the
- Wheel, the Orbit of Saturn. She will gaze at the Great
- Zodiac, the Star Universe in Chokmah. She will seek to
- absorb this as the Father, her True Mate, and in so
- doing will Expand to Infinity as Nuit, The Ain, finding
- Kether, the True Father of Her Being, or Hadit, at Her
- Center, made Visible by the Extended Light of the Ain
- Soph Aur, which is Ra-Hoor-Khuit, the Lord of the Aeon.
- Having been assumed unto Heaven her effort will be to
- Contract upon the Center, and to Bring forth the Child.
- But she is Virgin, and the child is not born but "Ever
- Coming." The Force and Fire of the Universe ever
- Expands within Her. Thus we may conceive of the Two
- Infinites multiplied in the Crowned Child.
-
- All these Mysteries may be discerned Spiritually
- by the Children of Earth who have within them the Light
- of the Crown. Man, the Microcosm, the Little Universe,
- is like unto God the Macrocosm. This is the great
- Mystery. The Soul, Malkuth, is capable of taking into
- itself, Spiritually, all that is in the Macrocosm,
- until able to think the One Thought of God, which is
- the Universe itself.
-
- The Animal Soul is that which perceives and feels,
- without it we may not perceive or feel the Joys of the
- Universe. Despised as the Fallen Daughter, it is our
- greatest Treasure, for it is The Kingdom of Heaven upon
- Earth. We may now understand the Mystery of Revelation,
- of the Woman Clothed with the Sun, becoming great with
- Child. How the Beast, tried to Devour the Child, and
- stop further progress, in order that he might continue
- to be Worshipped as the Lord of Heaven. How the Woman
- escaped into Egypt, or expanded to the limits of the
- Mother of Sut, the Orbit of Saturn and so on till the
- True Child was brought to Light within Her and the
- light of the Sun and Moon were no longer needed, for
- there was the Crowned Child in the Midst of the Holy
- City.
-
- So we may learn, through the expansion of our
- consciousness to the conception of Babalon and the
- Beast, to pass ON to the Greater Conception of Nuit and
- Hadit, and obtain our heritage of Cosmic Consciousness,
- as the Crowned Children of the New Aeon. This was
- prophesied by the Beast Himself, who made it his life
- work to teach; "First obtain the Knowledge and
- Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, the Higher
- Self, in Tiphereth the Kingdom of God in the Heart, and
- all things shall be added unto you."
-
- Is it not written in the Qabalah: "Kether is in
- Malkuth, and Malkuth is in Kether, but after another
- manner"? This statement has been misunderstood owing to
- the limitations of our minds. Malkuth is NUIT, and
- Kether is HADIT, and when united RA-HOOR-KHUIT, their
- Son is in Tiphereth. Also Nuit has said "My number is
- Eleven, as are all their numbers who are of us." Kether
- is 1, Malkuth is 10, together Eleven, which is the Lost
- Sphere of DAATH, the Child of Chokmah and Binah. This
- is the Mystery of the Path of Aquarius, The Star, the
- Eleventh Sign of the Zodiac, brought to Earth at the
- Eleventh Hour, before Time had swallowed the Last of
- His Children, which shall be as The First in the
- Kingdom of the Here and Now.
-
-
-
- Chapter VI
-
- Further Light on the Tree of Life
-
- We should now try to understand the Mystery of
- "The Tree of Life which is one with the Tree of
- Knowledge." It is written: "The letter killeth and the
- Spirit giveth life."
-
- The Structure of the Tree of Life as represented
- in our diagram is evidently a Divinely given Plan of
- the Multi-dimensional Sphere of the Universe, in Two-
- Dimensions. When we examine it superficially it means
- little or nothing; gradually, as we absorb the Divine
- Ideas reflected through its medium, our minds take on
- the Image and Likeness of God, and we are enabled to
- comprehend all in Spherical form.
-
- The Qabalah teaches us to think of a greater and
- greater number of things, in the light of fewer and
- fewer Ultimate Ideas, as has been shown in the chapter
- on "The Essence of the Practical Qabalah." The highest
- Reason which is in God and which is God, is absolutely
- One. God knows all things by One Idea, which is
- identical with His Being.
-
- The limitations of Time and Circumstance obsess
- us, and we are at first unable to grasp the Divine
- Plan. Tradition is the result of the Thought of
- Humanity in the "past" focused in the Present, the Here
- and Now. So it is in regard to what we term the
- "future." The Plan of the Tree of Life gives us an idea
- of the Unchanging Basis of the Here and Now, in time
- and space.
-
- The Reformulation of the Paths has made this
- clear; we have seen how the past leads to the Present,
- and glimpsed a Vision of the Great Light of the
- Beginning, which will Dawn on Humanity in the "future."
- Those who are able to comprehend may obtain this Reward
- Now. Nuit has said: "I give unimaginable joys on earth,
- certainty, not faith, while in life upon death, peace
- unalterable, rest, ecstasy, nor do I demand aught in
- sacrifice." Or as Christ said to one of the two thieves
- (Time and Space), "This Day shalt thou be with me in
- Paradise"; and on another occasion; "Now is the
- Accepted Time, Now is the Day of Salvation."
-
- Let us examine the Tree of Life again in order
- that we may further grasp its mystery, and how it comes
- about that the New Aeon is possible in Human
- Consciousness. We must use the language of time and
- space, but we shall be informed of the Spirit if our
- minds are open to the Truth.
-
- Horus, the Ever-Coming Son, is said to have
- appeared under many forms, as the Great Cycle of the
- Precession of the Equinoxes progressed. The Complete
- Cycle is said to be 25868 years; though in more ancient
- reckoning it was 26000 years, when the year was taken
- to represent 360 days. 2155 Years represents one Sign
- on the Grand Zodiac, and every 2155 years Horus appears
- in a new guise. About 11,030 B.C. He would have
- appeared in the Sign of Leo, as the Lion God. If we
- examine the position of this Path on the Tree, we find
- it unites Tiphereth and Netzach. It is my opinion that
- the consciousness of Humanity during that period would
- be particularly influenced by that Path, and that the
- flower of the race could not have held conceptions
- above Tiphereth. They may have obtained a glimpse of
- the Sun as Ruler of the Elements. About 8875 B.C.,
- Horus would be manifest through Cancer, as the Beetle,
- and the summit of Human consciousness would be lowered.
- Thus the age would seem one of retrogression, until
- Horus, dipping down into Yesod, re-ascended under the
- Moon's Influence thus entering Gemini. This seems
- indicated in the Tarot Trump "The Moon" where we notice
- the Beetle coming up from the Pool beneath the Moon.
- About 6720 B.C. He entered Gemini and appeared as one
- of the Twins. Consciousness would balance that of the
- Leo period, and tend to ascend to Tiphereth. In 4565
- B.C. Horus entered Taurus, appearing as a Calf. Moses
- seemed to consider the worship of the Calf a
- retrogression, and we see that the Path of Taurus is
- again below Tiphereth. In 2410 B.C. we find Him
- appearing in Aries, as the Lamb. This represented a
- distinct rise in the Race Consciousness, which however
- took on the Strong but Severe aspect of Geburah. This
- period was a Natural One, for the Constellation Aries,
- would coincide with the Sign of Aries in the Earth's
- Aura or Elliptic. This conflicting Time Cycles would be
- reconciled. Then, in 255 B.C. we find him as the Fish,
- the Path balancing that of Aries, and having the
- Influence of Mercy predominating. Thus it was till 1900
- A.D. when He appeared to enter Aquarius. But what a
- startling change. Suddenly we find Him on a Path
- uniting the Supernals of Wisdom and Understanding, and
- Their direct Influence made possible in the Minds of
- the Race. Not since the previous Golden Age 25000 years
- ago had the Influence of this Path been felt. No wonder
- men looked to the Sun as the Father, and even in the
- Pisces period only understood the lower Aspect of
- Jupiter. Once again in this Aeon we are able to
- recognize the Great Mother of the Stars, and to
- discover the Secret of the Lost Father.
-
- There is also a Trinitarian Cycle of Father,
- Mother, Child, running parallel, so to speak, with this
- Tradition of the Evercoming Horus. It is the Natural
- Formula of Isis, Osiris, Horus, and is of Solar Origin.
- From 2419 B.C. to 255 B.C. Isis the Mother was said to
- be the Predominant Aspect of the Trinity. Hers was the
- Office of Nature, She presided over the Natural opening
- of the Great and Little Years which both coincided.
- Then Osiris, Dead and Re-Arisen, was the predominant
- object of Worship till 1900 A.D., and self-sacrifice
- and Renunciation were the principal exoteric formulae.
- In this present Cycle Horus is doubly pre-dominant, so
- we see Him in his Dual Nature as Horus-Harpocrates.
-
- It is also interesting to note the character of
- Horus as Apophis the Avenger. The Isis, Osiris, Horus
- arrangement is quite the natural one for the course of
- events. Isis (The Moon) having taken the place of the
- Great Mother Nuit. But what of the Formula IAO, as
- Isis, Apophis, Osiris? If we make a list of several
- repetitions of the series thus:
-
- Isis
-
- Osiris
-
- Horus
-
- Isis
-
- Osiris
-
- Horus
-
- Isis etc.
-
- and trace them back, we find the order Isis, Horus,
- Osiris, etc.; or Isis, Apophis, Osiris. Horus appears
- as the avenger Apophis to those who try to GO BACK, or
- retrogress. He has to destroy them in order that they
- may be renewed. But as long as we go forward, we travel
- with the Ever Coming Son, who is after all our Destiny,
- since He is within each of us as the True Urge of our
- Being. This, then, is the secret of the Way of the TAO;
- step boldly out on the Path of Destiny, having aligned
- the personal with the Divine Will, and thus prepared
- oneselves for the acceptance of that Destiny. Keep
- ahead of the urge from behind, and it will not fret us.
-
- Then we become Free, Goers, Doing the Will of God
- upon Earth, Ever-Coming Sons of God.
-
- But if we attempt to lag behind to carry out some
- personal whims and wishes, Destiny catches up with us
- and forces us on. To those who willfully turn back and
- seek to avoid cooperating with the Divine Plan, Horus
- is the Great Avenger. Has he not said "I am a God of
- War and of Vengeance. I will deal hardly with them."
- Thus at his Coming in 1904 he found the Race in a state
- of definite retrogression. "Civilization" met him as he
- advanced in triumph, and millions fell, without
- understanding what was happening. He still drives ahead
- in His Chariot, and millions more will feel his Force
- and Fire, until the Race recognizes that it must right
- about face, and cheer the Conquering Hero on. Then we
- shall have Peace and Rejoicing, and the Stern Warrior
- will seem as the Gentlest Child.
-
-
-
- Chapter VII
-
- The Law of Thelema
-
- To some, this book will come in the nature of a
- challenge, to others as the fulfillment of the Covenant
- symbolized by the Rainbow of Hope. Some will understand
- readily, some will desire to understand and seek
- further enlightenment, others will partly understand
- and try to forget what they have read, some may
- definitely disagree. But one thing is certain "The sin
- which is unpardonable is knowingly and willfully to
- reject truth, to fear knowledge lest that knowledge
- pander not to thy prejudices."
-
- I have tried to avoid the unpardonable sin by
- keeping an open mind for all that seemed to express an
- aspect of truth, even where I failed to understand the
- full significance of the teaching.
-
- Take, for instance, the statement of the Master
- Therion "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the
- Law," which has been much misunderstood by some people.
- When I first heard this statement, many years ago, it
- shocked and surprised me; it did not seem possible that
- such a doctrine could be of universal application. But
- I did not reject it on that account.
-
- When I read the "Message of the Master Therion," I
- found it clearly stated and explained that "Do what
- thou wilt" does not mean "Do what you like." What then
- does it mean? That I have tried to discover, by means
- of experiment, and I have found, as stated by Therion,
- that far from leading to "license" it becomes the
- "strictest possible bond."
-
- One can hardly fail to realize that we have been
- living in an age of "restriction" which has led to most
- direful results. But the solution of the difficulty is
- evidently not to be found in a mad breaking away from
- all authority and order, a running wild with cries of
- "freedom" and "liberty" only to find ourselves more
- enslaved than before. What then is the solution of the
- difficulty? I will endeavor to tell you how this
- teaching has worked out in practice in my life and
- consciousness.
-
- I considered the matter seriously and said "If do
- what thou wilt shall be the _whole_ of the Law" it
- evidently applies to all mankind. In that case my own
- personal will is but a little part of the will of
- Humanity, and in doing it I must learn first of all to
- consider other people's wills more than anything else.
- If all the people come to do their wills, what is left
- to be done must be my will, and my course become clear.
- Therefore let me learn to mind my own business, cease
- to make any attempt to interfere with the will of
- another, and see what results.
-
- I found, as soon as I was less anxious to tell
- everyone else just what, in my opinion, they should do,
- I gained many true and devoted friends, who have never
- since deserted me, except through the change called
- death. People seemed to feel that I had no personal axe
- to grind, and gave me their brotherly and sisterly
- confidence. I, at the same time, found there was a
- great deal it was my will to do, which no one else
- seemed interest in undertaking, so that I continued
- very happily doing what I felt to be right, without
- coming into serious conflict with anyone. I did not
- feel that my will was in opposition to the laws of the
- Country, or the City, and so these in no way restricted
- me in a personal sense. I began to feel this was one of
- the chief rules of life, a good common-sense business
- proposition. It seemed so plain that I almost wondered
- why people had not adopted it before. Then I began to
- notice its effects on others who were also endeavoring
- to live it. In some cases their interpretation at first
- seemed to be "Do your will regardless of the other
- fellow," but they very soon found this did not work at
- all in their dealings with me, at any rate. If such
- came along and made a rough demand, or a stupid
- statement of what he would, or would not do to me, I
- simply said "Go ahead and do it but don't expect me to
- help you." The result was in every instance, since
- there was no opposition and I didn't really care one
- bit, that his ardor cooled and he changed his mind;
- some better way having occurred to him at once.
- Opposition and resistance in such cases would have been
- just the same as helping the other person to fulfill
- what was quite evidently a hasty choice of action, and
- had I followed that course, I should not alone have
- done something I did not feel to be right, but have
- aided him to do something he would afterwards have
- found to be wrong, and we might both have bitterly
- regretted the transaction.
-
- I began to realize that the True Will of Humanity
- as a Whole was the same as the Will of God for Humanity
- at this particular stage of their development.
- Therefore by trying to help Humanity as a Whole,
- without distinction, as far as in me lay, I could learn
- to do the Will of God, or the True Will. I found this
- entirely satisfied my "personal will" for I realized
- that I was living for a greater purpose than I could
- personally formulate as a plan of action by means of
- the little "will." Herein then lay the secret of "Do
- what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law," it was a
- divinely sent promise to encourage Humanity in its Hour
- of Darkness.
-
- The more I endeavored to live up to this Law, the
- easier I found it became. It is very nearly the same as
- the Law of least resistance, for one takes advantage of
- the Inertia of the Universe.
-
- There could be no turning aside, it became a
- Conscious and Free fulfillment of Destiny, a co-
- operation in the plan of the Great Architect. This Plan
- became clearer and clearer. Problems that had perplexed
- me for years, gradually solved themselves, without
- effort on my part. Things I had tried hard to do, by
- means of the personal will alone, became easy. I
- obtained all the personal pleasure of the fulfillment,
- without the effort to attain them. I learned to tackle
- each problem at the time it arose, and to clear it up
- while it was small. My "duty" became plain, and it was
- my Will to do it while I had the opportunity. I found I
- had just enough work to do properly, without time to
- spare to do anything for others they could better do
- for themselves; but there was always enough time to
- help another on a point I could obviously clear up, and
- on which he really needed my help.
-
- I began to notice calls on my attention from
- "outside" and to give them prior consideration. That is
- to say, if something "came to me to do" I tried to do
- it with my might; but I curbed, as far as possible the
- tendency to "look for trouble" that would not otherwise
- come my way. Thus I am finding "Do what thou wilt" is
- helping me to find _my particular place_ in the scheme
- of things. I am beginning to like all I do, which is
- much more satisfactory that trying to "do what I like."
-
- This book is one of the results of my course of
- action. I spent many years as an Accountant, which work
- I did without it being particularly congenial to me. I
- found it became possible for me to make a living in
- more congenial ways, so that I became happier, if not
- so well off financially, than I had been. At the same
- time I feel that the result of my researches, which
- have given me great pleasure and keen enjoyment, may be
- of real service to those whose work does not permit
- them to apply the same amount of time to preparation
- and study that I have been able to devote to it. More
- of my brothers and sisters may therefore profit by my
- work, than would have been the case had I continued
- with my profession as an accountant.
-
- In the light of this book, in which, I hope,
- shines a glimmering of the Universal Tradition, the
- statement "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the
- Law" will be even plainer to humanity. It is literally
- the TOUCHSTONE of our lives. This one thing which makes
- Man more than animal is the power of will or choices of
- action; the power of Intelligent Purpose. The Black
- Tradition interpreted this power wrongly, and thought
- by "personal will" to usurp the Power of God. God was
- Invisible to them, they could see no reason why they
- should not do anything they liked, regardless of the
- other fellow, so long as they had the power or the
- money to carry out their ambition. The White
- Brotherhood, while receiving the Will of God, allowed
- their Interpretation of that Will to become so narrow,
- that they felt themselves alone to be Right and all
- others Wrong. Such are the reformers, however well-
- meaning. But the Universe is the Perfect Work of a
- Perfect Being. If we see wrong in it, it is owning to
- our own limited outlook.
-
- THELEMA, or "Do what thou wilt," is a TOUCHSTONE
- in this respect. If we accept it and interpret it to
- mean the doing of the "personal will" only, we find
- Destiny steps in and stops us. If we still persist,
- willfully going against the Divine Will, against what
- is for the Good of Humanity as a Whole, against the
- Natural Urge of Evolution; trying to interfere with the
- will of others, and to usurp the Divine Right of every
- man and every woman to be THEMSELVES; we meet Horus the
- Avenger, and are deservedly smashed out of all
- recognition, ready to be made over again some other
- time when Nature has nothing better to do.
-
- If we grudgingly submit to Fate and allow
- ourselves to be slowly pushed along by the Evolutionary
- process, we cannot expect much comfort or success. We
- are practically slaves, little better than animals.
-
- If, on the other hand, we accept Divine Law,
- search our Hearts in the effort at all times to
- discover the Will of God within us, and to put our
- personal will in line with the Divine; we shall become
- Men and Women with a True Purpose. We shall step on the
- Road of Destiny, which is one with Free-will so long as
- it be God's Will, with a certainty and Courage which
- will be a living example and help to all around us. We
- cannot teach better than by example. Let us then seek
- constantly to do the Will of God which is our own True
- will, and we shall soon realize "There is no law
- beyond: Do what thou wilt!"
-
-
-
- Chapter VIII
-
- The Tradition of the Golden Age
-
- A great deal more might be said on this subject,
- in fact it is truly inexhaustible, for fresh Light is
- Ever Coming.
-
- There are one or two points which seem of
- particular interest and importance, and these I should
- Like to mention in the present treatise, so as to make
- is as complete and comprehensive as possible, as far as
- it goes.
-
- I feel I have submitted fairly substantial
- evidence in justification of the Reformulation of the
- Order of the Paths, but I may point to some other
- interesting facts.
-
- Firstly, the Path from Malkuth to Yesod is Aleph.
- Above Yesod and below Tiphereth we find the Paths of
- Vau and Mem, forming a Cross. These together are AUM,
- the word whereby we may prolong Dhyana, etc. But since
- M, the last letter is a closed sound and represents
- Death, we have been using the Word AUMN for some time,
- as this prolongs the Breath through the nasal sound of
- N, thus showing that Death may be overcome. We find the
- Path of Nun, N, or "Death" immediately above Tiphereth;
- so by this means we may be said to pass ON. This
- formula brings us directly in contact with the Channel
- of the Holy Spirit, or Shin.
-
- I may say a new Ritual was revealed to us early
- this Year. I do not intend to describe it on account of
- its great Power. It might be a hindrance rather than a
- help to those unprepared for it. All I shall say is,
- that what we may term the 1923 Qabalistic Cross has the
- effect of Enlightening the Subconscious Mind by means
- of Wisdom and Understanding, thus enabling us, while on
- Earth, to ascend through the Power of the Breath,
- overcoming Water and Fire in the Light of the Spirit.
- Those who are ready will understand without further
- explanation. The Ascending Sign is that of Apophis as
- the Triple Flame.
-
- While mentioning formulae we might also point out
- an exact correspondence to that of the Ritual of
- Mercury as indicated in the present arrangement of
- Paths. Taht, or Mercury, assisted Horus, be it
- remembered, in his struggle against the Powers of the
- Waters, by means of his Knowledge of the luni-solar
- reckonings. The Ritual states "The Sun is thy Father,
- thy Mother the Moon, the Wind hath borne thee in its
- bosom, and Earth hath ever nourished the changeless
- Godhead of thy Youth." In other words: The Sun
- (Tiphereth) is thy Father; thy Mother (Mem) the Moon
- (Yesod); the Wind (Aleph) hath borne thee in its bosom;
- and Earth (Malkuth) hath ever nourished the Changeless
- Godhead (Hadit) of the Youth (IU).
-
- Now let us discuss a slightly different aspect.
- The Root of the word Qabalah is QBL, meaning "to
- receive." The Numeration of QBL is 132 which suggests
- the Supernal Triad. The word Qabalah is in Hebrew QBLH.
- The Final He suggests the Daughter, Malkuth. Kether,
- Chokmah, Binah, are the Sephirotic Roots of the
- Elements Air, Fire, and Water. Malkuth alone is
- attributed to Earth which is a compound of the other
- three. Therefore QBLH implies that Malkuth is "To
- Receive" the "Roots" of the Primordial Elements
- directly from the Supernals, and is composed thereof.
-
- It has been shown how the Path of "The Magician"
- is directly representative of the Will and Wisdom of
- the Father in Chokmah, or of Yod of Tetragrammaton.
- Also how the Path of "The Empress" is directly
- representative of the Understanding of the Great Mother
- Binah, or of the He of IHVH. Again how the Path of "The
- Fool" transmits the Power of Vau, the Son, and of the
- Spirit or Shin. We find all these within the Daughter
- or final He, which becomes one with IHShVH, which, as
- 326, has also been shown to be the numeration of
- PARChVAL the earliest spelling of the Fool which is
- Aleph, the One who is in All. 326 is also indicated in
- the Descending Triad of Binah, Chokmah, Tiphereth;
- symbolizing that Tiphereth is also within Malkuth in
- the Complete Sphere, of which Malkuth or Nuit is the
- Infinite Circumference, Kether the Invisible and
- Infinitely Small Center, or Hadit; while Tiphereth, as
- Ra-Hoor-Khuit, is the Finite Universe, capable of being
- absorbed into the Heart or Soul of Man, half-way, so to
- speak, between the Infinites. The Sphere of the Moon,
- Yesod, is the Subconscious Mind of Humanity which
- absorbs the Solar Seed of Truth, and reflects it to the
- Individual Soul.
-
- This can be shown in another manner. If we take
- Malkuth as the Planet Earth, the Air (Aleph) circles
- round it. Then comes the Orbit of the Moon. We may
- imagine Yesod circling round Malkuth with her
- reflecting surface always toward it. This orbit of the
- Moon may be fittingly taken for the Aura of the Earth,
- capable of receiving every impression and transmitting
- it to the Subconscious.
-
- Malkuth and its Moon travel round the Sun,
- Tiphereth, and the elliptic is the Aura of the Earth in
- a larger sense; since the Signs of the Zodiac retain a
- fixed relation to the Earth as imaginary divisions of
- this elliptic, even though the actual constellations
- have changed their positions owing to the precession of
- the Equinoxes. This causes the actual Constellation to
- extend its influence through a different Sign. For
- instance, at present (since 1900), the Constellation of
- Aquarius exerts its influence upon the Sun, through the
- Sign of Aries, and this influence is transmitted to the
- Earth.
-
- This Orbit of the Earth, is however a part of the
- Aura of the Sun, which may be said to extend to the
- Orbit of Saturn. (More properly Neptune in the light of
- modern discovery.)
-
- Between the Earth and the Sun, as we look to Him
- as a Center, revolve the Planets Mercury and Venus. If,
- therefore, we Worshipped the Sun as our main objective,
- we should find ourselves traveling to a false Center.
- So we must turn our backs to the Sun, looking at things
- from His point of view, while still on the Earth, and
- around us will appear the Orbits of Mars, then Jupiter
- and then of Saturn, outside which are the
- Constellations of the Zodiac, and so on. From this
- symbolical viewpoint we may begin to absorb all these
- within us, as before stated in a slightly different
- way.
-
- Now the Sun is ever the Son of the Star Mother,
- but as Father of Earth He transmits the prevailing
- influence of the Starts to the Earth through the medium
- of the Moon's orbit. If, from Earth, we look up at the
- Sun at the Vernal Equinox, which opens the Year, we
- should see him with the first Degrees of the
- Constellation Aquarius as a background. The Sun's Aura
- is particularly affected by the Influence of this
- Constellation, during the 2155 Years it appears back of
- the Zodiacal Sign of Aries in the Earth elliptic. The
- Life-force from the Sun is therefore charged with this
- influence, and all on Earth are accordingly affected.
- The Breath, or Prana, of the Sun is transmuted in the
- Body of Man, and he tends to become the Type of the
- Aquarian Age. This is a purely Human Sign, of the
- Water-bearer who carries the Waters of Life fearlessly.
- Horus has overcome the terror of the Waters, his
- ancient enemy, and to him that overcometh shall be
- given of the Waters of Life freely.
-
- One could draw many parallels from the Scriptures
- to show that this is the Age of Fulfillment; even the
- FULL-FILLING of MAN with the Water of Life. Readers
- may, however, be interested in tracing some of these
- for themselves in "Revelations" and elsewhere.
-
- We should remember, however, that Horus is the
- Ever-coming Son. This is not merely His second coming,
- any more than the last manifestation was His first.
-
- At the risk of repeating myself I want to point
- out once again, from the Tree of Life, what a very
- important Age we have entered. In the last period, the
- influence of the Path of Pisces being predominant, it
- was next to impossible to rise above the Sphere of
- Chesed. Jupiter was the Highest conception of the
- Father known to man. It was an age of Mercy,
- unbalanced, and tending to aid and abet evil, just as
- the period before that was Over-severe and cruel.
- Without tracing all these paths again, let me once more
- say that the Path of Aquarius (if our plan is accepted
- as the correct one) is the ONLY Path of a Reciprocal
- nature among the Supernals, and the only Zodiacal Path
- above the Abyss. Therefore the coming period of 2132
- years, is the ONLY period in the Cycle of 25000 years,
- when Humanity has the advantage of the True Light of
- Wisdom and Understanding. At the end of this period, we
- may expect another FALL, just as Lucifer Fell at one
- period, and Eve at another. Then the Influence will be
- in the Path of Capricorn, or "The Devil," and the Light
- will decline towards Tiphereth as the principal
- manifestation of God according to the "Eye" Doctrine.
-
- We may now understand why it was that the Ancient
- Brethren of the previous Golden Ages, seeing all things
- clearly, and realizing the future as well as the past,
- made very effort to leave PERMANENT MEMORIALS and
- LANDMARKS for the guidance of Humanity who would arise
- during the twilight and dark periods that must
- inevitably follow HIGH NOON. Our endeavor during this
- cycle should be to leave just such a permanent record,
- in Living form if possible. The formation of the Twelve
- Tribes as Living representations of the Signs of the
- Zodiac was just such an attempt in the past. The Jews
- were the IUs, representatives of the Ever-coming Son,
- the Wanderer, and thus they were called the chosen
- people. They were the people to which IUsaas came,
- hoping to find they still had a recollection of the
- Universal Tradition. But they had lost it, and did not
- understand. So He had to be content with promising the
- Gentiles that He would Come Again, and that next time
- it would be at the Eleventh Hours, in the Sign of
- Aquarius, and that the Golden Age would be renewed for
- a period. "In my Father's House are many mansions," He
- said, "I go to prepare a place for you." In other
- words, "This limited and restricted Sign of Pisces is
- which I am now appearing, leaves much to be desired."
- He knew He must be misunderstood, that the IUs having
- failed Him there was no chance of reviving the Lost
- Tradition, that the World would have to fulfill its
- destiny. He tried to explain to a few disciples, making
- each of the represent one of the Signs, so as to form a
- new Circle corresponding to the Tribes. Most of these
- have misunderstood, as time has shown.
-
- Now He comes as a Conqueror, not as a Slave; but
- his chief weapon will be His Childlike Simplicity and
- His failure to perceive anything but good in all around
- him. For He knows that the Universe is the Perfect Work
- of a Perfect Being, that Existence is pure Joy, that
- the sorrows are but shadows, they pass and are done,
- but there is that which remains.
-
- Now, in conclusion, let us say a few words in
- regard to Hermes, He who has given us His Book, the
- Tarot, as a true token of remembrance, of Whom we have
- one indisputably authentic record in the famous Emerald
- Tablet; all that is left of the Wisdom of Hermetic
- Philosophy of Ancient Egypt. Hermes prophesied that
- Egypt would fall, and so She did. He say there would
- come an end to the Golden Age in which He lived.
-
- What says the Emerald Tablet. "True, without
- error, certain and most true; that which is above is as
- that which is below, and that which is below is as that
- which is above, for the performing of the miracle of
- the One Thing (or One Substance); and as all things
- were from one, by the mediation of one, so all things
- arose from this one thing by adaptation; the father of
- it is the Sun, the mother of it is the Moon; the wind
- carries it in its belly; the nurse thereof is the
- Earth. This is the father of all perfection, or
- consummation of the whole world. The power of it is
- integral, if it be turned into earth. Thou shalt
- separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the
- gross, gently with much sagacity; it ascends from the
- earth to heaven, and again descends to earth; and
- receives the strength of the superiors and of the
- inferiors -- so thou hast the glory of the whole world;
- therefore let all obscurity flee before thee. This is
- the strong fortitude of all fortitudes, overcoming
- every subtle and penetrating every solid thing. So the
- world was created. Hence were all wonderful adaptations
- of which this is the manner. Therefore am I called
- Thrice Great Hermes, having the Three Parts of the
- philosophy of the whole world. That which I have
- written is consummated concerning the operation of the
- Sun."
-
- May Hermes, Thrice Greatest, guide the earnest
- seeker in his study of this book. May He enlighten the
- minds of those who study the Emerald Tablet, comparing
- it with the teaching herein set forth, the Keys of the
- Tarot, and the Reformulation of the Paths. It is enough
- if I add that the Three Parts of the philosophy of the
- whole world, the Three Supernals, now directly exert
- their Influence upon the Earth, through the Channels of
- Wisdom, Love and Power, and that in very Truth "That
- which is above is as that which is below, and that
- which is below is as that which is above, for the
- performing of the miracle of the One Thing" which One
- Thing is the One Thought of the Supreme and Concealed
- Father, as Manifested in the Ever-Coming Son.
-
- IU
-
-
- The Student will find a folding plate at the end of this volume, which should be opened out and
- used for reference while studying this and the ensuing chapters. All correspondences should be
- carefully traced while reading, if the best results are expected.
- I knew a similar case in recent years. The man was a weakling sexually and preached a
- doctrine of repression to his regular followers, while paying attention to one or two. All went
- well till the other women followers, who had repressed themselves to the point of serious
- neurosis, found him out, and he had to leave that part of the world.
-
-