Entering the Cave:

 

Entering the Cave:

 “By the blessed not being confined to a particular habitation, is implied that they are perfectly free in all things; being entirely free from all material restraint, and purified from all inclination incident to the dark and cold tenement of the body. The shady. groves are symbols of the retiring of the soul to the depth of her essence, and there is power energy solely divine, establishing herself in the ineffable principle of things. And the meadows are symbols of that prolific power of the gods through which all the variety of reasons, animals and forms was produced, and which is here the refreshing posture and retreat of the liberated soul.”

Thomas Taylor:

 The lesser mysteries dealt with the Nephesh and the Anima, and it was by way of integrating these through confronting the complexes symbolized by the cave, that the reward was attained. But now, the hero finds himself shrouded in a new kind of darkness, the darkness of Yesod, it is a place which he could only get a glimpse of in his previous state. He realizes that the attainment is not real, that it is but the vision of attainment, an illusion, and further work is a requisite for his release. He must venture back into the cave and wrestle that which is his from the grip of Cerberus, that which at present seems like an impossible feat to achieve, although, there is nothing won and through the journey he finds he has become isolated and that there is no choice, but to finish that which he has begun. There is a warning issued to the Zelator, upon signing his oath, that after he has done so, there is no going back, that his decision will inevitably lead to one of two destinations and that his advancement must be carefully considered. At this point of his journey, he finds himself taken by the divine glory of Briah, although, he stands on the outskirts of the royal city--with the palace in sight, he must secure a proper foundation for himself and a vehicle in order to proceed. The foundation is built upon the Nephesh, and to do this he must confront the demon, as his time spent with Malkuth only detailed the structure of this part of his soul, and like Cerberus, fear of failure and a need for change that led to avoiding the consequences of wrong action, must now be confronted for the journey to proceed. Thus, risking his own peril, he ventures back into the darkness--the land of the dead, to confront that which has previously gone unnoticed. Anyone familiar with the qabalah will notice that the above is describing one who is standing at Yesod, at the center between Malkuth and Tiphareth, it is the first direct sunlight experienced, and although the vision has become clearer, the magician mustn’t allow himself to be captured by its beauty; which could be the consequence for one too eager to proceed; or unwilling to face that which may lead to fulfillment. Without proper integration of the Nephesh, the work is doomed to failure, and in order for this to be achieved, he must bring every faculty to bear upon the attack, indicating the nature of his task. The meadows symbolize Vau of tetragrammaton, the mercurial agent that pervades the universe, wherein all experiences, past, present and future are united in Love. It is the goal of the magician to achieve union with this field of consciousness, indeed, placing himself as enthroned at the centre thereof, however, at this moment his foundation is unstable. He sees clearly the potential of what lies ahead and is struck by the beauty thereof, albeit, at the same time acknowledging the difficulty of the journey and the seeming futility of his efforts thus far. In him arises doubt, and his aspiration is tested, so that he will need to draw force from the intellectual and creative rays of Tiphareth, before confronting death. Hence, the Zelator’s tool is the Knife, which symbolizes the intellect, as his quest demands cunning, and that, it is certainly the most appropriate for the hero, who will have to forge his own self into a weapon, if success is to be attained. Indeed, from the beautiful and eerie meadows upon the fields of Elysium, he must now enter deep into that cave and reclaim his birthright. 

It is said that Demeter was visited in a dream by Persephone, who informed her about her abduction to Hades and on hearing this, Demeter set out to rescue her daughter. She was accompanied by Dionysus and was in a car drawn by snakes and held two torches to illuminate their path, with which the pair proceeded on their mission by night. Thomas Taylor and Platonism in general--ascribes the soul to what we in Thelema call spirit, which is inextricably tied in with the nature of Hadit. The aim of Thelemic magick is to make Hadit conscious and this occurs by harmonizing our spiritual natures with that of our intuitive and intellectual faculties. Persephone is Hadit in darkness and indicates that the magician has not yet established congruence with this most essential part of his being, and as Hadit seeks to find expression--Persephone also yearns for release. Thus, she visits Demeter in a dream, an allegory well suited to the nature of the feeling which may lead a common person onto the path. The serpent is a symbol of the intellect, Dionysus is the Fool as the Neophyte, Demeter and Persephone symbolize the Anima and then the cave is the unconscious. The nous is concerned with the intelligible world, the world of archetypes, those things that stimulate the creative faculty and results in its expression. The nous being our connection to the forms, it can be seen qabalistically as one’s connection to the archetypes of the supernal triad--their nature when experienced, must come from a sense of physical and emotional displacement--such as the ecstasy induced during these mysteries. Although for this union to yield any beneficial result, it must be brought down through the three worlds beneath the Archetypal in a controlled manner, and this necessity establishes the intellect and ego’s importance, as represented by the Apollonian nature in Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy. This is what is symbolized by the serpents, who may be understood as recondite imagery of the intellect, as this is but the start of the hero’s becoming, and union with this faculty is still not yet fully conceptualized. Thus, the hero rushes forth into the mouth of peril to rescue his beloved--so that, within this trial led by almost certain failure, he proceeds to confront that which is hoarding the flame of his aspiration. Brazenly moving forward, the Zelator’s only concern at this point, is bringing to bear every faculty he has in service to the rescue, from which, if successful, he may free his will from that by which it is afflicted.