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Page 1 of 11930 · PDF PAGE 36
…art is divination. The answers to one’s questions in divination are not conveyed directly but through the medium of a suitable sériés of symbols. These symbols must be interpreted by the diviner in terms of his problem. It is not practicable to construct a lexicon in which the solution of every difficulty is given in so many words. It would be unwieldy 3 besides, nature does not happen to work on those lines. The theory of any process of divination may be stated in a few simple terms. 1. We postulate the existence of intelligences, either withi…
1930 · PDF PAGE 39
… Work. The Tarot and The Holy Qabalah may be discussed to- gether. The theoretical basis of both is identical: The Tree of Life.1 The 78 symbols of the Tarot are admirably balanced and combined. lhey are adéquate to ail demands made upon them; each Symbol is not only mathematically précisé, but possesses an artistic significance which helps the diviner to understand them by stimulating his aesthetic perceptions. The Master Therion finds that the Tarot is infallible in material questions. The successive operations describe the course of events w…
1930 · PDF PAGE 37
…om we wish to consult are willing, or may be compelled, to answer us truthfully. Let us first consider the question of the compendium of symbols. The alphabet of a language is a more or less arbitrary way of transcribing the sounds employed in speaking it. The letters tnemselves h ave not necessarily any meaning as such. But in a System of divination each Symbol stands for a definite idea. It would not interfère with the English language to add a few new letters. In fact, some Systems of shorthand hâve done so. But a System of symbols suitable …
1930 · PDF PAGE 27
…lace on the astral plane j invoke Mercury, for example, and examine carefully your record of the resulting vision — discover whether the symbols which you hâve seen correspond with the conventional symbols of Mercury. Tliis iesting of the spirits is the most important branch of tlie whoïe tree of Magick. Without it, one is lost in the jungle of delusion. Every spirit, up to God himself, is ready to deceive you if possible, to make himself ont more important than lie is; in short, to lay in wait for your soûl in 333 separate ways. Remember thaï …
1930 · PDF PAGE 41
lhe Tarot, on the other hand, being a book, is under Mercury, and the intelligence of each card is fundamentally Mercurial. Such symbols are therefore peculiarly proper to communicate thought. Ihey are not gross, like the geomantic daemons; but, as against this, they are unscrupulous in deceiving the diviner.1 The Y i King is served by beings free from these defects. The intense purity of the symbols prevent them from being usurped by intelligences with an axe of their own to grind.2 It is always essential lor the diviner to obtain absolute mag…
1930 · PDF PAGE 38
…sly mathematical. A hand-book of the science is to be found in Equinox I, II. The objection to its use lies in the limited number of the symbols. To represent the Universe by no more than 16 combinations throws too much work upon them. There is also a great restriction arising from the fact that although 15 symbols appear in the final figure, there are, in reality, but 4, the remaining 11 being drawn by an inéluctable process from the “Mothers”. It may be added that the tables given in the handbook for the interprétation of the figure are excee…
1930 · PDF PAGE 30
…ar in the practice of uRising on the Planes” ; its images are usually those of gardens curiously kept, mountains furnished with peculiar symbols, hiero- glyphic animais, or such figures as that of the aHermetic Arcanum”, and pictures like the “Goldseekers” and the ‘Mas¬ sacre of the Innocents” of Basil Valentine. There is a unique quality about the alchemical Plane which renders its images imme- diately recognisable. 150
1930 · PDF PAGE 60
…stances into the body and blood of God, than to perform this miracle upon dead matter. The Eucharist of three éléments has for basis the symbols of the three Gunas. For Tamas (darkness) take opium or nightshade or some sleepy medicine ; for Rajas (activity) take strychnine or ocher excitant; for Sattvas (calm) the cakes of Light may again be suitable. 1 The Eucharist of jour éléments consists of fire, air, water, and earth. These are represented by a flame for fire, by incense or roses for air, by wine for water, and by bread and sait for earth…
1930 · PDF PAGE 43
…e oracle is a judgej it must be beyond bribery and préjudice. It is impossible in practice to lay down rules for the inter¬ prétation of symbols. Their nature must be investigated by intel- lectual methods such as the Qabalah, but the précisé shape of meaning in any one case, and the sphere and tendency of its application, must be acquired partlv by expérience, that is, by induction, by recording and classifying one’s experiments over a long période and — this is the better part — by refining one’s ratiocination to the point where it becomes in…
1930 · PDF PAGE 28
…ns silent and still. In doing this it will often be necessary to create a Temple on the astral plane. Il is excellent practice to create symbols. This one précaution is needed: after using them, they should be reabsorbed. 148
1930 · PDF PAGE 40
…re, distinguished from each other by the modifications due to the various planetary and zodiacal influences which pertain to the several symbols. The intelligence governing Puella is not to be confused with that of Venus or of Libra. It is simply a particular terrestrial daemon which partakes of those natures. — 160 —
1930 · PDF PAGE 65
They describe this in a bewildering multiplicity of unintelligible symbols. We hâve no reason to suppose that they were ail talking of the same thing, or otherwise. The same remarks apply to every reagent and every process, no less than to the final product or products. Yet beneath this diversity, we may perceive an obscure identity. They ail begin with a substance in nature which is described as existing almost everywhere, and as universally esteemed of no value. The alchemist is in ail cases to take this substance, and subject it to a sériés …
1930 · PDF PAGE 17
…. But, it is actually true that a great deal of real magical Force is locked up in such things; consequently, by destroying these sacred symbols, you can overcome magically the people who adore them. It is not at ail irrational to fight for one’s flag, provided that the flag is an object which really means something to somebody. Similarly, with the most widely spread and most devotedly worshipped talisman of ail, money, you can evidently break the magical will of a worshipper of money by taking his money away from him, or by destroying its valu…