- The Star of Babalon By, J. Whiteside Parson How shall I write of the mystery and the ter

                          -= The Star of Babalon =
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                           By, J. Whiteside Parson
   How shall I write of the mystery and the terror, of the wonder and
pity and splendour of the sevenfold star that is BABALON, Mother of
abominations, drunken upon the blood of the saints? For here neither
wit nor wisdom, nor even will alone, but only understanding and
passive love prevail.

   What shall it avail the adept if he has conquered the fourfold
elements, and spelled the riddle of the Sphinx? Here the price is
the last drop of his life blood. He must go down like Moses, like
Arthur and Tamuz into the dark land, following the swan into
Tuonella, into silence and winter and night. And there, before the
dark Mother of anarchy and abominations he shall be stripped of all
power soever, until he is as naked and defenceless as a new-born
child; and in this he shall not prevail unless he yield all
willingly, smiting the water of forgetfulness and partaking of the
fountain of life, and of the bitter-sweet mystery of understanding
and form that dark womb one shall be born again, but it shall no
be her.
   She is the hag wife that was transformed by the chivalry of 
Gawain, Kundry that is overcome by the pure folly of Parsifal, 
Libann bride of Mannan, Life bride of death. And in overcoming and
surrender, and in the Tao that is beyond both of these, shall he
attain: for She is the way to the Crown.

   But the mystery passeth speech. The mind reels and the intellect
is smitten before even the idea of Woman, and the dark Mother of 
whom she is the bright shadow. But let the adept meditate on this:
there are loves she has loved in this body, and others - bright 
loves and dark loves, gay and sad, pure and perverse. And let him 
recall these loves in all the joy and sadness of illusion: in the 
wonder of morning and springtime, the glory of noonday and summer,
the splendour of sunset and autumn. And let him distil these by
subtle alchemy into the irridescent shape of heart's desire. Then
let him consider this, that all men hold in their hearts the image
of love, hymned by all poets, painted by all artists, and sung in
eternally great music. And this is patterned, as some say, after
the image of the first love, the mother. But I say that that perfect
image in the heart of man is patterned by the awful form in space-
time that shapes all women, the insatiable lust of Pan that
is BABALON.

   Then let the adept meditate upon that the demon woman Lileth that
devoureth her own children, Kali avatar of destruction, Venus the 
whore averse, and let him likewise bend that shape to his dream.
And let him look upon the Goddess that is the Body of Stars, and let
him percive that all these are one. Then, with the serpent venom in 
his blood, and the lust unconquerable in his heart, let him invoke
BABALON. Yea, let him invoke BABALON.

   And the adept will partake somewhat of this mystery in the 
continuous devotion to any deity, since all gods are one.

   Now it may be that the adept may have a mate upon the plane of
earth, or among the elementals; and if he will, let him conceive of
this mate as partaking of the nature of his deity, for herein is a
subtle and beautiful practice of love. But woe unto him that confuses
the planes, worshipping an image of clay while the sanctuary lies 
desolate and abandoned. For if his love be pure he shall attain the
Infernal Rose, and partake of the sacrament of the Lord of the Love,
even as I, my brothers; even as I.

   Now there is another mystery concerning BABALON that has been
made known to me by my magical studies, and that is this: that
BABALON is now incarnate on earth in the form of a mortal woman.
I do not know where or in whom She is incarnate and that She will
manifest - a banner before armies and a judgement of nations - I do
know. There exists certain pertinent material on the subject which 
will be made available at the proper time. I may say no more on
this matter at present.

   Beyond this, it is abundantly evident that the spirit of BABALON
stirs in the women of the world. The demand for increased freedom,
the rejection of both the tyranntical husband and of the childish
lover, the increase of feminine polygamy and lesbianism - all 
indicate the developement of a new type of woman, who will have a 
whole man or none. It is the business of the magician to develop
himself into a man sufficient for the new woman that his own magical
lust has engendered. It is his business to become a priest, in order
that she may become the availing sacrifice that her nature demands.
At the last it is a high mystery of the lance and the grail. It 
cannot be taught. Magick is a path; but for the end of the path there
are no words, there is no language.

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 * The above text is taken from "STARFIRE" Vol. I  No. 3.
 
   "StarFire" is a Thelemic publication.             93
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