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Ra-Hoor-Khuit Network's Magickal Library |
Magick in Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley
1989 e.v. key entry and proof reading with re-format and
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Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
MAGICK
IN THEORY AND
PRACTICE
by
The Master Therion
Aleister Crowley
{Based on the Castle Books edition of New York}
HYMN TO PAN
epsilon-phi-rho-iota-xi epsilon-rho-omega-tau-iota pi-
epsilon-rho-iota-alpha-rho-chi-eta-sigma delta alpha-nu-
epsilon-pi-tau-omicron-mu-alpha-nu
iota-omega iota-omega pi-alpha-nu pi-alpha-nu
omega -pi-alpha-nu pi-alpha-nu alpha-lambda-iota-pi-
lambda-alpha-gamma-chi-tau-epsilon, chi-upsilon-lambda-
lambda-alpha-nu-iota-alpha-sigma chi-iota-omicron-nu-
omicron-chi-tau-upsilon-pi-omicron-iota
pi-epsilon-tau-rho-alpha-iota-alpha-sigma alpha-pi-
omicron delta-epsilon-iota-rho-alpha-delta-omicron-sigma
phi-alpha-nu-eta-theta, omega
theta-epsilon-omega-nu chi-omicron-rho-omicron-pi-omicron-
iota alpha-nu-alpha-xi
SOPH. AJ.
Thrill with lissome lust of the light,
O man! My man!
Come careering out of the night
Of Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan! Come over the sea
From Sicily and from Arcady!
Roaming as Bacchus, with fauns and pards
And nymphs and satyrs for thy guards,
On a milk-white ass, come over the sea
To me, to me,
Come with Apollo in bridal dress
(Shepherdess and pythoness)
Come with Artemis, silken shod,
And wash thy white thigh, beautiful God,
In the moon of the woods, on the marble mount,
The dimpled dawn of the amber fount!
Dip the purple of passionate prayer
In the crimson shrine, the scarlet snare,
The soul that startles in eyes of blue {V}
To watch thy wantonness weeping through
The tangled grove, the gnarled bole
Of the living tree that is spirit and soul
And body and brain --- come over the sea,
(Io Pan! Io Pan!)
Devil or god, to me, to me,
My man! my man!
Come with trumpets sounding shrill
Over the hill!
Come with drums low muttering
From the spring!
Come with flute and come with pipe!
Am I not ripe?
I, who wait and writhe and wrestle
With air that hath no boughs to nestle
My body, weary of empty clasp,
Strong as a lion and sharp as an asp ---
Come, O come!
I am numb
With the lonely lust of devildom.
Thrust the sword through the galling fetter,
All-devourer, all-begetter;
Give me the sign of the Open Eye,
And the token erect of thorny thigh,
And the word of madness and mystery,
O Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan Pan! Pan,
I am a man:
Do as thou wilt, as a great god can,
O Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! I am awake
in the grip of the snake.
The eagle slashes with beak and claw;
The gods withdraw:
The great beasts come, Io Pan! I am borne
To death on the horn
Of the Unicorn.
I am Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan! {VI}
I am thy mate, I am thy man,
Goat of thy flock, I am gold, I am god,
Flesh to thy bone, flower to thy rod.
With hoofs of steel I race on the rocks
Through solstice stubborn to equinox.
And I rave; and I rape and I rip and I rend
Everlasting, world without end,
Mannikin, maiden, Maenad, man,
In the might of Pan.
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan! Io Pan!
-------------
{VII}
{Illustration on page VIII described:
This is the set of photos originally published facing
page 12 in EQUINOX I, 2 and titled there: "The Signs of the
Grades."
These are arranged as ten panels: * * * *
* *
* *
*
*
In this re-publication, the original half-tones have been
redone as line copy. Each panel consists of an illustration
of a single human in a black Tau robe, barefoot with hood
completely closed over the face. The hood displays a six-
pointed figure on the forehead --- presumably the radiant
eye of Horus of the A.'. A.'., but the rendition is too poor
in detail. There is a cross pendant over the heart. The
ten panels are numbered in black in the lower left corner.
The panels are identified by two columns of numbered
captions, 1 to 6 to the left and 7 to 10 to the right. The
description is bottom to top and left to right:
"1. Earth: the god Set fighting." Frontal figure. Rt. foot
pointed to the fore and angled slightly outward with weight
on ball of foot. Lf. heel almost touching Rt. heel and foot
pointed left. Arms form a diagonal with body, right above
head and in line with left at waist height. Hands palmer
and open with fingers outstretched and together. Head
erect.
"2. Air: The god Shu supporting the sky." Frontal. Heels
together and slightly angled apart to the front, flat on
floor. Head down. Arms angled up on either side of head
about head 1.5 ft. from head to wrist and crooked as if
supporting a ceiling just at head height with the finger
tips. The palms face upward and the backs of the hands away
from the head. Thumbs closed to side of palms. Fingers
straight and together.
"3. Water: the goddess Auramoth." Same body and foot
position as #2, but head erect. Arms are brought down over
the chest so that the thumbs touch above the heart and the
backs of the hands are to the front. The fingers meet below
the heart, forming between thumbs and fingers the descending
triangle of water.
"4. Fire: the goddess Thoum-aesh-neith." Frontal. Head and
body like #3. Arms are angled so that the thumbs meet in a
line over the brow. Palmer side facing. Fingers meet above
head, forming between thumbs and fingers the ascending
triangle of fire.
"5,6. Spirit: the rending and closing of the veil." Head
erect in both. #5 has the same body posture as #1, except
that the left and right feet are countercharged and flat on
the floor with the heels in contact. Arms and hands are
crooked forward at shoulder level such that the hands appear
to be clawing open a split veil --- hands have progressed
to a point that the forearms are invisible, being directly
pointed at the front. Lower arms are flat and horizontal in
the plain of the image.
#6. has the same body posture as #1, feet in same position
as #5. The arms are elbow down against abdomen, with hands
forward over heart in claws such that the knuckles are
touching. Passing from #5 to #6 or vice versa is done by
motion of shoulders and rotation of wrists. This is
different from the other sign of opening the veil, the Sign
of the Enterer, which is done with hands flat palm to palm
and then spread without rotation of wrists.
"7-10. The L V X signs."
"7. + Osiris slain --- the cross." Body and feet as in #2.
Head bowed. Arms directly horizontal from the shoulders in
the plane of the image. Hands with fingers together, thumbs
to side of palm and palmer side forward. The tau shape of
the robe dominates the image.
"8. L Isis mourning --- the Svastica." The body is in semi-
profile, head down slightly and facing right of photograph.
The arms, hands, legs and feet are positioned to define a
swastika. Left foot flat, carrying weight and angled toward
the right of the photo. Right foot toe down behind the
figure to the left in the photo. Right upper arm due left
in photo and forearm vertical with fingers closed and
pointing upward. Left arm smoothly canted down to the right
of the panel, with fingers closed and pointed down.
"9. V Typhon --- the Trident." Figure frontal and standing
on tip toe, toes forward and heels not touching. Head back.
Arms angled in a "V" with the body to the top and outward in
the plain of the photo. Fingers and thumbs as #7, but
continuing the lines of the arms.
"10. X Osiris risen --- the Pentagram." Body and feet as in
#7. Head directly frontal and level. Arms crossed over
heart, right over left with hands extended, fingers closed
and thumb on side such that the palms rest on the two
opposite shoulders.}
INTRODUCTION
"Epsilon-sigma-sigma-epsilon-alpha-iota alpha-theta-alpha-
nu-alpha-tau-omicron-sigma theta-epsilon-omicron-sigma,
alpha-mu-beta-rho-omicron-tau-omicron-sigma, omicron-
upsilon-chi epsilon-tau-iota theta-nu-eta-tau-omicron-
sigma
Pythagoras.
"Magic is the Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine
Knowledge of Natural Philosophy, advanced in its works and
wonderful operations by a right understanding of the inward
and occult virtue of things; so that true Agents being
applied to proper Patients, strange and admirable effects
will thereby be produced. Whence magicians are profound and
diligent searchers into Nature; they, because of their
skill, know how to anticipate an effect, the which to the
vulgar shall seem to be a miracle."
"The Goetia of the Lemegeton of King
Solomon."
"Wherever sympathetic magic occurs in its pure
unadulterated form, it is assumed that in nature one event
follows another necessarily and invariably without the
intervention of any spiritual or personal agency.
Thus its fundamental conception is identical with that of
modern science; underlying the whole system is a faith,
implicit but real and firm, in the order and uniformity of
nature. The magician does not doubt that the same causes
will always produce the same effects, that the performance
of the proper ceremony accompanied by the appropriate spell,
will inevitably be attended by the desired results, unless,
indeed, his incantations should chance to be thwarted and
foiled by the more potent charms of another sorcerer. He
supplicates no higher power: he sues the favour of no fickle
and wayward being: he abases himself before no awful deity.
Yet his power, great as he believes it to be, is by no means
arbitrary and unlimited. He can wield it only so long as he
strictly conforms to the rules of his art, or to what may be
called the laws of nature as conceived by {IX} him. To
neglect these rules, to break these laws in the smallest
particular is to incur failure, and may even expose the
unskilful practitioner himself to the utmost peril. If he
claims a sovereignty over nature, it is a constitutional
sovereignty rigorously limited in its scope and exercised in
exact conformity with ancient usage. Thus the analogy
between the magical and the scientific conceptions of the
world is close. In both of them the succession of events is
perfectly regular and certain, being determined by immutable
laws, the operation of which can be foreseen and calculated
precisely; the elements of caprice, of chance, and of
accident are banished from the course of nature. Both of
them open up a seemingly boundless vista of possibilities to
him who knows the causes of things and can touch the secret
springs that set in motion the vast and intricate mechanism
of the world. Hence the strong attraction which magic and
science alike have exercised on the human mind; hence the
powerful stimulus that both have given to the pursuit of
knowledge. They lure the weary enquirer, the footsore
seeker, on through the wilderness of disappointment in the
present by their endless promises of the future: they take
him up to he top of an exceeding high mountain and shew him,
beyond the dark clouds and rolling mists at his feet, a
vision of the celestial city, far off, it may be, but
radiant with unearthly splendour, bathed in the light of
dreams."
Dr. J. G. FRAZER, "The Golden Bough"."
"So far, therefore, as the public profession of magic has
been one of the roads by which men have passed to supreme
power, it has contributed to emancipate mankind from the
thraldom of tradition and to elevate them into a larger,
freer life, with a broader outlook on the world. This is no
small service rendered to humanity. And when we remember
further that in another direction magic has paved the way
for science, we are forced to admit that if the black art
has done much evil, it has also been the source of much
good; that if it is the child of error, it has yet been the
mother of freedom and truth."
Ibid.
{X}
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
St. Paul.
"Also the mantras and spells; the obeah and the wanga; the
work of the wand and the work of the sword; these he shall
learn and teach."
"He must teach; but he may make severe the ordeals."
"The word of the Law is Theta-epsilon-lambda-eta-mu-
alpha."
LIBER AL vel xxxi: The Book of the Law.
-------------
This book is for
ALL:
for every man, woman, and child.
My former work has been misunderstood, and its scope
limited, by my use of technical terms. It has attracted
only too many dilettanti and eccentrics, weaklings seeking
in "Magic" an escape from reality. I myself was first
consciously drawn to the subject in this way. And it has
repelled only too many scientific and practical minds, such
as I most designed to influence.
But
MAGICK
is for
ALL.
I have written this book to help the Banker, the
Pugilist, the Biologist, the Poet, the Navvy, the Grocer,
the Factory Girl, the Mathematician, the Stenographer, the
Golfer, the Wife, the Consul --- and all the rest --- to
fulfil themselves perfectly, each in his or her own proper
function.
Let me explain in a few words how it came about that I
blazoned the word
MAGICK
upon the Banner that I have borne before me all my life.
Before I touched my teens, I was already aware that I was
THE BEAST whose number is 666. I did not understand in the
least {XI} what that implied; it was a passionately ecstatic
sense of identity.
In my third year at Cambridge, I devoted myself
consciously to the Great Work, understanding thereby the
Work of becoming a Spiritual Being, free from the
constraints, accidents, and deceptions of material
existence.
I found myself at a loss for a name to designate my work,
just as H. P. Blavatsky some years earlier. "Theosophy",
"Spiritualism", "Occultism", "Mysticism", all involved
undesirable connotations.
I chose therefore the name.
"MAGICK"
as essentially the most sublime, and actually the most
discredited, of all the available terms.
I swore to rehabilitate
MAGICK
to identify it with my own career; and to compel mankind to
respect, love, and trust that which they scorned, hated and
feared. I have kept my Word.
But the time is now come for me to carry my banner into
the thick of the press of human life.
I must make
MAGICK
the essential factor in the life of
ALL.
In presenting this book to the world, I must then explain
and justify my position by formulating a definition of
MAGICK
and setting forth its main principles in such a way that
ALL
may understand instantly that their souls, their lives, in
every relation with every other human being and every
circumstance, depend upon
MAGICK
and the right comprehension and right application thereof.
I. "DEFINITION."
MAGICK
is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in
conformity with Will.
{XII}
(Illustration: It is my Will to inform the World of
certain facts within my knowledge. I therefore take
"magical weapons", pen, ink, and paper; I write
"incantations" --- these sentences --- in the "magical
language" i.e. that which is understood by the people I wish
to instruct; I call forth "spirits", such as printers,
publishers, booksellers, and so forth, and constrain them to
convey my message to those people. The composition and
distribution of this book is thus an act of
MAGICK
by which I cause changes to take place in conformity with my
Will<<By "Intentional" I mean "willed". But even
unintentional acts so-seeming are not truly so. Thus,
breathing is an act of the Will-to-Live.>>)
II. "POSTULATE."
ANY required Change may be effected by the application of
the proper kind and degree of force in the proper manner
through the proper medium to the proper object.
(Illustration: I wish to prepare an ounce of Chloride of
Gold. I must take the right kind of acid, nitro-
hydrochloric and no other, in sufficient quantity and of
adequate strength, and place it, in a vessel which will not
break, leak, or corrode, in such a manner as will not
produce undesirable results, with the necessary quantity of
Gold: and so forth. Every Change has its own conditions.
In the present state of our knowledge and power some
changes are not possible in practice; we cannot cause
eclipses, for instance, or transform lead into tin, or
create men from mushrooms. But it is theoretically possible
to cause in any object any change of which that object is
capable by nature; and the conditions are covered by the
above postulate.)
III. "THEOREMS."
(1) Every intentional act is a Magical Act.<<In one sense
Magick may be defined as the name given to Science
by the vulgar.>>
(Illustration: See "Definition" above.)
{XIII}
(2) Every successful act has conformed to the postulate.
(3) Every failure proves that one or more requirements of
the postulate have not been fulfilled.
(Illustrations: There may be failure to understand the
case; as when a doctor makes a wrong diagnosis, and his
treatment injures his patient. There may be failure to
apply the right kind of force, as when a rustic tries to
blow out an electric light. There may be failure to apply
the right degree of force, as when a wrestler has his hold
broken. There may be failure to apply the force in the
right manner, as when one presents a cheque at the wrong
window of the Bank. There may be failure to employ the
correct medium, as when Leonardo da Vinci found his
masterpiece fade away. The force may be applied to an
unsuitable object, as when one tries to crack a stone,
thinking it a nut.)
(4) The first requisite for causing any change is through
qualitative and quantitative understanding of the
conditions.
(Illustration: The most common cause of failure in life
is ignorance of one's own True Will, or of the means by
which to fulfil that Will. A man may fancy himself a
painter, and waste his life trying to become one; or he may
be really a painter, and yet fail to understand and to
measure the difficulties peculiar to that career.)
(5) The second requisite of causing any change is the
practical ability to set in right motion the necessary
forces.
(Illustration: A banker may have a perfect grasp of a
given situation, yet lack the quality of decision, or the
assets, necessary to take advantage of it.)
(6) "Every man and every woman is a star." That is to
say, every human being is intrinsically an independent
individual with his own proper character and proper motion.
(7) Every man and every woman has a course, depending
partly on the self, and partly on the environment which is
natural and necessary for each. Anyone who is forced from
his own course, either through not understanding himself, or
through external opposition, comes into conflict with the
order of the Universe, and suffers accordingly. {XIV}
(Illustration: A man may think it his duty to act in a
certain way, through having made a fancy picture of himself,
instead of investigating his actual nature. For example, a
woman may make herself miserable for life by thinking that
she prefers love to social consideration, or "vice versa".
One woman may stay with an unsympathetic husband when she
would really be happy in an attic with a lover, while
another may fool herself into a romantic elopement when her
only true pleasures are those of presiding at fashionable
functions. Again, a boy's instinct may tell him to go to
sea, while his parents insists on his becoming a doctor. In
such a case, he will be both unsuccessful and unhappy in
medicine.)
(8) A Man whose conscious will is at odds with his True
Will is wasting his strength. He cannot hope to influence
his environment efficiently.
(Illustration: When Civil War rages in a nation, it is in
no condition to undertake the invasion of other countries.
A man with cancer employs his nourishment alike to his own
use and to that of the enemy which is part of himself. He
soon fails to resist the pressure of his environment. In
practical life, a man who is doing what his conscience tells
him to be wrong will do it very clumsily. At first!)
(9) A man who is doing this True Will has the inertia of
the Universe to assist him.
(Illustration: The first principle of success in
evolution is that the individual should be true to his own
nature, and at the same time adapt himself to his
environment.)
(10) Nature is a continuous phenomenon, though we do not
know in all cases how things are connected.
(Illustration: Human consciousness depends on the
properties of protoplasm, the existence of which depends on
innumerable physical conditions peculiar to this planet; and
this planet is determined by the mechanical balance of the
whole universe of matter. We may then say that our
consciousness is causally connected with the remotest
galaxies; yet we do not know even how it arises from --- or
with --- the molecular changes in the brain.)
(11) Science enables us to take advantage of the
continuity of Nature by the empirical application of certain
{XV} principles whose interplay involves different orders of
idea connected with each other in a way beyond our present
comprehension.
(Illustration: We are able to light cities by rule-of-
thumb methods. We do not know what consciousness is, or how
it is connected with muscular action; what electricity is or
how it is connected with the machines that generate it; and
our methods depend on calculations involving mathematical
ideas which have no correspondence in the Universe as we
know it.<<For instance, "irrational", "unreal", and
"infinite" expressions.>>)
(12) Man is ignorant of the nature of his own being and
powers. Even his idea of his limitations is based on
experience of the past, and every step in his progress
extends his empire. There is therefore no reason to assign
theoretical limits<<i.e., except --- possibly --- in the
case of logically absurd questions, such as the Schoolmen
discussed in connection with "God".>> to what he may be, or
to what he may do.
(Illustration: A generation ago it was supposed
theoretically impossible that man should ever know the
chemical composition of the fixed stars. It is known that
our senses are adapted to receive only an infinitesimal
fraction of the possible rates of vibration. Modern
instruments have enabled us to detect some of these
suprasensibles by indirect methods, and even to use their
peculiar qualities in the service of man, as in the case of
the rays of Hertz and Rontgen. As Tyndall said, man might
at any moment learn to perceive and utilise vibrations of
all conceivable and inconceivable kinds. The question of
Magick is a question of discovering and employing hitherto
unknown forces in nature. We know that they exist, and we
cannot doubt the possibility of mental or physical
instruments capable of bringing us into relation with them.)
(13) Every man is more or less aware that his
individuality comprises several orders of existence, even
when he maintains that his subtler principles are merely
symptomatic of the changes in his gross vehicle. A similar
order may be assumed to extend throughout nature.
(Illustration: One does not confuse the pain of toothache
with {XVI} the decay which causes it. Inanimate objects are
sensitive to certain physical forces, such as electrical and
thermal conductivity; but neither in us nor in them --- so
far as we know --- is there any direct conscious perception
of these forces. Imperceptible influences are therefore
associated with all material phenomena; and there is no
reason why we should not work upon matter through those
subtle energies as we do through their material bases. In
fact, we use magnetic force to move iron, and solar
radiation to reproduce images.)
(14) Man is capable of being, and using, anything which
he perceives, for everything that he perceives is in a
certain sense a part of his being. He may thus subjugate
the whole Universe of which he is conscious to his
individual Will.
(Illustration: Man has used the idea of God to dictate
his personal conduct, to obtain power over his fellow, to
excuse his crimes, and for innumerable other purposes,
including that of realizing himself as God. He has used the
irrational and unreal conceptions of mathematics to help him
in the construction of mechanical devices. He has used his
moral force to influence the actions even of wild animals.
He has employed poetic genius for political purposes.)
(15) Every force in the Universe is capable of being
transformed into any other kind of force by using suitable
means. There is thus an inexhaustible supply of any
particular kind of force that we may need.
(Illustration: Heat may be transformed into light and
power by using it to drive dynamos. The vibrations of the
air may be used to kill men by so ordering them in speech as
to inflame war-like passions. The hallucinations connected
with the mysterious energies of sex result in the
perpetuation of the species.)
(16) The application of any given force affects all the
orders of being which exist in the object to which it is
applied, whichever of those orders is directly affected.
(Illustration: If I strike a man with a dagger, his
consciousness, not his body only, is affected by my act;
although the dagger, as such, has no direct relation
therewith. Similarly, the power of {XVII} my thought may so
work on the mind of another person as to produce far-
reaching physical changes in him, or in others through him.)
(17) A man may learn to use any force so as to serve any
purpose, by taking advantage of the above theorems.
(Illustration: A man may use a razor to make himself
vigilant over his speech, but using it to cut himself
whenever he unguardedly utters a chosen word. He may serve
the same purpose by resolving that every incident of his
life shall remind him of a particular thing, making every
impression the starting point of a connected series of
thoughts ending in that thing. He might also devote his
whole energies to some one particular object, by resolving
to do nothing at variance therewith, and to make every act
turn to the advantage of that object.)
(18) He may attract to himself any force of the Universe
by making himself a fit receptacle for it, establishing a
connection with it, and arranging conditions so that its
nature compels it to flow toward him.
(Illustration: If I want pure water to drink, I dig a
well in a place where there is underground water; I prevent
it from leaking away; and I arrange to take advantage of
water's accordance with the laws of Hydrostatics to fill
it.)
(19) Man's sense of himself as separate from, and oppose
to, the Universe is a bar to his conducting its currents.
It insulates him.
(Illustration: A popular leader is most successful when
he forgets himself, and remembers only "The Cause". Self-
seeking engenders jealousies and schism. When the organs of
the body assert their presence otherwise than by silent
satisfaction, it is a sign that they are diseased. The
single exception is the organ of reproduction. Yet even in
this case its self-assertion bears witness to its
dissatisfaction with itself, since it cannot fulfil its
function until completed by its counterpart in another
organism.
(20) Man can only attract and employ the forces for which
he is really fitted.
(Illustration: You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's
ear. A {XVIII} true man of science learns from every
phenomenon. But Nature is dumb to the hypocrite; for in her
there is nothing false.<<It is no objection that the
hypocrite is himself part of Nature. He is an "endothermic"
product, divided against himself, with a tendency to break
up. He will see his own qualities everywhere, and thus
obtain a radical misconception of phenomena. Most religions
of the past have failed by expecting Nature to conform with
their ideals of proper conduct.>>)
(21) There is no limit to the extent of the relations of
any man with the Universe in essence; for as soon as man
makes himself one with any idea the means of measurement
cease to exist. But his power to utilize that force is
limited by his mental power and capacity, and by the
circumstances of his human environment.
(Illustration: When a man falls in love, the whole world
becomes, to him, nothing but love boundless and immanent;
but his mystical state is not contagious; his fellow-men are
either amused or annoyed. He can only extend to others the
effect which his love has had upon himself by means of his
mental and physical qualities. Thus, Catullus, Dante and
Swinburn made their love a mighty mover of mankind by virtue
of their power to put their thoughts on the subject in
musical and eloquent language. Again, Cleopatra and other
people in authority moulded the fortunes of many other
people by allowing love to influence their political
actions. The Magician, however well he succeed in making
contact with the secret sources of energy in nature, can
only use them to the extent permitted by his intellectual
and moral qualities. Mohammed's intercourse with Gabriel
was only effective because of his statesmanship,
soldiership, and the sublimity of his command of Arabic.
Hertz's discovery of the rays which we now use for wireless
telegraphy was sterile until reflected through the minds and
wills of the people who could take his truth, and transmit
it to the world of action by means of mechanical and
economic instruments.)
(22) every individual is essentially sufficient to
himself. But he is unsatisfactory to himself until he has
established himself in his right relation with the Universe.
(Illustration: A microscope, however perfect, is useless
in the {XIX} hands of savages. A poet, however sublime,
must impose himself upon his generation if he is to enjoy
(and even to understand) himself, as theoretically should be
the case.)
(23) Magick is the Science of understanding oneself and
one's conditions. It is the Art of applying that
understanding in action.
(Illustration: A golf club is intended to move a special
ball in a special way in special circumstances. A Niblick
should rarely be used on the tee, or a Brassie under the
bank of a bunker. But also, the use of any club demands
skill and experience.)
(24) Every man has an indefeasible right to be what he
is.
(Illustration: To insist that any one else shall comply
with one's own standards is to outrage, not only him, but
oneself, since both parties are equally born of necessity.)
(25) Every man must do Magick each time that he acts or
even thinks, since a thought is an internal act whose
influence ultimately affects action, thought it may not do
so at the time.
(Illustration: The least gesture causes a change in a
man's own body and in the air around him; it disturbs the
balance of the entire Universe, and its effects continue
eternally throughout all space. Every thought, however
swiftly suppressed, has its effect on the mind. It stands
as one of the causes of every subsequent thought, and tends
to influence every subsequent action. A golfer may lose a
few yards on his drive, a few more with his second and
third, he may lie on the green six bare inches too far from
the hole; but the net result of these trifling mishaps is
the difference of a whole stroke, and so probably between
halving and losing the hole.)
(26) Every man has a right, the right of self-
preservation, to fulfil himself to the utmost.<<Men of
"criminal nature" are simply at issue with their true Wills.
The murderer has the Will-to-Live; and his will to murder is
a false will at variance with his true Will, since he risks
death at the hands of Society by obeying his criminal
impulse.>>
(Illustration: A function imperfectly preformed injures,
not {XX} only itself, but everything associated with it. If
the heart is afraid to beat for fear of disturbing the
liver, the liver is starved for blood, and avenges itself on
the heart by upsetting digestion, which disorders
respiration, on which cardiac welfare depends.)
(27) Every man should make Magick the keynote of his
life. He should learn its laws and live by them.
(Illustration: The Banker should discover the real
meaning of his existence, the real motive which led him to
choose that profession. He should understand banking as a
necessary factor in the economic existence of mankind,
instead of as merely a business whose objects are
independent of the general welfare. He should learn to
distinguish false values from real, and to act not on
accidental fluctuations but on considerations of essential
importance. Such a banker will prove himself superior to
others; because he will not be an individual limited by
transitory things, but a force of Nature, as impersonal,
impartial and eternal as gravitation, as patient and
irresistible as the tides. His system will not be subject
to panic, any more than the law of Inverse Squares is
disturbed by Elections. He will not be anxious about his
affairs because they will not be his; and for that reason he
will be able to direct them with the calm, clear-headed
confidence of an onlooker, with intelligence unclouded by
self-interest and power unimpaired by passion.)
(28) Every man has a right to fulfil his own will without
being afraid that it may interfere with that of others; for
if he is in his proper place, it is the fault of others if
they interfere with him.
(Illustration: If a man like Napoleon were actually
appointed by destiny to control Europe, he should not be
blamed for exercising his rights. To oppose him would be an
error. Any one so doing would have made a mistake as to his
own destiny, except in so far as it might be necessary for
him to learn to lessons of defeat. The sun moves in space
without interference. The order of Nature provides an orbit
for each star. A clash proves that one or the other has
strayed from his course. But as to each man that keeps his
true course, the more firmly he acts, the less likely are
others to get in his way. His example will help {XXI} them
to find their own paths and pursue them. Every man that
becomes a Magician helps others to do likewise. The more
firmly and surely men move, and the more such action is
accepted as the standard of morality, the less will conflict
and confusion hamper humanity.)
--------------
I hope that the above principles will demonstrate to
ALL
that their welfare, their very existence, is bound up in
MAGICK.
I trust that they will understand, not only the
reasonableness, but the necessity of the fundamental truth
which I was the means of giving to mankind:
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."
I trust that they will assert themselves as individually
absolute, that they will grasp the fact that it is their
right to assert themselves, and to accomplish the task for
which their nature fits them. Yea, more, that this is their
duty, and that not only to themselves but to others, a duty
founded upon universal necessity, and not to be shirked on
account of any casual circumstances of the moment which may
seem to put such conduct in the light of inconvenience or
even of cruelty.
I hope that the principles outlined above will help them
to understand this book, and prevent them from being
deterred from its study by the more or less technical
language in which it is written.
The essence of
MAGICK
is simple enough in all conscience. It is not otherwise
with the art of government. The Aim is simply prosperity;
but the theory is tangled, and the practice beset with
briars.
In the same way
MAGICK
is merely to be and to do. I should add: "to suffer". For
Magick is the verb; and it is part of the Training to use
the passive voice. This is, however, a matter of Initiation
rather than of Magick in {XXII} its ordinary sense. It is
not my fault if being is baffling, and doing desperate!
Yet, once the above principles are firmly fixed in the
mind, it is easy enough to sum up the situation very
shortly. One must find out for oneself, and make sure
beyond doubt, "who" one is, "what" one is, "why" one is.
This done, one may put the will which is implicit in the
"Why" into words, or rather into One Word. Being thus
conscious of the proper course to pursue, the next thing is
to understand the conditions necessary to following it out.
After that, one must eliminate from oneself every element
alien or hostile to success, and develop those parts of
oneself which are specially needed to control the aforesaid
conditions.
Let us make an analogy. A nation must become aware of
its own character before it can be said to exist. From that
knowledge it must divine its destiny. It must then consider
the political conditions of the world; how other countries
may help it or hinder it. It must then destroy it itself
any elements discordant with its destiny. Lastly, it must
develop in itself those qualities which will enable it to
combat successfully the external conditions which threaten
to oppose is purpose. We have had a recent example in the
case of the young German Empire, which, knowing itself and
its will, disciplined and trained itself so that it
conquered the neighbours which had oppressed it for so many
centuries. But after 1866 and 1870, 1914! It mistook
itself for superhuman, it willed a thing impossible, it
failed to eliminate its own internal jealousies, it failed
to understand the conditions of victory,<<At least, it
allowed England to discover its intentions, and so to
combine the world against it. {WEH NOTE: This footnote in
Crowley's text belongs to this page, but it is not marked in
the text. I have assigned it this tentative point, as
following the general context.>> it did not train itself to
hold the sea, and thus, having violated every principle of
MAGICK,
it was pulled down and broken into pieces by provincialism
and democracy, so that neither individual excellence nor
civic virtue has yet availed to raise it again to that
majestic unity which made so bold a bid for the mastery of
the race of man.
The sincere student will discover, behind the symbolic
technicalities of his book, a practical method of making
himself a {XXIII} Magician. The processes described will
enable him to discriminate between what he actually is, and
what he has fondly imagined himself to be<<Professor Sigmund
Freud and his school have, in recent years, discovered a
part of this body of Truth, which has been taught for many
centuries in the Sanctuaries of Initiation. But failure to
grasp the fullness of Truth, especially that implied in my
Sixth Theorem (above) and its corollaries, has led him and
his followers into the error of admitting that the avowedly
suicidal "Censor" is the proper arbiter of conduct.
Official psycho-analysis is therefore committed to upholding
a fraud, although the foundation of the science was the
observation of the disastrous effects on the individual of
being false to his Unconscious Self, whose "writing on the
wall" in dream language is the record of the sum of the
essential tendencies of the true nature of the individual.
The result has been that psycho-analysts have misinterpreted
life, and announced the absurdity that every human being is
essentially an anti-social, criminal, and insane animal. It
is evident that the errors of the Unconscious of which the
psycho-analysts complain are neither more nor less than
the"original sin" of the theologians whom they despise so
heartily.>>. He must behold his soul in all its awful
nakedness, he must not fear to look on that appalling
actuality. He must discard the gaudy garments with which
his shame has screened him; he must accept the fact that
nothing can make him anything but what he is. He may lie to
himself, drug himself, hide himself; but he is always there.
Magick will teach him that his mind is playing him traitor.
It is as if a man were told that tailors' fashion-plates
were the canon of human beauty, so that he tried to make
himself formless and featureless like them, and shuddered
with horror at the idea of Holbein making a portrait of him.
Magick will show him the beauty and majesty of the self
which he has tried to suppress and disguise.
Having discovered his identity, he will soon perceive his
purpose. Another process will show him how to make that
purpose pure and powerful. He may then learn how to
estimate his environment, learn how to make allies, how to
make himself prevail against all powers whose error has
caused them to wander across his path.
In the course of this Training, he will learn to explore
the Hidden Mysteries of Nature, and to develop new senses
and faculties in himself, whereby he may communicate with,
and control, Beings and Forces pertaining to orders of
existence which {XXIV} have been hitherto inaccessible to
profane research, and available only to that unscientific
and empirical
MAGICK
(of tradition) which I came to destroy in order that I might
fulfil.
I send this book into the world that every man and woman
may take hold of life in the proper manner. It does not
matter of one's present house of flesh be the hut of a
shepherd; by virtue of my
MAGICK
he shall be such a shepherd as David was. If it be the
studio of a sculptor, he shall so chisel from himself the
marble that masks his idea that he shall be no less a master
than Rodin.
Witness mine hand:
Tau-Omicron Mu-Epsilon-Gamma-Alpha Theta-Eta-Rho-Iota-
Omicron-Nu (Taw-Resh-Yod-Vau-Nunfinal ): The Beast 666;
MAGUS 9 Degree = 2Square A.'. A.'. who is The Word of the
Aeon THELEMA; whose name is called V.V.V.V.V. 8 Degree =
3Square A.'. A.'. in the City of the Pyramids; OU MH 7
Degree = 4Square A.'. A.'.; OL SONUF VAORESAGI 6 Degree =
5Square, and ... ... 5 Degree = 6Square A.'. A.'. in the
Mountain of Abiegnus: but FRATER PERDURABO in the Outer
Order or the A.'. A.'. and in the World of men upon the
Earth, Aleister Crowley of Trinity College, Cambridge.
-----------
{XXV}
CONTENTS
-------
(This portion of the Book should be studied in connection
with its Parts I. and II.)
0 The Magical Theory of the Universe.
I The Principles of Ritual.
II The Formulae of the Elemental Weapons.
III The Formula of Tetragrammaton.
IV The Formula of Alhim: also that of Alim.
V The Formula of I. A. O.
VI The Formula of the Neophyte.
VII The Formula of the Holy Graal, of Abrahadabra,
and of
Certain Other Words; with some remarks on
the
Magical Memory.
VIII Of Equilibrium: and of the General and
Particular Method
of Preparation of the Furniture of the
Temple and the
Instruments of Art.
IX Of Silence and Secrecy: and of the Barbarous
names of
Evocation.
X Of the Gestures.
XI Of Our Lady BABALON and of The Beast whereon
she rideth: also concerning Transformations.
XII Of the Bloody Sacrifice and Matters Cognate.
XIII Of the Banishings, and of the Purifications.
XIV Of the Consecrations: with an Account of the
Nature and
Nurture of the Magical Link.
XVI (1) Of the Oath.
XV Of the Invocation.
XVI (2) Of the Charge to the Spirit: with some Account
of the
Constrains and Curses occasionally
necessary.
XVII Of the License to Depart.
XVIII Of Clairvoyance: and of the Body of Light, its
Powers and
its Development. Also concerning
Divinations.
XIX Of Dramatic Rituals.
XX Of the Eucharist: and of the Art of Alchemy.
XXI Of Black Magick: of the Main Types of the
Operations of
Magick Art: and of the Powers of the Sphinx.
{XXVII}
CHAPTER 0
THE MAGICAL THEORY OF THE UNIVERSE
There are three main theories of the Universe; Dualism,
Monism and Nihilism. It is impossible to enter into a
discussion of their relative merits in a popular manual of
this sort. They may be studied in Erdmann's "History of
Philosophy" and similar treatises.
All are reconciled and unified in the theory which we
shall now set forth. The basis of this Harmony is given in
Crowley's
"Berashith" --- to which reference should be made.
Infinite space is called the goddess NUIT, while the
infinitely small and atomic yet omnipresent point is called
HADIT.<<I present this theory in a very simple form. I
cannot even explain (for instance) that an idea may not
refer to Being at all, but to Going. The Book of the Law
demands special study and initiated apprehension.>> These
are unmanifest. One conjunction of these infinites is
called RA-HOOR-KHUIT,<<More correctly, HERU-RA-HA, to
include HOOR-PAAR-KRAAT.>> a unity which includes and heads
all things.<<The basis of this theology is given in Liber
CCXX, AL vel Legis which forms Part IV of this Book 4.
Hence I can only outline the matter in a very crude way; it
would require a separate treatise to discuss even the true
meaning of the terms employed, and to show how The Book of
the Law anticipates the recent discoveries of Frege, Cantor,
Poincare, Russell, Whitehead, Einstein and others.>> (There
is also a particular Nature of Him, in certain conditions,
such as have obtained since the Spring of 1904, e.v.) This
profoundly mystical conception {1} is based upon actual
spiritual experience, but the trained reason<<All advance in
understanding demands the acquisition of a new point-of-
view. Modern conceptions of Mathematics, Chemistry, and
Physics are sheer paradox to the "plain man" who thinks of
Matter as something that one can knock up against.>> can
reach a reflection of this idea by the method of logical
contradiction which ends in reason transcending itself. The
reader should consult "The Soldier and the Hunchback" in
Equinox I, I, and Konx Om Pax.
"Unity" transcends "consciousness". It is above all
division. The Father of thought --- the Word --- is called
Chaos --- the dyad. The number Three, the Mother, is called
Babalon. In connection with this the reader should study
"The Temple of Solomon the King" in Equinox I, V, and Liber
418.
This first triad is essentially unity, in a manner
transcending reason. The comprehension of this Trinity is a
matter of spiritual experience. All true gods are
attributed to this Trinity.<<Considerations of the Christian
Trinity are of a nature suited only to Initiates of the IX
Degree of O.T.O., as they enclose the final secret of all
practical Magick.>>
An immeasurable abyss divides it from all manifestations
of Reason or the lower qualities of man. In the ultimate
analysis of Reason, we find all reason identified with this
abyss. Yet this abyss is the crown of the mind. Purely
intellectual faculties all obtain here. This abyss has no
number, for in it all is confusion.
Below this abyss we find the moral qualities of Man, of
which there are six. The highest is symbolised by the
number Four. Its nature is fatherly<<Each conception is,
however, balanced in itself. Four is also Daleth, the
letter of Venus; so that the mother-idea is included.
Again, the Sephira of 4 is Chesed, referred to Water. 4 is
ruled by Jupiter, Lord of the Lightning (Fire) yet ruler of
Air. Each Sephira is complete in its way.>>; Mercy and
Authority are the attributes of its dignity.
The number Five is balanced against it. The attributes
of Five are Energy and Justice. Four and Five are again
combined and harmonized in the number Six, whose nature is
beauty and harmony, mortality and immortality.
In the number Seven the feminine nature is again
predominant, {2} but it is the masculine type of female, the
Amazon, who is balanced in the number Eight by the feminine
type of male.
In the number Nine we reach the last of the purely mental
qualities. It identifies change with stability.
Pendant to this sixfold system is the number Ten<<
The balance of the Sephiroth:
Kether (1) "Kether is in Malkuth, and Malkuth is
in Kether, but
after another manner."
Chokmah (2) is Yod of Tetragrammaton, and therefore
also Unity.
Binah (3) is He of Tetragrammaton, and therefore
"The
Emperor."
Chesed (4) is Daleth, Venus the female.
Geburah (5) is the Sephira of Mars, the Male.
Tiphereth (6) is the Hexagram, harmonizing, and
mediating between
Kether and Malkuth. Also it reflects
Kether. "That
which is above, is like that which is
below, and
that which is below, is like that
which is above."
Netzach (7) and Hod (8) balanced as in text.
Jesod (9) see text.
Malkuth (10) contains all the numbers.>>
which includes the whole of Matter as we know it by the
senses.
It is impossible here to explain thoroughly the complete
conception; for it cannot be too clearly understood that
this is a "classification" of the Universe, that there is
nothing which is not comprehended therein.
The Article on the Qabalah in Vol. I, No. V of the
Equinox is the best which has been written on the subject.
It should be deeply studied, in connection with the
Qabalistic Diagrams in Nos. II and III: "The Temple of
Solomon the King".
Such is a crude and elementary sketch of this system.
The formula of Tetragrammaton is the most important for
the practical magician. Here Yod = 2, He = 3, Vau = 4 to 9,
He final = 10.
The Number Two represents Yod, the Divine or Archetypal
World, and the Number One is only attained by the
destruction of the God and the Magician in Samadhi. The
world of Angels is under the numbers Four to Nine, and that
of spirits under the {3} number Ten.<<It is not possible to
give a full account of the twenty-two "paths" in this
condensed sketch. They should be studied in view of all
their attributes in 777, but more especially that in which
they are attributed to the planets, elements and signs, as
also to the Tarot Trumps, while their position on the Tree
itself and their position as links between the particular
Sephiroth which they join is the final key to their
understanding. It will be noticed that each chapter of this
book is attributed to one of them. This was not
intentional. The book was originally but a collection of
haphazard dialogues between Fra. P. and Soror A.; but on
arranging the MSS, they fell naturally and of necessity into
this division. Conversely, my knowledge of the Schema
pointed out to me numerous gaps in my original exposition;
thanks to this, I have been able to make it a complete and
systematic treatise. That is, when my laziness had been
jogged by the criticisms and suggestions of various
colleagues to whom I had submitted the early drafts.>> All
these numbers are of course parts of the magician himself
considered as the microcosm. The microcosm is an exact
image of the Macrocosm; the Great Work is the raising of the
whole man in perfect balance to the power of Infinity.
The reader will remark that all criticism directed
against the Magical Hierarchy is futile. One cannot call it
incorrect --- the only line to take might be that it was
inconvenient. In the same way one cannot say that the Roman
alphabet is better or worse than the Greek, since all
required sounds can be more or less satisfactorily
represented by either; yet both these alphabets were found
so little satisfactory when it came to an attempt at
phonetic printing of Oriental languages, that the alphabet
had to be expanded by the use of italics and other
diacritical marks. In the same way our magical alphabet of
the Sephiroth and the Paths (thirty-two letters as it were)
has been expanded into the four worlds corresponding to the
four letters of the name Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh; and each Sephira
is supposed to contain a Tree of Life of its own. Thus we
obtain four hundred Sephiroth instead of the original ten,
and the Paths being capable of similar multiplications, or
rather of subdivision, the number is still further extended.
Of course this process might be indefinitely continued
without destroying the original system.
The Apologia for this System is that our purest conceptions
{4} are symbolized in Mathematics. "God is the Great
Arithmetician." "God is the Grand Geometer." It is best
therefore to prepare to apprehend Him by formulating our
minds according to these measures.<<By "God" I here mean the
Ideal Identity of a man's inmost nature. "Something
ourselves (I erase Arnold's imbecile and guilty 'not') that
makes for righteousness;" righteousness being rightly
defined as internal coherence. (Internal Coherence implies
that which is written "Detegitur Yod.")>>
To return, each letter of this alphabet may have its
special magical sigil. The student must not expect to be
given a cut-and-dried definition of what exactly is meant by
any of all this. On the contrary, he must work backwards,
putting the whole of his mental and moral outfit into these
pigeon-holes. You would not expect to be able to buy a
filing cabinet with the names of all your past, present and
future correspondents ready indexed: your cabinet has a
system of letters and numbers meaningless in themselves, but
ready to take on a meaning to you, as you fill up the files.
As your business increased, each letter and number would
receive fresh accessions of meaning for you; and by adopting
this orderly arrangement you would be able to have a much
more comprehensive grasp of your affairs than would
otherwise be the case. By the use of this system the
magician is able ultimately to unify the whole of his
knowledge --- to transmute, even on the Intellectual Plane,
the Many into the One.
The Reader can now understand that the sketch given above
of the magical Hierarchy is hardly even an outline of the
real theory of the Universe. This theory may indeed be
studied in the article already referred to in No. V of the
Equinox, and, more deeply in the Book of the Law and the
Commentaries thereon: but the true understanding depends
entirely upon the work of the Magician himself. Without
magical experience it will be meaningless.
In this there is nothing peculiar. It is so with all
scientific knowledge. A blind man might cram up astronomy
for the purpose of passing examinations, but his knowledge
would be {5} almost entirely unrelated to his experience,
and it would certainly not give him sight. A similar
phenomenon is observed when a gentleman who has taken an
"honours degree" in modern languages at Cambridge arrives in
Paris, and is unable to order his dinner. To exclaim
against the Master Therion is to act like a person who,
observing this, should attack both the professors of French
and the inhabitants of Paris, and perhaps go on to deny the
existence of France.
Let us say, once again, that the magical language is
nothing but a convenient system of classification to enable
the magician to docket his experiences as he obtains them.
Yet this is true also, that, once the language is
mastered, one can divine the unknown by study of the known,
just as one's knowledge of Latin and Greek enables one to
understand some unfamiliar English word derived from those
sources. Also, there is the similar case of the Periodic
Law in Chemistry, which enables Science to prophesy, and so
in the end to discover, the existence of certain previously
unsuspected elements in nature. All discussions upon
philosophy are necessarily sterile, since truth is beyond
language. They are, however, useful if carried far enough -
-- if carried to the point when it become apparent that all
arguments are arguments in a circle.<<See "The Soldier and
the Hunchback," Equinox I, I. The apparatus of human reason
is simply one particular system of coordinating impressions;
its structure is determined by the course of the evolution
of the species. It is no more absolute than the evolution
of the species. It is no more absolute than the mechanism
of our muscles is a complete type wherewith all other
systems of transmitting Force must conform.>> But
discussions of the details of purely imaginary qualities are
frivolous and may be deadly. For the great danger of this
magical theory is that the student may mistake the alphabet
for the things which the words represent.
An excellent man of great intelligence, a learned
Qabalist, once amazed the Master Therion by stating that the
Tree of Life was the framework of the Universe. It was as
if some one had seriously maintained that a cat was a
creature constructed by placing the letters C. A. T. in that
order. It is no wonder that Magick has excited the ridicule
of the unintelligent, since even its {6} educated students
can be guilty of so gross a violation of the first
principles of common sense.<<Long since writing the above,
an even grosser imbecility has been perpetrated. One who
ought to have known better tried to improve the Tree of Life
by turning the Serpent of Wisdom upside down! Yet he could
not even make his scheme symmetrical: his little remaining
good sense revolted at the supreme atrocities. Yet he
succeeded in reducing the whole Magical Alphabet to
nonsense, and shewing that he had never understood its real
meaning.
The absurdity of any such disturbance of the arrangement
of the Paths is evident to any sober student from such
examples as the following. Binah, the Supernal
Understanding, is connected with Tiphereth, the Human
Consciousness, by Zain, Gemini, the Oracles of the Gods, or
the Intuition. That is, the attribution represents a
psychological fact: to replace it by The Devil is either
humour or plain idiocy. Again, the card "Fortitude", Leo,
balances Majesty and Mercy with Strength and Severity: what
sense is there in putting "Death", the Scorpion, in its
stead? There are twenty other mistakes in the new wonderful
illuminated-from-on-high attribution; the student can
therefore be sure of twenty more laughs if he cares to study
it.>>
A synopsis of the grades of the A.'. A.'. as illustrative
of the Magical Hierarchy in Man is given in Appendix 2 "One
Star in Sight." This should be read before proceeding with
the chapter. The subject is very difficult. To deal with
it in full is entirely beyond the limits of this small
treatise.
"FURTHER CONCERNING THE MAGICAL UNIVERSE"
All these letters of the magical alphabet --- referred to
above --- are like so many names on a map. Man himself is a
complete microcosm. Few other beings have this balanced
perfection. Of course every sun, every planet, may have
beings similarly constituted.<<Equally, of course, we have
no means of knowing what we really are. We are limited to
symbols. And it is certain that all our sense-perceptions
give only partial aspects of their objects. Sight, for
instance, tells us very little about solidity, weight,
composition, electrical character, thermal conductivity,
etc., etc. It says nothing at all about the very existence
of such vitally important ideas as Heat, Hardness, and so
on. The impression which the mind combines from the senses
can never claim to be accurate or complete. We have indeed
learnt that nothing is in itself what it seems to be to
us.>> But when we speak of dealing with the planets in
Magick, {7} the reference is usually not to the actual
planets, but to parts of the earth which are of the nature
attributed to these planets. Thus, when we say that Nakhiel
is the "Intelligence" of the Sun, we do not mean that he
lives in the Sun, but only that he has a certain rank and
character; and although we can invoke him, we do not
necessarily mean that he exists in the same sense of the
word in which our butcher exists.
When we "conjure Nakhiel to visible appearance," it may be
that our process resembles creation --- or, rather
imagination --- more nearly than it does calling-forth. The
aura of a man is called the "magical mirror of the
universe"; and, so far as any one can tell, nothing exists
outside of this mirror. It is at least convenient to
represent the whole as if it were subjective. It leads to
less confusion. And, as a man is a perfect microcosm,<<He
is this only by definition. The universe may contain an
infinite variety of worlds inaccessible to human
apprehension. Yet, for this very reason, they do not exist
for the purposes of the argument. Man has, however, some
instruments of knowledge; we may, therefore, define the
Macrocosm as the totality of things possible to his
perception. As evolution develops those instruments, the
Macrocosm and the Microcosm extend; but they always maintain
their mutual relation. Neither can possess any meaning
except in terms of the other. Our "discoveries" are exactly
as much of ourselves as they are of Nature. America and
Electricity did, in a sense, exist before we were aware of
them; but they are even now no more than incomplete ideas,
expressed in symbolic terms of a series of relations between
two sets of inscrutable phenomena.>> it is perfectly easy to
re-model one's conception at any moment.
Now there is a traditional correspondence, which modern
experiment has shown to be fairly reliable. There is a
certain natural connexion between certain letters, words,
numbers, gestures, shapes, perfumes and so on, so that any
idea or (as we might call it) "spirit", may be composed or
called forth by the use of those things which are harmonious
with it, and express particular parts of its nature. These
correspondences have been elaborately mapped in the Book 777
in a very convenient and compendious form. It will be
necessary for the student to make a careful study of this
book in connexion with some actual rituals of Magick, for
example, {8} that of the evocation of Taphtatharath printed
in Equinox I, III, pages 170-190, where he will see exactly
why these things are to be used. Of course, as the student
advances in knowledge by experience he will find a
progressive subtlety in the magical universe corresponding
to his own; for let it be said yet again! not only is his
aura a magical mirror of the universe, but the universe is a
magical mirror of his aura.
In this chapter we are only able to give a very thin
outline of magical theory --- faint pencilling by weak and
wavering fingers --- for this subject may almost be said to
be co-extensive with one's whole knowledge.
The knowledge of exoteric science is comically limited by
the fact that we have no access, except in the most indirect
way, to any other celestial body than our own. In the last
few years, the semi-educated have got an idea that they know
a great deal about the universe, and the principal ground
for their fine opinion of themselves is usually the
telephone or the airship. It is pitiful to read the
bombastic twaddle about progress, which journalists and
others, who wish to prevent men from thinking, put out for
consumption. We know infinitesimally little of the material
universe. Our detailed knowledge is so contemptibly minute,
that it is hardly worth reference, save that our shame may
spur us to increased endeavour. Such knowledge<<Knowledge
is, moreover, an impossible conception. All propositions
come ultimately back to "A is A".>> as we have got is of a
very general and abstruse, of a philosophical and almost
magical character. This consists principally of the
conceptions of pure mathematics. It is, therefore, almost
legitimate to say that pure mathematics is our link with the
rest of the universe and with "God".
Now the conceptions of Magick are themselves profoundly
mathematical. The whole basis of our theory is the Qabalah,
which corresponds to mathematics and geometry. The method
of operation in Magick is based on this, in very much the
same way as the laws of mechanics are based on mathematics.
So far, therefore as we can be said to possess a magical
theory of the universe, it must be a matter solely of
fundamental law, with a {9} few simple and comprehensive
propositions stated in very general terms.
I might expend a life-time in exploring the details of
one plane, just as an explorer might give his life to one
corner of Africa, or a chemist to one subgroup of compounds.
Each such detailed piece of work may be very valuable, but
it does not as a rule throw light on the main principles of
the universe. Its truth is the truth of one angle. It
might even lead to error, if some inferior person were to
generalize from too few facts.
Imagine an inhabitant of Mars who wished to philosophise
about the earth, and had nothing to go by but the diary of
some man at the North Pole! But the work of every explorer,
on whatever branch of the Tree of Life the caterpillar he is
after may happen to be crawling, is immensely helped by a
grasp of general principles. Every magician, therefore,
should study the Holy Qabalah. Once he has mastered the
main principles, he will find his work grow easy.
"Solvitur ambulando" which does not mean: "Call the
Ambulance!"
--------------
{10}
CHAPTER I
THE PRINCIPLES OF RITUAL.
There is a single main definition of the object of all
magical Ritual. It is the uniting of the Microcosm with the
Macrocosm. The Supreme and Complete Ritual is therefore the
Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel;<<See the "Book of the
Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage"; and Liber 418, 8th
Aethyr, Liber Samekh; see Appendix 3.>> or, in the language
of Mysticism, Union with God.<<The difference between these
operations is more of theoretical than of practical
importance.>>
All other magical Rituals are particular cases of this
general principle, and the only excuse for doing them is
that it sometimes occurs that one particular portion of the
microcosm is so weak that its imperfection of impurity would
vitiate the Macrocosm of which it is the image, Eidolon, or
Reflexion. For example, God is above sex; and therefore
neither man nor woman as such can be said fully to
understand, much less to represent, God. It is therefore
incumbent on the male magician to cultivate those female
virtues in which he is deficient, and this task he must of
course accomplish without in any way impairing his virility.
It will then be lawful for a magician to invoke Isis, and
identify himself with her; if he fail to do this, his
apprehension of the Universe when he attains Samadhi will
lack the conception of maternity. The result will be a
metaphysical and --- by corollary --- ethical limitation in
the Religion which he founds. Judaism and Islam are
striking example of this failure.
To take another example, the ascetic life which devotion
to {11} magick so often involves argues a poverty of nature,
a narrowness, a lack of generosity. Nature is infinitely
prodigal --- not one in a million seeds ever comes to
fruition. Whoso fails to recognise this, let him invoke
Jupiter.<<There are much deeper considerations in which it
appears that "Everything that is, is right". They are set
forth elsewhere; we can only summarise them here by saying
that the survival of the fittest is their upshot.>>
The danger of ceremonial magick --- the sublest and
deepest danger --- is this: that the magician will naturally
tend to invoke that partial being which most strongly
appeals to him, so that his natural excess in that direction
will be still further exaggerated. Let him, before
beginning his Work, endeavour to map out his own being, and
arrange his invocations in such a way as to redress the
balance.<<The ideal method of doing this is given in Liber
913 (Equinox VII). See also Liber CXI Aleph.>> This, of
course, should have been done in a preliminary fashion
during the preparation of the weapons and furniture of the
Temple.
To consider in a more particular manner this question of
the Nature of Ritual, we may suppose that he finds himself
lacking in that perception of the value of Life and Death,
alike of individuals and of races, which is characteristic
of Nature. He has perhaps a tendency to perceive the "first
noble truth" uttered by Buddha, that Everything is sorrow.
Nature, it seems, is a tragedy. He has perhaps even
experienced the great trance called Sorrow. He should then
consider whether there is not some Deity who expresses this
Cycle, and yet whose nature is joy. He will find what he
requires in Dionysus.
There are three main methods of invoking any Deity.
The "First Method" consists of devotion to that Deity,
and, being mainly mystical in character, need not be dealt
with in this place, especially as a perfect instruction
exists in Liber 175 ("See" Appendix).
The "Second method"is the straight forward ceremonial
invocation. It is the method which was usually employed in
the Middle Ages. Its advantage is its directness, its
disadvantage its {12} crudity. The "Goetia" gives clear
instruction in this method, and so do many other rituals,
white and black. We shall presently devote some space to a
clear exposition of this Art.
In the case of Bacchus, however, we may roughly outline
the procedure. We find that the symbolism of Tiphareth
expresses the nature of Bacchus. It is then necessary to
construct a Ritual of Tiphareth. Let us open the Book 777;
we shall find in line 6 of each column the various parts of
our required apparatus. Having ordered everything duly, we
shall exalt the mind by repeated prayers or conjurations to
the highest conception of the God, until, in one sense or
another of the word, He appears to us and floods our
consciousness with the light of His divinity.
The "Third Method is the Dramatic," perhaps the most
attractive of all; certainly it is so to the artist's
temperament, for it appeals to his imagination through his
aesthetic sense.
Its disadvantage lies principally in the difficulty of
its performance by a single person. But it has the sanction
of the highest antiquity, and is probably the most useful
for the foundation of a religion. It is the method of
Catholic Christianity, and consists in the dramatization of
the legend of the God. The Bacchae of Euripides is a
magnificent example of such a Ritual; so also, through in a
less degree, is the Mass. We may also mention many of the
degrees in Freemasonry, particularly the third. The 5
Degree = 6Square Ritual published in No. III of the Equinox
is another example.
In the case of Bacchus, one commemorates firstly his
birth of a mortal mother who has yielded her treasure-house
to the Father of All, of the jealousy and rage excited by
this incarnation, and of the heavenly protection afforded to
the infant. Next should be commemorated the journeying
westward upon an ass. Now comes the great scene of the
drama: the gentle, exquisite youth with his following
(chiefly composed of women) seems to threaten the
established order of things, and that Established Order
takes steps to put an end to the upstart. We find Dionysus
confronting the angry King, not with defiance, but with
meekness; yet with a subtle confidence, an underlying
laughter. His forehead is wreathed with vine tendrils. He
is an effeminate figure with those broad leaves clustered
upon his brow? But those leaves hide {13} horns. King
Pentheus, representative of respectability,<<There is a much
deeper interpretation in which Pentheus is himself "The
Dying God". See my "Good Hunting!" and Dr. J.G.Frazer's
"Golden Bough".>> is destroyed by his pride. He goes out
into the mountains to attack the women who have followed
Bacchus, the youth whom he has mocked, scourged, and put in
chains, yet who has only smiled; and by those women, in
their divine madness, he is torn to pieces.
It has already seemed impertinent to say so much when
Walter Pater has told the story with such sympathy and
insight. We will not further transgress by dwelling upon
the identity of this legend with the course of Nature, its
madness, its prodigality, its intoxication, its joy, and
above all its sublime persistence through the cycles of Life
and Death. The pagan reader must labour to understand this
in Pater's "Greek Studies", and the Christian reader will
recognise it, incident for incident, in the story of Christ.
This legend is but the dramatization of Spring.
The magician who wishes to invoke Bacchus by this method
must therefore arrange a ceremony in which he takes the part
of Bacchus, undergoes all His trials, and emerges triumphant
from beyond death. He must, however, be warned against
mistaking the symbolism. In this case, for example, the
doctrine of individual immortality has been dragged in, to
the destruction of truth. It is not that utterly worthless
part of man, his individual consciousness as John Smith,
which defies death --- that consciousness which dies and is
reborn in every thought. That which persists (if anything
persist) is his real John Smithiness, a quality of which he
was probably never conscious in his life.<<See "The Book of
Lies", Liber 333, for several sermons to this effect. Caps.
Alpha, Delta, Eta, Iota-Epsilon, Iota-Sigma, Iota-Eta,
Kappa-Alpha, Kappa-Eta, in particular. The reincarnation
of the Khu or magical Self is another matter entirely, too
abstruse to discuss in this elementary manual. {WEH NOTE: I
have made a correction in the above list of chapters from
Liber 333. The published text cites Iota-Digamma, which
does not exist. The correct chapter is Iota-Sigma, which
does exist and discusses the subject}.>>
Even that does not persist unchanged. It is always
growing. The Cross is a barren stick, and the petals of the
Rose fall and decay; but in the union of the Cross and the
Rose is a constant {14} succession of new lives.<<See "The
Book of Lies", Liber 333, for several sermons to this
effect. The whole theory of Death must be sought in Liber
CXI Aleph.>> Without this union, and without this death of
the individual, the cycle would be broken.
A chapter will be consecrated to removing the practical
difficulties of this method of Invocation. It will
doubtless have been noted by the acumen of the reader that
in the great essentials these three methods are one. In
each case the magician identifies himself with the Deity
invoked. To "invoke" is to "call in", just as to "evoke" is
to "call forth". This is the essential difference between
the two branches of Magick. In invocation, the macrocosm
floods the consciousness. In evocation, the magician,
having become the macrocosm, creates a microcosm. You
"in"voke a God into the Circle. You "e"voke a Spirit into
the Triangle. In the first method identity with the God is
attained by love and by surrender, by giving up or
suppressing all irrelevant (and illusionary) parts of
yourself. It is the weeding of a garden.
In the second method identity is attained by paying
special attention to the desired part of yourself: positive,
as the first method is negative. It is the potting-out and
watering of a particular flower in the garden, and the
exposure of it to the sun.
In the third, identity is attained by sympathy. It is
very difficult for the ordinary man to lose himself
completely in the subject of a play or of a novel; but for
those who can do so, this method is unquestionably the best.
Observe: each element in this cycle is of equal value.
It is wrong to say triumphantly "Mors janua vitae", unless
you add, with equal triumph, "Vita janua mortis". To one
who understands this chain of the Aeons from the point of
view alike of the sorrowing Isis and of the triumphant
Osiris, not forgetting their link in the destroyer Apophis,
there remains no secret veiled in Nature. He cries that
name of God which throughout History has been echoed by one
religion to another, the infinite swelling paean
I.A.O.!<<This name, I.A.O. is qabalistically identical with
that of THE BEAST and with His number 666, so that he who
invokes the former invokes also the latter. Also with AIWAZ
and the Number 93. See Chapter V.>> {15}
CHAPTER II
THE FORMULAE OF THE ELEMENTAL WEAPONS.
Before discussing magical formulae in detail, one may
observe that most rituals are composite, and contain many
formulae which must be harmonized into one.
The first formula is that of the Wand. In the sphere of
the principle which the magician wishes to invoke, he rises
from point to point in a perpendicular line, and then
descends; or else, beginning at the top, he comes directly
down, "invoking" first the god of that sphere by "devout
supplication"<<Beware, O brother, lest thou bend the knee!
Liber CCXX teaches the proper attitude. See also Liber
CCCLXX. Infra, furthermore, there is special instruction:
Chapter XV and elsewhere.>> that He may deign to send the
appropriate Archangel. He then "beseeches" the Archangel to
send the Angel or Angels of that sphere to his aid; he
"conjures" this Angel or Angels to send the intelligence in
question, and this intelligence he will "conjure with
authority" to compel the obedience of the spirit and his
manifestation. To this spirit he "issues commands".
It will be seen that this is a formula rather of
evocation than of invocation, and for the latter the
procedure, though apparently the same, should be conceived
of in a different manner, which brings it under another
formula, that of Tetragrammaton. The essence of the force
invoked is one, but the "God" represents the germ or
beginning of the force, the "Archangel" its development; and
so on, until, with the "Spirit", we have the completion and
perfection of that force. {16}
The formula of the Cup is not so well suited for
Evocations, and the magical Hierarchy is not involved in the
same way; for the Cup being passive rather than active, it
is not fitting for the magician to use it in respect of
anything but the Highest. In practical working it
consequently means little but prayer, and that prayer the
"prayer of silence".<<Considerations which might lead to a
contrary conclusion are unsuited to this treatise. See
Liber LXXXI.>>
The formula of the dagger is again unsuitable for either
purpose, since the nature of the dagger is to criticise, to
destroy, to disperse; and all true magical ceremonies tend
to concentration. The dagger will therefore appear
principally in the banishings, preliminary to the ceremony
proper.
The formula of the pantacle is again of no particular
use; for the pantacle is inert. In fine, the formula of the
wand is the only one with which we need more particularly
concern ourselves.<<Later, these remarks are amplified, and
to some extent modified.>>
Now in order to invoke any being, it is said by Hermes
Trismegistus that the magi employ three methods. The first,
for the vulgar, is that of supplication. In this the crude
objective theory is assumed as true. There is a god named
A, whom you, B, proceed to petition, in exactly the same
sense as a boy might ask his father for pocket-money.
The second method involves a little more subtlety,
inasmuch as the magician endeavours to harmonize himself
with the nature of the god, and to a certain extent exalts
himself, in the course of the ceremony; but the third method
is the only one worthy of our consideration.
This consists of a real identification of the magician
and the god. Note that to do this in perfection involves
the attainment of a species of Samadhi: and this fact alone
suffices to link irrefragably magick with mysticism.
Let us describe the magical method of identification.
The symbolic form of the god is first studied with as much
care as an artist would bestow upon his model, so that a
perfectly clear and {17} unshakeable mental picture of the
god is presented to the mind. Similarly, the attributes of
the god are enshrined in speech, and such speeches are
committed perfectly to memory. The invocation will then
begin with a prayer to the god, commemorating his physical
attributes, always with profound understanding of their real
meaning. In the "second part" of the invocation, the voice
of the god is heard, and His characteristic utterance is
recited.
In the "third portion" of the invocation the magician
asserts the identity of himself with the god. In the
"fourth portion" the god is again invoked, but as if by
Himself, as if it were the utterance of the will of the god
that He should manifest in the magician. At the conclusion
of this, the original object of the invocation is stated.
Thus, in the invocation of Thoth which is to be found in
the rite of Mercury (Equinox I, VI) and in Liber LXIV, the
first part begins with the words "Majesty of Godhead, wisdom-
crowned TAHUTI, Thee, Thee I invoke. Oh Thou of the Ibis
head, Thee, Thee I invoke"; and so on. At the conclusion of
this a mental image of the God, infinitely vast and
infinitely splendid, should be perceived, in just the same
sense as a man might see the Sun.
The second part begins with the words:
"Behold! I am yesterday, today, and the brother of
tomorrow."
The magician should imagine that he is hearing this
voice, and at the same time that he is echoing it, that it
is true also of himself. This thought should so exalt him
that he is able at its conclusion to utter the sublime words
which open the third part: "Behold! he is in me, and I am in
him." At this moment, he loses consciousness of his mortal
being; he is that mental image which he previously but saw.
This consciousness is only complete as he goes on: "Mine is
the radiance wherein Ptah floateth over his firmament. I
travel upon high. I tread upon the firmament of Nu. I
raise a flashing flame with the lightnings of mine eye: ever
rushing on in the splendour of the daily glorified Ra ---
giving my life to the treaders of Earth!" This thought
gives the relation of God and Man from the divine point of
view.
The magician is only recalled to himself at the conclusion
of the {18} third part; in which occur, almost as if by
accident, the words: "Therefore do all things obey my word."
Yet in the fourth part, which begins: "Therefore do thou
come forth unto me", it is not really the magician who is
addressing the God; it is the God who hears the far-off
utterance of the magician. If this invocation has been
correctly performed, the words of the fourth part will sound
distant and strange. It is surprising that a dummy (so the
magus now appears to Himself) should be able to speak!
The Egyptian Gods are so complete in their nature, so
perfectly spiritual and yet so perfectly material, that this
one invocation is sufficient. The God bethinks him that the
spirit of Mercury should now appear to the magician; and it
is so. This Egyptian formula is therefore to be preferred
to the Hierarchical formula of the Hebrews with its tedious
prayers, conjurations, and curses.
It will be noted, however, that in this invocation of
Thoth which we have summarized, there is another formula
contained, the Reverberating or Reciprocating formula, which
may be called the formula of Horus and Harpocrates. The
magician addresses the God with an active projection of his
will, and then becomes passive while the God addresses the
Universe. In the fourth part he remains silent, listening,
to the prayer which arises therefrom.
The formula of this invocation of Thoth may also be
classed under Tetragrammaton. The first part is fire, the
eager prayer of the magician, the second water, in which the
magician listens to, or catches the reflection of, the god.
The third part is air, the marriage of fire and water; the
god and the man have become one; while the fourth part
corresponds to earth, the condensation or materialization of
those three higher principles.
With regard to the Hebrew formulae, it is doubtful
whether most magicians who use them have ever properly
grasped the principles underlying the method of identity.
No passage which implies it occurs to mind, and the extant
rituals certainly give no hint of such a conception, or of
any but the most personal and material views of the nature
of things. They seem to have thought that there was an
Archangel named Ratziel in exactly the same sense as there
was a statesman named Richelieu, an individual being living
in a definite place. He had possibly certain powers of a
somewhat metaphysical order --- he might be {19} in two
places at once,<<He could do this provided that he can
travel with a speed exceeding that of Light, as he does.
See A.S.Eddington "Space, Time, and Gravitation". Also:
what means "at once"?>> for example, though even the
possibility of so simple a feat (in the case of spirits)
seems to be denied by certain passages in extant
conjurations which tell the spirit that if he happens to be
in chains in a particular place in Hell, or if some other
magician is conjuring him so that he cannot come, then let
him send a spirit of similar nature, or otherwise avoid the
difficultly. But of course so vulgar a conception would not
occur to the student of the Qabalah. It is just possible
that the magi wrote their conjurations on this crude
hypothesis in order to avoid the clouding of the mind by
doubt and metaphysical speculation.
He who became the Master Therion was once confronted by
this very difficulty. Being determined to instruct mankind,
He sought a simple statement of his object. His will was
sufficiently informed by common sense to decide him to teach
man "The Next Step", the thing which was immediately above
him. He might have called this "God", or "The Higher Self",
or "The Augoeides", or "Adi-Buddha", or 61 other things ---
but He had discovered that these were all one, yet that each
one represented some theory of the Universe which would
ultimately be shattered by criticism --- for He had already
passed through the realm of Reason, and knew that every
statement contained an absurdity. He therefore said: "Let
me declare this Work under this title: 'The obtaining of the
Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel'",
because the theory implied in these words is so patently
absurd that only simpletons would waste much time in
analysing it. It would be accepted as a convention, and no
one would incur the grave danger of building a philosophical
system upon it.
With this understanding, we may rehabilitate the Hebrew
system of invocations. The mind is the great enemy; so, by
invoking enthusiastically a person whom we know not to
exist, we are rebuking that mind. Yet we should not refrain
altogether from philosophising in the light of the Holy
Qabalah. We should accept the Magical Hierarchy as a more
or less convenient classification of the facts of the
Universe as they are {20} known to us; and as our knowledge
and understanding of those facts increase, so should we
endeavour to adjust our idea of what we mean by any symbol.
At the same time let us reflect that there is a certain
definite consensus of experience as to the correlation of
the various beings of the hierarchy with the observed facts
of Magick. In the simple matter of astral vision, for
example, one striking case may be quoted.
Without telling him what it was, the Master Therion once
recited as an invocation Sappho's "Ode to Venus" before a
Probationer of the A.'. A.'. who was ignorant of Greek, the
language of the Ode. The disciple then went on an "astral
journey," and everything seen by him was without exception
harmonious with Venus. This was true down to the smallest
detail. He even obtained all the four colour-scales of
Venus with absolute correctness. Considering that he saw
something like one hundred symbols in all, the odds against
coincidence are incalculably great. Such an experience (and
the records of the A.'. A.'. contain dozens of similar
cases) affords proof as absolute as any proof can be in this
world of Illusion that the correspondences in Liber 777
really represent facts in Nature.
It suggests itself that this "straightforward" system of
magick was perhaps never really employed at all. One might
maintain that the invocations which have come down to us are
but the ruins of the Temple of Magick. The exorcisms might
have been committed to writing for the purpose of memorising
them, while it was forbidden to make any record of the
really important parts of the ceremony. Such details of
Ritual as we possess are meagre and unconvincing, and though
much success has been attained in the quite conventional
exoteric way both by FRATER PERDURABO and by many of his
colleagues, yet ceremonies of this character have always
remained tedious and difficult. It has seemed as if the
success were obtained almost in spite of the ceremony. In
any case, they are the more mysterious parts of the Ritual
which have evoked the divine force. Such conjurations as
those of the "Goetia" leave one cold, although, notably in
the second conjuration, there is a crude attempt to use that
formula of Commemoration of which we spoke in the preceding
Chapter. {21}
CHAPTER III
THE FORMULA OF TETRAGRAMMATON.<<Yod, He,
Vau, He, the Ineffable Name (Jehovah) of the Hebrews. The
four letters refer respectively to the four "elements",
Fire, Water, Air, Earth, in the order named.>>
This formula is of most universal aspect, as all things
are necessarily comprehended in it; but its use in a magical
ceremony is little understood.
The climax of the formula is in one sense before even the
formulation of the Yod. For the Yod is the most divine
aspect of the Force --- the remaining letters are but a
solidification of the same thing. It must be understood
that we are here speaking of the whole ceremony considered
as a unity, not merely of that formula in which "Yod" is the
god invoked, "He" the Archangel, and so on. In order to
understand the ceremony under this formula, we must take a
more extended view of the functions of the four weapons than
we have hitherto done.
The formation of the "Yod" is the formulation of the
first creative force, of that father who is called "self-
begotten", and unto whom it is said: "Thou has formulated
thy Father, and made fertile thy Mother". The adding of the
"He" to the "Yod" is the marriage of that Father to the
great co-equal Mother, who is a reflection of Nuit as He is
of Hadit. Their union brings forth the son "Vau" who is the
heir. Finally the daughter "He" is produced. She is both
the twin sister and the daughter of "Vau".<<There is a
further mystery herein, far deeper, for initiates.>>
His mission is to redeem her by making her his bride; the
result of this is to set her upon the throne of her mother,
and it is only she whose youthful embrace can reawaken the
eld of the {22} All-Father. In this complex family
relationship<<The formula of Tetragrammaton, as ordinarily
understood, ending with the appearance of the daughter, is
indeed a degradation.>> is symbolised the whole course of
the Universe. It will be seen that (after all) the Climax
is at the end. It is the second half of the formula which
symbolises the Great Work which we are pledged to
accomplish. The first step of this is the attainment of the
Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, which
constitutes the Adept of the Inner Order.
The re-entry of these twin spouses into the womb of the
mother is that initiation described in Liber 418, which
gives admission to the Inmost Order of the A.'. A.'. Of the
last step we cannot speak.
It will now be recognised that to devise a practical
magical ceremony to correspond to Tetragrammaton in this
exalted sense might be difficult if not impossible. In such
a ceremony the Rituals of purification alone might occupy
many incarnations.
It will be necessary, therefore, to revert to the simpler
view of Tetragrammaton, remembering only that the "He" final
is the Throne of the Spirit, of the Shin of Pentagrammaton.
The Yod will represent a swift and violent creative
energy; following this will be a calmer and more reflective
but even more powerful flow of will, the irresistible force
of a mighty river. This state of mind will be followed by
an expansion of the consciousness; it will penetrate all
space, and this will finally undergo a crystallization
resplendent with interior light. Such modifications of the
original Will may be observed in the course of the
invocations when they are properly performed.
The peculiar dangers of each are obvious --- that of the
first is a flash in the pan --- a misfire; that of the
second, a falling into dreaminess or reverie; that of the
third, loss of concentration. A mistake in any of these
points will prevent, or injure the proper formation of, the
fourth.
In the expression which will be used in Chapter XV:
"Enflame thyself", etc., only the first stage is specified;
but if that is properly done the other stages will follow as
if by necessity. So far is it written concerning the
formula of Tetragrammaton. {23}
CHAPTER IV.
THE FORMULA OF ALHIM, AND THAT OF ALIM.
"ALHIM", (Elohim) is the exoteric word for Gods.<<"Gods"
are the Forces of Nature; their "Names" are the Laws of
Nature. Thus They are eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent and
so on; and thus their "Wills" are immutable and absolute.>>
It is the masculine plural of a feminine noun, but its
nature is principally feminine.<<It represents Sakti,or Teh;
femininity always means form, manifestation. The masculine
Siva, or Tao, is always a concealed force.>> It is a perfect
hieroglyph of the number 5. This should be studied in "A
Note on Genesis" (Equinox I, II).
The Elements are all represented, as in Tetragrammaton,
but there is no development from one into the others. They
are, as it were, thrown together --- untamed, only
sympathising by virtue of their wild and stormy but
elastically resistless energy. The Central letter is "He" -
-- the letter of breath --- and represents Spirit. The
first letter "Aleph" is the natural letter of Air, and the
Final "Mem" is the natural letter of Water. Together,
"Aleph" and "Mem" make "Am" --- the mother within whose womb
the Cosmos is conceived. But "Yod" is not the natural
letter of Fire. Its juxtaposition with "He" sanctifies that
fire to the "Yod" of Tetragrammaton. Similarly we find
"Lamed" for Earth, where we should expect Tau --- in order
to emphasize the influence of Venus, who rules Libra.
"ALHIM", therefore, represents rather the formula of
Consecration than that of a complete ceremony. It is the
breath of benediction, yet so potent that it can give life
to clay and light to darkness.
In consecrating a weapon, "Aleph" is the whirling force
of the thunderbolt, the lightning which flameth out of the
East even {24} into the West. This is the gift of the
wielding of the thunderbolt of Zeus or Indra, the god of
Air. "Lamed" is the Ox-goad, the driving force; and it is
also the Balance, representing the truth and love of the
Magician. It is the loving care which he bestows upon
perfecting his instruments, and the equilibration of that
fierce force which initiates the ceremony.<<The letters
Aleph and Lamed are infinitely important in this Aeon of
Horus; they are indeed the Key of the Book of the Law. No
more can be said in this place than that Aleph is
Harpocrates, Bacchus Diphues, the Holy Ghost, the "Pure
Fool" or Innocent Babe who is also the Wandering Singer who
impregnates the King's Daughter with Himself as Her Child;
Lamed is the King's Daughter, satisfied by Him, holding His
"Sword and Balances" in her lap. These weapons are the
Judge, armed with power to execute His Will, and Two
Witnesses "in whom shall every Truth be established" in
accordance with whose testimony he gives judgment.>>
"Yod" is the creative energy -- the procreative power:
and yet "Yod" is the solitude and silence of the hermitage
into which the Magician has shut himself. "Mem" is the
letter of water, and it is the Mem final, whose long flat
lines suggest the Sea at Peace HB:Mem-final ; not the
ordinary (initial and medial) Mem whose hieroglyph is a wave
HB:Mem.<<In the symbolism above outlined, Yod is the
Mercurial "Virgin Word", the Spermatozoon concealing its
light under a cloke; and Mem is the amniotic fluid, the
flood wherein is the Life-bearing Ark. See A. Crowley "The
Ship", Equinox I, X.>> And then, in the Centre of all,
broods Spirit, which combines the mildness of the Lamb with
the horns of the Ram, and is the letter of Bacchus or
"Christ".<<The letter He is the formula of Nuith, which
makes possible the process described in the previous notes.
But it is not permissible here to explain fully the exact
matter or manner of this adjustment. I have preferred the
exoteric attributions, which are sufficiently informative
for the beginner.>>
After the magician has created his instrument, and balanced
it truly, and filled it with the lightnings of his Will,
then is the weapon laid away to rest; and in this Silence,
a true Consecration comes.
THE FORMULA OF ALIM
It is extremely interesting to contrast with the above
the formula of the elemental Gods deprived of the creative
spirit. One {25} might suppose that as ALIM, is the
masculine plural of the masculine noun AL, its formula would
be more virile than that of ALHIM, which is the masculine
plural of the feminine noun ALH. A moment's investigation
is sufficient to dissipate the illusion. The word masculine
has no meaning except in relation to some feminine
correlative.
The word ALIM may in fact be considered as neuter. By a
rather absurd convention, neuter objects are treated as
feminine on account of their superficial resemblance in
passivity and inertness with the unfertilized female. But
the female produces life by the intervention of the male,
while the neuter does so only when impregnated by Spirit.
Thus we find the feminine AMA, becoming AIMA<<AMA is 42, the
number of sterility; AIMA, 52, that of fertility, of BN, the
SON.>>, through the operation of the phallic Yod, while
ALIM, the congress of dead elements, only fructifies by the
brooding of Spirit.
This being so, how can we describe ALIM as containing a
Magical Formula? Inquiry discloses the fact that this
formula is of a very special kind.
The word adds up to 81, which is a number of the moon. It
is thus the formula of witchcraft, which is under
Hecate.<<See A. Crowley "Orpheus" for the Invocation of this
Goddess.>> It is only the romantic mediaeval perversion of
science that represents young women as partaking in
witchcraft, which is, properly speaking, restricted to the
use of such women as are no longer women in the Magical
sense of the word, because thy are no longer capable of
corresponding to the formula of the male, and are therefore
neuter rather than feminine. It is for this reason that
their method has always been referred to the moon, in that
sense of the term in which she appears, not as the feminine
correlative of the sun, but as the burnt-out, dead, airless
satellite of earth.
No true Magical operation can be performed by the formula
of ALIM. All the works of witchcraft are illusory; and
their apparent effects depend on the idea that it is
possible to alter things by the mere rearrangement of them.
One {26} must not rely upon the false analogy of the Xylenes
to rebut this argument. It is quite true that geometrical
isomers act in different manners towards the substance to
which they are brought into relation. And it is of course
necessary sometimes to rearrange the elements of a molecule
before that molecule can form either the masculine or the
feminine element in a true Magical combination with some
other molecule.
It is therefore occasionally inevitable for a Magician to
reorganize the structure of certain elements before
proceeding to his operation proper. Although such work is
technically witchcraft, it must not be regarded as
undesirable on that ground, for all operations which do not
transmute matter fall strictly speaking under this heading.
The real objection to this formula is not inherent in its
own nature. Witchcraft consists in treating it as the
exclusive preoccupation of Magick, and especially in denying
to the Holy Spirit his right to indwell His Temple.<<The
initiate of the XI Degree of O.T.O. will remark that there
is a totally different formula of ALIM, complementary with
that here discussed. 81 may be regarded as a number of
Yesod rather than of Luna. The actual meaning of the word
may be taken as indicating the formula. Aleph may be
referred to Harpocrates, with allusion to the well-known
poem of Catullus. Lamed may imply the exaltation of Saturn,
and suggest the Three of Swords in a particular manner. Yod
will then recall Hermes, and Mem the Hanged Man. We have
thus a Tetragrammaton which contains no feminine component.
The initial Force is here the Holy Spirit and its vehicle or
weapon the "Sword and Balances". Justice is then done upon
the Mercurial "Virgin", with the result that the Man is
"Hanged" or extended, and is slain in this manner. Such an
operation makes creation impossible --- as in the former
case; but here there is no question of re-arrangement; the
creative force is employed deliberately for destruction, and
is entirely absorbed in its own sphere (or cylinder, on
Einstein's equations) of action. This Work is to be
regarded as "Holiness to the Lord". The Hebrews, in fact,
conferred the title of Qadosh (holy) upon its adepts. Its
effect is to consecrate the Magicians who perform it in a
very special way. We may take note also of the
correspondence of Nine with Teth, XI, Leo, and the Serpent.
The great merits of this formula are that it avoids contact
with the inferior planes, that it is self-sufficient, that
it involves no responsibilities, and that it leaves its
masters not only stronger in themselves, but wholly free to
fulfil their essential Natures. Its abuse is an
abomination.>> {27}
CHAPTER V
The Formula of I.A.O.
This formula is the principal and most characteristic
formula of Osiris, of the Redemption of Mankind. "I" is
Isis, Nature, ruined by "A", Apophis the Destroyer, and
restored to life by the Redeemer Osiris.<<There is a quite
different formula in which I is the father, O the Mother, A
the child --- and yet another, in which I.A.O. are all
fathers of different kinds balanced by H.H.H., 3 Mothers, to
complete the Universe. In a third, the true formula of the
Beast 666, I and O are the opposites which form the field
for the operation of A. But this is a higher matter
unsuited for this elementary handbook. See, however, Liber
Samekh, Point II, Section J.>> The same idea is expressed
by the Rosicrucian formula of the Trinity:
"Ex Deo nascimur.
In Jesu Morimur
Per Spiritum Sanctum reviviscimus."
This is also identical with the Word Lux, L.V.X., which is
formed by the arms of a cross. It is this formula which is
implied in those ancient and modern monuments in which the
phallus is worshipped as the Saviour of the World.
The doctrine of resurrection as vulgarly understood is
false and absurd. It is not even "Scriptural". St. Paul
does not identify the glorified body which rises with the
mortal body which dies. On the contrary, he repeatedly
insists on the distinction.
The same is true of a magical ceremony. The magician who
is destroyed by absorption in the Godhead is really
destroyed. The {28} miserable mortal automaton remains in
the Circle. It is of no more consequence to Him that the
dust of the floor.<<It is, for all that, His instrument,
acquired by Him as an astronomer buys a telescope. See
Liber Aleph, for a full explanation of the objects attained
by the stratagem of incarnation; also Part IV of this Book
4.>>
But before entering into the details of "I.A.O." as a
magick formula it should be remarked that it is essentially
the formula of Yoga or meditation; in fact, of elementary
mysticism in all its branches.
In beginning a meditation practice, there is always<<If
not, one is not working properly.>> a quiet pleasure, a
gentle natural growth; one takes a lively interest in the
work; it seems easy; one is quite pleased to have started.
This stage represents Isis. Sooner or later it is succeeded
by depression --- the Dark Night of the Soul, an infinite
weariness and detestation of the work. The simplest and
easiest acts become almost impossible to perform. Such
impotence fills the mind with apprehension and despair. The
intensity of this loathing can hardly be understood by any
person who has not experienced it. This is the period of
Apophis.
It is followed by the arising not of Isis, but of Osiris.
The ancient condition is not restored, but a new and
superior condition is created, a condition only rendered
possible by the process of death.
The Alchemists themselves taught this same truth. The
first matter of the work was base and primitive, though
"natural". After passing through various stages the "black
dragon" appeared; but from this arose the pure and perfect
gold.
Even in the legend of Prometheus we find an identical
formula concealed; and a similar remark applies to those of
Jesus Christ, and of many other mythical god-men worshipped
in different countries.<<See J.G.Frazer, "The Golden Bough:"
J.M.Robertson "Pagan Christs;" A. Crowley "Jesus," etc.,
etc.>>
A magical ceremony constructed on this formula is thus in
close essential harmony with the natural mystic process. We
find it the {29} basis of many important initiations,
notably the Third Degree in Masonry, and the 5 Degree =
6Square ceremony of the G.'. D.'. described in Equinox I,
III. A ceremonial self-initiation may be constructed with
advantage on this formula. The essence of it consists in
robing yourself as a king, then stripping and slaying
yourself, and rising from that death to the Knowledge and
Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel<<This formula,
although now superseded by that of HORUS, the Crowned and
Conquering Child, remains valid for those who have not yet
assimilated the point of view of the Law of Thelema. But
see Appendix, Liber SAMEKH. Compare also "The Book of the
Spirit of the Living Gods," -- where there is a ritual given
"in extenso" on slightly different lines: Equinox I, III,
pages 269-272.>>. There is an etymological identity between
Tetragrammaton and "I A O", but the magical formulae are
entirely different, as the descriptions here given have
schewn.
Professor William James, in his "Varieties of Religious
Experience," has well classified religion as the "once-born"
and the "twice-born"; but the religion now proclaimed in
Liber Legis harmonizes these by transcending them. There is
no attempt to get rid of death by denying it, as among the
once-born; nor to accept death as the gate of a new life, as
among the twice-born. With the A.'. A.'. life and death are
equally incidents in a career, very much like day and night
in the history of a planet. But, to pursue the simile, we
regard this planet from afar. A Brother of A.'. A.'. looks
at (what another person would call) "himself", as one ---
or, rather, some --- among a group of phenomena. He is that
"nothing" whose consciousness is in one sense the universe
considered as a single phenomenon in time and space, and in
another sense is the negation of that consciousness. The
body and mind of the man are only important (if at all) as
the telescope of the astronomer to him. If the telescope
were destroyed it would make no appreciable difference to
the Universe which that telescope reveals.
It will now be understood that this formula of I A O is a
formula of Tiphareth. The magician who employs it is
conscious of himself as a man liable to suffering, and
anxious to transcend that state by becoming one with god.
It will appear to him as the Supreme Ritual, as the final
step; but, as has already been {30} pointed out, it is but a
preliminary. For the normal man today, however, it
represents considerable attainment; and there is a much
earlier formula whose investigation will occupy Chapter VI.
THE MASTER THERION, in the Seventeenth year of the Aeon,
has reconstructed the Word I A O to satisfy the new
conditions of Magick imposed by progress. The Word of the
Law being Thelema, whose number is 93, this number should be
the canon of a corresponding Mass. Accordingly, he has
expanded I A O by treating the O as an Ayin, and then adding
Vau as prefix and affix. The full word is then
Vau Yod Aleph Ayin Vau
whose number is 93. We may analyse this new Word in detail
and demonstrate that it is a proper hieroglyph of the Ritual
of Self-Initiation in this Aeon of Horus. For the
correspondence in the following note, see Liber 777. The
principal points are these: {31}
--------------.---.-------------.---.--------------.--------
----------------
: : : : :
Atu :No.: Hebrew :No.:Correspondence:
Other
:of : :of : :
(Tarot Trump) :Atu: letters :let: in Nature :
Correspondences
: : :ter: :
--------------+---+-------------+---+--------------+--------
----------------
: : : : :
: : : : :
The Hiero- : V :Vau (a nail) : 6 :Taurus (An :The Sun.
The son in Te-
phant. (Osi-: : English V, : : earthy sign :
tragrammaton. (See Cap.
ris throned : : W, or vo- : : ruled by : III).
The Pentagram
& crowned, : : wel between : : Venus; the : which
shows Spirit
with Wand. : : O and U- : : Moon exalt- : master
& reconciler of
: : ma'ajab and : : ed therein. : the
Four Elements.
: : ma'aruf. : : but male.) :
Four Wor- : : : : Liberty,i.e.:The
Hexagram which un-
shippers;the: : : : free will. : God
and Man. The cons-
four ele- : : : : :
sciousness or Ruach.
ments. : : : : :
: : : : :Parzival
as the Child in
: : : : : his
widowed mother's
: : : : : care:
Horus, son of
: : : : : Isis
and the slain
: : : : :
Osiris.
: : : : :
: : : : :Parzival
as King &
: : : : : Priest
in Montsalvat
: : : : :
performing the mir-
: : : : : acle of
redemption;
: : : : : Horus
crowned and
: : : : :
conquering, taking the
: : : : : place
of his father.
: : : : :
: : : : :Christ-
Bacchus in Hea-
: : : : : ven-
Olympus saving the
: : : : : world.
: : : : :
: : : : :
: : : : :
The Hermit :IX :Yod (a hand) : 10:Virgo (an :The root
of the Alphabet
(Hermes : : English I : : earthy sign : The
Spermatozoon. The
with Lamp, : : or Y. : : ruled by : youth
setting out on
Wings, : : : : Mercury : his
adventures after
Wand, : : : : exalted :
receiving the Wand.
Cloak, and : : : : therein; :
Parzival in the desert
Serpent). : : : : sexually : Christ
taking refuge
: : : : ambivalent) : in
Egypt, and on
: : : : Light, i.e. : the
Mount tempted by
: : : : of Wisdom, : the
Devil. The uncon-
: : : : the Inmost. : scious
Will, or Word.
{32}
--------------.---.-------------.---.--------------.--------
----------------
: : : : :
Atu :No.: Hebrew :No.:Correspondence:
Other
:of : : of: :
(Tarot Trump) :Atu: letters :let: in Nature :
Correspondences
: : :ter: :
--------------+---+-------------+---+--------------+--------
----------------
: : : : :
: : : : :
The Fool : O :Aleph (an ox): 1 :Air (The con- :The free
breath. The
(The Babe : : English A, : : dition of :
Svastika. The Holy
in the Egg : : more or : : all Life, : Ghost.
The Virgin's
on the Lo- : : less : : the impar- : Womb.
Parzial as "der
tus, Bacchus: : : : tial vehicle: reine
Thor" who knows
Diphues, : : : : Sexually :
nothing. Horus.
etc. : : : : undevelop- : Christ-
Bacchus as the
: : : : ed). Life; :
innocent babe, pursued
: : : : i.e. the : by
Herod-Here.
: : : : organ of :
Hercules strangling
: : : : possible : the
serpents. The
: : : : expression. :
Unconscious Self not
: : : : : yet
determined in any
: : : : :
direction.
: : : : :
: : : : :
The Devil :XV :Ayin (an : 70:Capricornus :Parzival
in Black Armour,
(Baphomet : : eye) En- : : (an earthy : ready
to return to
throned & : : glish A, or: : sign ruled :
Montsalvat as Redeemer-
adored by : : O more or : : by Saturn; : King:
Horus come to
Male & Fe- : : less: the : : Mars exalt- : full
growth. Christ-
male. See : : bleat of a : : ed therein. :
Bacchus with Calvary-
Eliphas : : goat, A'a. : : Sexually : Cross
Kithairon ---
Levi's de- : : : : male) :
Thyrsus.
sign.) : : : : love: i.e. :
: : : : the instinct:
: : : : to satisfy :
: : : : Godhead by :
: : : : uniting it :
: : : : with the :
: : : : Universe. :
: : : : :
Iota-Alpha-Digamma varies in significance with successive
Aeons.
{33}
"Aeon of Isis." Matriarchal Age. The Great Work
conceived as a straightforward simple affair.
We find the theory reflected in the customs of
Matriarchy. Parthenogenesis is supposed to be true. The
Virgin (Yod-Virgo) contains in herself the Principle of
Growth --- the epicene Hermetic seed. It becomes the Babe
in the Egg (A --- Harpocrates) by virtue of the Spirit (A =
Air, impregnating the Mother---Vulture) and this becomes the
Sun or Son ( Digamma = the letter of Tiphareth, 6, even when
spelt as Omega, in Coptic. See 777).
"Aeon of Osiris." Patriarchal age. Two sexes. I
conceived as the Father-Wand. (Yod in Tetragrammaton). A
the Babe is pursued by the Dragon, who casts a flood from
his mouth to swallow it. See "Rev." VII. The Dragon is
also the Mother --- the "Evil Mother" of Freud. It is
Harpocrates, threatened by the crocodile in the Nile. We
find the symbolism of the Ark, the Coffin of Osiris, etc.
The Lotus is the Yoni; the Water the Amniotic Fluid. In
order to live his own life, the child must leave the Mother,
and overcome the temptation to return to her for refuge.
Kundry, Armida, Jocasta, Circe, etc., are symbols of this
force which tempts the Hero. He may take her as his
servant<<Her sole speech in the last Act is "Dienen:
Dienen".>> when he has mastered her, so as to heal his
father (Amfortas), avenge him (Osiris), or pacify him
(Jehovah). But in order to grow to manhood, he must cease
to depend on her, earning the Lance (Parzival), claiming his
arms (Achilles), or making his club (Hercules)<<Note that
all these three remain for a time as neuters among woman,
prevented from living the male life.>>, and wander in the
waterless wilderness like Krishna, Jesus, Oedipus, chi.
tau. lambda. --- until the hour when, as the "King's Son"
or knight-errant, he must win the Princess, and set himself
upon a strange throne. Almost all the legends of heroes
imply this formula in strikingly similar symbols. Digamma.
Vau the Sun --- Son. He is supposed to be mortal; but how
is this shewn? It seems an absolute perversion of truth:
the sacred symbols have no hint of it. This lie is the
essence of the Great Sorcery. Osirian religion is a
Freudian phantasy fashioned of man's dread of death and
ignorance of nature. The parthenogenesis-idea {34}
persists, but is now the formula for incarnating demi-gods,
or divine kings; these must be slain and raised from the
dead in one way or another.<<All these ideas may be
explained by reference to anthropology. But this is not
their condemnation, but their justification; for the customs
and legends of mankind reflect the true nature of the
species.>>
"Aeon of Horus." Two sexes in one person.
Digamma Iota Alpha Omicron Digamma: 93, the full formula,
recognizing the Sun as the Son (Star), as the pre-existent
manifested Unit from which all springs and to which all
returns. The Great Work is to make the initial Digamma
Digamma of Assiah (The world of material illusion) into the
final Digamma Iota Digamma of Atziluth,<<For these
spellings see 777.>> the world of pure reality.
Spelling the Name in full, Digamma Digamma + Iota Digamma
Delta + Alpha Lambda Pi + Omicron Iota Nu + Digamma Iota =
309 = Sh T = XX + XI = 31 the secret Key of the Law.
Digamma is the manifested Star.
Iota is the secret Life .............. Serpent
--- Light ............. Lamp
--- Love .............. Wand
--- Liberty ........... Wings
--- Silence ........... Cloak
These symbols are all shewn in the Atu "The Hermit".
They are the powers of the Yod, whose extension is the
Vau.
Yod is the Hand wherewith man does his Will. It is
also
The Virgin; his essence is inviolate.
Alpha is the Babe "who has formulated his Father, and made
fertile
his Mother" --- Harpocrates, etc., as before; but he
develops
to
Omicron The exalted "Devil" (also the "other" secret Eye)
by the
formula of the Initiation of Horus elsewhere
described in
detail. This "Devil" is called Satan or Shaitan,
and regarded with horror by people who are ignorant of his
formula, and, imagining themselves to be evil, accuse Nature
herself of their own phantasmal crime. Satan is Saturn,
Set, Abrasax, Adad, Adonis, Attis, Adam, Adonai, etc. The
most serious charge against him is that he is the Sun in the
South. The Ancient Initiates, {35} dwelling as they did in
lands whose blood was the water of the Nile or the
Euphrates, connected the South with life-withering heat, and
cursed that quarter where the solar darts were deadliest.
Even in the legend of Hiram, it is at high noon that he is
stricken down and slain. Capricornus is moreover the sign
which the sun enterers when he reaches his extreme Southern
declination at the Winter Solstice, the season of the death
of vegetation, for the folk of the Northern hemisphere.
This gave them a second cause for cursing the south. A
third; the tyranny of hot, dry, poisonous winds; the menace
of deserts or oceans dreadful because mysterious and
impassable; these also were connected in their minds with
the South. But to us, aware of astronomical facts, this
antagonism to the South is a silly superstition which the
accidents of their local conditions suggested to our
animistic ancestors. We see no enmity between Right and
Left, Up and Down, and similar pairs of opposites. These
antitheses are real only as a statement of relation; they
are the conventions of an arbitrary device for representing
our ideas in a pluralistic symbolism based on duality.
"Good" must be defined in terms of human ideals and
instincts. "East" has no meaning except with reference to
the earth's internal affairs; as an absolute direction in
space it changes a degree every four minutes. "Up" is the
same for |