Metromagick

Division

2009-11-30T22:38:00.004Z

In this division I find unity. The common bond twitching in its flesh for release into the spurious infinity of creative space begs on its knees for the umbilicus to be cut. So we are raised and fallen by what we are and what we do. In our deepest yearnings for something more we can become cannibals of our own inbred societies. I have become wanting of the light recently and I wonder what if I could do some good with this thing I possess inside me, this heart, this mind, this soul. Could I love and be loved? I cannot sacrifice my essence yet I feel a sense of remorse for some of my venom. I cannot believe the forgiveness of others. I cannot comprehend why they tolerate me. In this division I am not alone, not as alone as I thought. Yet the chasm yawns before me as I hurtle bodies into the unforgiving deep of what was once my imagination. Lost to the feeling of completion I am nothing unless I am being ripped apart. I cannot play the healer, always the torn. My eternal role. My fate. I pray the promise is true and my work is only just beginning and while the word 'Therion' sighs like the wind in my ears I hope my dreams do not die.

2009-07-05T21:22:00.002Z

I have been trying to turn myself inside out in order to reveal my translucent nudity. I attempt to rinse off my tattoos, primitive tribal markings of an era passed. I shave every hair from my body and frown at my scars which are still there. And I find this on Facebook:

YOU ARE NOT ENOUGH NAKED

You are not enough naked when you are naked

the ripple of your skin is a royal shawl
your untied mane a burnished veil
your gait a pondered gesture
your mellow words witch-craft
your soul hides amidst curved brows
like an alpine deer in friendly bushes

You are not enough naked when you are naked

my keen eye spots a thousand denials,
endless pauses, swayings of pleasure,
my ear hearkens worn out chatterings
of yes and no

I have no choice O Loved One
I shall lay bare even your nudity

English translation from my poem: Non sei abbastanza nuda, Opus V, @copyright 2008-9 Mirco Antonio Mannucci Oxymora, work in progress.

The Gnostic God

2009-03-21T20:17:00.003Z

Its been my longheld opinion that Jesus was indeed God's personal God. When we experience the Abyss we are guided by a personal deity whom we feel led to chose via our faith and destiny. If you look at the Gnostic texts and trace the messiah from the pre-existence of the Word through his life on earth to the Revelation then only one conclusion can be drawn. Jesus was reborn into the womb of his own creation as God. He was remanifest as himself, through himself and for himself in a sense of experience and gratification. If indeed we as humans cannot feel the divine force through our fingers then God cannot feel the soil beneath his feet. It is arrogant to believe that we as His creation are doing this for him, far from it. We are a mere by-product of something much bigger. With our eternal questioning and wondering it would appear we are His agitators lurking within His Abyss. As the soul of His communication God could work Himself into existence as the Christ. Again I find it hard to believe by shutting our eyes God will no longer exist. More so the whole crux relies on the pauses in our breathing, that's where He lies. By that logic God vanishes in our blinking and is in a constant state of existence and non-existence. Therfore the Word becomes manifest as the Godform which inevitably leads to its antithesis as represented by the archetype of the Anti-Christ. The Only Anti-Christ I can accept is Christ Himself. Not a seperate duality but a singular event. God realised as his own creation constant through all worlds and events. Jesus was God made man. The only man-god to supercede legend into mainstream consciousness. So if Jesus was God made man then God must be Jesus (man) made God.

Secret

2009-03-16T22:01:00.004Z

We are designed to fit inside each other, you and I.
We are designed to feel the everything.
The eternal belonging to something.
Evading nothing.
Always.
You.
I.
.

Pain

2009-02-26T19:25:00.010Z

But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. -Gibran

I have spent the last 10 years in an empty room staring at the floor, walls, ceiling...myself. I have been wholly obsessed by my solitude, proud I can live with myself, within myself...without myself.

Without you.

Force without motion. Powerlessness and impotence met by paralysing obsession and a dangerously inhuman approach to death. I even planned my funeral in that room.

Without you.

I became psychotic, feeling for the walls you made to surround me to keep me safe from myself. I became an insane dribbling fool, alone in that room.

Without you.

I ate and became hungry, I drank and remained thirsty, I experienced dreamless sleeps. Nothing came to me and everything slipped away. Speech escaped me and unable to communicate I learnt to live.

Without you.

Slowly, recently something changed. I felt I was somehow previously wrong in my thinking. In my darkest hour I realised my mistake. I then became enlightened, empowered by one single, powerful, concentrated thought. I was no longer thinking about living.

With you.

Image: Pain by Solthra

Egyptian Hymn

2009-02-23T20:03:00.004Z

Drawn out from within and expelled with hatred
Fetid breath chokes and binds my lungs.
She waits, Blind Isis as I crawl from the sand,
I feel ancient, torn from someone elses memory not my own.
The fire laden rocks breathe out their heat and in this fire I die.
I walk twist-footed on glass and brick, I remember the pain.
Behold the cold walls running wet stealing the light from Osiris
And follow me to the hollow hell.
Cold walls take from this place one thing, the only thing. Life.
And time breathes her eternal sighs as every horror lies beneath the sand.
But none so terrible as that old dragon, Leviathan.
Beaten by the reed and the strap, Father Osiris pounds the flesh.
Making a man that will walk the length of the desert sands
And still fail to find himself. Slain to Set and drowned by the Nile,
What knife cuts his mark and leaves me looking for the scars I left?
That stale water runs down this neck,
The disgust for Isis And the longing to fall back into the Mind of Egypt
Nevertheless, the flesh fails. What holds the Mind but the Life it carries?
Hail Osiris and let him be damned!
Hail Leviathan! Hail Leviathan!
The Life of Egypt! The Blood of the Nile!

Strip me! Naked I am, nothing pressed to me but sand.
Grain on grain scratched, removed and scarred.
Now worn and used by the desert, Horus whispers with promise.
I am Abel and he Cain! Stack the hierarchies and fell the archetypes!
O my brother Set, where are my Adam and Eve?
Leviathan coils around the Nile. My Tree, my Tet bears no fruit like her.
What is the fruit of the Nile? This backbone. The land, the people!
Egypt! Beloved Egypt! Seeded, fertile and proud.
Overripe and robust, she stores in her belly all potential for mankind.
Eat her fragrant pomegranates and spit the seeds back to Geb!
Now the apple seems so bland in comparison to the beauty of truth.
Hail Ma'at! Hail Ma'at! And enter my fathers belly.
Bornless! This Abyss eternal. Bornless! This barren world.
Her seasons starve and flood. Her blood flushing the land.
Let Leviathan breed new life and lay my soul on those scales.

Hastur

2009-02-22T21:51:00.012Z

I stand with my back to something, quite relaxed and hands held loosely behind me. With these hands I feel a wall, some stone as if a foundation with verticals aligned toward the sky. He's back whispers Hastur. He's back. I feel for the first time his feminine breath airing my neck as he hangs nearby. My counsellor, my god when I was bound by illusion and I thought my god was a god, male and virile. A fantasy creation of a wonder less realm. In this I wandered for for many years, alone but for him and my ego.

This god, Hastur is powerful yet gentle. I am afraid of his fierce energies, the current that draws the very life from within me yet I am reassured that this is a very real god that walks with me through the darkness of my own internment. I am lost without him and I love him like no other bound by an eternal bond it is to him and his stars I will return, one day.

He, he promised me, he told me to wait and I with no patience stamped my foot and refused to pay any heed to him so he danced before me and spun around until even he became a simple vortex, an essence of what he was and what I would become if I did not wait. So I waited and he came.

One does not find the personal deity in books or dreams, in a tattoo parlour or famous tome. He is found within the abyssian experience, he comes from within and he is created by the energies which propel the magickian into the abyss. That is why he is so intrinsically linked to the whole experience, he shows the path to follow. Mine was Cthonic and that surprised me because I had spent so many years in the Hebrew, Latin and even Greek schools I felt a little annoyed I had no choice but the selection came from deeper within my unconscious self, that dormancy of gnosis which never fails to resurrect at the crucial moment.

When I began to prepare for the abyss, at that same moment in time an artist was creating this image of Hastur.

Image: The Haunter of the Dark: Hastur 1999 JOHN COULTHART

The Book Of Lies

2008-08-07T17:19:00.002Z

I got the link for Wordle from John L Crow and scrambled a piece from The Book Of Lies by Aleister Crowley. Click the pic to make it bigger.

Only Man

2008-05-10T23:44:00.002Z

Only man can fall from God
Only man.

No animal, no beast nor creeping thing
no cobra nor hyena nor scorpion nor hideous white ant
can slip entirely through the fingers of the hands of god
into the abyss of self-knowledge,
knowledge of the self-apart-from-god.

For the knowledge of the self-apart-from-God
is an abyss down which the soul can slip
writhing and twisting in all the revolutions
of the unfinished plunge
of self-awareness, now apart from God, falling
fathomless, fathomless, self-consciousness wriggling
writhing deeper and deeper in all the minutiae of self-knowledge, downwards, exhaustive,
yet never, never coming to the bottom, for there is no
bottom;
zigzagging down like the fizzle from a finished rocket
the frizzling, falling fire that cannot go out, dropping
wearily,
neither can it reach the depth
for the depth is bottomless,
so it wriggles its way even further down, further down
at last in sheer horror of not being able to leave off
knowing itself, knowing itself apart from God, falling.

Poem: "Only Man" D. H. Lawrence
Image: I Dream a Scream of Agony by Jomina

Dr. John Dee, the Necronomicon & the Cleansing of the World

2008-05-06T23:12:00.003Z

The Necronomicon is the rarest and most terrible of the magical grimoires. According to New England horror writer Howard Philip Lovecraft, the Necronomicon was

"Composed by Abdul Al-Hazred, a mad poet of Sanaa, in Yemen, who is said to have flourished during the period of the Ommiade caliphs, circa 700 A.D. He visited the ruins of Babylon and the subterranean secrets of Memphis and spent ten years alone in the great southern desert of Arabia - the Roba al Khaliyeh, or "Empty Space" of the ancients and "Dahma" or "Crimson" desert of the modern Arabs, which is held to be inhabited by protective evil spirits and monsters of death. Of this desert many strange and unbelievable marvels are told by those who pretend to have penetrated it. In his last years, Al-Hazred dwelt in Damascus, where the Necronomicon (Al Azif) was written, and of his final death or disappearance (738 A.D.) many terrible and conflicting things are told." (Lovecraft)

In his history of the Necronomicon, Lovecraft adds that it was translated into English by Dr. John Dee. This manuscript was never published and survives only in rare and often incomplete copies. The fabulous Necronomicon (in freehand copies of the vernacular Dee translation) features in a number of Lovecraft’s better tales, such as The Dunwich Horror.

Despite many attempts to show that the Necronomicon is nothing more than Lovecraft’s literary invention, a group of prominent authors and occultists claimed to provide confirmation of part of Lovecraft’s claim. In 1978 a book researched by David Langford and Robert Turner claimed that Alhazred’s Necronomicon had been preserved by Alkindi in his treatise The Book of the Essence of the Soul. In his introduction to Turner and Langford’s book, Colin Wilson, the occult writer and author of the classic study of intellectual alienation The Outsider, details Lovecraft’s family history. He notes that Dr. Stanislaus Hinterstoisser, president of the Salzburg Institute for the Study of Magic and Occult Phenomena, claimed that Lovecraft's father was an Egyptian Freemason and that Lovecraft’s father had had access to the Necronomicon. (In point of fact, Lovecraft’s father was a travelling salesman who died a siphilitic while Lovecraft was young, and is almost certainly being confused with Lovecraft’s bibliophile maternal grandfather). Co-author Robert Turner, after extensive work on John Dee’s manuscripts held in the Bristish Museum, showed that Alkindi’s lost work had been preserved by John Dee in an enciphered form called the Liber Logaeth.

This is not an implausible suggestion. Dee was a passionate collector of books, and owned one of the largest libraries in Europe. He was familiar with ciphers and travelled widely on the continent of Europe, to the extent that at least one biographer has suggested he was a 16th. century James Bond acting on behalf of Queen Elizabeth I and her ministers. It is known that one of the foremost works on occultism and encipherment of the period, the Steganographia of the Abbot Trithemius, was copied by Dee in longhand over a period of days in an intense burst of activity. An engraved portrait of Edward Kelly, Dee’s partner and scryer in the angelic revelations, is shown holding a open volume with the name "Trithemius" on the page. The Liber Logaeth does exist (Sloane 3189????), and is a combination of an incomprehensible angelic language (which Kelly understood only while in trance) and a series of letters composed into a series of 49 by 49 squares.

As if this was not enough, another mysterious cipher manuscript has also been connected with Dee, the baffling Voynich manuscript. Despite many attempts to decipher this manuscript, it still remains unbroken. This enigmatic text has also been linked with Lovecraft’s Necronomicon. On the basis of its diagrams all we know is that it might be a herbal. It could be a cipher manuscript that Dee records as having purchased in Prague. All else is conjecture.

The claim that Lovecraft’s relatives were Masonic initiates is not substantiated by what we know of his family. An alternative explanation (promoted by the author in an extended moment of wickedness), that Lovecraft’s wife Sonia Greene associated with the notorious occultist and poet Aleister Crowley during his residence in New York in 1918 is completely plausible and consistent with both their characters, but entirely untrue.

One of the participants in the Langford-Turner spoof (Colin Wilson) has admitted in print that it is a spoof. It is a good spoof however. The best spoofs work because they are founded on truth, and the untruths are so deeply embedded one needs be an expert to winkle them out. It was a technique H. P. Lovecraft understood well, and he used it extensively to add versimilitude to his fiction. Dr. John Dee is a pivotal figure in renaissance theurgical magic, and the system he developed not only survives to this day, it is one of the most active areas of modern magic. Using Dee as a link in the history of the Necronomicon was an inspired move by Lovecraft.

There is a second connection between Dee and Lovecraft's mythos, and it is much more subtle - and in some ways more bizarre - than any spoof. This second link between Dee and the Necronomicon has grown out of a 20th. century, quasi-gnostic myth surrounding the entity Chrononzon (using Aleister Crowley’s spelling). Choronzon is a demonic entity that occurs in the transcript of a lost book that John Dee received through the mediumship of a scryer called Edward Kelley, from non-human entities who claimed to be angels. Fragments from this book, The Book of Enoch, are scattered throughout his angelic conversations and recorded in Dee's diaries of the angelic communications.

Choronzon is mentioned only once in John Dee’s diaries, during a communication from the angels concerning the expulsion of Adam from the garden of Eden:

"But Coronzon (for so is the name of that mighty devil), envying man’s felicity, and perceiving that the substance of man’s lesser part was frail and unperfect in respect to his purer essence, began to assail man and so prevailed. By offending so, man became accursed in the sight of God, and so lost both the garden of Felicity and the judgement of his understanding, but not utterly the favour of God. But he was driven forth (as your scriptures record) unto the earth which was covered with brambles. ... But in the same instant when Adam was expelled, the Lord gave unto the world her time, and placed over her Angelic Keepers, Watchmen and Princes." (James p.1)

In this context C(h)oronzon is identical with the Serpent of Genesis, and with the rebellious angel Samael in Jewish midrashic and kabbalistic legend. We can equate Choronzon with the Devil, but I must emphasise this is not the Devil of Christian myth; this is the Devil from myths that predate Christianity. In one of the earliest kabbalistic works, The Bahir, it is Samael that rebels against God and tempts Adam through the agency of the serpent:

"[Samael] said: ‘How can we cause him to sin and be exiled from before God.’ He descended with all his host, and sought a suitable companion on Earth. He finally found the serpent, which looked like a camel, and he rode on it." (Bahir p.81)

After tempting Eve

"[God] took the three of them, and decreed upon them a sentence of nine curses and death. He then cast the wicked Samael and his group from their holy place in heaven. He cut off the feet of the serpent and cursed it more than all the other animals and beasts of the field. He also decreed that it must shed its skin every seven years. Samael was punished and made the guardian angel over the wicked Esau." (Bahir p.82)

Dee's record states (see above) that

"the Lord gave unto the world her time, and placed over her Angelic Keepers, Watchmen and Princes"

There is a confusion over the identity of the ‘Angelic Keepers’ mentioned in Dee’s record above. That the earth is watched over by angels is a very old tradition, and it is fascinating to see it surface during Dee’s angelic communications. According to Dee’s angels, the Watchmen and Watchtowers are provided

"against the usurping blasphemy, misuse and stealth of the wicked and great enemy, the Devil. To the intent that being put to the Earth, his envious will might be bridled ..." (T&FR p.170)

The story appears to be straighforward according both to Dee’s angels and traditional legend: Samael/Choronzon tempted Eve, and was banished into the world with them, and Watchers were set over the creation to maintain its bounds. However, traditional legend holds a surprise:

"Samael and his angels were banished to a dark dungeon, where they still languish, their faces haggard, their lips sealed; and are now known as the Watchers" (Graves & Patai)

This legend is recounted in a book that Dee could not have read because it was lost in Europe until it was brought back from Ethiopia by the Scots adventurer James Bruce of Kinnaird in 1773. By an astonishing coincidence this happens to be yet another Book of Enoch. Although it has been dubbed one of the most boring books ever written, anyone with an interest in Dee and Kelly’s conversations with angels should read it. Too much attention has been devoted to the magical system communicated by the angels to Dee; this occupies a relatively small part of the several hundred pages in Dee’s transcripts. The angels have a great deal to say. It is interesting to meet again many of Dee’s angels in the visions recounted in the Ethiopian Book of Enoch. It is interesting to compare their concerns.

Much of the content of the Ethiopian book is about the background to the first destruction of the world, an event brought about by the evil caused by angelic "Watchers" (Patai suggests an alternative translation "guardian angels" - that is, they are identical with Dee’s Watchmen and Overseers). Much of the content of Dee’s transcript is concerned with the final destruction of the world. This theme occurs constantly, both explicitly and through symbolism which is clearly linked to the Apocalypse or Revelation of St. John. Dee was well aware of this, and his margin notes show that he understood the references. Dee divided the world into three ages: the first age up to the Flood, a second age up to the coming of Jesus Christ, and a final age terminated by the destruction of the world. In common with many (most) Europeans of his time, he lived his life in an awareness that this end was not a conjecture - it was a matter of fact - and that it was imminent. The angels confirm several times that the "end of days" is nigh.

There are so many parallels between events leading up to the first destruction of the world (the biblical Flood) and events leading up to the final destruction (the Apocalypse) that they must be considered duals - that is, not as unconnected mythic material, but as the beginning and end of the same story reflected like mirror images at opposite ends of time. The three ages of the world are in some way connected to the three mystical and visionary works that tell the story: the Ethiopian Book of Enoch, Dee’s Book of Enoch, and the Apocalypse of St. John.

The legend of the Watchers in the Ethiopian Book of Enoch, a book neither Dee or Kelly could have read, is that the angels set to watch over the creation lusted after the daughters of men and came down to earth. Their name in Hebrew, the Nephilim, means literally "The Fallen Ones". The part-human offspring of these unions were terrible and evil "giants", and Jewish commentaries on the scriptures (midrash) make it clear that the Flood was a direct consequence of the evil caused on earth by the fall of the angels (this is not entirely clear in the Bible itself, but commentaries are very clear about the causality). In his visions, the seer of the Book of Enoch is taken by the angel Uriel to a deep abyss ...

" ... with columns of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards the height and towards the depth. And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no firmament of the heaven above, and no firmly bounded earth beneath it: there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains, and to me, when I inquired regarding them, The angel said ‘This place is the end of heaven and earth : this has become a prison for the stars and the hosts of heaven .... And Uriel said to me ‘Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits, assuming many different forms, are defiling mankind and shall lead them astry into sacrificing to demons as gods, (here they shall stand), till the day of the great judgement in which they shall be judged till they are made an end of." (Enoch)

It is estimated that the earliest parts of this work date from 200-150 BC, hundreds of years before any part of the New Testament was written. The continuity between the fall of the angels, the first destruction of the world, their imprisonment, and the final judgement and end is explicit here and in other passages:

"From the days of the slaughter and destruction and death of the giants, from the souls of whose flesh the spirits, having gone forth, shall destroy without incurring judgement - thus shall they destroy until the day of the consummation, the great judgement in which the age shall be consummated over the Watchers and the godless, yea shall be wholly consumated." (Enoch)

There is a strong probability that the seven stars "burning like great mountains" are identical with the seven evil demons of Assyrio-Babylonian sorcery:

"Destructive storms (and) evil winds are they,
An evil blast that heraldeth the baneful storm,
An evil blast, forerunner of the baneful storm,
They are mighty children, mighty sons,
Heralds of the Pestilence,
Throne-bearers of Ninkigal,
They are the flood which rushesth through the land.
Seven gods of the broad heaven,
Seven gods of the broad earth,
Seven robber gods are they.
Seven gods of might,
Seven evil gods,
Seven evil demons,
Seven evil demons of oppression,
Seven in heaven and seven on earth." (D&ESoB)

There are many incantations and exorcisms against the terrible seven:

"Spirits that minish the land,
Of giant strength,
Of giant strength and giant tread,
Demons (like) raging bulls, great ghosts,
Ghosts that break through all houses,
Demons that have no shame,
Seven are they!
Knowing no care,
They grind the land like corn;
Knowing no mercy,
They rage against mankind;
They spill their blood like rain
Devouring their flesh (and) sucking their veins,
Where the images of the gods are, there they quake (?)
In the Temple of Nabu, who fertilizeth the shoots of wheat.
They are demons full of violence,
Ceaselessly devouring blood." (D&ESoB)

The evil giant offspring of the Nephilim in Jewish legend were also noted for their vaste appetites, eating thousands of animals a day, and even human flesh (obviously a memory of large sacrificial offerings). The "seven evil sons of Ea" described on ancient clay tablets are enumerated as the South Wind, a dragon with mouth agape, a grim leopard that carries off young, a terrible serpent, a furious beast, an evil windstorm and one that cannot be identified because of damage to the clay tablet. It is possible that these seven evil sons of Ea reappear in the Apocalypse, firstly as the seven angels with seven trumpets whose sounding progressively causes terrible events to occur that mark the end of the world, and also the "seven angels with seven plagues" carrying bowls containing the wrath of God. It is highly likely that the ninth Enochian key (from Dee's angelic transcript) evokes the same terrible seven:

"A mighty garde of fire with two-edged swords flaming (which have viols of wrath for two tymes and a half: whose wings are of wormwood and of the marrow of salt), have setled their feete in the West, and are measured with their Ministers 9996. These gather up the moss of the earth as a rich man doth his threasor: cursed ar they whose iniquities they are in their eyes are milstones greater than the earth And from their mowthes rune seas of blud: Their heds are covered with diamond: and upon their heds are marble sleves. Happy is he, on whom they frown not. For why? The God of righteousness reioyceth in them. Come away and not your Viols ..." (James)

Definitely a case of "Don’t bring a bottle" - see Revelations XV for a more explicit description of what these angels can bring to a party, hence the exhortation to "Come away and not your viols" (vials).

It can be seen that one slight reference to Chronozon in Dee’s transcript of his conversations with angels hides a rich and somewhat muddled lore. That Choronzon is identical with Samael is evident. The lore concerning Samael is somewhat confusing however. He tempted Adam and was cast out of heaven to earth. He was assigned to watch over the earth, but fell (with his angels) and begat monsters, culminating in the first destruction of mankind. He is chief of the evil seven (seven imprisoned stars in Enoch, seven Assyrio-Babylonian demons, seven deadly angels) that God keeps at hand for running the more unpleasant parts of the eschatological process. He will be judged at the end of time. He will be unleashed at the end of time.

This apocalyptic theme is strongly pronounced in the work of both H.P. Lovecraft and the 20th. century magician Aleister Crowley. Crowley had a fundamentalist Christian upbringing, and incorporated many elements from the book of Revelations into his personal myth. He reinterpreted the symbols to suit himself, but there is no question that like Dee, he had a deep and scholarly knowledge of the book. It is often forgotten just how thorough Crowley’s knowledge of the Bible was - he could quote Biblical passages with the best.

The axis around which Crowley’s life turned was the communication of "The Book of the Law" in Cairo "on three successive days, April 8th., 9th., and 10th., in the year 1904". Crowley continues:

"The author called himself Aiwass, and claimed to be ‘the minister of Hoor-Paar-Kraat’; that is, a messenger from the forces ruling the earth at present ..." (Crowley, LavL)

The idea that there are forces ruling the earth is a little odd to the modern mind, but it is consistent with very old traditions that the earth is watched over by a hierarchy of powers, and can be traced back to the earliest times when the stars and planets were worshiped literally as the divine rulers of the world (the Sumerian cuniform for a god is a star symbol). That Crowley was not a million miles from this viewpoint can be seen in his own explanation of "The new Aeon": "It explains that certain vast ‘stars’ (or aggregates of experience) may be described as Gods. One of these is in charge of the destinies of this planet for periods of 2000 years". Just in case you assume Crowley was talking purely metaphorically (he was a complex man and routinely talked on several levels at once ...) one should consider that the 2000 year period mentioned by Crowley refers to the movement of the intersection of the Earth’s equatorial plane with the ecliptic (the first point in Aries) through a sign of the Zodiac, a movement caused by the Earth’s axial precession. In other words, Crowley is referring to a zodiacal sign as being "in charge" of the planet. He is referring to the onset of what is more routinely referred to as "The Age of Aquarius".

Crowley understood the Book of the Law to be the corporate mission statement of the new planetary management, delivered by the trinity of Nuit, Hadit and Ra-Hoor-Kuit with himself as mouthpiece and prophet. It has an apocalyptic flavour, firstly because it literally marks the end of one age and the beginning of a new age, and secondly because this new age has something in common with the terrible "end-time" of Revelations. Crowley’s personal identification with the Great Beast of Revelation has deep roots in his desire to usher in the destruction of the stifling world of his childhood. Crowley admits that many people will find some parts of this small book "repugnant". It is tempting to read many passages mystically, magically or metaphorically to blunt the harshness of the message. These are some extracts from the words of Hadit:

20. Beauty and strength, leaping laughter and delicious languor, force and fire are of us.

21. We have nothing with the outcast and the unfit; let them die in their misery. For they feel not. Compassion is the vice of kings: stamp down the wretched and the weak: this is the law of the strong: this is our law and the joy of the world. Think not, o king, upon that lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt not die, but live. Now let it be understood: If the body of the King dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstacy for ever.

22 I am the Snake that giveth Knowledge and Delight and bright glory, and stir the hearts of men with drunkenness. To worship me take wine and strange drugs whereof I will tell my prophet & be drunk thereof. They shall not harm ye at all. It is a lie this folly against self. The exposure of innocence is a lie. Be strong o man! lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture: fear not that any God shall deny thee for this. (Crowley, LavL)

And some extracts from the words of Ra Hoor Kuit:

11. .... Worship me with fire and blood; worship me with swords & with spears. Let the woman be girt with a sword before me: let blood flow to my name. Trample down the Heathen; be upon them o warrior, I will give you of their flesh to eat!

46. I am the warrior Lord of the Forties: the Eighties cower before me and are abased. I will bring you to victory and joy: I will be at your arms in battle & ye shall delight to slay. (Crowley, LavL)

If one is to offer an apology for this, then the best that one can do is observe that gods and goddesses tend to be made in the image of their worshippers, and the gods of the ancient world were almost incomprehensibly different from anything now regarded as acceptable in western culture. It is difficult to find a modern historian who will say anything pleasant about the Assyrians, a people who delighted in warfare, butchery, and torture. There is a shocked unanimity among Assyrian scholars; a numbness at having to translate too many commemorative inscriptions recalling their brutal successes in war, plunder, siege and sack. The words of Hadit and Ra Hoor Kuit have an unpleasant authenticity.

It is interesting to compare the general tone of The Book of the Law with the following passage from one of Lovecraft’s most influential stories, The Call of Cthulhu.

"That cult would never die until the stars came right again [precession of the Equinoxes? - CL], and the secret priests would take Cthulhu from His tomb to revive His subjects and resume His rule of earth. The time would be easy to know, for then mankind would have become as the Great Old Ones; free and wild, and beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside and all men shouting and killing and revelling in joy. Then the liberated Old Ones would teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel and enjoy themselves, and all earth would flame with a holocaust of ecstacy and freedom." (Lovecraft, CoC)

Many of Lovecraft’s stories (the so-called Cthulhu Mythos) are based on the premise that at one time in the distant past, various races of beings came to the Earth from the stars. These beings were cast out or imprisoned, but await the moment when they can return to reclaim the Earth for themselves. They are neither material or immaterial, partaking of both qualities, and in their exile they are confined not in some far away place, but in dimensions of reality adjacent to our own. They are continually seeking ways to return, and the danger of texts such as the Necronomicon is that they could tempt an unwary magician into opening the Gate between their dimension and our own.

The return of the Old Ones is apocalyptic because it effectively terminates humanity’s short dominion on this planet - it is the end of our world. There is a substantial identity between the conditions required for the return of the Old Ones (outlined in the passage above) and the general conditions mediated by Crowley’s New Aeon. It is worth adding that although Lovecraft and Crowley were contemporaries, there is no evidence that either knew of the other’s existence.

In another of those strange coincidences that give the impression that there is more going on than meets the eye, Choronzon reappears (literally) in the North African desert. The event is recorded in Crowley’s autobiography, and also in a record of his progress through the thirty Enochian Aethyrs, a book he published as The Vision and the Voice in 1911 in Volume 1, No.5 of The Equinox.

Like a subterranean river, the system of magic given to John Dee by the angels had not disappeared into obscurity. It "quit the night and sought the day" almost exactly 300 years after its original revealing (Dee’s scrying transcripts with Kelly terminated in 1587, and the Golden Dawn was instituted in 1887), becoming an integral and core part of the magical syllabus taught by the now famous Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Crowley joined the Order in 1898 and played a role in its disintegration two years later. He also published much of the Order’s magical syllabus in his periodical The Equinox.

It was from the Golden Dawn that Crowley acquired his initial knowledge of Dee’s angelic magic, but in his autobiography he says that he followed that up by visiting the Bodleian library in Oxford to study Dee’s original manuscripts, in preparation for publishing the Enochian system in The Equinox - he did in fact publish a substantial summary of Dee’s system (including much that is not found in the Golden Dawn Knowledge lectures) in 1912 in Vol. 1 No.7 of The Equinox. He says he spent "much time and research" clarifying the obscurities of the Enochian system with Frater Semper Paratus (Thomas Windram), an Adeptus Major of the Golden Dawn. In other words, we must regard Crowley as an independently motivated student of the angelic system, who continued to study and use the system for a decade after he parted company with the Golden Dawn.

Crowley invoked the angels of the first two Aethyrs while travelling and climbing in Mexico in August 1900. He did not feel ready (or able) to go further for nine more years. He says he had "no special object" in going to Algiers with his magical protogee, the poet Victor Neuburg (who is better known through his friendship with Dylan Thomas). Nevertheless, he just happened to discover (nestling in a crevice at the bottom of his rucksack in amongst the fluff and kif and biscuit crumbs) one of his magical notebooks containing the Enochian keys, and also his "great golden topaz (set in a cavalry cross of six squares, made of wood, painted vermillion) , engraved with a Greek cross of five squares charged with the Rose of forty-nine petals". Well, I find that sort of thing in my rucksack all the time. I even lost my ritual double-handed broadsword once, and had to go through all the pockets before I found it.

The invocations were carried out as they walked across the desert towards Bou Saada, usually one invocation per day, and the entire series took most of a month. As the Aethyrs progressed in difficulty Crowley began to recite a passage from the Koran 1001 times each day, prostrating himself on the ground with each repetition. During each invocation Neuburg acted as scribe, and Crowley appears to have recited the Call of the Thirty Aethyrs and then pressed the shewstone against his forehead - he mentions on several occasions the extreme pain this caused. The "vision and the voice" which were obtained in trance following the Call lasted between 1.5 and 3 hours.

Crowley assigned Dee’s thirty Aethyrs to the ten sephiroth of the Kabbalah in what is know as "lightning flash" order, beginning in Malkuth with 30 (TEX), 29 (RII) and 28 (BAG). In the system of the Golden Dawn, the magician was initiated through the sephiroth in this "lightning flash" order until the sephira Chesed was reached, at which point the Abyss was encountered, an abyss which separates the microcosm of the magician from the macrocosmic realm of the three supernal sephiroth, which represent (along with Malkuth) the manifest God. According to Crowley’s assignment of the Aethyrs, the tenth Aethyr marks the abyss, and it is this aethyr which Crowley calls "accursed". It was during the invocation of this Aethyr that the encounter with Choronzon occured.

Crowley received a warning of this encounter during the fifteenth Aethyr:

And even as the shew-stone burneth thy forehead with its intolerable flame, so he who hath known me, though but from afar, is marked out and chosen among men, and he shall never turn back or turn aside, for he hath made the link that is not to be broken, nay, not by the malice of the Four Great Princes of evil of the world, nor by Chorozon, that mighty Devil, nor by the wrath of God, nor by the affliction and feebleness of the soul.

The full "terror of the situation" became apparent to Crowley during the eleventh Aethyr; the encounter with Choronzon in the Abyss would have to be experienced. Crowley asked the Angel of the eleventh Aethyr whether anyone would be appointed warden during this encounter, and received as answer "Eloi Eloi lama sabacthani " - the words of Christ in his final despair and agony. The vision of the eleventh Aethyr continued:

"And he speaketh unto me these words:

Behold, a mighty guard against the terror of things, the fastness of the Most High, the legions of eternal vigilance; these are they that keep watch and ward day and night throughout the aeons. Set in them is all force of the Mighty One, yet there stirreth not one plume of the wings of their helmets. Behold, the foundation of the Holy City, the towers and the bastions thereof! Behold the armies of light that are set against the outermost Abyss, against the horror of emptiness, and the malice of Choronzon.

These things are spoken unto him that understandeth, that is a breastplate unto the elephants, or a corselet unto the angels, or a scale upon the towers of iron; yet is this mighty host set only for a defense, and whoso passeth beyond their lines hath no help in them.

Yet must he that understandeth go forth unto the outermost Abyss, and there must he speak with him that is set above the four-fold terror, the Princes of Evil, even with Choronzon, the mighty devil that inhabiteth the outermost Abyss. And none may speak with him, or understand him, but the servants of Babylon, that understand, and they that are without understanding, his servants. Behold! it entereth not into the heart, nor into the mind of man to conceive this matter; for the sickness of the body is death, and the sickness of the heart is despair, and the sickness of the mind is madness. But in the outermost Abyss is sickness of the aspiration, and sickness of the will, and sickness of the essence of all, and there is neither word nor thought wherein the image of its image is reflected.

And whoso passeth into the outermost Abyss, except he be of them that understand, holdeth out his hands, and boweth his neck, unto the chains of Choronzon. And as a devil he walketh about the earth, immortal, and he blasteth the flowers of the earth, and he corrupteth the fresh air, and he maketh poisonous the water; and the fire that is the friend of man, and the pledge of his aspiration, seeing that it mounteth ever upward as a pyramid, and seeing that man stole it in a hollow tube from Heaven, even that fire he turneth unto ruin, and madness, and fever, and destruction. And thou, that art an heap of dry dust in the city of the pyramids, must understand these things."

Like Dee’s Watchtowers, the walls and towers of the Holy City are fortified by the legions of the Most High against the powers of the Abyss, but they look outwards, not inwards. There is a spectacular twist in this however, and it is worth examining the transcript of the tenth Aethyr in detail for the light it throws on the true nature of Choronzon. Note in the last paragraph the poisonous, corrupting and destructive nature of Chronozon.

For the invocation of the tenth Aethyr Crowley and Neuburg retreated far into the dunes, made a triangle of evocation in the sand for the demon to manifest into, and poured the blood of three pigeons at each corner to confine it:

Now, then, the Seer (Crowley) being entered within the triangle, let him take the Victims and cut their throats, pouring the blood within the Triangle, and being most heedful that not one drop fall without the Triangle; or else Choronzon should be able to manifest in the universe.

In his commentary to the electronic edition of the Vision and the Voice, Bill Heidrick remarks "Perhaps the joke here is that the manifest universe is itself, in a sense, Choronzon." The accuracy of this remark will become apparent later when the nature of Chrononzon is exposed.

Neuburg (referred to as "the Scribe" in the transcript) took his place in the magical circle, while Crowley states that he himself abode apart, in his magical robe with its hood drawn over his face. I had always assumed that Crowley was present in the triangle of evocation during the working and provided the physical basis for the manifestation of Choronzon - that is, for a time, Crowley was Choronzon. Crowley implies otherwise, stating he was in a secret place and he neither moved or spoke. On reflection, this is Crowleyan ambiguity at its worst - I believe he means that as a Master of the Temple his essential nature was across the Abyss in the "City of the Pyramids", a very secret place indeed, a place characterised by stillness and silence. Neuburg’s record of what happened suggests that the body of Crowley, possessed by Choronzon, was very active indeed. The "vision and the voice" began:

There is no being in the outermost Abyss, but constant forms come forth from the nothingness of it. Then the Devil of the Aethyr, that mighty devil Choronzon, crieth aloud, Zazas, Zazas, Nasatanada Zasas.

I am the Master of Form, and from me all forms proceed.

I am I.

I have shut myself up from the spendthrifts, my gold is safe in my treasure-chamber, and I have made every living thing my concubine, and none shall touch them, save only I. And yet I am scorched, even while I shiver in the wind. He hateth me and tormenteth me. He would have stolen me from myself, but I shut myself up and mock at him, even while he plagueth me. From me come leprosy and pox and plague and cancer and cholera and the falling sickness. Ah! I will reach up to the knees of the Most High, and tear his phallus with my teeth, and I will bray his testicles in a mortar, and make poison thereof, to slay the sons of men.

Note firstly the demiurgic declaration of Chrononzon: "I am I". This demon is the master of form. Note also that he mutilates the body of God and turns it to poison.

Choronzon hath no form, because he is the maker of all form; and so rapidly he changeth from one to the other as he may best think fit to seduce those whom he hateth, the servants of the Most High. Thus taketh he the form of a beautiful woman, or of a wise and holy man, or of a serpent that writheth upon the earth ready to sting.

At this point Neuburg literally saw these many forms of Choronzon, even the form of a woman he loved. Sometimes Choronzon spoke with Crowley’s own voice. Much of the time the voice of Choronzon was an "insane babble".

And, because he is himself, therefore he is no self; the terror of darkness, and the blindness of night, and the deafness of the adder, and the tastelessness of stale and stagnant water, and the black fire of hatred, and the udders of the Cat of slime; not one thing, but many things. Yet, with all that, his torment is eternal. The sun burns him as he writhes naked upon the sands of hell, and the wind cuts him bitterly to the bone, a harsh dry wind, so that he is sore athirst. Give unto me, I pray thee, one drop of water from the pure springs of Paradise, that I may quench my thirst.

I feed upon the names of the Most High. I churn them in my jaws, and I void them from my fundament. I fear not the power of the Pentagram, for I am the Master of the Triangle. My name is three hundred and thirty and three, and that is thrice one. Be vigilant, therefore, for I warn thee that I am about to deceive thee. I shall say words that thou wilt take to be the cry of the Aethyr, and thou wilt write them down, thinking them to be great secrets of Magick power, and they will be only my jesting with thee.

I know the name of the Angel of thee and thy brother P. . . ., and all thy dealings with him are but a cloak for thy filthy sorceries.

(Here the Scribe averred that he knew more than the demon, and so feared him not, and ordered the demon to proceed.)

Thou canst tell me naught that I know not, for in me is all Knowledge: Knowledge is my name. Is not the head of the great Serpent arisen into Knowledge?

The great serpent referred to is Leviathon, but more particularly this refers to a Golden Dawn diagram which shows the serpent reaching from the worlds of the evil shells below the Tree of Life up to the place on the Tree called Da’ath, or Knowledge. What could Neuburg tell the Maker of Worlds what he does not already know?

Images, images, images, all without control, all without reason. The malice of Choronzon is not the malice of a being; it is the quality of malice, because he that boasteth himself "I am I", hath in truth no self, and these are they that are fallen under my power, the slaves of the Blind One that boasted himself to be the Enlightened One. For there is no centre, nay, nothing but Dispersion.

Here Choronzon (or Crowley) finally and unequivocally gives the show away. It was obvious before, but now it is spelled out for us. Anyone who has read the gnostic gospels recovered from Nag Hammadi will know this demon. The etymology of the name Samael has two derivations. The most common and traditional derivation is that it derives from the Hebrew word for poison, and means "Poison of God". The identification of Choronzon with Samael was made on the basis of his appearance in Dee’s transcript as the instrument of the Fall, and in Crowley’s vision he is the poisoner and despoiler of the world.

However, the eminent scholar of Jewish mysticism, Gershom Scholem, who made an extensive study of ancient gnostic texts, shows that the oldest and most accurate etymology for Samael is "the blind archon", and he is identical with the demonic demiurge of the Ophites, Ialdebaoth. He was also known as "the blind dragon" and identified with Leviathon. In Mandean gnostism Samael is the demon of blindness. (Scholem, OotK p.295 for extensive sources).

A gnostic text found at Nag Hammadi, The Nature (Hypostasis) of the Archons, describes the demiurgic demon creator of the world:

"Their chief is blind [because of his] power and ignorance [and his arrogance] he said, with his [power], "It is I who am God; there is none [apart from me]."

When he said this, he sinned against the [entirety]. And this speech got up to incorruptibility; then there was a voice that came forth from incorruptibility saying "You are mistaken, Samael" - which is, "god of the blind".

His thoughts became blind. And having expelled his power - that is, the blasphemy he had spoken - he pursued it down to chaos and the abyss ...

When Crowley/Chronozon mentions the "slaves of the Blind One that boasted himself to be the Enlightened One", it seems unquestionable that he is referring to the gnostic myth of Samael. Another gnostic text from the Nag Hammadi corpus , "The Secret Book (Apocryphon) of John" states:

"Now the archon who is weak has three names. The first name is Yaltabaoth, the second is Saklas, and the third is Samael. And he is impious in his arrogance". (TNHG)

Choronzon is the master and the maker of form who has no face because he has all faces ( see above). Another text, quoted by Kurt Rudolph, describes Ialdebaoth as follows:

"But Jaldabaoth, Saklas, the many formed, so that he can show himself with any face, gave to them (the planets) of the fire which belongs to him; but he did not give them of the pure light of the power he had drawn from his mother. For the reason that he ruled over them, because of the glory which was in him from the power [of the light] of his mother. For this reason he himself called "God" in that he resisted the nature from which he had come into being. And he bound seven powers with the principalities."

The mother who brings forth the "abortion" Ialdebaoth is the subject of Crowley’s vision of the next (and ninth) Aethyr - he calls her "the Virgin of Eternity", otherwise known in Kabbalah as the sephira Binah.

It is significant that the words Crowley/Choronzon uses are not vague stabs in the general direction of gnostism - they might have been copied directly from gnostic texts. The Nag Hammadi texts were not discovered until 1945, two years before Crowley’s death, so we cannot accuse him of plagiarism, but (in the comical extreme) we can imagine Crowley and Neuburg stumbling across troves of Coptic texts amongst the sand dunes and translating them in situ. More realistically, Crowley, who was astonishingly erudite, could have found traces of this lore in the works of early Church heresiologists such as Irenaeus of Lyons [Note: since orginally writing this I have inspected the work of Irenaeus and find nothing that would account for Crowley/Choronzon's prescience. Any insight into a source for "the Blind One that boasted himself to be the Enlightened One" would be appreciated]

Less easy to rationalise is what comes next. When I began to read Dee’s angelic transcripts I was struck by the thought that the God of Dee’s angels was the same demonic demiurgic God I was already familiar with in gnostic texts. It is difficult to give much substance to this feeling, other than to say that the original gnostics derived their demiurge by taking the worst qualities of the God of the Jews, transforming him into a demonic entity. The God of Dee’s angels is similarly demonic - a God of wrath and punishments and ‘righteousness’ who fully intends (like the God of Revelation) to turn the world into a charnel-house. In his book Tetragrammaton, Donald Tyson points out the phrase "God of Righteousness" quoted in the ninth Enochian key (quoted earlier) is given as IAD BALTOH in Enochian, a transparent anagram of IALDBAOTH. For either of Dee or Kelly to be this ingeniously erudite beggars belief.

Crowley’s "vision and voice" continued the manifestation of Choronzon:

Would God that I were dead.

For know that I am proud and revengeful and lascivious, and I prate even as thou. For even as I walked among the Sons of God, I heard it said that P. . .could both will and know, and might learn at length to dare, but that to keep silence he should never learn. O thou that art so ready to speak, so slow to watch, thou art delivered over unto my power for this. And now one word was necessary unto me, and I could not speak it. I behold the beauty of the earth in her desolation, and greater far is mine, who sought to be my naked self. Knowest thou that in my soul is utmost fear? And such is my force and my cunning, that a hundred times have I been ready to leap, and for fear have missed. And a thousand times am I baulked by them of the City of the Pyramids, that set snares for my feet. More knowledge have I than the Most High, but my will is broken, and my fierceness is marred by fear, and I must speak, speak, speak, millions of mad voices in my brain.

The secret of Choronzon is that Choronzon and and "Most High" are the same. There isn’t a sheet of paper that one could insert between them. This is the origin of Bill Heidrick’s comment that there isn’t much point in preventing Choronzon from manifesting in the physical universe, because the universe is "in a sense" Choronzon. The "Most High" is as demonically poisonous and destructive as Choronzon, and declares, like Choronzon , the He is the only God. Every pulpit thumper is Choronzon, declaring the one truth; and the pulpit thumpers, thundering at the blasphemies and heresies and sacriligious untruths of other pulpit thumpers are the many faces of Choronzon. Every person who makes a world for other people to live in is the "Most High", setting down laws of right and wrong, good and evil, and in their demiurgic isolation they are also Choronzon. Every aspect of Chronozon, declaring "I am I" in brief isolation from the whole, is the Most High, but taken together (and there can only be one Most High) they constitute the raving dispersion of Choronzon.

Choronzon is the particular foe of magicians. Dee, for example, believed utterly in a Most High who had all knowledge. A common theme in the Enochian Keys is that the magician commands because he is a "true worshipper of the Highest". As a magician approaches the heirophantic position in Chesed, the last sephira before the Abyss, he is assumed to have all the answers. He is a pope in his own world, with faithful followers who demand mysteries with answers, who demand revelations just as Dee prayed for revelations. That is why Choronzon scorns Neuburg’s claim to know more than he - Choronzon has all the answers anyone could ever want. A problem with having all the answers is that all the other hierophants also have all the answers, and so the eleventh Aethyr is the Holy City with its mighty walls and towers and motionless legions guarding against the terrible powers of the Abyss, where everything is real, and nothing is true, and the mightiest of hierophants is nothing.

Crowley does not beat around the bush on this issue. In his own words:

For he is wisdom, and by wisdom hath he made the Worlds, and from that wisdom issue judgements 70 by 4, that are the 4 eyes of the double-headed one; that are the 4 devils, Satan, Lucifer, Leviathan, Belial, that are the great princes of the evil of the world. {142}

And Satan is worshipped by men under the name of Jesus; and Lucifer is worshipped by men under the name of Brahma; and Leviathan is worshipped by men under the name of Allah; and Belial is worshipped by men under the name of Buddha.

Poor Neuburg, alone in the protective magical circle, had to contend against all the verbal wiles of the mightiest of devils. Choronzon began to recite the poem Mad Tom O’Bedlam

With a heart of furious fancies,
Whereof I am Commander,
With a burning spear
And a horse of Air
To the wilderness I wander.

(The idea was to keep the Scribe busy writing, so as to spring upon him. For, while the Scribe talked, Choronzon had thrown sand into the circle, and filled it up. But Choronzon could not think fast and continuously, and so resorted to the device of quotation.

The Scribe had written two or three words of "Tom o'Bedlam," when Choronzon sprang within the circle (that part of the circumference of which that was nearest to him he had been filling up with sand all this time), and leaped upon the Scribe, throwing him to the earth. The conflict took place within the circle. The Scribe called upon Tetragrammaton, and succeeded in compelling Choronzon to return into his triangle. By dint of anger and of threatening him with the Magick Staff did he accomplish this. He then repaired the circle. The discomfited demon now continued:)

All is dispersion. These are the qualities of things. The tenth Aethyr is the world of adjectives, and there is no substance therein.

I am a-cold.

(Here Choronzon, being a couth and literary demon, ceases being Mad Tom O’Bedlam and becomes poor Tom of King Lear)

(Here Choronzon wanted to leave the triangle to obtain wherewith to cover his nakedness. The Scribe refused the request, threatening the demon. After a while the latter continued:)

I am commanded, why I know not, by him that speaketh. Were it thou, thou little fool, I would tear thee limb from limb. I would bite off thine ears and nose before I began with thee. I would take thy guts for fiddle-strings at the Black Sabbath.

I have prevailed against the Kingdom of the Father, and befouled his beard; and I have prevailed against the Kingdom of the Son, and torn off his Phallus; but against the Kingdom of the Holy Ghost shall I strive and not prevail. The three slain doves are my threefold blasphemy against him; but their blood shall make fertile the sand, and I writhe in blackness and horror of hate, and prevail not.

At the conclusion Crowley wrote the name BABALON in the sand with his magical ring and he and Neuburg lit a great fire in the sand to purify the place.

This incident in the desert is one of the most memorable incidents in Crowley’s vivid and memorable life; perhaps it is the most memorable. It has been enormously influential, and an elaborate mythology has accreted around Choronzon and the Abyss.

A key part of this development has been the modern interpretation of the non-sephiroth Da’ath as a gateway. Da’ath means ‘knowledge’. Where the word appears in Genesis it is translated into Greek as ‘gnosis’. When Adam knew Eve, the word used was based on the same verb root as the word Da’ath. In traditional Kabbalah Da’ath never made it as a proper sephiroth (as Sepher Yetzirah puts it, there could only be "ten and not nine; ten and not eleven", and so the eleventh quality on the kabbalistic Tree of Life has developed a mystique that comes from being unlike the others. As the sephiroth represent emantations of the divine in creation, Da’ath has progressively taken on the quality of an anti-emanation. It is difficult to place exactly in time the point at which this attribution began to find real coherence. In a book on Kabbalah published in 1965 the author Gareth Knight attributes to Da’ath the Roman god Janus, the two-faced god of portals who is forever looking two ways. However, some of the most vivid depictions of Da'ath as gateway were introduced in the mid 1970s in the writings of the British magician (and joint biographer of Crowley) Kenneth Grant.

What Grant has done can best be described by analogy. Suppose we were to take a normal person and we identified all the occasions when this person was being generous and pleasant and kind, and we also identified all the occasions when they were being irritable and selfish and malicious. Let us also suppose we gave this person two names (Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde spring to mind) and we insisted that instead of one person with a full range of emotions we were dealing with two different people each with a more limited range of emotions. Having made this distinction we could then mystify the point of transition between the two ‘identities’ (as Robert Louis Stevenson did in his novel by means of arcane chemistry). This is what Grant has done to the Tree of Life, splitting it into two Trees, one of which is the dark reflection of the other, and he has turned Da’ath into the Gateway between the two Trees. By removing much of the power from what many people think of as the ‘normal’ Tree he has created a dark reflection of the Tree and by this legerdemain he has provided himself with material for a number of books:

I am fully aware that the averse regions of the power zones are dangerous territory, and at the outset I would remind those who feel that such an exploration had better not be made that one cannot begin this initiation, or journey inward, as one begins one’s ascent from Malkuth, for only by projecting consciousness through Da’ath, the Gate of the Abyss, can one enter the Kingdom of infernal spaces that is under the dominion of Choronzon. (NoE)

For reasons already given, the transformation of Da’ath into a hole or gateway is a natural and numinous transformation of a non-sephira into something that complements the images of transition and fear of the unknown associated with the Abyss. Whether Grant’s splitting of the Tree into two is symbolically useful or merely an arch-gothic Adam’s Family caricature of a kabbalistic tradition already pregnant with representations for darkness and evil has to be questioned. Grant’s work carries gematria to new heights by showing that any concept can be related to any other, either by numbers, or by the most bewildering and fanciful etymology, so that one has to wonder whether the author himself takes it seriously. The overwhelming impression given by "The Nightside of Eden" is not that words and symbols signify anything, but they have become an end in themselves, and Grant uses them to weave Chorozonic mysteries of semiotics: the map has become the territory.

It is Kenneth Grant who brings a trail that begins with Lovecraft and meanders through the lives of Dee and Crowley back to Lovecraft once again. His books are permeated with Lovecraftian imagery. In The Magical Revival he compares Lovecraftian entities with entities from traditional magic. In a later book he writes:

"This Cult of the Spectral Hyena persisted when all other forms of its God had perished, and certain magicians and dreamers have received intimations of its existence throughout the centuries. Dr. John Dee (1527-1608), who first called it down from the spaces of Daath in historic times, named it Choronzon. Aleister Crowley, who contacted it in our own times, also called it Choronzon, while H.P. Lovecraft sensed it as the monstrous and amorphous slime known as Yog-Sothoth" (NoE)

We have come full circle, from fiction to fact and back to fiction, and if it is possible for Dee (in the world of fiction) to have translated the Necronomicon, then it is certainly possible for Lovecraft (in the world of fact) to have met Choronzon. One of the best descriptions of Yog Sothoth can be found in Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror, in a supposed extract from an incomplete copy of Dee’s translation of the Necronomicon:

Nor is it to be thought [ran the text as Armitage mentally translated it] that man is either the oldest or the last of earth’s masters, or that the common bulk of life and substance walks alone. The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces we know, but between them, they walk serene and primal, undimensioned and to us unseen. Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread. By Their smell can men sometimes know Them near, but of Their semblance can none know, saving only in the features of those They have begotten on mankind; and of those are there many sorts, differing in likeness from man's truest eidolon to that shape without sight or substance which is Them. (TDH)

Like the Nephilim of lore, Yog Sothoth can and does join with mortal women to father half-human abominations (that is the whole point of the story). The description of Yog Sothoth as the guardian and key to the gate entering into the chaotic dimensions of the Old Ones completes the identification with Choronzon, and it is at this point that fact and fiction blend so seamlessly into myth that in his book Tetragrammaton, Donald Tyson concludes about the Enochian Keys (and one can feel the ghost of Lovecraft guiding his pen):

"The apocalypse glimpsed in the vision of St. John is a complex magical working that cannot be initiated by the angels themselves but must be called into the universe by the living Word vibrated in a vessel of flesh that wears the form of the warrior Christ. The angels of wrath cannot call themselves into being. What they could, and did, do is teach mankind how to summon them through the guardian gates of the Four Watchtowers that sustain the universe."

"Once Coronzon and his angels gain access through the Watchtowers, their mere presence in our world will render it unfit for human habitation by increasing the degree of chaos and disrupting the balance of the natural laws that presently provide stability and order. Coronzon will transform our universe into a suitable dwelling place for himself and his ministers, in the process destroying the human race." (Tetragrammaton)

But what about the Necronomicon? We left a question hanging in the air at the beginning of this essay. Does the terrible grimoire really exist?

Well, as Lovecraft told several of his many correspondents, Alhazred was a name he took as a child because of his fascination with the exotic tales of The Arabian Nights. An enthusiastic amateur astronomer, he may have taken the name of his most famous grimoire from the Astronomica of Manilius. Yes, Lovecraft invented the Necronomicon. It is fictional. The world's most terrible book of sorcery is just a title, a brilliant and inspired title, but it is a title with no content. Although Lovecraft alludes to the book many times, he provides (if my memory serves me) only three direct quotations, and the only substantial quotation is the one provided above. The Necronomicon is a hollow vessel - it booms resoundingly, but has nothing in it but the projections of our own fantasies.

And the idea that magicians through the ages have been attempting to contact strange and terrible powers that seek to possess and lay waste to the Earth is quaintly ridiculous. Not.

© Colin Low 1996, revised 2000

Image: H R Giger

H P Lovecraft's Necronomicon

2008-05-06T09:23:00.004Z

H. P. Lovecraft is a master of Gothic horror and the occult manuscript Necronomicon which he refers to in several of his stories is a literary invention. All works purported to be translations of the Necronomicon are also works of fiction. However Lovecraft drew his inspiration from real sources which go back thousands of years.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die."
- Abdul Alhazred, Necronomicon (from H. P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu", 1926)

The Necronomicon, tell of the Old Ones who arrived on the primal earth from "dark stars". When land appeared they swarmed from the oceans to build cities at the poles and raise temples to those cursed by the Gods. Their ghoulish spawn ruled the earth until the Elder Lords, appalled at their abominations, acted:

"...casting Them forth from the Earth to the Void beyond the planes where chaos reigns and form abideth not. And the Elder Lords set Their seal upon the Gateway and the power of the Old Ones prevailest not against its might.
Loathsome Cthulhu rose then from the deeps and raged with exceeding great fury against the Earth Guardians. And They bound his venomous claws with potent spells and sealed him up within the City of R'lyeh wherein beneath the waves he shall sleep death's dream until the end of the Aeon." - Dr. John Dee, Liber Logaeth (Note: Lovecraft asserted that Liber Logaeth was an English translation of the original Necronomicon, which had appeared in Arabic.

"Lovecraft's myth of the Great Old Ones has much in common with the ancient belief, recorded in the Book of Enoch, that human beings were given many kinds of occult and forbidden knowledge by fallen angels who coupled with women to create demonic entities (Lovecraft recycles this legend as The Dunwich Horror). These abominations were cleansed from the Earth by the first flood (Noah's) and the rebel angels were imprisoned in another dimension awaiting a time of judgement. This legend overlaps with the Book of Revelations, which tells what happens to the rebel angels and humanity at the end of time." - Colin Low, The Necronomicon and Ontological Pressure

"In all probability Cthulhu is based on the Norwegian myth of the Kraken, a legendary monster thought to live under the waves of the northern seas." - Philip A. Shreffer, The H.P. Lovecraft Companion

"Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth; faintest sunlights fell
About his shadowy sides: above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumber'd and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages and will lie
Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die."
- Alfred Lord Tennyson, "The Kraken"

In exile with their Master Azathoth, "Lord of All", in the chaotic Void, the Old Ones bide the day until they return to rule earth once again.

"Azathoth is the 'ultimate nuclear chaos', at 'the center of infinity'. It is from the Throne of Azathoth that the aimless waves, 'whose chance combining gives each frail cosmos its eternal law', originate from." - Parker Ryan "Necronomicon Info Source"

"However, before the complete influx of these elder forces into our present space-time continuum can be facillated, the secret and primal gateways must be located, and opened, to allow access from 'outside the circles of time'. This gateway has been glyphed by Lovecraft as one of the Great Old Ones themselves - 'the noxious Yog-Sothoth who froths as primal slime in nuclear chaos beyond the nethermost outpost of space and time'. - Tenebrous, "The Aeon of Cthulhu Rising"

"Yog-Sothoth is coterminous with ALL time and space. In Lovecraft describes Yog-Sothoth thus:'an All in One and One in All of limitless being and self-the last, utter sweep which has no confines and which outreaches fancy and mathematics alike. ' Past, present, future all are one in Yog-Sothoth."Through the Gates of the Silver Key" HPL researcher Philip A. Shreffler states in The H.P. Lovecraft Companion that the acting principles of Yog-Sothoth and Azathoth are 'infinite expansion and infinite contraction' respectively" - Parker Ryan "Necronomicon Info Source"

Choronzon: "Guardian of and 'Dweller in the Abyss' (Demon of Dispersion) = 333 (Noznoroch). Crowley called him the 'first and deadliest of all the powers of evil', sole inhabitant of the Abyss [Da'ath], capable of assuming any shape, the very Lord of Chaos." - The Magicians Dictionary

"333 is the Cabalistic number of 'that mighty devil, [Coronzon],' who once afflicted Dr. Dee in the 17th Century and gave Aleister himself a rough time in Bou Saada, North Africa, 1909, as recounted in The Vision and the Voice, by Aleister Crowley." - Robert Anton Wilson, Cosmic Trigger: Final Secret of the Illuminati

"As Guardian of the Gate, he [Yog-Sothoth] is synonymous with Choronzon. The 'nethermost outpost', itself an opening or window to the dimensionality of the Great Old Ones (Universe B), is the star Sothis, or Sirius." - Tenebrous, "The Aeon of Cthulhu Rising"

"It is now possible to see the continous flow and evolution of Aeons occuring simultaenously and passing over into the world of anti-matter. The Yog (or Yug .. an aeon or age ..) of Sothoth is the counterpoint - as the Aeon of Set- Thoth, or DA'ATH - of its Twin, the Yug-Hoor, or Aeon of Horus. Yog-Sothoth is the Gate through the aeons to the Star-Source beyond Yuggoth, the Yug or Aeon of Goth. - Kenneth Grant, Outside the Circles of Time, p. 214

"The knowledge and formula by which this gateway can be reopened can therefore be only apprehended through the negative vortex of DA'ATH. In the case of Lovecraft himself, who in waking life vehemently denied the verdical nature of the material with which he was dealing, the process of appropriation was almost completely subconscious, occuring through the medium of dream-experiences. As would be expected, the visitation of such unhuman and ultracosmic revelations took the form of the most hideous nightmares." - Tenebrous, "The Aeon of Cthulhu Rising"

"That cult would never die until the stars came right again, and the secret priests would take Cthulhu from His tomb to revive His subjects and resume His rule of earth. The time would be easy to know, for then mankind would have become as the Great Old Ones; free and wild, and beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside and all men shouting and killing and reveling in joy. Then the liberated Old Ones would teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel and enjoy themselves, and all earth would flame with a holocaust of ecstasy and freedom." - H. P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu", (1926)

The Occult Secrets of Alhazred

(1) "The Mad Arab"

Necronomicon: "Original title Al Azif being the word used by the Arabs to designate that nocturnal sound (made by insects) supposed to be the howling of demons."
"Composed by Abdul Alhazred, a mad poet of Sanaa, in Yemen, who is said to have flourished in the time of the Ommiade Caliphs, circa A.D. 700." - H. P. Lovecraft, "The History and Chronology of the Necronomicon"

According to Lovecraft's history, Abdul Alhazred "travelled widely, from Alexandria to the Punjab, and was well read. He had a flair for languages, and boasts on many occasions of his ability to read and translate manuscripts which defied lesser scholars.Just as Nostradamus used ritual magic to probe the future, so Alhazred used similar techniques (and an incense composed of olibanum, storax, dictamnus, opium and hashish) to clarify the past, and it is this, combined with a lack of references, which resulted in the Necronomicon being dismissed as largely worthless by historians." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

"Lovecraft told his colleagues that he stole the name 'Al Azif' from another author as a joke, and that the name 'Al-Hazred' was a pun on his mother's maiden name, Hazard." - Kendrick Kerwin Chua, "The Necronomicon - FAQ Version 2.0"

"Abdul is a favourite dream-character of mine--indeed that is what I used to call myself when I was five years old and a transported devotee of Andrew Lang's version of the Arabian Nights. A few years ago I prepared a mock-erudite synopsis of Abdul's life, and of the posthumous vicissitudes and translations of his hideous and unmentionable work Al Azif ...--a synopsis which I shall follow in future references to the dark and accursed thing." - H. P. Lovecraft, letter to Robert E. Howard (August 14, 1930)
"The name 'Abdul Alhazred' is one which some adult (I can't recall who) devised for me when I was 5 years old & eager to be an Arab after reading the Arabian Nights. Years later I thought it would be fun to use it as the name of a forbidden-book author." - H. P. Lovecraft, letter to Harry O. Fischer (late February, 1937)

Alhazred "is often referred to as 'the mad Arab', and while he was certainly eccentric by modern standards, there is no evidence to substantiate a claim of madness, (other than a chronic inability to sustain a train of thought for more than a few paragraphs before leaping off at a tangent)." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

"HPL wrote that Alhazred's title was 'Mad Poet'. 'Mad' is usually written majnun in Arabic. Majnun means 'mad' today. However, in the eighth century (Alhazred's time) it meant 'Possessed by Jinn' [the Old Ones]." - Parker Ryan "Necronomicon Info Source"

"Alhazred appears to have had access to many sources now lost, and events which are only hinted at in the Book of Genesis or the apocryphal Book of Enoch, or disguised as mythology in other sources, are explored in great detail." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

"And I proceeded to where things were chaotic. And I saw there something horrible: I saw neither a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but a place chaotic and horrible. And there I saw seven stars of the heaven bound together in it, like great mountains and burning with fire. Then I said: 'For what sin are they bound, and on what account have they been cast in hither?' Then said Uriel, one of the holy angels, who was with me, and was chief over them, and said: 'Enoch, why dost thou ask, and why art thou eager for the truth? These are of the number of the stars of heaven, which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and are bound here till ten thousand years, the time entailed by their sins, are consummated." Book of Enoch 21:1-7a

"Alhazred may have used dubious magical techniques to clarify the past, but he also shared with 5th. century B.C. Greek writers such as Thucydides a critical mind and a willingness to explore the meanings of mythological and sacred stories. His speculations are remarkably modern, and this may account for his current popularity: he believed that many species besides the human race had inhabited the Earth, and that much knowledge was passed to mankind in encounters with being from other 'spheres'. He shared with some neo-platonists the belief that stars are like our sun, and have their own unseen planets with their own lifeforms, but elaborated this belief with a good deal of metaphysical speculation in which these beings were part of a cosmic hierarchy of spiritual evolution. He was also convinced that he had contacted these 'Old Ones' using magical invocations, and warned of terrible powers waiting to return to re-claim the Earth - he interpretated this belief in the light of the Apocalypse of St. John, but reversed the ending so that the Beast triumphs after a great war in which the earth is laid waste." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

"He [Alhazred] visited the ruins of Babylon and the subterranean secrets of Memphis and spent ten years alone in the great southern desert of Arabia-the Roba el Khaliye or 'Empty Space' of the ancients and 'Dahna' or 'Crimson Desert' of the modern Arabs, which is held to be inhabited by protective evil spirits and monsters of death. Of this desert many strange and unbelievable marvels are told by those who pretend to have penetrated it. In his last years Alhazred dwelt in Damascus, where the Necronomicon (Al Azif) was written and of his final death or disappearance (738 A.D.) many terrible and conflicting things are told. He is said by Ebn Khallikan (12th century biographer) to have been seized by an invisible monster in broad daylight and devoured horribly before a large number of fright-frozen witnesses. Of his madness many things are told. He claimed to have seen the fabulous Irem or city of Pillars, and to have found beneath the ruins of a certain nameless desert town the shocking annals and secrets of a race older than mankind. He was only an indifferent Moslem, worshipping unknown deities whom he called Yog-Sothoth and Cthulhu." - H. P. Lovecraft, "The History and Chronology of the Necronomicon"

(2) Barbarous Names

"Alhazred is said (by HPL) to have journeyed to Egypt in search of occult secrets. This is consistent with the time frame that it was supposed to have ocured in. Between the fourth century and the tenth century Near Eastern scholars interested in magickal matters viewed Egypt as an invaluable source of information. During this time many corrupt Egyptian words and phrases entered magical writings. Gnostic, Coptic, and Greco-Egyptian word formulas were incorporated in great number into existing Arab magickal systems.....It has been suggested that some of the Barbarous names used in Lovecraft's fiction might indeed be corrupt Egyptian word formulas. Particularly Yog-Sothoth, Azathoth, and Nyarlathotep are said to have an Egyptian origin. (Note the obviously Egyptian endings 'hotep' and 'thoth'.)" "Azathoth is said to be derived from Asa-thoth. The Rites of the Gods states that Asa translates as 'source' from ancient Egyptian and Thoth (Tehut) is of course the popular god name. Asa is an alternate name of Thoth....(He is considered the "source" because of his association with the beginning of time). Ausaa-Thoth or Aasaa-Thoth is translated as the intelligence of Thoth."

"Cthulhu is very close to the Arabic word Khadhulu (also spelled al qhadhulu). Khadhulu (al qhadhulu) is translated as 'Forsaker' or 'Abandoner'. Many Sufis and Muqarribun writings make use of this term (Abandoner). In Sufi and Muqarribun writings 'abandoner' refers to the power that fuels the practices of Tajrid 'outward detachment' and Tafrid 'interior solitude'." - Parker Ryan, "Necronomicon Info Source"

"Mankind, Shaitan is Khadhulu."
- Quran 25:29

"By the time Mohammad was writing Shaitan was being called 'the Old Serpent (dragon)' and 'the Lord of the Abyss'. The Old Serpent or Old Dragon is, according to experts such as E.A. Budge and S.N. Kramer, Leviathan [Hebrew]. Leviathan is Lotan [Canaanite]. Lotan traces to Tietan. Tietan, we are told by the authorities on Near Easern mythology is a later form of Tiamat. According to the experts the Dragon of the Abyss called Shaitan is the same Dragon of the Agyss named Tiamat." - Parker Ryan , "Necronomicon Info Source"

"The dragon is an abandoner for he leaves all that is sacred. The dragon goes here and there without pause." - The Book of Annihilation (an Arabic text on magick)

One of the titles of the Dragon is Lord of the Abyss. "The title Lord of the Abyss translated into Sumerian is 'Kutulu'. Kutu means 'Underworld' or 'Abyss' and Lu is Sumerian for 'Lord' or 'Person of importance'.... Indeed the ruler of the Abyss (kutu) in Sumeria was the Old Dragon Mumu-Tiamat." - Parker Ryan "Necronomicon Info Source"

"Some...link Kingu (Qingu) with the Ancient Ones by assigning him the status of general for the Ancient Ones in their war against the Elder Gods (which this myth supposedly represents.) Though these groups claim to be servants of the Elder gods, they worship Tiamat as a benevolent creatrix, ignoring the fact that it was Tiamat who appointed Kingu HER general in the Enuma Elis [the Babylonian Epic of Creation], leading to the conclusion that Tiamat was an Ancient One and therefore that this group worshipped the Ancient Ones while claiming to serve the Elder Gods." - Adapa, "The Necronomicon and Ancient Sumer: Dubunking the Myth"

"Another race is the Deep Ones who are a type of amphibious creature resembling a mixture of a fish, a frog and man. The Deep Ones worship a god called Dagon. Dagon is a deity resembling a giant Deep One. Dagon and the Deep Ones seem to be Allied in some way with Cthulhu."
"Arab myth mentions mysterious fish-men from the sea of Karkar. These fish-men are probably derivative of the myths related to the actual Near Eastern god Dagon. Dagon is a Philistine deity that appears as a giant fish-man. Dagon is a later version of the Babylonian Oannes." - Parker Ryan "Necronomicon Info Source"

Oannes was a repulsive amphibius being who came from space in an egg shaped vehicle. The fragments of text that survive are a Babylonian retelling of a much more ancient Sumerian tale. Six thousand years ago or so, the Vela supernova was an awe inspiring sight from the earth. It was then, according to legend, that powerful beings or "Watchers" came from the sky, taught humans the arts of civilization, then made them their slaves. According to Robert Temple in his Sirius Mystery, astronomical knowledge imparted by the Oannes is preserved by the tribal Dogon people today.

"The Greek and Latin Translations"

"In A.D. 950 the Azif, which had gained a considerable though surreptitious circulation amongst the philosophers of the age, was secretly translated into Greek by Theodorus Philetas of Constantinople under the title Necronomicon." - H. P. Lovecraft, "The History and Chronology of the Necronomicon"
"The name Necronomicon ...occurred to me in the course of a dream."
- H. P. Lovecraft, letter to Harry O. Fischer (late February, 1937)

"This title [Necronomicon] is translated as 'the Book (or image) of the Practices of the Dead'; Necro being Greek for 'Dead' and Nomos meaning 'practices', 'customs' or 'rules' (as in astronomy) ." - Parker Ryan, "The Necronomicon and Ancient Arab Magick"

"For a century it impelled certain experimenters to terrible attempts, when it was suppressed and burnt by the patriarch Michael. After this it is only heard of furtively, but (1228) Olaus Wormius made a Latin translation later in the Middle Ages."
"The work, both Latin and Greek, was banned by Pope Gregory IX in 1232, shortly after its Latin translation, which called attention to it." - H. P. Lovecraft, "The History and Chronology of the Necronomicon"

"A Latin translation was made in 1487 by a Dominican priest Olaus Wormius. Wormius, a German by birth, was a secretary to the first Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, Tomas de Torquemada, and it is likely that the manuscript of the Necronomicon was seized during the persecution of Moors ('Moriscos') who had been converted to Catholism under duress; this group was deemed to be unsufficiently pure in its beliefs. . "It was an act of sheer folly for Wormius to translate and print the Necronomicon at that time and place. The book must have held an obsessive fascination for the man, because he was finally charged with heresy and burned after sending a copy of the book to Johann Tritheim, Abbot of Spanheim (better known as 'Trithemius'); the accompanying letter contained a detailed and blasphemous interpretation of certain passages in the Book of Genesis. Virtually all the copies of Wormius's translation were seized and burned with him, although there is the inevitable suspicion that at least one copy must have found its way into the Vatican Library." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

"...The Latin text was printed twice - once in the 15th century in block letter (evidently in German) and once in the 17th (probably Spanish); both editions being without identifying marks, and located as to time and place by internal typographic evidence only. - H. P. Lovecraft, "The History and Chronology of the Necronomicon"

"It was written in seven volumes, and runs to over 900 pages in the Latin edition." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

"Of the Latin texts now existing one (15th century) is known to be in the British Museum under lock and key, which another (17th century) is in the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris. A 17th century edition is in the Widener Library at Harvard, and in the Library of Miskatonic University at Arkham; also in the library of the University of Buenos Aires.
"Numerous other copies probably exist in secret, and a 15th century one is persistently rumored to form part of the collection of a celebrated American millionaire. A still vaguer rumor credits the preservation of a 16th century Greek text in the Salem family of Pickman; but if it was so preserved, it vanished with the artist R. U. Pickman , who disappeared early in 1926. The book is rigidly suppressed by the authorities of most countries, and by all branches of organized ecclesiasticism. Reading leads to terrible consequences. It was from rumors of this book (of which relatively few of the general public know) that R. W. Chambers is said to have derived the idea of his early novelThe King in Yellow." - H. P. Lovecraft, "The History and Chronology of the Necronomicon"

Dee's Liber Logaeth

"They have walked amidst the stars and They have walked the Earth. The City of Irem in the great desert has known Them; Leng in the Cold Waste has seen Their passing, the timeless citadel upon the cloud-veiled heights of unknown Kadath beareth Their mark. Wantonly the Old Ones trod the ways of darkness and Their blasphemies were great upon the Earth; all creation bowed beneath Their might and knew Them for Their wickedness." - Liber Logaeth (translated by Dr. John Dee)

"The Latin text came into the possession of Dr John Dee in the sixteenth century. Dr. Dee made the only English translation of the Necronomicon known." - Parker Ryan, "The Necronomicon and Ancient Arab Magick"

"Dr. John Dee, the famous English magician, and his assistant Edward Kelly were at the court of the Emperor Rudolph II to discuss plans for making alchemical gold, and Kelly bought the copy from the so-called 'Black Rabbi' and Kabbalist, Jacob Eliezer, who had fled to Prague from Italy after accusations of necromancy. At that time Prague had become a magnet for magicians, alchemists and charletons of every kind under the patronage of Rudolph, and it is hard to imagine a more likely place in Europe for a copy to surface." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

Dee and Kelly's "Enochian system" has many parallels with HPL. Schueler asserts that the Enochian tradition proposes the existence of a God or Force which is the manifestation of Infinite Space similar to Crowley's Nuit and HPL's Yog-Sototh. Schueler also contends that The Divine manifestation of the nuclear point at the center of infinity (equivalent to Hadit or Azathoth) is also important to Enochian magick. The Enochian Keys state that the wold is nearing an eon spanning Cycle in which Ancient Gods will return to there throne and the world will be forever changed. These keys also mention an imprisoned dragon (Cthulhu?)" - Parker Ryan, "Necronomicon Info Source"

"The Necronomicon appears to have had a marked influence on Kelly; the character of his scrying changed, and he produced an extraordinary communication which struck horror into the Dee household...Kelly left Dee shortly afterwards. Dee translated the Necronomicon into English while warden of Christ's College, Manchester..." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

"An English translation made by Dr. Dee was never printed, and exists only in fragments recovered from the original MS." - H. P. Lovecraft, "The History and Chronology of the Necronomicon"

"...The manuscript passed into the collection of the great collector Elias Ashmole, and hence to the Bodleian Library in Oxford." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

"Dee's cipher manuscript was called Liber Logaeth, and was evidently "a portion of a larger manuscript, the origin and nature of which is not known. Due to its history and the similarity in content to the Cthulhu Mythos, this document has been presented...as being, at least a portion of, the document which was the inspiration for HPL's Necronomicon." - Ken Ottinger

COMPARISON OF TEXTS
Dee's Liber Logaeth	HPL's Necronomicon
Of Ye Old Ones and their Spawn The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are and the Old Ones shall be. From the dark stars They came ere man was born, unseen and loathsome They descended to primal earth.	Nor is it to be thought that man is either the oldest or the last of Earth's masters, or that the common bulk of life and substance walks alone. The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be.
Beneath the oceans They brooded while ages past, till seas gave up the land, whereupon They swarmed forth in Their multitudes and darkness ruled the Earth. At the frozen Poles They raised mighty cities, and upon high places the temples of Those whome nature owns not and the Gods have cursed.	The ice desert of the South and the sunken isles of Ocean hold stones whereon Their seal is engraven, but who hath seen the deep frozen city or the sealed tower long garlanded with seaweed and barnacles?
Great Cthulhuis Their brother, the shaggoths Their slaves. The Dholes do homage unto Them in the nighted vale of Pnoth and Gugs sing Their praises beneath the peaks of ancient Throk.	Great Cthulhu is Their cousin, yet can he spy Them only dimly. ! Shub-Niggurath!
Beyond the Gate dwell now the Old Ones; not in the spaces known unto men but in the angles betwixt them. Outside Earth's plane They linger and ever awaite the time of Their return; for the Earth has known Them and shall know Them in time yet to come.	Not in the spaces we know, but between them. They walk serene and primal, undimensioned and to us unseen.
And the Old Ones hold foul and formless Azathoth for Their Master and Abide with Him in the black cavern at the centre of all infinity, where he gnaws ravenously in ultimate chaos amid the mad beating of hidden drums, the tuneless piping of hideous flutes and the ceaseless bellowing of blind idiot gods that shamble and gesture aimlessly for ever.	They walk unseen and foul in lonely places where the Words have been spoken and the Rites howled through at their Seasons. The wind gibbers with Their voices, and the earth mutters with Their consciousness. They bend the forest and crush the city, yet may; not forest or city behold the hand that smites.
The soul of Azathoth dwelleth in Yog-sothoth and He shall beckon unto the Old Ones when the stars mark the time of Their coming; for Yog-sothoth is the Gate through which Those of the Void will re-enter. Yog-sothoth knowest the mazes of of time, for all time is one unto Him. He knowest where the Old Ones came forth in time along long past and where They shall come forth again when the cycle returneth.	Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again.
After day cometh night; man's day shall pass, and They shall rule where They once ruled. As foulness you shall know them and Their accursedness shall stain the Earth.	Man rules now where They ruled once; They shall soon rule where man rules now. After summer is winter, and after winter summer. They wait patient and potent, for here shall They reign again.

The quotes from Lovecraft were taken from his short story "The Dunwich Horror" ( 1928). Lovecraft attributes the source of his material to Olaus Wormius' Latin version of Abdul Alhazred's Necronomicon, as printed in Spain in the 17th century. Note how Dee's Liber Logaeth places the return of the Old Ones at some indeterminate future while in Lovecraft's version, They are coming soon (and in his stories have already arrived.) For the text of Olaus Wormius' version click here. Dee's Liber Logaeth is also known as the Book of Enoch and is preserved in the following manuscripts:

"London, British Library: Sloane MS. 3189. Dee's 'Liber mysteriorum sextus et sanctus' in Edward Kelley's handwriting (1583). The clean copy of 'Liber Logaeth', 65 folios containing 101 complex magic squares, 96 of which comprised of 49 x 49 cells containing Latin letters and Arabic numerals, and 4 of 36 x 72 cells containing only Latin letters (these in Dee's hand), plus 2 blank 49 x 49 grids. "London, British Library: Sloane MS. 2599, art. 1. A partial transcription of 'Liber mysteriorum sextus et sanctus' in at least two different hands. One of them may be Ashmole's. "London, British Library: Sloane MS. 78, art. 11. An excerpt from Dee's 'Liber mysteriorum sextus et sanctus'. A partial transcription of the first few leaves of MS. 3189 without any tables. The same material is also to be found in 'Mysteriorum Liber Quintus' in Sloane MS. 3188." - Introductory bibliography of Enochian and diary MSS of John Dee

"No one as yet has made serious attempts to use it, or to understand its nature beyond what is recorded in the diaries. According to the angels, 'logaeth' means 'speech from God'; this book is supposed to be, literally, the words by which God created all things. It is supposedly the language in which the 'true names' of all things are known, giving power over them.
"As described in Liber Mysteriorum Quintis, the book was to consist of 48 leaves, each of which contains a 49-by-49 grid. The book as actually presented to Kelly is somewhat different. It contains 49 'Calls' in an unknown language, 95 tables of squares filled with letters and numbers, two similar tables unfilled, and four tables drawn twice as large as the others. Two 'leaves' are recorded in Liber Mysteriorum Quintis, these are not included in the final book, and apparently serve as an introduction or prologue to the work." - Benjamin Rowe, Enochian Magick Reference

The leaves in "Liber mysteriorum sextus et sanctus" comprise strings of unintelligible words supposedly written in "Enochian" language " that had been revealed to Dr. John Dee by the Angels". Below is a selection from the text:

Leaf 4a Zvbla ox arnogan Algers aclo.
Leaf 4b Danfal gest Axamph acrosta.
Leaf 5a Gonzahoh alch arge oho Adanch.
Leaf 5b Zvchastors plohodmax argednon acho

"On the surface, the 'Calls' of Liber Logaeth do not appear to be a language as humans understand the term. There are no translations by which this might be judged in detail, but the text lacks the repetitiveness and consistent word-placement that is characteristic of the 48 Enochian Calls given in the next year. There is no apparent 'grammar' to the text. Donald Laycock remarks that the language is highly alliterative and repetitively rhyming, while Robert Turner calls it 'glossolalic'. The angels said that each element of each table could be understood in 49 different ways, so that there were that many 'languages' in it, all of them being spoken at once.

"The purpose of Logaeth was said to be the ushering in of a new age on Earth, the last age before the end of all things. Instructions for using it to that effect were never given; the angels continually put it off, saying that only God could decide when the time was right." - Benjamin Rowe, Enochian Magick Reference

David Langford claims to have deciphered the Liber Logaeth and his translation in English appears in a book called Necronomicon, co-written with Robert Turner and Colin Wilson. This book, however, was an admitted spoof of Lovecraft's Necronomicon.

The Missing Texts

"No Arabic manuscript is known to exist; the author Idries Shah carried out a search in the libraries of Deobund in India, Al-Azhar in Egypt, and the Library of the Holy City of Mecca, without success." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

"The Arabic original was lost as early as Wormius' time, as indicated by his prefatory note (there is, however, a vague account of a secret copy appearing in San Francisco during the present century but later perishing by fire); and no sight of the Greek copy - which was printed in Italy between 1500 and 1550 - has been reported since the burning of a certain Salem man's library in 1692." - H. P. Lovecraft, "The History and Chronology of the Necronomicon"

"Nathan of Gaza precipitated one of the most profound events in the history of Judaism. In 1665, while only 21 or 22 years old, he proclaimed that Sabbatai Tzevi was the Messiah."
Nathan also wrote the Sepher ha-Sha'are ha-Daath, a commentary on the Book of the Alhazred. "Nathan's purpose appears to have been to develop a methodology for a systematic exploration of the realms of the Klippoth [husks or shells of materiality which ensnare the spirit], as part of his mission to redeem the sparks [concentrated shards of the original creation], using some of Alhazred's techniques. It is an extraordinary development of Alhazred's work, identifying the Klippoth with the primordial Old Ones."

"Nathan developed a huge following and for many years Judaism was riven with charges of heresy. Many prominent Rabbis and community leaders sided with Nathan, and it took most of a century for the drama to unwind. Eventually the Sabbatean movement went underground, and while it is a certainty that a copy of the Sepher ha-Sha'are ha-Daath exists in a private library somewhere, no one is admitting that they have it."

"In the years from 1933-38 the few known copies of the Necronomicon simply disappeared; someone in the German government of Adolph Hitler took an interest in obscure occult literature and began to obtain copies by fair means or foul. Dee's translation disappeared from the Bodleian following a break-in in the spring of 1934. The British Museum suffered several abortive burglaries, and the Wormius edition was deleted from the catalogue and removed to an underground repository in a converted slate mine in Wales (where the Crown Jewels were stored during the 1939-45 war). Other libraries lost their copies, and today there is no library with a genuine catalogue entry for the Necronomicon. The current whereabouts of copies of the Necronomicon is unknown; there is a story of a large wartime cache of occult and magical documents in the Osterhorn area near Salzburg. - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ." (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

Sorting Fact from Fiction

(1) Spoofs, Jokes and the Magickal Tradition

"In their spoof Necronomicon, authors Langford, Turner, and Wilson suggested that Liber Loagaeth was actually a cipher version of the Evil Book, which they had managed to decode. Neither of these ideas is supported by the records.
"Colin Low has perpetuated and embellished these fictional excursions in his 'Necronomicon Anti-FAQ' and other writings. Some modern readers, lacking a sense of humor and irony, have taken his work seriously; as a consequence, the myth of Dee's connection with the book has taken on an air of Utter Authority among certain gullible portions of the magickal community." - Josh Norton, "Enochian Magick Reference Document 2.0"

"Lovecraft denied that the book existed, and wrote as a joke a paper titled 'A History of the Necronomicon', giving a chronology of the book, names, and places. The name of the book is supposedly bastardized Greek and Latin, which roughly translates into 'The Book of Dead Names' (i.e., ikon = book, necro = die or dead, and nom = name)." - Kendrick Kerwin Chua, "The Necronomicon - FAQ Version 2.0"

"Regarding the solemnly cited myth-cycle of Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, R'lyeh, Nyarlathotep, Nug, Yeb, Shub-Niggurath, etc., etc.- let me confess that this is all a synthetic concotion of my own, like the populous and varied pantheon of Lord Dunsany's Pegana . The reason for its echoes in Dr. de Castro's work is that the latter gentleman is a revision-client of mine--into whose tales I have stuck these glancing references for sheer fun. If any other clients of mine get work placed in W.T., you will perhaps find a still-wider spread of the cult of Azathoth, Cthulhu, and the Great Old Ones! The Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred is likewise something which must yet be written in order to possess objective reality." - H. P. Lovecraft, letter to Robert E. Howard (August 14, 1930)
"Regarding the Necronomicon--I must confess that this monstrous & abhorred volume is merely a figment of my own imagination! Inventing horrible books is quite a pastime among devotees of the weird, &...many of the regular W.T. contributors have such things to their credit--or discredit. It rather amuses the different writers to use one another's synthetic demons & imaginary books in their stories--so that Clark Ashton Smith often speaks of my Necronomicon while I refer to his Book of Eibon . . & so on. This pooling of resources tends to build up quite a pseudo-convincing background of dark mythology, legendry, & bibliography--though of course none of us has the least wish actually to mislead readers." - H. P. Lovecraft, letter to Miss Margaret Sylvester (January 13, 1934)

"When we then turn to the text referred to as the Necronomicon by H.P. Lovecraft, we are hard-pressed to render a 'verdict' as to its legitimacy. If indeed the text preceded Lovecraft, then this does not guarantee that it has come down to us unedited. If the idea and title were used by Lovecraft as a result of suggestions from others without an extant text, then perhaps its 'source consciousness' hid the text until a later time. If Lovecraft fabricated even the IDEA of the tome along with its title, then perhaps he was simply a 'third party' to a state of consciousness which we may never assess." - Kendrick Kerwin Chua, "The Necronomicon - FAQ Version 2.0"

It is possible that Lovecraft was concealing an occult source of information for his writings. "The books of the The Order of the Golden Dawn, "The Equinox and The Golden Dawn, are important to a study of H. P. Lovecraft for several reasons. First, they are the closest thing to Lovecraft's Necronomicon to be produced in this century. Second, in his study of occult material, it is not impossible that Lovecraft may have come into contact with The Equinox. In fact, the Widener Library at Harvard owns Volume 1, Number 5 (March 1911), of The Equinox, which was received at the library on December 31, 1917, placing it easily within Lovecraft's reach. And third, there is a kind of peripheral connection between Lovecraft and the Golden Dawn in that several of his favorite weird fiction writers belonged to it. Arthur Machen and Algernon Blackwood, both of whom Lovecraft praised (albeit to different degrees) in 'Supernatural Horror in Literature', were prominent members of the order, as were Sax Rohmer, Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, and Robert Louis Stevenson."

"Since the publication in 1938 of H. P. Lovecraft's essay on the Necronomicon, at least one more copy of this obviously rare book has surfaced and is now in the collection of the [John Hay] Library at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. Printed by the Owl's Wick Press at Philadelphia in 1973, this modern edition of the Necronomicon appears to be a facsimile of the original Arabic text that Lovecraft presumed lost by the year A. D. 1050. A problematical aspect of the Brown University copy, however, is that the text, though appearing to the untrained eye to be in Arabic, is actually in a language known to Semitic scholars as Duraic. Unfortunately, there has, to date, been no successful completion of a translation."
-Philip A. Shreffer, The H.P. Lovecraft Companion

(2) The Mesopotamian Connection

The "Great Beast" Aleister Crowley interpreted the horrifying communication by Kelly (under the influence of the Necronomicon four centuries earlier) "as the abortive first attempt of an extra-human entity to communicate thelemic Book of the Law."
"There is no question that Crowley read Dee's translation of the Necronomicon in the Ashmolean, probably while researching Dee's papers; too many passages in Crowley's Book of the Law read like a transcription of passages in that translation." - Colin Low, Necronomicon FAQ (Compiled from The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979)

H.P. Lovecraft	Aleister Crowley	Ancient Sumer
COMPARISON OF TERMINOLOGY
Cthulhu	The Great Beast	Ctha-lu, Kutulu represented in "CTH/\H 666"
The Ancient Ones	Satan; Teitan	Tiamat
Azathoth	Aiwass (?)	Azag-thoth
The Dunwitch Horror	Choronzon	Pazuzu
Shub Niggurath	Pan	Shub Ishniggarab (?)
Out Of Space	The Abyss	Absu; Nar Mattaru
IA!	IO! IAO!	IA (Jah; Ea; Lord of Waters)
The Five-pointed star cavern	The Pentagram	The AR, or UB (Plough Sign: the original gray pentagram and sign of the Aryan Race)
Vermis Mysteriis	The Serpent	Erim (the enemy; and the sea as Chaos; Gothic: Orim, or Worm Great

From "The Coroner presents the Necronomicron"

"Succinctly stated: there are no 'Ancient One' in Sumerian Religion or mythology. Similarly, there are no 'Elder Gods'. Additionally, there exists no written record of any god, demon, or lesser figure whose names resemble those of the Chthonic pantheon. Some have advanced the proposition that Cthulhu is taken from the eponym Kutu-lu, a mangled rendering of 'man of Kutha'. This would suggest that Cthulhu is supposedly a title of Nergal, the patron deity of the city of Kutha in ancient Mesopotamia. Yet nowhere in any extant text is this title referred to. In fact, nowhere in any tablet is any god of the Mesopotamian pantheon referred to under the title 'man of...' Such a base descriptive was unheard of as a divine appellation." - Adapa, "The Necronomicon and Ancient Sumer: Dubunking the Myth"

There is disagreement whether "Kutulu" should be translated as "man of Kutha" or "Lord of theAbyss" as Parker Ryan maintains.

"The Enuma Elis, the Babylonian Epic of Creation...attributed to the mid second millennium in the Old Babylonian period, stands not for the struggle between the forces of Darkness and Light, but rather serves to exemplify the movement from chaos to order in the political arena of this ancient land:" - Adapa, "The Necronomicon and Ancient Sumer: Dubunking the Myth"

"Just as his observation about the physical origin of his country guided the ancient Mesopotamian in his speculations about the origins of the Universe, so do his memory and his experience of its political organization seem to have governed his thinking about the origins of order in that universe. Politics in Mesopotamia in the Old Babylonian Period, various and unstable, abounded in tribal and urban political forms. It ranged from near anarchy to democratic or semidemocratic forms based on general assemblies to monarchies. Its continually shifting power combinations and frequent attempts at achieving supremacy now by one, now by another, undoubtedly afforded many an object lesson in how to win power when common danger imposed unity and in how to preserve such power by wise and benevolent rule after the immediate danger was past. In the [Enuma Elis] epic, world order is seen as the outcome of just such a successful drive towards supremacy." - T. Jacobsen, Treasures of Darkness

"In Lovecraft's panthaeon, Nyarlathotep, Azathoth, Shub-Niggurath, and so forth...represent chaos and oblivion....Later on, when the war with the Elders vs. the Others became apperant, Nodens, Bast, and the Elders became represented as deities of order and structure."
- Edmund Wilfong

It should also be pointed out that Zoroasterism, the religion of the ancient Persians who conquered Babylon, teaches about a cosmic struggle between the forces of Darkness and Light.

Blood Rites and Occultism - The psychological motivation of the modern vampire

2008-05-05T21:26:00.004Z

In establishing the criteria for this this thesis it has been necessary to first describe the phenomena of the modern vampire. Accordingly, research was carried out among persons purporting to be vampires on the Internet to established whether any common threads could be found to obtain a definition of vampirism in today’s societies. The first thing that needed to be established was the link between vampirism and the occult. In the vast majority of cases it was established that although many people who described themselves as vampires claimed to have knowledge of the occult, most had little or no knowledge of advanced occult practices instead claiming to have natural power obtained through their practices of actual sharing of blood and other bodily fluids. A few advanced souls however did have mastery of certain aspects of the occult having gained grades equivalent in the Golden Dawn System of Adeptus Minor and above.
Vampiric Mages were very few in my survey amounting to a fraction of one percent which when compared with the general population is comparable but compared with occultists as a whole was not favourable.

Definition of the vampire.

What is a vampire? In ancient times as well as in literature certain aspects of the vampire are common. These are listed below in no particular order.

1. The vampire is an undead soul, having been previously bitten by a vampire or having performed a ceremony where the adept sells his soul to the Devil or other entity having the power to grant his request. the ceremony always results in the death of the adept with his full knowledge and consent.

2. The vampire rises from the grave to drink the blood of his victims. The vampire needs blood to survive. Starved of blood for more than 12 hours death results, unless the vampire is sleeping during the hours of daylight.

3. An aversion to sunlight and holy relics. All burn a vampire, the sun especially is fatal to vampires.

4. Vampires can be killed by a wooden stake to the heart, decapitation and burning.
There is an obvious difference between the vampire of classic legend and the modern so called vampire. Firstly, the vampire in today’s society is alive, if there are indeed undead souls out there I have yet to meet one outside a dream or a ceremony designed for the purpose and these are prater human intelligences rather than dead or undead souls.

The modern vampire does not need blood to survive, of the subjects interviewed, none believed they would actually die without taking blood at regular intervals, rather it was more of a need to fulfill a fetish whether psychological or sexual.

So what are the psychological motivations of these so called vampires. Certain facts stand out. The first common thread running through modern vampirism is the witnessing of death or members of close family dying whilst the subject was of an early age. Of the subjects interviewed nearly 80% had a close relative die when they were below the age of 18, over 50% of those had lost a close relative below the age of puberty. Some as young as 6 years.

Most subjects had a religious upbringing, most vampires in today’s society admit to being brought up in a Christian household, over 60% being brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, many said that it was the fascination with the blood of Jesus which the Catholic church regards as real during communion.

Image: .Blood. by Zoeim

The Devil's Pact

2008-05-01T12:22:00.007Z

I saw an interesting question posted on the boards, it went something along the lines of 'what should I give to a demon in order for it to do my bidding'. The initial reaction of any lower grade magician would be to say, 'anything! Everything! My soul, my life, my best friend even my blood.' But is that what they really want?

The question arises, are the demons serving us or are we serving them. There is no 'give to get' mentality in black magic. They are here to serve us. Therefore apart from a little something to arouse their curiosity sufficiently to bring them to the circle, they require no further offering. If your magic is strong enough they are trapped and bound by that ceremony and must do your bidding.

However, this is not an immediate process. Some time is required for mage and demon to assimilate. The mage must acquire a certain mindset that will allow his demon to roam amongst his other thoughts and thus create an output.

Some material must be readily to hand to absorb this outpouring when it occurs. Crowley was ready for Aiwass' dictation with his trusty pen. We may prepare the way also by digital means, readying with an art package or blog.

The thorny issue of 'hidden treasure' is worth a mention here. It may seem obvious but demons are not concerned with monetary gain like we are. One coin is very much like another to them and a simple ceremony to 'unearth hidden gold' may only result in that chain you lost from a pendant surfacing after many fruitless searches. In the world of the spiritual, hidden treasure means the sourcing of that unfathomable well we call the subconscious. A successful ritual should result in your mind becoming much more fertile and your art increasing.

The ultimate aim of many magicians throughout the centuries has been the calling of the Devil, whether that be Satan (Shaitan) or Lucifer with the blood pact. While lesser demons are willing to provide, the greater entities seem to escape the circle. You have to ask yourself what do you want the demon to do? Lucifer, while legendary for his fall from grace has little to offer the student except perhaps the lesson that sometimes you shouldn't send a boy to do a man's job. While minor deities spill out art and poetry the arch demons are the ones who will fight your corner when real adversity strikes.

Do your research, read up on demonology. These entities are your allies. But most of all listen when they speak, record it and play it back. One day it will make sense but not immediately, not for some time.

Image: The Codex Gigas (English: Giant Book) is the largest extant medieval manuscript in the world. It was created in the early 13th century in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice in Bohemia, and is now preserved at the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm, where two librarians are needed to lift it. It is also known as the Devil's Bible due to a large illustration of the devil on the inside.

Memetic Magick For Beginners

2008-04-27T23:55:00.004Z

Your Score: Greater Banishing

You scored -1 Chaos vs Order, 16 Occult Skills, 21 Occult Danger!

You are a balanced individual with some occult skills who takes a lot of risks. I hope you have at least one banishing memorized. If not, you may find yourself confronted by forces you can't contend with. Seal a circle around yourself and light some candles, because something big may be headed your way!

Take the which form of magickal protection would work best for you? test

ANATHEMA OF ZOS: THE SERMON TO THE HYPOCRITE - An Automatic Writing By Austin Osman Spare

2008-04-24T20:02:00.004Z

This is my favorite piece of writing by A O Spare and has often inspired my own writing and art.

PREFACE

Do Thy Will

l

Magickal currents pass as the Great Wheel swings endlessly to and fro driven by words of power whose origin is inestimable. Spare was a watcher on the threshold. AGAPE of the Christos had spent its force. It laid upon the land as a shroud when once it had been a bright and shining spell of liberation. Under this pall the scorpion bred consciousness in the charnal house of putrifaction. Monsters arose and walked the earth in the guise of living men and women. These are the hypocrites to whom the sermon was delivered. The goatherd found himself in a pigsty; speaking to swine bred on foul aethers. Where once there was the sermon on the mount, now there need be a Sermon of the Midden.

Zos eats complacency and his leavings bear the name of Doubt. Zos heralds the onrush of the Beast as John the Baptist once swept the path of the Christos. This time it is not the oracles' head served upon the platter.

Be not complacent. The anthem of Liber L will, on Saturns' touch, turn its melody inward and become a funeral dirge of the Soul. If there is aught to be learnt it is this....we are the hypocrites to whom Zos speaks. There is no hope. The Great Wheel turns. All that we love and will is its grist. Nothing Remains.

Will ____ Love

Louis Martinie (S.M.Ch.H. 353) Vernal Equinox, 1985

~ANATHEMA OF ZOS~ The Sermon to the Hypocrites =======

Hostile to self-torment, the vain excuses called devotion, Zos satisfied the habit by speaking loudly unto his Self. And at one time, returning to familiar consciousness, he was vexed to notice interested hearers-a rabble of involuntary mendicants, pariahs, whoremongers, adulterers, distended bellies, and the prevalent sick-grotesques that obtain in civilisations. His irritation was much, yet still they pestered him, saying: MASTER, WE WOULD LEARN OF THESE THINGS! TEACH US RELIGION!

And seeing, with chagrin, the hopeful multitude of Believers, he went down into the Valley of Stys, prejudiced against them as FOLLOWERS. And when he was ennuye, he opened his mouth in derision, saying:-

O, ye whose future is in other hands! This familiarity is permitted not of thy-but of my impotence. Know me as Zos the Goatherd, saviour of myself and of those things I have not yet regretted. Unbidden ye listen'd to my soliloquy. Endure then my Anathema.

Foul feeders! Slipped, are ye, on your own excrement? Parasites! Having made the world lousy, imagine ye are of significance to Heaven?

Desiring to learn-think ye to escape hurt in the rape of your ignorance? For of what I put in, far more than innocence shall come out! Labouring not the harvest of my weakness, shall I your moral-fed desires satisfy?

I, who enjoy my body with unweary tread, would rather pack with wolves than enter your pest-houses.

Sensation . . Nutrition . . . Mastication . . . . Procreation . . . ! This is your blind-worm cycle. Ye have made a curiously bloody world for love in desire. Shall nothing change except through your accusing diet?

IN THAT YE ARE CANNIBALS, what meat should I offer? Having eaten of your dead selves savoured with every filth, ye now raven to glutton of my mind's motion?

In your conflict ye have obtained . . . ? Ye who believe your procreation is ultimate are the sweepings of creation manifest, returning again to early simplicity to hunger, to become, and realise-ye are not yet. Ye have muddled time and ego. Think ye to curb the semen SENTIMENTALLY? Ye deny sexuality with tinsel ethics, live by slaughter, pray to greater
idiots-that all things may be possible to ye WHO ARE IMPOSSIBLE.

For ye desire saviours useless to pleasure.

Verily, far easier for madmen to enter Heaven than moral Lepers. Of what difference is Life or Death? Of what difference is dream or reality? Know ye nothing further than you own stench? Know ye what ye think ye know for certain? Fain would I be silent. Yet too tolerant is this Sun that cometh up to behold me, and my weakness comes of my dissatisfaction of you solicit
. . . . but be ye damned before obtaining fresh excuses of me!

Cursed are the resurrectionists! Is there only body and soul?

Is there nothing beyond entity? No purchase beyond sense and desire of God than this blasting and devouring swarm ye are?

Oh, ye favoured of your own excuses, guffaw between bites! Heaven is indifferent to your salvation or catastrophe. Your curveless crookedness maketh ye fallow for a queer fatality! What! I to aid your self-deception, ameliorate your decaying bodies, preserve your lamentable apotheosis of self?

The sword-thrust not salve-I bring!

Am I your swineherd, though I shepherd unto goats? My pleasure does not obtain among vermin with vain ideas-with hopes and fears of absurd significance. Not yet am I overweary of myself. Not ye shall I palliate abomination, for in ye I behold your parents and the stigmata of foul feeding.

In this ribald intoxication of hypocrisy, this monument of swindlers' littlenesses, where is the mystic symposium, the hierarchy of necromancers that was?

Honest was Sodom! YOUR theology is a slime-pit of gibberish become ethics. In YOUR world, where ignorance and deceit constitute felicity, everything ends miserably-besmirched with fratricidal blood.

Seekers of salvation? Salvation of your sick digestion; crippled beliefs: Convalescent desires. Your borrowed precepts and prayers-a stench unto all good nostrils!

Unworthy of a soul-your metamorphosis is laborious of morbid rebirth to give habitance to the shabby sentiments, the ugly familiarities, the calligraphic pandemonium-a world of abundance acquired of greed. Thus are ye outcasts! Ye habitate dung-heaps; your glorious palaces are hospitals set amid cemeteries. Ye breathe gay-heartedly within this cess-pit? Ye obtain of half-desires, bent persuasions, of threats, of promises made hideous by vituperatious righteousness! Can you realise of Heaven when it exists WITHOUT?

Believing without associating ye are spurious and know not the way of virtue. There is no virtue in truth, nor truth in righteousness. Law becomes of desire's necessity. Corrupt is the teacher, for they who speak have only spent words to give.

Believe or blaspheme! Do ye not speak from between your thighs?

To believe or unbelieve is the question. Verily, if you believe of the least-ye needs must thrive all things. Ye are of all things, of all knowledge, and, be like, will your stupidity to further self-misery!

Your wish? Your heaven? I say your desire is women. Your potential desire a brothel.

Ah, ye who fear suffering, who among ye has courage to assault the cloudy enemies of creeds, of the stomach's pious hopes?

I blaspheme your commandments, to provoke and enjoy your bark, your teeth grinding!

Know ye what ye want? What ye ask? Know ye virtue from maniacal muttering? Sin from folly? Desiring a teacher, who among ye are worthy to learn?

Brutally shall I teach the gospel of soul-suicide, of contraception, not preservation and procreation.

Fools! Ye have made vital the belief the Ego is eternal, fulfilling a purpose not lost to you.

All things become of desire; the legs to the fish; the wings to the reptile. Thus was your soul begotten.

Hear, O vermin!

MAN HAS WILLED MAN!

Your desires shall become flesh, your dreams reality and no fear shall alter it one whit.

Hence do I travel ye into the incarnating abortions-the aberrations, the horrors without sex, for ye are worthless to offer Heaven new sexualities.

Once in this world I enjoyed laughter-when I remembered the value I gave the contemptible; the significance of my selfish fears; the absurd vanity of my hopes; the sorry righteousness called I.

And YOU?

Certainly not befitting are tears of blood, nor laughter of gods.

Ye do not even look like MEN but the strange spawn of some forgotten ridicule.

Lost among the illusions begat of duality-are these the differentiations ye make for future entity to ride your bestial self? Millions of times have ye had re-birth and many more times will ye again SUFFER existence.

Ye are of things distressed, living down the truths ye made. Loosing only from my overflow, perchance I teach ye to learn of yourselves? In my becoming shall the hungry satisfy of my good and evil? I strive me neither, and confide subsequent to the event.

Know my purpose: To be a stranger unto myself, the enemy of truth.

Uncertain of what ye believe, be like ye half-desire? But believe ye this, serving your dialectics:-

Subscribing only to self-love, the outcroppings of my hatred now speak. Further, to ventilate my own health, I scoff at your puerile dignitaries' absurd moral clothes and ovine faith in a fortuitous and gluttonous future!

Dogs, devouring your own vomit! Cursed are ye all! Throwbacks, adulterers, sycophants, corpse devourers, pilferers and medicine swallowers! Think ye Heaven is an infirmary?

Ye know not pleasure. In your sleep lusts, feeble violence and sickly morale, ye are more contemptible than the beasts ye feed for food.

I detest your Mammon. Disease partakes of your wealth. Having acquired, ye know not how to spend.

YE ARE GOOD MURDERERS ONLY.

Empty of cosmos are they who hunger after righteousness. Already are the merciful spent. Extinct are the pure in heart. Governed are the meek and of Heaven earn similar disgust. Your society is a veneered barbarity. Ye are precocious primitives. Where is your success other than through hatred?

There is no good understanding in your world-this bloody transition by procreation and butchery.

Of necessity ye hate, and love your neighbor by devouring.

The prophets are nauseating and should be persecuted. Objects of ridicule, their deeds cannot live through their tenets. Actions are the criterion, then how can ye speak other than lies?

Love is cursed. Your desire is your God and execration. Ye shall be judged or your appetite.

Around me I see your configuration-again a swine from the herd. A repulsive object of charity! The curse is pronounce; for ye are slime and sweat-born, homicidally reared. And again shall your fathers call to the help of women. Ye vainly labour at a rotten Kingdom of Good and Evil. I say that Heaven is catholic-and none shall enter with susceptibility of either.

Cursed are ye who shall be persecuted for MY sake. For I say I am CONVENTION entire, excessively evil, perverted and nowhere good-for ye.

Whosoever would be with me is neither much of me nor of himself enough.

Zos tired, but loathing his hearers too much, he again reviled them saying:-

Worm-ridden jackals! Still would ye feast on my vomit? Whosoever follows me becomes his own enemy; for in that day my exigency shall be his ruin.

Go labour! Fulfil the disgust of becoming yourself, of discovering your beliefs, and thus acquire virtue. Let your good be accidental; thus escape gratitude and it sorry vainglory, for the wrath of Heaven is heavy on easy self-indulgence.

In your desire to create a world, do unto others as you would-when sufficiently courageous.

To cast aside, not save, I come. Inexorably towards myself; to smash the law, to make havoc of the charlatans, the quacks, the swankers and brawling salvationists with their word-tawdry phantasmagoria; to disillusion and awaken every fear of your natural, rapacious selves.

Living the most contemptible and generating everything beastly, are ye so vain of your excuse to expect other than the worst of your imagining?

Honesty is unvoiced! And I warn you to make holocaust of your saints, your excuses: these flatulent bellowings of your ignorance. Only then could I assure your lurking desire-easy remission of your bowdlerised sins. Criminals of folly? Ye but sin against self.

There is no sin for those of Heaven's delight. I would ye resist not nor exploit your evil: such is of fear, and somnambulism is born of hypocrisy.

In pleasure Heaven shall break every law before this Earth shall pass away. Thus if I possessed, my goodness towards ye would be volcanic.

He who is lawless is free. Necessity and time are conventional phenomena.

Without hypocrisy or fear ye could do as ye wish. Whosoever, therefore, shall break the precept or live its transgression shall have relativity of Heaven. For unless your righteousness exist not, ye shall not pleasure freely and creatively. In so much as ye sin against doctrine, so shall your
imagination be required in becoming.

It has been said without wit: "Thou shalt not kill." Among beasts man lives supremely-on his own kind. Teeth and claws are no longer sufficient accessory to appetite. Is this world's worst reality more vicious than human behaviour?

I suggest to your inbred love of moral gesture to unravel the actual from the dream.

Rejoice ye! The law-makers shall have the ugly destiny of becoming object. Whatsoever is ordained is superseded-to make equilibrium of this consciousness rapport with hypocrisy.

Could ye be arbitrary? Belief foreshadows its inversion. Overrun with forgotten desires and struggling truths, ye are their victim in the dying and begetting law.

The way of Heaven is a purpose-anterior to and not induced by thought. Desire, other than by the act, shall in no wise obtain: Therefore believe SYMBOLICALLY or with caution.

Between men and women having that desire there is no adultery. Spend the large lust and when ye are satiated ye shall pass on to something fresh. In this polite day it has become cleaner to fornicate by the wish than to enact.

Offend not your body no be so stupid as to let your body offend ye. How shall it serve ye to reproach your duality? Let your oath be in earnest; though better to communicate by the living act than by the word.

This God-this cockatrice-is a projection of your imbecile apprehensions, your bald grossness and madhouse vanities. Your love is born of fear; but far better to hate than further deception.

I would make your way difficult. Give and take of all men indiscriminately.

I know your love and hate. Inquire of red diet. Within your stomach is civil war.

Only in Self-love is procreative will.

What now! Shall I attempt wisdom by words? Alphabetic truths with legerdemain grammar? There is no spoken truth that is not PAST-more wisely forgotten.

Shall I scrawl slippery paradox with mad calligraphy? Words, mere words! I exist in a wordless world, without yesterday nor to-morrow- beyond becoming.

All conceivableness procures of time and space. Hence I spit on your tatterdemalion ethics, mouldering proverbs, priestly inarticulations and delirious pulpit jargon. This alone I give ye as safe commandments in your pestilent schisms.

Better is it to go without than to borrow. Finer far to take than beg. From Puberty till Death realise "Self" in all. There is no greater virtue than good nourishment. Feed from the udder, and if the milk be Sour, feed on . . . Human nature is the worst possible!

Once I lived among ye. From self-decency now I habitate the waste places, a willing outcast; associate of goats, cleaner far, more honest than men.

Within this heterogenousness of difference, reality is hard to realise; evacuation is difficult.

These spiritualists are living sepulchres. What has decayed should perish decently.

Cursed are they who supplicate. Gods are with ye yet. Therefore let ye who pray acquire this manner:-

O Self my God, foreign is thy name except in blasphemy, for I am thy iconoclast. I cast thy bread upon the waters, for I myself am meat enough. Hidden in the labyrinth of the Alphabet is my sacred name, the SIGIL of all things unknown. On Earth my kingdom is Eternity of DESIRE. My wish incarnates in the belief and becomes flesh, for, I AM THE LIVING TRUTH. Heaven is ecstasy; my consciousness changing and acquiring association. May I have courage to take from my own superabundance. Let me forget righteousness. Free me of morals. Lead me into temptation of myself, for I am a tottering kingdom of good and evil.

May worth be acquired through those things I have pleasured.

May my trespass be worthy.

Give me the death of my soul. Intoxicate me with self-love. Teach me to sustain its freedom; for I am sufficiently Hell. Let me sin against the small beliefs. AMEN.

Concluding his conjunction, Zos said:-

Again, O sleep-walkers, beggars and sufferers, born of the stomach; unlucky men to whom happiness is necessary!

Ye are insufficient to live alone, not yet mature enough to sin against the law and still desire women.

Other than damnation I know no magic to satisfy your wishes; for ye believe one thing, desire another, speak unlike, act differently and obtain the living value.

Assuredly inclination towards new faculties springs from this bastardy!

Social only to the truths convenient to your courage, yet again beasts shall be planted.

Shall I speak of that unique intensity without form? Know ye the ecstasy within? The pleasure between ego and self?

At that time of ecstasy there is no thought of others; there is NO THOUGHT. Thither I go and none may lead.

Sans women - your love is anathema!

For me, there is no way but my way. Therefore, go ye your way-none shall lead ye to walk towards yourselves. Let your pleasures be as sunsets, HONEST . . BLOODY . . . GROTESQUE!

Was the original purpose the thorough enjoyment of multitudinous self, for ecstasy? These infinite ramifications of consciousness in entity, associating by mouth, sex, and sense!

Has the besetting of sex become utter wretchedness-repetition made necessary of your scotomy?

O bloody-mouthed! Shall I again entertain ye with a little understanding? An introspection of cannibalism in the shambles of diet-the variating murder against the ancestral? Is there no food beyond corpse?

Your murder and hypocrisy must pass before ye are uplifted to a world where slaughter is unknown.

Thus, with a clean mouth, I say unto ye, I live by bread alone. Sleep is competent prayer. All morality is BEASTLY.

Alas, there has been a great failure. Man is dead. Only women remain.

With tongue in cheek I would say: "Follow me! That ye realise what is hidden in all suffering. I would make your self-mortification voluntary, your wincing courageous."

Still will ye be with me? Salutation to all suicides!

With a yawn Zos wearied and fell asleep.

In time the stench awoke him-for he had slept amidst the troughs- and he observed that the crowd were no longer with him-that only SWINE remained. And he guffawed and spake thus: "Not yet have I lost relationship and am thereby nearly asphyxiated! Caught up am I in the toils of sentiment, the moral hallucinations within the ebb and flow of hopes and fears?

Shall age alone transmute desire? Not yet have I disentangled illusion from reality: for I know not men from swine, dreams from reality; or whether I did speak only unto myself. Neither know I to whom my anathema would be the more impressionable . . . .

My insensible soliloquy s eaten as revelation! What I spake with hard strived conceit to increase enterprise brings forth only swinish snorts. Water is not alone in finding its level.

I have not me tragedy, no, not in this life! Yet, whether I have spewed their doctrines upon the tables of the Law or into the troughs, at least I have not cast away the flesh of dreams.

And turning towards his light, Zos said: This my will, O Thou Glorious Sun. I am weary of my snakes descending-making slush.

Farewell antithesis. I have suffered. All is paid.

Let me go forth to recreate my sleep.

Image: Austin Spare at home, 1953

The Black Pullet

2008-04-22T11:50:00.006Z

The Black Pullet is a not so well known grimoire which teaches the "science of magical talismans and rings" including the necromantic arts and Kabbalah. It is rumoured to have been written in the late 18th century by an anonymous French officer who served in Napoleon's army. According to the narrative the story centers around this French officer during Napoleon's (Napoleon is referred to here as the "genius") Egyptian expedition when his unit are suddenly attacked by Arab soldiers. The French officer is the only survivor of the attack. An old Turk appears and takes the French officer into a secret apartment within one of the nearby pyramids. He nurses him back to health whilst sharing with him the magical teachings from ancient manuscripts that escaped the "burning of Ptolemy's library".

The book contains information regarding the creation of certain magical objects such as talismanic rings, amulets and the Black Pullet itself. The book teaches the reader how to use these magical objects. Perhaps the most interesting magical property is the power to produce the Black Pullet, otherwise known as the Hen that Lays Golden Eggs. The person who understands and attains the power to instruct the Black Pullet will gain unlimited wealth. The notion of such a lucrative possession has been reflected throughout history in fairy tales and folklore.

This text has often been associated to two other texts known as the Red Dragon (or The Grand Grimoire) and the Black Screech Owl (also known as The Black Pullet or Treasure of the Old Man of the Pyramids).

Download The Black Pullet

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The Book of the Law - New Ebook Edition.

2008-04-21T15:13:00.006Z

A very nice .pdf edition of Liber Al vel Legis on free download. I have several versions of Liber Al on CD and this is by far the best version I have seen. Download it today.

"This is an epic book, an awesome book, and an awe-full book. The shortest epic ever written and bears an author's name to strike fear into the heart of every fundamentalist Christian you could meet. That alone makes it worthwhile, and worth carrying on your person at all times, to produce like a hand grenade when needed." From Foreword to The 2002 Occult E-Books edition of
the Book of the Law Francis Breakspear.

Liber AL vel Legis is made up of three chapters, each of which was written down in one hour, beginning at noon, on April 8, April 9, and April 10 1904. Aleister Crowley claimed that the author was an entity named Aiwass, whom he later referred to as his Holy Guardian Angel. The teachings within Liber Al vel Legis are expressed as the Law of Thelema, usually encapsulated by these two phrases:

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" (AL I:40)
"Love is the law, love under will" (AL I:57)

The original title of the book was Liber L vel Legis. Crowley renamed it Liber AL vel Legis in 1921. Today, the book is referred to as Liber AL, Liber Legis or just Al.

Demonology

2008-04-20T16:25:00.003Z

"Do you seek to know the origin of The Devil? It is the same as that of the other angels. But the other angels persevered in their obedience, whereas he, by disobeying and obeying proud, fell and became the Devil." Saint Augustine

Demonology is, as its name suggests, the study of demons: which prompts the question, what a demon is. The word itself derives from the Greek daimon, meaning simply a supernatural spirit or power of an inferior sort, i.e., not a god. Thus eudaimonia, having a good daimon, which is translated as "happiness" or "fulfillment" or even "a flourishing life" (the last is the rendering of the estimable Martha Nussbaum). When Socrates, in the Apology, claimed to be advised by a daimon, he meant (it seems) more or less what we now call "the voice of conscience" (or would call it, if we were still old-fashioned enough to believe in a conscience). In Latin, the word became dæmon. The general rule, as Latin degenerated through the Middle Ages, was that the dipthongs "æ" and "oe" (which isn't in the standard web character set) became "e"; this gave us edifice from æedificum, celestial from coelestis, and demon from dæmon. None of which actually says what the word came to mean.

In a basic sense, the meaning remained unchanged: an inferior sort of supernatural being. But such a statement carried one set of implications for the pagans, and another, very different one for Christians. (I don't know how the other sorts of monotheists in the classical world --- Jews, Zoroastrians, Manicheans, the sundry Gnostic sects, etc., used the word, or even how it is employed in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament.) In the Christian tradition, there was only one category of supernatural beings inferior to God, namely the angels, who were divided between those who joined in Lucifer's rebellion (a third of the heavenly host, according to the Book of Revelation) and were condemned to Hell, and those who remained loyal to their Creator and stayed in Heaven. (A charming Irish tradition explained the fairies as the angels who opted for neutrality, but this is not orthodox at all.) The existence of the pagan gods was not, for the most part, denied by the Fathers of Church (for instance, Augustine): they were real alright, and really did work miracles for their followers, they just happened to be fallen angels who lied through their teeth (or whatever it is immaterial beings lied through). This applied all the way down the line, from the Olympian Gods to the most minor fountain nymph, so the dæmones of the pagans were really fallen angels. Thus "demon" came to mean "fallen angel, inhabitant of Hell." Demonology, then, took the form of saying what these fiends were like, and what they were up to.

In a sense, this took a respectable form in the writings of the Scholastics. Demons being a species of the genus of angels, anything which was true of angels was, of course, also true of demons. Any interested reader may pursue this thread in the writings of, for instance, Thomas Aquinas; nothing like his discussion of the problem of resurrecting cannibals who eat only human flesh, and whose parents did likewise, but still interesting. It is the unrespectable side of demonology which is more piquant.

This took the form of people writing about the details and particularities of Hell and its inhabitants. Some of this writing professed to be of service to good Christians; a much larger volume of it was frankly for practitioners of ritual magic who wished to make use of the supernatural powers of demons. It is in these sources that we read of the elaborate hierarchy of Hell, with its Dukes and Counts and Grand Dukes and Presidents and Chancellors, in fact, all the accoutrements of the terrestrial feudal order. All of these beings were given names, descriptions, habits and habitations. Those aspiring to traffic with the powers of Hell were advised on which demon was best suited to which operation they had in mind --- this one for seeing the future, that one for getting the object of your lust to have sex with you, a third for finding hidden treasure.

Now, in the earlier parts of the Middle Ages, the Church's attitude towards such demonologists and the traditions of ritual magic they were a part of was actually half-way reasonable. While not denying the existence of demons or the rest of of the mythology (it was, after all, in Augustine), it did tend to look very skeptically on anyone who actually claimed supernatural powers or to deal with demons. (Such people were of course still sinners, since it was the intent to perform these acts, thereby infringing on the perogatives of God, which mattered.) This began to change as the Middle Ages gave way to the Renaissance, and especially as inquisitors and other authorities already familiar with traditions of ritual magic (which, since it demanded literacy and even Latin, was very much an aristocratic sort of unorthodoxy) began to have to deal with the supernatural practices of peasants in remote, backward areas --- the usual sort of hexing-your-neighbors-goat affair which can be found in almost any peasant society, persisting, for instance, at least through the 1950s in the Ozark mountains in the USA. For fairly obscure reasons, Churchmen began to actually believe the claims to magical powers; which, within the orthodox Christian scheme, could only be explained by recourse to demons.

Thus was inaugurated the great European witch-craze, which was a shameful and criminal enough episode, even if it did not kill nine million people and was not the suppression of a pagan religion. (I've gone over that elsewhere in these notebooks.) So, too, was born the golden era of demonology, when witch-hunters and aspiring witch-hunters of all sorts discoursed upon the nature of the true enemy at great length, and the medieval grimoires were elaborated into vast treatises, some of them rather refined products of Renaissance Latinity. (James I of England wrote a Daemonologie, in Forme of a Dialogue, published in 1603, for instance.) It lasted more or less until the beginning of the eighteenth century; Galileo and Descartes were contemporaneous, even prior to, such works of erudition as Richard Gilpin's Dæmonologia sacra, or, A Treatise of Satan's temptations (London: Richard Randal and Peter Maplasden, 1677). Gradually, as the educated came to be, if not more rational, then at any rate ashamed of public avowals of superstition, demonology as a learned discipline died out, save perhaps among the most backward of theologians.

This happy state of affairs has continued, more or less, to the present day. True, with the revival of interest in magic inaugurated by the Romantic period, from time to time some unusually benighted occultist will pen a tome on demons --- I myself, browsing through the stacks of the Berkeley library, have seen examples from the 19th century which, to my eye, were fully the equal of anything which flowed from the pens of James I or Cotton Mather. But modern occultism tends to be fairly diffuse and intellectually squishy, and, most important, to reject Christianity; it has, therefore, no reason to couch itself in terms of demons and fallen angels. (Of course some of its representatives do so, playing a more extreme form of the game known to members of the Society for Creative Anarchonism as "shock the mundies.") Today, therefore, demonology is mainly pursued by those who share a credulous belief in the supernatural with an acceptance of the Christian tradition, i.e., by the most benighted of the Protestant sects. This Republic is already over-supplied with these people, and they have been gathering numbers and strength for decades. We do not yet see courses in demonology at Christian colleges, much less revivals of laws against witch-craft, but one may always hope...

One of the most curious thing about demonology is the following. It is full of facts, incredibly detailed ones, with no basis whatsoever. (There are no angels; a fortiori there are no fallen ones, and thus no facts about them.) Where, then, did all those names, portraits, descriptions, chains of command, specialties and so forth come from? Well, much of it was simply each writer borrowing from his predecessors, and historians are very good at uncovering such things. Some of it was simply re-interpreting various beliefs of the pagans, heathens and peasants within an inherited schema. But most of it was just made up. For someone interested in pathological intellectual disciplines, understanding how people --- copy-writers, poets, scientists, politicians, role-playing gamers, demonologists --- make things up is pretty important. Equally important is understanding what happens after they've made things up, how such inventions spread, or fail to, among the members of the relevant community, to be incorporated into further imaginings or condemned to the dust-heap, or even to get their authors condemned. One could probably do very useful work by examining the later process among the European demonologists of the last thousand years or so; their imaginations are, fortunately, no longer accessible for study.

This is as good a place as any to reflect upon the story of the rebellion of the angels, at least as a literary theme. The first person, so far as I can determine, to make it such was Milton, in a work which even Voltaire was forced to admire. But the story, as Milton tells it, is inconsistent. Lucifer and his fellow angels were, after all, angels, "intellectual beings" (II, 147); for such creatures, or indeed anything sharper than a bag of hammers, to rebel against a power they knew to be omnipotent simply makes no sense. Either Lucifer and his angels were dumb as rocks; or God is not omnipotent; or, as Mitchell Porter points out to me, the rebel angels were simply acting out of defiance and spite, knowing their cause to be hopeless, which is not the way Milton tells it, but has a certain plausibility to modern ears. (The Zoroastrian solution, which of course predates the Christian tradition by many centuries, was to make the opposing powers of good and evil, Ahura-Mazda and Ahriman, equally powerful and equally eternal. While admirably symmetric and logical, there have been strangely few takers for this notion.) For the most part, those later writers who have taken up the theme have been more or less hostile to Christianity, and accordingly have opted to portray God as less than omnipotent, and the rebellion as a less-than-totally-irrational gamble which failed. (Of course, the other problem with Paradise Lost is that, in the words of a later and lesser poet,

Malt does more than Milton can
To justify God's ways to Man,

the whole problem of theodicy being insoluble within the bounds of Christianity, or indeed any religion which believes in a God omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent.)

This would also be the appropriate place to discuss various mutations of the monotheist belief in devils --- like the Bohemian sect who came to regard Lucifer as the true savior, or the origins of Satan in the Old Testament as a kind of prosecuting attorney at the court of Yahweh (see Job) --- but I'm tired and I've got real work to do.

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The Discordian Tarot

2008-04-20T14:57:00.003Z

A Description of the Discordian Deck as discovered by Max Flax Beeblewax and (boing!) Cnoocy Mosque O'Witz

TRUMPS

Card Format: name on bottom. Arabic number on top middle. Mayan number on left and right upper corners.

1: The Sacred Cow: a cow. Speech balloon says "mu". Meaning: a sacred cow.
2: A Pope: a pope card. Meaning: querent, or anybody really.
3: The Initiate: a hand holding a book, reading. Letter in book is "T". Meaning: someone looking for knowledge or at the beginning of a journey.
4: The Illuminate: a hand writing a book. Letter in book is "E". Meaning: someone who has gained knowledge or completed a journey.
5: The Believer: a sheep. Meaning: someone who accepts ideas.
6: The Skeptic: a dragon. Meaning: someone who rejects ideas.
7: Flower: a five-petaled flower, with pistil and stamen evident. Meaning: sex, drugs, and hedonic pursuits.
8: The Trout: a fish with a hat on. Meaning: silliness, laughter, surrealism.
9: Conspiracy: silhouettes at a table. Meaning: Theres a plot behind coincidences.
10: Joker: traditional playing-card joker. Meaning: wild card.
11: Net of Synchronicity: lines connect circles near a mystical face. Meaning: Theres a cosmic force behind coincidences.
12: Discordian Deck: information about the deck. Meaning: this deck, or self-referentialism. 13: The Big Bang: a stylized circular explosion. Meaning: Eristic Creation.
14: The Great Pyramid: a pyramid in front of a horizon. Meaning: Aneristic Creation.
15: Radioactivity: radioactivity symbol. Meaning: Aneristic Destruction.
16: The Tower of Babel: decomposing rectangle containing Genesis 11:7. Meaning: Eristic Destruction.
17: The Discordian Society: a golden-apple flag on a slanted forked stick. Meaning: Eristic group or groups.
18: The Bavarian Illuminati: an eye/pyramid flag on a vertical pointed stick. Meaning: Aneristic group or groups.
19: Greyface: a bearded man in robes kneeling with a compass. Meaning: someone on the all-order trip.
20: Eris: a wild-haired girl dancing. Meaning: someone on the all-disorder trip.
21: The Golden Apple: an apple with "kallisti" on it in greek letters. Meaning: Eristic forces. 22: The Pentagon: a thick pentagon, pointing sideways. Meaning: Aneristic forces.
23: The Sacred Chao: The Sacred Chao. Meaning: The Sacred Chao.

MINORS

Card Format: for D, S, C, and A, name on bottom. In upper left and upper right corners, suit symbol then number/letter.

Suits: The suits are named after the five basic Discordian elements. They correspond to the five senses, the five Aristotelian elements, and every other five you can find lying around. Try figuring out which of your toes is the "Prickle" toe some time when you're feeling inspired.

SweetsSweets
Taste, Water, Pleasure (a drop of water or tongue, with a smile)
BoomsBooms
Hearing, Air, Action (an ear-shaped cloud)
PungentsPungents
Smell, Aether, Intensity (a dark circle with two smaller circles inside it next to each other, like infinity or a snout)
PricklesPrickles
Touch, Earth, Conformity (5 lines coming up off a horizontal base, like a hand or mountain)
OrangesOranges
Sight, Fire, Bizarreness (an upward-pointing eyelike crescent, or very stylized flame, or an orange)

Faces:
Z (zip): blank card except for corners. A lack of whatever the suit means.
1: one of the symbol. A good amount of whatever.
2: two of the symbol, one above the other. Shared whatever.
3: three of the symbol, in a vertical line. Imbalance of whatever.
4: four of the symbol, in a square. Excess whatever.

O: Onomatopoeia. A moment of whatever, or the sense of the suit. O of Sweet: MMMMM O of Boom: whoosh O of Pungent: O O of Prickle: thud O of Orange: wow

D: Day. The days of the Discordian week, and the time of a spiritual day.
Sweetmorn: A Sweet symbol poking over the horizon, with an arrow upwards. The happy beginning of something.
Boomtime: A Boom symbol in front of a circle. The hectic morning, or the starting work of something.
Pungenday: A shining Pungent symbol above a horizon. The noon meditation or the central point of a task or project.
Prickle-Prickle: Two overlapping Prickle symbols. A physical afternoon, a siesta, a non-thinking time.
Setting Orange: An Orange symbol half-visible over the horizon, with an arrow downwards. The end of the day and the cast party after a project. (Cnoocy on the range of the D cards: "They cover the day from sunrise to sunset. They dont cover the night since that is the domain of Eris's mother, Nox.")

S: Season. The Seasons from the Discordian Calendar. See The Seasonal Document.
Chaos: No illusions
Discord: Eristic Illusion
Confusion: Conflict between both Illusions
Bureaucracy: Aneristic Illusion
The Aftermath: Playing with Illusions

C: Cow. A Cow. May symbolize someone in the midst of whatever, but not actually affected by it.

A: Apostle of Eris. Hung Mung, Dr. Van Van Mojo, Saint Gulik, Zarathud, and Malaclypse the Elder.

Early Exercises in Evocation

2008-04-20T14:08:00.005Z

We lay beneath the vault in Byronesque romancing, dreaming up evocations for the gods. They are full of personal inuendo and do no justice to the art of poetry but nonetheless served us well for the time they were intended.

Spout those horns, bore bone with diamond,
we are the bull in blood in sap we are that molecular rush.
Oscillation is our direction though we are still, perched upon the cross
in guard of the split moon that whisks from side to side about their pole.
Create me and give me name, I shall return the favor.
Carve the seal upon thy heart, shred thy
soul so it may breathe, the 6 in hell will render
Time has just begun.
Let each moment be forever, blink and miss thy afterlife for the
sands in your hands are the wings upon thy back.
The torch spares us no shadow as it burns in all our I's.
Let yourself surround you and surround the surrounding more than this
Why are you lost behind the brick?
The mirror has no patience.
Break it now and spread the disease!
The man in the glass thinks himself more us than we do.
The us is the living in between.
It is not held by the punctuation of thy casket nor is it waiting for
the silence to inhale, it is here and there and we are both

Ave Baphomet!

Art by Nephilistic

Born to me, within me, soul inside.
Cloven hoofed beast long for escape.
Free from chains and breathing in deep air,
forest filling with thorns, clouding skies break rain.
Come to me, living thing inside rotting flesh, feeding mind.
Tell the forming mire she cannot have this find and lay screaming for beauty.
Sounding hooves scrape before the rush, come to me!
Nobility breeding mind immensity of wood and leaf,
Fell trees and leave clear a path!
Sealed in ink, drawn in blood,
this signet sings within. Beating heart so soft a song
Even sun filters light, it does nothing to belong.
Outside and within.
Call down the fall!
Rolling thunder, jagged strike speak a name.
Hollow wind and silent stars cry a name.
Withering blade and dried carcass breathe a name.
Name is all.

IO PAN!

Art by Taurina

Lay, Bornless One. Lay with me as if you are the moon and I the sun.
Come in the hour of conception, blind me with sweet deception.
Weave one more lie before I am free of time.
Listen to my heart, hear my mind breathe,
am I regrettably human, mostly ignorant and slightly blind?
Let loose, let me choose so I see the light.
Walk, be with me in the night.
Morning sun, kiss as I rise do not look to me.
Fear anger, hate words, illusion hurts, truth burns.
See me for what I truly am, Magus and adept but still man.
Night is a solitary plane, bear my soul and give me pain.
No matter, it is still same.
In strength and unity remain.
Come O Bornless One!
You the rising moon and I the rising sun.
I am two and I am one, I am all and I am none.

Art by Immortus

Dark Prince, devoid of sacred light, feel a heart, feeding, breathing, living.
Feed on love, necessary for survival. Meeting needs and living life.
Two divisible by one. Four by none. I dare not bleed silence.
Angel falls and star is set. Cold pierces veins and blood freezes still and quiet.
Hear it no more, frozen time.
Failing heart and mind blackened sackcloth sun. Life prevailing, its strength mortal.
Force inevitable, sustaining and lengthening.
Love and time and destiny malevolent.
Take reluctant place in time, continuing magi.
Arcarnum! Symbol of eternity. Sign read back to front.
All reversed.
Deepening oceans vast, crossing continents, cannot find you.
There, we are one far travelling to find the mortal way.
One life lost without afterlife, no more hope of eternity and immortality failing.
Death. Tortured silence.
Harbouring sacred desires enthralling and enslaving soul.
Half a life. Half a death. No life at all.
Times master and slave, destiny bought by coin.
Recognising duality but do not let it sleep side by side.
Losing dimensions above time. Feeling beating heart I die alone,
Feeling pulse within me as I lay losing harrowing agony, time do not deny me this,
One last dying wish be it this.
Create through touch, through thought, through mind. By word.

AVE SATANAS! AVE SATANAS!

Art by ClaireModel

Scrying

2008-04-19T23:12:00.002Z

"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." Edgar Allen Poe

I have been asked many times now to talk on the subject of scrying. Some common questions have arisen and many magicians seem to find the same problems occur over and again with the medium of scrying as a form of divination and contact with other worlds. I hope this article is of some use to those of you who are struggling with the mirror.

Questions:

1: Which kind of mirror should I use?
2: The images I see are distorted.
3: How does scrying work?
4: I want to use scrying to summon Goetic demons. Is this possible?
5: I have purchased some magickal oils, can I annoint my crystal ball with them?
6: Should I keep my scrying glass wrapped in black cloth when not in use?
7: Are there any other methods of scrying that do not involve using balls and glasses?

Answers:

1: Anything from flat glass painted matt black on one side, a crystal ball (either natural quartz, rose quartz or amethyst as they are cheapest but if money is no object try for obsidian or lapis lazuli) old concave clock glass again painted matt black, black ink floated on water (I even tried black coffee but the results weren't spectacular!) Experimentation is the key. Its a matter of personal preference which color you use as each color vibrates at a different frequency.

2: The accuracy of the image in the mirror depends on the quality of the glass. If the glass is flawed then so will be the images scryed. Ordinary window glass is not perfect and using second hand clock glass is often scratched. John Dee used Black Obsidian and a flawless piece at that. Crystal balls are better but to obtain a perfect piece you have to be prepared to pay. A little tip though - not all crystal balls sold in new age stores are actual rock quartz, it is quite legal to sell glass balls under the label of quartz as that is exactly what glass is. Some magicians do prefer flaws in the scrying medium as they open up new worlds to the seer its a matter of personal choice but with flaws you have to be ready for unexpected results.

3: Scrying opens the mind merely focusing images from the subconscious onto the retina in the eye. The glass is used as a tool in the same way the tarot is used.

4: Yes. The entity will be contained by the glass and that is often safer than having them stood in your living room! So long as all the usual safeguards of evocation are met such as the banishings then there should be no problems.

5: Oiling is a messy process and who wants a sticky crystal ball! If the fragrance gets you there why not just burn incense while you scry that way you can match the odour to the purpose or entity in mind. The glass must be kept clean, that is paramount. If you must use oil, virgin olive oil is the most practical and also quite inexpensive.

6: Yes. The reasons for this are quite obvious. You do not want anyone else handling the glass as it will pick up their vibrations so if it is covered and kept in a box it avoids aunties saying "oh that looks fun, can I have a go!" Another reasons is again cleanliness, it keeps the dust off and believe it or not some natural minerals do fade in sunlight.

7: Dream scrying, a favorite of the Ancient Egyptians involves using an oil lamp and scrying into the flame. The idea is a desire can be projected into the flame and thus continued to a lucid conclusion. Pyromancy (the use of fire to scry visions) is well known and if you feel an affinity with fire give it a try. Use an open fire either outdoors such as a small bonfire or indoors if you have a natural coal or wood fire. A candle flame is also quite effective.

The illustration for this post is The Crystal Ball (1902) by the Pre-Raphaelite artist John William Waterhouse (1849-1917). Waterhouse is perhaps best know for The Lady of Shallot which represents a scene from the poem of the same name by Lord Alfred Tennyson. During the early 1950s the skull next to the book had been painted over. Using modern restoration techniques an x-ray of the painting revealed how the skull had been disguised by the curtain and now the work has been restored to reveal a more esoteric interpretation.

Magickal Authors - H P Lovecraft

2008-04-19T22:51:00.005Z

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born on 20 August 1890 in Providence, Rhode Island. He came from distinguished British ancestry on both sides of his family. His mother made him wear his hair long until the age of six and treated him like a girl. His father was Winfield Scott Lovecraft a traveling salesman, who went mad, probably from syphilis and died when his son was five. At the time of his birth Lovecraft's family was quite well-to-do, most of the wealth derived from the extensive business interests of Lovecraft's maternal grandfather, Whipple Van Buren Phillips. This prosperity, however, was not to last. At the death of Whipple Phillips in 1904 his fortune was squandered and the Lovecrafts were forced to move out of their Victorian home into cramped quarters at 598 Angel Street. Lovecraft was devastated by the loss of his birthplace, and apparently contemplated suicide, as he took long bicycle rides and looked wistfully at the watery depths of the Barrington River. But the thrill of learning banished those thoughts. Lovecraft suffered from terrifying nightly disturbances and nightmares which lasted until his own death. This deeply personal material also marked his stories.

Lovecraft was a precocious youth: he was reciting poetry at age two, reading at age three, and writing at age six or seven. His earliest enthusiasm was for the Arabian Nights, which he read by the age of five; it was at this time that he adapted the pseudonym of Abdul Alhazred, who later became the author of the mythical Necronomicon. The next year, however, his Arabian interests were eclipsed by the discovery of Greek mythology, gleaned through Bulfinchs Age of Fable and through children�s versions of the Iliad and Odyssey. But Lovecraft had by this time already discovered weird fiction, and his interest in the weird was fostered by his grandfather, who entertained Lovecraft with off-the-cuff weird tales in the Gothic mode.

Lovecraft grew up as a fringe member of the conservative New England aristocracy, and was educated at local schools. He was somewhat lonely and suffered from frequent illnesses, many of them apparently psychological. His attendance at the Slater Avenue School was sporadic, and he was often kept away from school by his overprotective mother, but Lovecraft was soaking up much information through independent reading. At about the age of eight he discovered science, first chemistry, then astronomy. During this time he found the works of Edgar Allan Poe, who had visited several times the library in Province, and whose model inspired Lovecraft in his literary aspirations. He also read works by Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, M.R. James, and Lord Dunsany (1878-1957), who inspired him to write the short novel The dream-quest of unknown Kadath (1926).

Lovecraft later believed that Hellenism and astronomy were the two central influences of his early years, the latter especially because it led directly to his "cosmic" philosophy wherein mankind and the world are but a flyspeck amidst the vortices of infinite space. Lovecrafts first appearance in print occurred in 1906, when he wrote a letter on an astronomical matter to The Providence Sunday Journal. Shortly thereafter he began writing a monthly astronomy column for The Pawtuxet Valley Gleaner, a rural paper; he later wrote columns for The Providence Tribune (1906-08) and The Providence Evening News (1914-18), as well as The Asheville (N.C.) Gazette-News (1915). It was in the amateur world that Lovecraft recommenced the writing of fiction, which he had abandoned in 1908. W. Paul Cook and others, noting the promise shown in such early tales as The Beast in the Cave (1905) and The Alchemist (1908), urged Lovecraft to pick up his fictional pen again. This Lovecraft did, writing The Tomb and Dagon in quick succession in the summer of 1917. Thereafter Lovecraft kept up a steady if sparse flow of fiction, although until at least 1922 poetry and essays were still his dominant mode of literary expression. Lovecraft also became involved in an ever-increasing network of correspondence with friends and associates, and he eventually became one of the greatest and most prolific letter-writers of the century. L. Sprague de Camp has claimed in Lovecraft: A Biography (1975) that the author wrote over 1000,000 letters. At the age of 27 he was still at home, writing gloomy tales. He was eventually offered the job of editor at the magazine Weird Tales, but he turned the offer down.

Lovecraft was virtually unknown most of his career as a writer. His posthumous fame, particularly in America and France, rests on his Cthulhu Mythos stories that lead him to become a cult figure in the genre of horror fiction. He is considered the most original American writer of weird fiction subsequent to Edgar Allan Poe. Lovecraft's imaginary town in his tales, Arkham, was based on his home town of Providence. He never wrote (or, rather, sold) enough fiction to be a professional writer; instead, his income was provided by an ever-dwindling family inheritance and by the dreary task of literary revision and ghost-writing. This work ran the gamut from textbooks to poetry to novels to articles; but on occasion Lovecraft attracted revision clients who wished to write horror tales, and his "revisions" of the works of such tyros as Hazel Heald, Zealia Bishop, Adolphe de Castro, and others are often tantamount to original composition.

Lovecraft's mother died in 1921, when the author was 31. Mrs. Lovecraft, her frail constitution destroyed by the death of her husband under peculiar circumstances and pathologically overprotective of her only child, died in a sanitarium; the immediate cause of death, however, was a badly managed gall bladder operation. Lovecraft continued to live with his two aunts. His marriage in 1924 with Sonia Greene, who was seven years his senior, lasted only until 1926.

Lovecraft's fiction turned from the nostalgic -- The Shunned House (1924), set in Providence -- to the bitter: He and The Horror at Red Hook (1925) laid bare his feelings about New York, and the ending of the former tale encapsulates his yearning to return to the tranquil and familiar world of New England.

His later works show that he was beginning to outgrow from the genre of horror in the direction of science fiction - among others The Colour Out of Space and The Shadow Out of Time from his mature period were first published in science fiction magazines.

Most of Lovecraft's short stories appeared in the magazine Weird Tales, beginning in 1923. His works from the early phase include The Tomb, The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Tomb, The Statement of Randolph Carter, Rats in the Wall, The Shunned House, From Beyond, and Cool Air, all written with more or less conventional scenarios. Lovecraft often used the first-person narrator, who is a scientist or scholar. The narrator witnesses horrors that contradict his beliefs, and going gradually insane he must face his destiny.

After two years in New York, where Lovecraft was horrified with its oppressive size, the hordes of "aliens" at every corner, its emphasis on speed, money, and commercialism, he returned to Providence on April 17, 1926, where he spent with his aunts the rest of his life. The last ten years of his life were the time of his greatest flowering, both as a writer and as a human being. He nurtured the careers of many young writers (August Derleth, Donald Wandrei, Robert Bloch, Fritz Leiber); he became concerned with political and economic issues, as the Great Depression led him to support Roosevelt and become a moderate socialist; and he continued absorbing knowledge on a wide array of subjects, from philosophy to the New England heritage, evoking its topography, history and society. This mature period produced such stories as The Colour Out of Space, The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow over Innsmouth, The Thing on the Doorstep, The Dreams in the Witch House. Many of Lovecraft's tales utilize a pseudo-mythical framework, termed the Cthulhu Mythos. His best-known work in the series is The call of Cthulhu (1928), where he created his basic myth of the Elder Race. It once dominated the Earth, but largely destroyed itself. Its members now lie sleeping somewhere under the sea or underground. In this cosmic scheme of things, humans were reduced to a position of hapless victims, who are not important for the incomprehensible forces.

His later stories, increasingly lengthy and complex, became difficult to sell, and he was forced to support himself largely through the revision or ghost-writing of stories, poetry, and nonfictions works. In 1936 the suicide of Robert E. Howard, one of his closest correspondents, left him confused and saddened. By this time the illness that would cause his own death, cancer of the intestine had already progressed so far that little could be done to treat it and he died from a combination of cancer and Bright's disease on March 15, 1937 at the Jane Brown Memorial Hospital in Providence. He was buried in the family plot in the Swan Point Cemetery. Lovecraft's friends August Derleth and Donald Wandrei set up in 1939 a publishing house for his work, Arkham House, and the author's books have remained in print ever since. Only recently has a separate marker been erected on his grave, the funds contributed by many of his posthumous admirers; the stone reads: "I am Providence".

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

Traditional Satanism

2008-04-19T22:47:00.001Z

Often I am asked why I follow Traditional Satanism or rather I am told it is 'evil' or destructive. I find that this is not true through my continual studies and practice in the field of the Black Arts. I beg you not to silence me.

"The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error." John Stuart Mill

The idea of evil in a spiritual sense is deeply rooted in the legacy left to us by the Christian Church. They preach man is born into sin and therefore he must climb upwards to reach God via a goodly life. I do not share this opinion. I believe man is born with equal capacity for evil and good and is born neutral. He lives and dies by his decisions throughout his life and then when he finally dies he must stand up before his own personal deity and justify his actions whether they are honourable or not. Do not forget these Christian ideas were superimposed on top of Paganism never more so than in Medieval times when Occult thinking struggled for recognition. How many innocents had to be hung and burnt as 'witches' before it was deemed wrong?

Traditional Satanism encompasses the study of Black Magick and the nature of evil as a magickal dichotomy. It is impossible to be wholly good or totally evil yet the white path is strewn with as many illusions as the black. I believe we must master both roads to achieve completion, not only ascending but descending and thus achieving a greater understanding of the whole.

It is narrow minded and blinkered to accept that only the light can save mankind. How many so called 'love and lighters' hurt others? Another shell methinks to encase the ego, another ivory tower just waiting to be knocked down. Tell me how many times you have lied to spare someones feelings, stolen to save from starvation or used violence uncontrollably? We are all capable of these things. The fundamental difference being the Black Magician does these things under will and accepts the consequences of doing so.

"Evil exists to glorify the good. Evil is negative good. It is a relative term. Evil can be transmuted into good. What is evil to one at one time, becomes good at another time to somebody else." Mencius

To clarify what Black Magick involves, the use of grimoires such as the Clavicula Solomonis, texts such as Barret's Magus and the Scared Magic of Abramelin the Mage. Self discovery and understanding of mans fundamental animal nature (many magicians can look in the mirror and scry the beast within.) A stricter mental discipline that any white magick will allow, (the Black Magician must 'read and not read' the infernal names to prevent subconscious calling.) Finally compassion for what he learns and sees of the world around him, it is far harder to accept and quantify truth than lies, harder to accept we are brutal and aggressive, harder to accept we are vulnerable.

The Traditional Satanist wears a mask few take the time to penetrate. Behind those robes lies a mind struggling to come to terms with mans inhumanity and natures cruelty. Its all the same coin, just another side.

"Evil and good are Gods right hand and left." Horace Mann

Let these words rest with you and maybe you will understand me a little better. If not, I remain with you always.

"The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding." Albert Camus

Art by Neapsimoka

The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage - An Account of Working the Abramelin System

2008-04-19T22:20:00.002Z

There is much confusion and neglect concerning the Abramelin System. Many magicians stumble into it via the only book available on the subject, the text itself with a forward penned by Mathers. I will warn you now Abramelin is not for the beginner. The book is sealed with a legendary curse, Crowley spoke of it but this curse is merely a deterrent for the lower grades. Once the magician has gained sufficient experience he can freely examine the text without too much consequence.

However, it is the method by which the text is worked that manifests the will of the operator. The great draw to the book is of course the manifestation of the Holy Guardian Angel. This is not a complex operation and is executed within a six month timeframe. It is the manifestation of the will in accordance with the magicians law that may take some years to unfold and it is not until this law is complete and whole that he may execute the squares.

Again take heed, all is not what it seems. The squares are crude and you would be correct in thinking they are incomplete. While the relative safety of the temple breeds experimentation stop to think why they are incomplete.

The student of Enochian Magick will be familiar with the glass and the square, now are you beginning to see The Astral is a mirrored Plane, reversing the Physical, flip the Astral again and we see the Mental Plane. Dee's work was manifested and reversed, so again we see the same basic elements at play.

It is not simple. Abramelin's System plays its tricks. Remember Egypt and those damned pyramids. The New Age types squatting before their models hoping to draw down some ancient power. The clues are there. Look at the squares again in three dimensions, can you see more?

I cannot be too literal, there is no such allowance for reason within this system. What I can do is explain the nature of the Abramelin Current. Unlike the Typhonian Current which is quite fluid, ebbing and flowing like a great sea the Abramelin current is flat calm. If it indeed moves (which it must) then the four outside edges roll inward to a null point in the center. It has an above (positive) and a below (negative) so it is polar in nature. The nearest description I have of its fluidity is thick black oil. A shred of light must frame its heart but this current sadly lacks a pulse.

The Abramelin Current feels and sees the very motivation that made you a magician, it cannot be deceived. More than the Beast it is the Ghost of Souls and hides itself well within your fibre irritating the flesh and biting at the mind. Yet always it remains quiet and calm with voice inaudible prompting that secret want that made you a magician. It teaches as it grows outward and learns as it breathes inward.

What fools we are for wanting so much and seeking so little that we stumble on a book and believe we are great and able magicians capable of controlling so great a force as our own nature. We are lost in a world of jeering clowns and run from the crowd to the sanctuary and hatch a spell to even the score. If that is the case then Abramelin is not for you.

Abramelin is a system of magic for leveling the will and executing the law. It is not a system that tolerates over usage. If you must choose a square I implore you to choose wisely. Let yourself be guided by your Karma, the bigger picture. It can be the solution but until the waves come finally crashing on your shore it will remain largely in your life as the problem.

If there is something you cannot lay to rest, a thing which causes you to stumble at every turn, the one thing you know will make the difference to success or failure then Abramelin has the solution. Ah but when it is returned, that thing you lost it will not be the same. It will be eaten away by all the candles you lit for it, all the incense you burnt and all the rhymes you chanted. It will be wounded and burned, I pray you have the gut to accept it for what it is and you do not turn away saying "that magickal operation didn't work." It did my friend, it did.

The Holy Guardian Angel:

Exploring the Sacred Magick of Abramelin the Mage

Aaron Leitch

Behold, I send an Angel before you, to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice; provoke Him not, for He will not pardon thy transgressions; for My Name is in Him. But, if thou shalt indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy unto your enemies, and an adversary unto your adversaries. [Exodus 23: 20-23]

Today we shall meet the Holy Guardian Angel. Many teachers from various spiritual paths stress the importance of this mysterious being, while each of them tend to mean something different by the term. In many cases, folks are just referring to a kind of Angelic bodyguard that keeps one (especially children) out of harm�s way. In other instances, it is treated as a kind of metaphorical construct for deeper spiritual truths- an embodiment of all that is good about a person. Students of modern Western occultism might be most familiar with the equation of the Holy Guardian Angel and one�s own Higher Self. It is my hope that this essay will help make some sense of the whole confusing matter.

In particular, we are going to explore an obscure magickal text from the late 1600s entitled The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage (hereinafter called the Book of Abramelin). This small booklet- available in any bookstore or online (Dover Publishing ISBN 0-486-2311-5.)- reveals a ritual procedure by which a spiritual aspirant might prepare for, invoke, and bond with his Holy Guardian Angel. S.L. Mathers translated the book from a French copy in the late 19th century, and since then the Holy Guardian Angel has disseminated into many areas of modern Western mysticism. While some aspirants have eschewed the Judeo-Christian spiritual philosophy within the text, the concept of the Holy Guardian Angel and the vital importance of gaining contact with this entity have had a tremendous influence upon Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, and even Neopaganism.

Establishing contact with the Guardian Angel is supposed to be a hazardous undertaking, for the aspirant is attempting to invoke the very Voice of God into his or her life. Yet, on top of this, the book further promises that- having gained the cooperation of the Holy Guardian Angel- the aspirant can continue onward to establish control over all the spirits of nature and hell. Needless to say, the Book of Abramelin has been the stuff of Lovecraftian-style fable, and urban legends are easy to find surrounding the text. To attempt the magick and fail (and thus go insane) is only one of the most famous pitfalls. The talismans in the back of the book, they say, tend to work of their own accord. Just owning a copy of the text, we are told, can attract spiritual unrest or even hostile demons to your household!

Thankfully, few of these dark legends about owning, studying, or using the book turned out to be true. Therefore, we are free to explore the subject of Abramelin and the Holy Guardian Angel (or �HGA�) from several different perspectives. First, we will take a look into the Book of Abramelin- its history, contents, and a brief analysis of the Abramelin Rite itself. Then, we�re going to step backward in time to explore the concept of the Guardian- from the most ancient spirit teachers and Patron Gods to the Genius or Daemon of Platonic philosophy. This will lead us into some discussion about classical Gnostic philosophy and how it bears upon the concept of the Holy Guardian Angel. Finally, I will offer another brief analysis of the HGA concept- this time using the Qabalah most familiar to my fellow students of Western mysticism.

The Book of Abramelin

The history of the Book of Abramelin is both fascinating and mysterious. In 1898, occultist and translator S.L. Mathers stumbled across the manuscript in the Library of the Arsenal, Paris, France. It was in French, but claimed to have been translated from a Hebrew original that dated back to 1458. Mathers places the French translation at the end of the seventeenth or beginning of the eighteenth centuries.

Modern scholarship has yet to solve the mysteries of the book�s true origins. First of all, the French manuscript cited by Mathers in his edition has vanished from the Library of the Arsenal. (English translations, however, do remain.) Some have reported that the Library claims no such manuscript ever existed- leading many to label Mathers a fraud who �translated� his book from a copy already in English! However, this theory is highly doubtful. More recently, researchers have reported from the Library that the manuscript is merely lost or stolen. In fact, many such manuscripts were lost in a fire that broke out there early last century.

Even more mystery surrounds the contents of the book, and what they have to say about when and by whom the book was created. The supposed name of the author is �Abraham of Worms� or �Abraham the Jew� (likely a pseudonym with symbolic relation to the father of Judaism). He was a physician, Qabalist, magus, and political advisor to such men as Emperor Sigismond of Germany (1368-1437 CE). However, for the last century, literary scholars have doubted the book could have been written in the late 1400s. For instance, one might note the similarities between Abraham�s autobiography (given in the first part of the Book of Abramelin) and the Fama Fraternatis published in 1614. If Mathers French translation were actually the original, even it was only dated to the late 1600s.

Equally dubious were �Abraham�s� claims of being Jewish. There are many inconsistencies in the text that point to a Christian author. For instance, the numbering from the Vulgate Bible is given for Psalms, and there are references to the Apostles, St. John, and several Catholic prayers. The Christian holy day of Easter is mentioned (rather than the Jewish Passover), and the Talismans given in the book include such names as �Lucifer� and other demons from Christian mysticism. Not only this, but the Book of Abramelin resembles no known Jewish mystical text - such as the Zohar or Sepher Yetzirah. (Nor has there ever been a Hebrew version of the manuscript found.) Instead, it resembles (in parts) the Christian grimoires and exorcism handbooks of the medieval period. The mythology presented in the rhetoric of the book (including Lucifer�s rebellion in heaven, etc) also strikes me as more Christian than Judaic.

This would all seem to make perfect sense. After all, it was common for Christian grimoires (such as the Key of Solomon and the Goetia) to claim both Jewish authorship and false antiquity. Since Mathers released his edition into the West, Abramelin has been considered just another example of the same. Yet, somewhat recently, the plot has thickened! A researcher by the name of Georg Dehn discovered yet another version of the text- this one older than the French!- written in German.

The French/English translation of Abramelin bears some striking differences from the older German. First of all, the French translator systematically reduced the length of the magickal Rite- from one and a half years to merely six months. The French version is also described as much less elaborate, is missing an entire portion of the original text, and a large number of its Talismans are incomplete. More importantly to our discussion here, at least some of the Christian references I mentioned above are not found in the German. (I.e.- the reference to �Easter� in the French was originally to �Passover� in the German.) While this does not prove that Abraham was Jewish, it throws some very reasonable doubt upon the theories surrounding the French version. Now, it is just as likely that Abraham was indeed a Jew, and the Christian bias of the text imparted by the unknown French translator. At this point we cannot be certain.

Mr. Dehn�s research has led him to believe the author of the Book of Abramelin is exactly what he claims. This is likely because he found a historical personage who fits the description of Abraham the Jew- Rabbi Jacob ben Moses Molln (ca 1365-1427). He lived in approximately the same time period claimed by Abramelin�s author, had a similar education and career, and even a missing period in his life that would match the period described in Abrahams autobiography. If this is our man, then it follows that Abraham of Worms is merely a symbolic pseudonym for the Rabbi.

However, the enigma doesn't end here! Mr. Dehn also tells us that he has discovered- in a library in the town of Wolfenbuttel- a copy of the Book of Abramelin dating to 1608. If this is true, the implications are staggering! It would mean that the Fama Fraternatis (published in Germany in 1614) either borrowed its story from the autobiography of Abraham the Jew, or both of these tales were borrowed from some earlier undiscovered source. In my own opinion, it makes some sense that the tale of Christian Rosencreutz would have originally been a tale of a wandering Jew (symbolic of the Diaspora)- later adapted by the Rosicrucians to star a Christian in its principal role.

Mr. Dehn�s work is already available in German, and an English translation is on its way. (Edition Araki Publishing - ISBN 3-936149-00-3) This will greatly expand our understanding of Abramelin, its origins, and its place in Western spirituality.

However, for the last century, it has been the Mathers translation of the French version that has been loved, feared and misunderstood throughout the West. Therefore, without further delay, we shall explore the text as S.L. Mathers presents it.

The Book of Abramelin is divided into three sub-books. The first is the autobiography of Abraham the Jew. He describes his years of questing for the True and Sacred Wisdom, and his several disappointments along the way. (Here are shades of the tale of Christian Rosencreutz in the Fama Fraternatis.) He learns several forms of magick, but finds them all lacking, and their practitioners to be less than they claimed. At the last moments before giving up the quest, Abraham meets an Egyptian adept named Abramelin, who agrees to teach Abraham the Sacred Magick.

Abraham wrote this text for the sake of his younger son Lamech (another Biblically-inspired name). According to the story, Abraham had- in the tradition of Judaism- granted the mysteries of the Qabalah to his oldest son. However, he did not wish to leave Lamech with no key to spiritual attainment, and thus Abraham left behind the Book of Abramelin. This first book ends with the father instructing the son on what kind of life he must lead if he completes the Operation, how the True and Sacred magick should be properly employed.

The second two books, then, are composed of the instructions for the Sacred Magick, which Abraham claims to have copied by hand from Abramelins original. The first part (book two of the trilogy) describes a heavily involved procedure of purification and invocation, resulting in the appearance of one�s own Guardian Angel.

Abraham also spends some time in book two explaining his own philosophies about magick. This is where the text warns against using any other grimoire, sigils or barbarous names of invocation. In one chapter (Book II, Ch. 6), he relates a wonderful alternative to Solomonic magickal hours in detail.

The purifications take the standard grimoiric forms of seclusion, fasting, cleanliness, and a heavy dose of prayer. A separate room- called an Oratory (prayer room) must be maintained in utmost purity during a six month period, as this is where the Angel will appear and bond with the aspirant at the end of this time. Afterward, the Angel takes over as Teacher for the aspirant, and it is from this being (and only this being) that the True and Sacred Wisdom and Magick is discovered.

Once the cooperation of the Angel is assured, one continues to summon forth such demonic princes as Lucifer, Leviathan, Astarot, Belzebud, and several others (twelve in all). These beings are commanded to deliver an Oath of obedience to the mage, as well as the use of four familiar spirits for day-to-day practical tasks.

The third and final book is a collection of magick-square talismans, which the demonic princes and spirits must swear upon when giving their Oaths. Each talisman can then be used to command a spirit to perform a task, in much the same fashion as those in the Key of Solomon the King. The functions of the talismans are those common to grimoiric material- finding treasure, causing visions, bringing books, flight, healing the sick, etc, etc.

The magick squares provided by this text are often mistaken as Goetia-style Seals, where the mere presence of the talismans equals the presence of the spirits themselves. This has led to urban legend-style stories of the �dangers� posed by the possession of the talismans- or even possession of the book itself. However, there is nothing of signatures or Seals about these talismans. Only rarely are the letters of the Abramelin squares formed into recognizable names, and then they are not always the names of the spirits who are actually associated with the talisman. They are only like the Goetia in that the spirits are bound to the squares- but this only occurs after the six month operation. On their own, the talismans seem quite inert and harmless.

In fact, it might be possible to suggest the talismans provided in Abramelin are actually useless. The first clue comes with the fact that Book II provides a long list of the spirits which Abraham the Jew bound by his own performance of the operation, yet Book III states that each aspirant should demand from the Princes a list of personalized spirits. The talismans given in the text are specifically associated with the list of spirits already provided. Theoretically, if one receives his own list of spirits, one should also receive his own book of talismans to go with them.

The second clue is provided by the state of Book III itself. While the first two parts of the work are generally consistent and well (if obscurely) written, Book III persistently shows forth errors, omissions, and outright contradictions. I�ve seen it suggested that Book III was a later addition to the text- written in an obviously different style, and with an obviously different (goetic) intent, from the rest of the Celestial-aimed Operation. It could even be that Book III was added to the work as a blind (to divert the attention of the curious), or even as a kind of bait to lure would-be aspirants who might otherwise pass over the book for more popular Goetia-style operations. Perhaps, we might consider these talismans as mere examples of what Abraham the Jew received from his Guardian Angel for his own personal use. As the Book of Abramelin stresses again and again, the Holy Guardian Angel will instruct one in all necessary areas after contact is made- making anything written in the operation past that point tentative and exemplary at best.

The Abramelin Operation

In this section, I will outline the Abramelin Operation as it is presented in The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. While I have passed over some details (such as specific Psalms, etc), I do believe this is the first time the Operation has been outlined in its original form since Mathers� publication over a century ago. (There are no inclusions from the Golden Dawn or Thelema in what follows.)

Abramelin has a very detailed chapter on the creation of the Oratory, found in Book II, chapter 11 (Concerning the Selection of the Place). It first suggests one erect it in a natural setting, if you happen to live in the country. It should be in a "small wood," or (one might assume) a small clearing completely enclosed by trees. The Altar is erected in the center of the clearing, built of "stones which have never been worked or hewn, or even touched by the hammer." (See Exodus 20:25, Deuteronomy 27:5, I Kings 6:7)

Abramelin continues its instruction for the wooded Oratory by building a shelter (tent or tabernacle) of "fine branches" over the Altar to protect it from rain (i.e.- for when the Lamp and Censor are burning). Surrounding the Altar at a distance of seven paces one must plant a "hedge of flowers, plants, and green shrubs." If these are high enough, they would provide better privacy than the surrounding trees alone. In any case, they serve to divide the space into an outer area and an inner Holy of Holies (the shelter and Altar). The general idea behind this arrangement can be found in scripture at Exodus 26, where Yahweh instructs Moses in the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and includes the separation of the Holy of Holies with a veil.

Of course, few people will have the luxury to establish such a wonderful natural Oratory. Abramelin accounts for this and offers an "urban" alternative. This Oratory needs only be an apartment (room) with a north-facing window leading to a balcony or terrace. The floor and walls should be made of (or covered in) white pine. A Lamp that burns (preferably olive-) oil should be hung from the ceiling or placed upon the Altar. The terrace (used for summoning earth-bound spirits) is covered in pure river sand of "two fingers depth at least."

The Altar in this case is not made of stones, but is a hollow wooden cabinet (perhaps made of pine after the walls and floor) for the storing of the magickal tools. Upon the Altar must be a silver or brass Censor, and a brass tray to hold charcoal and excess ashes. ONLY the tray may leave the Oratory at any time- in order to dispose of the ashes in some pure place such as a garden.

The bulk of the magickal tools are secluded within the Altar cabinet during the six months of preparation. (Most of them come into play only during the final seven days- which is the Rite of Abramelin proper.) Here we find the magickal vestments: a white linen Robe used to approach the Angel, and an additional red silk over-robe, white silk girdle, and a white and gold silk crown (like a filet) used for commanding the lower spirits. There is also included a set of funerary garments- consisting of a robe of sackcloth (called a robe of mourning) and two silk veils (black and white).

All of the talismans from Book III (assuming one should use them at all) are supposed to be drawn beforehand and stored within the Altar. Interestingly, Abramelin makes no use of consecrated pens, inks, or papers. In Book II, chapter 20, the author insists that drawing the symbols clearly with any pen and ink- so that the operations intended by each is not obscured- will suffice. (This is only one such pointed departure the author takes from typical grimoiric literature- the bulk of which he feels to be false and vain.)

Regardless of the talismans, the primary tool used to command the spirits is a Wand made of almond-tree wood. This likely arises from Numbers 17, where a branch of almond wood miraculously sprouted blossoms, and thus established Moses� brother Aaron as the High Priest of Israel, chosen by God.

It is also necessary to make a blank Talisman from a square of silver. This is wrapped in white silk and stored with the other tools in the Altar. The meaning of this odd Silver Talisman is obscure. However, the text makes it clear that it belongs in some way to the Guardian Angel, and it may even serve as a kind of scrying mirror. My own impression is that- mirror or no- it is intended to facilitate the connection between human and Angel.

This connection is also greatly assisted by the final two items found upon the Altar- the Holy Oil and Incense . (Their recipes are found in Book II, chapter 11.) The Incense is employed for all purposes from the invocation of the Guardian Angel to the conjuration of the infernal spirits. Like many aspects of the Abramelin system, the perfume is derived from Biblical authority. Exodus 30 contains a recipe given by Yahweh to Moses for the composition of the Perfume for use in the Tabernacle. One can compare this with the recipe given in the Book of Abramelin:

One part of Incense in Tears (Olibanum, Frankincense), one-half part of Stacte (Storax, Benzoin), and one-quarter part Lignum-aloes (or Cedar, Rose Petals, or Citron). Reduce all of these to a fine powder (or purchase them as such and mix them thoroughly), and keep the result in a sealed container.

I would advise against simply purchasing "Abramelin Incense," since such perfumes rarely contain the actual ingredients as listed in the grimoire.

There is also a Holy Anointing Oil prescribed by Yahweh in Exodus 30, which was intended to consecrate the Priesthood, and all of the vessels, tools, implements, and furnishings of the Tabernacle. As with the Holy Perfume above, we can easily compare the similarities between the Biblical original and Abramelin�s version:

One part Myrrh (in resin form). Two parts fine Cinnamon. One-half part Galangal. And half the total weight of these drugs of the best olive oil. Mix together according to the Art of the Apothecary to make a balsam (ointment) and keep in a glass vial.

The mention of the "Art of the Apothecary" in the creation of the Holy Oil is likely a reference to an aspect of the alchemical arts- by which essential oils are extracted from plant matter. It is acceptable to purchase all of the above ingredients in an essential oil form, and mix them according to the directions. Again, beware of ready-made Abramelin Oil, as it may or may not include the proper ingredients.

Typical of the ritual outlined in grimoiric literature, the Book of Abramelin employs a regimen of cumulative abstinence and ceremony. The requirements are few in the first phase of the Rite, but they increase in number and complexity as the aspirant progresses. Abramelin is perhaps the best of all examples, because its process is extended over a daunting six month period. (Other grimoires may require as little as a month or just nine days.) Dedication to such a lengthy period of purification really does bring about drastic changes in one�s lifestyle and habitual patterns.

The first two months impose no major restrictions other than an attempt to live purely, honestly, serenely, and moderately. One is told to "seek retirement as far as possible." As for ceremonial procedure, one needs only to enter the Oratory twice a day- once in the morning and once in the evening. Each time, a confession is uttered, followed by a prayer to the Highest- the structure of each left completely to the discretion of the aspirant. For six days of the week, nothing else is required in the way of ritual. Only on the Sabbath day (Saturday or Sunday) must one light the Lamp and burn Incense upon the Altar. This represents the extent of the first two months� difficulty. Procedural mistakes are hard to make, and this leaves these months open for adjustment to the new lifestyle.

For the second two months, the ceremonial procedure increases to a certain degree. One must fast every Friday night (the Sabbath Eve), wash with purified water before entering the Oratory at dawn and dusk, and generally prolong the prayers themselves. The isolation continues as before, and the aspirant is told: "Only it is absolutely necessary to retire from the world and seek retreat." At this point, most of the novice mistakes will have been made and corrected, and one will have faced and dealt with a good number of heretofore unconscious habits. More than anything, the novelty of the entire affair will have worn away, and the aspirant will be reaching a point of mental exhaustion.

The final two months switch the Operation into high gear- involving a lot more formal ritual.. A third prayer (at noon) is added to the daily regimen- each time washing in pure water, donning the White Robe, and kindling the lamp and incense. As well, a second prayer is added to each session- this one to the Guardian Angel. If it is at all possible, the aspirant must cease to work- or to leave the home for nearly any reason. He is told to "shun all society except that of your Wife and of your Servants" and that "ye shall quit every other matter only permitting your recreation to consist in things Spiritual and Divine." The aspirant is told to avoid sexual stimulation like the plague, and is likewise barred from performing any magickal work (except for healing).

All of this gives the aspirant much more to concentrate upon, resulting in a heightened mental focus. It tends to occupy the aspirant totally, and the increased isolation can induce new mental stress. Fortunately, if one has overcome the exhaustion felt in the second two months- literally passing through it rather than retreating- this stage of the Operation can produce a second wind.

After these six months of slowly increasing restriction and purification, the Abramelin Rite proper- by which permanent contact with the Guardian Angel is established- takes place over a seven day period. These days are extremely intense- including total seclusion (even separating from one�s family), heavy fasting, hours of prayer, very specific magickal tools and procedures, and the summoning of several classes of spiritual entities. All of the preparations undertaken in the previous six months have served to induce an altered state of consciousness- the stresses and exhaustion establishing the necessary mental condition for the ego-death to follow.

The seven days are divided into one, three, and three. That is- one day for the consecration of everything necessary to perform the magick, three days for the "convocation of the good and holy spirits" (where the HGA is invoked), and three days for the "convocation of the evil spirits" (where the earth-bound and infernal spirits are bound).

The first day is the Day of Consecration. One is to enter the Oratory almost as usual- though with two exceptions. First, one is instructed to enter with bare feet, and to never wear shoes in the Oratory again. (This is likely due to the Divine injunction given to Moses in Exodus: "Put thy shoes off thy feet, for the ground upon which thou standest is holy." Exodus 3:5) Secondly, one is not to don the White Robe.

Instead, the White Robe is placed upon the Altar- along with the Red Robe, Girdle, Crown, and the Wand of Almond. Kneeling at the Altar with the Holy Oil in hand, a long prayer is recited asking for the Divine to touch and consecrate both the aspirant himself and his magickal tools. As before, the composition of this oration is left up to the aspirant. It is followed by the anointing of the aspirant, all of the items on the Altar and the Altar itself with the Holy Oil. Finally, the usual two prayers are recited before leaving the Oratory, and nothing more is required on this day.

The second day is the first day of the invocation of the Angel. This is where the funerary symbolism of the Rite comes into play. At dawn, one is not to wash or don the White Robe, but instead must put on the Robe of Mourning. Once inside, ashes are taken from the Censor and placed upon one�s head (a funeral custom found in Biblical literature- such as the Book of Job), and a black veil is placed over the head and face.

Now, the Abramelin Rite employs a small child (between six and eight years of age) as a scryer at this point in the process. As shocking as this may sound at first, we have to keep in mind that child clairvoyants are no strangers to the grimoiric traditions. As should be clear from Biblical literature, a small child is the epitome of the Christian concept of spiritual purity- just what the grimoires insist is necessary to communicate with Angelic beings. Also, children yet lack the boundaries to the imagination from which adults suffer, making them much better potential clairvoyants.

Today�s cultural environment might make the service of a child scryer problematic. However, the reasoning behind the instruction is sound. The aspirant- still in sackcloth and ashes- is in no state of childlike purity or imagination. Thus, Abramelin employs the child (for this one session only!) to see and hear the Angel that may be invisible to the aspirant himself.

The child is placed at the Altar before the Silver Lamen, and a white silk veil (similar to the black one worn by the aspirant) is placed over his or her head and face. The aspirant- clad for his own funeral- is to lay prostrate at the door of the Oratory and recite Psalms and prayers without looking even once upon the Altar. He is to pray for the appearance of the Angel, and for the Angel to communicate any last-minute instructions to the Child.

The text implies the Silver Lamen is used to scry this information. After the Angel has departed, the Child is to bring the Lamen to the aspirant, and- once the aspirant has looked into it himself- return it to the Altar. Then, both leave the Oratory and the aspirant is to remain in complete solitude and silence for the rest of the day. (Presumably because he is now ceremonially dead.)

Day three (the second of the convocation of the good spirits) continues the funeral rite. At dawn, one enters the Oratory as in the previous day, wearing the same Robe of Mourning. Now, the aspirant must lay prostrate upon the floor, with his head at the foot of the Altar, and pray silently for three hours or more. This is the symbolic "laying within the tomb" found in many solar Dying and Rising God mythos. (Such as the crucifixion of Jesus and his three days in the tomb.)

This procedure is repeated again for an hour at noon, and then again in the evening. This is also the time one would implement any instructions given by the Angel on the previous day. While one is not promised a vision of the Angel at this time, it is said that the splendor of the Angel�s presence will surround the Altar throughout the rest of the day.

The fourth day of the seven (the third and final day of the convocation of the good spirits) progresses from the death symbolism of the previous two days into the rebirth half of the equation. Here at last the White Robe is worn once more- symbolic of the resurrection and spiritual purity of the aspirant. (The donning of a white robe at the end of such an initiation is found as far back as ancient Egypt.) One is to kneel at the Altar and begin to offer prayers of thanks to the Highest as well as invocations to the Guardian Angel. If all has gone well, it is here the first tentative contact with the Angel will be achieved.

Abramelin promises literal fireworks on this great day- as if full Knowledge and Conversation with the Guardian Angel will have suddenly been achieved. I can't say that I agree. In fact, I would warn any aspirant not to expect much at all. Both the Angel and the initiate will be all but exhausted by this process, and there are still three days of hard work to go to complete the Rite.

Yet, our author Abraham the Jew claims to have had pretty impressive visions, and assures us the Angel will communicate: all of one�s blessings and sins; instructions on how one should be living; the True Wisdom and Sacred Magick; where one erred in the Operation; and a covenant to defend the aspirant his entire life, in return for the aspirants promise to always bide the Angels instructions. (Personally, I would not expect to resolve any of these issues before the next several years!)

Along with this, the Angel is supposed to give instruction (if needed) on how to conjure the spirits in the following three days, including the revelation of any further talismans necessary for the conjurations. One is also encouraged to ask the Angel- once only- for enough money upon which to live for the rest of ones life. As we can see from all of this, the job of the Angel on this final day (and for the rest of the aspirants life!) is to reveal ones True Will- the proper direction his life should be taking.

This brings us to the fifth day of the Rite- which is the first day of the convocation of the evil (and earth-bound) spirits. Now the aspirant must fast completely for the next three days. He should prepare and enter the Oratory as is usual- this time donning not just the White Robe, but the Red Over-Robe, the White Silk Girdle and the White and Gold Silk Filet as well. Prayers are recited to the Highest and to the Guardian Angel for aid in the following work, and then the Almond Wand is taken into hand and the exorcisms begin.

On this day, the four chief Princes of Hell- Lucifer, Leviathan, Satan, and Belial- are summoned upon the river sand on the terrace. From them the aspirant must demand a list of servient spirits who are best matched to one�s personal psychology and practical needs. (This list of spirits will be those governed directly by the Four Princes and the Talismans associated with them. Of course, this list should be different from that offered by Abraham at the end of the second book.) Finally, an Oath of Loyalty is demanded from the Princes- which is sworn upon the authority vested within the consecrated Almond Wand.

The next day (the sixth of the seven, and the second of the convocation of the evil spirits), the same procedure is repeated to summon the Four Princes. Then, eight Sub-Princes- Astarot, Magot, Asmodee, Belzebud, Oriens, Paimon, Ariton, and Amaimon- are called onto the terrace. (This total of 12 Princes is likely in reference to the Zodiac, and the final four- Oriens to Amaimon- are the traditional spirits of the four cardinal directions.)

The same demands are made of these Eight as were made of the first Four- a list of servient spirits (ruled specifically by the Eight Sub-Princes) and an Oath of Loyalty. Further, Abramelin tells us to demand of the four Princes of the cardinal directions the names of four Familiar Spirits who are destined for the servitude of the aspirant. After this, the entities are sent away again and the aspirant exists the Oratory.

Now, at long last, the final day of the Rite has arrived- being the third day of the convocation of the evil spirits. Once again the procedures are the same for the exorcism of the twelve Princes of Hell. Then, they are commanded to bring all of the servient spirits they listed for you in the previous days, including the four Familiar Spirits. The spirits are then addressed in groups based on which Prince or Princes rule over them, and they must swear Oaths of Loyalty upon the Talismans they will respond to later.

Even the Familiars are bound to a set of Talismans- found in Abramelin Book III, chapter five, "How we may retain the Familiar Spirits bond or free in whatsoever form." This consists of twelve talismans intended to bind the familiars in various illusory shapes. Some of the shapes are an Old Man, a Soldier, a Page, or even a Flower. However, the majority of the talismans serve to bind the Familiars into the shapes of animals- such as a Lion, Eagle, Dog, Bear, Serpent, or Ape. This would seem to be a survival of the shamanic practice of keeping Familiars in animal form - which is closest to such spirits inherent nature.

Each Familiar has its own natural time of operation- depending on the course of the Sun. The first Familiar remains on "guard duty" with his master from dawn until noon; at which point the second Familiar takes its shift from noon to dusk. The third Familiar then operates from dusk until midnight, leaving the fourth to guard from midnight until dawn. This solar rotation of the Familiars� shifts reflect the four quadrants of the horoscope: East/dawn, South/noon, West/dusk and North/midnight. This further indicates that the Familiars are likely of a directional or even Elemental nature. Thus, for the aspirant, the four Familiar Spirits plus the Guardian Angel constitute a pentagonal mastery of the Elemental Forces (Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Spirit).

After the Rite is ended, there are just a few instructions for finishing up. If the Oratory is to be dismantled, the river sand must be removed from the terrace and thrown in some hidden place. (NOT a river or the navigable sea.) If the Oratory is left intact (even if it is packed away), it can be used later for further communication with the Guardian Angel. The Sabbath is suggested as the best time for such invocation.

Also, the new initiate must continue to fast after the Operation for another three days. For seven days, he is instructed to do no servile work and to give his time to prayers of thanks and blessing unto the Highest for granting such a gift. In no way should the Sacred Magick be put into use during these seven days of rest. After that, it is ordained that one help others as much as possible with ones new-found power- else it will depart forever.

Further rules for using the magick follow the Operation in Book II, chapter 20- in the form of a long list categorized by numbers. Interestingly, I have never once heard a student ask about or refer to this list- and this is a shame because it clearly answers many of the most common questions about the Abramelin system. Perhaps what has hidden it from public view for so long is the fact that it does purport to be a list of rules to follow after completing the Operation. Because the Angel, and not the Book of Abramelin, is to instruct one in all necessary points afterward, these rules are likely overlooked as superfluous. Yet, the secret is that the list also contains rules to follow during and even before the Operation. Here are a few examples:

-Rule 13 instructs the aspirant to read and re-read the Book of Abramelin many times over the space of six months before attempting the Operation. This is done for two reasons. First, because Abraham scattered obscure bits of information throughout the three books, the six months of study are necessary to discover them all. Second, it ensures the aspirant will be well-versed in all of the instructions and procedures before making the attempt. At the same time, we can see how this rule- in its own way- makes the Abramelin Operation a year-long undertaking rather than a mere six moons.
-Rule 15 forbids the aspirant to sleep during the daytime- unless some condition makes it unavoidable. Meanwhile, rule 24 advises against attempting any magick during the nighttime.
-Rule 17 sets the age restrictions of the aspirant between 25 and 50 years.
-Rules 28 and 29 both give information on proper fasting during the Operation.
-Rules 33-35 all concern ritual taboos. During the entire six month process, one must take heed to lose no blood from the body (unless your body expels it naturally), to avoid any contact with a dead body, and to refuse any food that includes the flesh or blood of a dead animal.
-Rule 38 contains instructions for one to read all 72 Psalms of David at least twice each week during the six months.

Of course, these examples do not cover all of the instructions hidden in this list of rules. However, they do highlight those which answer some of the most commonly asked questions about Abramelin.

Plus, as I stated above, similar information is hidden in this way throughout the three books. As just one example, all the way back in book two, chapter 10, Abraham describes many activities that are allowed or disallowed for the entire length of the Operation. (Meditation, prayer and the healing arts are allowed. Magick and sorcery are disallowed.) Thus the vital importance of devouring every word of this grimoire for at least six months before beginning the Rite.

The Mysteries of Abramelin

So, now you have seen the Abramelin Operation in its original form. At this point, we can continue forward and ask: What is going on behind the scenes? What are its foundational philosophies and how does it all work? We�ve seen some clues already: a shift in lifestyle, mental exhaustion, isolation, and disruption of habitual patterns that all contribute to the necessary altered consciousness and ego-death.

Just as importantly, we have seen some hint of the solar death-rebirth symbolism that spans the three days of the convocation of the good spirits. When we then step back and look at the larger picture of the Operation, we can see the Sun peeking through many subtle cracks in the symbolism.

To begin with, the six-month purification commences on the spring equinox (Easter or Passover) and ends on the autumnal equinox (Feast of Tabernacles). (See Book II, Ch. 5) The equinoxes mark two very specific stations of the waxing and waning Sun throughout the year- when the length of the day and night are equal. At the fall equinox, the merciless Sun of the summertime is finally dethroned- and the days begin to grow shorter as winter deepens. But at the spring equinox, the Sun once again overtakes the darkness- and the days will steadily grow longer and hotter until the Sun begins to wane once more. The Abramelin Rite, then, begins upon the religiously important spring equinox, when the Sun takes the Throne of Heaven and begins to wax in power. It comes to a close when the Sun is slain- and even ends with a Solar funeral.

Notice, too, that the daily observances in the Oratory are based upon the daily course of the Sun from Eastern to Western horizon- dawn, noon, and dusk. In this same vein, I might again mention the rotating shifts of the four Familiar Spirits- as they are based on the four daily "stations" of the Sun around the horoscope. The Lamp is a solar symbol- the embodiment of the Invisible Sun of the Spirit. Even the ingredients for the Holy Incense are attributed Solar correspondences. Sleeping during the day, as well as working magick by night, are forbidden unless absolutely required- as if it is necessary to have the Light of the Sun present in order to work the magick. (In his section on magickal timing, Abraham does insist that a planet only has power when above the horizon.)

The Holy Guardian Angel has traditionally been associated with Solar imagery. The Angel is the direct representative of God in the life of the aspirant, just as the Sun is the representative of God among the Planets. (For instance, the Sun Card of the Tarot can be interpreted as the Guardian Angel watching over His young charge.) Notice, too, how there are twelve Princes of Hell listed in this text, with one Angel to govern them- as if in reflection of the twelve Signs of the Zodiac and the Sun that governs them. (This solar-zodiacal imagery is common- such as the 12 Tribes of Israel and Levi, the 12 Apostles and Jesus, etc. This is the basis for modern associations between the number 13 and the occult.)

The foundational mythos contained within Abramelin is similar to that of the Goetia and other medieval grimoires. The infernal spirits are said to be the Angels cast upon the earth after Lucifer�s failed rebellion. As part of the chastisement for their assault upon God�s Throne, they were destined to live among and serve the will of mankind. (There are examples in both Eastern and Western shamanism of helper spirits who are bound to service by negative karma and past misdeeds.) Because of this enforced servitude, says Abraham, these demons menace humans at all opportunities. However, they can be controlled by holy men. To accomplish this, one might be ordained by the Church as an Exorcist. Or, with Abramelin, one could invoke the Holy Guardian Angel for the spiritual authority to command lesser spirits.

Of course, the story of Lucifer�s rebellion in heaven is principally Christian. There are parallels that have developed in Jewish and Arabic legend, but these are probably due to influence from the Christian version of the story. Besides this, in the Jewish version, the rebellious Angels did not become demons when cast to Earth. They may be been chastised by God, and set over things wrathful, but they remained Angels firmly in God�s own employ. Jewish demons, meanwhile, are earth-bound creatures like any other- not any more good or bad than a tiger or wolf. (For the most part, they represent common nature spirits. They are called Jinn in Arabic.)

Yet Abramelin describes the spirits as both fallen Angels and as lowly demons at the command of Man. While they are obviously spirits of both nature and hell- some of them good and some bad- the text treats them all as if they were infernal. This is a starkly Christian influence. As is common in such classical grimoires, a logical shamanic philosophy has been dressed over with Christian dogma. It creates basic contradictions that simply have to be ignored. In this case, it means that Lucifer, Satan, Leviathan, and Belial rule all of the spirits of both earth and hell- the friendly and the harmful. (This makes them more neutral in their operation, while the text insists they are evil.) One who has become holy by gaining Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel will enjoy the authority of command over all of these.

Finally, while we are still on the subject of the secrets behind the Operation, I want to take the opportunity to bust the most common Abramelin myth:

The Abramelin Operation can not be performed in todays modern world!

Certainly, such a feat would have been possible for a well-off physician and political advisor in medieval Europe. Abraham the Jew could take an extended vacation from work, rent a secluded house in the country, and perform a proper spiritual retreat. However, since we today can not just walk away from work and rent to live like a monk for six months, that rules out Abramelin as an option. This leaves the text as little more than a historical curiosity.

Few people know it, but Abraham the Jew addresses this conflict right in the Book of Abramelin:

As regardeth the regimen of your life and actions, ye shall have regard unto your status and condition. If you be your own Master, as far as lieth in your power, free yourself from all your business... Ye shall therefore seek retirement as far as possible... (Book II, Ch. 7, p.67)
Although the best counsel which I can give is that a man should go into retirement in some desert or solitude, until the time of the Six Moons destined unto this Operation be fulfilled... nevertheless now this is hardly possible; and we must accommodate ourselves unto the era (in which we live); and being unable to carry it out in one way, we should endeavour to do so in another; and attach ourselves only unto Divine Things. (Book II, Ch. 10, p.72)

There you have it. Abraham the Jew assures us that he is giving us the Operation in its "best case scenario" version, but that it must be adapted according "to your status and condition." If you do not happen to be your own Master (i.e.- independently wealthy), then continue to work, of course! But it will be straight to work and straight home for six months.

The fact is that the Abramelin process is not so unique to Western spirituality. In fact, it represents a system of initiation that has been known in nearly every culture around the world- from ancient Shamanic practices to the most elaborate Temple Faiths. Just as Abraham suggests concerning Abramelin, the initiation has always adapted itself to the time and place in which it must be performed. For instance, to this very day, the Afro-Cuban faith of Santeria preserves an initiation called "Ocha"- during which initiates are bonded directly with their Patron Gods (Orishas). Abramelin bears some striking resemblances to this Ocha Rite, as well as the many other "versions" of this human-celestial bonding ceremony around the world. Hundreds of men and women undergo Ocha every year, and its complexity, length and expense(!) far outweigh anything an aspirant of Abramelin must bear.

The Guardian Angel, From Patron God to Genius

There are mentions of "Guardian Spirits" in written history as far back as ancient Babylon. There are even Sumerian royal seals that depict kings in the protective arms of their Patron Gods. In fact, it was likely in Mesopotamia that our modern concepts about the Holy Guardian Angels were born. However, the Guardian Spirit is not unique to Middle Eastern agricultural civilizations. In fact, a global exploration of tribal shamanic cultures reveals that the idea of the Guardian Spirit may be one of the oldest religious ideas on the planet.

In Shamanism, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Professor Eliade suggests that all categories of Shamans possess helper (familiar) and tutelary (guardian) spirits. The helper spirits are usually earth-bound creatures, at the direct command of the Shaman. The Guardians, on the other hand, tend to be celestial spirits, and are very often Messengers of Father Sky Himself.

In some cases, these tutelary spirits are seen as feminine (or masculine in the case of female Shamans)- and the Shaman is literally married to this spirit during his initiation. Afterward, it is through his new celestial spouse that the Shaman will work his miracles for the rest of the tribe. She- and not other Shamans- will teach him the secrets of magick and healing, and She will provide him with familiar spirits. (A dynamic that has not changed one bit in the Book of Abramelin.)

Not only is this entity a companion and teacher for the Shaman, but also a protector. It is because of his Guardian that the Shaman is spear and arrow proof, and why his endeavors are successful. When the Shaman ascends the heavens during his ecstatic trances, it is his Guardian or Spirit Wife who carries him aloft and shows him around. Even more importantly, it is She who will claim his soul at the time of his passing, to carry it home to the stars. For these reasons, it is imperative to develop a real working relationship with the Guardian, and to follow the instructions and lifestyle it dictates.

This brings us back, by way of example, to the subject of Santeria�s Ocha ceremony- by which an aspiring Santo Priest is bonded with his Orisha. Ocha is a fair representation of ancient tribal Shamanic initiations. It consists of a seven day ceremony involving the consecration of the new priest and having the Orisha "put to his head." This latter concept is very significant. Eliade mentions it in relation to helper spirits- where the Shaman receives one "spirit of the head" whose function is to protect him during ecstatic journeys. (In this we can see a relationship between the "spirit of the head" and the human intelligence- especially the faculties related to dreams, vision, and creativity.)

During Ocha, the Orisha is believed to literally enter the skull of the aspirant- a physical marriage that makes the celestial and the human being one. (The aspirant must even shave his or her head in order to undergo the process- so that the hair does not hinder the entrance of the Orisha.) Afterward, exhausted from the Rite, the Orisha enters a phase of hibernation. For an entire year, the aspirant must wear white and never venture out in the dark. He must live a monastic life of purity until, after the year is complete, further sacrifices and ceremonies are used to awaken the Orisha and establish the new Santo.

Compare this to the Abramelin Rite described above- which simply places the period of purification before the seven day ceremony. In Mathers� version, the aspirant only has to endure six months of such isolation and ritual work. Yet, the original German seems to preserve a full year and a half of the same- making it even closer in spirit to the year-long Ocha process. Even the aspect of putting the Guardian to the head is not lost in Abramelin- because the aspirant, during the "convocation of the good spirits", is told to lay with his head at the foot of the Altar for a very long period of time. This Altar is where the Presence of the Angel has been drawn down for many preceding months, and the ritual-death posture taken at this point suggests the Angel is moving into the head/intellect of the aspirant.

Moving back into the Agricultural Era and the Mid-East, we see a further evolution of the Guardian Spirit idea. While the tribal Shaman was exclusive in his ability to marry Celestial Angels, the ancient Sumerians (and possibly the Egyptians) developed the idea that everyone has a personal Patron who can be appealed to in times of need. (This is likely due to the advance of astrology- which provided everyone with their own natal chart, and therefore their own governing Deities.)

Chris Bennet has a good discussion of the Personal God in his essay entitled When Smoke Gets in My I (and several other closely related essays). He describes the Patron as a kind of personification of a person�s intellect- or capacity for thinking and acting. Specifically, he supposes that mankind�s earliest contact with the Divine came via psychoactive drugs that engaged our faculties of higher thinking. (Consciousness, intellect, imagination.) It is very common indeed for visionaries and psychonauts- even using modern laboratory-created chemicals- to establish contacts with apparently objective entities during their trips. Often these entities introduce themselves as protectors and helpers, or at least beings with some interest in the welfare of humankind.

It is doubtful that the tribal Shamans or the ancient Sumerians saw their Patron Deities as "personifications" of anything except raw forces of nature. Yet, the idea did begin to formulate in the minds of later Greek philosophers like Plato. In The Republic, Plato relates a rather detailed account of the function served by the Deity:

Upon preparing for re-incarnation, each soul must approach the Spinning Wheel of the Goddesses of Fate (Lachesis, Clotho and Atropos). In Plato�s view, the Wheel of Fate is composed of the Zodiac as its outer wheel, and the Planetary Spheres as its inner spokes. Therefore, the Fates who spin, measure, and cut the threads of life upon this Wheel are directly concerned with the influences of the stars upon each individual. First of all, the soul must approach Lachesis, who will give unto it a chosen Personal Deity to be its guide and protector during the next life. This Deity, then, will lead the soul to Clotho (Zodiac) and Atropos (Planets)- who will each establish the fate of the individual. During the physical incarnation of the soul, the Deity is silent and invisible to most humans. However, a select few (such as Socrates) have possessed the ability to commune and converse with their own personal Deity.

Of course, Plato meant all of this allegorically. He refers to the Personal Deity as the "Daemon", which might also be translated "Intelligence" or "Genius." All of these are terms that indicate human consciousness- something that preoccupied men like Plato and Plotinus. As we see in the above, these men saw the Genius as a director and manifestor of the astrological forces of one�s natal horoscope. The horoscope, in turn, was viewed as an indicator of the destiny and personality of the individual. Thus, the Genius was the embodiment of this destiny and personality- one�s Fate.

By the time we reach the Neoplatonism of the medieval era, and such Hermetic texts as Agrippa�s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, we begin to see a highly refined concept of the Guardian Genius. Agrippa goes into detail on the concept in Book III, chapters 20-22. He describes the Genius as we have seen in Platos Republic, and refers to it as the "Spirit of the Nativity." It descends "from the disposition of the world, and from the circuits of the stars which were powerful in ones nativity." Agrippa discusses at length the necessity of seeking out one�s Genius via astrology, and doing everything possible to make ones life sympathetic with its nature. He even gives detailed instructions for finding the name of this Angel using ones own natal chart.

However, Agrippa also chose to present a more elaborate entity than Plato described. Holding to the threefold symbolism he uses throughout the Three Books, he postulates that there is a "Threefold Keeper of Man." The Genius of the Nativity is merely one of three Angels assigned to every human to guide and regulate their life. The Nativity Angel is the secondary keeper, followed by the "Angel of the Profession." This latter Angel changes each time you change professions. One�s career will advance if the Angel of the Profession is in sympathy with the Genius, and it will flounder if the Angel of the Profession is in conflict with the Genius.

However, Agrippa takes a major departure from all of this when describing the first (and presumably highest) Keeper of the Soul:

The Holy Daemon is one, according to the doctrine of the Egyptians, assigned to the rational soul, not from the stars or planets, but from a supernatural cause, from God Himself, the president of Daemons, being universal, above nature.

The rest of the description of the Holy Daemon fits well enough with Platos ideas. It directs and guides the life of the soul, and often goes unnoticed by the human it protects. It can be contacted via purification and living peaceably (I am reminded here of the six months described in Abramelin). Socrates is even mentioned as an example of one who has accomplished such a feat.

Agrippa�s major departure comes from the suggestion that the Holy Daemon is not defined by the stars and planets, but is actually above nature itself (meaning above the zodiacal sphere)- directly with God. It is also interesting to point out that Agrippa claims an Egyptian origin for his Holy Daemon concept, while the usual horoscope-based Genius traces itself through ancient Greece to Babylon. Is this an indication that the entire idea is made-up?

Agrippa�s claim of an Egyptian origin for the Holy Daemon turns out to be true. However, our exploration does not take us back to the Priests of Osiris and the builders of Pharaonic Pyramids. Instead, it takes us to Egypt after its Hellenization by the Greek Empire, under the governance of the Ptolemy family. It is here that we find that curious language known as "Coptic"- which is simply a melding of the Egyptian spoken tongue with the written characters of the Greek alphabet. It is here that we find the famous "Greek Magical Papyri"- which formed the basis of what would later be called Gnostic magick.

Gnostic Influence Upon the Holy Guardian Angel

The Gnostic school of mysticism was a result of the collision of cultures in Hellenistic Egypt. The ancient Egyptian mysteries met the philosophies (Pythagorean, Platonic) and Pagan mythologies of the Greeks, along with the mystical religion of the Jewish Essene camps in that part of the world. At the same time, an entire spectrum of philosophies and religions were pouring into places like Alexandria- such as Zoroastrianism, Stoicism, Neoplatonism and Hermeticism. Once the governance of Egypt eventually shifted from the Greeks to the Romans, we finally had the cultural matrix that led to the earliest forms of Christianity (such as Coptic Christianity and Gnosticism).

The Gnostics, though Biblically oriented, developed a very unique view of the universe and interpretation of Biblical scripture. This is likely due as much to their separatist mindset as to the unique mystical culture that surrounded them. For them, the God worshipped by the Jewish people was a blind and ignorant being- a lesser God posing as the Highest. The Angels, as well as the Gods worshipped in Pagan faiths, were nothing more than Archons (that is- Governors) charged by the pretender-God to maintain the Earth as a prison.

It fascinates me how similar the Gnostic philosophies are to Eastern teachings. For instance, the Gnostics believed in reincarnation. Human souls- trapped by the Archons- are forced to reincarnate in an endless cycle. Yet, the cycle is not maintained by the Archons! They are just opportunistic feeders upon the suffering of humankind. What actually keeps the Wheel going is human passion. It is human joy and suffering that keeps us bound here, and it is only through repose that freedom is gained. Repose is a Neoplatonic concept- and what it meant to the Gnostics was that only a mind free of the torments of the passions can gain freedom from the Wheel and entrance to Heaven. (Compare this to the Eastern ideas of Samsara, Nirvana, and the meditative clarity of mind it takes to get from one to the other.)

Before this point in history, most religions accepted a threefold division of the universe: the celestial realm above (where the stars, planets and Gods lived), the infernal realm below (where the dead, Gods of the dead, and various classes of demons lived), and the natural realm in between (where humans, animals, and nature spirits lived). However, the Gnostics had classed the entire celestial realm as the home of the Archons and the pretender-God. The reason for this is discovered when we take a look into their views on astrology.

The Gnostics were staunchly anti-astrology. Remember that all of the religions around them were deeply embedded in astrological concerns. Most of them, in fact, had developed as religious cults that worshipped various Planets in the forms of Deities. (The Jewish God did not fit that bill, but He did claim to be the leader and director of the Planetary Deities.) Of course, to the Gnostics, these were all Archons who wished only to prolong human suffering and increase their own power over humankind. Worst of all was the natal horoscope- that visual depiction of the relationship of the Archons to the soul at the time of birth. It represented- according to Plato- the very chain of Karma that binds a soul to the Wheel of Fate. It was the singular goal of the Gnostic to free himself from this Karmic chain, and thus from the Wheel of Fate.

In the end, this philosophy happens to leave some philosophical holes to fill. If God is not really the Highest, then Who is? If one can by-pass the celestial realm for "somewhere else", then what and where is this place? The Gnostic answer looks simple on the surface: beyond the planets and the fixed stars is the Fullness (pleroma)- the Mind of the Highest God. The Fullness is above nature because it is the source of nature. It is the home of the Aeons- which are a kind of super-Archangel- along with all of the archetypal blueprints for the things that would manifest in the celestial and physical realms. Unlike the lower realms, though, the Fullness rests in perfect Repose. No passions can exist there. Because of this, the beings of the Fullness have little to nothing to do with what happens here on Earth.

Yet, the Gnostic believed, as a fundamental aspect of his faith, that he was himself from the Fullness. The Gnostics regarded most humans as beyond saving from the Wheel of Fate, but they believed themselves to be essentially different. The Gnostics represented an elite minority of humans who each possessed a spark of Light from the Fullness. (The mythology concerning the descent of this Light from the Pleroma to Earth is long and complicated, and I cover it in depth in my essay Gnosticism, History and Mythology.)

According to some teachings, every Gnostic soul (Spark) here on earth has an Angelic double in the Fullness. This double is a kind of lesser Aeon, to whom that spark of Divine Light belongs. Using the language of classical philosophy, the Gnostics regarded the soul as a feminine being. It was the promised Bride to the masculine Angel above, each one waiting anxiously for the (re-)Union. (In modern terms, we would recognize the soul as the "Self" and the Angelic double as the "Higher Self.")

All of these elements come together to form a kind of mystical drama. The separated lovers, the hostile captors, and the quest to find a way home again. Yet, there is one final player in this drama- the one player who most directly relates to our own exploration of the Holy Guardian Angel. All at once He is the hope of the lovers, the redeemer from the captors, and the guiding light homeward. He is called the Christos.

The Christos is a most fascinating figure. It is the embodiment of the consciousness- or Intelligence- of the Highest God. While its home is within the Fullness, it does not manifest naturally from any of the Aeons. Instead, the Christos arises (unborn) from the Highest Source Itself. It rules over the Aeons, and is in fact credited with teaching Them the necessity of Repose. Even the Angelic "Higher Selves" in the Pleroma are the children of the Christos and the Aeon called Wisdom (Sophia).

Most importantly, however, the Christos is the Redeemer. It is His job to journey into the imperfect created realm, awaken the soul and remind it of its home, and finally to lead the soul to its reunion in Heaven. Therefore, the Christos alone enjoys the special ability to cross at will the Great Barrier between the Fullness and the created world of the Archons.

This idea was certainly nothing new- especially to the Egyptians. Even the earliest shamanic religions recognized the cycles of the Planets and Stars as they passed above and below the horizon. To the ancient mind, these were the Gods moving between the celestial realm and the underworld. No living thing on earth- with the notable exception of the Shaman- possessed the power to come and go at will between life and death. The Sun, especially, was noted for its daily trips into the underworld- where it was supposed He judged among the dead during the night much as He judged among the living while in the sky. We find this pattern in such places as Sumeria, Babylon, and Egypt.

Coming from Egypt, it is no surprise that some Osirian symbolism found its way into the Gnostic conception of the Christos. Osiris, Pharaoh of the Gods, was worshipped as a dying and rising Solar Deity. His sacred mythology reflects the waxing and waning of the Sun through the year. Therefore, it was His ability to move between, and rule over, both the celestial and infernal realms that made him interesting to the Gnostics. His name is often invoked in the Greek Magical Papyri, and He is strongly related to the Christos.

Yet, for all of this adopted Solar symbolism, it is important to remember that the Gnostic Christos is not equated with the Sun. Quite the contrary, it is the Sun- in all of its majesty and brilliance- that is regarded as a mere imperfect copy of the Glory of the Christos. The Fullness is the true home of the Christos, well above the heavenly sphere of the Sun and, in fact, all of created nature.

Well! All of that is quite a mouthful for one simple reference Agrippa makes to "the Egyptians" in his work. While the actual Gnostic school of philosophy was all but extinct in the medieval era, many of its foundational concepts lived on in both the Christian and Jewish mystical texts of the period. Thus, the influence of Gnostic thought is apparent in the description Agrippa gives his Aeon-like "Holy Daemon." It is a holy creature from above nature (as opposed to the Genuis), who speaks to us when we find Repose, and leads us ever closer to spiritual perfection.

The Christ/Christos symbolism remains apparent and strong in Abramelin�s Holy Guardian Angel as well. Like Agrippa, Abraham the Jew insists that Repose is of paramount importance if one wishes to hear and speak to the Guardian Angel. The function of the Angel is also the same- to lead one to sacred perfection. Plus, Abramelin utilizes the Solar imagery we know descends from both Osirian and Christian mysteries.

However, the Gnostic stance against astrology is preserved in the Book of Abramelin. While direct historical connections between Gnostic literature and this manuscript are unknown, the attitudes toward astrology conveyed in the first part of Book II, Ch. 6 (Concerning the Planetary Hours and Other Errors of the Astrologers) are a shockingly accurate portrayal of Gnostic concepts:

It is true that the Wise in Astrology do write of the Stars and of their movements, and that these attaining thereto do produce divers effects in inferior and elemental things... But that they should have power over the Spirits, or force in all super-natural things, that is not, neither can ever be.
But it will instead be found that by the permission of the Great God it is the Spirits who govern the firmament. What foolishness then would it be to implore the favour of the Sun, of the Moon, and of the Stars, when the object would be to have converse with Angels...

This indicates that- as with the Christos- it is doubtful the Guardian Angel is intended to equate with the Sun, nor to reside within the Solar Sphere.

There are more Gnostic influences throughout Abramelin. For instance, the text speaks of gaining "Knowledge" (gnosis) of the Angel as well as Conversation- implying a spiritual marriage between aspirant and Guardian rather than a simple summoning ceremony. Even aspects of the magickal procedure used during the seven days can be found in the Greek Magical Papyri- although this is unsurprising in a grimoiric text. Sadly, space prohibits me from exploring this subject further.

Before we move past this issue, I would like to bring your attention to one more philosophical gem hidden in Agrippa�s description of the Guardian Angel. His chapter on the subject in his Occult Philosophy (Book III, Ch. 22) is entitled "That there is a Threefold Keeper of Man..." The text proceeds, as we have seen, to describe the three Angelic Daemons as separate entities. Yet, I find it interesting that the chapter title makes no reference to the "...Three Keepers of Man." Instead, we have what appears to be a reference to a single- yet threefold- entity. Given Agrippa�s faithfulness to the symbolism of the Holy Trinity throughout his Three Books, this seems to be a likely interpretation of Agrippa�s intent. Suddenly our Three Daemons become three different faces of a single Holy Guardian Angel.

The Hermetic HGA

As we near the end of this essay, I want to present a short Qabalistic analysis of the Holy Guardian Angel. If you have read about the HGA previously, you have more than likely read something influenced by Golden Dawn or Thelemic philosophies- both of which make heavy use of the language of Hermetic Qabalah to explain the nature and function of the Angel. I will do the same here, though it will be in the light of the philosophies we have discussed above.

The Qabalah is a Judaic form of mysticism that adopted much from the various schools of Gnosticism. The Fullness, for example, was adopted and called Olam haAtziluth (the World of Archetypes); the Aeons became the Sephiroth (from the book Sepher Yetzirah); and the Highest God they termed the Ain (Nothingness) or Ain Soph (Limitlessness). However, the Archons remain absent from the Qabalah. Instead, the Creator God of Genesis is merely the Highest God acting as Creator. The Angelic hosts, while they are certainly charged with maintaining physical reality, are not generally considered prison wardens who feed upon human suffering.

By the time of the Hermetic Qabalah of the Golden Dawn and Thelema, all of this had been mapped out upon the standard ("Kircher") Tree of Life. The Supernal Spheres of the Tree represented the Fullness of Atziluth, followed by the Planetary Spheres ruled by the Angelic choirs, and finally ending in the physical Kingdom of Malkuth.

The human soul, too, had been applied to the Tree of Life pattern (that which is below reflecting that which is above). The Supernals here represented the Higher Self (or Neschemah) of an individual, while the Planetary Spheres collectively made the rational soul (or Ruach).

Modern Hermeticism usually interprets the HGA as the Higher Self. Many ceremonies intended to establish conversation with the Guardian Angel are designed as Qabalistic invocations of the Supernals. By opening the Supernal Spheres within one�s own aura, it throws open a line of communication between the Neschemah and Ruach- allowing the Higher Self to speak to the Self. Because it is indeed the function of the HGA to transmit the True Will from the Higher to the rational soul, this "HGA as Supernals" formula works in a practical sense.

However, based on what we have learned previously, we know that the Higher Self- or Angelic Double- resides always in the Fullness in perfect Repose. Even the Qabalah preserves this- because the Supernals (Neschemah) do not cross the Great Barrier to enter the lower Spheres of the Tree. Meanwhile, the spiritual aspirant possesses a Divine Spark that belongs to the Higher Self, and the two long for reunification with one another.

Meanwhile, , it is just as common to see the HGA associated with the Solar Sphere of the Tree- called Tiphareth (Majesty). Here once again we see the common relationship assumed between the Guardian Angel and the Sun. Even the Abramelin Rite, especially with its death-rebirth ritual drama, might be classed as a Tipharethic initiation ceremony. Hermetic rituals for the HGA often focus upon Tiphareth, because this is the heart of the Ruach and the specific point where contact is made between the Higher Self and the rational soul. From this perspective, the HGA might seem to "live" in Tiphareth. To be more specific, however, the Solar Sphere is merely where one first encounters the HGA. Tiphareth represents within the Qabalah the mid-point between gross and spiritual, where man and Divine meet as one. It is merely one station in a longer journey.

As we can see, the concept of the HGA tends to be a bit slippery in Hermetic philosophy. Our predecessors like Crowley and Mathers tended to jump from one extreme to another when discussing the subject. In one place, the Guardian is described as a metaphor for the Higher Self, and in another the author insists the HGA is an objective Intelligence. Sometimes there is no distinction made between the Genius and the HGA. Other times the entire Guardian Angel concept is dumped into the sphere of Tiphareth and forgotten about entirely.

None of this is helped by the fact that no literature has ever definitively established the Guardians membership in any Angelic Order. The closest we have are references to the "Guardian Angels" (such as in Abramelin) or other inferences that the HGAs form an Order of Their own. It also seems that Plato and Agrippa hint at the same thing- as if the Guardian Angels are held in reserve somewhere awaiting assignment to human souls. Add to this the Guardians special relationship to the force of the Christos, and we are left with an entity that truly stands outside of the hierarchies of nature. He is under the authority of no Archangel- presumably answering to God alone. He is, in fact, a direct manifestation of the Divine Spark within each of us- the Shekinah (Presence of God).

The Holy Guardian Angel is a dynamic creature. He is the Redeemer who travels freely between Heaven and Earth to guide the soul to the place "which has been prepared." He is the Messenger bearing the news of the True Will from the Neschemah to the Ruach, and our prayers from the heart to the Supernal Fullness.

Gnosticism: Sethian to Valentinian - History and Mythology

2008-04-19T21:05:00.004Z

The Greek word Gnosis indicates "Knowledge" of God; specifically Knowledge in the intimate (or Biblical) sense. Therefore, anyone involved in a study and practice of the Qabalah, Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, medieval Angel magick, etc is a gnostic in the technical sense- because all of these depend upon personal spiritual revelation and inspiration. Their highest Wisdom can only be received directly from God or His Angels, and each individual is responsible for his own communication therewith.

Yet, the term "Gnostic" is also applied to a certain religion, and its people, born in Egypt around the dawn of the Common Era. This religion was so named because it did, indeed, depend upon personal spiritual revelation- the Gnosis (or Knowledge) of God. Therefore, we can refer to these people both as "gnostic" and as "the Gnostics."

When we hear the term "ancient Egypt", it tends to bring to mind images of pyramids and sphinxes, pharaohs and tombs, powerful magickians and the Book of the Dead. Stories of the magickal power and wisdom of the Egyptian Priesthoods have long-since embedded themselves in our Western culture. More often than not, Egypt is herself considered the birthplace of Western mysticism and magick.

On the other hand, the people of modern Egypt are predominately Islamic- a faith even younger than Christianity. What, then, became of the wisdom and magick of the ancient Egyptian priesthoods? If we take Western mythology at face value, we must assume that Moses packed it up and took it with himself when he left Egypt. It is supposed to have become the basis for the Qabalah. However, when we take a look at history, it becomes clear that the bulk of what we know as Jewish mysticism actually originated in Babylon during the Hebrew captivity there in 600 BCE (quite some time after Moses did his thing).

The answer lies with the Graeco-Egyptians living after the invasion of Alexander the Great- the Copts. (More often, the name "Coptic" is used to designate the Egyptian language of the time. It consisted of the remnants of the older Egyptian tongue with the written alphabet of the Greeks.) The Copts were the last inheritors of the magickal mysteries of the fallen Egyptian empire. Yet, they were also heavily influenced by the people around them- most specifically the many Jewish mystical communities (such as the Essenes) to be found throughout the Middle East. This combination of Egyptian, Greek, and Jewish influence resulted in the Coptic faith of Gnosticism.

Simply put, Gnosticism is the earliest form of Christianity. The Nag Hammadi texts, discovered in Egypt in 1945, are written in Coptic. Modern scholars have called them the Gnostic Gosples and the Gnostic Scriptures. These ancient manuscripts allegedly contain the "secret" teachings of Jesus and the early Christians. They even provide some recognizable text from the later-compiled Scriptures, though given in an older and often surprising context.

Even one of the canonical books of the New Testament- the Gospel of John- is primarily of Gnostic origin. In it we can see a heavy Egyptian influence. The book begins with the words:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made…

This is a reflection of the Gnostic concept of the Logos ("Word"). The Logos is an aspect of the Christos ("Anointed One")- the Divine Spirit of Redemption that existed long before the birth of Jesus. It was with God at the very beginning, and was in fact the very Word with which all was created. (See Genesis I: "And God said...") It is self-created, and is equated with both the Consciousness of God and the consciousness within mankind.

The concept descends quite directly from ancient Egyptian views of the God Djehuti (Thoth)- who was Himself the self-created Word of Re. Thoth stood as the redeemer between the human realm and the Divine, often shown in mythology as coming to the rescue of those in need. He was also credited with the creation of all things- as the active creative power of Re. To the later Gnostics, the Christos was a force to which all adepts must aspire. We witness the descent of the Logos into the body of Jesus at his baptism in the Gospel of Mark- and here we see another starkly Egyptian influence:

And straightway coming up out of the water, [John] saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon [Jesus]:
And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

These lines echo the Egyptian myth of the birth of Osiris, which was accompanied by the Voice of Re from the heavens, proclaiming the birth of His Son and heir. In the Gnostic teaching, Jesus Christ then set out to teach all aspiring adepts how to make their own personal contacts with the Logos. The mysteries of exactly how to do this formed the backbone of Gnostic religion.

The mythical model for Christianity, therefore, had long existed when Jesus came onto the scene. I feel it is probable that Jesus had some contact with early Gnostic teachings. However, I have found nothing concerning his life that suggests he was himself Gnostic. Rather, Jesus was likely influenced by Essene teachings. The Essenes were a Jewish mystical group, who provided much of the Judaic influence upon Gnostic mysticism.

In the 1940s, a surprising amount of ancient mystical literature was discovered in caves near the northwest bank of the Dead Sea. Apparently, they were hidden there by Christian monks at the beginning of the Catholic aggression against “heresy” in the early Common Era. The writings were already ancient at the time they were hidden, and they remained safely concealed for another 1600 years.

Though there is much debate over the issue, these Dead Sea Scrolls possibly originated with an Essene commune that once existed at nearby Qumran. Supporting this theory are references in the scrolls to the “Sons of Light” (the good-guys, the authors of the texts), and to the “Sons of Belial” (the opposition, corrupted civilization). This suggests that the authors of the scrolls followed a separatist doctrine. The Essenes were also a separatist group, due to their strict rules regarding observance of Torah Law and ritual purity. The Dead Sea Scrolls are the oldest known versions of many Christian texts, and provide several clues into the religion of Gnosticism as well.

The similarities between Essene and Gnostic teaching make it easy to assume a connection between Jesus and Gnosticism. Perhaps because of this, the years after Jesus’ execution saw a commingling of the Christian political movement*, and the spiritual principals of the Gnostics. Of course, by the time the New Testament was compiled, a Gnostic work- the Book of John- was accepted as one of the four canonical Gospels.

(*- Remember that the Christian movement founded by Yeshua ben Joseph was a pro-Jewish and anti-Roman political faction that supported Yeshua as the rightful heir to the Throne of Israel. Therefore, at that time, one had to be a Jew in order to be Christian.)

Eventually, the legends surrounding Jesus' life were incorporated into the mythology of Gnosticism. For instance, the Nag Hammadi Gnostic literature discovered last century in Egypt purports to be the "secret teachings of Jesus." That is, the teachings that Jesus reserved for his disciples, while he provided the masses with parables. Here we see Jesus as an Adept, one who has bonded with the Logos. His stated purpose is that of teaching the worthy to invoke the Logos as he had done, and to ascend past their basic human natures. The methods for doing this are strikingly similar to Jewish practices- such as Mekavah Mysticism.

The Gnostics incorporated a great amount of Old Testament literature into their tradition. However, as is common when new religions evolve, the Gnostics had their own peculiar interpretation of the material. The God of Judaism had become the devil of Gnosticism, the Serpent of Eden was a manifestation of the Redeemer Christ, and the being who warned Noah of the coming Deluge was working against the God who flooded the world. (We will return to all of these subjects later.)

One of the most central mythos of the Gnostic faith is the Biblical story of Cain and Abel found in Genesis 4. In the original story, Cain and Abel were the first two children of Adam and Eve. Cain made his living as a farmer, while Abel worked as a shepherd. The world's first dispute arose between these two brothers over the subject of religion. Both brothers made offerings to God- Abel of the firstborn sheep, and Cain of the produce he grew. However, God found only Abel's sacrifices acceptable, and his brother therefore murdered him. As punishment for this crime, Cain was marked and banished- cursed to be a "fugitive and a wanderer upon the earth."

Cain does seem to have settled eventually- at least long enough to found an entire city in the land of Nod (eastward of Eden). Meanwhile, Adam and Eve had another son to replace the lost Abel- and they named him Seth. Seth remained pious throughout his life, and it was from him that descended Methuselah, Enoch, Lamech, Noah, and (therefore) the entire race of God's chosen people upon the earth.

The Gnostics considered themselves the Sons of Seth. However, as the Copts were not themselves Jewish, they did not make the claim of blood descent through Abraham. Instead, the Gnostics believed in the doctrine of reincarnation. They had descended spiritually from Seth and his family.

The Gnostics were much like the Essenes in their separatist views. As the Sons of Seth, they were an elite minority of adepts existing outside of mainstream society. The rest of humanity had descended from the murderous Cain- and the corruption, warfare, and general hardship associated with their civilization was the legacy they inherited from their unfortunate forefather. Note the similarity between this worldview and the Essene doctrine of the Sons of Light vs. the Sons of Belial.

So far, we have discussed the origins of the Gnostic faith in Hellenic Egypt, as well as certain points of relationship between Gnostic doctrine and those of ancient mystical Judaism. Now, I will narrate my own “harmonized” version of the Gnostic Mythos of Creation. This story is an allegorical drama in four “acts”- leading from the primordial birth of the cosmos, to the current state of the world today.

The Gnostic Mythos: Act I

The first act of the Gnostic creation saga takes place beyond not only the physical realm, but also beyond the celestial. The most primitive shamanic myths recognize no “super-celestial” place- holding that all of reality simply stops at the band of fixed stars. All of the Gods, even the Creator Himself, lived in the sky among the visible heavenly bodies. Later, after the agricultural revolution, mythologies began to incorporate a super-celestial world. Herein exists all of the archetypal spiritual forces upon which reality- including the Gods- is based. In Judaism, only God Himself lived here. Gnosticism adopted and elaborated upon this cosmic scheme, turning it into an allegorical description of the Mind of God. Their name for this realm is the Pleroma- “the Fullness” or “the Entirety.”

The classic Gnostic creation myth is recorded in The Secret Book According to John. The story does not begin with the Creator fashioning the universe, but actually well before the process outlined in Genesis I. The Creator, in fact, has not yet come into existence. Instead, the main character is the “Parent of the Entirety”- an unknowable and indescribable Primal Source of all things created and uncreated.

“It is not fitting to think of it as divine or as something of the sort, for it is superior to deity… It is unlimited because nothing exists prior to it so as to bestow limit upon it… It is immeasurable light, which is uncontaminated, holy, and pure…
“It is not corporeal, it is not incorporeal, it is not large, it is not small, it is not quantifiable, nor is it a creature. Indeed, no one can think of it. […]
“It is eternity as it bestows eternity. It is life as it bestows life. It is blessed as it bestows blessedness. It is gnosis as it bestows gnosis. It is good as it bestows good. It is mercy as it bestows mercy and ransom. It is grace as it bestows grace. It is all these things not as possessing attributes; rather, as bestowing them.”

This Parent of the Entirety was utterly alone. Then, as has been described earlier in this lecture, the Parent began to think. However, as there was yet nothing to think about, the Parent had only Itself to contemplate. This contemplation is personified as an entity called the “Barbelo.” The Barbelo is the “Image of the Parent”, “Forethought”, or “Thinking.” (Remember that He does not represent the first thought of the Parent so much as the Parent’s act of thinking.) Moreover, the Barbelo is described as the “Mother-Father” of all things- because it is not a distinct entity from the Parent Itself.

Once the Parent had the ability of Thinking, it began to contemplate several intangible concepts most associated with Itself. The Gnostics called each of these thoughts an “Aeon”- which indicates an “eternal realm”, an incredibly long span of time, and is personified as a being in its own right. The Barbelo, in fact, is the first of the Aeons. In John’s Secret Book… , the Barbelo requests of the Parent four more Aeons- Prognosis, Incorruptibility, Eternal Life, and Truth. These five are called androgynous- meaning they include both male and female attributes. (Again, note that the Barbelo is called “Mother-Father.”) This makes for a total of ten Aeons who stand before the Parent- with the “Image of the Parent” heading the group.

The next being to manifest was not requested of the Parent by the Barbelo, but was actually conceived between Them. Of course, this explanation is simplified at best because the Barbelo and Parent are not truly separate things. Thus, this third being descended directly through the Parent/Barbelo and is Itself a third aspect thereof. This is called the Christos (Annointed), and the Self-Originate- because it was born only of Itself. It was then glorified by the Barbelo and established as the God of the Pleroma. This is only aspect of Ultimate Divinity that the human mind can hope to comprehend- and it was the primary focus of the Gnostic sect.

The Christos then requested from the Parent three co-actors: Intellect, Will, and Word (Logos). There is an implication that these are also beings, but they are not treated as such. Instead, they are aspects of the Christos Himself, and with them (especially Word) did the Christos create the rest of the hierarchy of the Pleroma. (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and all things were made by Him.)

Thus the Christos, from His own Light, formulated four Great Luminaries: Harmozel, Oroiael, Daueithai, and Eleleth. Like the Aeons, these were both mighty beings and eternal realms. Subordinate to Them came twelve further Aeons:

Harmozel: Loveliness, Truth, and Form.
Oroiael: Afterthought, Perception, and Memory.
Daueithai: Intelligence, Love, and Ideal Form (or Idea).
Eleleth: Perfection, Peace, and Wisdom.

These are the lowest aspect of the Pleroma. Beneath Wisdom would come to exist the great veil that separates the Pleroma from all created reality.

Now, you will likely note the obvious relationship between this group of entities and the twelve signs of the Zodiac and the four Kherubic Archangels who preside over them. Although, they are not one and same- nothing physical or celestial has been created here in act I of the Gnostic creation mythos. Instead, these sixteen entities are the blueprints for what would later become the Zodiac and its Rulers.

Finally, there were four more blueprints added to this group- each one indicating something that would eventually be seen on the physical Earth. Within the realm of Harmozel was placed the Celestial Adam (blueprint for the Human Being, or Man). With Oroiael was placed the Celestial Seth (the Son of Man). With Daueithai was the Posterity of Seth (apparently the souls of all future Gnostics). And, lastly, with Eleleth was placed the Penitents (the souls of non-Gnostics who would later repent).

The Gnostic Mythos: Act II

The most important of the 12 lesser Aeons- for our purposes- is the last of the family: Sophia (Wisdom) - who exists just above the veil that separates the material realm from the Pleroma itself. Sophia is the Mother Goddess of the Gnostic creation mythos, from whom all life in the material realm ultimately descends. We now enter Act II of this fascinating plot- keeping in mind that it has always been intended as an allegorical tale describing the descent of Light into matter.

As the last engendered being in the hierarchy, Sophia felt Her own desire to procreate. However, where those Aeons above Her had made offspring only with the consent of Their polar mates, Sophia could not gain Her own mate’s cooperation. Therefore, Sophia attempted to engender a child of Her own. This child-god was named Ialdabaoth. However, due to the unbalanced circumstance of its birth, Ialdabaoth was deformed, blind (without gnosis, or ignorant), and insane. (He is described in the Secret Book… as serpentine, with a lion’s face, and eyes that flashed like lightning.) Out of shame over Her creation, Sophia cast Her son out of the Pleroma and concealed him in a cloud of darkness.

The infant Ialdabaoth, upon first opening his eyes, had seen only the smallest glimpse of the Pleroma, its principal hierarchy, and his Mother. (Some texts insist that he only saw their reflection upon the surface of the Waters of the Deep.) Yet, in that instant, he had become enamoured of Sophia, and had moved to grasp the luminous power that radiated from Her. Only after Sophia had drawn closed the veil between the Pleroma and the outer darkness did She realize that Her light had diminished, because Ialdabaoth had stolen a portion of it.

And so Ialdabaoth was alone, insane, and full of stolen divine power. His ignorance led him to believe that he was alone in the universe, and that he was the Parent of all things. This is the being the Gnostics called the Demiurgos (craftsman), the Creator of the world- the God of Genesis. He was also called Samael (blind god) and Saklas (fool).

His glimpse of the Pleroma had seeded his mind with the idea of a pattern for creation- an idea he thought to be his own. He thus fashioned the heavens and the earth within the abyss of darkness. Further, he populated his universe with angelic rulers (called Archons) in order to have worshippers who believed him to be the Highest God. (It is thus we call him “Ialdabaoth”- begetter of the hosts.) There were twelve great Archons:

-Iaoth
-Hermas -Kalia-Oimbri
-Iabel
-Adonaius
-Sabaoth
-Kainan-Kasin
-Abrisene
-Iobel
-Armoupieel
-Melkheir-Adonein
-Belias (who presides over Hades)

And there were seven Archons who directly govern the world:

-Athoth, with the face of a sheep or lion. (Kindness)
-Eloaios, with a Typhonian face. (Forethought)
-Astaphaios, with the face of a hyena. (Divinity)
-Iao, with the face of a serpent, and seven heads. (Lordship)
-Sabaoth, with the face of a dragon or snake. (Kingship)
-Adonin, with the face of an ape. (Zeal)
-Sabbataios, with a glowing face of fire. (Intelligence)

Each of these seven are given dual names. Through the first name, given by Ialdabaoth, each Archon exercises power over the world. The second name (Kindness, etc) was given to each- without Ialdabaoth’s knowledge- by the glory of the heavenly realm (the Pleroma). By these secondary names are the Archons overthrown and rendered powerless.

Further, more Archons were created, subservient to these 19, so the number of Archons equaled either 360 (degrees in the celestial circle) or 365 (days in a year). Ialdabaoth created these celestial hosts from his own natural fire, but did not share with them any of the life-giving Light he had stolen from his Mother.

Thus did the Demiurgos create his universe in the chaotic depths outside the Pleroma. He believed himself to be the One True God- though he secretly knew about the existence of his Mother Sophia. He became drunk and stupefied by his own power and arrogance.

As for Sophia, She repented for her deed and for the loss of the portion of Her Light. She cried out, and was heard by the hierarchies of Aeons within the Pleroma. They pitied Her, and raised Their voices with Hers- so that the Parent of the Entirety took notice and consented to help. It poured forth its divine spirit upon Her, and elevated Her to the ninth of the twelve lower Aeons (called Afterthought) until She could rectify the problem of the stolen Light.

The Gnostic Mythos: Act III

Act III of the Gnostic creation begins with the arrogant proclamation of Ialdabaoth- taken from the scripture of Judasim- to his hosts of Archons: “For my part, I am a jealous God. And, there is no other God apart from me.” Because of this, the Archons themselves became suspicious. If Ialdabaoth were truly the only God, then what other God could exist to arouse his jealousy?

The Demiurge’s faulty declaration also brought a response from the Pleroma. This was, in fact, the first step taken by the Aeons in a plan to regain Sophia’s stolen light. From behind the great barrier veil, a voice rang out through the abyss of darkness: “Not true Ialdabaoth! The Human Being exists, and the Child of the Human Being!” (That is to say, Man- the Celestial Adam- and the Son of Man- Seth; both of whom exist within the Great Luminaries of the Pleroma.) With this, the Celestial Adam was brought to the edge of the veil so that his luminous image was reflected into the waters of the deep. Ialdabaoth’s realm trembled, the foundations of the abyss shook, and the Archons were dumfounded.

Even the Deumiurgos himself did not know from where the voice or the image had come. Thinking quickly, Ialdabaoth took credit for these things himself. He said to his Archons: “Come, let us make a human being after the image of God and after our own images, so that the human being’s image might serve as a light for us. Let us call him Adam, so that we might have his name as a luminous power.” (The biblical student will recognize these words as adapted from the Judaic scripture of Genesis II.)

Therefore, all of the Archons came together to build Adam- each adding something of himself to the new soul. However, this was not yet the physical Adam. This original version was more like an Angel or Archon himself. Yet, even after the efforts of each and every Ruler, Adam remained a lifeless construct, and he lay immobile. Without the power to bring Adam to life, Ialdabaoth faced having his status as a lesser God revealed.

This, too, was part of the divine plan initiated by the Aeons of the Pleroma. The Barbelo dispatched the Christos and the Four Luminaries to consult Ialdabaoth in his predicament. They whispered into his ear that he should breath the Breath of Life into Adam. The Demiurgos followed this advice, as seen in Genesis II, and miraculously brought Adam to vibrant life. However, Ialdabaoth realized too late that he had been tricked into relinquishing all of his stolen power to Adam. The human being grew strong and shone with the divine light of Sophia.

Adam was now more powerful than Ialdabaoth himself, and this made the Archons angry. In fear and retaliation, they cast Adam into the lowest pit of matter. The Barbelo, out of compassion for the human being, dispatched Mother Sophia to reside within Adam- to suffer with him and to raise his thinking beyond his material prison. Some versions of this story hold that it was merely an aspect (or daughter) of Sophia that descended to the material realm- called Zoe (Life).

Meanwhile, the Archons completed their prison for Adam. A body of matter was created from the dust of the earth, into which Adam’s soul was imprisoned. Furthermore, the Garden of Eden was created as a place of leisure and earthly delight- so that Adam might become complacent, unperceptive, and “asleep”- and so have no clue of his true inner power. The only rule Ialdabaoth gave him was that he should never touch the Tree of Knowledge (or Tree of Gnosis)- else he might discover his godhood and defeat the Demiurgos and his hosts of Rulers. (Note that some texts suggest that even this Adam was not a physical man such as you or I. In these cases, the human race would not materialize on earth until Adam was expelled from Eden.)

As a further step toward keeping Adam asleep, Ialdabaoth succeeded in taking from him the power of Zoe. Another body was fashioned- this one female- and Zoe was imprisoned within it. This is the Gnostic interpretation of the creation of Eve seen in Genesis II. Here, it was Zoe rather than a rib that was removed from the sleeping Adam. Thus, the divine power stolen and then lost by Ialdabaoth became divided between Adam and Eve. (Note that Eve, in Hebrew, means “Life” just as does the Coptic Zoe.)

According to the text The Hypostasis of the Archons (“The Reality of the Rulers”), it was then that the Christos descended to the Garden of Eden in the form of the serpent. Where the serpent had been the antagonist of the Judaic Eden story, he became the hero of the Gnostic mythos. It was the serpent who convinced Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the Tree of Gnosis, and therefore moved them closer to the realization of their own power and liberation from the material darkness.

For this, Ialdabaoth expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden and cursed the Earth, woman, and serpent. (The Christos, however, had withdrawn from the serpent before the curse could be declared.) The two humans were given the waters of forgetfulness, so they would not remember whom they were, and the man was set to dominate the woman. They were thus blinded to their own sins, and to the existence of the God above Ialdabaoth and the Archons.

Now, Ialdabaoth set his eyes upon the power of Zoe, which still resided within Eve. He pursued Eve with the intention of raping her to reclaim his lost power. However, before this could happen, Zoe was caught up once more into the Pleroma. It was therefore a mere earthly shell- the body of Eve- that was attacked and defiled by Ialdabaoth. The result of this union was the corrupted child Cain.

(The Secret Book According to John states that both Cain and Abel were fathered in this way, though other texts insist it was only Cain. In the Revelation of Adam, it is said that the divine glory left both Eve and Adam after their expulsion, and did not return again until it entered Seth and- thus- his descendants. In The Hypostasis… it was all of the Archons together who chased Eve. At the last moment, however, Zoe left Eve behind and transformed Herself into the Tree of Life. This same text also suggests that Eve later had a daughter (by Adam) named Norea- the wife of Seth. Norea was supposed to be the rebirth of Zoe into the world, so that Norea and Seth together gave birth to the Gnostic race.)

It is thus that humanity had its beginning as a lost people unaware of their divine origin. Those among us who awaken and remember (“upon whom the spirit of life will descend and dwell with power”) will, upon death, return to the Pleroma. In this way, they will return their small portion of the stolen Light of Sophia to its rightful home. Those souls who fail will, upon death, be seized by the Archons, bound, and cast back into the prison of physical incarnation. This cycle will continue forever until the soul awakens and escapes the Wheel of Fate.

Finally, the Hypostasis… claims that Zoe dispatched a fiery Angel to banish the Demiurgos to Tartarus. Here, he became the “Satan” we most commonly know, and populated the created world with demons such as Envy, Death, etc.

Meanwhile, one of Ialdabaoth’s seven sons- Sabaoth- eventually repented and condemned the ways of his father. He sang praises to Sophia/Zoe, and was therefore caught up to the seventh heaven (the highest of the heavens outside of the Pleroma). Here, Sabaoth became the God of the Jews:

“Now when these events had come to pass, it made itself a huge four-faced chariot of kherubim, and infinitely many angels to render assistance and also harps and lyres. And Sophia took Her daughter Zoe and had Her sit at its right to teach it about the things that exist in the eighth heaven; and the Angel of Anger she placed at its left. Since that day, its right has been called Life, and the left has come to represent the injustice of the realm of absolute power above.”

Sabaoth was the Gnostics’ way of explaining contradictions between their mythos and their Judaic sources. The God of the Old Testament was not always unjust or arrogant, and thus these instances of mercy or wisdom were credited to Sabaoth rather than Ialdabaoth. As an example, the Gnostics saw two beings at work in the story of Noah and the Deluge: Ialdabaoth who wished to rid the world of the offspring of Adam, and Sabaoth who acted secretly against his father by warning Noah of the coming disaster.

The Gnostic Mythos: Act IV

The final act of the Gnostic creation mythos does not differ greatly from the already well-known Christian Gospels- the story of Jesus. In fact, by reading the Gospel of John one will have read the standard Gnostic telling of the tale. What sets the Gnostic story apart from other versions of the Gospel is the peculiar manner in which the details of the story are interpreted. This is very similar to Gnostic interpretations of passages from Genesis and elsewhere in the Bible.

Unfortunately, much of the information about the Gnostic interpretation of Jesus’ life comes from an untrustworthy source- St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, who wrote his Against Heresies in about 180 C.E. As the title of his work suggests, St. Irenaeus was set firmly against the beliefs of the Gnostics, and presented their mythos with an aim toward discrediting it entirely. His information is trusted to some degree because his presentation of already-familiar Gnostic material (such as the creation mythos) appears accurate. (Plus, what he presents concerning Gnostic thought and practice is not nearly so fantastical as that found in other anti-Gnostic writings; such as those by St. Epiphanius- who described many horrifying and unlikely practices among the Gnostics. Such as ritual abortion, etc.)

The first point of contention between the Gnostic and Catholic views of Jesus is over the origin of the man himself. The Gnostics viewed Jesus and the Christ as two separate entities. They did not see Jesus as merely an ordinary human, but neither did they feel that Jesus was “with the father in the beginning.” Instead, Jesus was engendered by the Holy Spirit as a perfect vessel for the containment of the true God of the Pleroma and Redeemer of mankind- the Christos. Jesus the man would not obtain the Christos until his baptism, and he would lose it again just before his death.

St. Irenaeus tells us that- after the first three acts of the Gnostic creation mythology- the “vulgar Wisdom” (perhaps meaning Zoe- the Lower Wisdom) had no resting place upon earth or in the heavens. Therefore, she called upon her mother (presumably Sophia, referred to as the Holy Spirit in this text) for help. If we place this into the context of the previous acts of the mythos, then we should assume this as another step in the divine plan formulated by the Aeons to retrieve the stolen light. In response to the plea of vulgar Wisdom, the Holy Spirit engendered two humans: one was John the Baptist, born of a barren woman, and the other was Jesus ben Joseph, born of a virgin. John was intended to proclaim the coming of the Anointed, and to baptize Jesus so that he (Jesus) would be a pure vessel when the Christos finally descended.

Earlier in this lecture, you heard a bit about the baptism of Jesus, and mention was made of the descent of the Christos as witnessed by John. The form it took was that of a white dove- a common symbol of the Holy Spirit even in modern Christianity. In the Gnostic interpretation, this dove symbolizes a combination of Sophia and the Christos- and thus the true Holy Spirit of God. It was in response to the plea of the “vulgar Wisdom” that the Christos was dispatched to the physical earth. During its journey hence, it descended through the seven heavens, emptying each sphere (and thus the Archons) of power along the way. Then, it joined itself to Sophia, so that the Christos is called the Bridegroom and Sophia the Bride. It was this unified divine force that descended into Jesus at his baptism, and to which the voice of God proclaimed His pleasure from the sky. Thus was created Jesus the Anointed, or Jesus Christ.

Of course, even Jesus the man was not an original creation by the Holy Spirit. Like most aspects of the Gnostic mythos, anything that appears on earth must necessarily have its counterpart (or blueprint) in the Pleroma. (Later Hermetic schools would comprehend this in the phrase “As Above, So Below.”) In this light, there is indication that Jesus was a reincarnation of the father of all Gnostics- Seth. (Remember that Seth was himself modeled upon the super-celestial Seth.) According to the Gnostics, this explains why Jesus often referred to himself as the “Son of Man”- a title generally reserved for Seth, the Son of Adam. We can see how this would secure the entire Jesus story as an acceptable Gnostic mythology. While the first Seth fathered the Gnostic race- preserving the precious divine light in his line of descendants- the second Seth came to teach his children the secrets of bringing the light back to the Pleroma, thus bringing the divine plan to completion.

Of course, Ialdabaoth and his Archons were angry over the advent of Jesus Christ, the miracles he performed, and (especially) the message he delivered. Therefore, it was these forces of darkness that orchestrated the persecution and crucifixion of Jesus. (In the Gospel according to John 8:44, Jesus outright accuses the Pharisees of serving Satan. In the Gnostic interpretation, this is where Jesus affirms that the Jews were serving Ialdabaoth.)

Another Gnostic angle on Bible interpretation helps explain one of the most curious scenes in the Gospel- found (for instance) at Mathew 27:46. Here, Jesus has already been crucified and is painfully drifting toward death. Of all the things the Son of God might possibly have said at that particular moment, Jesus was recorded as uttering, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” In and of itself, it simply makes no sense if one follows the standard Christian dogma concerning God and Jesus. Thereby, God could not have forsaken Jesus, for the two were either one and the same, or were at least of the same substance. Yet, according to Gnostic dogma, God and Jesus were always separate entities- and there is precedent already set in the mythology for the desertion of the physical by the Christos.

Remember that the Annointed, as a Force of the Pleroma, is perfect and cannot be defiled in any way. It descended once into the Serpent of Eden to rescue Adam and Eve from their prison, but had to withdraw again before the Demiurgos could pronounce his curse against it. In like manner did the Divine Light flee from Adam before he could be similarly cursed, from Eve before she could be raped by the Archons, and yet again from Able before his murder at the hands of Cain.

Thus, once his worldly ministry was complete, and Jesus was brought before the Roman governor Pilate to begin his trial and suffering, the force of Christ/Sophia left him. Allegorically, it was only the perishable aspects of the Master that suffered and died- particularly his body and earthly spirit. The incorruptible light of God within him could experience no such thing, and was thus caught up into the heavens again. Therefore, the passions and crucifixion of Jesus were intended to separate the pure from within him and to destroy the impure. To this very day, this remains the mystical and hermetic interpretation of the Crucifixion.

Continuing this allegory, Jesus was resurrected after three days as a perfect being. Having been purified of all earthy materials and passions, he no longer existed in a physical human body. He was then caught up into heaven, where he sits at the right hand of Ialdabaoth (or Sabaoth, depending on the text). As the souls of departed humans raise themselves naturally toward the throne of the seventh heaven, Jesus gathers the Gnostic souls to himself without Ialdabaoth’s knowledge. Non-Gnostics, however, are seized by the Demiurgos and forced back to incarnation upon earth- where they will continue to feed the Archons with their suffering. Eventually, Jesus will have gathered all of the enlightened souls, finally recovering the entirety of the light stolen by the Creator, and thus bringing created reality to a final end.

Valentinian Gnosticism

This is part two of a longer lecture dedicated to the subject of historical Gnosticism. Part one dealt with a simple overview of Gnostic history and philosophy, and a “harmonized” telling of the classical Gnostic creation mythos- taken from such texts as the Secret Book According to John, and the Hypostasis of the Archons.

Here in part two, we shall discuss a later, yet equally important, school of Gnosticism. This school arose independently of the most ancient Gnostic sects, and within the boundaries of the Pauline Christian Church. It is known today as “Valentinian” Gnosticism- so named after the founder of the movement. It would appear, in fact, that the bulk of Gnostic influence upon Western culture- especially within the Qabalah, Hermeticism, and Magick- was handed down almost exclusively from the Valentinian school. (Remember that the Nag Hammadi texts, containing what we know of classical Gnosticism, were not discovered until the 1940s CE.)

Much as I have done previously, I will begin this exploration with an historical overview of the Valentinian movement and some of the people involved in it. Then, I will present the Valentinian recension of the Gnostic Creation mythology.

Valentinus

Valentinus (ca 100 - 175 CE) was born in the city of Phrebonis in the Egyptian delta. He is said to have received a Greek education in Alexandria, and became a Neoplatonic philosopher and teacher. Around 140 CE, he moved to Rome in order to take an active role in the Roman Catholic Church as a teacher and leader. We also know that he once hoped to be appointed the Bishop of Rome, but he did not receive the position (possibly due to his heretical spiritual views?).

Valentinus and his students accepted traditional Roman (that is, Pauline) Christian doctrine. The teacher himself claimed to have learned the mysteries from a disciple of St. Paul’s named Theudas. Theudas, as a member of Paul’s inner circle, was supposed to have learned a deeper allegorical interpretation of Scripture than was taught to common men. This he passed on to Valentinus, who then taught the same mysteries to his inner circle of students at private meetings in Rome. (Note the similarity here to the classical Gnostic claim of receiving the “secret teachings of Jesus”- revealed only to his inner circle of disciples.)

Now, I find it incredibly unlikely that Paul (who was nothing more than a Roman infiltrator and pretender within Christian ranks) could have ever taught such insightful things as we see from the school of Valentinian Gnosticism. Yet, it was this claimed apostolic succession from Paul, through Theudas, to Valentinus that formed the foundational spiritual authority upon which Valentinus stood. (Such claims of apostolic succession were important to many early Christian teachers.)

As it turns out, these “deeper allegorical interpretations” of Scripture were actually a version of the classical Gnostic mythos. It was certainly much more Christian- or at least more Roman- than the original Gnostic myth, but it retained most of the same basic elements.

The surviving teachings of Valentinus (such as in the Gospel of Truth) depict a formula of salvation through personal gnosis of God. The Gospel of Truth is not classical Gnosticism at all, but it seems to apply the same principles on an individual scale as the Gnostics applied to their entire people. (By reason of this individual focus, Valentinian teachings are considered a form of mysticism.) The text describes the human soul as a spark of Divinity lost in ignorance and in need of a redeemer to ransom it from the darkness. That redeemer leads the soul back to gnosis with God. This “fullness-loss-recapture” pattern has resulted in the labeling of the Gospel… as “gnostic rhetoric.”

Valentinus also taught that God contains all things (much as we see in the concept of the heavenly spheres- where God is the largest sphere encompassing all others)- rather than the principally linear pattern espoused by the classical Gnostics, wherein reality is outside of and far removed from God. He also taught that physical reality is an illusion- and that the illusion of distinction and structure dissolves once gnosis of God is achieved. The ignorant- who are blind to the reality behind perceived reality- are literally trapped in a waking nightmare, while the elect are to be awakened and called home. (To be “called home”, in this sense, is to enter a state of “repose” or “rest.” This, like much of the Valentinian philosophy, is of Neoplatonic origin- where a distinction is made between the “volatile” and the “fixed.” All of imperfect reality is the result of motion, while perfection can only exist in a fixed state.)

Valentinus was attacked viciously for his teachings and Biblical interpretations. Later Church fathers claimed that he was forced to leave Rome because of this, though there does not seem to be any evidence to support it. His public career effectively ended in 165 CE, when he did not receive the position as the Bishop of Rome.

Influences Upon Valentinus

The groundwork for Valentinian Gnosticism appears to have been laid while its creator was still studying in Alexandria. For instance, we know there was an active sect of classical Gnostics in Alexandria at the time, and it is obvious that Valentinus learned much from them (either directly or, at least, via their writings or public speeches). At the same time, the Hermetic sciences were flourishing throughout Hellenic Egypt, and it is likely that much was drawn from this school into the Valentinian form of mysticism. Also in Alexandria was the School of Basilides. Basilides was a Christian philosopher who was, himself, affected by classical Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Stoicism, and Pythagorean theories (all of which are likewise very important to the Valentinian school.) It is doubtless that Valentinus would have interacted freely with this particular group.

Yet, upon reading the Valentinian philosophy and mythos, it becomes apparent that one school had an even greater impact upon Valentinus than the Alexandrian Gnostics or the disciples of Basilides. This was the School of St. Thomas- and it was so intimately connected with the Gnostic philosophies that it is nearly impossible to consider it non-Gnostic in and of itself. (Like the Valentinian Gospel of Truth, it is not classical Gnosticism, but can be considered “gnostic rhetoric.”) The principal surviving texts of the school are: The Gospel According to Thomas, The Book of Thomas, and The Acts of Thomas (which latter includes the powerful and highly significant poem entitled The Hymn of the Pearl).

The School of St. Thomas was founded in Mesopotamia and then disseminated throughout the known Christian world. Valentinus probably met with an Egyptian branch of the school during his formative years in Alexandria. Because the philosophies of St. Thomas are so vital to our own current exploration, I’ll take a moment here to outline some of the history and teachings of the school.

The full name of its founder is St. Didymus Jude Thomas, Apostle of the East. He is said to have been no one less than Jesus’ twin brother. After the messiah was executed, it was Thomas who inherited the leadership of the fledgling Christian movement. (Thus, his description as Jesus’ twin [if it is not literal] may have simply been an acknowledgement of his equal status with Jesus as the movement’s leader and teacher. It was Thomas’ group, by the way, that referred to itself as “the meek” or “the humble” [etc]- which throws great light upon New Testament statements such as “the meek shall inherit the earth.”) St. Thomas was officially credited with the conversion of northern Mesopotamia and India to Christianity.

As previously stated, the School of St. Thomas is not historically related (as far as we know) to classical Gnosticism, but it did teach a mysticism of spiritual gnosis. It focused upon one’s personal relationship with God, and the existence of God and His Divine Kingdom within the hearts of all believers. The philosophy teaches one to find the “living Jesus” (i.e.- Divine Light) within, and thus to gain knowledge of both oneself and one’s divine double (i.e.- Higher Self).

The St. Thomas mythos can be summed up in this succinct manner: The True Self (or soul) of an individual has been sent from the “Kingdom of Light in the East” (or spiritual realm). It now lives in the material realm- a place of “sleep, drunkenness, darkness, and death”- where it has forgotten its true nature and origin. This land of outer darkness is often metaphorically termed “Egypt” or “Babylon”, and is ruled by malevolent authorities termed “Pharisees”, “Babylonians”, etc. The King- or Father- of the Kingdom of Light then sends a savior (Jesus) or a “personified message” (what we might call a Holy Guardian Angel) to awaken and sober the soul- teaching it to recognize itself (and where it comes from) and to distinguish between Light and darkness. This ultimately causes the soul to return to its home in the Kingdom of Light- a place described as partly elsewhere and partly within the self. The Hymn of the Pearl is based entirely upon this mytho-mystical outline.

The Valentinian School

It must be understood that Valentinian Gnosticism was a philosophical school rather than a sect of Christianity. They were Pauline Christians, and followed the doctrines of Rome. As a school, they felt they had apostolic succession from St. Paul himself- and they claimed him as their principal authority. Two branches of the school eventually developed, each distinguished by its particular views upon the origin of Jesus Christ. One was the “Italic” (or Western) branch started by Ptolemy and Heracleon. This group believed that Jesus had been an animate being who joined with the Christos at his baptism- very similar to the classical Gnostic belief. The other was the Eastern branch started by Theodotus and Mark. This group believed that Jesus was a divine being from his very birth, engendered by the Holy Spirit- a view more in holding with the contemporary Catholic doctrine.

At first, Valentinian Gnostics were accepted within the Church (i.e.- Valentinian scholars could hold official positions as late as 200 CE) and they were therefore allowed to spread throughout the Roman Empire. Eventually, however, the Valentinians were distanced from the Roman Church. Because they first existed within the ranks of the official Church, their enemies often referred them to as “wolves in sheeps’ clothing.” By the 4th century (Constantine’s time) the Roman government was in the act of consuming the Church (or vice-versa). In 326 CE, Constantine officially listed Gnosticism among heretical movements- all of which were ordered to immediately shut down. (Note that this is the same century in which a group of clever monks hid the Coptic manuscripts in a cave near Nag Hammadi.) A mention of a “Valentinian Chapel” was made in 388 CE- when it was burned down by Christians. In 428 CE, the Roman Emperor Theodosius included the Valentinians in another law passed against heretical sects. In 692, the Trullan Synod (a meeting of Church and Roman officials) discussed how to receive a “repentant Valentinian” into the Catholic Church.

Unfortunately, St. Irenaeus (the declared anti-Gnostic) is our primary source for the writings and teachings of the Valentinian school. He only gives us a sketchy account of the Gnostic myth as told by Valentinus himself. However, he gives a complete account of the story as told by Ptolemy- one of Valentinus’ first and greatest students. The mythos is likely Ptolemy’s own recension of the story, but (because it is the most complete) it is considered the definitive Valentinian Gnostic creation myth.

Ptolemy

Very little is known of Ptolemy. He lived roughly between 136-180 CE. Some have suggested that he was one ‘Ptolemy the Martyr” (died ca 152 CE), but we can’t know if this is indeed the case. We do have some of Ptolemy’s teachings- as quoted or described by St. Irenaeus and St. Epiphanius in their anti-heretical works. Epiphanius, in particular, quotes an Epistle to Flora written by Ptolemy.

The Epistle to Flora concerns interpretation of the Old Testament- both the Law contained within it and the God(s) who delivered it. First, Ptolemy explains, the God of the Old Testament could not be the Parent of the Entirety, or else its Law would have been as perfect as Itself. Yet, the Law of the Old Testament is not perfect, needed fulfillment by another (a reference to Jesus, who said he came to fulfill the Law rather than break it), and often contradicts the very nature of the Parent. (Examples given of the latter are the Mosaic Law allowing for divorce, or the injunction to take an “eye for an eye”, etc.)

At the same time, Ptolemy continues, the God of the Old Testament could not have been the Devil- as claimed by the classical Gnostics- because the craftsmanship of the world reflects the work of a God who hates evil. Any work of a true Devil would necessarily run counter to anything of heavenly origin.

In fact, the nature of the various Laws of the Old Testament indicate that there must have been three different authors:

1) The Creator. (That is, the Demiurgos, not the highest Parent of All.)
2) Moses.
3) The Hebrew Elders.

Further, those Laws given by the Creator are divided into three:

1a) Pure but Imperfect. (These are the Laws that are just, but were in need of later “fulfillment”- that is to say completion- by Jesus.)
1b) Interwoven with Injustice. (These are the “eye for an eye”-style Laws mentioned previously- that were later abolished by Jesus).
1c) Symbolic. (These were originally Jewish ritual laws. As such, they were abolished by Jesus- but the scripture that describes the rituals were given a higher allegorical meaning.)

Ptolemy asserts that this proves the God of the Old Testament is intermediate between perfection and evil. Thus, the Demirugos is called “Just”- and he is often referred to by Ptolemy in the Epistle… as the “God of Righteousness” or “God of Justice”. (“Being a judge of the Justice (Righteousness) that is his.”) He was made in the image of the Parent of All.

Ptolemy’s version of the Gnostic myth (contained in St. Irenaeus’ Against Heresies) was the best-known account of the Gnostic creation before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in the 1940s CE. This is likely the very text that most affected the development of the Hermeticism, Qabalah, and Western occultism of later centuries. John Dee almost certainly owned and/or studied a copy.

The return to repose- from volatile to fixed- is the theme of Ptolemy’s telling of the Gnostic creation. The fixed nature of spiritual perfection is symbolized in the text by androgyny (the permanent union of sexual opposites, the return of “male” and “female” to a single body). Thus, the True Self that resides within each of us (the Divine Spark) has its own counterpart (or Angel) in the spiritual realm with which it must re-unite. Thus, as we shall see, there exists a deeply sexual tone to Ptolemy’s myth- as it attempts to relate the spiritual “mystery of the bridal chamber.”

(NOTE: This “counterpart (or Angel) in the Pleroma” is NOT equivalent to our own concept of the Holy Guardian Angel. The Redeemer of the Valentinian mythos represents the Guardian Angel- who is dispatched to the physical realm to awaken the sleeping soul. The spiritual counterpart (or Higher Self) of the True Self remains always in the Pleroma waiting for the reunion.)

Valentinian Gnostic Mythos

(Note: For convenience, I have attempted to divide this story into four principal “acts”- so as to reflect the same division made within the classical Gnostic creation tale. This should make a comparative study of both myths somewhat easier.)

Act I: Formation of the Pleroma

In the beginning was the Prior Source- also called the Ancestor, the Deep, and several further descriptive titles. This is identical with the classical Gnostic “Parent of the Entirety” and it is likewise described as “uncontained, invisible, unengendered”, etc. As usual, the Source is utterly alone in the universe- the original unit, or monad. However, the Valentinians also recognized a pseudo-Aeon called “Silence” as the consort of the Ancestor. While the Source must be described as singular in a technical sense, Silence is counted as an Aeon when the number of Aeons is expressed as a Pythagorean mystery. (See the Tetraktys below.)

Therefore is it said that the Source and Silence together engendered the next two Aeons- Intellect and his consort Truth. Intellect is the Valentinian version of the classical Gnostic Barbelo. It is called the “Only Begotten”, and is the only being to comprehend the magnitude (or have gnosis) of the Source. These four primal Aeons (including Silence) are called the “Root of the Pleroma”, and compose together the Pythagorean Tetraktys:

Source  (1)    *
Silence  (2)   * *
Intellect  (3)  * * *
Truth      (4) * * * *

  = 10  (the perfect number)

The process of emanation continued when Intellect (and his consort) produced the next pair of Aeons: the Word (Logos) and Life (Zoe). This completed the principal hierarchy of the Pleroma. The Source, Intellect, and the Logos are all called “Parent”, because they are individual aspects of a single Divine Force. (We saw much the same previously with the classical Gnostic Parent, Barbelo, and Christos.) The Valentinian Logos is considered the Parent of all beings created after it.

The Logos and Zoe, then, gave birth to two further Aeons- each serving as a blueprint of sorts for things that would later appear upon earth. The first was the Human Being, and its consort was the Church. (Remember that the word “church” in this case indicates a body of believers, or the presence of God among His believers, and is not a reference to either the Catholic Church or any building of worship.) The inclusion of these Aeons brings the total to eight, and this forms what the Valentinians called the “Primal Octet” of the Pleroma.

 The Source           - Silence
 Intellect                 - Truth
 The Word (Logos) - Zoe
 Human Being        - Church

Ptolemy states that each of these Aeons were naturally produced to the glorification of the Prior Source. What followed this, however, were creative actions taken independently by the Aeons in the hopes of further glorifying the Source. Thus, the Logos and Zoe decided to engender ten further Aeons in five pairs:

 The Deep-Sunken    - Intercourse
 The Un-ageing         - Union
 The Self-Produced   - Pleasure
 The Motionless         - Mixture
 The Only-Begotten*  - The Blessed

(*- Not to be confused with Intellect, who bears “Only-Begotten” as a title.)

The Human Being and the Church, then, emitted twelve final Aeons:

 The Intercessor     - Faith
 The Fatherly          - Hope
 The Motherly         - Love
 The Ever-Flowing   - Intelligence
 The Ecclesiastical  - Blessedness
 The Wished-For    - Wisdom (Sophia)

(Note that, as within classical Gnosticism, Sophia is again the lowest of the twelve final Aeons.)

This seems to represent the basic structure of the Mind of God. All of the Aeons taken together- the 8, 10, and 12- compose the “30 Silent and Unrecognizable Aeons”- the Valentinian version of the classical Gnostic Pleroma.

Act II: The Suffering of Sophia.

As before stated, only Intellect had gnosis of the Prior Source. To those Aeons below Intellect, the Source was both invisible and incomprehensible. For this reason, Intellect intended to arouse the other Aeons into longing and searching for the Source- in order to elevate them to its own position, and allow them to share in the gnosis of the Ancestor. However, had it accomplished this, the Aeons would have been consumed by the Source and dissolved back to their universal essence. (Imagine a drop of water falling into the ocean.) Therefore, Intellect’s hasty passion was restrained by Silence.

Now, the lower Aeons did feel Intellect’s passion and did indeed wish to seek out the Ancestor. However, thanks to Silence, they were never incited to move and remained still. Intellect’s restrained passion, however, filtered down through the Pleroma and collected within the lowest Aeon- Sophia.

This was the beginning of the suffering of Sophia. Filled with a passion to search out the Ancestor, She recklessly charged forth without her consort. She wished to comprehend the magnitude of the Source, but this was not possible without resulting in Her dissolution. So it became a struggle for Her as she pushed her way ever higher toward the Immeasurable Magnitude.

The Ancestor, meanwhile, was aware of the approaching Sophia as well as the consequences. Therefore, it directed Intellect to create a Great Barrier and set it between the Source and everything else in the Pleroma. This Barrier is sometimes considered “hexagonal”, because it has six names: Boundary, Cross, Redeemer, Emancipator, Boundary-Setter, and Conveyor. Usually, however, it is considered a Great Cross (which will become important later in this story).

This Barrier has two functions: one is to stabilize, and one is to divide. As Ptolemy tells us: “In stabilizing and establishing, it is the Cross. In dividing and bounding, it is the Boundary.” John the Baptist, continues Ptolemy, spoke of the Boundary when he said, “The Cross is a winnowing fork, and consumes all material elements as fire does chaff. And winnows the saved as the fork winnows wheat.” (You can read the original quotes in Mt. 3:12, or Lk 3:17.)

When Sophia finally struck this Barrier, it caused Her to realize that the Source truly was incomprehensible. The Barrier restrained her, purified her, and restored her to her consort and her proper place within the Pleroma. Sophia was therefore at rest again, because the Barrier had separated (or winnowed) the passion from Her.

Of course, there is nothing within the Pleroma that cannot be personified, and the same can be said of Sophia’s reckless and unfulfilled passion. Once separated by the Barrier, the passion was removed entirely from the Pleroma, and bounded outside in a region of shadow. In this state, it is called Achamoth- probably from the Hebrew word Chockmah, meaning Wisdom. To the Valentinian Gnostics, she was the Lower Wisdom (or daughter of Sophia). At first, Achamoth was little more than a misshapen essence- because she was an unfulfilled passion (or a Thought that had never comprehended its subject).

Because of Sophia’s reckless actions and the resultant production of Achamoth, Intellect- acting again under the Ancestor’s foresight- emitted another pair of Aeons: The Anointed (Christ), and The Holy Spirit. These two Aeons were to “fix and establish” the Pleroma so another incident like Sophia’s could not occur.

First, Christ taught the Aeons the importance of remaining in pairs to maintain equilibrium. It also taught them that the Source is incomprehensible, and cannot be seen or heard but through the Only-Begotten (Intellect). While the eternal permanence of the Pleroma is due to the incomprehensible aspect of the Source, its origination and forming is due to the Source’s comprehensible aspect (or its child- which I assume to mean Intellect).

Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit equalized all of the Aeons- bringing them to “true repose” (or motionlessness, the Neoplatonic concept of perfection). Because of this, all the Aeons became as one. (Ptolemy states they “…became equal in form and intention.”). Thus, each male Aeon was equally an Intellect, Word, Human Being, and Christ; and each female Aeon was Truth, Life, Church, and Holy Spirit.

Now all in the Pleroma existed in a state of perfection and happiness. Christ and the Holy Spirit, acting with approval of the Source, had each of the Aeons offer up the most beautiful and splendid it had within itself. These elements were woven together to produce “…a kind of perfect beauty and star of the Pleroma.” This was Jesus (the 2nd Anointed). After his parent (Christ) was Jesus named Savior, Anointed, and Word. At the same time, Angels were produced in the same manner- so as to be bodyguards (or an entourage) for Jesus.

Act III: Achamoth and The God of Justice.

At this point in the mythos (which I have personally labeled Act III), we leave the Pleroma behind and focus instead upon the outer region of shadow into which Achamoth was bound. She was herself of the same spiritual substance as the higher Aeons, and thus her expulsion from the Pleroma represented a loss of a portion of its Light. Achamoth herself, as I hinted at before, is described as “like an aborted fetus” because she had never comprehended anything.

Christ (the Redeemer) took pity upon her, and so reached across the Great Cross Barrier and used his power to give her a more concrete form. He placed within her some of the essence of himself and the Holy Spirit. Then he left her and hastened back to the Pleroma, so that she would begin to yearn for and seek out the superior realm. Thus Achamoth was given two names: Wisdom (Sophia) after her mother, and Holy Spirit after the essence left within her by Christ.

Achamoth, then, did yearn for the Light that had left her. However, she was still a creature of passion (and thus had no repose)- so she could not enter the now fixed and established Pleroma. She was turned back and left alone in the darkness, still having comprehended nothing. Because of this, Achamoth experienced more passions. St. Irenaeus records:

“Sometimes…she cried and felt grief because of being left alone in the darkness and emptiness; sometimes she… thought about the Light that had left her, and she relaxed and laughed; sometimes she was afraid; and yet other times she became uncertain and distraught.”

As we will see later, this is the origin of the essence of all matter- because the entire Soul of the World was created from the passions Achamoth suffered at being turned away from the Pleroma. All moist essences came from her tears, all luminous essences from her laughter, and the essences of the bodily elements of the world from her grief and terror.

After suffering all of these passions, Achamoth turned to supplicate the Light that had left her (Christ). In response, Christ and the rest of the Aeons dispatched the Intercessor (Jesus)- endowing him with the Source’s power, and putting all under his authority. So Jesus came to Achamoth with his guard of Angels.

Achamoth was at first ashamed of her condition, and covered her face with a veil. Finally, however, she came to Jesus. The savior separated Achamoth’s passions from her, and was able to give her a final concrete form because she finally had gnosis of something- Jesus himself. Thus was she cured of her many passions.

However, something had yet to be done with the removed passions themselves. So, the Savior “set them apart, poured them together, fixed them, and transformed them from incorporeal passions into incorporeal matter.” He endowed them with properties that caused them to form compounds and bodies. Two universal essences were thereby created- a bad one formed of Sophia’s passions, and a mixed one (tainted with passion) formed when Achamoth was turned away from the Pleroma. Now free of the passions, Achamoth was filled with joy and the contemplation of the Savior’s Angels (apparently a sexually-charged reference)- and she thus gave birth to a third universal essence, generated after the likeness of the Angels.

Essences:
1) Material Essence = From Achamoth’s passion
2) Animate Essence (part divine, but tainted with earthly passion) = From her turning back
3) Spiritual Essence = From her joy

Now, Achamoth began to form these essences. But she could do nothing with the spiritual because it was of the same divine substance as herself. So she turned to the animate, over which she did have creative control, and there-from formed the Craftsman (Demiurgos- the Valentinian version of Ialdabaoth).

Achamoth then set her son as God and King of all that was composed of two of the three essences: all animate substance (of which he was himself composed), and of all that derive from passion and matter. (The former are called “those on the right” while the latter are called “those on the left.”) He was placed in this kingly position because it was he- inspired secretly by Achamoth- who formed all who came after him. Thus he is called Mother-Father, Parentless, Craftsman, and Parent. (He is the Parent of animate things, the Craftsman of material things, and he is King of all creation.) Yet, he is unacquainted with his Mother (Achamoth), the Pleroma, or the spiritual universal essence.

It is important to remember that Achamoth was the anonymous inspiration behind the Craftsman’s actions. It was her wish to honor the Pleroma by having the physical universe modeled upon it. The correspondences between the higher and lower realms are given:

The Invisible Source = Achamoth
Intellect = The Craftsman
The Aeons = Archangels and Angels of the Craftsman

And so the Demiurgos became Parent and God of all things outside of the Pleroma- the maker of all things animate and material. He constructed the seven heavens- each of which is intelligent and is thus an Archangel. The Craftsman rests at their summit- so that he is the 7th and Achamoth is the 8th- thus preserving the number of the Pleroma’s Primal Octet. (Achamoth rests at what the Valentinians called the Midpoint or the Supercelestial Palace- between Creation below and the Pleroma above. She is called the Eighth, Lower Wisdom, Jerusalem, and Holy Spirit.) Because the Craftsman did not know that Achamoth was moving him- and he did not have gnosis with the spiritual forces- he truly believed that he was the one and only God. He grew arrogant, and told his Angels “It is I who am God, apart from me there is no one.”

Meanwhile, remember that the material essence was formed from Achamoth’s grief. From this come all wicked spirits and the Devil. To the Valentinians, the Devil is a world-ruler in direct control of earthly affairs. This fits Pauline Christian dogma, wherein Satan has supposedly been given rulership of Earth until Christ returns a second time to overthrow him by force. However, it is also explained by Ptolemy as a continuation of the process of reflection we have seen at every level of creation so far: the Mother resides in the Supercelestial Palace, the Demiurgos mirrors her by ruling in the 7th Heaven, and the Devil mirrors him as lord of the Earth.

However, the scheming of the denizens of the Pleroma is not yet done, for there is still the matter of the Spiritual Light (the third universal essence) missing from the higher realm. This spiritual essence is called “the seed” and was placed as such within the Craftsman by Achamoth- without his knowing. Therefore, when the time came, the Demiurgos would breath it into Adam (and thus into the Gnostic race). There it would gestate, grow, and become ready for the reception of the Logos. In this way was the spiritual seed sewn into mankind. The seed is also called the Church- the earthly counterpart to the Aeon called “Church”- for it is the presence of God among humanity.

Of the ultimate fate of the three essences, the Valentinians tell us:

1) Material is wholly mortal and will perish.
2) Animate is intermediate between material and spiritual- and can either be saved (ascend to the eighth heaven) or perish with the material depending on its own nature.
3) Spiritual is bound to the Animate (because it was sewn into the Demiurgos, and then breathed into mankind). It is to learn and experience with the animate while physically incarnate, until it has grown to readiness and returns to the Pleroma.

There are also three distinct “species” of humans in this philosophy- based upon the essences they carry and illustrated by the mythos of Cain, Able, and Seth:

Seth = Material + Animate + Spiritual (the Gnostics- who will all be saved)
Abel = Material + Animate (might be saved, or might perish)
Cain = Only Material (will perish).

By this model, we can see that animate essence that is good by nature (“just”) can receive the seed, while animate essence that is wicked by nature cannot. Interestingly, I see no indication in this philosophy that one must be born a Gnostic- or any idea of reincarnation from Seth. Achamoth “down to this day” continues to sew the spiritual essence into just souls. They come into the world as infants to learn and grow. Once deemed mature, they ascend and are given as brides to the Angels of the Savior. (These Angels are the Pleroma doubles of the spiritual essences themselves. So each Gnostic is eventually wedded to his own Angelic double- his Higher Self, as we would call it today.) So, apparently, one can receive the seed- which would fit with the Pauline Christian doctrine of conversion, saving souls, etc.

The Valentinians regarded themselves as composed of material, animate, and spiritual essences- and because they posses the spiritual they are automatically saved (redeemed) upon death. They put off their material and animate essences, enter the Pleroma, and become brides to the Angels. The animate essence they leave behind must remain in the eighth heaven, while the material will perish in the grave upon Earth.

Other humans are composed of material and animate essences alone- and thus they must be on good behavior (following the rules of the official Church, etc) so they can make it to the Eighth heaven upon death.

The End of All will come when all of the spiritual essence has evolved and been initiated into the mysteries of Achamoth. She will then leave the Midpoint, re-enter the Pleroma, and be married to the Savior. (This is the Bride and Bridegroom of mysticism- Wisdom and the Redeemer.) The entire Pleroma will be their bridal chamber. The Craftsman, at that time, will move into the Supercelestial Palace vacated by Achamoth. Animate humans (“The Just” or non-Valentinian Christians) will move into the eighth heaven with the Craftsman and the animate essences cast off by the Gnostics. This is called the Final Repose of the Just. Finally, the Earth will consume itself with fire. (Note that the Demiurgos was unaware of all of this until the advent of the Savior.)

Act IV: Advent of the Savior.

Unknowingly moved by Achamoth (once again), the Demiurgos himself begot the earthly Jesus upon Mary. Thus did Jesus take of the animate essence of the Demiurgos and mixed it with the spiritual essence of Achamoth to form his earthly body. However, there was nothing material in his form- because the material essence cannot be saved. (The Valentinians supposed Jesus appeared physical by some miracle- that his body was apparent and not actual.) It was this earthly Jesus of whom the Craftsman spoke through the Old Testament prophets- the coming of his son.

Upon Jesus’ baptism, the Christos (Anointed) descended into him in the form of a white dove. However, both the Christos and the spiritual seed he took from Achamoth left him when he was arrested and brought before governor Pilate - because the Christos cannot experience suffering or any passion). So it was only the animate Jesus that suffered. He was crucified as a representation of the Christos stretching out along the Great Cross Barrier and forming Achamoth. (And- as described earlier concerning the Barrier- it represents the Cross as winnowing the impure from the soul, while the spiritual essence ascends beyond it to the Pleroma.)

As part of his ministry on Earth, Jesus educated the Craftsman about Achamoth, the Pleroma, and the reward awaiting him at the end of all things (viz.- to move into Achamoth’s place in the eighth heaven.) So the Demiurgos was happy to defect to Jesus’ cause (symbolized in the New Testament by the encounter between Jesus and the Roman Centurion in Mat. 8 and Lk 7). So the Craftsman became the “God of Righteousness (or Justice)”, and was left in charge of creation to “bring about a providential arrangement of events in the world until the appropriate time.” (That is, until the end of all things, or the final coming of Christ.) Especially, he is to oversee his Church here on earth. Unlike the classical Gnostics, who saw Ialdabaoth (or Sabaoth) as the God of the Jews, the Valentinians saw the God of Righteousness as the God of the official Catholic Church. We can see here, as it was described by Ptolemy in his Epistle to Flora that the Creator is not an enemy of mankind- but merely another force of nature under the direct employ of the Highest Divinity.

Here, at long last, I will bring this dissertation to an end. Now you know the basic story of Gnosticism, and its many allegorical implications for the spiritual and physical universes and our own place within them. We have seen a general overview of the historical rise of the Gnostic philosophy- especially as it was affected by Egyptian, Jewish, and Greek cultures. And we have seen its progression from the first classical Gnostics to the Valentinian recension. However, we have not yet seen all of the known early influences upon classical Gnosticism- such as Neoplatonism and Zoroastrianism. Also, I have refrained (with some difficulty) from describing in detail the progression of the Gnostic philosophy beyond the Barbelo Gnostics and Valentinians- such as its overbearing influence upon the Knights Templar, the medieval grimoires, the Qabalah and Hermeticism of the 13th century, and even into our own Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Each of these represents a new thread that can be traced in this fascinating exploration- either for the student himself, or for future additions to this lecture series.

Black Magic

2008-04-19T21:01:00.001Z

"Sacrifice cattle little and big, after a child" Al III:12

How more convincingly could one honor and how more effectively could one appease ones deity by surrendering to them the very spirit of our existence, the life blood. At the very core of all magical religion lies sacrifice. The ignorant will reel in horror at this statement seeing it as a criminal abomination that has no place in civilized society.

Alas! Ye weak of heart, do you not remember Abraham�s readiness to offer his son and the slaughtering of Egypt�s first born upon the Jewish escape. All this was done in propitiation and glory to God. Did he not send his beloved son so that he may be killed and what of the maniacal whisperings that had the crusaders sending pagan heads a rolling. And for the satanist who thinks himself higher than this, hear well Mankind�s obsession with blood be it in sacrifice to God or of war in sacrifice to the nation, and its taboo that makes it such a formidable component of sorcery.

The fevered carnality boasted in the sacrifices of the Black Mass and the sublime symbology inherent in the Christian sacrament of communion do not amount to the occasional necessity of blood in ritual. Such acts of offering have no place in modern satanism where the only gods to be offered are ourselves. We only give if we are to gain.

The emotions evoked through the spectacle of the sacrifice or indeed the endorphins and adrenaline encouraged through our own sheddings serve well to alter the mindset more than astral imaginings, and together may grant us conscious light upon the subconscious gods that we are endeavouring to awaken. These gods are more than our potential as mere individuals but our potential as a species. They are those acres of mind that have yet been left fallow and now that the monkey has made us what we are biologically we must make what we are mentally which means expanding our fields to these lost horizons. The evolution is no longer Darwinian but entirely dependant upon our own reckonings and revelations.

The blood is just the beginning.

Paracelsus noted the importance of such in the summoning of spirits and much medieval invocation made use of it to great ends. Beyond the normal effects of the mind that ritual trappings impose the release of blood attracts certain diabolical elementals whose existence thrives on the obscene thought and perverted doings. Themselves being created by such are left to incubate in the subconscious where by passive association they may breed to finally manifest in our spontaneous crime. The gates have been opened!

The tantric magician uses the fluids of sex to master power but the use of blood far surpasses this, as it is not only a generative force but also a maintaining one allowing the energies that were not altogether used in ritual to continue due to its part digestion, forging a more lasting sympathetic connection with the working and so furthering the magic.

All occultists sacrifice something from the giving up of useless and outdated dogma to the slaughtering of the ego that the adept undergoes on approaching the abyss. Sacrifice does not mean abstinence and we have our right to indulge, but indulgence for indulgences sake leads only to compulsion and that is no control. To be master of oneself and ones own universe great discipline is essential in order to conquer our failings and to advance on to greater beings. It is the hanged man and with the destruction comes renovation, so build the tower higher and send it crashing to the ground so that it may be raised to new and more glorious heights.

Do not stop with what you are but what you can become.

The Fulmen Gnostica - The Gnostic Thunderbolt

2008-04-19T20:48:00.002Z

Inhale.

Starting just beyond the head, draw the first point of the Thunderbolt.
Visualize yellow sphere emblazoned at the top of the head, and send a thread of light to the point.
Vibrate "iiiiii..." in a high-pitched tone until the lungs are emptied.

Inhale.

Trace a straight line from top of head to left hip.
Visualize a purple sphere lighting up, sending a thread of light to the second point.
Vibrate "eeee..." in a slightly lower tone.

Inhale.

Trace a second line from left hip to right shoulder.
Visualize a orange sphere illuminating, sending its light to the third point.
Vibrate "oooo..." in a tone lower than the previous vibration.

Inhale.

Trace a third line from right shoulder to feet.
Visualize a black sphere encircling the feet, disappearing into the ground, and sending its thread to the fourth point.
Vibrate "uuuu..." in a lower tone.

Inhale.

Trace the fourth line from feet upwards to the left shoulder.
Visualize a orange sphere lighting up, sending its light to the fifth point.
Vibrate "eeee..." in a lower tone.

Inhale.

Trace the fifth line from the left shoulder to the right hip.
Visualize a purple sphere which sends its light to the sixth point.
Vibrate �aaaa...�

Inhale.

Trace a line from the right hip to the solar plexus.
Visualize a orange sphere illuminating the seventh point and within it a pentagram either obverse or inverse as you prefer.
Vibrate �oooo...�

Notes:
Remain completely motionless and hold your breath for as long as possible. Concentrate your attention fixed on the sound of your blood rushing through your carotid arteries. Visualize the earth energies rising to the crown. Know that the rumbling you hear is the eternal explosion of the Thunderbolt. You are part of the thunderbolt moving endlessly and mindlessly onward.

Continue to hold the image and sound in the mind while holding your breath. When you finally must breathe, envision the thunderbolt fragmenting with a tremendous roar and sending octarine sparks into and through you.

Repeat the seven steps above, drawing the thunderbolts about you to describe a 3-dimensional shape of whatever kind suits you.

Declaration of intent, i.e. "We will that we never end where we had begun. We will that we shall begin."

Important Note:
The pronunciation of the vowels must be performed accurately in accordance with Gnostic tradition. Each vowel is vibrated 22 times. The formula of 22 divided by 7 leaves you with the letter Pi.

The Gospel of the Egyptians refers to the formula thus:
Domedon Doxomedon came forth, the aeon of the aeons, and the throne which is in him, and the powers which surround him, the glories and the incorruptions. The Father of the great light who came forth from the silence, he is the great Doxomedon-aeon, in which the thrice- male child rests. And the throne of his glory was established in it, this one on which his unrevealable name is inscribed, on the tablet [...] one is the word, the Father of the light of everything, he who came forth from the silence, while he rests in the silence, he whose name is in an invisible symbol.
A hidden, invisible mystery came forth:
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
oooooooooooooooooooooo
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO�
(the 7 vowels, 22 times each).

The Purpose of Ritual

2008-04-19T17:45:00.002Z

Ritual is primarily a psycho-suggestive tool whereby invoking or evoking certain thought-forms a reaction is generated within the mind and body of the initiate.

The purpose of the change is always self-improvement and the alignment of the will to the unmanifest will of the divine.

As man is created in the image of God then logic dictates that God as he is generally recognized must be a bipolar entity having both a light and dark dualistic nature. It is the adepts mission to both accept and conquer the dual nature of his being to achieve total unity both within himself and union with the un manifest which is outside of duality.

The rituals I use have been carefully constructed taking every care to get the Qlippothic correspondences correct from ancient Kabbalistic sources. Black Magic is a blasphemy not merely reversal and as such must be performed by invoking the correct powers using their proper titles. Many so called Satanic orders still banish their own demons because of a lack of understanding of the forces and powers involves and a solid grounding in traditional magical theory. I personally only use positive invocation and evocation of dark forces.

MAGICK 7 - BASIC RITUAL

'The first part of every ceremony is the banishing; the second the invoking.' (Crowley, Magick, p. 104)

It may be said that ritual is the very heart of magick. For it is through ritual that we achieve our magical results. Ritual is a magical procedure or ceremony we perform in order to change the environment. Usually we think of ritual as bearing on active magick, although certainly, it can also affect passive magick. Most often the change achieved is subjective (it may be subtle) and in the physical world. Outsiders may put them down to coincidence, but the effects are very real. Magical goals for a ritual should not be taken lightly.
The successful practice of magick depends upon strong belief. The simplest ritual of them all must be belief itself. If you can believe in your desired results strongly enough, that act is a magical ritual which will achieve your results. Even a very complex ritual is no more effective than strong belief. There are aids to concentration which may help. Thus in *creative visualization*, imagination and controlled breathing are brought into play.

CREATIVE VISUALIZATION

When you want to magically achieve something, first picture it clearly in your mind. The more definite and specific your idea of what it is the better. Picture yourself having it or doing it. Visualize it as vividly and as intensely as you can and hold it in your thoughts for a few moments. Concentrate on it intensely (it may help to hold your breath). Feel the energy of desire welling up inside you. Then suddenly feel the image or desire released from your mind. Feel the energy filtering through the image and intensifying it, as if the image is a 'stencil'. Imagine the energy exploding out from you into the macrocosm in all directions at once, and feel the universe 'tilt' as it reacts to the force. (At the same time it may help to release your breath suddenly). Feel the energy draining from you. Finally, *believe* that your purpose *has* been accomplished; that it HAS HAPPENED, perhaps saying something such as "so mote it be", or "it is done".

THE BASIC PARTS OF A RITUAL

Often rituals are more formal than the above, but any full magick ritual must always reduce to these stages:

imaging
building
firing

Sometimes a ritual must be repeated every day for a while to achieve difficult results or to overcome weak belief.

THE MAGICK CIRCLE

Often an important part of formal ritual is the magick circle. Medieval magicians considered the circle essential, and placed great emphasis upon its exactness. Elaborate designs were invented with many layers of complex symbols and words. It was very important that the circle be completely intact with no breaks in it. The magician and any other participants stand in the circle during ritual. The ritual began with a banishing of evil forces (using the lesser ritual of the pentagram for example) to keep them outside the circle. Today, circles are made on the floor with chalk or paint, rock salt, or a rope. Whatever its form, the circle is still an important part of magical protection for the magician. This is especially important for aversive entities and purposes. The circle also helps in focusing the energy of the ritual toward its purpose, that is, it keeps it contained until the magician is ready to release it. Of course, the magick circle is basicly only a symbol, but it may eventually be possible to supplement the circle with electronic equipment for a similar purpose. We are researching the practicality of electrostaticly charged Faraday shields.

ARTIFICIAL ELEMENTALS

An artificial elemental is useful for certain tasks:

invisible watcher and observer, telling you what it sees
psychic guard
it can be used in healing
it is helpful in other ways

Ophiel calls the artificial elemental a 'familiar'. Producing your own artificial elemental is fairly easy. YOU MUST ASSUME THAT THE ACT HAS PRODUCED RESULTS, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT IMMEDIATELY OBSERVE THEM. It is entirely possible to produce one of these little beasties and not know it (not being clairvoyant enough to observe it directly). Therefore, and this is a general principle of any magick, never ignore forces you have set into motion. Even though you may not see the elemental, you may nevertheless 'feel' it.

WARNING - Do not use artificial elementals for any kind of aversive magick at this point; they can be nasty little critters to get rid of. Should you have to eliminate one of them which you created in error, you must re-absorb it back into yourself through your will; or in some cases you can 'exorcise' it.

HOW TO CREATE AN ARTIFICIAL ELEMENTAL

You can create your own artificial elemental for various purposes. An artificial elemental is basically a thoughtform which has been strengthened with emotion. Refer to the aura color chart in the previous lesson and decide what color to make the elemental, based upon your intended purpose. Apple green is a good choice for general purposes. Then decide on a shape or outline. Do you want your elemental to resemble some sort of animal? A simple circle or cloud is a good place to start. With this in mind you can use ritual to create your elemental. Creative visualization is good for this. Visualize it glowing before you. A darkened room is helpful for this.
Communicate with your elemental with telepathy, by talking to it, or with creative visualization. Your artificial elemental is closely linked to you and your subconscious attitudes. It will generally not do things you think it cannot do. As in any magick, results relate to effort and belief. Another way of looking at an artificial elemental is as an aspect of your personality (sub personality) which has been detached from you.

INVOCATION

Formal ritual usually involves the invocation (ritually calling up) of a god or goddess, spirit, or other entity. In this sense, magick is somewhat similar to pagan religion and witchcraft. However, we consider magick ritual a technique, not a religion. Worship need not be involved. Sometimes the invocation of an entity creates an artificial elemental.
Crowley says there are three different kinds of invocation:

Devotion to the entity (as in the Bhakti yoga of the Hare Krishna sect; the Faustian devil pact.)
Ceremonial invocation - usual method of the middle ages.
Drama - usually needs more than one person (as in a mass.)

Because of the microcosm-macrocosm identity, when you invoke the gods, you are invoking aspects of yourself. Jung has referred to the gods as primitive archetypes. This makes it sound like spiritual entities are illusions. But in fact the microcosm-macrocosm identity does not discredit the gods and goddesses. It instead helps to illustrate our relationship to the cosmos.

CAUTIONS

1. Balance is important in magick. Vary the entities invoked in order to keep your personality in balance.
2. Often as not a ritual may produce side - effects, usually something similar to, though not exactly the desired goal. If the true goal is delayed (as sometimes happens) we may see the side effects first. And if for some reason the goal is not achieved at all ('missing the target') the side effects may be pronounced. Examples: 1) You use magick ritual to hurry shipment of an anticipated package in the mail. Side effect -- the next day an unexpected package (the wrong one) arrives instead. 2) You use magick ritual to cause a certain person to phone you. Side effect - for several days all sorts of people phone you...The sides effects will not affect you (or anyone else) adversely unless that is what you inwardly want.
3. We may say with certainty that "something always happens" when we perform a magick ritual. But like everything else, magick follows the 'law of results'. This means that results require effort of some kind. And if you don't work hard enough at it you don't get results. Difficult goals have greater resistance (magical inertia) to overcome. If the ritual doesn't produce the desired results there is a good chance that the reason for the failure is within oursleves. Be certain there is no contradiction between your model and your magical goals. Sometimes self doubt and mental contradictions (wanting and not wanting at the same time) may interfere. The first step in magick is to re-program your model. And, of course you can help your magical results by working on the physical level toward your goals. Don't expect them to fall into your lap by themselves.
4. A peculiar quality of magick is time displacement. Results of a ritual are not usually instantaneous. There is often a delay of 12 hours or more. Difficult tasks or weakly performed ritual are more likely to be delayed. In most cases a slight delay is alright, and it gives us time to get used to the comming changes. And sometimes the effects of a ritual appear to extend to before the ritual was performed!
5. Because of the way magick works, a ritual may create an emphasis in what is sought, and a de-emphasis in everything else. Balance is therefore important here. Once the magical result is achieved it may be 'bound' to you and difficult to get rid of should you later decide to do so. Example: You use a magick ritual to help you find and buy a new house. Years later when you decide to sell it, you are unable to do so. Consider your magical goals wisely so you dont get stuck with something you don't really want. Note that theory says you can always unbind through ritual what was bound to you...theory says.
6. Sometimes the environment appears to react against the magick after the results are achieved. This is particularly noticeable in using magick to affect the weather (and the main reason why you should NOT use magick to affect the weather). For example...Your performance of a ritual to produce a sunny day produces a sunny day. The next day is sunny, alright, but the rest of the month is cold and overcast. Here the weather seems to react to the magick in the opposite way to re-establish its natural balance. It is something like pushing a pendulum to one side and releasing it -- the pendulum swings to the other side. To quote Emmerson -- "For everything you gain you lose something...". I don't know that this is always true in magick, but it does illustrate the point. And another reason not to use magick to affect the weather is that it might foul it up in other parts of the country (world??).
7. Finally, magick ritual (or any magick or occultism) is very dangerous for the mentally unstable. If you should somehow 'get out too far', eat 'heavy foods' as previously discussed (lesson on chakras) and use your religious background or old belief system for support. But remember too, that wierd experiences are not necessarily bad experiences.

BOOK LIST
P.E.I. Bonewitz, Real Magic. David Conway, Magic: an Occult Primer (or Ritual Magic). Aleister Crowley, Magick in Theory and Practice. Denning and Phillips, Creative Visualization. Ophiel, Creative Visualization. A.E. Powell, The Astral Body. The Mental Body. Joseph Weed, Wisdom of the Ancient Masters. Julian Wilde, Grimoire of Chaos Magick.

Phil Hansford, 4/88 Mysteria (818) 353-8891 (modem) P.O. Box 83 Tujunga, CA 91042

The Magician

2008-04-19T17:08:00.004Z

In Somerset Maugham's novel The Magician, the character Oliver Haddo is well know for being based on Aleister Crowley. The opening scene takes place in the Chien Noir, French for Black Dog. The Black Dog in this novel is a take on the Chat Blanc or White Cat, a small restaurant in Montparnasse in France. Black Dog is a Led Zeppalin song which was inspired by a black labrador which entered the room.

On remembering this interesting little fact I wondered about the symbolism of dogs. It seems there is an allegory right there. Led Zeppalin's Jimmy Page is an avid follower of Crowley and his lyrics are contrived to convey a hidden esoteric meaning. Make of the lyrics what you will but for now I will tell you its about balance and when Page uses the word star he means it in the same sense Crowley did in the Book of the Law. The coincidence lies side by side and there you have Kabbalistic double speak which Crowley exploited in the Book of Lies (Falsely So Called.) These are not lies but hidden truths, as are all lies. Was it a lie to say the earth was flat? Not before man knew different but it became a lie, when he discovered the world was spherical.

Below you will find something that should either alarm or fascinate you, another one of those coincidences like the Led Zeppalin thing. Of course, there is an answer to all of this; there is never anything without meaning. Its a continuation of the magical current, every generation is guided by magical clues to help pinpoint the right magicians for the appointed tasks of the Aeon. Ah the task you ask "what is it?" The currents are subtle in the sense that the work unfolds in parts and the whole thing cannot be seen from the base looking up, only from the top looking down.

I digress; the task would be easier if you could see it with your true eye. It is now absolutely concrete that your grade in whatever incarnation was your last, was Magister Templi. You see its the 6 the perfect pyramid of Binah. I have been rambling on about it for a while now, that sea of blood. Oh dear what a problem this makes for magick, you cannot find the balance with this left unresolved nor can you find detachment. We all (magicians) enter the present life via the Sephira, depending on the grade achievement of the last life. Its a direct leap from grade to grade, you have demonstrated an instinctive gnosis in what you write but I am afraid you have got yourself a greater task ahead than I think you realize. Can Leviathan swallow up his own sea? This endless spiral can only detract from grade advancement.

As Crowley states, "Refine thy rapture" I think you should think about this at length. Anything chaotic brings with it destruction. The time is approaching where you will need to destroy what you are and re-create the self. With one foot in the sea and one on the land you are not yet a magician and you do not know the completion of the binaries. I cannot expect you to grasp all of this yet but what I must say is you are not yet what you will become but do not leap to the defense of chaos shrieking that you cannot live with order, the balance is neither and both. Oh how dear Horus torments you with his illusions, now you see the tree. My God I lost track of the times I thought of madness invading me when I found that tree everywhere I went. Of course, it is a classic symbol of psychology and it saddens me that you have such an image before you. You have my mind and for that I give you my sorrow. You see crops, I saw grazing sheep but the meaning remains the same we are outside of the crowd, above them. Climb the tree! Your ambitions lie far higher than the stars. The tree is of course the Tree of Life, you have the will if you could see higher.

I tell you whatever you gave you cannot get back. In your anger and through lack of wisdom and patience you offered something that no man should offer to the forces of darkness. There is more to sacrifice than blood and more to the man than the mind. Pitiful that you did not bargain your soul for that weighs so little. I only hope it was worth it but I somehow doubt it, the experience is never worth the pain. So at last you see your punishment for sin, for crime, for betrayal. The gods with their mocking stare filter your mind; all that is without is within. You would not like the price for redemption, you see we all have the knowledge inborn but it is what we do with the knowledge that makes us Magi. Again harsh words and for that I apologise but the Zelator by his degree is stubborn beyond description. If you can see beyond this grade, then you will pass into the next.

What lies ahead? Look to the sun, the moon is behind you and it is only a weak reflection of the solar light.