Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers

    Celebration of the gnostic mass of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is held each Sunday evening in Horus Temple at Thelema Lodge. Visitors are welcome to participate with the community of members, friends, and guests who perform and sustain this Thelemic eucharist ritual here. Those curious about the lodge or the Order may come and be a part of it for an hour and see how it feels. Our mass offers the principle of love under will as an image both of the universe and of the self, and members alternate amongst each other in embodying this principle as officers in the ritual. Newcomers should call the lodge for information and directions, and mass teams speak with the lodgemaster for a date on the temple calendar.

    Initiations for advancement in O.T.O. will be held on Saturday 26th February. Admission of members to this private event is limited strictly to those who make advance arrangements with the lodge to attend. Active initiate members are encouraged to speak with one of the lodge officers (at some prior event or by telephone) well in advance to learn the time, place, and degree being worked. Ask the officer to inform the initiation team if you are interested in being present. To become a candidate for initiation, obtain an application form from the lodge and complete it, along with sponsorship by two qualified members, for submission to the lodgemaster. One month is the minimum period of candidacy, and longer is often required to schedule the rituals, so it will be necessary to stay is good contact with the lodge after your application is sent away.

    The pathworking series The Scales of the Serpent continues on 3rd February with Ayin, Atu XV, The Devil, signifying individuality and impulse; 10th February is Peh, Atu XVI, the Tower, revolution and liberation; 17th February will be Tzaddi, which is the Star, Atu XVII, insight and possibilities; and on 24th February we'll honor Qoph, the Moon, Atu XVIII, imagination and reflection. Bring a small sitting cushion and an offering for the path of the evening to Cheth House in north Berkeley each Thursday evening at 7:30. Call (510) 525-0666 for directions.

-- Michael Sanborn

Note:
1. Compare the Noble Eightfold Path, as described in "Science and Buddhism" [Crowley's note, in reference to his essay, reprinted in the second volume of his Collected Works].

    The development of the life, i.e., movement or essence, of a thing, or phenomenon, by its inner contradictory tendencies ("All things come into being by conflict of opposites",¹ Heraclitus the Obscure), the knowing of the thing, appearance, process, by going from appearance to essence, and from less deep to deeper essence, the repetition of the lower (microcosm) in the higher (macrocosm), the negation of negation as an "apparent return to the old" ("the wheel of Nature revolveth constantly"), the struggle of content with form (shape-shifting and the fluid personality of mythology), everything is connected with every other (substance is extended), and the passing of quantity into quality (metamorphosis). The use of this language, this terminology, this universe of discourse so familiar to the student of myth in the Metamorphoses of Ovid, to the student of the esoteric in the Tao Teh King of Lao-tse, and to the student of the "occult" in the Tabula Smaragdina of Hermes Trismegistos, re-emphasizes the myth and magic in Marxism.

Note:
1. Milton C. Nahm, ed., Selections from Early Greek Philosophy (New York: F. S. Crofts & Co., 1945), p. 96

    If Elemental and Moon Magick relates to the Man of Earth, and Planetary Magick corresponds to the Lovers, then Stellar Magick is the Magick of the Hermits. Ebony's technique towards this class of workings involves using the planetary realm as a kind of interface between terrestrial consciousness and the zodiacal pleroma. His mature thought on the subject is expressed in statements he made during a 1997 e.v. lecture at Ancient Ways in Oakland. His comments also contain a good resume of his ideas on Planetary Magick as discussed in last month's article.

Ebony: "Well, you want to draw down fire from Heaven? Here's how you draw down fire from Heaven. You know you have Chakras, right? They're in the physical body, and they have [a] corresponding element that's in your aura, right? Okay. Your aura is affected by the astrological influences about it, correct? And so this is the connection between the macrocosm, or in other words 'above,' and below. So to draw down a planet, you wait till the planet is conjunct the Sun. You get all the energy of the Sun centering that thing. . . . Remember, all the planets shine by the light of the Sun. Okay. And you draw that down into you aura, and you can manifest it. You can store it in a bottle of colored water if you want, or fluid, or cup, or a sacrament. You can store it in bread or carve it or etch it or mold it in the physical plane. But you note in order to save the power to use it for later you have to use the so-called magnetic or feminine components. In other words Earth, physical something, or Water, a liquid something. It's really hard to store things in an air. You can; they don't stay around a long time, but you can store 'em in the air. Fire? Again, ditto. Even less time. But you can try to store it in the fire. But generally the masculine, or dynamic (I should say dynamic rather than masculine) elements, you know, are projective of force. And magnetic elements pull that force into them, and they capacitate that force or store it. So to draw down fire from Heaven you wait till the astrological phenomena are most intense, and in the case of fixed stars you're gonna have to work for the stars of the crown that are mentioned in one of the Aethyrs of the Vision and the Voice. Those stars are extremely important. Corona Borealis, Aldebaran, the stars in Scorpio, the rest of these; they're mentioned by name in that Aethyr. You can wait till a planet, or the Sun, or the Moon (the Sun or Moon being bigger, you have more odds), occult one or another of those stars (meaning cover it up). And then draw that down into the planetary realm from the Astral realm. And then draw that down from the planetary realm into the aura. And then either apply it to some object to store it, or utilize it directly by drawing it down into the Chakras, and then transmuting the force. So it's a matter of timing."

    The Stars of the Crown referred to are discussed in the 15th Aethyr of the Vision and the Voice: "And the tablet blazeth ever brighter till it filleth the whole Aire. And behold! There is one God therein, and the letters of the stars in his crown, Orion, and the Pleiades, and Aldebaran, and Alpha Centauri, and Cor Leonis, and Cor Scorpionis, and Spica, and the pole-star, and Hercules, and Regulus, and Aquila, and the Ram's Eye."
    It should be noted that not all of these stars lie in the ecliptic, so some innovation of method from that described above may at times be called for, but no one who has actually reached this level of work should have any difficulty in this.
    This completes the general outline of the Hawk and Jackal system. Next month we'll return to Earth with a discussion of the Moon Coven ritual. This will be followed by an overview of Ebony's system of multidimensional Magick.

    By successive steps one can rise from physically oriented meditation, to story or myth, to communication with spirits, and finally break into a pure state beyond the veils of such techniques. This compound method is used in Ma'asah Merkabah, a practice that has been lightly touched upon in other installments of this series and which will be examined in further detail as we go along. The parting of the last veil comes at a stage near the end of the Merkabah experience. This veil is called Paroket Zohar, or the veil of splendor. At that stage, there is a feeling of something so great that it could not be perceived with normal senses. Beyond that, words fail and distinctions are lost. Profound states of consciousness come in which it is impossible to tell the difference between one's own identity and the rest of the world. All is unity, without differentiation.

    Prior to this state, the Universe seems peopled with strange beings. These beings are ordered, assembled as though in the court of a king. Visions occur of a particular character, often described as the Court about the Throne of the Most High. It's like that, entering a special place where powers and dominions are arrayed in their places about a monarch. From such experiences, various systems or pantheons of spirits are attributed. Systems of this nature ascribe angelic and other spirits of different classes to each of the Sephirot. Attribution of choirs or orders of angels is not strictly required in the work; as there are other ways of meditating. Owing to the human tendency to seek help from some sort of person at time of need, such spiritual entities can be useful. With each advance of meditation cycle, the Tree pattern is passed over again and again in successively distant modes from mundane consciousness. Beginning in Malkut, the Aishim, sometimes called the Aralim, are approached. These are personified forces of shape and change in the outer world. Most of the names of angelic orders are drawn from the Torah, through manipulation of words found in the physical shadow that is the book itself. The Kerubim of Yesod are the Angels that guard all the ways. They are angels of the wind. Whenever a breeze touches you it is the Kerubim passing by, brushing you with their wings. The angels of Hod are as ideas that flicker through our minds; the touch of their breath directs our thoughts one way or another. The angels of Netzach, sometimes called Tarshishim, are beautiful ships, the more elaborate thoughts that sail by in our minds, glimpses of beauty that light the whole world in their passing. The angels of Tipheret stand before us in a bright light. Sometimes, when we see them, we take them for visions of what we should be in daily life. They are the sign of the oneness of life, blending and working with the lives of others. In Geburah are the Saraphim, the burning ones. They sing of the glory of the universe, with such intense rapture and delight that they are consumed in flame. Their song is a sort of vibration, a humming, like the sound we sometimes hear in the center of our heads as we sit quietly. There are angels of Chesed, the Tzdackim, whose every thought is truth. These are the angels that cause the earth to tremble and set the sky shaking, as they pass. There are angels of Binah, whose substance cannot be described. They simply are presences, eyes filling the universe with sentience. The angels of Chokmah, are the essence of motion and life. The angels of Keter are many and One.

   Four Letters from '46:
   Here is a set of letters written to and from Crowley in the penultimate year of his life. The first two form a pair, a letter from Grady McMurtry and Crowley's answer. The third is from Crowley to Karl Germer, written between the first two. Crowley was experiencing eye and dental troubles, which apparently worsened from March through April but improved later in the year. The last is a letter toward the end of the year to Grady from Crowley.

    We begin with Grady reporting on distribution of Book of Thoth advertisements, discussing finances and suggesting plans for future Lodge and book work.

    Crowley responded in a limited way, owing to difficulty with his vision. Jack Parsons is mentioned in passing, and the financial dynamics of Lodge work are touched upon briefly.

    In this letter, Crowley discusses his medical problems briefly with Karl Germer and then goes into comments on the members and others about Agape Lodge in California. "Betty" was with Jack Parsons for a while, before going over to L.Ron Hubbard. Louis Culling had apparently written an opinion to Crowley about Jack's situation. Others are mentioned, Frederic Mellinger, Louis Wilkinson and even, deprecatingly, Charles S. Jones, Fr. Achad. It's interesting to see Crowley both discouraging the giving of advice and advocating it in two letters so close together.

    In the concluding selection, Crowley writes in better mood to Grady, discussing Grady's son, work on Liber 777 and progress on Magick Without Tears.

    Distractions should be avoided, but anything that can be used to acquire the Knowledge and undertake the Conversation is worth doing. Don't limit approaches unduly. The HGA will say in plain ways what should be done in accord with ones own nature We are often unwilling to understand such direct instruction. The pain of the experience is largely from being drawn to necessary deeds, through veils of illusory refusal.

    In mundane life, most who attain are outwardly no better or worse than those who don't follow this path. To live in the world means that all should continue in the ordinary way of the world. There is a time of disruption, of attainment beyond the scope of one life. After that the gain is permanent, but the adept reenters the world to live out a normal existence more or less continuing where that normality was left off for the effort.

    K&C is the beginning of awakening, not its culmination. It is never just an internal or mental event, any more than the ringing of a bell is a sound heard only in the loft of the church. The world echoes it and passes a wave of change outward like the ripples that spread from a pebble tossed into a quiet lake. The difference is that this pebble does not vanish, neither do the ripples cease.

    The form is always the same, when the full appearance of the Angel occurs. There are other effects that vary from individual to individual, and vary as well within the practices of one person. Descriptions do not suffice, for that instant. In translating the experience into the words of men, some have said that it is of a human form in a white garment and the sound of a voice heard in earliest childhood memory.

    No attainment by the Middle Pillar can endure. It's necessary to snake around to make it stick. Meditate on the entire Tree of Life, with ten Sephirot and 22 connecting Paths. The Middle Pillar exercise is a cleansing and revitalizing, not the key to the entire Great Work.
    The Netzach-Tipheret path is one of the hardest for a rational thinker. There is a change from control to riding the waves at that point. A need for control as a protection of self should be dealt with before Netzach; but for a strong pillar of severity bias, it persists in some form to that point.

    When a person naturally becomes used to this notion: that every communication is with a spirit, be it reading or auditing, that person has started to approach K&C of the HGA. The rest is refinement and sifting of the self from the noise. A "14 year old personality" is characterized by a tendency to either embrace or invert every opinion heard recently, failing to center on one's own identity. Without fear or confusion, let the identity emerge even as precious metal is refined from crude ore.

    Traditional instructions are to set mundane existence in order before undertaking this effort. That ordering is relative. Normally it means that mundane concerns should be stabilized or rendered predictable and given proper times for attention. The more the mundane has to be dealt with, the longer the process takes, and one should allocate time accordingly.

    "Multi mental media" working should be attempted, after familiarity with simpler exercises. The more senses involved in a projection, the more profound the effect. E.g.: reciting the pairs of Hebrew letters (mental, not physical sound) while holding a visualization of one pair is effective. Other sensory associations can be added to keep the mind from wandering. The more a person has going to a proper focus with multiple astral sense cognates the easier it will be to avoid breaks in concentration. This only works with very familiar objects, like the alphabet or systematic combinations of other familiar symbols. The set of symbols must be appropriate to the object of meditation and one particular unit of the set needs to be given dominance. Experiment with increasingly complex and moving visualizations with the Lesser Pentagram and similar ritual is also very good; the trick being that complexity needs to be added to the visualization as each new addition to the ritual is mastered

    Early religious training sets patterns and expectations. The formal religion of childhood cannot possibly meet the expectations of later life, so an accommodation must always be made by the sane ones. For some, religion is actually relegation to limited area of life. For others, there's a drive to find what was promised and not delivered, in new work. For the mass of insane humanity, religion is a binding and blinding -- which keeps them from hurting any more people than can reasonably be avoided. Obsolescence of religion is justified when the efficiency of protecting against harm by the crazy gets a little too low and love fades away.

Events Calendar for February 2000 e.v.

   
    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.

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