41 Alpha rho DE GRADIBUS AEQUIS SCIENTIAE. I say in sooth, my son, that this Extension of

41 {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.


42 {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 Book?  Die thou standing!


43 {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.


44 {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.


45 {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.


46 {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.

             
47 {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.


48 {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.

             
49 {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.


50 {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.


51 {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.


52 {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.


53 {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.


54 {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.


55 {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.


56 {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.


57 {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.


58 {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.


59 {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.


60 {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