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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 61
…sultant of the sum-total of the forces which have acted upon him from eternity, so that his own Will is only the echo of the Will of the Universe, yet that consciousness of " free-will " is valu- able; and if he really understands it as being the partial and individual expression of that internal motion in a Universe whose sum is rest, by so much will he feel that harmony, that totality. And though the hap- piness which he experiences may be criticised as only one scale of a balance in whose other scale is an equal misery, there are those who h…
1913 · PDF PAGE 189
…IJut these have many symbols, e.g., sometimes Yoni is o or 3 and Lingam 2. Lingani- Voni. A form of the Rosy Cross. Macrocosm. The great Universe, of which man is an exact image. Magus. A magician. Technically, also, a Master of grade 9" — 2'\ See Equinox VII, " Liber I," and elsewhere. Mahalingajii. See Lingam. Maha means great. Maha SattipattJiana. A mode of meditation. See "Science and Buddhism,' Crowley, Coll. Works, Vol. II, for a full account. Malka/i. A young girl. The "bride." The unredeemed soul. Malkuth. "The kingdom," loth "emanation…
1913 · PDF PAGE 153
…ead 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 LXV, where this is discussed incomparably. In the hood of this serpent are the six jewels, three on each side. Ruby, Emerald, and Sapphire, the three holy elements made perfect, on both sides in equilibrium.
1913 · PDF PAGE 94
…me, B, A, and D, are the three paths which join the three supernals. To what cupboard did she go? Even to the most secret caverns of the Universe. And who is this dog? Is it not the name of God spelt Qabal- istically backwards? And what is this bone? This bone is the Wand, the holy Lingam ! The complete interpretation of the rune is now open. This rime is the legend of the murder of Osiris by Typhon. The limbs of Osiris were scattered in the Nile. Isis sought them in every corner of the Universe, and she found all except his sacred lingam, whic…
1913 · PDF PAGE 85
…all begin is so terrible, so pitiful. In this world there is so much cruelty, so much waste, so much stupidity. The contemplation of the Universe must be at first almost pure anguish. It is this fact which is responsible for most of the speculations of philosophy. Mediaeval philosophers went hopelessly astray because their theology necessitated the reference of all things to the standard of men's welfare. They even became stupid: Bernardin de St. Pierre (was it not?) said that the goodness of God was such that wherever men had built a great cit…
1913 · PDF PAGE 137
…y. An eye for an eye is a sort of savage justice, and the idea of justice in our human sense is quite foreign to the constitution of the Universe. Karma is the Law of Cause and Effect. There is no propor- tion in its operations. Once an accident occurs it is impossible to say what may happen ; and the Universe is a stupendous accident. We go out to tea a thousand times without mishap, and the thousand- and-first time we meet some one who changes radically the course of our lives for ever. There is a sort of sense in which every impression that …
1913 · PDF PAGE 64
…e ! There is no knowledge and no power which is useless to the Magician. One might almost say there is no scrap of material in the whole Universe with which he can dispense. His ultimate enemy is the great Magician, the Magician who created the whole illusion of the Universe; and to meet him in battle, so that nothing is left either of him or of yourself, you must be exactly equal to him. At the same time let the Magician never forget that every brick must tend to the summit of the pyramid — the sides must be perfectly smooth; there must be no …
1913 · PDF PAGE 141
129 Now though this Pantacle is composed only of shams, some shams somehow seem to be more false than others. The whole Universe is an illusion, but it is an illusion difficult to get rid of. It is true compared with most things. But ninety-nine out of every hundred impressions are false even in relation to the things on their own plane. Such distinctions must be graven deeply upon the surface of the Pantacle by the Holy Dagger. There is only one other of the elemental Instruments to be considered, namely the Lamp.
1913 · PDF PAGE 145
…ficial 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, it is the Burning Bush inconsumable that Moses saw…
1913 · PDF PAGE 177
…re 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 homogeneous alloy. This is then symbolical of divine love, and it is " open brass work ' because this love is not limited in direction or e…
1913 · PDF PAGE 14
…na. It would almost seem as if one could not suc- cessfully practice meditation until the will had become so strong that no force in the Universe could either bend or break it. Before con- centrating the lower principle, the mind, one must con- centrate the higher principle, the Will. Failure to understand this has destroyed the value of all attempts to teach "Yoga," " Menti- culture," " New Thought," and the like. There are methods of training the will, by which it is easy to check one's progress. Every one knows the force of habit. Every one …
1913 · PDF PAGE 168
…mn, and majestic. Without even the minutest jar, its single notes tinkle fainter and fainter into silence. At the sound of this Bell the Universe ceases for an indivisible moment of time, and attends to the Will of the Magician. Let him not interrupt the sound of this Bell. Let this be that which is written. Liber VII, v, 31 : "There is a solemnity of the silence. There is no more voice at all." As the Magical Book was the record of the past, so is the Magick Bell the prophecy of the future. The manifested shall repeat itself again and again, a…
1913 · PDF PAGE 88
… water of the Cup will for the time being bring all to perfection. This dew is called Love. Even as in the case of human love, the whole Universe appears perfect to the man who is under its control, so is it, and much more, with the Divine Love of which it is now spoken. For human love is an excitement, and not a stilling, of the mind; 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 …
1913 · PDF PAGE 74
…eation of life is the most sacred of tasks. It does not matter very much to the creator what it is that he creates; there is room in the universe for both the spider and the fly. It is from the rubbish-heap of Choronzon that one selects the material for a god ! This is the ultimate analysis of the Mystery of Redemption, and is possibly the real reason of the existence (if existence it can be called) of form, or, if you like, of the Ego. It is astonishing that this typical cry— " I am I ''— is the cry of that which above all is not I. It was tha…
1913 · PDF PAGE 179
…the darkness this smoke seems to take strange shapes, and we may hear the crying of beasts. The thicker the smoke, the darker grows tlie Universe. Wc gasp and tremble, beholding what foul and unsubstantial things we have evoked! Yet we cannot do without the Incense! Unless our aspiration took form it could not influence form. This also is the niyster)- of in- carnation. This Incense is based upon Gum Olibanum, the sacrifice of the human will of the heart. This olibanum has been mixed with half its weight of storax, the earthly desires, dark, sw…
1913 · PDF PAGE 180
…whom the seer may converse, and under whose guidance he may travel about. This " plane " being quite as large and varied as the material Universe, one cannot describe it effectively; we must refer the reader to Liber O and to Equinox II, pages 295 to 334. This " Astral Plane " has been described by Homer in the Odyssey. Here are Polyphemus and the Laestrygons, here Calypso and the Sirens. Here, too, are those things which many have imagined to be the " spirits " of the dead. If the student once take any of these things for truth, he must worshi…
1913 · PDF PAGE 131
…r the Magician. He cannot possibly have all experience, and though he may console himself philo- sophically with the reflection that the Universe is conterminous with such experience as he has, he will find it grow at such a pace during the'early years of his life that he may almost be tempted to believe in the possibility of experiences beyond his own, and from a practical standpoint he will seem to be confronted with so many avenues of knowledge that he will be bewildered which to choose.
1913 · PDF PAGE 46
…e Great Mother, who is both the understanding of the Magician and that sorrow and compassion which results from the contemplation of the Universe. The Cinnamon represents Tiphereth, the Sun — the Son, in whom Glory and Suffering are identical. The Galangal represents both Kether and Malkuth, the First and the Last, the One and the Many, since in this Oil they are One. These oils taken together represent therefore the whole Tree of Life. The ten Sephiroth are blended into the perfect gold. This Oil cannot be prepared from crude myrrh, cinnamon, …
1913 · PDF PAGE 15
…all explain to what each really corresponds, and discuss the construction and the use of everything. The Magician works in a Temple; the Universe, which is (be it remembered!) conterminous with himself.' In this temple a Circle is drawn upon the floor for the limitation of his working. This circle is ^ The holders of those keys have always kept very quiet about it. This has been especially necessary in Europe, because of the dominance of persecuting churches. •^By "yourself" you mean the contents of your consciousness. All without does not exis…