November 13, 1988 e.v. key entry by Bill Heidrick T.G. O.T.O. (c) O.T.O. NOT PROOFED! for
November 13, 1988 e.v. key entry by Bill Heidrick T.G. O.T.O.
(c) O.T.O. NOT PROOFED!
for special characters and alphabets. ---- This is an ASCII file
Items in Curly Braces are Descriptions of Single Characters --Tony
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Liber CXI vel {HB:Aleph } Aleph
The Book of Wisdom and Folly.
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{Tau }{Omega }{Upsilon } {Mu }{Epsilon }{Gamma }{Alpha }{Lambda }{Omicron }{Upsilon }
{Theta }{Eta }{Rho }{Iota }{Omicron }{Upsilon }
{Pi }{Rho }{Omicron }{Sigma } {Tau }{Omicron }{Nu }
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Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
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Love is the law, love under will.
666
AN X I V
{Sun} in {Aries}
{Moon} in {Aries}
Liber CXI vel {HB:Aleph } Aleph
The Book of Wisdom and Folly.
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{Omicron }{Nu }
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
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{alpha } A P O L O G I A
I have begotten thee, o my Son, and that strangle, as thou
knowest, upon the Scarlet Woman called Hilarion, as it was
mysteriously foretold unto me in "The Book of the Law." Now
therefore that thou art come to the Age of Understanding, do
thou give ear unto my Wisdom, for that therein lieth a simple
and direct Way for every Man that he may attain to the End.
Firstly, then, I would have thee to know that Spiritual
Experience and Perfection have no necessary connection with
Advancement in our Holy Order. But for each Man is a Path:
there is a Constant, and there is a Variable. Seek ever
therefore in thy Work of the Promulgation of the Law to
discover in each Man his own true Nature, that
-2-
he may in due Season accomplish it not only for himself, but
for all who are bound unto him. There are very many for whom
in their present Incarnations this Great Work may be
impossible; since their appointed Work may be in Satisfaction
of some Magical Debt, or in Adjustment of some Balance, or in
Fulfilment of some Defect. As is written: Suum Cuique.
(Jedem das Seine.)
Now because thou art the Child of my Bowels, I yearn
greatly towards thee, o my Son, and I strive strongly with my
Spirit that by my Wisdom I may make plain thy Way before thee;
and thus in many Chapters will I write for thee those things
that may profit thee.
Sis benedictus.
-3-
{beta } DE ARTE KABBALISTIKA.
Do thou study most constantly, my Son, in the Art of the
Holy Qabalah. Know that herein the Relations between Numbers,
though they be mighty in Power and prodigal of Knowledge, are
but lesser Things. For the Work is to reduce all other
conceptions to these of Number, because thus thou wilt lay
bare the very Structure of thy Mind, whose rule is Necessity
rather than Prejudice. Not until the Universe is thus laid
naked before thee canst thou truly anatomize it. The
Tendencies of thy Mind lie deeper far than any Thought, for
they are the Conditions and the Laws of Thought; and it is
these that thou must bring to Nought.
This Way is most sure; most sacred; and the Enemies thereof
most awful, most sublime. It is for the Great Souls to enter
on this Rigour and Austerity. To them the Gods themselves do
Homage; for it is the Way of Utmost Purity.
-4-
{gamma } DE VITA CORRIGENDA.
Know, son, that the true Principle of Self-Control is
Liberty. For we are born into a World which is in Bondage to
Ideals; to them we are perforce fitted, even as the Enemies to
the Bed of Procrustes. Each of us, as he grows, learns
Repression of himself and his true Will. "It is a lie, this
folly against self.": these Words are written in "The Book of""
""the Law". So therefore these Passions in ourselves which we
understand to be Hindrances are not part of our True Will, but
diseased Appetites, manifest in us through false early
Training. Thus the Tabus of savage Tribes in such matter as
Love constrain that True Love which is born in us; and by this
Constraint come ills of Body and Mind. Either the Force of
Repression carries it, and creates Neuroses and Insanities; or
the Revolt against that Force, breaking forth with Violence,
involves Excesses and Extravagances. All these Things are
Disorders, and against Nature. Now then learn of me the
testimony of History and literature as a great Scroll of
Learning. But the Vellum of the Scroll is of Man's Skin, and
its Ink of his Heart's Blood.
-5-
{delta } LEGRENDA DE AMORE.
The Fault, that is Fatality, in Love, as in every other
Form of Will, is Impurity. It is not the Spontaneity there-of
which worketh Woe, but some Repression in the Environment.
In the Fable of Adam and Eve is this great Lesson taught by
the Masters of the Holy Qabalah. For Love were to them the
eternal Eden, save for the Repression signified by the Tree of
the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Thus their Nature of Love was
perfect; it was their Fall from that Innocence which drove
them from the Garden.
In the Love of Romeo and Juliet was no Flaw; but family
Feud, which imported nothing to that Love, was its Bane; and
the Rashness and Violence of their Revolt against that
Repression, slew them.
In the pure Outrush of Love in Desdemona for Othello was no
Flaw; but his Love was marred by his consciousness of his Age
and his Race, of the Prejudices of his Fellows and of his own
Experience of Woman-Frailty.
-6-
{epsilon } GESTA DE AMORE.
Now as Literature overfloweth with the Murders of Love, so
also doeth History, and the Lesson is ever the same.
Thus the Loves of Abelard and of Heloise were destroyed by
the System of Repression in which they chanced to move.
Thus Beatrice was robbed of Dante by social
Artificialities; and Paolo slain on account of Things external
to his Love of Francesca.
Then, per contra, Martin Luther, being a Giant of Will, and
also the Eighth Henry of England, as a mighty King, bent them
to overturn the whole World that they might have satisfaction
of their Loves.
And who shall follow them? For even now we find great
Churchmen, Statesmen, Princes, Dramamakers, and many lesser
Men, overwhelmed utterly and ruined by the conflict between
their Passions and the Society about them. Wherein which
Party errs is no matter of Moment for our Thought; but the
Existence of the War is Evidence of Wrong done to Nature.
-7-
{digamma } UTIMA THESIS DE AMORE.
Therefore, o my Son, be thou wary, not bowing before the
false Idols and ideals, yet not flaming forth in Fury against
them, unless that be thy will.
But in this Matter be prudent and be silent, discerning
subtly and with acumen the nature of the Will within thee; so
that thou mistake not Fear for Chastity, or Anger for Courage.
And since the fetters are old and heavy, and thy Limbs
withered and distorted by reason of their Compulsion, do thou,
having broken them, walk gently for a little while, until the
ancient Elasticity return, so that thou mayst walk, run, and
leap naturally and with Rejoicing.
Also, since these Fetters are as a Bond almost universal,
be instant to declare the Law of Liberty, and the full
Knowledge of all Truth that appertaineth to this Matter; for
if in this only thou overcome, then shall all Earth be free,
taking its Pleasure in Sunlight without Fear or Phrenzy. Amen.
-8-
{zeta } DE NATURA SUA PERCIPIENDA.
Understand,o my Son, in thy Youth, these Words which some
wise One, now nameless, spake of old; except ye become as
little Children ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven. This is to say that thou must first comprehend thine
original Nature in every Point, before thou wast forced to bow
before the Gods of Wood and Stone that Men have made, not
comprehending the Law of Change, and of Evolution Through
Variation, and the independent Value of every living Soul.
Learn this also, that even the Will to the Great Work may
be misunderstood of Men; for this Work must proceed naturally
and without Overstress, as all true Works. Right also is that
Word that the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth Violence, and the
violent take it by Force. But except thou be violent by
Virtue of thy true Nature, how shalt thou take it? Be not as
the Ass in the Lion's Skin; but if thou be born Ass, bear
patiently thy Burdens, and enjoy thy Thistles; for an Ass
also, as in the Fables of Apuleius and Matthaiss, may come to
Glory in the Path of his own Virtue.
-9-
{eta } ALTERA DE VIA MATURAE.
Sayest thou (methinks) that here is a great Riddle, since
by Reason of much Repression thou hast lost the Knowledge of
thine original Nature?
My son, this is not so; for by a peculiar Ordinance of
Heaven, and a Disposition occult within his Mine, is every Man
protected from this Loss of his own Soul, until and unless be
be by Choronzon disintegrated and dispersed beyond power of
Will to repair; as when the Conflict within him, rending and
burning, hath made his Mind utterly desert, and his Soul
Madness.
Give Ear, give Ear attentively; the Will is not lost;
though it be buried beneath a life-old midden of Repressions,
for it persisteth vital within thee (is it not the true Motion
of thine inmost Being?) and for all thy conscious Striving
cometh forth by Night and by Stealth in Dream and Phantasy.
Now is it naked and brilliant, now clothed in rich Robes of
Symbol and Hieroglyph; but always travelleth it with thee upon
thy Path, ready to acquaint thee with thy true Nature, if thou
attend unto its Word, its Gesture, or its Show of Imagery.
-10-
{theta } QUO MODO NATURA SUA EST LEGENDA.
Therefore deem not that thy lightest Fancy is
insignificant. Thy most unconscious Acts are Keys to the
Treasure-Chamber of thine own Palace, which is the House of
the Holy Ghost. Consider well thy conscious Thoughts and
Acts, for they are under the Dominion of thy Will, and moved
in Accord with the Operation of thy Reason; this indeed is a
necessary work, enabling to comprehend in what manner thou
mayst adjust thyself to thine Environment. Yet is this
Adaptation but Defence for the most Part, or at the best
Subterfuge and Stratagem in the Tactics of thy Life, with but
an accidental and subordinate Relation to thy true Will,
whereof by Consciousness and by Reason thou mayst be ignorant,
unless by Fortune great and rare thou be already harmonized in
thyself, the Outer with the Inner, which Grace is not common
among Men, and is the Reward of previous Attainment.
Neglect not simple Introspections, therefore; but give yet
greater Heed unto those Dreams and Phantasies, those Gestures
and Manners unconscious, and of undiscovered Cause, which
betoken thee.
-11
{kappa } DE SOMNISS. {alpha } CAUSA PER
ACCIDENS.
As all diseases have two conjunct causes, one immediate,
external and exciting, the other constitutional, internal, and
predisposing, so it is with Dreams, which are Dis-Eases, or
unbalanced States of Consciousness, Disturbers of Sleep as
Thoughts are of Life.
This exciting Cause is commonly of two kinds: videlicet,
imprimis, the physical Condition of the Sleeper, as a Dream of
Water caused by a shower without, or a Dream of Strangulation
caused by a Dyspnoea, or a Dream of Lust caused by the seminal
Congestions of an unclean Life, or a Dream of falling or
flying caused by some unstable Equilibrium of Body.
Secundo, the psychic condition of the Sleeper, the Dream
being determined by recent Events in his Life, usually those
of the Day previous, and especially such Events as have caused
Excitement of Anxiety, the more so if they be unfinished or
unfulfilled.
But this exciting Cause is of a superficial Nature, as it
were a Cloke or a Mask; and thus it but lendeth Aspect to the
other Cause, which lieth in the Nature of the Sleeper himself.
-12-
{kappa } DE SOMNIIS. {beta } CAUSA PER
NATURAM.
The deep, constitutional, or predisposing Cause of Dreams
lieth within the Jurisdiction of the Will itself. For that
Will, being alway present, albeit (it may be) latent,
discovereth himself when no longer inhibited by that conscious
Control which is determined by Environment, and therefore oft
times contrary to himself. This being so, the Will declareth
himself, as it were in a Pageant, and showeth himself thus
apparelled, unto the Sleeper, for a Warning or Admonition.
Every Dream, or Pageant of Fancy, is therefore a Shew of Will;
and Will being no more prevented by Environment or by
Consciousness, cometh as a Conqueror. Yet even so he must
come for the most Part throned upon the Chariot of the
exciting Cause of the Dream, and therefore is his Appearance
symbolic, like a Writing in Cipher, or like a Fable, or like a
Riddle in Pictures. But alway does he triumph and fulfil
himself therein, for the Dream is a natural Compensation in
the inner World for any Failure of Achievement in the outer.
-13-
{lambda } DE SOMNIIS. {gamma } VESTIMENTA
HORRORIS.
Now then if in a Dream the Will be always triumphant, how
cometh it that a Man may be ridden of the Nightmare? And of
this the true Explanation is that in such a case the Will is
in Danger, having been attacked and wounded or corrupted by
the Violence of some Repression. Thus the Consciousness of
the Will is directed to the sore Spot, as in Pain, and seeketh
comfort in an Externalisation, or shew, of that Antagonism.
And because the Will is sacred, such dreams excite an Ecstacy
or Phrenzy of Horror, Fear or Disgust. Thus the true Will of
Oedipus was toward the bed of Jocasta, but the Tabu, strong
both by Inheritance and by Environment, was so attached to
that Will that his Dream concerning his Destiny was a Dream of
Fear and of Abhorrence, his Fulfilment thereof (even in
Ignorance) a spell to stir up all the subconscious Forces of
all the People about him, and his Realization of the Act a
madness potent to drive him to self-inflicted Blindness and
fury-haunted Exile.
-14-
{mu } DE SOMNIIS. {delta } SEQUENTIS.
Know firmly, o my son, that the true Will cannot err; for
this is thine appointed course in Heaven, in whose order is
Perfection.
A Dream of Horror is therefore the most serious of all
Warnings; for it signifieth that thy Will, which is Thy Self
in respect of its Motion, is in Affliction and Danger. Thus
thou must instantly seek out the Cause of that subconscious
Conflict, and destroy thine Enemy utterly by bringing thy
conscious Vigour as an Ally to that true Will. If then there
be a Traitor in the Consciousness, how much the more is it
necessary for thee to arise and extirpate him before he wholly
infect thee with the divided Purpose which is the first Breach
in that Fortress of the Soul whose Fall should bring it to the
shapeless Ruin whose Name is Choronzon!
-15-
{nu } DE SOMNIIS. {epsilon } CLAVICULA.
The Dream delightful is then a Pageant of the Fulfilment of
the true Will, and the Nightmare a symbolic Battle between it
and its Assailants in thyself. But there can be only one true
Will, even as there can be only one proper Motion in any Body,
no matter of how many Forces that Motion be the Resultant.
Seek therefore this Will, and conjoin with it thy conscious
Self; for this is that which is written; "Thou hast no right
but to do thy Will. Do that, and no other shall say nay."
Thou seest, o my Son, that all conscious Opposition to thy
Will, whether in Ignorance, or by Obstinacy, or through Fear
of others, may in the end endanger even thy true Self, and
bring thy Star into Disaster.
And this is the true Key to Dreams; see that thou be
diligent in its Use, and unlock therewith the secret Chambers
of thine Heart.
-16-
{xi } DE VIA PER EMPYRAEUM.
Concerning they Travellings in thy Body of Light, or
Astral journeys and Visions so-called, do thou lay this Wisdom
to thy Heart, o my Son, that in this Practice, whether Things
Seen and Heard be Truth and Reality, or whether they be
Phantoms in the Mind, abideth this Supreme Magical Value,
namely: Whereas the Direction of such Journeys is consciously
willed, and determined by Reason, and also unconsciously
willed, by the true Self, since without It no Invocation were
possible, we have here a Cooperation of Alliance between the
Inner and the Outer Self, and thus an Accomplishment, at least
partial, of the Great Work.
And therefore is Confusion or Terror in any such Practice
an Error fearful indeed, bringing about Obsession, which is a
temporary or even it may be a permanent Division of the
Personality, or Insanity, and therefore a defeat most fatal
and pernicious, a Surrender of the Soul to Choronzon.
-17-
{omicron } DE CULTU.
Now, o my Son, that thou mayst be well guarded against thy
ghostly Enemies, do thou work constantly by the Means
prescribed in our Holy Books.
Neglect never the fourfold Adorations of the Sun in his
four Stations, for thereby thou doest affirm thy Place in
Nature and her Harmonies.
Neglect not the Performance of the Ritual of the Pentagram,
and of the Assumption of the Form of Hoor-pa Kraat.
Neglect not the daily Miracle of the Mass, either by the
Rite of the Gnostic Catholic Church, or that of the Phoenix.
Neglect not the Performance of the Mass of the Holy Ghost,
as Nature herself prompteth thee.
Travel also much in the Empyrean in the Body of Light,
seeking ever Abodes more fiery and lucid.
Finally, exercise constantly the Eight Limbs of Yoga., And
so shalt thou come to the End.
-18-
{pi } DE CLAVIGULA SOMNIORUM.
And now concerning Meditation let me disclose unto thee
more fully the Mystery of the Key of Dreams and Phantasies.
Learn first that as the Thought of the Mind standeth before
the Soul and hindereth its Manifestation in consciousness, so
also the gross physical Will is the Creator of the Dreams of
common Men, and as in Meditation thou doest destroy every
Thought by mating it with its Opposite, so must thou cleanse
thyself by a full and perfect Satisfaction of that bodily will
in the Way of Chastity and Holiness which has been revealed
unto thee in thy Initiation.
This inner Silence of the Body being attained, it may be
that the true Will may speak in True Dreams; for it is written
that He giveth unto His Beloved in Sleep.
Prepare thyself therefore in this Way, as a good Knight
should do.
-19-
{koppa } DE SOMNO LUCIDO.
Now know this also that at the End of that secret Way lieth
a Garden wherein is a Rest House prepared for thee.
For to him whose physical Needs of whatever Kind are not
truly satisfied cometh a Lunar or physical Sleep appointed to
refresh and recreate by Cleansing and Repose; but on him that
is bodily pure the Lord bestoweth a Solar or Lucid Sleep,
wherein move Images of pure Light fashioned by the True Will.
And this is called by the Qabalists the Sleep of Shiloam, and
of this doeth also Porphyry make mention mention, and Cicero,
with many other Wise Men of Old Time.
Compare, o my Son, with this Doctrine that which was taught
thee in the Sanctuary of the Gnosis concerning the Death of
the Righteous; and learn moreover that these are but
particular Cases of an Universal Formula.
-20-
{rho } DE VENEMIS.
My Son, if thou fast ahwile, there shall come unto thee a
second State of physiological Being, in which is a delight
passive and equable, without Will, a contentment of Weakness,
with a Feeling of Lightness and of Purity. And this is
because the Blood hath absorbed, in its Need of Nutriment, all
foreign Elements. Such also is the Case with the Mind which
hath not fed itself on Thought. Consider the placid and
ruminent Existence of such Persons as read little, are removed
from worldy Struggle by some sufficient Property of small and
unexciting Value, stably invested, and by Age and Environment
are free from Passion. They live, according to their own
Nature, without Desire, and they oppose no Resistance to the
Operations of Time. Such are called Happy, and in their Way
of Vegetable Life it is so; for they are free of any Poison.
-21-
{sigma } DE MOTU VITAE.
Learn then, o my Son, that all Phenomena are the effect of
Conflict, even as the Universe itself is a Nothing expressed
as the Difference of two Equalities, or, an thou wilt, as the
Divorce of Nuith and Hadith. So therefore every Marriage
dissolveth a more material, and createth a less material
Complex; and this is our Way of Live, rising ever from Ekstacy
to Ekstacy. So then all high Violence, that is to say, all
Consciousness, is the spiritual Orgasm of a Passion between
two lower and grosser Opposites. Thus Light and Heat result
from the Marriage of Hydrogen and Oxygen; Love from that of
Man and Woman, Dhyana or Ekstacy from that of the Ego and the
non-Ego.
But be thou well grounded in this Thesis corollary, that
one or two such Marriages do but destroy for a Time the
Exacerbation of any Complex; to deracinate such is a Work of
long Habit and deep Search in Darkness for the Germ thereof.
But this once accomplished, that particular Complex is
destroyed, or sublimated for ever.
-22-
{tau } DE MORBIS SANGUINIS.
Now then understand that all Opposition to the Way of
Nature createth Violence. If thine excretory System do its
Function not at its fullest, there come Poisons in the Blood,
and the Consciousness is modified by the conflicts or
Marriages between the elements heterogeneous. Thus if the
Liver be not efficient, we have Melancholy; if the Kidneys,
Coma; if the Testes or Ovaries, loss of Personality itself.
Also, an we poison the Blood directly with Belladonna, we have
Delirium vehement and furious; with Hashish, Visions
phantastic and enormous; with Anhiolonium, Ekstacy of colour
and what not; with diverse Germs of Disease, Disturbances of
Consciousness varying with the Nature of the Germ. Also with
Ether, we gain the Power of analysing the Consciousness into
its Planes; and so for many others.
But all these are, in our mystical Sense, Poisons; that is,
we take two Things diverse and opposite, binding them together
so that they are compelled to unite; and the Orgasm of each
Marriage is an Ekstacy, the Lower dissolving in the Higher.
-23-
{upsilon } DE CURSU AMORIS.
I continue then, o my son, and reiterate that this Formula
is general to all Nature. And thou wilt note that by repeated
Marriage cometh Toleration, so the Ekstacy appeareth no more.
Thus his half grain of Morphia, which first opened his Gates
of Heaven, is nothing worth to the Self-poisoner after a Year
of dayly Practice. So too the Lover findeth no more Joy in
Union with his Mistress, so soon as the original Attraction
between them is satisfied by repeated Conjunctions. For this
Attraction is an Antagonism; and the greater this Antinomy,
the more fierce the Puissance of the Magnetism, and the
Quality of Energy disengaged by the Coition.
Thus in the Union of Similars, as of Halogens with each
other, is no strong Passion of explosive Force, and the Love
between two Persons of the like Character and Taste is placid
and without Transmutation to higher Planes.
-24-
{phi } DE NUPTIIS MYSTICIS.
O my Son, how wonderful is the Wisdom of this Law of Love!
How vast are the Oceans of uncharted Joy that lie before the
Keel of thy Ship! Yet know this, that every Opposition is in
its Nature named Sorrow, and the Joy lieth in the Destruction
of the Dyad. Therefore, must thou seek ever those Things
which are to thee poisonous, and that in the highest Degree,
and make them thine by Love. That which repels, that which
disgusts, must thou assimilate in this Way of Wholeness. Yet
rest not in the Joy of the Destruction of each complex in thy
Nature, but press on to that ultimate Marriage with the
Universe whose Consummation shall destroy thee utterly,
leaving only that Nothingness which was before the Beginning.
So then the Life of Non-Action is not for thee; the
Withdrawal from Activity is not the Way of the Tao; but rather
the Intensification and making universal every Unit of thine
Energy on every Plane.
-25-
{chi } DE VOLUPTATE POENARUM.
Go forth, o my Son, o Son of the Sun, rejoicing in thy
Strength, as a Warrior, as a Bridegroom, to take thy Pleasure
upon the Earth, and in every Palace of the Mind, moving ever
from the crass to the subtle, from the coarse to the fine.
Conquer every Repulsion in thy self, subdue every Aversion.
Assimilate all Poison, for therein only is there Profit. Seek
constantly therefore to know what is painful and to cleave
thereunto, for by Pain cometh true Pleasure. Those who avoid
Pain physical or mental remain little Men, and there is no
Virtue in them. Yet be thou ware lest thou fall into the
Heresy which maketh Pain, and Self-sacrifice as it were Bribes
to corrupt God, to secure some future Pleasure in an imagined
After-life. Nay, also of the other Part, fear not to destroy
thy Complexes, thinking dreadfully thereby to lose the Power
of creating Joy by their Distinction. Yet in each Marriage be
thou bold to affirm the spiritual Ardour of the Orgasm, fixing
it in some Talisman, whether it be Art, or Magick, or Theurgy.
-26-
{psi } DE VOLUNTATE ULTIMA.
Say not then that this Way is contrary to Nature, and that
in Simplicity of Satisfaction of thy Needs is perfection of
thy Path. For to thee, who hast aspired, it is thy Nature to
perform the Great Work, and this is the final Dissolution of
the Cosmos. For though a Stone seem to lie still on a
Mountain Top, and have no care, yet hath it an hidden Nature,
a Task Ineffable and Stupendous; namely, to force its Way to
the Centre of Gravity of the Universe, and also to burn up its
Elements into the final Homogeneity of Matter. Therefore the
Way of Quiet is but an Illusion of Ignorance. Whoever thou
mayst be now, thy Destiny is that which I have declared unto
thee; and thou art most fixed in the true Way when, accepting
this consciously as thy Will, thou gathereth up thy Powers to
move thy Self mightily within it.
-27-
{omega } DE DIFFERENTIA RERUM.
But, o my Son, although thine ultimate Nature be Universal,
thine immediate Nature is Particular. Thy Way to the Centre
is not oriented as that of any other Being, and thine elements
are no kin, but alien, to his. For Shame! Is it not the most
transcendent of all the Wisdoms of this Cosmos, that no two
Beings are alike? Lo! This is the Secret of all Beauty, and
maketh Love not only possible, but necessary, between every
Thing and every other Thing. So then, lest thou in thine
Ignorance take the false Way, and divigate, must thou learn
thine own particular and peculiar Nature in its Relation to
all others. For though it be Illusion, it is by the true
Analysis of Falsehoods that we are able to destroy them, just
as the Physician must understand the Disease of his Patient if
he is to choose the fitting Remedy. Now therefore will I make
yet more clear unto thee the Value of thy Dreams and
Phantesies and Gestures of thine unconscious Body and Mind, as
Symptoms of thy particular Will, and show thee how thy mayst
come to their Interpretation.
-28-
{Alpha }{alpha } DE VOLUNTATE TACITA.
All Disturbances, o my Son, are Variations from
Equilibrium; and just as thy conscious Thoughts, Words, and
Acts are Effects of the Displacement of the conscious Will, so
is it in the Unconscious. For the most Part, therefore, all
Dreams, Phantasies, and Gestures represent that Will
subliminal; and if the physical Part of that Will be
unsatisfied, its Utterance will predominate in all these
automatic Expressions. Do thou then note what Modifications
thereof follow such Changes in the conscious Foundation of
that Part of thy Will as thou mayst make in thy Experiments
therewith, and thus separate, as sayeth Trismegistus, the fine
from the coarse, Fire from Earth, or, as we may say, assign
each Effect to its true Cause. Seek then to perfect a
conscious Satisfaction of every Part of that Will, so that the
unconscious Disturbances be at last brought to Silence. Then
will the Residuum be as an Elixir clarified and perfected, a
true Symbol of that other hidden Will which is the Vector of
thy Magical Self.
-29-
{Alpha }{beta } DE FORMULA SUMMA.
Learn moreover that thy Self includeth the whole Universe
of thy Knowledge, so that every increase upon every Plane is
an Aggrandisement of that Self. Yet the greater Part of this
Universe is common Knowledge, so that thy Self is interwoven
with other Selves, save for that Part peculiar to thy Self.
And as thou growest, so also this peculiar Part is ever of
less Proportion to the Whole, until when thou becomest
infinite, it is a Quantity infinitesimal and to be neglected.
Lo! When the All is absorbed within the I, it is as if the I
were absorbed within the All; for if two Things become wholly
and indissolubly One Thing, there is no more Reason for Names,
since Names are given to mark off one Thing from another. And
this is that which is written in "The Book of the Law": "...Let
there be no difference made among you between any one thing &
any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt. But whoso
availeth in this, let him be the chief of all!"
-30-
{Alpha }{gamma } DE VIA INERTIAE.
Of the Way of the Tao I have already written to thee, o my
Son, but I further instruct thee in this Doctrine of doing
everything by doing nothing. I will first have thee to
understand that the Universe being as above said an Expression
of Zero under the Figure of the Dyad, its Tendency is
continually to release itself from that strain by the Marriage
of Opposites whenever they are brought into Contact. Thus thy
true Nature is a Will to Zero, or an Inertia, or Doing
Nothing; and the Way of Doing Nothing is to oppose no Obstacle
to the free Function of that true Nature. Consider the
Electrical Charge of a Cloud, whose Will is to discharge
itself in Earth, and so release the Strain of its Potential.
Do this by free conduction, there is Silence and Darkness;
oppose it, there is Heat and Light, and the Rending asunder of
that which will not permit free Passage to the Current.
-31-
{Alpha }{delta } DE VIA LIBERTATIS.
Do not think then that by Non-Action thou doest follow the
Way of the Tao, for thy Nature is Action, and by hindering the
Discharge of thy Potential thou doest perpetuate and aggravate
the Stress. If thou ease not Nature, she will being thee to
Dis-Ease. Free thereof every Function of thy Body and of
every other Part of thee according to its true Will. This
also is most necessary, that thou discover that true Will in
every Case, for thou art born into Dis-Ease; where are many
false and perverted Wills, monstrous Growths, Parasites,
Vermin are they, adherent to thee by Vice of Heredity, or of
Environment or of evil Training. And of all these Things the
subtlest and most terrible, Enemies without Pity, destructive
to thy will, and a Menance and Tyranny even to thy elf, are
the Ideals and Standards of the Slave-gods, false Religion,
false Ethics, even false Science.
-32-
{Alpha }{epsilon } DE LEGE MOTUS.
Consider, o my Son, that Word in the Call or Key of the
Thirty Aethyrs: Behold the Face of your God, the Beginning of
comfort, whose Eyes are the Brightness of the heavens, which
provided you for the Government of the Earth, and her
unspeakable Variety! And again: Let there be no Creature upon
her or within her the same. All here Members let them differ
in their Qualities, and let there be no Creature equal with
another. Here also is the Voice of true Science, crying
aloud: Variation is the Key of Evolution. Thereunto Art
cometh the third, perceiving Beauty in the Harmony of the
Diverse. Know then, o my Son, that all Laws, all Systems, all
Customs, all Ideals and Standards which tend to produce
Uniformity, being in direct Opposition to Nature's Will to
change and to develop through Variety, are accursed. Do thou
with all thy Might of Manhood strive against these Forces, for
they resist Change, which is Life: and thus they are of Death.
-33-
{Alpha }{digamma } DE LEGIBUS CONTRA MOTUM.
Say not, in thine Haste, that such Stagnations are Unity
even as the last Victory of thy Will is Unity. For thy Will
moveth through free Function, according to its particular
Nature, to that End of Dissolution of all Complexities, and
the Ideals and Standards are Attempts to halt thee on that
Way. Although for thee some certain Ideal be upon thy Path;
yet for thy Neighbour it may not be so. Set all Men a-
horseback: thou speedest the Foot-soldier on his Way, indeed:
but what hast thou done to the Bird-Man? Thou must have
simple Laws and Customs to express the general Will, and so
prevent the Tyranny of Violence of a few; but multiply them
not! Now then herewith I will declare unto thee the Limits of
the Civil Law upon the rock of the Law of Thelema.
-34-
{Alpha }{zeta } DE NECESSITATE COMMUNI.
Understand first that the Disturbers of the Peace of
Mankind do so by Reason of their Ignorance of their own true
Wills. Therefore as this Wisdom of mine increaseth among
Mankind, the false Will to Crime must become constantly more
rare. Also, the Exercise of our Freedom will cause Men to be
born with less and ever less Affliction from that Dis-Ease of
Spirit, which breedeth these false Wills. But, in the while
of waiting for this Perfection, thou must by Law assure to
every Man a Means of satisfying his bodily and his mental
Needs, leaving him free to develop any Super-Structure in
Accordance with his Will, and protecting him from any that may
seek to deprive him of these vertebral Rights. There shall be
therefore a Standard of Satisfaction, though it must vary in
Detail with Race, Climate, and other such Conditions. And
this Standard shall be based upon a large Interpretation of
Facts biological, physiological, and the like.
-35-
{Alpha }{eta } DE LIBERTATE CORPORIS.
There shall be no Property in Human Flesh. Every Man and
every Woman hath Right Indefeasable to give the Body for the
Enjoyment of any other. The Exercise of this Right shall not
be punished either by Law or by Custom; there shall be no
Penalty either by Loss or Curtailment of Liberty, of Rights,
of Wealth, or of Social Esteem; but this Freedom shall be
respected of all, seeing that it is the Right of the Bodily
Will. For this same Reason thou shalt cause full Restriction
and Punishment of any who may seek to limit that Freedom for
the sake of his own Profit, or Desire, or Ideal. Every Man
and every Woman has full right either to grant or to deny the
Body, as the Will speaketh within. This being made Custom,
the Evils of Love, which are many, extending to the
Disturbance not only of Body but of Mind, and that in obscure
Paths, shall little by little disappear from the Face of His
unspeakable Glory.
-36-
{Alpha }{theta } DE LIBERTATE MENTIS.
There shall be no Property in Human Thought. Let each
think as he will concerning the Universe; but let none seek to
impose that Thought upon another by any Threat of Penalty in
this World or any other World. Look now, though I enkindle
thee to Effort in thy Way, yet it is the Way of thy Will, and
I say not even that thou dost well to hasten therein, for the
whole Matter lieth in thy Will, and to force thyself against
thy Nature would be an Obstacle to thy Passage. But if I urge
thee to run well this Race as an Athlete, it is because I have
perceived in thy Nature that firce Lust and mighty
Concentration in that Will, and I write this Letter unto thee,
knowing well that thou wilt rejoice exceedingly therein, since
it is an Expression of thine own Will, and it may be a
Discovery thereof, which Thing thou vehemently seekest. I
charge thee therefore that thou permit none to tyrannize any
other in Thought, or to threaten, or in any other Wise to
blaspheme the great Liberty of our Father the Sun in the Great
Cosmos, or of His Vice-Regent in the Little.
-37-
{Alpha }{iota } DE LIBERATATE JUVENUM
O thou that art the Child of mine own Bowels, how shall I
write to thee concerning Children? For herein is the Gordian
Knot in our whole Rope of Wisdom, and it may not be severed by
Sword, no, not of a Greater than Alexander the Two-Horned.
And it is a Balance like that of the Egg, and the Violence of
a Columbus will but crack the tender Shell which we must first
of all preserve.
Now Sentinel to this Fortress standeth a certain Paradox of
general Application, and in this large Order I will declare
it, so that its particular Sense may enlighten thee hereafter.
And this is the Paradox, that there are Bonds which lead to
Slavery, and Bonds which lead to Freedom. All we are bound in
many Fetters by Environment, and it is for ourselves in great
Part to determine whether they shall enslave us or emancipate
us. And I will make clear this Thesis to thee by the Way of
Illustration.
-38-
{Alpha }{kappa } DE VI PER DISCIPLINAM COLENDA.
Consider the Bond of a cold Climate, how it maketh Man a
Slave; he must have Shelter and Food with fierce Toil. Yet
hereby he becometh strong against the Elements, and his moral
Force waxeth, so that he is Master of such Men as live in
Lands of Sun where bodily Needs are satisfied without
Struggle.
Consider also him that willeth to exceed in Speed or in
Battle, how he denieth himself the Food he craveth, and all
Pleasures natural to him, putting himself under the harsh
Order of a Trainer. So by this Bondage he hath, at the last,
his Will.
Now then the one by natural, and the other by voluntary,
Restriction have come each to greater Liberty. This is also a
general Law of Biology, for all Development is
Structuralization; that is, a Limitation and Specialization of
an originally indeterminate Protoplasm, which latter may
therefore be called free, in the Definition of a Pedant.
-39-
{Alpha }{lambda } DE ORDINE VERUM.
In the Body every Cell is subordinated to the general
physiological Control, and we who will that Control do not ask
whether each individual Unit of that Structure be consciously
happy. But we do care that each fulfil its Function, and the
Failure of even a few Cells, or their Revolt, may involve the
Death of the whole Organism. Yet even here the Complaint of a
few, which we call Pain, is a Warning of general Danger. Many
Cells fulfil their Destiny by swift Death, and this being
their Function, they in no wise resent it. Should Haemoglobin
resist the Attack of Oxygen, the Body would perish, and the
Haemoglobin would not even save itself. How, o my Son, do
thou then consider deeply of these Things in thine Ordering of
the World under the Law of Thelema. For every Individual in
the State must be perfect in his own Function, with
Contentment, respecting his own Task as necessary and holy,
not envious of another's. For so only mayst thou build up a
Free State, whose directing Will shall be singly directed to
the Welfare of all.
-40-
{Alpha }{mu } DE FUNDAMENTIS CIVITATIS.
Say not, o my Son, that in this Argument I have set Limits
to individual Freedom. For each Man in this State which I
purpose is fulfilling his own true Will by his eager
Acquiescence in the Order necessary to the Welfare of all, and
therefore of himself also. But see thou well to it that thou
set high the Standard of Satisfaction, and that to everyone
there be a surplus of Leisure and of Energy, so that, his Will
of Self-Preservation being fulfilled by the Performance of his
Function in the State, he may devote the remainder of his
Powers to the Satisfaction of the other Parts of his Will.
And because the People are oft times unlearned, not
understanding Pleasure, let them be instructed in the Art of
Life; to prepare Food palatable and wholesome, each to this
own Taste, to make Clothes according to Fancy, with Variety of
Individuality and to prractise the manifold Crafts of Love.
There Things being first secured, thou mayst afterward lead
them into the Heavens of Poesy and Tale, of Music, Painting,
and Sculpture, and into the Lore of the Mind itself, with its
insatiable Joy of all knowledge. Thence let them soar!
-41-
{Alpha }{nu } DE VOLUNTATE JUVENUM.
Long, o my Son, hath been this Digression from the plain
Path of my Word concerning Children; but it was most needful
that thou shouldst understand the Limits of true Liberty. For
that is not the Will of any Man which ultimateth in his own
Ruin and that of all his Fellows; and that is not Liberty
whose Exercise bringeth him to Bondage. Thou mayst therefore
assume that it is always an essential Part of the Will of any
Child to grow to Manhood or to Womanhood in Health, and his
Guardians may therefore prevent him from ignorantly acting in
Opposition thereunto, Care being always taken to remove the
Cause of the Error, namely, Ignorance, as aforesaid. Thou
mayst also assume that it is Part of the Child's Will to train
every Function of the Mind; and the Guardians may therefore
combat the inertia which hinders its Development. Yet here is
much Caution necessary, and it is better to work by exciting
and satisfying any natural Curiosity than by forcing
Application to set Tasks, however obvious this Necessity may
appear.
-42-
{Alpha }{chi } DE MODO DISPUTANDI.
Now in this Training of the Child there is one most dear
Consideration, that I shall impress upon thee as in Conformity
with our Holy ?Experience in the Way of Truth. And it is
this, that since that which can be thought is not true, every
Statement is in some Sense false. Even on the Sea of pure
Reason, we may say that every Statement is in some Sense
disputable, there fore in every Case, even the simplest, the
Child should be taught not only the Thesis, but also its
opposite, leaving the Decision to the Child's own Judgment and
good Sense, fortified by Experience. And this Practice will
develop its Power of Thought, and its Confidence in itself,
and its Interest in all Knowledge. But most of all beware
against any Attempt to bias its Mind on any point that lieth
without the Square of ascertained and undisputed Fact.
Remember also, even when thou art most sure, that so were they
sure who gave instruction to the young Copernicus. Pay
Reverence also to the Unknown unto whom thou presumeth to
impart the Knowledge; for he may be one greater than thou.
-43-
{Alpha }{omicron } DE VOLUNTATE JUVENIS COGNOSCENDA.
It is important that thou shouldst understand as early as
may be what is the true Will of the Child in the Matter of his
Career. Be thou well ware of all Ideals and Day-dreams; for
the Child is himself, and not thy Toy. Recall the comic
Tragedy of Napoleon and the King of Rome; build not an House
for a wild Goat, nor plant a Forest for the Domain of a Shark.
But be thou vigilant for every Sign, conscious or unconscious
of the Will of the Child, giving him then all Opportunity to
pursue the Path which he thus indicates. Learn this, that he,
being young, will weary quickly of all false Ways, however
pleasant they may be to him at the Outset; but of the true Way
he will not weary. This being in this Manner discovered, thou
mayst prepare it for him perfectly; for no Man can keep open
all Roads for ever. And to him making his Choice explain how
one may not travel far on any Road without a general Knowledge
of Things apparently irrelevant. And with that he will
understand, and bend him wisely to his Work.
-44-
{Alpha }{pi } DE AURO RUBEO.
I would have thee to consider, o my son, that Word of
Publius Vergilius Maro, that was the greatest of all the
Magicians of his time: in medio tutissimus ibis. Which Thing
has also been said by many wise Men in other Lands; and the
Holy Qabalah confirmeth the same, placing Tipheret, which is
the Man, and the Beauty and Harmony of Things, and Gold in the
Kingdom of the Metals, and the Sun among the Planets, in the
Midst of the Tree of Life. For the Centre is the Point of
Balance of all Vectors. So then if thy wilt live wisely,
learn that thou must establish this Relation of Balance with
every Thing soever, not omitting one. For there is nothing so
alien from thy Nature that it may not be brought into
harmonious Relation therewith; and thy Stature of Manhood
waxeth great even as thou comest to the Perfection of this
Art. And there is nothing so close Kin to thee it may not be
hurtful to thee if this Balance is not truly adjusted. Thou
hast need of the whole Force of the Universe to work with thy
Will; but this Force must be disposed about the Shaft of that
Will so that there is no Tendency to Hindrance or to
Deflection. And in my Love of thee I will adorn this Thesis
with Example following.
-45-
{Alpha }{koppa } DE SAPIENTIA IN RE SEXUALI.
consider Love. Here is a Force destructive and corrupting
where by many Men have been lost. Yet without Love Man were
not Man. Therefore thine Uncle Richard Wagner made of our
Doctrine a musical Fable, wherein we see Amfortas, who yielded
himself to Seduction, wounded beyond Healing; Klingsor, who
withdraw himself from a like Danger, cast out for ever from
the Mountain of Salvation'; and Parsifal, who yielded not,
able to exercise the true Power of Live, and thereby to
perform the Miracle of Redemption. Of this also have I myself
written in my Poema called Adonis. It is the same with Food
and Drink, with Exercise, with Learning itself, the Problem is
ever to bring the Appetite into right Relation with the Will.
Thus thou mayst fast or feast; there is no Rule than that of
Balance. And this Doctrine is of general Acceptation among
the better Sort of Men; therefore on thee will I rather
impress more carefully the other Part of my Wisdom, namely,
the Necessity of extending constantly thy Nature to new Mates
upon every Plane of Being, so that thou mayst become the
perfect Microcosm, an Image without Flaw of all that is.
-46-
{Alpha }{rho } DE GRADIBUS AEQUIS SCIENTIAE.
I say in sooth, my son, that this Extension of thy Nature
is not in Violation thereof; for it is the Nature of thy
Nature to grow continually. Now there is no Part of Knowledge
which is foreign to thee; yet Knowledge itself is of no avail
unless it be assimilated and co-ordinated into Understanding.
Grow therefore, easily and spontaneously, developing all Parts
equally, lest thou become a Monster. And if one Thing tempt
thee overmuch, correct it by Devotion to its Opposite until
Equilibrium be re-established. But seek not to grow by sudden
Determination toward Things that be far from thee; only, if
such a Thing come into thy Thought, construct a Bridge
thereunto, and take firmly the first Step upon the Bridge. I
shall explain this. Dost thou speculate upon the Motives of
the Stars, and on their Elements, their Size and Weight? Then
thou must first gain Knowledge of Doctrine mathematical, of
Laws physical and chemical. So then first, that thou mayst
understand clearly the Nature of thine whole Work, map out thy
Mind, and extend its Powers from the essential outwards, from
the near to the far, always with Firmness and great
Thoroughness, making every Link in thy Chain equal and
perfect.
-47-
{Alpha }{sigma } DE VIRTUTE AUDENDI.
Yet this I charge thee with my Might: Live Dangerously.
Was not this the Word of thine Uncle Friedrich Nietzsche? Thy
meansest Foe is the Inertia of the Mind. Men do hate most
those things which touch them closely, and they fear Light,
and persecute the Torchbearers. Do thou therefore analyse
most fully all those Ideas which Men avoid; for the Truth
shall dissolve Fear. Rightly indeed Men say that the Unknown
is terrible; but wrongly do they fear lest it become the
Known. Moreover, do thou all Acts of which the common Sort
beware, save where thou hast already full knowledge, that thou
mayest learn Use and Control, not falling into Abuse and
Slavery. For the Coward and the Foolhardy shall not live out
their Days. Every Thing has its right Use; and thou art great
as thou hast Use of Things. This is the Mystery of all Art
Magick, and thine Hold upon the Universe. Yet if thou must
err, being human, err by excess of courage rather than of
Caution, for it is the Foundation of the Honour of Man that he
dareth greatly. What sayth Quintus Horatius Flaccus in the
third Ode of his First Booki? Die thou standing!
-48-
{Alpha }{tau } DE ARTE MENTIS COLLENDI. (1)
MATHEMATICA.
Now concerning the first Foundation of thy Mind I will say
somewhat. Thou shalt study with Diligence in the mathematics,
because thereby shall be revealed unto thee the Laws of thine
own Reason and the Limitations thereof. This Science
manifesteth unto thee thy true Nature in respect of the
Machinery whereby it worketh; and showeth in pure Nakedness,
without Clothing of Personality or Desire, the Anatomy of thy
conscious Self. Furthermore, by this thou mayst understand
the Essence between the Relation of all Things, and the Nature
of Necessity, and come to the Knowledge of Form. For this
Mathematics is as it were the last Veil before the Image of
Truth, so that there is no Way better than our Holy Qabalah,
which analyseth all Things soever, and reduceth them to pure
Number; and thus their Natures being no longer coloured and
confused, they may be regulated and formulated in Simplicity
by the Operation of Pure Reason, to thy great Comfort in the
Work of our Transcendental Art, whereby the Many become One.
-49-
{Alpha }{upsilon } SEQUITUR. (2) CLASSICA.
My son, neglect not in any wise the Study of the Writings
of Antiquity, and that in the original Language. For by this
thou shalt discover the History of the Structure of thy Mind,
that is, its Nature regarded as the last term in a Sequence of
Causes and Effects. For thy Mind hath been built up of these
Elements, so that in these Books thou mayst bring into the
Light thine own subconscious Memories. And thy Memory is as
it were the Mortar in the House of thy Mind, without which is
no Cohesion or Individuality possible, so that the Lack
thereof is called Dementia. And these Books have lived long
and become famous because they are the Fruits of ancient Trees
whereof thou art directly the Heir, wherefrom (say I) they are
more truly german to thine own Nature than Books of Collateral
Offshoots, though such were in themselves better and wiser.
Yes, o my Son, in these Writings thou mayst study to come to
the true Comprehension of thine own Nature, and that of the
whole Universe, in the Dimension of Time, even as the
Mathematic declareth it in that of Space: That is, of
Extension. Moreover, by this Study shall the Child comprehend
the Foundation of Manners: the which, as sayeth one of the
Sons of Wisdom, maketh Man.
-50-
{Alpha }{phi } SEQUITUR. (3) SCIENTIFICA.
Since Time and Space are the Conditions of Mind, these two
Studies are fundamental. Yet there remaineth Causality, which
is the Root of the Actions and Reactions of Nature. This also
shalt thou seek ardently, that thou mayst comprehend the
Variety of the Universe, its Harmony and its Beauty, with the
Knowledge of that which compelleth it. Yet this is not equal
to the former two in Power to reveal thee to thy Self; and its
first Use is to instruct thee in the true Method of
Advancement in Knowledge, which is fundamentally, the
Observation of the Like and the Unlike. Also, it shall arouse
in thee the Ekstacy of Wonder; and it shall bring thee to a
proper Understanding of Art Magick. For our Magick is but one
of the powers that lie within us undeveloped and unanalysed;
and it is by the Method of Science that it must be made clear,
and available to the Use of Man. Is not this a Gift beyond
Price, the Fruit of a Tree not only of knowledge by to Life?
For there is that in Man which is God, and there is that also
which is Dust; and by our Magick we shall make these twain one
Flesh, to the Obtaining of the Empery of the Universe.
-51-
{Alpha }{chi } DE MODO QUO OPERET LEX MAGICA.
Give Ear attentively, o my Son, while I expound unto thee
the true Doctrine of Magick. Every force acteth, in due
Proportion, on all Things with which it is connected. Thus a
burning Forest causes chemical Change by Combustion, and
giveth Heat and Motion to the Air about it by the Operation of
physical Laws, and exciteth thought and Emotion in the Man
whom it reacheth through his Organs of Perception. Consider
(even though it were by Legent) the Fall of the apple of Isaac
Newton, its Effect upon the Spiritual Destinies of Man!
Consider also that no Force cometh ever to the end of its
work! The Air that is moved by my Breath is a Disturbance or
Change of Equilibrium that cannot be fully compensated and
brought to naught, though the Aeons be endless. Who then
shall deny the Possibility of Magick? Well said Frazer, the
most learned Doctor of the College of the Holy Trinity in the
University of Cambridge, that Science was but the Name of any
Magick which failed not of its intended Effect.
-52-
{Alpha }{psi } DE MACHINA MAGICA.
Lo! I put forth my Will, and my Pen moveth upon the Paper,
by Cause that my will mysteriously hath Power upon the Muscle
of my Arm, and these do Work at a mechanical Advantage against
the Inertia of the Pen. I cannot break down the Wall opposite
me by Cause that I cannot come into mechanical Relation with
it; or the Wall at my Side, by Cause that I am not strong
enough to overcome its Inertia. To win that Battle I must
call Time and Pick-axe to mine aid. But how could I retard
the Motion of the Earth in Space? I am myself Party of its
Momentum. Yet every Stroke of my Pen affecteth that Motion by
changing the Equilibrium thereof. The Problem of every Act of
Magick is then this: to exert a Will sufficiently powerful to
cause the required Effect, through a Menstruum or Medium of
Communication. By the common Understanding of the Word
Magick, we however exclude such Media as are generally known
and understood. Now then, o my Son, will I declare unto thee
first the Nature of the Power, and afterward that of the
Medium.
-53-
{Alpha }{omega } DE HARMONIA ANIMAE CUM CORPORE.
All Things are interwoven. The most spiritual Thought in
thy Soul (I speak as a Fool) is also a most material Change in
Blood or Brain. Anger maketh the Blood acid; Hate poisoneth
Mother's milk; even as I showed formerly in reverse, how
Disturbance of physical Function altereth the States of
Consciousness. Now no Man doubteth the Power of the Will of
Man, whether it be his love that begetteth Children or causes
wars wherein many Men be slain, whether it be his Eloquence
that moveth a Mob or his Vanity that destroyeth a People.
Only in all such Cases we understand how Nature worketh,
though known Laws physical or psychical. That is, there is a
State of unstable Equilibrium, so that one Machine setteth
another in Motion as soon as the first Disturbance ariseth.
Therefore, it is not proper to regard all Consequence of a
Will as its Effect. Without the Revolution there could have
been no great Effect of the Will of Napoleon; and moreover his
Will was broken in the End, to the present Misfortune (as it
seems to many beside myself) of Mankind. This Magick
therefore, dependeth greatly on the Art to set many other
Wills in sympathetic Motion; and the greatest Magus may not be
the most successful in a mean conception of a Limit of Time.
He may need to strike many Blows before he breaketh down his
Wall, if that be strong, while a Child may push over one that
is ready to crumble.
-54-
{Beta }{alpha } DE MYSTERIO PRUDENTIAE.
Behold now nature, how prodigal is She of her Forces! The
evident Will of every Acorn is to become an Oak; yet night all
fail of that Will. Therefore one Secret of Magick is Oeconomy
of thy Force; to do no Act unless secure of its Effect. And
if every Act has an Effect on every Plane, how canst thou do
this unless thou be connected with all Planes? For this
Reason must thou know thoroughly not only thy Body and thy
Mind, but thy Body of Light and all its subtler Principles
soever. But I will have thee consider most especially what
powers thou hast within thee which are certainly capable of
great Effects, yet which are constantly wasted. Think then
whether, if these Powers, frustrate of their End upon one
Plane, might not be turned to high Purpose and assured Success
upon another. For an hundred Acorns, rightly set in
Conditions fit for their true Growth, will become an hundred
Oaks, while otherwise they make but one Meal for one Hog, and
their subtle Nature is wholly lost to them. Learn then, o my
Son, this Mystery of Oeconomy, and apply it faithfully and
with Diligence in thy Work.
-55-
{Beta }{beta } DE ARTE ALCHEMICA.
Here then I must write concerning Talismans for thine
Instruction. Know first that there are certain Vehicles
proper for the Incarnation of the Will. I instance Paper,
whereon by thine Art thou writest a symbolic Representation of
thy Will, so that when thou next seest it, thou are reminded
of that Will, or it may be that another, seeing it, will obey
that Will. Here then is a case of Incarnation and Assumption,
which, before it was understood, was rightly considered
Gramarye or Magick. Again, thy Will to live causeth thee to
plant Corn, which in due Season being eaten is again
transmuted into Will. Thus thou mayst in many Ways impress
any particular Will upon the proper Substance, so that by due
Use thou comest at last to its Accomplishment. So general is
this Formula, in Truth, that all conscious Actions may be
included within its scope. There is also the Converse, as
when external Objects create Appetite, whose Satisfaction
again reacteth upon the physical Plane. Praise thou the
wonder of the Mystery of Nature, rising and falling with every
Breath, so that there is no Part which is not mystically
Partaker of the Whole.
-56-
{Beta }{gamma } DE ARCANO SUBTILISSIMO.
O my Son, there is that within thee of marvellous Puissance
which is by its own Nature the Incarnation of thy Will, most
ready to receive the Seal thereof. Therein lie hidden all
Powers, all Memories, more than thou hast teen thousand fold!
Learn then to draw from that great Treasure-House the Jewel of
which thou art in any present Need. For all things that are
possible to thy Nature are already hidden within thee; and
thou hast but to name them, and to bring them back into the
Light of thy Consciousness. Then squander not this Gold of
thine, but put it to most fruitful Usury. Now then of the Art
and Craft of this most Holy Mystery I write not, for a Reason
that thou already knowest. Moreover, in this Matter, thou
shalt best learn by thine own Experience, and thine
Observation in true Science shall guide thee. For this Secret
is still of Magick, and Occult, so that I know not certainly
if thy Will lieth with my Way or no.
-57-
{Beta }{delta } DE MENSTRUO ARTIS.
But concerning the Medium by whose sensitive Nature our
Magick Force is transmitted to the Object of our Working,
doubt not. For already in other Galaxies of Physics have we
been compelled to postulate an Aethyr wholly hypothetical in
order to explain the Phenomena of Light, Electricity, and the
like; nor doeth any Man demand Demonstration of the Existence
of that Aethyr other than its Conformity with general Law.
Thou therefore, Creator and Transmitter of thine own Energy,
needest not to ask whether by this or by some other Means thou
performest thy Work. Yet I know not why this Aethyr of the
Mathematicians and the Physicians should not be one with the
Astral Light, or Plastic Medium or Aub, Aud, Aur (these three
being a Trinity) of which our own Sages have spoken. And this
Meditation may bring forth much Knowledge physical, which is
good, for that which is above is like that which is beneath,
and the Study of any Law leadeth to the Understanding of all
Law. So mayst thou learn in the End that there is no Law
beyond Do what thou wilt.
-58-
{Beta }{epsilon } DE NECESSITATE VOLUNTATIS.
And how then (mayest thou) shall I reconcile this Art
Magick with that Way of the Tao which achieveth all Things by
doing nothing? But this have I already declared to thee in
Part, showing that thou canst do no Magick save it be thy
Nature to do Magick and so the true Nothing for thee. For to
do nothing signifieth to interfere with nothing so that for a
Magician to do no Magick is to commit Violence on himself.
Yet learn also that all Action is in some sense Magick, being
an essential Part of that Great Magical Work which we call
Nature. Then thou hast no free Will? Verily, thou hast said.
Yet nevertheless it is thy necessary Destiny to act with that
free Will. Thou canst do nothing save in accordance with that
true Nature of thine and of all Things, and every Phenomenon
is the Resultant of the Totality of Forces; Amen. Then thou
needest take no Thought and make no Effort? Thou sast sooth;
yet, art thou not compelled to Thought and Effort in the Way
of Nature? Yea, I, thy Father, work for thee solicitously,
and also I laugh at thy Perplexities; for so was it fore-
ordained that I should do, by Me, from the Beginning.
-59-
{Beta }{digamma } DE COMEDIA UNIVERSA, QUAE DICTUR MAN.
So, therefore, o my Son, count thyself happy when thou
understandest all these Things, being one of those Beings (or
By-comings) whom we call Philosophers. All is a never ending
Play of Love wherein our Lady Nuit and her Lord Hadit rejoice;
and every Part of the Play is Play. All pain is but sharp
Sauce to the Dish of Pleasure; for it is the Nature of the
Universe that hath devised this everlasting Banquet of Joy.
And he that knoweth not this is necessary as an Ingredient
even as thou art; wouldst thou change all and spoil the Dish?
Art thou the Master-Cook? Yea, for thy Palate is become fine
with thy great Dalliance with the Food of Experience;
therefore thou art one of them that rejoice. Also it is thy
Nature as it is mine, o my Son, to will that all Men share our
Mirth and Jollity; wherefore have I proclaimed my Law to Man,
and thou continuest in that Work of Joyance.
-60-
{Beta }{zeta } DE CAECITIA HOMINUM.
Learn also of my wisdom that this Vision of the Cosmos
whereof I have written unto thee is not given unto thy Sight
at all Times; for in that Vision is all Will fulfilled. Thou
seest the Universe as None, and as One, and as many, and the
Play thereof; and therewith art thou (who art no longer thou)
content. For in one Phase art thou also None, in another One,
and in the third an organised and necessary Part of that great
Structure, so that there is no more conflict at all in thy
whole By-coming. But now will I make Light for thine Eyes in
this Matter as thou gropest, asking: but of them that see not
this, what sayst thou, o my Father? But in that Vision thou
sayst not thus, my Son! Learn then of me the Secret Mystery
of Illusion, and how it Worketh, and other Holy Law that is
its Nature, and of thine Action therein; for this is an
Arcanum of the Wisdom of the Magi, and proper unto thee that
dwellest in the Land of Understanding.
-61-
{Beta }{eta } ALLEGORIA DE CAISSA.
Consider for an Example the Game and Play of the Chess,
which is a Pastime of Man, and worthy to exercise him in
Thought, yet by no means necessary to his Life, so that he
sweepeth away Board and Pieces at the least Summons of that
which is truly dear to him. Thus unto him this Game is as it
were an Illusion. But insofar as he entereth into the Game he
abideth by the Rules thereof, though they be artificial and in
no wise proper to his Nature; for in this Restriction is all
his Pleasure. Therefore, though he hath All-Oower to move the
Pieces at his own Will, he doth it not, enduring Loss,
Indignity, and Defeat rather than destroy that Artifice of
Illusion. Think then that thou hast thyself created this
Shadow-world the Universe, and that it pleasureth thee to
watch or to actuate its Play according to the Law that thou
hast made, which yet bindeth thee not save only by Virtue of
thine own Will to do thine own Pleasure therein.
-62-
{Beta }{theta } DE VERITATE FALSORUM.
Moreover this Matter touches the Nature of Truth. For
although to thee in thy True Self, absolute and without
Conditions, all this Universe, which is relative and
conditioned is an Illusion; yet to that Part of Thee by which
thou perceivest it, the Law of its Being (or By-coming) is a
Law of Truth. Learn then that all Relations are true upon
their own Plane, and that it would be a Violation of Nature to
adjust them skewwise. Thus, albeit thou hast found thy Self,
and knowest Thy Self immortal and immutable beyond Time and
Space, free of Causality, so thoroughly that even thy Mind
partaketh constantly thereof, thou hast in no wise altered the
Relations of thy Body with its Syndromics in the World whereof
it is a Part. Wouldst thou lengthen the Life of thy Body?
Then accommodate thou the Conditions of thy Body to its
Environment by giving it Light, Air, Food, and Exercise as its
Nature requireth. So also, mutatis mutandis, do thou cherish
the Health of thy Mind.
-63-
{Beta }{iota } DE RELATIONE ILLUSIONUM.
Of this will I speak further with thee, for here behold a
great Rock of Ignorance on the one Hand, and on the other a
Whirlpool of Error; in this Strait are many Wrecks of Magick
Ships. Knowest thou not that Riddle of old, whether it be
lawful to pay Tribute to Caesar or no? Give therefore to the
Body the Things of the Body, and to the Mind the Things of the
Mind. Yet because of the interior Harmony of all Things that
proceedeth from their Original One Nature, there is Action and
Reaction of the one upon the other, as I have already set
forth in this mine Epistle. But Law is universal, and between
these two Kinds of Illusion there is an ordered Proportion,
and it is proper to thy Science to delimit and describe this
Law of Interaction, for to deny it wholly (as to extend it to
Infinity) is Folly, born of Ignorance, Idleness, and
Incapacity to observe Fact.
-64-
{Beta }{kappa } DE PRUDENTIA.
Consider Drunkenness, how by Variation of bodily Conditions
thou mayst alter its Effect upon the Mind, and the Contrary,
remembering the Discipline of Theophrastus Paracelsus, how,
opposing Wine to bodily Exercise, he obtained a certain
Purification and Exaltation/ Yet, were he seven times
greater, he had not done this with Oil of Vitriol. Learn then
that there are certain definite Channels of Action and
Reaction between Body and Mind; sound these, and trim thy
Sails accordingly, not thinking that thou art in the open Sea.
And if so be that thou in thy sounding findest new Channels,
rejoice and map them for the Profit of thy Fellows; But
remember always that to find a new Way up a Precipice removeth
not the Precipice. For where thou, o Angel and yet Man, hast
trod delicately albeit without Fear, Fools will rush in to
their Destruction.
-65-
{Beta }{lambda } DE RATIONE MAGI VITAE.
Study Logic, which is the Code of the Laws of Thought.
Study the Method of Science, which is the Application of Logic
to the Facts of the Universe. Think not that thou canst ever
abrogate these Laws, for though they be Limitations, they are
the rules of thy Game which thou dost play. For in thy
Trances though thou becomest That which is not subject to
those Laws, they are still final in respect of these Things
which thou hast set them to govern. Nay, o my son, I like not
this Word, govern, for a Law is but a Statement of the nature
of the Thing to which it applieth. Nor nothing is compelled
save only by Nature of its own true Will. So therefore human
Law is a Statement of the Will and of the Nature of Man, or
else it is a Falsity contrary thereunto, nad becometh null and
of no Effect.
-66-
{Beta }{mu } DE CORDE CANDIDO.
Think also, o my Son, of this Image, that if two States be
at Peace, a Man goeth between them without Let; but if there
be War, all Gateways are forthwith closed, save only for a
few, and these are watched and guarded, so that the Obstacles
are many. This then is the Case of Magick; for if thou have
brought to Harmony all Principles within thee, thou mayst work
easily to transmute a Force into its semblable upon another
Plane, which is the essential Miracle of our Art; but if thou
be at War within thyself, how canst thou work? For our Master
Hermes Tresmegistus hat written at the Head of His Tablet of
Emerald this Word: That which is above is like that which is
below, and that which is below is like that which is above,
for the Performance of the Miracle of the One Substance. How
then, if these be not alike? If the Substance of Thee be Two,
and not One? And herein is the Need of the Confession of a
pure Heart, as is written in the Book of the Dead.
-67-
{Beta }{nu } DE CONFORMITATE MAGI.
See to it therefore, o my Son, that thou in thy Working
dost no Violence to the whole Will of the All, or to the Will
common to all those Beings (or By-comings) that are of one
general Nature with thee, or to thine own particular Will.
For first of all thou art necessarily moved toward the One End
from thine own Station, but secondly thou art moved toward the
End proper to thine own Race, and Caste, and Family, as by
Virtue of thy Birth. And these are, I may say it, Conditions
or limits, of thine own individual Will. Thou dost laugh?
Err not, my Son! The Magus, even as the Poet is the
Expression of the true Will of his Fellows, and his Success is
his Proof, as it is written in "The Book of the Law". For his
Work is to free Men from the Fetters of a false or a
superannuated Will, revealing unto them, in Measure attuned to
their Needs, their true Natures.
-68-
{Beta }{xi } DE POETIS.
For this Reason is the Poet called an Incarnation of the
Zeitgeist, that is, of the Spirit or Will of his Period. So
every Poet is also a Prophet, because when that which he
sayeth is recognized as the Expression of their own Thought by
Men, they translate this into Act, so that, in the Parlance of
the Folk vulgar and ignorant, "that which he foretold is come
to pass". Now then the Poet is Interpreter of the Hieroglyphs
of the Hidden Will of Man in many a matter, some light, some
deep, as it may be given unto him to do. Moreover, it is not
altogether in the Word of any Poem, but in the quintessential
Flavour of the Poet, that thou mayst seek this Prophecy. And
this is an Art most necessary toe every Statesman. Who but
Shelley foretold the Fall of Christianity, and the
Organisation of Labour, and the Freedom of Woman; who by
Nietzsche declared the Principle at the Root of the World-War?
See thou clearly then that in these Men were the Keys of the
Dark Gates of the Future; Should not the Kings and their
Ministers have taken heed thereto, fulfilling their Word
without Conflict.
-69-
{Beta }{omicron } DE MAGIS ORDINIS A{.'.} A{.'.}
quibus caro fit verbum.
Now, o my Son, the Incarnation of a Poet is particular and
not Universal; he sayeth indeed true Things but not the Things
of All-Truth. And that these may be said it is necessary that
One take human Flesh, and become a Magus in our Holy Order.
He then is called the Logos, or Logos Aiones, that is to say,
the Word of the Aeon or Age, because he is verily that Word.
And thus may be be known, because He hath it given unto Him to
prepare the Quintessence of the Will of God, that is, of Man,
in its Fullness and Wholeness, comprehending all Planes, so
that his Law is simple, and radical, penetrating all Space
from its single Light. For though His Words be many, yet is
His Word One, One and Alone; and by this Word he createth Man
anew, in an essential Form of Life, so that he is changed in
his inmost Knowledge of himself. And this Change worketh
outwards, little by little, unto its visible Effect.
-70-
{Beta }{pi } DE MAGIS TEMPORI ANTIQUI:
IMPRIMIS, DE LAO-TZE.
It may be unto thy Profit, o my Son, if I relate unto thee
the secret History of those who have gone before me in this
Grade of Magus, so far as their Memory hath remained among
Mankind. For what would it avail thee should I recount the
deeds of those whom I indeed may know, but thou not? Thou
knowest well how I keep me from all Taint of Fable, or any
Word unproven and undemonstrable. First then I speak of Lao-
Tze, whose word was the Tao. Hereof have I already written
much unto thee, because His Doctrine has been lost or
misinterpreted, and it is most needful to restore it. For
this Tao is the true Nature of Things, being itself a Way or
Going, that is, a kinetic and not a static Conception. Also
He taught this Way of Harmony in Will, which I myself have
thought to show thee in this little book. So then this Tao is
Truth, and the Way of Truth, and therefore was He Logos of His
Aeon, and His true Name or Word was Tao.
-71-
{Beta }{koppa } DE GAUTAMA.
Whom Men call Gotama, or Siddartha, or the Budha, was a
Magus of our Holy Order. And His Word was Anatta; for the
Root of His whole Doctrine was that there is no Atman, or
Soul, as Men ill translate it, meaning a Substance incapable
of Change. Thus, He, like Lao-Tze, based all upon a Movement,
instead of a fixed Point. And His Way of Truth was Analysis,
made possible by great Intention of the Mind toward itself,
and that well fortified by certain tempered Rigour of Life.
And He most thoroughly explored and Mapped out the Fastnesses
of the Mind, and gave the Keys of its Fortresses into the Hand
of Man. But of all this the Quintessence is in this one Word
Anatta, because this is not only the foundation and the Result
of his whole Doctrine, but the Way of its Work.
-72-
{Beta }{rho } DE SRI KRISHNA ET DE DIONYSO.
Krishna has Names and Forms innumerable, and I know not His
true Human Birth, for His Formula is of the Major Antiquity.
But His Word hath spread into many Lands, and we know it to-
day as INRI with the secret IAO concealed therein. And the
Meaning of this Word is the Working of Nature in Her Changes;
that is, it is the Formula of Magick whereby all Things
reproduce and recreate themselves. Yet this Extension and
Specialisation was rather the Word of Dionysus; for the true
Word of Krishna was AUM, importing rather a Statement of the
Truth of Nature than a practical Instruction in detailed
Operations of Magick. But Dionysus, by the Word INRI, laid
the Foundation of all Science, as We say Science to-day in a
particular Sense, that is, of causing external Nature to
change in Harmony with our Wills.
-73-
{Beta }{sigma } DE TAHUTI.
Tahuti, or Thot, confirmed the Word of Dionysus by
continuing it; for he showed how by the Mind it was possible
to direct the Operations of the Will. By Criticism and by
recorded Memory Man avoideth Error. But the true Word of
Tahuti was A M O U N, whereby He made Men to understand their
secret Nature, that is, their Unity with their true Selves,
or, as they then phrased it, with God. And He discovered unto
them the Way of this Attainment, and its Relation with the
Formula of INRI. Also by His Mystery of Number He made plain
the Path for His Successor to declare the Nature of the whole
Universe in its Form and in its Structure, as it were an
Analysis thereof, doing for Matter what the Buddha was decreed
to do for Mind.
-74-
{Beta }{tau } DE QUODAMM MAGO AEGYPTIORUM.
QUEM APPELUNT JUDAEI MOSHEH.
The Follower of Tahuti was an Egyptian whose Name is lost;
but the Jews called Him Mosheh, or Moses, and their Fabulists
made Him the Leader of their Legendary Exodus. Yet they
preserved His Word, and it is IHVH, which thou must understand
also as that Secret Word which thou hast seen and heard in
Thunders and Lightnings in thine Initiation to the Degree thou
wottest of. But this Word is itself a Plan of the Fabrick of
the Universe, and upon it hath been elaborated the Holy
Qabalah, whereby we have Knowledge of the Nature of all Things
soever upon every Plane of By-coming, and of their Forces and
Tendencies and Operations, with the Keys to their Portals.
Nor did He leave any Part of His Work unfinished, unless it be
that accomplished three hundred Years ago by Sir Edward Kelly,
of whom I also come, as thou knowest.
-75-
{Beta }{upsilon } DE MAGO ARABICO MOHAMMED.
Behold! In these Chapters have I, thy Father, restricted
myself, not speaking of any immediate Echo of a Word in the
World, because, there Men being long since withdrawn into
their Silence, it is their One Word, and that Alone, that
resoundeth undiminished through Time. How Mohammed, who
followeth, is darkened and confused by His Nearness to our own
Time, so that I say not save with Diffidence that His Word
ALLH may mean this or that. But I am bold concerning His
Doctrine of the Unity of God, for God is Man, and he said
therefore: Man is One. And His Will was to unite all Men in
One reasonable Faith: to make possible international Co-
operation in Science. Yet, because He arose in the Time of
the greatest possible Corruption and Darkness, when every
Civilisation and Every Religion had fallen into Ruin, by the
malice of the great Sorcerer of Nazareth, as some say, He is
still hidden in the Dust of the Simoom, and we may not
perceive Him in His true Self of Glory.
Nevertheless, behold, o My Son, this Mystery. His true
Word was La ALLH, that is to say: (there is) No God, and LA AL
is that Mystery of Mysteries which thine own Eye pierced in
thine Initiation. And of that Truth have the Illusion and
Falsehood enslaved the Souls of Men, as is written in the Book
of the Magus.
-76-
{Beta }{phi } DE SE IPSO {Tau }{Omega }{Iota }
{Mu }{Epsilon }{Gamma }{Alpha }{Lambda }{Omega }{Iota }
{Theta }{Eta }{Rho }{Iota }{Omega }{Iota }, {Tau }{Omega }{Iota }
{Lambda }{Omicron }{Gamma }{Omega }{Iota }
{Alpha }{Iota }{Omega }{Nu }{Omicron }{Sigma } CUJUS VERBUM EST
{Theta }{Epsilon }{Lambda }{Eta }{Mu }{Alpha }.
O my son! me seemeth in certain Hours that I am myself
fallen on a Time even more fearful and fatal than did
Mahommed, peace be upon Him! But I read clearly the Word of
the Aeon, that is A B R A H A D A B R A, wherein is the whole
Mystery of the great Work, as thou knowest. And I have "The""
""Book of the Law", that was given unto me by Him thou wottest
of; and it is the Interpretation of the Secret Will of Man on
every Plane of his By-coming; and the Word of the Law is T H E
L E M A. 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."
Now because "Love is the law, love under will." do I write
this Epistle for thee, that thou mayst fulfil this inmost Will
of Mankind, making them capable of Light, Live, Love and
Liberty by the Acceptance of this Law. And the Hindrance
thereunto is but as the Shell of its Egg to an Eaglet, ad
Thing foreign to itself, a Protection till the Hour strike,
and then --- no more!
-77-
{Beta }{chi } MANDATUM AD FILIUM SUUM.
Here I reach forth mine Hands against thee in the Sign of
the Enterer, o son of my Bowels, for with all my Magical Might
I will that thou fight manfully and labour with Diligence
(with Sword and Trowel; say I) in this Work. For this is the
first and last of all, that thou bid every Man do What he
will, in accord with his own true Nature. Therefore also
blast thou that Lie that Man is of a fallen and evil Nature.
For the Word of Sin is Restriction, the Doubt of his own
Godhead, the Suppression of, which is the Blasphemy against,
his own Holy Spirit. Saith not "The Book of the Law" that
"...It is a lie, this folly against self. ..."? Therefore to
every Man, in every Circumstance, say thou: Do what thou wilt;
and teach him, if he yet waver, how to discover his true
Nature, earnestly and with Ardour, even as I have striven to
teach thee --- yea, and more also!
-78-
{Beta }{psi } QUARE FILIUM CREAVIT: UT
FIAT LIBERTAS.
Do what thou wilt! be this our Slogan of Battle in every
Act; for every Act is Conflict. There Victory leapeth shining
before us; for who may thwart true Will, which is the Order of
Nature Herself? "...thou hast no right but to do thy will.
Do that, and no other shall say nay." For if that Will be
true, its Fulfilment is of a Surety as Daylight following
Sunrise. It is as certain as the Operation of any other Law
of Nature; it is Destiny. Then, if that Will be obscured, if
thou turn from it to Wills diseased or perverse, how canst
thou hope? Fool! Even thy Turns and Twists are in the Path
to thine appointed End. But thou art not sprung of a Slave's
Loins; thou standest firm and straight; thou dost thy Will;
and thou are Chosen, nay, for this Work wast thou begotten in
a Magick Bed, that thou shouldst make Man free.
-79-
{Beta }{omega } DE SUA DEBILITATE.
Listen attentively, my Son, while I with heavy Heart make
Confession to thee of mine own Frailty. Thou knowest that I
made Renunciation of my Wage, taking this Body immediately
after my Death, the Death of Eliphas Levi Zahed, as Men say,
that I might attain to this great Work. It is now twenty
Years, as Men count years, that I came to my first
Understanding of my true Nature, and aspired to that Work.
Now then at first I made no Error. I abandoned my chosen
Career; I poured out my whole Fortune without one Thought; I
gave my Life utterly to the Work, without keeping back the
least imaginable Thing. So then I made swift Strides along
the Path. But in the Dhyanas that were granted unto me in
kKandy, in the Island of Lanka, I used up my whole Charge of
Magical Energy; and for two Years I fell away from the Work.
-80-
{Gamma }{alpha } DE MANU QUAE MAGUM SUSTINET.
Now it may be well that such Periods of Recuperation are
necessary to such souls as mine; and so no Ill. But I fell
from my Will, and sought other Ends in Life; and so the Hand
came upon me, and tore away that which I desired, as thou
knowest; also it is written in the Temple of Solomon the King.
Yet consider also these two Years as a necessary Preparation
for that greatest of all Events which befell me in El-Kahira,
in the Land of Khem, the Choice of me as the Word of the Aeon.
Now then for a while I worked with my Will, though not wholly;
and again the Hand reached forth and smote me. This, albeit
my Slackness was but as a Boy playing Truant, not a revolt
against my Self. Wherefore, despite all, I made much Progress
in short Time.
-81-
{Gamma }{beta } DE SUO PECCATO.
Now then, well schooled, I strove no more against my
Nature, and worked with all my Will. Thou knowest well how
greatly I was rewarded. Yet in this last Initiation to the
Grade of Magus, wherein three-and-seventy Days, as Men count
Days, is but One Day, the Ordeal grew so fierce and
intolerable that I gave back a Step. I did not utterly
renounce the Work, but I swore not to continue unless mine
Agony were abated. But after fifteen Days, I came to myself
in a certain Ordeal, wherein I knew myself finally, that I
could do no other than take up that fearful Burden that had
broken my Spirit. And for these fifteen Days have I not
suffered infinite Things? Was not the Tree of my Work frozen,
one Branch withered, and on blasted? Look no more, o my son,
upon thy Father's Shame!
-82-
{Gamma }{gamma } DE SUA VICTORIA PER NOMEN B A B A L O N.
And after? This Dawn (for I have toiled through the Night
in my great Love and Care of thee) how is it with me? it is
well. For I have found myself; I have found my Will; the
Obstacles that daunted me are seen to be by the Shadows of
Shadows. Grace be unto Lady B A B A L O N.
Thus it is written in "The Book of the Law": "Remember all
ye that existence is pure joy; that all the sorrows are but as
shadows; they pass & are done; but there is that which
remains."
Learn then that it is in the contemplation of Division that
Sorrow is, for Division is the Formula of Choronzon. It is
therefore discreet for thee to unite each element of Sorrow
with its Opposite; in whose Triumph of Hymen is Ekstacy, until
by Apprehension of the new great Opposite the Idea is again
seen as Sorrow. This then is the Issue from Sorrow; and thou
mayst understand that I now also am confident in the Necessity
of this my Fall to prepare the formula of my Exaltation.
Therefore, my Son, thus Hail Me: Blessing and worship to the
Beast, the Prophet of the Lovely Star.
-83-
{Gamma }{delta } DE ARCANO NEFANDO.
O my Son, learn this concerning Magick, that the Yang
moveth, and thus giveth itself up Eternally; but the Yin
moveth not, seeking ever to enclose or restrict, reproducing
in its own likeness what Impressions soever it made thereon,
yet without Surrender. Now the Tao absorbeth all without
Reproduction; so then let the Yang turn thereto, and not unto
the Yin. And that thou mayst understand this, I say: It is a
Mystery of O.T.O. For the Sun ariseth not and entereth to
strike upon the High Altar of the Minster by the Great Western
Gates, but by the Rose Oriel doth he make Way and Progress in
His Pageant. O my Son, the Doors of Silver are wide open, and
they tempt thee with their Beauty: but by the narrow Portal of
Pure Gold shalt thou come nobly to thy Sanctuary. Behold!
Thou knowest not how perfect is this Magick; it is the
dearest-bought and holiest of our Arcana. What then is like
unto my Love toward Thee, that bestoweth upon thee this
Treasure of my Wisdom? My Son, neglect it not; for it is the
Exorcism of Exorcisms, and the Enchantment of Enchantments.
-84-
{Gamma }{epsilon } DE ARCANO, PER QUOD SPIRITUS
QUIDAM IN CORPORE RECIPIATUR.
Here now is another Formula of Power, good to invoke any
Being to manifest in thyself. First, invoke him by the Power
of all thy Spells and conjurations, with Mind concentrated and
Will vehement, toward him, as I have written in many Books.
But because thou are NEMO, thou mayst safely invoke him, no
matter of what Nature, within thy Circle. Now then do thou
confer on him as a Guerdon of his Obedience the Dignity of a
Soul seeking Incarnation, and so precede to consecrate thine
Act by performing the Mass of the Holy Ghost. Then shall that
Spirit make himself Body from those Elements, and thou
partaking thereof makest thine own Body his Machinery of
Manifestation, and thus mayst thou work with any Spirit
soever; yet this shall serve thee most in common Life. Also
the Qualities are well defined in the Cards of the Tarot, so
that thou hast a clear-cut Means of developing thy Powers
according to the Needs of the Time. But learn also this, to
work constantly under the Guidance of thine Holy Guardian
Angel, so that thy Workings be alway in Harmony and Accord
with thy true Will.
-85-
DE CLAVE KABBALISTICA HUJUS ARTIS.
Now then to thee who art long since Master of High Magick,
it will be easy to shew how the Mass of the Holy Ghost, sung
even in Ignorance, may work many a Wonder by Virtue of the
Force generated being compelled to manifest on other than its
own Plane. Here then is a Theory of the Mystery of the Aeon,
that I, being the Logos appointed thereunto, did create an
Image of my little Universe in the Mind of the Woman of
Scarlet; that is, I manifested my whole Magical Self in her
Mind. Thus then in Her, as in a Mirror, have I been able to
interpret myself to myself. Thou also in thine own Way hast
the Power to create such an Image; but be thou sure and alert,
testing constantly the Persons in that Image by the Holy
Qabalah and by the true Signs of Brotherhood. For each Person
therein shall be a Part of thyself, made individual and
perfect, able to instruct thee in thy Path. Yet often there
shall be others, that are to aid thee in thy Working, or to
oppose it. And in this Matter thou shalt read especially the
Record of thy Father His Workings with Soror Ahita (blessed be
Her Name unto the Ages) and certain others to Boot.
-86-
{Gamma }{zeta } DE MISSA SPIRITUS SANCTI.
Now at last, o my son, may I being thee to understand the
Truth of this Formula that is hidden in the Mass of the Holy
Ghost. For Horus that is Lord of the Aeon is the Child
crowned and conquering. The formula of Osiris was, as thou
knowest, a Word of Death, that is, the Force lay long in
Darkness, and by Putrifaction came to Resurrection. But we
take living Things, and pour in Life and Nature of our own
Will, so that instantly and without Corruption the Child (as
it were the Word of that Will) is generated; and again
immediately taketh up his Habitation among us to manifest in
Force and Fire. This Mass of the Holy Ghost is then the true
Formula of the Magick of the Aeon of Horus, blessed by He in
His Name Ra-Hoor-Khuit! And thou shalt bless also the Name of
our Father Merlin, Frater Superior of the O.T.O., for that by
seven Years of Apprenticeship in His School did I discover
this most excellent Way of Magick. Be thou diligent, o my
son, for in this wondrous Art is no more Toil, Sorrow, and
Disappointment, as it was in the dead Aeon of the Slain Gods.
-87-
{Gamma }{eta } DE FORMULA TOTA.
Here then is the Schedule for all the Operations of Magick.
First, thou shalt discover thy true Will, as I have already
taught thee, and that Bud thereof which is the Purpose of this
Operation.
Next, formulate this Bud-Will as a Person, seeking or
constructing it, and naming it according to thine Holy
Qabalah, and its infallible Rule of Truth. Third, purify and
consecrate this Person, concentrating upon him and against all
else. This Preparation shall continue in all thy daily Life.
Mark well, make ready a new Child immediately after every
Birth. Fourth, make an especial and direct Invocation at thy
Mass, before the Introit, formulating a visible Image of this
Child, and offering the Right of Incarnation. Fifth, perform
the Mass, not omitting the Epiklesis, and let there be a
Golden Wedding Ring at the Marriage of thy Lion with thine
Eagle. Sixth, at the Consumption of the Eucharist accept this
Child, losing thy Consciousness in him, until he be well
assimilated with thee. Now then do this continuously, for by
Repetition cometh forth both Strength and Skill, and the
Effect is cumulative, if thou allow no Time to dissipate
itself.
-88-
{Gamma }{theta } DE HAC FORMULA CONSIDERATIONES KABBALISTICAE.
Behold moreover, my Son, the Oeconomy of this Way, how it
is according to the Tao, fulfilling itself wholly within thine
own Sphere. And it is utterly in Tune with thine own Will on
every Plane, so that every Part of thy Nature rejoiceth with
every other Part, communicating Praise. Now then learn also
how this Formula is that of the Word ABRAHADABRA. First, HAD
is the Triangle erect upon twin Squares. Of Hadit need I not
to write, for He hath hidden Himself in "The Book of the Law".
This Substance is the Father, the Instrument is the Son, and
the Metaphysical Ekstacy is the Holy Ghost, whose Name is
HRILIU. These are then the Sun, Mercury, and Venus, whose
sacred letters are R ({HB:Resh }), B ({HB:Bet }), and D ({HB:Dalet }). But the
last of the Diverse Letters is H ({HB:Heh }), which in the Tarot
is the Star whose Eidolon is D ({HB:Dalet }); and herein is that
Arcanum concerning the Tao of which I have already written.
Of this will I not write more plainly. But mark this, that
our Trinity is our Path inwards in the Solar System, and that
H being of our Lady Nuith starry, is an Anchor to this Magick
which else were apt to deny our wholeness of Relation to the
Outer as to the Inner. My son, ponder these Words, and profit
by them; for I have wrought cunningly to conceal or to reveal,
according to thine Intelligence, o my Son!
-89-
{Gamma }{iota } DE QUIBUSDAM ARTIBUS MAGICIS.
Now of those Operations of Magick by which thou seekest to
display unto some other Person the Righteousness of thy Will I
make haste to instruct thee. First, if thou have a reasonable
Link with him by Word or Letter, it is most natural simply to
create in thyself, as I have taught, a Child or Bud-Will, and
let that radiate from thee through the Channels aforesaid.
But if thou have no Link, the Case is otherwise and is not
easy. Here thou mayst make Communication through others, as
it were by Relays; or thou mayst act directly upon his Aura by
Magical Means, such as the Projection of the Scin-Laeca. But
unless he be sensitive and well-attuned, thou mayst fare but
ill. Yet even in this Case thou mayst attain much Skill by
Practice with Intelligence. In the End it is better
altogether to work wholly within thine own Universe, slowly
and with firm Steps advancing from the Centre, and dealing,
one by one, with those unharmonized Parts of the Not-Self
which lie close to thee. This therefore closeth the Circle of
my Speech, for now I am returned to that which I spake
aforetime concerning the general Method of love, and thy
Development by that Way.
-90-
{Gamma }{kappa } DE MAGNO OPERE.
But now give Ear most eagerly, thou Son of my Loins, for I
will now discourse unto thee of thine Own Attainment, without
which all is but Idleness. Know first that conscious Thought
is but phenomenal, the Noise of thy Machine. Now Chemistry,
or Al-Chem-y meaneth the Egyptian Science, and the true Magick
of Egypt hath this for its Foundation. We have in our House
many Substances which act directly upon the Blood, and many
Practices of Virtue similar, to simulate, compose, purify,
analyse, direct, or concentrate the Thought. Confer "CCXX". 11,
22. But this Action is subtle and of man Modes, and dependeth
heavily on the Conditions of the Experiment, whereof the first
is thine own Will therein. Therefore I say unto thee that
this is thy Work immediate and necessary, to discover openly
thy Will unto thyself, and to fortify and enkindle it by all
One-Pointedness of Thought and Action, so that thou mayst
direct it inwards unto its Core, that is Thyself in thy Name
HADIT. For thereby is thy Will made white with Heat, so that
no Dross may cling to it. But this Work is the Great Work,
and standeth alone.
-91-
{Gamma }{lambda } DE GRADIBUS AD MAGNUM OPUS.
This Great Work is the Attainment of the Knowledge and
Conversation of thine Holy Guardian Angel. In the Eight
Aethyr is the Way thereof revealed. But I say: prepare
thyself most heartily and well for that Battle of Love by all
means of Magick. Make thyself puissant, wise, radiant in
every System, and balance thyself well in thine Universe.
Then with a pure Will tempered in the thousand Furnaces of thy
Trials, burn up thyself within thy Self. In the Preparation
thou shalt have learnt how thou mayst still all Thoughts, and
reach Ekstacy of Trance in many Modes. But in these Marriages
thy conscious Self is Bridegroom, and the not-Self Bride,
while in this Great Work thou givest up that conscious Self as
Bride to thy true Self. This Operation is then radically
alien from all others. And it is hard, because it is a total
Reversal of the Current of the Will, and a Transmutation of
its Formula and Nature. Here, o my son, is the One Secret of
Success in this Great Work: Invoke often.
-92-
{Gamma }{mu } DE FORMULA LUNAE.
Thus then concerning Operations of the Tao with the Yang
and the Yin is there enough; for thine own Art of Beauty shall
divine for thee, and devise new Heavens. But in all these is
the Formula of the Serpent with the Head of the Lion, and all
this Magick is wrought by the Radiance and Creative Force
thereof. And this Force leapeth continually from Plane to
Plane, and breaketh forth from his Bonds, so that Constraint
is Labour. Now then learn that the Yin hath also a Formula of
Force. And the Nature of the Yin is to be still, and to
encircle of limit, and it is as a Mirror, reflecting diverse
Images without Change in its own Kind. So then it seeketh
never to overlap the Barriers of its Plane; for this Reason it
is well to use it in Operations of a very definite and
restricted Type. But although it be inert, yet is it most
subject to Change; for its Number is four Score and one, which
is the Moon; and these are A L O ,, the Gods elemental before
H descending in their midst made them Creative. So then thou
mayst use constantly this Formula to rearrange Things in their
own Planes; and this is a most pragmatic Consideration.
-93-
{Gamma }{nu } DE AQUILAE SUMKNDA.
Take in this Work the Eagle all undefiled and virginal for
thy Sacrament. And thy Technick is the Magick of Water, so
that thine Act is of Nourishment, and not of Generation.
Therefore the Prime Use of this Art is to build up thine own
Nature. But if thou hast Skill to control the Mood of the
Eagle, then mayst thou work many an admirable Effect upon
thine Environment. Thou knowest how great is the Fame of
Witch-Women (old and without Man) to cause Events, although
they create nothing. It is this Straitness of the Channel
which giveth Force to the Stream. Beware, o my Son, lest thou
cling overmuch to this Mode of Magick; for it is lesser than
that Other, and if thou neglect That Other, then is thy Danger
fearful and imminent, for it is the Edge of the Abyss of
Choronzon, where are the lonely Towers of the Black Brothers.
Also the Formulation of the Object in the Eagle is by a
Species of Intoxication, so that His Nature is of Dream or
Delirium, and thus there may be Illusion. For this Cause I
deem it not wholly unwise if thou use this Way of Magick
chiefly as a Cordial; that is for the Fortifying of thine own
Nature.
-94-
{Gamma }{chi } DE MEDICINIS SECUNDUM QUATTUOR ELEMENTA.
Concerning the Use of chemical Agents, and be mindful that
thou abuse them not, learn that the Sacrament itself relateth
to Spirit, and the Four Elements balanced thereunder in its
Perfection. So also thy Lion himself hath a fourfold
Menstruum for his Serpents. Now to Fire belong Cocaine, which
fortifieth the Will, loosing him from bodily Fatigue,
Morphine, which purifieth the Mind, making the Thought safe,
and slow, and single, Heroin which partaketh as it seemeth, of
the Nature of these twain aforesaid albeit in Degree less
notable than either of them, and Alcohol, which is Food, that
is, Fuel, for the whole Man. To Water, attribute Hashish and
Mescal, for they make Images, and they open the hidden Springs
of Pleasure and of Beauty. Morphine, for its Ease, hath also
part in Water. Air ruleth Ethyl Oxide, for it is as a Sword,
dividing asunder ever Part of thee, making easy the Way of
Analysis, so that thou comest to learn thyself of what
Elements thou art compact. Lastly, of the Nature of Earth are
the direct Hypnotics, which operate by Repose, and restore thy
Strength by laying thee as a Child in the Arms of the Great
Mother, I say rather of Her material and physiological
Vicegerent.
-95-
{Gamma }{omicron } DE VIRTUTE EXPERIMENTIAE IN HOC ARTE.
Not Sleep, not Rest, not Contentment are of the Will of the
Hero, but these Things he hateth, and consenteth to enjoy them
only with Same of his weak Nature. But he will analyse
himself without Pity, and he will do all Things soever that
may free and fortify his Mind and Will. Know that the
Technick of the Right Use of this Magick with Poisons is
subtle; and since the Nature of every Man differeth from that
of his Fellow, there entereth Idiosyncrasy, and thine
Experience shall be thy Master in this Art. Heed also this
Word following: The Right Use of these Agents is to gain a
Knowledge preliminary of thine own Powers, and of High States,
so that thou goest not altogether blindly and without Aim in
thy Quest, ignorant of the Ways of thine own inner Being.
Also, thou must work always for a definite End, never for
Pleasure or for Relaxation, except thy wilt, as a good Knight
is sworn to do. And thou being Hero and Magician art in Peril
of abusing the fiery Agents only, not those of Earth, Air or
Water; because these do really work with thee in Purity,
making thee wholly what thou wouldst be, an Engine
indefatigable, a Mind clear, calm, and concentrated, and a
Heart fierce aglow.
-96-
{Gamma }{pi } DE SACRAMENTO VERO.
But in the Sacrament of the Gnosis, which is of the Spirit,
is there naught hurtful, for its Elements are not only Food,
but a true Incarnation and Quintessence of Life, Love, and
Liberty, and at its Manifestation thy Lion is consecrated by
pure Light of Ekstacy. Also, as this is the strongest so also
it is the most sensitive of all Things soever, and both proper
and ready to take Impress of Will, not as a Seal passively but
with true Recreation in a Microcosm thereof. And this is a
God alive and puissant to create, and He is a Word of Magick
wherein thou mayst read Thyself with all thine History and all
thy Possibility. Also as to thine Eagle, is not this chosen
by Nature Herself by Her Way of Attraction, without which
harmony Aesthetic and Magnetic thy Lion is silent, and inert,
even as Achilles before his Rage in his Tent. Now also
therefore I charge thee, o my Son, to partake constantly of
this Sacrament for it is proper to all Virtue, and as thou
dost learn to us it in Perfection, thou wilt surpass all other
Modes of Magick. Yea, in good Sooth, no Herb or Potion is
like unto this, supreme in every Case, for it is the True
Stone of Philosophers, and the Elixir and Medicine of all
Things, the Universal Tincture or Menstruum of thine own Will.
-97-
{Gamma }{koppa } DE DISCIPULIS REGENDIS.
I will have thee to know, moreover, my dear Son, the right
Art of Conduct with them whom I shall give thee for
Initiation. And the Rule thereof is one Rule; Do that thou
wilt shall be the whole of the Law. See thou constantly to it
that this be not broken; especially in the Section thereof (if
I dare say so) which readeth Mind thine own Business. This is
of Application equally to all, and the most dangerous Man (or
Woman, as has occurred, or I err) is the Busy-body. Oh how
ashamed are we, and moved to Indignation, seeing the Sins and
Follies of our Neighbours! Of all the Occasions of this
Grievance the most common is the Desire of Sex unsatisfied;
and thou knowest already, even in thy young Experience, how in
that Delirium the Weal of the Whole Universe appeareth of no
Account. Do thou wean thy Babes from that Simplicity, and
instil the Sense of true Proportion. For verily this is a Way
of Madness, Love, unless it be under Will. And the Cure of
this Madness is not so good as its Prevention, so that thou
shouldst be beforehand with these Children, shewing them the
right Importance of Love, how it should be a sacred Rite,
exalted above Personality, and a Fire to enlighten and serve
Man, not to devour him.
-98-
{Gamma }{rho } DE QUIBUSDAM MORBIS DISCIPULORUM.
And thus, if any Babe of thine be ill at ease, look closely
first whether this Love be not the Root of his Distemper.
Watch also Idleness, for whoso presseth eagerly forward in
Will heedeth little the Affairs of this Fellows. O my Son, if
every Man doth his own Will, there is no more to Say! But the
Busy-body nor mindeth his own Business, nor leaveth others to
mind theirs. Be thou instant therefore with such an one, to
cure him by enlightening his Will, and speeding him therein.
Remember also that if one speak ill of another, the Fault is
first of all in himself, for we know naught but that which is
within us. Did not the great Witch-Finder end by confessing
that he also was a Sorcerer? We become that which obsesseth
us, either through extreme Hate or Extreme Love. Knowest thou
not how the one is a Symbol of the other? For this Reason,
since Love is the Formula of Life, we are under Bond to
assimilate (in the End) that which we fear or hate. So then
we shall be wise to mould all Things within ourselves in
Quietness and Modulation. But above all must we use all to
our own End, adapting with Adroitness even our Weakness to the
Work.
-99-
{Gamma }{sigma } DE CULPIS DOMI PETENDIS.
Therefore, watch heedfully the Fault of another, that thou
mayst correct it in thyself. For if it were not in thee, thou
couldst not perceive it or understand it. Lo, in thine
Ekstacy of Love, thou callest upon the Universe to bear
Witness that to this End alone was it created; it is
unthinkable that thou shouldst love another, and
incomprehensible that any Man should grieve. Yet ere the Moon
change her Quarter, thou art free of thy Lunes, and lovest
another, and it may be grievest in thyself while he that
amazed thee hath joined the Company of the Rejoicing. Watch
then, and heed thyself; and pay no Heed to thy Fellows,
insofar as they impede thee not. And let this be the Rule.
For every Will is pure and every Orbit free; but Error
bringeth Confusion. See therefore that none leave his Path,
lest he foul that of his Brother; and remember also that with
Speed cometh Ease of Control. Let each Man therefore urge
briskly his Chariot in a right Line toward the Centre; for two
Radii cannot cross. And beware most of this Love, because it
lieth so close to Will that Dis-ease thereof easily imparteth
his Error to the Whole Way of the Magician.
-100-
{Gamma }{tau } DE CORPORE UMBRA HOMINIS.
Concerning the Aeon, o my Son, learn that the Sun and His
Vicegerent are in all Aeons, of Necessity, Father, Centre,
Creator, each in His Sphere of Operation. But the Formula of
the past Aeon was of the Dying god, and was based upon
Ignorance. For Men thought that the Sun died and was reborn
alike in the Day and in the Year; and so also was the Mystery
of Man. Now already are we well assured by Science how the
Death of the Sun is in Truth but the Shifting of a Shadow; and
in this Aeon (o my son, I lift up my Voice and I make
Prophecy!) so shall it be proven as to Death. For the Body of
Man is but his Shadow, it cometh and goeth even as the tides
of Ocean; and he only is in Darkness who is hidden by that
Shadow from the Light of his true Self. Now therefore
understand thou the Formula of Horus, the Lion God, the Child
crowned and conquering that cometh forth in Force and Fire!
For thy Changes are not Phases of thee, but of the Phantoms
which thou mistakest for thy Self.
-101-
{Gamma }{upsilon } DE SIRENIS.
concerning the Love of women, o my Son, it is written in
" ""The Book of the Law" that all is Freedon, if it be cone unto
our Lady Nuit. Yet also there is this Consideration,that for
every Parsifal there is a Kundry. Thou mayst eat a thousand
Fruits of the Garden; but there is one Tree whose name for
thee is Poison. In every great Initiation is an Ordeal,
wherein appeareth a Siren or Vampire appointed to destroy the
Candidate. I have myself witnessed the Blasting of not less
that ten of my own Flowers, that I tended when I was Nemo, and
that although I saw the Cankerworm, and knew it, and gave
urgent Warning. How then consider deeply in thyself if I were
rightly governed in this Action, according to the Tao. For we
that are Magicians work without Fear or Haste, being
omnipotent in Eternity, and each Star must go his Way; and who
am I that should save this People? "Wilt thou smite me as
thou smotest the Egyptian yesterday?" Yes, although mine were
the Might to save these Ten, I reached not forth mine Arm
against Iniquity, I spake and I was silent; and that which was
appointed came to pass. As it is written, the Pregnant
Goddess hath let down Her Burden upon the Earth.
-102-
{Gamma }{phi } DE FEMINA QUADAM.
Knowest thou for what Cause I am moved to write this unto
thee, my Son only-begotten, Child of Magick and of Mystery?
It is that I thy Father am also in this Ordeal of Initiation
at this Hour. For the Sun is nigh unto the End of the Sign of
the Fishes in the Thirteenth Year of the Aeon, and the New
Current of High Magick leapeth forth as a Flood from the Womb
of my True Lady B A B A L O N. And a Word hath come to me by
the Mouth of thee Scarlet Woman, whose Name is E V E, or A H I
T H A, concerning the Temple of Jupiter that is builded for
me. And therein is a Woman appointed to a certain Office.
Now this Woman appeared to me in a Vision when I was in the
House of the Juggler by the Lake among the Mountains, the Sun
being in Cancer in the Eleventh Year of the Aeon, even in the
Week after thy Birth. And I think this Woman to be Her whom I
call W E S --- R U N. But even while with a pure Heart I did
invoke Her, there came unto me another like unto Her, so that
I am confused in my Mind and bewildered. And this other Woman
stirreth my true Nature in its Depth, so that I will not call
it Love. For the Voice of Love I know of old; but this other
Woman speaketh in a tongue whereof I have no Understanding.
-103-
{Gamma }{chi } DE SUA VIRTUTE.
What then shall I do therein? For the Scarlet Woman
adjureth me by the great Name of God ITHUPHALLOS that I deal
with the Other Woman as with any Woman, according to my Will.
But this I fear for that she is not as any Woman, and I deem
her to be the Vampire of this Ordeal. Now then? Shall I
fear? Said I not long since, when I was called of Men Eliphaz
Levi Zahed, that the Error of Oedipus was that he should have
tamed the Sphinx, and ridden her into Thebes? Shall I not
take this Vampire, if she be such, and master her and turn her
to the Great End? "Am I such a Man as should flee?" Is not
all Fear the Word of Failure? Shall I distrust my Destiny?
Am I that am the Word of the Aeon of so little avail that even
the whole Powers of Choronzon can disperse me? Nay, o my Son,
there is Courage of Ignorance and Discretion of Knowledge, and
by no less Virtue will I win through unto mine End. As it is
written: with Courage conquering Fear will I approach thee.
-104-
{Lambda }{psi } DE ALIQUIBUS MODIS ORACULI PETENDI.
My Son, in all Judgment and Decision is great Delicacy, but
most in these Matters of the Will. For thou art Advocate as
well as Judge, and unless thou have well organized thy Mind
thou art Bondslave of Prejudice. For this Cause it is
adjuvant to thy Wisdom to call Witnesses that are not of thine
own Nature, and to ask Oracles whose Interpretation is bound
by fixed rule. This is the Use of the Book T A R O T, of the
Divination by Earth, or by the other Elements, or by the Book
" ""Yi-King", and many another Mode of Truth. Thou knoest by thine
Experience that these Arts deceive thee not, save insofar as
thou deceivest thyself. So then to thee that art NEMO is no
Siege Perilous at this Table, but to them that are yet below
the Abyss is very notable Danger of Error. Yet must they
train themselves constantly in these Modes, for Experience
itself shall teach them how their Bias toward their Desires
reacteth in the End against themselves, and hindereth them in
the Execution of their Wills. Nevertheless, as thou well
knowest, the best Mode is the Creation of an Intelligible
Image by Virtue of the Mass of the Holy Ghost, declaring the
true Will unto thee in Terms of thy Qabalah!
-105-
{Gamma }{omega } DE FRATRIBUS NIGRIS? FILIIS INIQUITATIS.
Of the Black Brothers, o my Son, will I write these Things
following. I have told thee already concerning Change, how it
is the Law, because every Change is an Act of Love under will.
So then He that is Adept Exempt, whether in our Holy Order or
another, may not remain in the Pillar of Mercy, because it is
not balanced, but is unstable. Therefore is the Choice given
unto him, whether he will destroy his Temple, and give up his
Life, extending it to Universal Life, or whether he will make
a Fortress about that Temple, and abide therein, in the false
Sphere of Daath, which is in the Abyss. And to the Adepts of
our Holy Order this Choice is terrible; by Cause that they
must abandon even Him whose Knowledge and Conversation they
have attained. Yet, o my Son, they have much Help of our
Order in this Aeon, because the general Formula is Love, so
that their habit itself urges them to the Bed of our Lady
BABALON. Know then the Black Brothers by this true Sign of
their Initiation of iniquity, that that they resist Change,
restrict and deny Love, fear Death. Percutiantur.
-106-
{Delta }{alpha } DE VIRTUTE CHIRURGICA.
Know that the Cult of the Slave-Gods is a Device of those
Black Brothers. All that stagnateth is thereof, and thence
cometh not Stability, but Putrefaction. Endure not thou the
static Standards either in Thought or in Action Resist not
even the Change that is the Rottenness of Choronzon, but
rather speed it, so that the elements may combine by Love
under Will. Since the Black Brothers and their Cults set
themselves against Change, do thou break them asunder. Yea,
though of bad come worse, continue in that Way; for it is as
if thou didst open an Abscess, the first Effect being noisome
exceedingly, but the last Cleanness. Heed not then, whoso
crieth Anarchy, and Immorality, and Heresy against thee, and
feareth to destroy Abuse lest worse Things come of it. For
the Will of the Universe in its Wholeness is to Truth, and
thou dost well to purge it from its Constiveness. For it is
written that there is no bond that can unite the Divided by
Love, so that only those Complexes which are in Truth
Simplicities, being built Cell by Cell unto an Unity by Virtue
of Love under Will, are worthy to endure in their Progression.
-107-
{Delta }{beta } DE OPERIBUS STELLAE MICROCOSMI.
QUORUM SUNT QUATTOUR MINORES.
I have already written unto thee, my Son, of the Paradox of
Liberty, how the Freedom of thy Will dependeth upon the
Bending of all thy forces to that one End. But now also learn
how great is the Oeconomy of our Magick, and this will I
declare unto thee in a Figure of the Holy Qabalah, to wit, the
Formula of the Tetragrammaton. Firstly, the Operation of Yod
and He is not Vau only, but with Vau appeareth also a new He,
as a By-OProduct, and She is mysterious, being at once the
Flower of the three others, and their Poison. Now by the
Operation of Vau upon that He is no new Creation, but the
Daughter is set upon the Throne of Her Mother, and by this is
rekindled the Fire of Yod, which, consuming that Virgin, doth
not add a Fifth Person, but balanceth and perfecteth all. For
this Shin, that is the Holy Spirit, pervadeth these, and is
immanent. Thus in three Operations is the Pentagram
formulated. But in the Figure of that Star these Operations
are not indicated, for the five Lines of Force connect not
according to any of them; but five new Operations are made
possible; and these are the Works proper to the perfected man.
First, the Work which lieth level, the Vau with the He, is of
the Yang and the Yin, and maketh One the Human with the
Divine, as in the Attainment of the Master of the Temple. Yet
this Work hath his Perversion, which is of Death. Thus then
for thee four Works, they pertain all to the Natural Formula
ofthe Cross and Rose.
-108-
{Delta }{gamma } DE OPERIBUS STELLAE MICROCOSMI.
QUORUM SUNT QUATTUOR MAJORES.
O my Son, behold now the Virtue and Mystery of the Silver
Star! For of these four Works not one leadeth to the Crown,
because Tetragrammaton hath his Root only in Chokmah. So
