Posts
This article links to all of the components of the Office of the Readings for the Thelemic High Holy Days, March 20th through April 10th. It will serve as a general reference for anyone who would like to perform this series of rituals in upcoming years. The Rite of the Office of the Readings is performed for all of the readings following The Invocation of Horus on March 20th. It may also be used with The Prologue of the Unborn on March 19th at your own discretion. We've done it both ways over the years.
Rituals
The Invocation of Horus
The Rite of the Office of the Readings
Readings
March 19th - The Prologue of the Unborn
March 20th - Saturn/Earth, The Universe
March 21st - Fire/Spirit, The Aeon
March 22nd - Sol, The Sun
March 23rd - Pisces, The Moon
March 24th - Aries, The Emperor
March 25th - Mars, The Tower
March 26th - Capricornus, The Devil
March 27th - Sagittarius, Art
March 28th - Scorpio, Death
March 29th - Water, The Hanged Man
March 30th - Libra, Adjustment
March 31st - Jupiter, Fortune
April 1st - Virgo, The Hermit
April 2nd - Leo, Lust
April 3rd - Cancer, The Chariot
April 4th - Gemini, The Lovers
April 5th - Taurus, The Hierophant
April 6th - Aquarius, The Star
April 7th - Venus, The Empress
April 8th - Luna, The Priestess
April 9th - Mercury, The Magus
April 10th - Air, The Fool
If you would like to perform this series and have questions, feel free to e-mail me here.
All Office of the Readings posts may also be viewed here.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sorcery in the News
You've probably already seen this story because it's so weird, but I still wanted to comment on it. According to reports from Congo, evil magicians are using their magical powers to steal men's penises.
Yes, that's right. Most of us study esotericism to expand consciousness and gain control over the events of our lives, but these particular African magicians apparently study so that eventually at the height of their powers they can walk off with somebody else's cock. Nice.
I wonder if the penis-enlargement spammers have caught on. It seems like they could put together a solid business model if those same African magicians were able to incorporate Western ideas that allow spellcasting at a distance. A powerful African magician could then steal all of the penises in a given city and spammers could hit all the e-mail addresses there with herbal penis-enlargement promotions.
Then again, maybe a lot of Congolese men are just superstitious and anxious about their masculinity. There's certainly plenty of that in the rest of the world, so why should Congo be any different?
In other news, Christian sorcerers "pray for lower gas prices." Yes, praying for material things is sorcery, though not all Christian groups see it that way. Obviously as a ritual magician I don't see anything wrong with it, and the world economy is chaotic enough that magical practices might be able to shift it around relatively easily, but I always find it amusing when people rail against magick but use it freely to further their own interests.
Of course, seeing as it was put together by a community organizer and not a minister or any sort of spiritual worker, this may just be a publicity stunt to get media attention. It appears to have worked in that regard.
UPDATE: This article is also classic. It's a parody, but too funny to pass over. Apparently the Dalai Lama uses his evil magical powers to "cause crops to fail and pigs to exhibit remorseful expression." Is that like putting a "bad word" on your neighbor's cow?
Yes, that's right. Most of us study esotericism to expand consciousness and gain control over the events of our lives, but these particular African magicians apparently study so that eventually at the height of their powers they can walk off with somebody else's cock. Nice.
I wonder if the penis-enlargement spammers have caught on. It seems like they could put together a solid business model if those same African magicians were able to incorporate Western ideas that allow spellcasting at a distance. A powerful African magician could then steal all of the penises in a given city and spammers could hit all the e-mail addresses there with herbal penis-enlargement promotions.
Then again, maybe a lot of Congolese men are just superstitious and anxious about their masculinity. There's certainly plenty of that in the rest of the world, so why should Congo be any different?
In other news, Christian sorcerers "pray for lower gas prices." Yes, praying for material things is sorcery, though not all Christian groups see it that way. Obviously as a ritual magician I don't see anything wrong with it, and the world economy is chaotic enough that magical practices might be able to shift it around relatively easily, but I always find it amusing when people rail against magick but use it freely to further their own interests.
Of course, seeing as it was put together by a community organizer and not a minister or any sort of spiritual worker, this may just be a publicity stunt to get media attention. It appears to have worked in that regard.
UPDATE: This article is also classic. It's a parody, but too funny to pass over. Apparently the Dalai Lama uses his evil magical powers to "cause crops to fail and pigs to exhibit remorseful expression." Is that like putting a "bad word" on your neighbor's cow?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
My Thoughts on Thelema and Abortion
In the last few months the discussion of Thelema and abortion has apparently been all over LiveJournal. I deliberately do not have a LiveJournal account and avoid participating in LiveJournal discussions (which is another story unto itself) so I'm a little late to the party, as it were, but seeing as the issue is so contentious and, after all, my blog could use more traffic, here I am.
The basic question is this: Seeing as Aleister Crowley was strongly opposed to abortion, which he clearly was, should Thelemites be opposed to it as well?
First off, here are my own biases on the issue. Politically, I'm strongly pro-choice. This is a largely utilitarian stance on my part because based on my study of the legal systems of various societies I have concluded that a society with options for legal abortion works better than one in which a legal prohibition scheme is in place. At the same time, I support comprehensive sex education and expanded access to contraception, both of which have been shown to bring down the abortion rate. I pretty much agree with the position advanced by the Clinton administration in the 1990's, that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.
From the standpoint of personal ethics and values, the question of whether or not to have an abortion will always be moot for me - I'm male so I can't get pregnant. I'm not a big proponent of making judgments about other people's choices because I do tend to think that the practice of "Do what thou wilt" has a lot to do with minding my own business. I also think that using the legal system to advance my own beliefs regardless of the utilitarian consequences of the resulting laws is silly. Laws should make a society work better, and any law that doesn't should be done away with regardless of its moral foundations. So, in fact, even if I did believe abortion to be "the most shameful form of murder" (quoting Crowley) my political position would remain the same.
Nonetheless, there are serious ethical issues addressed by the abortion debate above and beyond the legal sphere and hardly anyone denies this be the case. The supposed "liberal who nonchalantly has abortions" is for the most part a strawman created by conservative commentators. I know of no one who has ever had an abortion without serious thought and consideration, liberal or conservative. Thelema as a spiritual system does provide a foundation for such thought and consideration, but as it is such a individualistic path contention between practitioners is hard to avoid. A conservative Thelemite I know once told me about an event he attended where it was automatically assumed that any Thelemite would be pro-choice when he in fact was not, and he found it ironic that this assumption would have excluded Crowley himself. Making blanket assumptions about other Thelemites is in my experience a good way to get into trouble.
Abortion is such a hot-button issue that the personal attacks pretty much fly from all directions when it comes up. For all that many of these attacks accuse the other side of "not understanding the material" there is one point that I have yet to see raised (at least outside of friends-locked LiveJournal discussions that I can't access without an account) and I think it is an important one. When Crowley talked about abortion, did he mean exactly what we mean today? According to British law, traditionally a fetus was seen as being alive following the "quickening," the moment at which independent movement of the child was first detected.
British legal scholar William Blackstone, writing in the eighteenth century, stated that:
I would be tempted to completely dismiss this concept as a legal artifact unrelated to Crowley's teachings, except that it appears he did not in fact believe that the soul entered the body at the moment of conception. Specifically, he wrote in Confessions that he believed himself to be the reincarnation of Eliphas Levi, who died on May 31st, 1875. Crowley was born on October 12th of the same year, four and a half months later, and he also wrote elsewhere that he believed that in some past life he must have taken a vow to reincarnate immediately after death. Quickening normally happens 20-some weeks into a pregnancy, so the timeline Crowley presents fits with the soul entering the body of an unborn infant at quickening rather than conception.
So does this matter to the debate at hand? Obviously I think it's relevant or I wouldn't be posting it, but I can also see the counterargument that abortion is still a violation of the formula of life and growth even if it happens before the child can be said to possess a soul, or in more scientific terms a complex nervous system that is capable of initiating movement and possibly has some degree of self-awareness. I do think it is a solid refutation of the statement that abortion of any sort denies the formula of the Minerval degree in OTO, which is specifically stated as "the soul, a wandering god, is attracted to the solar system." It would seem to me that only an abortion following the moment of quickening could really be viewed in those terms if indeed the soul isn't present for the first twenty or so weeks of pregnancy. These days, most abortions are done during the first trimester, well before quickening.
Crowley was actually kind of an odd duck as far as modern American politics goes. On the one hand, he was opposed to abortion and remained so throughout his life, and I do think anyone who contends otherwise should probably study the material in greater depth. On the other hand, it is equally clear that Crowley was strongly in favor of sexual freedom and expression. In today's politics those two beliefs rarely go together - supporters of the pro-life movement are usually opposed to homosexuality, pre-marital sex, and depictions of sexuality in just about any form. Crowley hated such beliefs, and I don't know that even his strong opposition to abortion would have allowed him much common ground with anti-sex advocates who also are pro-lifers.
Crowley's own resolution of the issue was to set up comprehensive social structures that would support women faced with unplanned pregnancies, and at one point he proposed that the OTO set up and operate an organization to do just that. Furthermore, he hoped to work at the societal level to eliminate the stigma attached to unplanned pregnancy, primarily through the promulgation of the Law of Thelema. Like many idealistic proposals, such a social system might work if the whole thing could be implemented at once, and if it could be shown to effectively reduce the demand for abortions I would be all for it. The problem is that politics doesn't usually work that way, and the OTO has never had anywhere near the funds controlled by fraternal groups like the Masons during Crowley's lifetime. Such a source of funds would be necessary for supporting such a large institution privately.
The bigger question in all of this is which of Crowley's personal beliefs are important to the practice of Thelema. I doubt anyone would contend that to be a good Thelemite you have to play chess or climb mountains. Crowley supported the British Empire - does that mean a Thelemite should be an imperialist? Crowley harshly criticized democracy as a political system - does that mean a Thelemite should be a monarchist? I certainly have met Thelemites of both descriptions, but in the end as Thelemites we are left to draw our own conclusions, "each for himself," and that really is in my opinion how it should be.
If someone is doing their practices diligently and following Crowley's spiritual system I think that is what makes them a "good Thelemite," not any particular political point of view. More to the point, I'm not even sure that we should be in the business of trying to define who is a good Thelemite and who isn't in any sort of general sense. I choose to surround myself with people who enrich my life and it just so happens that most of them are Thelemites - some with rather divergent political views on a whole variety of issues, not just this one.
I suppose now I get to find out if anyone is reading this blog. Comment away!
UPDATE: In the comments, Aish Mlchmh cited a section from Confessions in which Crowley comments on Rose trying to obtain an abortion because she believed herself to be pregnant even though she was not. He's clearly opposed to what would have been a very early term abortion, so I think any question regarding Crowley's use of the term is settled. He is using it in the contemporary sense.
I also have made a couple of changes to the original text. I removed "disreputable" from "conservative commentators" because even though when I wrote it I was trying to distinguish between reputable and disreputable conservative commentators (that is, to point out that I don't believe all conservative commentators make use of strawman arguments in the abortion debate) it reads as a cheap shot implying that all conservative commentators are disreputable. Also, I changed "the pro-life movement" to "supporters of the pro-life movement" because I was talking about particular individuals, not necessarily the organizations themselves. Finally, I changed "who is a Thelemite" in the second to last paragraph to "who is a good Thelemite" which is what I meant, but not what I first wrote.
The basic question is this: Seeing as Aleister Crowley was strongly opposed to abortion, which he clearly was, should Thelemites be opposed to it as well?
First off, here are my own biases on the issue. Politically, I'm strongly pro-choice. This is a largely utilitarian stance on my part because based on my study of the legal systems of various societies I have concluded that a society with options for legal abortion works better than one in which a legal prohibition scheme is in place. At the same time, I support comprehensive sex education and expanded access to contraception, both of which have been shown to bring down the abortion rate. I pretty much agree with the position advanced by the Clinton administration in the 1990's, that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.
From the standpoint of personal ethics and values, the question of whether or not to have an abortion will always be moot for me - I'm male so I can't get pregnant. I'm not a big proponent of making judgments about other people's choices because I do tend to think that the practice of "Do what thou wilt" has a lot to do with minding my own business. I also think that using the legal system to advance my own beliefs regardless of the utilitarian consequences of the resulting laws is silly. Laws should make a society work better, and any law that doesn't should be done away with regardless of its moral foundations. So, in fact, even if I did believe abortion to be "the most shameful form of murder" (quoting Crowley) my political position would remain the same.
Nonetheless, there are serious ethical issues addressed by the abortion debate above and beyond the legal sphere and hardly anyone denies this be the case. The supposed "liberal who nonchalantly has abortions" is for the most part a strawman created by conservative commentators. I know of no one who has ever had an abortion without serious thought and consideration, liberal or conservative. Thelema as a spiritual system does provide a foundation for such thought and consideration, but as it is such a individualistic path contention between practitioners is hard to avoid. A conservative Thelemite I know once told me about an event he attended where it was automatically assumed that any Thelemite would be pro-choice when he in fact was not, and he found it ironic that this assumption would have excluded Crowley himself. Making blanket assumptions about other Thelemites is in my experience a good way to get into trouble.
Abortion is such a hot-button issue that the personal attacks pretty much fly from all directions when it comes up. For all that many of these attacks accuse the other side of "not understanding the material" there is one point that I have yet to see raised (at least outside of friends-locked LiveJournal discussions that I can't access without an account) and I think it is an important one. When Crowley talked about abortion, did he mean exactly what we mean today? According to British law, traditionally a fetus was seen as being alive following the "quickening," the moment at which independent movement of the child was first detected.
British legal scholar William Blackstone, writing in the eighteenth century, stated that:
Life ... begins in contemplation of law as soon as an infant is able to stir in the mother's womb. For if a woman is quick with child, and by a potion, or otherwise, killeth it in her womb; or if any one beat her, whereby the child dieth in her body, and she is delivered of a dead child; this, though not murder, was by the ancient law homicide or manslaughter. But at present it is not looked upon in quite so atrocious a light, though it remains a very heinous misdemeanor. (From Wikipedia)
I would be tempted to completely dismiss this concept as a legal artifact unrelated to Crowley's teachings, except that it appears he did not in fact believe that the soul entered the body at the moment of conception. Specifically, he wrote in Confessions that he believed himself to be the reincarnation of Eliphas Levi, who died on May 31st, 1875. Crowley was born on October 12th of the same year, four and a half months later, and he also wrote elsewhere that he believed that in some past life he must have taken a vow to reincarnate immediately after death. Quickening normally happens 20-some weeks into a pregnancy, so the timeline Crowley presents fits with the soul entering the body of an unborn infant at quickening rather than conception.
So does this matter to the debate at hand? Obviously I think it's relevant or I wouldn't be posting it, but I can also see the counterargument that abortion is still a violation of the formula of life and growth even if it happens before the child can be said to possess a soul, or in more scientific terms a complex nervous system that is capable of initiating movement and possibly has some degree of self-awareness. I do think it is a solid refutation of the statement that abortion of any sort denies the formula of the Minerval degree in OTO, which is specifically stated as "the soul, a wandering god, is attracted to the solar system." It would seem to me that only an abortion following the moment of quickening could really be viewed in those terms if indeed the soul isn't present for the first twenty or so weeks of pregnancy. These days, most abortions are done during the first trimester, well before quickening.
Crowley was actually kind of an odd duck as far as modern American politics goes. On the one hand, he was opposed to abortion and remained so throughout his life, and I do think anyone who contends otherwise should probably study the material in greater depth. On the other hand, it is equally clear that Crowley was strongly in favor of sexual freedom and expression. In today's politics those two beliefs rarely go together - supporters of the pro-life movement are usually opposed to homosexuality, pre-marital sex, and depictions of sexuality in just about any form. Crowley hated such beliefs, and I don't know that even his strong opposition to abortion would have allowed him much common ground with anti-sex advocates who also are pro-lifers.
Crowley's own resolution of the issue was to set up comprehensive social structures that would support women faced with unplanned pregnancies, and at one point he proposed that the OTO set up and operate an organization to do just that. Furthermore, he hoped to work at the societal level to eliminate the stigma attached to unplanned pregnancy, primarily through the promulgation of the Law of Thelema. Like many idealistic proposals, such a social system might work if the whole thing could be implemented at once, and if it could be shown to effectively reduce the demand for abortions I would be all for it. The problem is that politics doesn't usually work that way, and the OTO has never had anywhere near the funds controlled by fraternal groups like the Masons during Crowley's lifetime. Such a source of funds would be necessary for supporting such a large institution privately.
The bigger question in all of this is which of Crowley's personal beliefs are important to the practice of Thelema. I doubt anyone would contend that to be a good Thelemite you have to play chess or climb mountains. Crowley supported the British Empire - does that mean a Thelemite should be an imperialist? Crowley harshly criticized democracy as a political system - does that mean a Thelemite should be a monarchist? I certainly have met Thelemites of both descriptions, but in the end as Thelemites we are left to draw our own conclusions, "each for himself," and that really is in my opinion how it should be.
If someone is doing their practices diligently and following Crowley's spiritual system I think that is what makes them a "good Thelemite," not any particular political point of view. More to the point, I'm not even sure that we should be in the business of trying to define who is a good Thelemite and who isn't in any sort of general sense. I choose to surround myself with people who enrich my life and it just so happens that most of them are Thelemites - some with rather divergent political views on a whole variety of issues, not just this one.
I suppose now I get to find out if anyone is reading this blog. Comment away!
UPDATE: In the comments, Aish Mlchmh cited a section from Confessions in which Crowley comments on Rose trying to obtain an abortion because she believed herself to be pregnant even though she was not. He's clearly opposed to what would have been a very early term abortion, so I think any question regarding Crowley's use of the term is settled. He is using it in the contemporary sense.
I also have made a couple of changes to the original text. I removed "disreputable" from "conservative commentators" because even though when I wrote it I was trying to distinguish between reputable and disreputable conservative commentators (that is, to point out that I don't believe all conservative commentators make use of strawman arguments in the abortion debate) it reads as a cheap shot implying that all conservative commentators are disreputable. Also, I changed "the pro-life movement" to "supporters of the pro-life movement" because I was talking about particular individuals, not necessarily the organizations themselves. Finally, I changed "who is a Thelemite" in the second to last paragraph to "who is a good Thelemite" which is what I meant, but not what I first wrote.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thanks Everyone!
Thanks to everyone who helped make our fourth annual Office of the Readings a success.
We started with the Prologue of the Unborn on March 19th, performed the Invocation of Horus on March 20th, and went on to perform the ritual and readings as they appear on the blog each day until yesterday, April 10th, the Third Day of the Writing of The Book of the Law.
There's something about doing daily group rituals for a sustained period of time that isn't really matched by daily individual practice, and it's nice to do it at least once a year. And, of course, it's also a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to performing this series of rituals for many years to come.
Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging.
We started with the Prologue of the Unborn on March 19th, performed the Invocation of Horus on March 20th, and went on to perform the ritual and readings as they appear on the blog each day until yesterday, April 10th, the Third Day of the Writing of The Book of the Law.
There's something about doing daily group rituals for a sustained period of time that isn't really matched by daily individual practice, and it's nice to do it at least once a year. And, of course, it's also a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to performing this series of rituals for many years to come.
Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Readings for April 10th
The Happy Third Day of the Writing of The Book of the Law!
Reading 1: Liber AL vel Legis (CCXX), Chapter 3
http://lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0220.html#chap3
Reading 2: From Liber Sæculi (CCCXVIII), the 22nd Æthyr, by Saint Aleister Crowley
The voice of the Crowned Child, the Speech of the Babe that is hidden in the egg of blue: I have opened mine eye, and the universe is dissolved before me, for force is mine upper eye-lid and matter is my lower eye-lid. I gaze into the seven spaces, and there is naught.
I have gone forth to war, and I have slain him that sat upon the sea, crowned with the winds. I put forth my power and he was broken. I withdrew my power and he was ground into fine dust.
Rejoice with me, O ye Sons of the Morning; stand with me upon the Throne of Lotus; gather yourselves up unto me, and we shall play together in the fields of light. I have passed into the Kingdom of the West after my Father.
Behold! where are now the darkness and the terror and the lamentation? For ye are born into the new Æon; ye shall not suffer death. Bind up your girdles of gold! Wreathe yourselves with garlands of my unfading flowers! In the nights we will dance together, and in the morning we will go forth to war; for, as my Father liveth that was dead, so do I live and shall never die.
Reading 3: Vajrasattva, Primordial Buddha of Diamond or Rainbow Light, Tibetan Buddhist text adapted by Lalitha
The musicality of being is the sound of ice being shattered by lightning
The diamond prison of the rational mind
Burst by the power of Truth
The iron bars of selfhood
Cracked by the Infinite Mind
I am both creative and destructive, compassionate and ruthless
I create the rainbow relationships of the Awakened Ones
The interactions of their light and shade
I destroy illusion with the power of Truth
And kill the sense of the separate self
I am compassionate towards those that strive for perfection
And I aid them in the casting off of desires
I am ruthless towards the evil, the clinging, and the desperate
For only the pure may approach me
I hold the reins of creation in my hands
The first light of the Void and its wave of divine colors
I hold and store them, refract them within my crystal
The prisms of cut-glass within my symbolic waters
My power is the Indestructible Awakened Goddess, the diamond wisdom of the Void
She is the channel by which my energies of creation take form
She is the vessel which holds the light, the diamond which surrounds me
Whose true form is the crystal vajra
My music is ice and snow, wind and water
The victorious shout of the ascetic as he transcends the wrathful aspects
The moan of the tantrika as he is overcome by brilliance
The exploding dynamite of a man escaping from prison
The glorious silence when the chains of attachment to light have been left behind
To the seeker I say:
The Awakened Ones of the Indestructible Way are powerful, and one must be pure
Not only to approach and encounter them
But in order to escape once you have done so
Each has beings who live for him alone
And may never leave to travel higher
For they cling to the Awakened deities and cannot give up their light
Do not love beauty and do not cling
Or the rich rosy light will wind you a crimson shroud
Do not love power or striving, and do not conquer others
Or the emerald sword will spear you to the ground
Do not love sensual harmonies and the swaying of nature
Or the golden rows of grain will hide the sky
Do not love the icy purity of detachment and the isolation of space
Or the cold blue surfaces of the mind will prevent you from freedom
Follow the path of peace and tranquility
Renounce all attachments
And strive for Truth and Freedom alone
For the most high beings may yet act through personality
The light of the god is not yet free
The concept of enlightenment must yet be rejected
For the experience of freedom to dawn.
Reading 1: Liber AL vel Legis (CCXX), Chapter 3
http://lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0220.html#chap3
Reading 2: From Liber Sæculi (CCCXVIII), the 22nd Æthyr, by Saint Aleister Crowley
The voice of the Crowned Child, the Speech of the Babe that is hidden in the egg of blue: I have opened mine eye, and the universe is dissolved before me, for force is mine upper eye-lid and matter is my lower eye-lid. I gaze into the seven spaces, and there is naught.
I have gone forth to war, and I have slain him that sat upon the sea, crowned with the winds. I put forth my power and he was broken. I withdrew my power and he was ground into fine dust.
Rejoice with me, O ye Sons of the Morning; stand with me upon the Throne of Lotus; gather yourselves up unto me, and we shall play together in the fields of light. I have passed into the Kingdom of the West after my Father.
Behold! where are now the darkness and the terror and the lamentation? For ye are born into the new Æon; ye shall not suffer death. Bind up your girdles of gold! Wreathe yourselves with garlands of my unfading flowers! In the nights we will dance together, and in the morning we will go forth to war; for, as my Father liveth that was dead, so do I live and shall never die.
Reading 3: Vajrasattva, Primordial Buddha of Diamond or Rainbow Light, Tibetan Buddhist text adapted by Lalitha
The musicality of being is the sound of ice being shattered by lightning
The diamond prison of the rational mind
Burst by the power of Truth
The iron bars of selfhood
Cracked by the Infinite Mind
I am both creative and destructive, compassionate and ruthless
I create the rainbow relationships of the Awakened Ones
The interactions of their light and shade
I destroy illusion with the power of Truth
And kill the sense of the separate self
I am compassionate towards those that strive for perfection
And I aid them in the casting off of desires
I am ruthless towards the evil, the clinging, and the desperate
For only the pure may approach me
I hold the reins of creation in my hands
The first light of the Void and its wave of divine colors
I hold and store them, refract them within my crystal
The prisms of cut-glass within my symbolic waters
My power is the Indestructible Awakened Goddess, the diamond wisdom of the Void
She is the channel by which my energies of creation take form
She is the vessel which holds the light, the diamond which surrounds me
Whose true form is the crystal vajra
My music is ice and snow, wind and water
The victorious shout of the ascetic as he transcends the wrathful aspects
The moan of the tantrika as he is overcome by brilliance
The exploding dynamite of a man escaping from prison
The glorious silence when the chains of attachment to light have been left behind
To the seeker I say:
The Awakened Ones of the Indestructible Way are powerful, and one must be pure
Not only to approach and encounter them
But in order to escape once you have done so
Each has beings who live for him alone
And may never leave to travel higher
For they cling to the Awakened deities and cannot give up their light
Do not love beauty and do not cling
Or the rich rosy light will wind you a crimson shroud
Do not love power or striving, and do not conquer others
Or the emerald sword will spear you to the ground
Do not love sensual harmonies and the swaying of nature
Or the golden rows of grain will hide the sky
Do not love the icy purity of detachment and the isolation of space
Or the cold blue surfaces of the mind will prevent you from freedom
Follow the path of peace and tranquility
Renounce all attachments
And strive for Truth and Freedom alone
For the most high beings may yet act through personality
The light of the god is not yet free
The concept of enlightenment must yet be rejected
For the experience of freedom to dawn.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Readings for April 9th
Happy Second Day of the Writing of The Book of the Law!
Reading 1: Liber AL vel Legis (CCXX), Chapter 2
http://lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0220.html#chap2
Reading 2: The Law of Liberty (Liber DCCCXXXVII), Section III, by Saint Aleister Crowley
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER of our book is given the word of Hadit, who is the complement of Nuit. He is eternal energy, the Infinite Motion of Things, the central core of all being. The manifested Universe comes from the marriage of Nuit and Hadit; without this could no thing be. This eternal, this perpetual marriage-feast is then the nature of things themselves; and therefore everything that is, is a crystallization of divine ecstasy.
Hadit tells us of Himself: "I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star." He is then your own inmost divine self; it is you, and not another, who are lost in the constant rapture of the embraces of Infinite Beauty. A little further on He speaks of us:
"We are not for the poor and sad: the lords of the earth are our kinsfolk."
"Is a God to live in a dog? No! but the highest are of us. They shall rejoice, our chosen: who sorroweth is not of us."
"Beauty and strength, leaping laughter and delicious languor, force and fire, are of us.'' Later, concerning death, He says: "Think not, o king, upon that lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt not die, but live. Now let it be understood: If the body of the King dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstasy for ever." When you know that, what is left but delight? And how are we to live meanwhile?
"It is a lie, this folly against self." [...] "Be strong, o man! lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture: fear not that any God shall deny thee for this."
Again and again, in words like these, He sees the expansion and the development of the soul through joy.
Here is the Calendar of our Church: "But ye, o my people, rise up & awake! Let the rituals be rightly performed with joy & beauty!'' Remember that all acts of love and pleasure are rituals, must be rituals. ``There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times. A feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride! A feast for the three days of the writing of the Book of the Law. A feast for Tahuti and the child of the Prophet--secret, o Prophet! A feast for the Supreme Ritual, and a feast for the Equinox of the Gods. A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death! A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture! A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight! Aye! feast! rejoice! there is no dread hereafter. There is the dissolution, and eternal ecstasy in the kisses of Nu." It all depends on your own acceptance of this new law, and you are not asked to believe anything, to accept a string of foolish fables beneath the intellectual level of a Bushman and the moral level of a drug-fiend. All you have to do is to be yourself, to do your will, and to rejoice.
"Dost thou fail? Art thou sorry? Is fear in thine heart?" He says again: "Where I am, these are not." There is much more of the same kind; enough has been quoted already to make all clear. But there is a further injunction. "Wisdom says: be strong! Then canst thou bear more joy. Be not animal; refine thy rapture! If thou drink, drink by the eight and ninety rules of art: if thou love, exceed by delicacy; and if thou do aught joyous, let there be subtlety therein! But exceed! exceed! Strive ever to more! and if thou art truly mine--and doubt it not, an if thou art ever joyous!--death is the crown of all."
Lift yourselves up, my brothers and sisters of the earth! Put beneath your feet all fears, all qualms, all hesitancies! Lift yourselves up! Come forth, free and joyous, by night and day, to do your will; for "There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt." Lift yourselves up! Walk forth with us in Light and Life and Love and Liberty, taking our pleasure as Kings and Queens in Heaven and on Earth.
Reading 3: Visvapani: The Bodhisattva and Spiritual Emanation of Amoghasiddhi, Tibetan Buddhist text
The musicality of being is the clash of sabers, the hero panting, the neighing war-horse
It is the noble struggle of man against man, arm against arm
It calls all beings to fight against stagnation
By sending them forward into battle.
How can one progress without change?
How can one evolve without strength?
There is always choice:
To be a dawdling child forever, dependent, self-satisfied,
Sucking its thumb, unwilling and unable to leave its mother
Or to be free, proud, noble, and self-sufficient
Blessed with the power of choice.
I shake off the sleep of living death
I rouse the dreamer into reality
I call him from his childhood nest
Saying: Look around you! The world awaits!
There is nowhere you can hide from yourself
In opium-filled rooms or sensual tangles
Sooner or later the voice must come:
Who am I? Why am I here?
My sack provides the strength and the weapons
To find the answer.
Why be swept about like a moth with no volition?
Why waste your time in hiding?
I am the voice of courage and I say unto you-
Adventure awaits you! Come forward!
There is death, but for the sake of life
There is slaughter, for one must survive
There is weakness and domination, there is defeat and conquest
A man may conquer his enemies, of sloth and alienation
Or he may die slowly.
The drums beat and the banners are waving
The call to self-assertion is everywhere
Fear your shadow or destroy it
Kill your fear, or have it kill you
March ever onwards, to grasp and hold
Your noble ideals.
Reading 1: Liber AL vel Legis (CCXX), Chapter 2
http://lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0220.html#chap2
Reading 2: The Law of Liberty (Liber DCCCXXXVII), Section III, by Saint Aleister Crowley
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER of our book is given the word of Hadit, who is the complement of Nuit. He is eternal energy, the Infinite Motion of Things, the central core of all being. The manifested Universe comes from the marriage of Nuit and Hadit; without this could no thing be. This eternal, this perpetual marriage-feast is then the nature of things themselves; and therefore everything that is, is a crystallization of divine ecstasy.
Hadit tells us of Himself: "I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star." He is then your own inmost divine self; it is you, and not another, who are lost in the constant rapture of the embraces of Infinite Beauty. A little further on He speaks of us:
"We are not for the poor and sad: the lords of the earth are our kinsfolk."
"Is a God to live in a dog? No! but the highest are of us. They shall rejoice, our chosen: who sorroweth is not of us."
"Beauty and strength, leaping laughter and delicious languor, force and fire, are of us.'' Later, concerning death, He says: "Think not, o king, upon that lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt not die, but live. Now let it be understood: If the body of the King dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstasy for ever." When you know that, what is left but delight? And how are we to live meanwhile?
"It is a lie, this folly against self." [...] "Be strong, o man! lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture: fear not that any God shall deny thee for this."
Again and again, in words like these, He sees the expansion and the development of the soul through joy.
Here is the Calendar of our Church: "But ye, o my people, rise up & awake! Let the rituals be rightly performed with joy & beauty!'' Remember that all acts of love and pleasure are rituals, must be rituals. ``There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times. A feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride! A feast for the three days of the writing of the Book of the Law. A feast for Tahuti and the child of the Prophet--secret, o Prophet! A feast for the Supreme Ritual, and a feast for the Equinox of the Gods. A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death! A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture! A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight! Aye! feast! rejoice! there is no dread hereafter. There is the dissolution, and eternal ecstasy in the kisses of Nu." It all depends on your own acceptance of this new law, and you are not asked to believe anything, to accept a string of foolish fables beneath the intellectual level of a Bushman and the moral level of a drug-fiend. All you have to do is to be yourself, to do your will, and to rejoice.
"Dost thou fail? Art thou sorry? Is fear in thine heart?" He says again: "Where I am, these are not." There is much more of the same kind; enough has been quoted already to make all clear. But there is a further injunction. "Wisdom says: be strong! Then canst thou bear more joy. Be not animal; refine thy rapture! If thou drink, drink by the eight and ninety rules of art: if thou love, exceed by delicacy; and if thou do aught joyous, let there be subtlety therein! But exceed! exceed! Strive ever to more! and if thou art truly mine--and doubt it not, an if thou art ever joyous!--death is the crown of all."
Lift yourselves up, my brothers and sisters of the earth! Put beneath your feet all fears, all qualms, all hesitancies! Lift yourselves up! Come forth, free and joyous, by night and day, to do your will; for "There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt." Lift yourselves up! Walk forth with us in Light and Life and Love and Liberty, taking our pleasure as Kings and Queens in Heaven and on Earth.
Reading 3: Visvapani: The Bodhisattva and Spiritual Emanation of Amoghasiddhi, Tibetan Buddhist text
The musicality of being is the clash of sabers, the hero panting, the neighing war-horse
It is the noble struggle of man against man, arm against arm
It calls all beings to fight against stagnation
By sending them forward into battle.
How can one progress without change?
How can one evolve without strength?
There is always choice:
To be a dawdling child forever, dependent, self-satisfied,
Sucking its thumb, unwilling and unable to leave its mother
Or to be free, proud, noble, and self-sufficient
Blessed with the power of choice.
I shake off the sleep of living death
I rouse the dreamer into reality
I call him from his childhood nest
Saying: Look around you! The world awaits!
There is nowhere you can hide from yourself
In opium-filled rooms or sensual tangles
Sooner or later the voice must come:
Who am I? Why am I here?
My sack provides the strength and the weapons
To find the answer.
Why be swept about like a moth with no volition?
Why waste your time in hiding?
I am the voice of courage and I say unto you-
Adventure awaits you! Come forward!
There is death, but for the sake of life
There is slaughter, for one must survive
There is weakness and domination, there is defeat and conquest
A man may conquer his enemies, of sloth and alienation
Or he may die slowly.
The drums beat and the banners are waving
The call to self-assertion is everywhere
Fear your shadow or destroy it
Kill your fear, or have it kill you
March ever onwards, to grasp and hold
Your noble ideals.
Readings for April 8th
Happy First Day of the Writing of The Book of the Law!
Reading 1: Liber AL vel Legis (CCXX), Chapter 1
http://lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0220.html#chap1
Reading 2: Maha Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra, Mahayana Buddhist text
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
perceives that all five skandhas are empty
and is saved from all suffering and distress.
Shariputra,
form does not differ from emptiness,
emptiness does not differ from form.
That which is form is emptiness,
that which is emptiness form.
The same is true of feelings,
perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
Shariputra,
all dharmas are marked with emptiness;
they do not appear or disappear,
are not tainted or pure,
do not increase or decrease.
Therefore, in emptiness no form, no feelings,
perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
No eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch,
no object of mind;
no realm of eyes
and so forth until no realm of mind consciousness.
No ignorance and also no extinction of it,
and so forth until no old age and death
and also no extinction of them.
No suffering, no origination,
no stopping, no path, no cognition,
also no attainment with nothing to attain.
The Bodhisattva depends on Prajna Paramita
and the mind is no hindrance;
without any hindrance no fears exist.
Far apart from every perverted view one dwells in Nirvana.
In the three worlds
all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita
and attain Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi.
Therefore know that Prajna Paramita
is the great transcendent mantra,
is the great bright mantra,
is the utmost mantra,
is the supreme mantra
which is able to relieve all suffering
and is true, not false.
So proclaim the Prajna Paramita mantra,
proclaim the mantra which says:
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.
Reading 1: Liber AL vel Legis (CCXX), Chapter 1
http://lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0220.html#chap1
Reading 2: Maha Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra, Mahayana Buddhist text
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
perceives that all five skandhas are empty
and is saved from all suffering and distress.
Shariputra,
form does not differ from emptiness,
emptiness does not differ from form.
That which is form is emptiness,
that which is emptiness form.
The same is true of feelings,
perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
Shariputra,
all dharmas are marked with emptiness;
they do not appear or disappear,
are not tainted or pure,
do not increase or decrease.
Therefore, in emptiness no form, no feelings,
perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
No eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch,
no object of mind;
no realm of eyes
and so forth until no realm of mind consciousness.
No ignorance and also no extinction of it,
and so forth until no old age and death
and also no extinction of them.
No suffering, no origination,
no stopping, no path, no cognition,
also no attainment with nothing to attain.
The Bodhisattva depends on Prajna Paramita
and the mind is no hindrance;
without any hindrance no fears exist.
Far apart from every perverted view one dwells in Nirvana.
In the three worlds
all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita
and attain Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi.
Therefore know that Prajna Paramita
is the great transcendent mantra,
is the great bright mantra,
is the utmost mantra,
is the supreme mantra
which is able to relieve all suffering
and is true, not false.
So proclaim the Prajna Paramita mantra,
proclaim the mantra which says:
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Readings for April 7th
Reading 1: Liber Lapidis Lazuli (VII), Chapter VII, by Saint Aleister Crowley
1. By the burning of the incense was the Word revealed, and by the distant drug.
2. O meal and honey and oil! O beautiful flag of the moon, that she hangs out in the centre of bliss!
3. These loosen the swathings of the corpse; these unbind the feet of Osiris, so that the flaming God may rage through the firmament with his fantastic spear.
4. But of pure black marble is the sorry statue, and the changeless pain of the eyes is bitter to the blind.
5. We understand the rapture of that shaken marble, torn by the throes of the crowned child, the golden rod of the golden God.
6. We know why all is hidden in the stone, within the coffin, within the mighty sepulchre, and we too answer Olalám! Imál! Tutúlu! as it is written
in the ancient book.
7. Three words of that book are as life to a new æon; no god has read the
whole.
8. But thou and I, O God, have written it page by page.
9. Ours is the elevenfold reading of the Elevenfold word.
10. These seven letters together make seven diverse words; each word is divine, and seven sentences are hidden therein.
11. Thou art the Word, O my darling, my lord, my master!
12. O come to me, mix the fire and the water, all shall dissolve.
13. I await Thee in sleeping, in waking. I invoke Thee no more; for Thou art in me, O Thou who hast made me a beautiful instrument tuned to Thy rapture.
14. Yet art Thou ever apart, even as I.
15. I remember a certain holy day in the dusk of the year, in the dusk of the Equinox of Osiris, when first I beheld Thee visibly; when first the dreadful issue was fought out; when the Ibis-headed One charmed away the strife.
16. I remember Thy first kiss, even as a maiden should. Nor in the dark byways was there another: Thy kisses abide.
17. There is none other beside Thee in the whole Universe of Love.
18. My God, I love Thee, O Thou goat with gilded horns!
19. Thou beautiful bull of Apis! Thou beautiful serpent of Apep! Thou beautiful child of the Pregnant Goddess!
20. Thou hast stirred in Thy sleep, O ancient sorrow of years! Thou hast raised Thine head to strike, and all is dissolved into the Abyss of Glory.
21. An end to the letters of the words! An end to the sevenfold speech.
22. Resolve me the wonder of it all into the figure of a gaunt swift camel striding over the sand.
23. Lonely is he, and abominable; yet hath he gained the crown.
24. Oh rejoice! rejoice!
25. My God! O my God! I am but a speck in the star-dust of ages; I am the Master of the Secret of Things.
26. I am the Revealer and the Preparer. Mine is the Sword -- and the Mitre and the Wingèd Wand!
27. I am the Initiator and the Destroyer. Mine is the Globe -- and the Bennu bird and the Lotus of Isis my daughter!
28. I am the One beyond these all; and I bear the symbols of the mighty darkness.
29. There shall be a sigil as of a vast black brooding ocean of death and the central blaze of darkness, radiating its night upon all.
30. It shall swallow up that lesser darkness.
31. But in that profound who shall answer: What is?
32. Not I.
33. Not Thou, O God!
34. Come, let us no more reason together; let us enjoy! Let us be ourselves, silent, unique, apart.
35. O lonely woods of the world! In what recesses will ye hide our love?
36. The forest of the spears of the Most High is called Night, and Hades, and the Day of Wrath; but I am His captain, and I bear His cup.
37. Fear me not with my spearmen! They shall slay the demons with their petty prongs. Ye shall be free.
38. Ah, slaves! ye will not -- ye know not how to will.
39. Yet the music of my spears shall be a song of freedom.
40. A great bird shall sweep from the abyss of Joy, and bear ye away to be my cup-bearers.
41. Come, O my God, in one last rapture let us attain to the Union with the Many!
42. In the silence of Things, in the Night of Forces, beyond the accursed domain of the Three, let us enjoy our love!
43. My darling! My darling! away, away beyond the Assembly and the Law and the Enlightenment unto an Anarchy of solitude and Darkness!
44. For even thus must we veil the brilliance of our Self.
45. My darling! My darling!
46. O my God, but the love in Me bursts over the bonds of Space and Time; my love is spilt among them that love not love.
47. My wine is poured out for them that never tasted wine.
48. The fumes thereof shall intoxicate them and the vigour of my love shall breed mighty children from their maidens.
49. Yea! without draught, without embrace: -- and the Voice answered Yea! these things shall be.
50. Then I sought a Word for Myself; nay, for myself.
51. And the Word came: O Thou! it is well. Heed naught! I love Thee! I love Thee!
52. Therefore had I faith unto the end of all; yea, unto the end of all.
Reading 2: Liber Sæculi (CDXVIII) , the 7th Æthyr, by Saint Aleister Crowley
It is kindled into fire that was the blue breast of ocean; because this is the bar of heaven, and the feet of the Most High are set thereon.
Now I behold more fully: Each tongue of flame, each leaf of flame, each flower of flame, is one of the great love-stories of the world, with all its retinue of mise-en-scène. And now there is a most marvelous rose formed from the flame, and a perpetual rain of lilies and passion-flowers and violets. And there is gathered out of it all, yet identical with it, the form of a woman like the woman in the Apocalypse, but her beauty and her radiance are such that one cannot look thereon, save with sidelong glances. I enter immediately into trance. It seems that it is she of whom it is written, "The fool hath said in his heart 'there is no God.'" ... This fool is the fool of the Path of Aleph, and sayeth, which is Chokmah, in his heart, which is Tiphereth, that she existeth, in order first that the Wisdom may be joined with the Understanding; and he affirmeth her in Tiphereth that she may be fertile.
It is impossible to describe how this vision changeth from glory unto glory, for at each glance the vision is changed. And this is because she transmitteth the Word to the Understanding, and therefore hath she many forms, and each goddess of love is but a letter of the alphabet of love.
...
But I look upwards, seeing that she is called the footstool of the Holy One, even as Binah is called His throne. And the whole Aethyr is full of the most wonderful bands of light, -- a thousand different curves and whorls, even as it was before, when I spake mysteries of the Holy Qabalah, and so could not describe it.
Oh, I see vast plains beneath her feet, enormous deserts studded with great rocks; and I see little lonely souls, running helplessly about, minute black creatures like men. And they keep up a very curious howling, that I can compare to nothing that I have ever heard; yet it is strangely human.
And the voice says: These are they that grasped love and clung thereto, praying ever at the knees of the great goddess. These are they that have shut themselves up in fortresses of Love.
...
And now She cometh forth again, riding upon a dolphin. Now again I see those wandering souls, that have sought restricted love, and have not understood that "the word of sin is restriction."
It is very curious; they seem to be looking for one another or for something, all the time, constantly hurrying about. But they knock up against one another and yet will not see one another, or cannot see one another, because they are so shut up in their cloaks.
And a voice sounds: It is most terrible for the one that hath shut himself up and made himself fast against the universe. For they that sit encamped upon the sea in the city of the Pyramids are indeed shut up. But they have given their blood, even to the last drop, to fill the cup of BABALON.
These that thou seest are indeed the Black Brothers, for it is written: "He shall laugh at their calamity and mock them when their fear cometh." And therefore hath he exalted them unto the plane of love.
And yet again it is written: He desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness. Now, if one of these were to cast off his cloak he should behold the brilliance of the lady of the Aethyr; but they will not.
And yet again there is another cause wherefore He hath permitted them to enter thus far within the frontiers of Eden, so that His thought should never swerve from compassion. But do thou behold the brilliance of Love, that casteth forth seven stars upon thine head from her right hand, and crowneth thee with a crown of seven roses. Behold! She is seated upon the throne of turquoise and lapis lazuli, and she is like a flawless emerald, and upon the pillars that support the canopy of her throne are sculptured the Ram, and the Sparrow, and the Cat, and a strange fish. Behold! How she shineth! Behold! How her glances have kindled all these fires that have blown about the heavens! Yet remember that in every one there goeth forth for a witness the justice of the Most High. Is not Libra the House of Venus? And there goeth forth a sickle that shall reap every flower. Is not Saturn exalted in Libra? Daleth, Lamed, Tau.
And therefore was he a fool who uttered her name in his heart, for the root of evil is the root of breath, and the speech in the silence was a lie.
Thus is it seen from below by them that understand not. But from above he rejoiceth, for the joy of dissolution is ten thousand, and the pang of birth but a little.
1. By the burning of the incense was the Word revealed, and by the distant drug.
2. O meal and honey and oil! O beautiful flag of the moon, that she hangs out in the centre of bliss!
3. These loosen the swathings of the corpse; these unbind the feet of Osiris, so that the flaming God may rage through the firmament with his fantastic spear.
4. But of pure black marble is the sorry statue, and the changeless pain of the eyes is bitter to the blind.
5. We understand the rapture of that shaken marble, torn by the throes of the crowned child, the golden rod of the golden God.
6. We know why all is hidden in the stone, within the coffin, within the mighty sepulchre, and we too answer Olalám! Imál! Tutúlu! as it is written
in the ancient book.
7. Three words of that book are as life to a new æon; no god has read the
whole.
8. But thou and I, O God, have written it page by page.
9. Ours is the elevenfold reading of the Elevenfold word.
10. These seven letters together make seven diverse words; each word is divine, and seven sentences are hidden therein.
11. Thou art the Word, O my darling, my lord, my master!
12. O come to me, mix the fire and the water, all shall dissolve.
13. I await Thee in sleeping, in waking. I invoke Thee no more; for Thou art in me, O Thou who hast made me a beautiful instrument tuned to Thy rapture.
14. Yet art Thou ever apart, even as I.
15. I remember a certain holy day in the dusk of the year, in the dusk of the Equinox of Osiris, when first I beheld Thee visibly; when first the dreadful issue was fought out; when the Ibis-headed One charmed away the strife.
16. I remember Thy first kiss, even as a maiden should. Nor in the dark byways was there another: Thy kisses abide.
17. There is none other beside Thee in the whole Universe of Love.
18. My God, I love Thee, O Thou goat with gilded horns!
19. Thou beautiful bull of Apis! Thou beautiful serpent of Apep! Thou beautiful child of the Pregnant Goddess!
20. Thou hast stirred in Thy sleep, O ancient sorrow of years! Thou hast raised Thine head to strike, and all is dissolved into the Abyss of Glory.
21. An end to the letters of the words! An end to the sevenfold speech.
22. Resolve me the wonder of it all into the figure of a gaunt swift camel striding over the sand.
23. Lonely is he, and abominable; yet hath he gained the crown.
24. Oh rejoice! rejoice!
25. My God! O my God! I am but a speck in the star-dust of ages; I am the Master of the Secret of Things.
26. I am the Revealer and the Preparer. Mine is the Sword -- and the Mitre and the Wingèd Wand!
27. I am the Initiator and the Destroyer. Mine is the Globe -- and the Bennu bird and the Lotus of Isis my daughter!
28. I am the One beyond these all; and I bear the symbols of the mighty darkness.
29. There shall be a sigil as of a vast black brooding ocean of death and the central blaze of darkness, radiating its night upon all.
30. It shall swallow up that lesser darkness.
31. But in that profound who shall answer: What is?
32. Not I.
33. Not Thou, O God!
34. Come, let us no more reason together; let us enjoy! Let us be ourselves, silent, unique, apart.
35. O lonely woods of the world! In what recesses will ye hide our love?
36. The forest of the spears of the Most High is called Night, and Hades, and the Day of Wrath; but I am His captain, and I bear His cup.
37. Fear me not with my spearmen! They shall slay the demons with their petty prongs. Ye shall be free.
38. Ah, slaves! ye will not -- ye know not how to will.
39. Yet the music of my spears shall be a song of freedom.
40. A great bird shall sweep from the abyss of Joy, and bear ye away to be my cup-bearers.
41. Come, O my God, in one last rapture let us attain to the Union with the Many!
42. In the silence of Things, in the Night of Forces, beyond the accursed domain of the Three, let us enjoy our love!
43. My darling! My darling! away, away beyond the Assembly and the Law and the Enlightenment unto an Anarchy of solitude and Darkness!
44. For even thus must we veil the brilliance of our Self.
45. My darling! My darling!
46. O my God, but the love in Me bursts over the bonds of Space and Time; my love is spilt among them that love not love.
47. My wine is poured out for them that never tasted wine.
48. The fumes thereof shall intoxicate them and the vigour of my love shall breed mighty children from their maidens.
49. Yea! without draught, without embrace: -- and the Voice answered Yea! these things shall be.
50. Then I sought a Word for Myself; nay, for myself.
51. And the Word came: O Thou! it is well. Heed naught! I love Thee! I love Thee!
52. Therefore had I faith unto the end of all; yea, unto the end of all.
Reading 2: Liber Sæculi (CDXVIII) , the 7th Æthyr, by Saint Aleister Crowley
It is kindled into fire that was the blue breast of ocean; because this is the bar of heaven, and the feet of the Most High are set thereon.
Now I behold more fully: Each tongue of flame, each leaf of flame, each flower of flame, is one of the great love-stories of the world, with all its retinue of mise-en-scène. And now there is a most marvelous rose formed from the flame, and a perpetual rain of lilies and passion-flowers and violets. And there is gathered out of it all, yet identical with it, the form of a woman like the woman in the Apocalypse, but her beauty and her radiance are such that one cannot look thereon, save with sidelong glances. I enter immediately into trance. It seems that it is she of whom it is written, "The fool hath said in his heart 'there is no God.'" ... This fool is the fool of the Path of Aleph, and sayeth, which is Chokmah, in his heart, which is Tiphereth, that she existeth, in order first that the Wisdom may be joined with the Understanding; and he affirmeth her in Tiphereth that she may be fertile.
It is impossible to describe how this vision changeth from glory unto glory, for at each glance the vision is changed. And this is because she transmitteth the Word to the Understanding, and therefore hath she many forms, and each goddess of love is but a letter of the alphabet of love.
...
But I look upwards, seeing that she is called the footstool of the Holy One, even as Binah is called His throne. And the whole Aethyr is full of the most wonderful bands of light, -- a thousand different curves and whorls, even as it was before, when I spake mysteries of the Holy Qabalah, and so could not describe it.
Oh, I see vast plains beneath her feet, enormous deserts studded with great rocks; and I see little lonely souls, running helplessly about, minute black creatures like men. And they keep up a very curious howling, that I can compare to nothing that I have ever heard; yet it is strangely human.
And the voice says: These are they that grasped love and clung thereto, praying ever at the knees of the great goddess. These are they that have shut themselves up in fortresses of Love.
...
And now She cometh forth again, riding upon a dolphin. Now again I see those wandering souls, that have sought restricted love, and have not understood that "the word of sin is restriction."
It is very curious; they seem to be looking for one another or for something, all the time, constantly hurrying about. But they knock up against one another and yet will not see one another, or cannot see one another, because they are so shut up in their cloaks.
And a voice sounds: It is most terrible for the one that hath shut himself up and made himself fast against the universe. For they that sit encamped upon the sea in the city of the Pyramids are indeed shut up. But they have given their blood, even to the last drop, to fill the cup of BABALON.
These that thou seest are indeed the Black Brothers, for it is written: "He shall laugh at their calamity and mock them when their fear cometh." And therefore hath he exalted them unto the plane of love.
And yet again it is written: He desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness. Now, if one of these were to cast off his cloak he should behold the brilliance of the lady of the Aethyr; but they will not.
And yet again there is another cause wherefore He hath permitted them to enter thus far within the frontiers of Eden, so that His thought should never swerve from compassion. But do thou behold the brilliance of Love, that casteth forth seven stars upon thine head from her right hand, and crowneth thee with a crown of seven roses. Behold! She is seated upon the throne of turquoise and lapis lazuli, and she is like a flawless emerald, and upon the pillars that support the canopy of her throne are sculptured the Ram, and the Sparrow, and the Cat, and a strange fish. Behold! How she shineth! Behold! How her glances have kindled all these fires that have blown about the heavens! Yet remember that in every one there goeth forth for a witness the justice of the Most High. Is not Libra the House of Venus? And there goeth forth a sickle that shall reap every flower. Is not Saturn exalted in Libra? Daleth, Lamed, Tau.
And therefore was he a fool who uttered her name in his heart, for the root of evil is the root of breath, and the speech in the silence was a lie.
Thus is it seen from below by them that understand not. But from above he rejoiceth, for the joy of dissolution is ten thousand, and the pang of birth but a little.
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