Theurgy of Iamblichus Part 2:

 

Theurgy of Iamblichus Part 2:

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

Porphyry:                                                                                                                                                   “As the gods dwell in heaven only, I ask therefore, why are invocations at the Theurgic Rites directed to them as being of the Earth and Underworld? How is it although possessing power unlimited, undivided, and unrestricted, some of them are mentioned as being of the water and of the atmosphere, and that others are allotted by definite limitations to different places and to distinct parts of bodies? If they are actually separated by circumscribed limitations of parts, and according to diversities of places and subject-bodies, how will there be any union of them one to another?”

Iamblichus:                                                                                           

“In regard to the superior races (the gods and souls) the former is chief, superior and perfect; the other is inferior and imperfect.” .

The Soul has the capacity for expression whereas the gods have no such luxury. This comes with a certain responsibility in our dealings with the world as we are in danger of manifesting to close a bond with our transient bodies, thereby neglecting to cultivate that which is eternal and that which influences our higher impulses and impressions, guiding us towards communion with the divine.

“The Former generates all things and is guardian over them; but the latter has a natural disposition to turn submissively towards what it creates and has under its guardianship.”

Creativity and the soul’s striving to create issues forth from the influence of the gods upon the soul. The gods have within their realm all and therefore they are an endless wellspring of inspiration. Indeed, all creation manifesting in the corporeal world has its origin there and it at times even seems miraculous to the creators how this may have been understood and how it came to be. This is the risk that the soul faces, that it may become the slave of its own creation and its hubris in that case too will have the potential to lead it astray and away from this communion with the divine.

“Further still, there exists with the former the highest and unlimited, superior to all measurement, and so completely formless as to be circumscribed by no formative principles; but the latter is dominated by impulse, habit and inclination, and is held fast both by longings for that which is inferior and by being familiar with things of a secondary character. At length it is molded in various ways and proportions from them. Hence MIND, the leader and king of the things that actually are, the demiurgic art of the universe, is always present with the gods in the same manner, completely and abundantly, being established in itself unalloyed according to one sole energy. But the soul partakes of divisible and multiform mind, adapting itself to the supreme authority over all. It also takes care of un-souled beings, having been itself born into various forms at different times. From the same causes, order itself and beauty itself are coexistent with the Superior races; or if it is desired so to express it, the First cause is coexistent with these. But with the soul the allotment of intellective order and divine beauty is always associated”   

The MIND is the Logos and from this, issues forth the phenomenal universe as a work of demiurgic art. Therefore, everything is exactly as it should be, all is in the correct place. The gods are the expression of the Logos, they have been created in the image of this word and keep evolving in accordance with it. Therefore, the nature of the gods is perfect as they are harmonized in accordance with this universal law. The souls however are as mentioned imperfect from the result of being bound by their material forms. These material bodies are swayed by that which are received through the senses. Souls are subject to emotions and other sense impressions, creating conflict which is out of accord with celestial nature. The Demiurge is wholly impersonal and detached from that which the body’s physical organs may latch on to in a misguided attempt to find clarity about the soul’s true nature. Even empathy is most often imperfect and akin to the lower nature of the soul whereas detachment is more akin to the higher. Hereby the souls striving for divine beauty is guided by the intellective faculty, and with the gods the intellective faculty is not present, they are perfect expressions of the Demiurge. What good is a pauper to the people? We can be of no good to anyone unless we have gained control over our lives and the same is true in the case of Theurgy with respect to mind and body and the aim of transcendence. We must raise our souls in wealth, and this can only be done by complying with the laws present, until we have established an insoluble union with the gods. Wherefrom we may direct our faculties in correct proportion to our capacities.

“With the gods, the measure of all things, or rather the cause of it, is perpetually co-ordinate; but the soul is confined to the divine limit and only participates of this in a limited degree. With good reason there may be described to the gods dominion over all beings, by the power of supreme authority of the First Cause; but the soul has defined limits over which it can have command.”  

The influence of the gods is felt by everyone, everywhere but the soul’s understanding and potential to receive this influence is limited by its capacity. Included in this limitation is the fact that we are bound to our corporeal forms which brings with it its own collection of limitations, added to this, are our particular circumstances and intellectual and emotional capacities, all of these play a role to what extent an individual may attain communion with the gods. As the superior races are the inspiration for all types of creative expression, they are equally influential in the development of every person. Our souls are subject to the impressions from the divine realm; some to a greater and others to a lesser extent, and at the same time we are subject to the sensory impressions we receive from the material world, thus being shaped by both of these in like manner. The nature of the soul then according to Neo-Platonism is of this two-fold nature and we may call these the (corporeal) lower soul and the (incorporeal) higher soul. The lower soul is that which receives influence from the material world and the higher soul receives impressions from the celestial. We may only serve the gods if we have elevated our souls to where they are guided by intellection and become like the gods themselves, inspired and guided by the impressions they receive from both. Theosophy and Theurgy are the two means employed to enlarge our capacity for this reception, it is through these two practices that the soul increases in understanding until it becomes a conduit for divine inspiration. Thus, there is a need for enlivening the soul to its purpose and this enlivening of the soul is called initiation. It is only through occult initiation that this sense of self is unveiled and from where the soul may become an active participant in one’s life; without which we remain as passive observers and subject to the tides of creation. This is not the case with the inferior celestial races, for they are limited in their capacity and are capable to receive only that which they are fitted for, this is the reason that the soul was so highly regarded by the Neo-Platonists, as it is capable of experience outside of its immediate surroundings which it perceives through the faculties of the physical body. Along with being intransient the lower races of celestial beings are incapable of influencing the higher spheres, this however is not the case with souls, the zeitgeist being an example of our influence.

“ Hence the secondary races being always towards the primary, and the superiors leading the inferiors as exemplars, essence and ideal come to the lower races from those which are superior, and those which are ignoble are produced primarily in the more excellent. Hence accordingly order and proportion come from the latter to the inferior races, and these are what they are through the former. But there is no transmitting of peculiarities from the inferior races to those which proceed them.” 

The peculiarities that the lower races receive from the superior races depends on the soul’s understanding of its role in the cosmic play that is life. The greater the soul’s insight into the nature of its own being the more concentrated these peculiarities become in suitedness to each individual soul, this in the Thelemic context, is the True Will. Only by realizing our True Wills are we able to govern our realities according to our inherent natures, a course of action we aren’t the least bit aware of before the True Will has been realized. Thus, the inferior races are influenced by the higher each in turn until finally this influence is experienced by the soul. Once a person has raised himself to sufficient union with all the races inferior to the gods, he unites with the gods and these inferior races support him to do his will. Whereby the soul stands in union with all these races and becomes a manifestation of the Logos. By the work of Theurgy the soul is not seeking to control any part of the celestial hierarchy, but is seeking to find its proper place within it.

“On the contrary, the superior races are characterized in this way: that they are encompassed by nothing and that they encompass all things in themselves. But those that belong to the earth have their being in the perfections (pleromas) of the gods, and when they become fit for the divine communion they at once, prior to their own essence, posses the gods that preexisted in it.”

The superior races have no limitations, for the simple fact that they are dependent on the psychic influence from the lowest world. They serve as a storehouse for this influence and there is thus no limit to the vastness of their expansion. Within them exists not only the beginning but eternity as may be conceptualized by one who has expanded his perception to accommodate them. We are essentially gods awaiting our return and as gods, as soon as this communion is achieved, we receive that which exists and has existed with the gods in its entirety at once.

“Whether the allotment be to certain parts of the universe, as to heaven or earth, whether to holy cities or regions, whether to certain temple-precincts or sacred images, the divine irradiation shines upon them all from the outside, just as the sun illuminates every object from within with its rays. Hence as the light encompasses the objects that it illuminates, so also the power of the gods comprehends those that participate of it.”

The gods are omnipresent however, it is when we draw our focus to the gods for any specific Theurgic operation that the force invoked becomes concentrated and manifests in a certain place for a specific purpose. Again, this manifestation depends on the will and participation of the soul or souls conducting the operation, without which the gods would go unnoticed. However still active in shaping our lives, their influence will be unconsciously perceived, going unnoticed and beyond the control of the individual. Hereby, the unconscious influences from the superior races in the lives of individuals are dependent on the psychic constitutions of any individual and those energies his soul has a greater affinity with will thus be naturally attracted to him, unless the art of Theurgy is employed. This unawareness creates imbalance and so the first step in Theurgy is to create equilibrium, such is the work done on the material level, and is the means by which we establish a firm foundation first, wherefrom the soul may be raised to power.

“…,the whole universe, being susceptible of division, is distinguished with the one and indivisible light of the gods. In short, this light is one and the same every-where, and is not only present, undivided, with all things that are capable of participating of it, but it, likewise, by an absolute power and by an infinite superiority fills all things, as a cause, joins them together in itself, unites them everywhere in itself, and combines the ends with the beginnings.”

This light is referred to by Thelemites as LVX and is sometimes called the astral light, it is the All-Soul that has been made referenced to in this essay and is mankind’s connection to the gods. As it states in the quote this light “fills all things” it is known as the "Khabs" in the "Book of the Law". It is from this light that prophecy is received and this light is relied on for success in divinatory operations of any kind. It makes sense then that such strange archetypes and symbols are presented on Tarot cards and the archetypal nature for the poetry of the I-Ching, as these techniques are used to establish a link with this light and the material world, from which the All-Soul is accessed, or in modern terms the collective unconscious.

I,8: The Khabs is in the Khu, not the Khu in the Khabs.

I,9: Worship then the Khabs, and behold my light shed over you!

Liber Al vel Legis (The Book of the Law)

“Love is the law, love under will.”

Theurgy of Iamblichus Part 1:

 Theurgy of Iamblichus Part 1:

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

With these essays I attempt to bring some clarity and draw certain parallels between the philosophy of Neo-Platonism and in particular the Theurgy of Iamblichus, with that of the philosophical system of Thelema and modern occult philosophy and qabalah in general. The quotes in the following essays were taken from Iamblichus On the Mysteries or On the Egyptian Mysteries as translated by Alexander Wilder. The book is written as a correspondence between Iamblichus and Porphyry in response to questions posed by the latter regarding the practice of Iamblichus’ Theurgy and his unique interpretation of Neo-Platonic philosophy.

Porphyry:

“It is to be taken for granted that there are gods. I ask then what are the peculiarities of the different races, by which they are differentiated from each other?”

Iamblichus:

“Speaking in this way is not right. For the inborn knowledge in respect to the gods is coexistent with our very being, and is superior to all judging and deciding beforehand. Indeed, it is preexistent both to argument and demonstration and is united interiorly from the beginning to its own divine cause and is coexistent with the inherent impulse and longing of the soul to the Good.”

The essential nature of the soul is ethereal but also eternal, for when we die our ethereal bodies or souls again form part of the All-Soul also termed in psychology the collective unconscious. This is the place where the archetypes that aid our development reside. In death our souls break up and are dissolved into the ether. It is within this expanse where the gods also are, where the creative projections of mankind are still very much alive. Our souls are therefore united with the gods even before our births and bring this knowledge of the gods into life.

“Therefore, even as they have their being always after the same manner, so also the human soul is conjoined to them by Knowledge according to the same principles; never by any conjecture, opinion or reasoning which have their beginning in Time pursuing the essence which is beyond all these, but by pure and faultless intuitions which it received out of eternity from the gods being conjoined with them in these principles.”

Our natures have been decided for us in a sense since before we were born. We are all unique in our experience of the world, our sense of being is experienced through our intuition, making the moral expectations of organized religion forced down on their followers an absurdity that could impossibly be adhered to. It is a form of self-treachery and inexcusable, how this would play out is any one’s guess but the above seems to indicate that the effects would be eternally felt, if our true natures in life are to such a degree repressed. This is the crime of organized religion and especially Christianity, that mankind’s soul has been enslaved by their deceit of self-denial.  

“…and is united interiorly from the beginning to its own divine cause and is coexistent with the inherent impulse and longing of the soul to the Good.”

The divine cause we will here refer to as spirit which manifests in us as Hadit, the centre of knowing in each individual.

“Prior to this knowledge, however, which is as one individual having knowledge of another, the intimate union as in a single concept is self-originating and indistinguishable.”

Before incarnating and becoming self-aware, Hadit and Nuit are united and it is to be born into the phenomenal world and breaking away from this union that creates in us the intuitive longing for spiritual fulfilment, it is our longing for wholeness and the reunion of these opposites that inspires us to know the gods, who as stated, are but aspects of ourselves. The way to union therefore is attained by our worship of the gods as they are united with the divine cause as their nature is incorporeal and not separated from it, as we are separated from it by our physical bodies. 

“I say things to thee, therefore, in regard to the first principles in us, at which it is necessary for those to begin would both speak and hear anything whatever concerning the superior races or about ourselves”

I am drawn to the gods by virtue of spirit, the gods are not drawn to me, they are a part of me. They light up and become, as soon as I become a participant. The gods and the soul have been united eternally and will continue in this union, we are one in a sense, but knowledge and worship of the gods and superior races are still imperatives along the path, as they serve to bring us closer to understanding our true essences.

“But with souls that are ruling over bodies, that are occupied with the care of them, and that are placed in order apart by themselves in the eternal regions, before the transition to generated existence, there is not present either the essence of the Good or the Cause (First Principle) of the Good which is prior to essence; but there comes from it a certain participation and habit of good, as we perceive that a sharing of beauty and virtue is very different from what we observe with human beings. For this is equivocal and becomes manifest in complex natures as sole thing acquired.”

This quote speaks of the nature of evolution and the distinction between Hadit and our ethereal forms, that are here called souls. We are not born equal, not physically, intellectually or ethereally, one may say that fate has decided what our place in the hierarchy would be on our behalf. However, the one unchanging principle in each of us is Hadit, we can see this in the fact that all people are unique and do have different talents, this is how Iamblichus says we may distinguish between the nature of different souls. By the fact “that a sharing of beauty and virtue” is unique to every individual and these we have inherited before birth. However it is within, as he puts it "complex natures" that "beauty and virtue" is accentuated and these are of individuals who have acquired these traits from the nature of their souls, and such is the nature of inherited genius.      

“1: That of heroes or half-gods, which not only ranks higher than the order of souls in power and virtue, moral beauty and greatness, and excels in every good quality which is incident in souls, but is also closely joined to them by the kindred relationship of a similar form of life. 2: The other, the race of demons, which is closely allied to the gods, yet is in a certain sense inferior to them, following that it was not first in rank but accompanying in subservience to the good pleasure of the gods. This race causes the otherwise invisible goodness of the gods to become visible in operation, becoming itself both assimilated to it, and accomplishing perfect works that are like it. For what was before unutterable in it is made capable of being uttered, what was without form is caused to shine forth in visible figures, whatever of it was beyond all reasoning is brought forth into plain words, and having already received the participation of beautiful gifts it bestows the same ungrudgingly, and transfers them to the races that rank after itself.”

Blavatsky called these heroes and half gods the hidden Mahatmas and in Thelema we refer to them as the Secret Chiefs. They are considered ascended masters and at times serve to inspire certain people to create works of influence, that carry with them inspiration from the divine realm. One such demi-god or hero is Aiwass, who appeared to Aleister Crowley, and from whom he received the ‘Book of the Law’. Therefore, the quote states, that works of divine inspiration are received from these intermediaries, through our connection with the gods, that are facilitated by our relationship with demons or in fact demons serve to “render the connection with them indissoluble”. Therefore, an adept is tasked to strengthen his connection with the divine realm in the same way, as is done in the Abramelin working, where one must evoke all the infernal spirits once Knowledge and Conversation has been attained thus completing the ritual. It is also interesting to note that Abramelin who taught the sacred magick and after whom the ritual is named, is said to have been an Egyptian. The soul’s union with the race of demons is what raises us to understanding the language of the gods, that is translated into anagogic works of Beauty, for the benefit of mankind. The heroes are then through their kinship to humanity the messengers of the gods, therefore it becomes the work of the Theurgist to establish a relationship with these heroes or Secret Chiefs.

“Hence there may be perceived the complete joining together into one of the first and last races (all gods and souls) through the intermediates (the demons and half gods), and the entire sameness of nature, alike equally in substance and alike equally in energy.”

The whole hierarchy is connected in spirit and it is this spirit or LVX that keeps everything balanced and in their proper places, once union with these worlds or hierarchies have been achieved, we unite with the Demiurge and are capable of reflecting this light to the world. Everything is in its proper place and bound by its unique dealing with the Demiurge. The soul is the only one of these races that may by virtue of its nature raise itself to power and understanding and it is through this raising the soul to power, that we may come to understand the function of the soul’s dealings with the celestial races. As stated earlier in this essay, the gods and our relationship with all the races is found in the essence of our beings and the collective unconscious, we are then to raise our souls and unite with the gods so that conscious communion with the All-Soul is achieved.

“…, I describe the race of heroes and demi-gods as being placed over more common distribution and multitude, and likewise over action and commingling, and matters akin to these.”

Commingling here refers to our relationship with these heroes that result in creative expression of a divine nature. Therefore, they are akin to the messengers of the gods being able to travel between the incorporeal worlds and plant their seeds of creativity in the material world through the soul’s union with the gods. In the beginning of the chapter Iamblichus states: “Hermes, the patron of literature, was rightly considered of old to be a god common to all the priests and the one residing over the general learning relating to the gods, one and the same among all. Hence our predecessors were wont to ascribe to him their discoveries in wisdom and to name all their respective works Books of Hermes.”  Iamblichus was not Greek, he was from Syria and was said to be a descendant of the Priest Kings of ancient Egypt, in this quote he is referring to the anagogic nature of the writing of the priests and the aim of Theosophy and Theurgy. In ancient Egypt, Hermes was worshipped under the name Thoth and was revered in the same context, as having had great affinity for humanity, and relaying to us the knowledge of the gods.  Iamblichus goes on to say: “Accordingly, I myself engage thus in the present discussion. Thou, if thou dost so choose, art at liberty to consider the person who is now writing to thee as the individual to whom thou hast sent the letter. If, however it shall seem to thee more proper, then regard the individual who is discoursing with thee in writing to be one or some other prophet of the Egyptians, for this is not a matter worth differing about.”

“Love is the law, love under will.”

Esoteric Christianity Part 2:

 The Rosy Cross and The Holy Guardian Angel:

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

Although the Rosy Cross is certainly not a Christian symbol it has often been misinterpreted as such, there also are no bona fide Rosicrucian orders who call themselves the Rosicrucians. In fact, anyone can be a Rosicrucian if such a person has attained to a sufficient level of spiritual awakening and anyone who claims to be one is lying or simply doesn’t understand what the word means. However, the term Rosicrucian implies that one adheres to a specific philosophical perspective and that is the perspective of the White School of Magick, wherein The Great Work is the aim and ultimate goal of the aspirant.

Most who follow the path of Rosicrucianism, do it within a student teacher framework, this was the case with famous Rosicrucians, such as Rudolph Steiner and Pascal Beverly Randolph, both of whom to my knowledge never divulged the names of their Masters as they called them or the methods and teachings they received and both of whom were also members of the OTO, which Crowley also was a member of, and both of whom achieved the Great Work proving their success. They were indeed what we may consider bona fide Rosicrucians, even though neither were ever members of AMORC… Then there is Aleister Crowley, a man with very particular philosophic insights that these two men more than likely didn’t share and both in stark contrast to Crowley, masked the true meaning of their teachings within the framework of Christian Esotericism. There is no need for that sort of nonsense today, as the slave gods have been overthrown and so has the interpretation of the Rosy Cross and the means to its attainment. Aleister Crowley too was a bona fide Rosicrucian and also the wickedest man alive, as per a popular newspaper article written about him. As such, we may infer, that the attainment does not hinge on Christian precepts of moral dogma, but that anyone may attain, if given the right instructions.

The symbol of the Rosy Cross is a 22 petaled rose placed in the middle of a cross, this is a symbol of raising our consciousness in a vertical line to become one with our Holy Guardian Angels. Basically the 22 petaled rose is the Heart and Soul of the Adept, that through an act of Love under Will has achieved union with the divine and has become one with the universal mind that pervades the cosmos, thereby the attainment is concerned with Universal Love or Agape. Aleister Crowley said and I’m paraphrasing, that once conversation with one’s angel is attained, it is felt as a tremor throughout the universe. In Esoteric Christianity this is called awakening Christ Consciousness and is paralleled by the Sankharas of Love, Compassion and Detachment in Buddhism, as per the nature of the attainment. It is said these acts of selfless devotion then take on a life of their own, after the attainment they become alive in the heart of the aspirant awakening him to a new sense of wholeness, as the magician’s heart is ripped open to accommodate this influx of Divine Light. Once a magician attains Knowledge and Conversation with his Holy Guardian Angel his true being is exposed and he realizes his True Will, that which he was born to do and who he truly is, his whole being is laid bare. The 22 petals, therefore, represent the 22 paths on the Tree of Life making the Rosy Cross a qabalistic symbol of uniting the Microcosm with the Macrocosm, as the points of the cross have the markings of the elements giving it the name of the Cross of the Elements. This union is also reflected at Tiphareth on the Tree of Life, or the sphere of the sun, also known as the sphere of Beauty. This Sephirah can be seen as separating the top part of the tree from the lower part and is thus reflective of the attainment.

So, the triune constitution of man is a Rosicrucian doctrine that may be found in the writings and theories of all who adhere to this school of thought. This constitution being Matter, Soul and Spirit. The Soul which is created through occult work is that which binds the world of matter and spirit together and it is this vehicle that becomes a receptacle for Divine inspiration and in Christian parlance wherein the Christ is awakened (Christ Consciousness is achieved or Knowledge and Conversation with one’s Holy Guardian Angel is attained). This awakening is presented on the Tree of Life as the grades within the Ethical Triad or the grades of Adepthood, Aleister Crowley called these Grades the Order of the Rosy Cross. This attainment is only possible, if an aspirant has sufficiently built up his psychospiritual faculties to withstand the pressure of being that high up on the Tree of Life. Making it the aim of occult orders to serve as schools that may guide all sincere seekers towards this attainment. It must certainly be heeded that occult knowledge throughout the centuries have been kept out of the hands of the profane for good reason, however today we are living in strange times where one may learn how to do back flips in a day by watching a YouTube video. But by doing a backflip incorrectly, I may only break my neck…

Sadly, we may never know who the Rosicrucians are or were. The only yardstick that we have to judge them by is the work that they have done for the benefit of humanity. Most of these great men were not recognized for their greatness in their own life times, although some were, and such are the likes of people like Aleister Crowley and Rudolph Steiner, the former having had mixed reviews. This then is the aim of the Western Esoteric Tradition; to be immortalized through that work which an Adept produces for the benefit of mankind and the preservation of the Western Mystery Tradition and this is what is known as the Great Work.

“Love is the law, love under will.”

The Emperor:

 The Emperor:

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

This path is associated with the Hebrew letter Tzaddi, it is the twenty-eighth path on the Tree of Life and connects Netzach to Yesod or the sphere of Venus to the Moon respectively. It is associated with The Emperor card of the Tarot and its Zodiacal attribution is Aries, a martial sign wherein the sun is exalted. As we approach closer to Tiphareth on the tree, the polarity presented on the two sides of the tree become increasingly more important to our readings and meditations. This starts becoming apparent with the paths of Resh and Tzaddi, as the paths are no longer connected to Malkuth and so the stabilizing force has become Tiphareth. As Tzaddi used to connect Chokmah to Tiphareth, its influence was that of the father and gave it a paternal quality, which is still present in the new arrangement, although it has changed in some respects as the influence upon the path is now Netzach (Fire) and connects to Yesod (Water). Whereas the connection between Chokmah (Fire) and Tiphareth (Air) served the martial tendencies of the path as a result of their complimentary influence on one another. 

The interpretation is completion, we have reached a place where evaluating our current circumstances is now possible and further progress may proceed henceforth. The nature of this card is very dynamic but within familiar circumstances and complacency may be what's indicated. The need along this path is to re-establish one’s focus, so that the current state is not lost. This can easily happen as the card indicates the volatility of the situation. Whatever the case is, we need to move forward and not rest on our laurels, which may result in loss and failure. "But not to worry!" The Emperor card is also an advisor, meaning that the reflection mentioned will be a natural aspect of life along this path. Although Aries is a martial sign, the path is connected to Netzach and Yesod, these spheres have the potentiality of creating illusion and there is a powerful dual aspect to the path wherein, although the potential for success is present, so is the potential for failure and presents as an equally relevant meditation. This is where the lessons one has learnt certainly needs to be applied, and whatever one decides to do, needs to be done in haste, otherwise failure will almost assuredly follow. It should be kept in mind that Netzach and Yesod are elemental opposites and their influences upon the path could result in stagnation, if this occurs, failure will be the outcome. However, Aries is a fire sign and therefore more akin to Netzach and their mutual attraction is a key to successfully navigating this path.

The Emperor card is also attributed to the three Alchemical elements of Sulphur, Mercury and Salt and these are the elements associated with man’s intellectual, emotional and physical constitutions, although there are numerous attributions for these three elements, these may serve us as the most relevant examples. These elements need to be brought to power in order to aid the enquirer. The Alchemical elements mentioned are also associated with The Chain, The Scourge and The Dagger and these weapons are used in order to maintain balance, so that these parts aid instead of hinder the magician. The card should therefore be viewed as the need to pull all these faculties together and to make them work to bring about a welcomed change. The elements also serve as a guideline for what the card reflects and should be kept in mind when meditating on this path, especially with concern to readings, that may bring clarity and elucidate an appropriate course of action. Therefore, the danger on this path is stagnation and herein is presented the maxim: "change is stability", although the nature of The Emperor is kind and benevolent, what he has to teach us must certainly not be taken lightly; and the lessons are forthcoming.

“Love is the law, love under will.”

Esoteric Christianity Part 1:

 The Christ Myth and the Holy Guardian Angel:

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

The myth of the Christ starts with the immaculate conception, meaning Mary was impregnated by God or the Holy Spirit to give birth to the Christ. Now, Jesus was not a real person and so thank god for Aleister Crowley who changed the terminology of the story so that we could move past the moral implications of Christianity and separate humanity’s need for spirituality, from needing to adhere to the doctrinal sadism of the slave gods and their religions. There is no such thing as a redeemable Christian, they are all equally reprehensible. Even Jung’s idea of enlightening the masses to the true significance hidden in the esoteric interpretation of the Christ myth is a mistake. The longer these people have an excuse to misinterpret the story, the longer the problem will persist and so “Christians to the lions!” as per Crowley’s dictum. Albeit the case, it is still necessary to shed some light on the myth for those who seek to understand it, and this is my attempt at doing so.

Esoteric Christianity’s claim to fame is the symbol of the Rosy Cross and in Thelema this symbol is associated with Knowledge and Conversation of one’s Holy Guardian Angel. The symbol of the rose in the middle of the cross of the elements represents the Soul of the Adept that is expanding its influence throughout the universe, by the inspiration it receives from its relationship with the LOGOS. In Esoteric Christianity the attainment of Christ consciousness is associated with the heart of the mystic, making it a formula of Love. Now, in Thelema it is associated with the same but much more to the point, as every Thelemite knows that the attainment is associated with Tiphareth, thereby doing away with all the snobbery. Tiphareth can be viewed as the heart of the Adam Kadmon, here I’m paraphrasing but Crowley famously said something about an Adept’s head is in the highest heavens and his feet are firmly planted in hell. The Adam Kadmon has his feet in Malkuth while his head is in Kether, which is also a symbol of the highest attainment and a different way of portraying the Tree of Life. The heart is a clue to the attainment of Knowledge and Conversation, by the heart being the centre of love in the human body. Jesus was a very loving guy, according to the E-vans, however they feel it is up to their false idol to save them, we know better though, as “there is no god but man”.

There was no Jesus in the historical context, who taught humanity lessons of love and forgiveness. There certainly must have been Rabbis and Priests doing this but more than likely when we take a look at the historical facts, there wasn’t an actual person named Jesus, masquerading as the Son of God, who called himself the Son of Man. So then; first he is immaculately conceived, then he grows up. The Minor Adept is immaculately raised to conscious communion with his angel, through his close proximity to the Light from the Supernals. This could be interpreted as the Holy Spirit flooding Mary’s barren womb with God seed, but I wouldn’t use that term and indeed, her barren womb may be more aptly replaced as the barren landscape of Malkuth, before it has been fertilized by the Shekinah under the auspices of an initiate's aspiration. So, we may rather use the example of the dove at Christ's baptism being symbolic of the Shekinah and therefore analogous of the same, as in this story is symbolized the awakening of the Christ, who after the event is no longer a man but the incarnation of God on earth. His father's will, which Jesus claimed to have been doing, was nothing more than an Adepts interpretation of the LOGOS, i.e. Jesus' role as savior. Therefore, as this communion is fully realized, he starts doing the work of the Major Adept. In the Bible, this is symbolized by the many miracles old Jesus had done and which immortalized him to the savages whom he had so much in common with, thus having been his saving grace. Then of course there is the temptation in the desert during his 40 days of fasting, this obviously must be symbolic of the Abyss. Lastly, we have the crucifixion and the last supper, both of these allegories are symbolic of the grade of the Exempt Adept and connected to the Holy Grail, which too is related to the ordeal of the Abyss. The logic behind this comparison to the Thelemic grade system is as simple as looking at the ordeal and the presence of the grail in both instances. In Thelemic metaphysics the Holy Grail is the Cup of Babalon wherein an Adept is expected to drain every drop of his blood before he would be able to cross the Abyss successfully, sort of like J.C. hanging on to the cross until he had only water left to spill. The last supper would have been the oath and realization that comes with the grade of Exempt Adept. This analogy should prove to anyone who is trying to find some redeeming qualities in Christianity, that there are none! Thelema and our Prophet have cured the sickness; and now it is time for the world to dispose of Christianity once and for all, as we would any other biohazardous waste.

Thanks for reading.

“Love is the law, love under will.”

The Moon:

 The Moon:

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

The twenty-ninth path on the Tree of Life is Qoph, it connects the sphere of Malkuth to the sphere of Netzach and is associated with the Moon trump of the Tarot. It is upon this path that the influence of Venus is directly felt for the first time. The Yetziratic name for Netzach is Occult Intelligence and as most people know occult means secret knowledge. Relating occult secrets to the profane has always been unlawful and these secrets have throughout the centuries been well guarded. Sir Edward Kelly suffered torture and death for not being willing to give away the secrets of Alchemy, in the process both his legs were amputated, and he eventually died in prison, but he never succumbed to their interrogations. However, the above story is of no importance as an occult secret or mystery cannot be told, they can only be understood through experience. Which gives rise to the difficulty of fully integrating the mystery of this card, as it is entirely subjective in nature. The influence of the Moon truly is mesmerizing, and the magician runs the risk of being transfixed as a result of her influence, this needs to be guarded against. The experience of this realm, needs then, to be experienced for the sake of the experience, wherefrom the lessons learnt will later be acquiesced consciously and integrated to benefit the psychic constitution of the enquirer.

This card is associated with the Dark Night of the Soul, but the influence of Venus may overpower the overbearing influence of the ordeal, which may be experienced in its wholesome light. The imagery associated with this card is debauchery and evil things, all manifestations of moral corruption may be found here, such as the imagery found in the stories of the witches sabbath, therefore one needs to guard against enchantment along this path and stay the course. The Moon is a symbol of the withholding mother as in her there is no truth only poisoned corruption, she is the dying bride, therefore one's union with her necessitates the death of self. Thus, she is both Isis and Apophis as representing the first initiation and manifests the Shadow that needs to be overcome in order for the conception of the new life to be successful and the child to be born. She symbolizes simultaneously life, death and putrefaction. Her presence is symbolic of the Vampire and the Neophyte's greatest adversary along the path of initiation. In other words: Qoph is Isis and Apophis of the Formula of I.A.O., or Life before initiation which is a corruption of the Great Mother and indicates the ordeal of the Vampire and the Shadow. The aspirant has to die in order to be reborn, thus also the putrefaction, which is associated with the card, in a sense, is the stagnation, that is associated with the Vampire, and symbolized herein, as a putrefying corpse. 

 The path is associated with Pisces. This myth revolves around Aphrodite and her son Eros and the monster Typhon. It’s said that Typhon was the son of Tartarus (Hell) and Gaia (Earth) he was a giant serpent who was often called the father of monsters, it is from his name that we get the word typhoon, in other words he was the devil but also symbolic of the unconscious. Aphrodite and Eros were traveling along the Euphrates river, when they were suddenly attacked by Typhon, in order to escape from the monster they turned into fish and got away. This myth not only sums up the card and the imagery inherent in the card but the nature of the path as understood in the characters of both Eros and Aphrodite and their places on the Tree of Life. The sphere of Netzach connects us to the divine realm as well as the path being an aspect of the Moon which is influential as a form of the Shekinah whose influence below Tiphareth is experienced as the unconscious impulses and impressions of the magician's psyche. The sphere of Yesod is sometimes called the Gate and is symbolic of our link to the unconscious or lower astral plane, so too is this card referred to as the path of the "Gate of Resurrection" in Crowley’s Book of Thoth, as we are now linked with the light of the Moon that carries with it the influence of the Logos all the way from the highest into the lowest world. This influence needs to be integrated consciously, and this integration of the Shadow is experienced as the Dark night of the Soul, wherefrom we are fortified and awaken (resurrected) into a new field of consciousness having left the restricting influence of the old Aeon behind.

“Love is the law, love under will.”

The Sun:

 The Sun:

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

This is the thirtieth path on the Tree of Life and connects Yesod to Hod or the sphere of Mercury and the Moon. Carrying with it the influence of Mercury we may contemplate this influence in light of the nature of Mercury described in a previous essay entitled the ‘Four Worlds’. Yesod being the sphere that is associated with the unconscious and wherein the aim of the work is to expose the dealings with the Shadow to our everyday waking consciousness and the nature of Mercury being that of creativity and inspiration, we give way to some breathing room for intellectual analysis guided by the force of creativity through experience as symbolized in The Sun card. This experience is authentic and new to each one of those who are fortunate enough to find themselves in the light of the Sun for the first time. It is realizing the self as a joyful partaker in the dance of existence, as being thus, is the blessing and the grace that are such apt terms relating to each individual who has become cognizant, of his or her role as an actor in the theater of life.

We seek to grow in this experienced and for this reason the card also suggests that it would be the natural course of the individual drawing the card to do so. There is a sense of being at home upon this path and the phantoms have ceased, if only for the moment; from which we may come to find ourselves again as one, as if from the place whence we came, before the reality of the mundane world demanded that which we could not bestow. We are therefore growing in experience; whether this experience is the joy of learning the habits of one whom we have fallen in love with, or a break from the mundane affairs of everyday reality, when we finally have time to reflect in a state of blissful joy and peace. We have established a definite connection with something that inspires our very beings with love; our creativity is apparent not only to the outside but even to ourselves, while wrapped up in this experience. This card as such, may be interpreted, as a new relationship or some time away, but always joyful and very sure of the profundity of the experience, that may leave one transformed as its result.

This card corresponds to the Hebrew letter Resh on the Tree of Life. In Thelema the path of Resh is occupied by the God Helios, who is a solar God and it was his office to drive his chariot across the horizon carrying the Sun from sunrise to midnight. In the ritual Resh vel Helios, a Thelemite adores the Sun at every stage of its procession, whereby he affirms the nature of his own unique godhead and his aspiration for the Great Work. Both Yesod and Hod are direct reflections of Tiphareth and we may contemplate the nature of the card in light of the relationship mankind has with Hermes in Greek mythology, as well as the dichotomy, that is present between the spheres of Netzach and Hod and their effects on the psychic constitution of man. I have tried to make these differences as clear as possible in the above essay.

I hope you found this essay enjoyable and thanks for reading.

“Love is the law, love under will.”