Sex Magick in the Aeon of Horus:

 

Sex Magick in the Aeon of Horus:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

“AL I.15: "Now ye shall know that the chosen priest & apostle of infinite space is the prince-priest the Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman is all power given. They shall gather my children into their fold: they shall bring the glory of the stars into the hearts of men."

THE NEW COMMENT

The definition of "infinite space" offered in the Comment on verse 13 is useful here. My Work is in great part to insist upon the infinite possibilities of human development. Man has too slavishly acquiesced in his limitations. Science itself has shewn itself almost as intolerant as Religion toward certain lines of research. Indeed, every element of society has added its energy to the opposition which bars each pioneer with undiscriminating stupidity. Darwin, Pasteur, Lister, and Jenner met with the same ferocious cowardice as Shelly and Luther; they were assailed on every ground from Religion and Morality upwards; every falsehood that malice could invent was circulated about them. In short, they were treated then as I am being treated now; and I am resolute to prosecute my Work now as they were resolute then. That which is beneath is like that which is above. The Beast and the Scarlet Woman are avatars of Tao and Teh, Shiva and Sakti. This Law is then an exact image of the Great Law of the Cosmos; this is an assurance of its Perfection. It is necessary to say here that The`Beast appears to be a definite individual; to wit, the man Aleister Crowley. But the Scarlet Woman is an officer replaceable as need arises. Thus to this present date of writing, Anno XVI. Sun in Sagittarius, there have been several holders of the title.

1. Rose Edith Crowley nee Kelly, my wife. Put me in touch with Aiwas; see Equinox 1, 7, "The Temple of Solomon the King." Failed as elsewhere is on record.

2. A doubtful case. Mary d'Este Sturges nee Dempsey. Put me in touch with Abuldiz; hence helped with Book 4. Failed from personal jealousies.

3. Jeanne Robert Foster nee Oliver. Bore the "child" to whom this Book refers later. Failed from respectability.

4. Roddie Minor. Brought me in touch with Amalantrah. Failed from indifference to the Work.

5. A doubtful case, Marie Rohling nee Lavroff. Helped to inspire Liber CXI. Failed from indecision.

6. A doubtful case, Bertha Almira Prykryl nee Bruce. Delayed assumption of duties, hence made way for No. 7.

7. Lea Hersig. Assisted me in actual initiation; still at my side, An XVII. Sol in Sagittarius. (P.S. & An XIX, Sol in Aries).

"Prince-priest" is an unusual word, and not in tone with other references to me. I suspect therefore a secret cipher of some sort. For one thing, it is an anagram of PRINCEPS ITER, not bad for Alastor the Wanderer, or PRINCIPS ERIT, he shall be the chief (see verse 23). But such Qabalah is hardly to be considered serious. The recurrence of the letters PRI is however curious and may be significant. The combination PR in most Aryan Languages gives the idea of "Before." P and R are the letters of Mars and Sol respectively. Now Mars is referred to the number 5, and Sol to the number 6; both to the idea "Force and Fire", though in different ways. Now "Force and Fire" is the attribute of Ra-Hoor-Khuit, Lord of the Aeon; and 5 and 6 are mystically mated to represent the Accomplishment of the Great Work in Abrahadabra, the Word of the Aeon. (See, for this Word, infra Qabalistic Appendix). The termination ST is the coronal combination XXXI which we shall notice often enough later on. The Beast, besides 666 correspondences, is by English sound, the Magus (Beth, Mercury, etc.) of this ST. S has in the Tarot the card numbered XX, which represents the Stele of Revealing, and is called the Judgment; i.e., the ending of an Aeon. T has the card numbered XI and is called Strength. It is the card of Leo and represents Babalon and the Beast conjoined. "Their fold"; not only a sheepfold, but as if it were written "their embrace".”

 Every aspirant has to attain within the limitations of his or her appointed lot, it may be in this, that the wheat is separated from the chaff. The greater the Ordeal the greater the Attainment, or at least it makes sense this way. The aspirant will have to give every last drop of his blood to the Cup of Babalon, if he is to finally make it to the City of the Pyramids. Therefore, the world is against the work of the White School of Magick, it is clear in the onslaught against Crowley throughout his life by the yellow press, that this is the case. The reason, from what I can tell, is that the majority of humanity is happy to live out their lives as slaves, perpetually under the control of the Black School. The White School serves as a mirror, which reflects this and highlights to them their servitude. Thus, proponents of the White School have always been subject to this attack, that in the above is said to subsist of slander, which is the weapon of what is called the yellow press. Ironic is the fact, that Thelema highlights to us our divinity and aims at liberating the individual from his or her servitude, hence the aforementioned conclusion is drawn.

The Beast and his Scarlett Woman’s office was to make contact with the Archetypal World and manifest to us this revelation. They served as the Great Mother and Great Father, associated with the Supernal Triad, from their union they brought forth Thelema as their offspring into the world. Since falling from his office is possible, Crowley would use sex magick throughout his life to maintain his connection with the Supernals and draw inspiration from them. Although his work with Rose Kelly was spontaneous and not sought, he would later in life seek out women to fulfil this function. This is a stretch, but perhaps “Love is the law, love under will” may be applied to this practice as its function is raised to the highest level and the Beast became the Logos of the New Aeon and his Scarlet Woman became Babalon. Thus, his magick was to dramatically act out the Law of Thelema, as well as the nature of creation itself.

“Love is the law, love under will.”

Enjoy Life:

 

Enjoy Life:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

AL I.13: "I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy."

THE NEW COMMENT

“Note that Space is omnipresent.<> The cause of 'sorrow' is the 'imaginary' solutions of continuity in this substance. Ecstasy is produced by the resolution of these illusions. Observe well that to beings in a state of strain or sorrow the "Great Work" is bound to appear in the guise of a relief or joy. But this is not to assert Samadhi, that unity with the universe which brings relief and joy by "love", as an "absolute good". It is only good relatively to our present condition as beings divided by Illusion from Nuit. When one returns to the 'simple' state, one soon begins to think out a new route through the Universe, and devise new combinations in the Great Game called Seeing Life. In Nature few elements are lone wolves. Most of them are being thrown in and out of combination constantly; on suns this occurs with lordly vehemence. Note that Nuith, although She is Infinite Space, speaks as an individual might do, often enough. This is not that She is 'talking down to our level'; it is a fact. In the Cosmos almost any aggregation can think and act as an Ego. For instance, the cells of our bodies are each units, diverse in composition and character, living each a life of its own. Yet we think and act for them, and say "I". The stars are the cells of Her Body. Each one of us is such a cell; not less itself but more because of its secret function in Her. It should be evident that Nuith obtains the satisfaction of Her Nature when the parts of Her Body fulfill their own Nature. The sacrament of life is not only so from the point of view of the celebrants, but from that of the divinity invoked. It is said that for every step one takes towards one's Holy Guardian Angel, He takes two towards his client. What do I mean by "beings divided by Illusion from Nuith", in the first paragraph? This, that we are limited mentally, that we realize only an infinitesimal fraction of the possible forms of expression. We can hardly even imagine ourselves as living on another planet, or in the Sun; much less as apprehending the Universe by means of a totally different set of senses. Yet most of us who are not mere placental amnoites possess an instinct which persistently regrets our incapacities. It is bad enough to be dependent on scientific instruments for our knowledge of all but the grossest of the wonders and splendours of the Universe; but worse that we are aware of an infinite variety of order of phenomena, such as electricity, magnetism, chemical action, and a host of others, which we can explore only by indirect means, interpret only by obviously inadequate symbols, and understand only in terms of arbitrary relations with our animal-sense-perceptions. We know theoretically that every object must react to every other object; and it is evident that each type of reaction may be as overwhelmingly interesting as those which happen to affect us. What unimaginable rapture to be able to observe magnetic fields or molecular movements as directly as we do the Ocean and the Ant-heap! It is the task of the Initiate to adapt himself to the Totality of Existence, and to develop in himself the means of apprehending it wholly and fully.”

Crowley first asserts that the Great Work is the way any individual may find relief from the sorrow of life, a state which is brought about by being unable to see our connection with the infinite. Thus, by committing oneself to the Great work, he is establishing this congruence with his higher faculties and is able to evade Mara. However, this toil doesn’t result in the escape of suffering which can only occur through union with the Goddess, or the dissolution of Hadit into the body of Nuit. Once this union is attained one is born anew to continue the work, whereby the joy of existence becomes an expression of the life an adept leads. He is hence devising new combinations in the “Great Game called Seeing Life”, he is generating gnosis.

It is also well exemplified in the above, that there is only one healthy course for any human being to take and that is to do his or her will. This is explained by the examples of everything being able to generate an ego, and if the cells in the body start doing something that is against their nature, the body will suffer for it. Ergo, every person has the responsibility to find the nature of their wills and to do it, if this is not the case, one is merely moving against the inertia of natural law, and thus effecting the whole, such as a cancer might do. It may be, that this very obvious Law is so foreign to humanity, as a result of our true natures having been suppressed for so long, that we have lost our way. This has led to us having forgotten how to express ourselves naturally and organized western religion has indeed acted as a cancer upon the body of the Goddess.

When a child is born, it is immediately confronted by the Goddess, everything, from the doctor, the bed, the nurses, its parents, later the neighborhood and the school it is raised in, influences its becoming. We are the children of the Goddess, each unique and divine and this world is wherein we express each our individual divinity, by the lot allocated to each through incarnation. Thus, every act is a sacrament, a celebration of the Goddess and an expression of one’s unique relationship with her. This acknowledgement can only lead to greater harmony with the divine forces that we partake in and the rapturous celebration of Life.

“Love is the law, love under will.”

The Aim of Initiation into the A.’.A.’. System:

 The Aim of Initiation into the A.’.A.’. System:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

AL I.7: "Behold! it is revealed by Aiwass the minister of Hoor-paar-kraat."

THE NEW COMMENT

“Aiwass is the name given by Ouarda the Seer as that of the Intelligence Communicating. See note to Title. Hoor-paar-Kraat or Harpocrates, the "Babe in the Egg of Blue", is not merely the God of Silence in a conventional sense. He represents the Higher Self, the Holy Guardian Angel. The connexion is with the symbolism of the Dwarf in Mythology. He contains everything in Himself, but is unmanifested. See II:8. He is the First Letter of the Alphabet, Aleph, whose number is One, and his card in the Tarot is The Fool, numbered Zero. Aleph is attributed to the "Element" (in the old classification of things) of Air. Now as "One" or Aleph he represents the Male Principle, the First Cause, and the free breath of Life, the sound of the vowel A being made with the open throat and mouth. As Zero he represents the female Principle, the fertile Mother. (An old name for the card is Mat, from the Italian 'Matto', fool, but earlier also from Maut, the Egyptian Vulture-Mother-Goddess). Fertile, for the 'Egg of Blue' is the Uterus, and in the Macrocosm the Body of Nuith, and it contains the Unborn Babe, helpless yet protected and nourished against the crocodiles and tigers shown on the card, just as the womb is sealed during gestation. He sits on a lotus, the yoni. which floats on the 'Nile', the amniotic fluid. In his absolute innocence and ignorance he is "The Fool"; he is the 'Saviour', being the Son who shall trample on the crocodiles and tigers, and avenge his father Osiris. Thus we see him as the "Great Fool" of Celtic legend, the "Pure Fool" of Act I of "Parsifal", and, generally speaking, the insane person whose words have always been taken for oracles. But to be 'Saviour' he must be born and grow to manhood; thus Parsifal acquires the Sacred Lance, emblem of virility. He usually wears the 'Coat of many colours' like Joseph the 'dreamer'; so he is also now the Green Man of spring festivals. But his 'folly' is now not innocence but inspiration of wine; he drinks from the Graal, offered to him by the Priestess.”

Here Crowley is not only comparing Aiwass to his Holy Guardian Angel, but also Harpocrates, the latter, who is related to the Hierophant ATU, Baphomet and the Fool in both his unrealized and fully realized aspects. This then draws a stunning connection to the idea of Phanes being representative of the same and that Light does not only refer to Light but is a symbol of consciousness itself.

He goes further in the above quote to very clearly tell us, that this idea is actually meant to be understood quite literally. As Phanes is attributed to the Holy Guardian Angel and consciousness and wherein the idea of Being unfolding is intimated, his statement that Parsifal of Act 1 is also the Fool, tells us something about the lesser form of Phanes called Protogonous associated with the unrealized Fool, that serves as candidate for the Neophyte initiation.

Nuit in the above quote is objective reality (the macrocosm) and the initiation of Protogonous, in order to be successful, demands that the Fool unites subject with object, in other words masculine and feminine, an act that can only be achieved through Love. This is hinted at, but obviously not as clearly expressed in the above. Hence, as per the above excerpt from a comment on Liber AL vel Legis, Phanes is the Great Fool and Protogonous is the Pure Fool, which in the grade system of the A.’.A.’. are associated to the grades of Adeptus, the Great Fool, which marks the complete unfolding of Being into Pure Consciousness and the Pure Fool, or the Neophyte who is taking his first steps onto the path.

“Love is the law, love under will.”

Mercury and the Powers of the Sphinx:

 

Mercury and the Powers of the Sphinx:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

Mercury is a many faceted and fascinating concept within the realm of occult philosophy. On the Tree of Life, Mercury is associated with the path of Beth, the Creative World and Hod. Mercury corresponds to air and is entirely hidden from our perception. One can merely grasp its influence once the consequence is experienced, it is a fleeting dealing with the great trickster, which leaves a person grasping for meaning. This god is easily comparable to Nature, whose law is that ‘Change is Stability’, learning and writing as a concept is also a wonderful means of understanding the nature of this force. Through this practice we wrestle with ideas, first we are confronted, then we are forced to learn, which leads to subject and object conceiving a new reality. It is this change in perception that brings about greater influence over nature, in other words, via the act of developing which occurs as a result of Mercury's influence, one’s perspective circumference is widened, as well as his influence, which should lead to greater control. This systematic growing in accordance with nature leaves the process subjectively inconceivable, while for the outside world something is stirring, and the change is clearly perceived. This process is perhaps best expressed as an ordeal of change, once a person learns, he is incapable of not changing, he has to change as his perspective has changed and thus his need for comfort found within familiarity brings about an internal struggle, which often results in conflict with the outside world. When this new state is attained, a person is forced “to Dare”, and to move forward, “to Go”, otherwise, staying fixed will merely result in more putrefaction, a condition which he is already in the process of experiencing.

As per the A.’.A.’. grades, the aspirant’s first true attainment is Yesod, not Malkuth, as Malkuth signals the attainment of a Probationer and is merely indicative of having established an internal dialogue. This is the value of working with the elements within the grade, these elements correspond to the Soul and are associated with the different ‘parts of his own being’, something that the Probationer will need to familiarize himself with during his time in the grade. Hence, he is given the Star Ruby to work with, the purpose of which--is to, in a sense, expose himself to himself. Following that, the order of business in Yesod, is to understand the dialogue that he has established in Malkuth, or to start understanding himself. This work is done on the Astral Plane, and it is during this grade that the aspirant starts studying the formula of ‘Change is Stability’, which is mercurial in nature. How this comes about, is that, by separating the parts of his being, the magician has become unbalanced, or imbalanced, and needs to pull himself together in order to move forward. His new state of experience evokes Mercury, which will either lead him to completion, or not, ergo he is the great trickster or the great teacher. Our run-ins with this god need to first be faced, then they need to be evaluated, so that understanding will lead to a fruitful outcome, here we have three Powers of the Sphinx, to Know, to Will, and to Dare. The last power, which is to Keep Silent, pertains to one’s conduct as it affects people in the world. Hence, one can see that by coming to a greater understanding and a reconfiguration of the universe, the last Power of the Sphinx becomes important for maintaining control. One reason for this need to guard against the world, is that ‘Change is Stability’, is not something the world at large is willing to accept, and it tends to conflict with growth and development which it is at odds with, as per its own inability to embrace change. It should be clear in this light, how Mercury and the Powers of the Sphinx are congruent with each-other, especially as for their importance pertaining to the grade of Neophyte. The Powers are thus tools, which should serve as a compass to help the aspirant navigate his way through the unknown nature of Being and to support him in his journey along the Tree of Life.  

“Love is the law, love under will.”

Giordano Bruno and Thelema:

 

Giordano Bruno and Thelema:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

“All things aspire to an end for which they are ordained, and the more perfect its nature the more nobly and effectively does each aspire. Man alone, however, as endowed with a twofold nature, pursues a twofold good, -- “on the boundary line of eternity and time, between the archetypal world and the copy, the intelligible and the sensible, participating in either substance.”

It always fills me with joy to see how all of these old Rosicrucian ideas tend to perfectly compliment what has been given to us in Liber AL. That there exists no schism between the old and the new is always entirely refreshing and tends to fill me with lust for the Work, and certainty concerning the revelation of the Book of the Law. Here Giordano Bruno is talking about the True Will, and it is by building a bridge to unite Heaven and Earth, that we may find expression through its medium. This bridge is depicted on the Tree of Life as the path of Samekh and is built between Yesod and Tiphareth and establishes firmly one’s connection to the divine realm and the Supernal Triad. Which is an idea admirably demonstrated in the above quote. It is also noteworthy, that he refers to the copy of the archetypal world in context of the Qabalah, or Briah and Atziluth. This copy is expressed by the Ruach, from whence the object of the work is to unite with the intelligible and the sensual, in order for the Great Work to be accomplished. Therefore, as accorded by the metaphysics of Thelema as well as it seems, that of Giordano Bruno, a magician has to firmly establish himself at the centre of the Ruach, uniting the worlds of Briah and Yetzirah, to get an inkling of what his True Will might be, and for him to more “nobly and effectively” work his Will. This Will can be interpreted as the divine Will of Atziltuth finding expression via the above-mentioned union, in the world of Asiah, where the Daughter is placed on the throne of her Mother and awakens the Eld of her Father the King.

“If “Universal Nature” or Spirit is able to satisfy the appetite of each “particular nature” or mode of itself, and that of itself as a whole, then the understanding and desire which are innate, inseparable from and co-substantial of all shall not be in vain, nor look hopelessly to a false impossible end.”

Spirit which is everywhere the same and in all of us the same, makes it impossible for one who has attained union, not to have an effect on that which he is adding to through his own revelations of Spirit. He then achieves immortality through his intercourse with the divine and he no longer looks to “a false impossible end”. He also indicates that it is the Ego which drives this revelation, and the True Will is the self’s expression of divine inspiration, thus laying to rest all the New Age mumbo jumbo about the Ego, which plagues modern occultism.

“It is true that even the desire for continuance of our present life is not satisfied; a particular mode of matter cannot realize all “forms” or ideas at once, but only in succession and one by one; it knows and therefore desires that which is present to it at any given time: by force of nature, therefore, it comes in its ignorance (which rises from the “contraction” of the form to this or that particular matter and the limitation of matter by this or that form) to desire to be always that which it now is. The wise soul, however, will not fear death, will indeed sometimes wish for it, since there awaits every substance eternity of duration, immensity of space, and the realization of all being.”

Every person needs to work and do his or her Will, within the context of what their capacity dictates, this is a fact of life that nobody can escape. It includes not only the individual’s characteristic attributes but extends to the realm of nature herself. One needs thus to establish congruence between the objective and subjective worlds, in order to realize his or her potential. This may be a miserable aim, if the person is content to be a plaything of the elemental world, but for those who strive to more, I suppose the above affirms, that more awaits. Individuation is the means by which this misery can be changed into joy, so that every act, regardless of the conditions or consequences, becomes an act of Hadit’s expression in the world of contending forces, an act of Love. By fearing death and the fragility of temporal existence, a person is prohibiting himself from attaining intercourse with the divine, a feat, that demands character and courage. The world of matter in all its glory, may lead one astray in this way, as creating the illusion of something unattainable, such is the nature of temporal existence, which is a fleeting experience. If a person then strives daily, working towards fulfilling his office as a vehicle for divine inspiration, life is pure joy and death becomes the bed for which he longs.  

Write, & find ecstasy in writing! Work, & be our bed in working! Thrill with the joy of life & death! Ah! thy death shall be lovely: whososeeth it shall be glad. Thy death shall be the seal of the promise of our age long love. Come! Lift up thine heart & rejoice! We are one; we are none.

Liber AL vel Legis, Chapter II, 66

Strive ever to more! And if thou art truly mine---and doubt it not, and if thou art ever joyous!---death is the crown of all.

Ah! Ah! Death! Death! Thou shalt long for death. Death is forbidden, o man, unto thee.

The length of thy longing shall be the strength of its glory. He who lives long & desires death much is ever the King among the Kings.

Liber AL vel Legis Chapter II: 72,73,74

“Love is the law, love under will.”