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Page 1 of 11913 · PDF PAGE 19
CHAPTER I THE TEMPLE THE Temple represents the external Universe. The Magician must take it as he finds it, so that it is of no par- ticular shape; yet we find written, Liber VII, vi, 2: "We made us a Temple of stones in the shape of the Universe, even as thou didst wear openly and I concealed." This shape is the Vesica Piscis; but it is only the greatest of the Magicians who can thus fashion the Temple. There may, however, be some choice of rooms; this refers to the power of the Magician to reincarnate in a suitable body.
1913 · PDF PAGE 77
CHAPTER VII THE CUP AS the Magick Wand is the Will, the Wisdom, the Word of the Magician, so is the Magick Cup his Under- standing. This is the cup of which it was written: " Father, if it be Thy Will, let this cup pass from Me!" And again: " Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of?" And it is also the cup in the hand of OUR LADV BABALON, and the cup of the Sacrament. This Cup is full of bitterness, and of blood, and of intoxication. The Understanding of the Magus is his link with the Invisible, on the passive side. His Will errs actively by op…
1913 · PDF PAGE 107
CHAPTER VIII THE SWORD '* 'nr^HE word of the Lord is quick and powerful, and sharper than a X two-edged sword." As the Wand is Chokmah, the Will, "the Father," and the Cup the Understanding, "the Mother," Binah; so the Magick Sword is the Reason, "the Son," the six Sephiroth of the Ruach, and we shall see that the Pantacle corresponds to Malkuth, " the Daughter." The Magick Sword is the analytical faculty; directed against any demon it attacks his complexity. Only the simple can withstand the sword. x\s we are below the Abyss, this weapon is th…
1913 · PDF PAGE 171
CHAPTER XV THE LAMEN '"T^HE breastplate or Lamen of the Magician is a very elaborate and JL important symbol. In the Jewish system we read that the High Priest was to wear a plate with twelve stones, for the twelve tribes of Israel (with all their correspondences), and in this plate were kept the Urim and Thummim.^ The modern Lamen is, however, a simple plate which (being worn over the heart) symbolizes Tiphereth, and it should therefore be a harmony of all the other symbols in one. It connects natur- ally by its shape with the Circle and the P…
1913 · PDF PAGE 31
CHAPTER III THE ALTAR THE Altar represents the solid basis of the work, the fixed Wiir of the Magician; and the law under which he works. Within this altar everything is kept, since everything is subject to law. Except the Lamp. According to some authorities the Altar should be made of oak to re- present the stubbornness and rigidity of law; others would make it of Acacia, for Acacia is the symbol of resurrection. The Altar is a double cube, which is a rough way of symbolizing the Great Work; for the doubling of the cube, Hke the squaring of th…
1913 · PDF PAGE 129
CHAPTER IX THE PANTACLE AS the Magick Cup is the heavenly food of the Magus, so is the Magick Pantacle his earthly food. The Wand was his divine force, and the Sword his human force. The Cup is hollow to receive the influence from above. The Pantacle is flat like the fertile plains of earth. The name Pantacle implies an image of the All, 07n?ie in paruo; but this is by a magical transformation of the Pantacle. Just as we made the Sword symbolical of everything by the force of our Magick, so do we work upon the Pantacle. That which is merely a p…
1913 · PDF PAGE 23
CHAPTER II THE CIRCLE THE Circle announces the Nature of the Great Work. Though the Magician has been Umited in his choice of room, he is more or less able to choose what part of the room he will work in. He will consider convenience and possibility. His circle should not be too small and cramp his movements; it should not be so large that he has long distances to traverse. Once the circle is made and consecrated, the Magician must not leave it, or even lean outside, lest he be de- stroyed by the hostile forces that are without. He chooses a ci…
1913 · PDF PAGE 145
CHAPTER X THE LAMP IN Liber A. vel Armorum, the official instruction of the A. • .A. ' . for the preparation of the elemental weapons, it is said that each symbolic representation of the Universe is to be approved by the Superior of the Magician. To this rule the Lamp is an exception; it is said : " A Magical Lamp that shall burn without wick or oil, being fed by the Aethyr. This shall he accomplish secretly and apart, without asking the advice or approval of his Adeptus Minor." This Lamp is the light of the pure soul; it hath no need of fuel, …
1913 · PDF PAGE 39
CHAPTER IV THE SCOURGE, THE DAGGER, AND THE CHAIN THE Scourge, the Dagger, and the Chain, represent the three alchemical principles of Sulphur, Mercury, and Salt. 'I'hese are not the substances which we now call by these names; they represent " principles," whose operations chemists have found it more convenient to explain in other ways. But Sulphur represents the energy of things, Mercury their fluidity, Salt their fixity. They are analogous to Fire, Air and Water; but they mean rather more, for they represent something deeper and subtler, and…
1913 · PDF PAGE 161
CHAPTER XIII THE BOOK THE Book of Spells or of Conjurations is the Record of every thought, word, and deed of the Magician; for everything that he has willed is willed to a purpose. It is the same as if he had taken an oath to perform some achievement. Now this Book must be a holy Book, not a scribbling-book in which you jot down every piece of rubbish that comes into your head. It is written, Liber VII, v, 23: "Every breath, every word, every thought, every deed is an act of love with Thee. Be this devotion a potent spell to exorcise the demon…
1913 · PDF PAGE 177
CHAPTER XVI THK MAGICK KIRE; Willi CONSIDERATIONS OF THK THURIBLE, THE CHARCOAL, AND THE INCENSE INTO the Magick Fire all things are cast. It symbolizes the final burning up of all things in Shivadarshana. It is the absolute destruction alike of the Magician and the Universe. 'I'hc Thurible stands upon a small altar. "My'altar is of open brass- work; burn thereon in silver or gold." This altar stands in the East, as if to symbolize the identity of Hope and Annihilation. This brass con- tains the metals of Jupiter and ^'cnus fused in a homogeneo…
1913 · PDF PAGE 51
CHAPTER VI THE WAND THE Magical Will is in its essence twofold, for it presupposes a beginning and an end; to will to be a thing is to admit that you are not that thing. Hence to will anything but the supreme thing, is to wander still further from it— any will but that to give up the self to the Beloved is Black Magick —yet this surrender is so simple an act that to our complex minds it is the most difficult of all acts; and hence training is necessary. Further, the Self surrendered must not be less than the All-Self; one must not come before t…
1913 · PDF PAGE 157
CHAPTER XII THE ROBE THE Robe of the Magician may be varied according to his grade and the nature of his working. There are two principal Robes, the white and the black; of these the black is more important than the white, for the white has no hood. These Robes may be varied by the addition of various symbols, but in any case the shape of the Robe is a Tau. The general symbolism which we have adopted leads us, however, to prefer the description of a Robe which few dare wear. This Robe is of a rich silk of deep pure blue, the blue of the night s…
1913 · PDF PAGE 45
CHAPTER V THE HOLY OIL THE Holy Oil is the Aspiration of the Magician; it is that which consecrates him to the performance of the Great Work; and such is its efficacy that it also consecrates all the furniture of the Temple and the instruments thereof. It is also the grace or chrism ; for this aspiration is not ambition ; it is a quality bestowed from above. For this reason the Magician will anoint first the top of his head before proceeding to consecrate the lower centres in their turn. This oil is of a pure golden colour; and when placed upon…
1913 · PDF PAGE 151
CHAPTER XI THE CROWN THE Crown of the Magician represents the Attainment of his Work. It is a band of pure gold, on the front of which stand three pentagrams, and on the back a hexagram. The central pentagram contains a diamond or a great opal; the other three symbols contain the Tau. Around this Crown is twined the golden Uraeus serpent, with erect head and expanded hood. Under the Crown is a crimson cap of maintenance, which falls to the shoulders. Instead of this, the Ateph Crown of Thoth is sometimes worn; for Thoth is the God of Truth, of …
1913 · PDF PAGE 167
CHAPTER XIV THE BELL THE Magical Bell is best attached to the chain. In some systems of Magick a number of bells have been worn, sewn upon the hem of the robe with the idea of symbolizing that every movement of the Magician should make music. But the Bell of which we shall speak is a more important implement. This Bell summons and alarms; and it is also the Bell which sounds at the elevation of the Host. It is thus also the ''Astral Bell" of the Magician.^ The Bell of which we speak is a disk of some two inches in diameter, very slightly bent i…
1913 · PDF PAGE 93
…order to attain All-Truth. For instance: Old Mother Hubbard Went to her cupboard To get her poor dog a bone ; When she got there, ' This chapter was dictated in answer to a casual remark by Soror Virakam. Fra. P. said jokingly that everything contained the Truth, if you knew how to find it; and, being challenged, proceeded to make good. It is here inserted, not for any value that it may have, but to test the reader. If it is thought to be a joke, the reader is one useless kind of fool ; if it is thought that Fra. P. believes that the makers of …
1913 · PDF PAGE 82
…e hand of OUR LADY BABALON. There are also the Lotuses in the human body, according to the Hindu system of Physiology referred to in the chapter on Dharana.^ 1 These Lotuses are all situated in the spinal column, which has three channels, Sushumna in the middle, Ida and Pingala on either side {cf. the Tree of Life). The central channel is compressed at the base by Kundalini, the magical power, a sleeping serpent. Awake her: she darts up the spine, and the Prana flows through the Sushumna. See "Raja- Yoga" for more details.
1913 · PDF PAGE 79
…o mar%'ellous an experience, even for one who has pushed astral visions to a very high jx)int, that he may mistake them for the End. See chapter on Dhyana. The Hebrew letters corresponding to these prmciples are Ciimel, Kesh, and Shin, and the word formed by them means "a tlower " and also "expelled," "cast forth."