Note to update: the addresses and phone numbers in these issues of the Thelema Lodge Calendars are obsolete since the closing of the Lodge. They are here for historic purposes only and should not be visited or called.
Thelema Lodge
Ordo Templi Orientis
P.O.Box 2303
Berkeley, CA 94702 USA
August 1992 e.v. at Thelema Lodge
Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers
TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR
INDEPENDENCE.
by Aleister Crowley
THE ship to the breezes is bended; | |
The wind whistles off to the lee; | |
The sun is risen, the splendid! | |
The sun on the marvellous sea! | |
And the feast of your freedom is ended. | |
O sons of the free! | |
Your shouts have gone up to remember | |
The day of your oath to the world | |
Is its flame dwindled down to an ember? | |
The flag of your liberty furled? | |
Your limbs are too strong to dismember - | |
In sloth are they curled? | |
The price of your freedom - I claim it! | |
Your aid to make other men free! | |
Your strength - I defy it to be | |
Your peace - I defy it to be | |
Dishonoured! Arise and proclaim it | |
From sea unto sea! | |
From Ireland the voice of the dying, | |
The murdered, the starved, the exiled, | |
In hope to your freedom is crying | |
A dolorous note and a wild: | |
"Your star-bestrewn banner is flying, | |
And ours - is defiled." | |
From Ind - shall her summons awaken? | |
Her voices are those of the dead! | |
By famine and cholera shaken, | |
By taxes and usury bled, | |
In the hour of her torture forsaken, | |
Stones given for bread! | |
In Africa women are fighting | |
Their homes and their freedom to hold. | |
Young children and graybeards, delighting | |
To die for their country of old! | |
For the ravenous lion is smiting | |
A stroke for their gold. | |
They fall in the shelterless hollow; | |
They sleep in the cold and the sun; | |
They fight, and the Englishmen follow - | |
The odds are as twenty to one! | |
Hide, hide thy bright eyes, O Apollo! | |
The murder is done. | |
The stones should arise to declare it, | |
Their terror and tyrannous reign! | |
The earth be unable to bear it, | |
Gape wide, for their motherly pain! | |
Shalt thou, O Columbia, share it, | |
The shame and the stain? | |
Your stripes are the stripes of dishonour; | |
Your stars are cast down from the sky; | |
While earth has this burden upon her, | |
Your eagle unwilling to fly! | |
Loose, loose the wide wings! For your honour! | |
Let tyranny die! | |
Remember, this day of your glory, | |
Your fight for the freedom you own, | |
Those years - is their memory hoary? | |
Your chains - is their memory flown? | |
Your triumph is famous in story, | |
But yours is alone. | |
In the name of your Freedom I claim it, | |
Your power in the cause of the free! | |
In the name of our God as I name it, | |
AMEN! I demand it of ye, | |
Man's freedom! Arise and proclaim it, | |
The song of the sea! | |
S.S. PENNSYLVANIA, | |
July 4, 1900. |
From Carmen Saeculare, 1901, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd., London pp. 27 - 30. Also published in The Works of Aleister Crowley, Vol. I, 1905.
June 19, 1943. ---
Went to Santa Monica with Jean, for the weekend. Cloudy and windy, the
surf does not look too inviting for a swim. Had dinner at the Belle View with
some rather uninteresting acquaintances of Jean's we ran into, and escaped
early; but the Abalone was excellent. After, a good walk along the seashore,
enlivened by good talk on the G.W. - Having returned to our abode, we enjoyed
a bottle of sparkling burgundy together, which turned out to be a very
satisfactory brand of a California edition of "wines that foam".
10:30 to 11:30 pm: Mag.Op. : To me! To me! - Jean said later that she had
seen herself quite clearly as the Priestess and had experienced no difficulty
in mentally reciting the love chant at the proper moment.
Sunday, June 20, 1943. ---
A delightful morning. Later, after a most enjoyable swim, settled down for
a good sunbath. Jean took down several letters in shorthand thus combining
business with pleasure. In the PM we returned to Hollywood and Georgia asked
us to have dinner with her. She was in a very depressed mood; things seem to
have gone wrong at 1003 where she had been at the solsticial party. She felt
that she had not been very welcome. Mellinger, after going into a huddle with
Jane informed her, very emphatically, that Smith "was not out". Mellinger
avoided her and was rather curt. Apparently, Karl telling us one thing and
Jane another is causing confusion and is not going to make things any easier.
- Georgia met Joe Miller, and said that he wanted to see me and an appointment
has been arranged. Georgia, in order to avoid further misunderstanding, told
Jane that Miller's visit with me is in no way intended to estrange Miller from
1003. Jane's brusque "hell is paved with good intentions" seemed a little
uncalled for. A. C.'s words of praise as to my integrity seem to have made
little impression on Jane, who still reflects Smith's influence.
Tuesday, June 22, 1943. ---
In the evening went over to Pasadena to sit in on a "class". There were
about 10 members present. Lodge was opened in the 1st degree. Jack is doing
very well as Master, he has poise and dignity. We soon adjourned to the
living room where it was cooler. At Jack's request various members expressed
their reactions to the party and Betty as Treasurer, gave a concise financial
report. Jack introduced me very cordially to the Lodge and spoke of high
esteem in which I am said to be held by the Grand Lodge and he suggested that
the members come to me with their problems and in connection with their
studies.
This class is supposed to concern itself with practical experiments in
Asana, Pranayama, Astral journeys etc., to be made at home during the week
with a reading and discussion of the records at the following meeting. I do
not think much of group work in such matters which really belong to the AA
system. But I do not want to interfere at this juncture; no doubt activities
can be directed into sounder channels later on. - It seems that Jack wants me
to take on the job of teaching --- I proposed to Jack that Jean and I come
over for the next weekend to which he gladly agrees.
Saturday, June 26, 1943. ---
Jean and I drove over to 1003 in the PM. Jane assigned Smith's comfortable
quarters to us, which was a bit of a surprise. Dinner was very pleasant. I
note that Jean is quite spontaneous in her behavior and that she has the
faculty of making everybody feel at ease. Later, she helped wash the dishes
and baked a cake for tomorrow night's party.
11:00 PM retire and banished by the Star Ruby. Mag. Op. --- object ---
purification of 1003. Concentrated on spell "Pure Will" etc.,
Sunday, June 27, 1943. ---
Arose comparatively late after a good night's sleep, bathed and did 15
minutes easy Pranayama in Dragon Asana. The veranda facing east is admirably suited to work in the nude with sunshine and plenty of fresh air, yet
sheltered. After a stroll in garden where Jane was already digging potatoes
and after picking some ripe kumquats I returned to the house. Found Jean just
finishing her 20 minutes of Pranayama which she was doing with the poise and
rhythm of an experienced Yogini. At breakfast upon invitation, I said "Will"
with Jane. There was pleasant and harmonious conversation at the table. With
the exception of Jack, who suffers from a bad cold and Jane who was already
tired out everybody was lively and cheerful.
Friday evening, July 2nd, '43. ---
In the evening, met Jean in Glendale and after a somewhat hasty supper we
drove to the summit of Mt. Wilson. The scenery was gorgeous, although there
was quite a haze obscuring the valleys; 6000 feet is not very high, yet the
purity of the atmosphere is decidedly exhilarating and the peace of the
mountains is balm to my soul. This is Jean's first visit to this beauty spot
and she is profoundly moved. A very enjoyable walk under the deodars in the
starlight - Venus shines brighter than ever - and we find ourselves back in
our cottage. Later, Mag. Op.: "I am uplifted in thine heart; and the kisses
of the stars rain hard upon thy body".
Saturday, July 3rd, '43. ---
Arose in time to greet Ra; a glorious sunrise! This mountain air, with its
perfume of pines, is marvellous. - Oh, for a mountain lodge, to which one
could retire frequently, and get away from the noise and bustle of the city,
and from the problems of Agape Lodge! - Spent a quiet day, and after putting
the Sun to bed from Sunset View, we proceeded to the eastern end of the
summit, Echo Point, and on this promontory invoked Tahuti, which great
intensity. The idea was to prepare ourselves toward doing a good job with all
the correspondence to be tackled the day following. After returning to the
cottage: Mag. Op. : TAHUTI.
Sunday, July 4th, '43.
Beautiful day; the deer and the little fawns are lovely, and so tame; there
are all sorts of brightly coloured birds the name of which I do not know; also
an occasional humming-bird.
Dictated letters and notes to Jean who took them down in shorthand and then
typed them. Forgot to bring an eraser and it annoys Jean that some necessary
corrections do not look very neat. - Recess for lunch and a walk for
exercise. Resumed correspondence later.
Monday, July 5th, '43.
Left Mt. Wilson at noon and returned to Glendale and Hollywood. - Found
short letter from Karl waiting for me with a copy of part of an essay by 666,
based on Smith's alleged powers of inspiration. How romantic! But will he
swallow this bait? - Finished and mailed letters to A.C., Karl and Joe Miller.
Tuesday, July 6th, '43.
Roy arrived in the evening and I was very glad to see him. --- His
cordiality and sense of humor are refreshing. After dinner he drove Georgia
and myself to Pasadena and on the way I acquainted him with recent
developments at 1003. ---
In Lodge, Jack introduced Roy very nicely to the younger members and Roy
answered in his usual humorous vein. The class that followed turned out to be
a lively one, with everyone participating. Jack gave me an opportunity to
point out that group discussions of a very limited experiments {sic} in Asana
and Pranayama by beginners is not very desirable and that it would be proper
for those whose will it is to go in for these practices in a serious manner to
become probationers of AA
and as such enable themselves to work
systematically. ...
Thursday, July 8, '43
I think that it is correct to say that one of the important objects of
magical training is to attain to a complete reliance on one's own powers,
based on one's own experience - and not to rely on belief. ("Do not say there
is a God before you have experienced God", or words to that effect; and "Be ye
lamps unto yourselves; betake ye not to any external refuge." - Not to forget
the broken bottle incident in "KIM". It was exactly Kim's ability to rely
upon his own faculties of observation and his firmness in refusing hypnotic
suggestion, that qualified him for the task for which he was being tested.)
All of the evidence of the last 10 years, based on the observation of
scores of people, makes it clear that Wilfred is a failure as a leader, a
bungler as an organizer, a meddler and martinet in his relations with his
fellows whom he treated as his subordinates and whose initiative he sought to
suppress, and a wet blanket when performing the office of priest. - Now comes
Mellinger's testimony, entirely uncorroborated, that W. often became inspired
and had great power. Worse yet, other reports being disseminated by or
through Mellinger, have been found incorrect and unreliable; Mel. may
otherwise be a fine fellow, but his powers of discernment seem to be of
questionable value. Everybody else seems to agree that W. as priest was
definitely uninspiring and inept. It seems therefore a bit ludicrous that on
such a flimsy basis we are being asked to accept W. as the coming Priest and
Prophet par excellence. Ye gods and little fishes! It reminds one of Annie
Besant asking a following of gullible Toshochists to accept Krishnamurti as
the world teacher.
Now if someone had suggested, reasoning from the sorry spectacle of W.'s
inaptitude in all matters external, that perchance he was a frustrated Mystic
who had mistaken himself for something he isn't and had got lost in the
labyrinth of mundane affairs, caught in the coils of power politics, something
like the unhappy example of the "Grey Eminence" ...... then I might lend a
sympathetic ear. But what evidence can we discover that will encourage us in
the pursuit of this forlorn hope?
A man who proclaims that the Tao is so difficult to understand, whose
byword is "misty mysticism" for most ideas that are beyond his literal-
mindedness; who becomes annoyed when anyone offers a mystical interpretation,
who has no sense of the beautiful - can one call that a promising candidate
for the office of inspired Priest and God-illuminated Prophet?
Along the street the eddy whirls | |
With frowsy dames and sloppy girls | |
And somber men and brazon boys | |
Who stomp or trot; and it annoys (Period) | |
The crusty shops that cringe at sight | |
And droop beside each other, quite | |
As though their misery alone | |
Would be too much; they would atone. | |
My reason tells me that it must | |
Be true; the thoughtless crowds, the dust, | |
The grimy walks, the littered streets; | |
The facades pass for scrawny teats. | |
And yet I know it can not be; | |
There is no grass, there is no tree, | |
But only sound that rolls and beats | |
And sanctioned murder in the streets. | |
While in his nest each merchant waits, | |
As patiently his net he baits | |
And views his neighbor with contempt, | |
Though finding he is not exempt | |
From hatreds that swell from the needs | |
Of human want; within the seeds | |
Of lassez faire there are the germs | |
That hold decay, and then the worms | |
Of avarice and greed and hate | |
Sprout forth; they bore, they eat, they sate | |
Their hunger on the scabs of men: | |
I sit and watch. I sit and grin. | |
Previously published in The Grady Project #1 (October 1987 e.v.).
The View From Tipheret (Part III)
by Bill Heidrick
[Adapted from Appendix A of The Road to the Sun: A Record of Self Initiation to Tipheret, an unpublished MS, Copyright © by Bill Heidrick]
In this installment, we will conclude a brief trek over the traditional Tree of Life.
The next installment in this series will take up dynamic variation of the paths.
23 ........ The path of (The Hanged Man in Tarot) elevates the lower reason
of Hod to the higher rationality of Geburah. Hod reasons with the things of
the Earth, of Malkut. Hod is an examining consciousness, a mentality that
sets things into order only through observation of their manifestations.
Geburah is a state of mind that plans without concern for details. Hod knows
the detailed workings of the physical world. Geburah knows the purpose of the
World. The path of Mem connects the precise but fundamentally purposeless
organizing activities of Hod with the purposeful but indefinite organizing
will of Geburah. The Tarot card shows a man hung upside down by one foot.
This is the symbolic state of one who has possessed all but understood
nothing. Such a person, gifted with the powers of Hod, soon comes to boredom.
His worldly consciousness gives no purpose to his world. To control is not to
understand. Such a person comes finally to be hung upon the gibbet of his
worldly power. Nothing has meaning. All things obey, but to no purpose.
Perfect skill without a purpose is maddening. In that inversion of
consciousness an openness occurs. The mind yearns for another mind, an inward
guidance. When this yearning is crowned with success, Geburah has been
touched along the path of Men. Down this path floods inspiration and purpose
in life. Tipheret can view all of life and know its course, but Geburah
directs life. Tipheret responds to Geburah's plan. Hod is the working out of
that plan in detail.
22 ........ The path of
(Justice in Tarot) elevates the life view of
Tipheret to the life purpose of Geburah. The card of Justice depicts a woman
with scales and sword. This is the mediatrix of mind, weighing out the proper
measure of all things and fending off excess. The mentality of Tipheret is
examined along the path of Lamed to produce the guiding will of Geburah. This
is a rational process much like that which occurred between Yesod and Hod and
between Malkut and Hod. The difference is found in the object. To build Hod, the chief concern is in how and why things work mechanically. In the reaching
of Geburah, the concern is in how and why things work morally. Hod seeks and
develops skill in the doing of things. Geburah seeks and develops skill in
discerning and directing the purpose of life. Along the path of Lamed, the
mind rises by examination of its motives until such motives are justified with
each other. This justification gives a personal morality to the soul. All
older, fragmentary moralities are forgotten in the one, consuming morality of
Geburah. This is not necessarily a good thing. The morality so evolved may
be a hateful and repressive one. In that case, mind will not progress beyond
Geburah. Only when mind is ready to love and to bestow all good things on all
who need, will evolution continue. Once Geburah is reached in this way, the
path of Lamed becomes a channel for change in all aspects of life. Before
reaching Geburah, life is locked in by many vague restrictions. Once Geburah
has been fully attained, all the shackles are dropped away; and life is free
to follow its willed course. The attainment of Geburah is marked by a freedom
from all sense of guilt and unhappy restraint, but not abandonment of duty.
When this state is reached before the mind is ready for such responsibility
and freedom, great physical danger results.
5 ......... Geburah (Severity). This is the place of consciousness of the proper course of life. This is the guiding will that sets all limits and releases all restrictions. When Geburah is fully attained, conscience ceases to plague, for the dictates of the conscience become consistent and welcome. Geburah is the master of the house of life that is situated in Tipheret. Geburah is obedience to the Will of God in all ways understood. Geburah, once attained, means an end to hesitations. When this Sephira is fully active, the mind is rendered capable of immediate response and proper action in any situation no matter how complex. The working of the body depends on the lower Sephiroth. When all the Sephiroth up to and including Geburah are perfectly developed in a person, that person is capable of anything in mental and in physical action. Nothing can oppose such an one. Such a major adept is perfectly a demigod to rule the world of his life. In practice, the Sephiroth are fully developed for some things and lacking where others are concerned. Repeated passage over the Tree of Life increases the development of the Sephiroth and bestows more power on each attainment of Geburah. At some times, great development is accomplished in the Sephiroth and great freedom to change is obtained. Such a time may be considered a mark of initiation, but not mastery of Geburah. Total attainment and mastery of the Sephiroth is never found in a mortal man. It is man's purpose to increase his attainments toward an ever advancing ideal. To reach perfection is to become one with God and therefore to become useless to one's brothers and sisters in the world. Touch union with God, but return quickly to the place of the crying children. Union with God is not the sole purpose of Being, it is a pleasantness that gives strength in time of need. The purpose of Being is found in being in all ways. Geburah is the master who selects the ways. Tipheret is the place of the mustering of the ways. Netzach is the place of the brightening of the ways. Hod is the place of the ordering of the ways. Yesod is the staging place from which the ways reach the physical. Malkut is the place of the action of the ways.
21 ........ The path of (The Wheel of Fortune in Tarot) elevates the
emotional complex of Netzach to the emotional idealism of Chesed. The card
depicts a wheel surrounded by symbolic creatures. This is a representation of
the many cycles of the emotions that are experienced in Netzach. When one
emotion is found to underlay all others and to pass without change through all
the cycles that change all other emotions, the Sephira of Chesed is touched.
The one underlying emotion serves to build a basis for the emotional
perfection of Chesed.
20 ........ The path of (The Hermit in Tarot) elevates the emotional part
of the life summation of Tipheret to the emotional union of Chesed. The card
shows an old man with staff and lantern on the summit of a snow capped
mountain. This is an image of the purified mind searching for vitality and
love in the life experience. The emotional aspects of Tipheret are received
along the path of Yod to build the emotional perfection of Chesed. When
Chesed is reached, the path of Yod becomes a channel for a vitalizing flow of
purified feeling from Chesed into Tipheret.
19 ........ The path of (Strength in Tarot) elevates the purposeful will of
Geburah to the motivating emotional state of Chesed. The Tarot card shows a
Woman opening the jaws of a Lion. This is a representation of purified
emotion (Chesed and the Woman) uniting with forceful will (Geburah and the
Lion) to invigorate the World. Geburah is filled with purpose, but lacks
consistent desire. Without powerful motivation, the highest purpose may go
unrealized. The mentality of Geburah knows what to do in life, has the power
to do it, but lacks the desire to consistently labor. The path of Tet draws
forth from Geburah its systematic, purposeful action and compares it with the
desire that supports existence, through Chesed. If the Geburah purpose is
unworthy of the Chesed desire, attainment of Chesed is not complete. Only
when Geburah's purpose is a perfect match to Chesed's desire will the path of
Tet be fully opened. When that happens, the life of the person experiencing
this consciousness of Chesed will become totally active. Geburah supplies the
direction of life, but Chesed supplies the motivation to live. Geburah is the
master and Chesed is the mistress of the house of life in Tipheret.
4 ......... Chesed (Mercy). This is the place of consciousness of motivation in life. Chesed is the consciousness of all-encompassing desire for being. All the Sephiroth below Chesed lack the vigor to fulfill their promise until they are joined to Chesed. When Chesed is fully developed and the lower seven Sephiroth are functioning with force and power, the time has come to face the Great Abyss that divides the lower seven from the higher three. Chesed reverses its vitalizing force and the whole lower Tree is filled with yearning to pass up toward the infinite. This is only desirable in that it compliments the attachment to the physical world. Above Chesed are levels of thought too distant to easily effect the physical world. They must be explored and drawn toward the union of consciousness that occurs in Tipheret. It is pointless to climb the Tree of Life just to attain union with pure spirit in Keter. That results in rebirth back into the same course. It is best to develop the whole Tree in such a manner that the tendency to fall down into the darkness of matter is exactly balanced by the tendency to ascend into the light of spirit. As was said before, the middle place is the best place for human consciousness. Neither the physical nor the spiritual should be ignored. Both must be dynamically united.
18 ........ The path of (The Chariot in Tarot) elevates the rationality of
purpose in Geburah to the level of pure abstraction in Binah. The Tarot card
depicts a crowned figure in a Chariot (the Merkabah of Qabalah and the Royal
Arch of Freemasonry) drawn by two sphinxes. This image represents contained
force, in the sense of thought contained in the body. The rational elements
of Geburah are themselves subjected to reason and the methods of thinking are
discovered. These methods of rational thought are preserved as laws of reason
in the consciousness level called Binah. After they have been isolated from
particular applications by passage along the path of Chet, these archetypal
patterns of thought descend at need to furnish tools for individual reasonings
in Geburah and Hod. Binah is the crown of the left hand pillar of the Tree.
This left hand pillar is called the pillar of severity, owing to the purgative
nature of reason.
17 ........ The path of (The Lovers in Tarot) elevates the rational part of
Tipheret to the level of pure reason in Binah. All the passage and complexity
of life is examined by the mind to abstract from it the application of reason
in the course of living. This set of perfected techniques is added to Binah
to round out the tools of the mind. The card corresponding to this path shows
two lovers under two trees being united by an angel. The meaning is that the
mind (the angel) differentiates between aspects of creation (man and woman) to
learn the means of uniting and dividing them. When this path is complete,
Binah is attained.
3 ......... Binah (Understanding). This is the place of consciousness of the methods and laws of thought. Binah is a state of mind that has little direct touch with the physical. In Binah only abstract thought exists. That thought is solely devoted to the rational techniques. Mathematics in its purest sense belongs to Binah, also logic and mathematical physics. Things like mathematical physics are not organized experiences of sensation (proper to Hod), but they are idealized abstractions of the physical. They are attempt to produce patterns that could be followed in the creation of a physical universe, but not necessarily this particular Physical Universe. Binah is the storehouse of archetypal patterns for the lower Sephiroth. Binah is a library for Geburah and a pantry for Chesed.
16 ........ The path of (The Hierophant in Tarot) elevates the unified
emotional consciousness of Chesed to the level of pure emotional force. All
the consciousness of Chesed is involved in a single drive toward some
particular fulfillment. This drive is separated from its particular goal in
the rise from Chesed to Chokmah along the path of Vau. In Chokmah there is
only force: drive and desire without object. This is like a vague but intense
unrest that animates a person who knows that something is needed, but who does
not know what that thing is. Chokmah is pure force, the source of all
energies. The Tarot card of the Hierophant shows a teacher of wisdom
ministering to two priests. The meaning of this image is found in the nature
of the force that binds and creates. All things must be desired and willed.
Before anything can be, there must be the blessing that is the desire force,
the energy toward manifestation. The real essence behind all things is desire
for existence.
15 ........ The path of (The Emperor in Tarot. var. Star --- see July
Issue on # 28) elevates the life consciousness of Tipheret, in its emotional
part, to the level of pure energy in Chokmah. The Tarot card depicts an
Emperor in marital armor sitting upon a stone cube by a river. This is the
absolute master of mind sitting on a symbol of the universe and ruling over
the flow of consciousness. The path of Vau draws up desire elements from the
living consciousness of Tipheret to bring them into union with the absolute
and undirected force that resides in Chokmah. This desire force is the true
master of all that exists; for, without it, nothing has meaning.
14 ........ The path of (The Empress in Tarot) elevates the absolute reason
of Binah to the absolute desire of Chokmah. Binah contains all the tools that
go into the making of the universe. These tools are worthless without an
energy to make them work. All the power to make plans and carry them out is
implicit in Binah. This power is separated from such abstract works and drawn
up to complete the formation of Chokmah. Chokmah is the vitality that
underlies all else. After Chokmah is reached, the paths from it supply force
to all that is below. The Tarot card of the Empress shows an Empress on a
bench in a garden. This is a depiction of the process whereby the desire
force in Chokmah is joined with the capacity to multiply and embody that force
in Binah. The Empress is the mother (Binah) who receives the seed of passion
from the father (Chokmah) and who gives birth to all that exists (the things
in the garden).
2 ......... Chokmah (Wisdom). This is the place of consciousness of absolute desire. Chokmah is desire without object, desire strong enough to create a world. Chokmah is the summit of emotion, a vast whirling of energy. This Sephira is the crown of the right hand pillar of the Tree of Life. The right hand pillar is called that of mercy, owing to the clement nature of uncomplicated emotion.
13 ........ The path of (The High Priestess in Tarot) elevates the totality
of living consciousness at Tipheret to ultimate dissolution in the Absolute
consciousness of Being that is found in Keter. The card depicts a pythoness
between two pillars and before a veil. This veil is the last concealment of
the Absolute. The pythoness is the last voice before the silence that is the
ultimate voice of God. This path is the connection between pure Existence
without modification in Keter and living existence with all its various forms
in Tipheret.
Da'at ..... Midway on the path of Gimel it is the fashion of Qabalists to depict an eleventh Sephiroth called Da'at (Knowledge). This is a symbolic filling of the Great Abyss with the lost knowledge that makes one thing of all creation. It is said that when Da'at is restored, all of the Tree of Life will be one thing and that the Tree will bloom and bear fruit. This means that there is a way to join the abstract Sephiroth above the Great Abyss with the seven Sephiroth below it. When this joining is complete, the Tree is made symmetrical and perfect. Until this joining is made there can be no true mastery of the Tree of Life, or full living in all ways of the mind. The examples which follow this traditional exposition suggest a general way in which this joining may be represented. From the representation, the experience may in time be found. A few more details remain in the traditional example.
12 ........ The path of (The Magician in Tarot) elevates pure, abstract
reasoning processes to dissolution in the Absolute unity of Keter. The card
depicts a Magician in a garden with his ritual tools upon a table. The
meaning of this image is found in the relationship that exists between pure
Being (The force that passes through the Magician to work wonders) and the
tools whereby that state of Being is incorporated into particular forms (the
tools and actions of the Magician).
11 ........ The path of (The Fool in Tarot) elevates desire force in
Chokmah to dissolution in the Absolute Being of Keter. The card depicts a
carefree person walking toward the edge of a cliff. This image represents
total absence of anything to limit or condition. This is the path of Aleph.
To the Fool, there is no restriction. The Fool is free.
1 ......... Keter (Crown). This is the place of unconditional existence which may be identified with the highest state of consciousness. In Keter, all is one. Keter is the highest of the four Sephiroth that form the middle pillar of the Tree of Life. This middle pillar is a series of graduated levels of balanced consciousness reaching from the purely physical to the purely spiritual. The two pillars to the right and left contain unbalanced states of consciousness which display either too much emotion or too much rationality. Only the middle pillar is a comfortable place to reside.
This concludes the first of the examples. Those which follow in later installments
represent unconventional reorganizations of the paths of the Tree of Life. In each of the
next three examples exactly twenty-two paths will be retained to link the Sephiroth of the
Tree. These paths are rearranged to form traditional patterns of five and six pointed stars
(pentagrams and hexagrams). Through such speculation, new insights into the
interrelationships between the Sephiroth may be obtained.
MWE of CA asked for some reaction to statements by Cavendish in his Encyclopedia of the Unexplained ..., article about the Golden Dawn. Here
is an excerpt from the response:
Speculations about the GD
descending from an undiscovered German "Goldene
Dammerung" are unreliable. It is interesting to read in Jacob Katz's Jews and
Freemasons in Europe, 1723-1939, Harvard University Press, 1970, that there was a
Masonic organization called Morgenröthe (Dawn, or "Morning Redness") in
Germany in the early 19th Century. This organization had a major
correspondence and reciprocal relations with many formal Masonic Lodges at
that time. Given the dates, and the allegations about the age of Fraulein
Sprengel at the time the Golden Dawn flourished, I would strongly suspect that
the real pre-cursor of the Golden Dawn was this Morgenröthe society. The
Morgenröthe had Jewish members and was a major influence in bringing Chesedic
and Qabalah influences into Masonry. Antisemitism and the lack of a
legitimate authorization might have prompted the founders of the Golden Dawn
to conceal the real name of this pre-cursor under a synonym.
JD of CA asked about changes in ritual directions below the Equator:
Regarding the orientation of lodge officers and implements below the
Equator, the main consideration is North and South. Those directions are
reversed with regard to the path of the Sun. There is also a consideration in
regard to the Zodiac, of a similar nature. The situation with the Lesser
Pentagram Banishing ritual and some similar rituals is more complex. There
are several versions of allocation of the elements and Archangels to the
quarters, and one of the most popular uses the prevailing winds to make the
allocation. That is the form of the ritual that is widely published. In it
the assumption is made that the ritual is performed in the Northern Hemisphere
and in a West Coastal region of a large land mass. Under such conditions, the
wind from the West is temperate and moist () from the East dry and temperate
(
), from the North cold and dry (
) and from the South hot and dry (
). All
this changes not only when one goes below the Equator but also when the Ocean
is in any direction but the West.
MK of NY asked about Crowley's remark; "Tahuti is not quite Thoth." from p. 23 of Magick without Tears:
The context has Crowley explaining that the correspondences in Liber 777 are
not the same things as identities across different columns. He also remarks
that Hermes and Mercury are not quite the same either. This follows in part
for the gods from the fact that different cultures and times have different
conceptions of them. In addition, the different cultures actually worship
different deities to some extent. A Greek tourist could mispronounce the name
"Tahuti" as "Thoth" and come home with a tourist's conception of the religion
of the Egyptians. Hermes was probably a bit similar in some ways, but the
differences would be partly perceived too. Thus, the Greeks had ideas of the
Egyptian Tahuti that they called Thoth. The various moderns have various
distorted conceptions. "Similar but not identical" is the point. In the
ancient world, this difficulty was well known and easily got around. The
ancients considered all these to be reincarnations or manifestations of the
same deities. They usually added a second name to distinguish a particular
type or a place where that incarnated deity was worshiped in a certain manner.
Dionysus Zagres, etc. See The Book of Thoth, and Flavius Arrianus' The Life of
Alexander the Great - this latter is a Roman period biography based on the
memoirs of the Generals of Alexander, giving an account among other matters of why Alexander went off to India - in part to locate the holy places of the
incarnations of Hercules.
8/2/92 | Lodge Council & LOP 3:33 PM at: 544 31st St. | Thelema Ldg | ||
8/2/92 | Gnostic Mass 8 PM at: 588 63rd St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/3/92 | Thelema Lodge meeting 8 PM at: 544 31st St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/4/92 | Minerval study program 7PM w/Jerry at: 544 31st St. Minerval & above only. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/5/92 | Astrological Analysis w/Grace 8PM at: 544 31st St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/6/92 | Egyptian Hieroglyphs w/Lola 7PM at: 544 31st St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/9/92 | Gnostic Mass 8 PM at: 588 63rd St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/12/92 | Feast of the Beast & His Bride 6:30PM at: 588 63rd St. Potluck, call ahead. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/13/92 | Book of Thoth Study Circle w/Marlene at: 544 31st St. 7:30PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/14/92 | Chakras Discussion with Andrew at: 588 63rd St. (Manipura) 7:30 PM | Independant | ||
8/15/92 | Thelema Lodge initiations Call to attend | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/16/92 | Gnostic Mass 8 PM at: 588 63rd St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/18/92 | Ist Deg. study program 7PM w/Jerry at: 544 31st St. Ist Deg. & above only. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/19/92 | Class on the Sephiroth & the Tree of Life with Bill, 8:00 PM at: 544 31st St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/20/92 | Egyptian Hieroglyphs w/Lola 7PM at: 544 31st St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/21/92 | Chakras Discussion with Andrew at: 588 63rd St. (Anahata) 7:30 PM | Independant | ||
8/22/92 | Rave (dance) planning meeting (Call for location and to attend) | Independant | ||
8/23/92 | Virgo Birthday Party 4:18 PM at: 588 63rd St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/23/92 | Gnostic Mass 8 PM at: 588 63rd St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/26/92 | Astrological Analysis w/Grace 8PM at: 544 31st St. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/27/92 | Book of Thoth Study Circle w/Marlene at: 544 31st St. 7:30PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/29/92 | Jerry's Logorrhea, CALL TO ATTEND. Featuring: Familiars, Elementals & Things that go Bump in the Night. at: 544 31st St. 7:30PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
8/30/92 | Gnostic Mass 8 PM at: 588 63rd St. | Thelema Ldg. |
The viewpoints and opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of the
contributing authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of OTO or its
officers.
Note to update: the addresses and phone numbers in these issues of the Thelema Lodge Calendars are obsolete since the closing of the Lodge. They are here for historic purposes only and should not be visited or called.