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Page 1 of 11913 · 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
…s 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 the circle, was one of the great problems of antiquity. The surface of this Altar is composed of ten squares. The top is Kether, and the ' It represents the extension of Will. Will is the Dyad (see section on the Wand) ; 2x2 = 4. So the altar is foursquare, a…
1913 · PDF PAGE 95
… spring such words as Bo-tree, Bodhisattva, and Buddha. And " Peep " is Apep, the serpent Apophis. This poem therefore contains the same symbol as that in the Egyptian and Hebrew Bibles. The snake is the serpent of initiation, as the Lamb is the Saviour. This ancient one, the Wisdom of Eternity, sits in its old anguish awaiting the Redeemer. And this holy verse triumphantly assures us that there is no need for anxiety. The Saviours will come one after the other, at their own good pleasure, and as they may be needed, and drag their tails, that i…
1913 · PDF PAGE 187
…ma. The Great Fertile Mother Nature. Ama. The Great Mother not yet fertile. A?noufi. The God Amen = Zeus = Jupiter, etc., etc. Ankh. The Symbol of " Life." A form of the Rosy Cross. 6*6'^Equinox III. Apophis. The Serpent-God who slew Osiris. See Equinox III. Babalon., Our Lady. 5tv Equinox V, The Vision and the \'oice, 14th Aethyr. Babe of the Abyss. See Equinox VIII, Temple of Solomon. Bhagavadij^ita. Sacred Hymn of India, translated by Sir Edwin Arnold in the "Song Celestial." Bi7iah. Understanding, the 3rd "emanation"' of the Absolute. Cadit…
1913 · PDF PAGE 130
…ir almost entirely a mixture of elements; earth contains all both in admixture and in combination. So must it be with this Pantacle, the symbol of earth. And as this Pantacle is made of pure wax, do not forget that "every- thing that lives is holy." All phenomena are sacraments. Every fact, and even every falsehood, must enter into the Pantacle; it is the great storehouse from which the Magician draws. " In the brown cakes of corn we shall taste the food of the world and be strong." ^ ^ We have avoided dealing with the Pantacle as the Paten of …
1913 · PDF PAGE 153
… force itself, the manifesting side of the Godhead of the Magician, whose unmani- fested side is peace and silence, of which there is no symbol. In the Hindu system the Great Work is represented by saying that this serpent, which is normally coiled at the base of the spine, rises with her hood over the head of the Yogi, there to unite with the Lord of all. The serpent is also he who poisons. It is that force which destroys the manifested Universe. This is also the emerald snake which encircles the Universe. This matter must be studied in Liber …
1913 · PDF PAGE 101
…is of course equivalent to " my magick circle." Note that Beth, the letter of Mercury and " The Magus," means "a house." The beef is the symbol of the Bull, Apis the Redeemer. This is therefore that which is written: " Oh my God, disguise thy glory I Come as a thief, and let us steal away the sacraments ! " In the following verse we find that Taffy is " in bed," owing to the operation of the sacrament. The great task of the Alchemist has been accomplished; the mercury is fixed. One can then take the Holy Dagger, and separate the Caput Mortuum f…
1913 · PDF PAGE 102
…it in the oven for baby and me ! This rime is usually accompanied (even to-day in the nursery) with a ceremonial clapping of hands — the symbol of Samadhi. Compare what is said on this subject in our comment on the famous " Advent " passage in Thessalonians. The cake is of course the bread of the sacrament, and it would ill become Frater P. to comment upon the third line — though it may be
1913 · PDF PAGE 116
…e- scribed by Saint Paul, this union of the ego and the non-ego, subject and object, this chymical marriage, and thus identical with the symbol- ism of the Rosy Cross, under a slightly different aspect. And since marriage can only take place between one and one, it is evident that no idea can thus be united, unless it is simple. Hence every idea must be analysed by the Sword. Hence, too, there must only be a single thought in the mind of the person meditating. One may now go on to consider the use of the Sword in purifying emotions into percept…
1913 · PDF PAGE 88
…nd; and as it is bound to the individual, only leads to greater trouble in the end. This Divine Love, on the contrary, is attached to no symbol. It abhors Hmitation, either in its intensity or its scope. And this is the dew of the stars of which it is spoken in the Holy Books, for NUIT the Lady of the Stars is called "the Continuous One of Heaven," and it is that Dew which bathes the body of the Adept " in a sweet-smelling perfume of sweat."' ^ In this cup, therefore, though all things are placed, by virtue of this ^ See Liber Legis. Equinox VI…
1913 · PDF PAGE 100
… school of Buddhism is much esteemed even to-day by the more cultured and devoted followers of that school. The pumpkin is of course the symbol of resurrection, as is familiar to all students of the story of Jonah and the gourd. Peter is therefore the Arahat who has put an end to his series of resurrections. That he is called Peter is a reference to the symbolizing of Arahats as stones in the great wall of the guardians of mankind. His wife is of course (by the usual symboHsm) his body, which he could not keep until he put her in a peanut shell…
1913 · PDF PAGE 112
… where it listeth." The normal man is less than a straw. ^ ' But as it is said, Shnilia similibus curanttir, we find this Ruach also the symbol of the Spirit. RVCh ALHIM, the Spirit of God, is 300, the number of the holy letter Shin. As this is the breath, which by its nature is double, the two edges of the
1913 · PDF PAGE 133
…ot wise to simplify too far, since the ultimate hieroglyphic must be an infinite. The ultimate resolution not having been performed, its symbol must not be portrayed.
1913 · PDF PAGE 152
140 one, from whom the Hebrews borrowed their holy word "Amen." This Crown consists simply of the plumes of truth. But into the symbolism of these it is not necessary to go, for all this and more is in the Crown first described. The crimson cap implies concealment, and is also symbolical of the flood of glory that pours upon the Magician from above. It is of velvet for the softness of that divine kiss, and crimson for that it is the very blood of God which is its life. The band of gold is the eternal circle of perfection. The three pentagrams s…
1913 · PDF PAGE 109
…quares, an unfolded cube, which cube is this same philosophical stone. Meditation will reveal many mysteries which are concealed in this symbol. The Sword or Dagger is attributed to air, all-wandering, all-pene- trating, but unstable; not a phenomenon subtle like fire, not a chemical combination like water, but a mixture of gases.' The Sword, necessary as it is to the Beginner, is but a crude weapon. ' The Oxygen in the air would be too fierce for life ; it must be largely diluted with the inert nitrogen. The rational mind supports life, but ab…
1913 · PDF PAGE 82
…flower. It is the lotus w^hich opens to the sun, and which collects the dew. This Lotus is in the hand of Isis the great Mother. It is a symbol similar to the Cup in the 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 …
1913 · PDF PAGE 24
…The Tau and the circle together make one form of the Rosy Cross, the uniting of subject and object which is the Great Work, and which is symbolized sometimes as this cross and circle, sometimes as the Lingam-Yoni, sometimes as the Ankh or Crux Ansata, sometimes by the Spire and Nave of a church or temple, and sometimes as a marriage feast, mystic marriage, spiritual marriage, "chymical nuptials," and in a hundred other ways. Whatever the form chosen, it is the symbol of the Great Work. This place of his working therefore declares the nature and…
1913 · PDF PAGE 172
i6o which we wish to evoke is nothing partial, but whole, we shall have but a single symbol to combine the two. The Great Work will then form the subject of the design.^ In this Lamen the Magician must place the secret keys of his power. The Pentacle is merely the material to be worked upon, gathered to- gether and harmonized but not yet in operation, the parts of the engine arranged for use, or even put together, but not yet set in motion. In the Lamen these forces are already at work; even accomplishment is prefigured. In the system of Abrame…
1913 · PDF PAGE 79
67 So that which is round is to him a symbol of the influence from the higher. This circle symbolizes the Infinite, as every cross or Tau repre- sents the Finite. That which is four scjuarc shows the Finite fixed into itself; for this reason the altar is foursquare. It is the solid basis from which all the operation proceeds. One form ^ of magical cup has a sphere beneath the bowl, and is supported upon a conical base. This cup (crescent, sphere, cone) represents the three principles of the Moon, the Sun, and Fire, the three principles which, a…