LITTLE ESSAYS TOWARD TRUTH

By Aleister Crowley
The mind of the Father riding on the subtle guiders which glitter with the inflexible tracings of relentless fire. ZOROASTER

CONTENTS
Man Memory Sorrow Wonder Beatit de La !"ter Indi##eren$e Mastery Tran$e Ener!y %nowled!e Understandin! C"astity Silen$e Lo&e Tr t" 'lossary Tree o# Li#e dia!ram

MAN
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? MAN being the sub ect of these Essa!s" it is first #ro#er to ex#lain what is meant therein b! the word. Man is a microcosm$ that is" an image %concentrated around the #oint of consciousness& of the macrocosm" or 'ni(erse. This Theorem is guaranteed b! the h!lo)idealistic demonstration that the

#erce#tible 'ni(erse is an extension" or #hantasm" of the ner(ous s!stem. *t follows that all #henomena" internal and external" ma! be classified for the #ur#ose of discussing their obser(ed relations" in an! manner which ex#erience ma! show to be the most con(enient. %Exam#les$ the elaborate classifications of science" chemical" #h!sical" etc." etc. There is no essential truth in an! of these aids to thin+ing$ con(enience is the sole measure.& Now for the #ur#ose of anal!sing the s#iritual nature of man" of recording and measuring his ex#eriences in this +ind" of #lanning his #rogress to loftier heights of attainment" se(eral s!stems ha(e been de(ised. That of the Abhidhamma is on the surface ali+e the most #ractical" the most scientific" and the most real, but for Euro#ean students it is certainl! far too unwield!" to sa! nothing of other lines of criticism. Therefore" des#ite the danger of (agueness in(ol(ed in the use of a s!stem whose terms are largel! s!mbolic" * ha(e" for man! reasons" #referred to #resent to the world as an international basis for classification" the classico)mathematical s!stem which is (ulgarl! and erroneousl! %though con(enientl!& called the -abalah. The -abalah" that is" the .ewish Tradition concerning the initiated inter#retation of their Scri#tures" is mostl! either unintelligible or nonsense. /ut it contains as its ground)#lan the most #recious ewel of human thought" that geometrical arrangement of names and numbers which is called the Tree of 0ife. * call it most #recious" because * ha(e found it the most con(enient method hitherto disco(ered of classif!ing the #henomena of the 'ni(erse" and recording their relations. 1hereof the #roof is the ama2ing fertilit! of thought which has followed m! ado#tion of this scheme. Since all #henomena soe(er ma! be referred to the Tree of 0ife %which ma! be multi#lied or subdi(ied at will for con(enience3s sa+e& it is e(identl! useless to attem#t an! com#lete account of it. The corres#ondences of each unit4the Ten Se#hiroth and the Two)and)Twent! 5aths4are infinite. The art of using it consists #rinci#all! in referring all our ideas to it" disco(ering thus the common nature of certain things and the essential differences between others" so that ultimatel! one obtains a sim#le (iew of the incalculabl! (ast com#exit! of the 'ni(erse. The whole sub ect must be studied in the /oo+ 666" and the main attributions committed to memor!$ then when b! constant use the s!stem is at last understood4as o##osed to being merel! memorised4 the student will find fresh light brea+ on him at e(er! turn as he continues to measure e(er! item of new +nowledge he attains b! this standard. For to him the 'ni(erse will then begin to a##ear as a coherent and a necessar! 1hole. For the #ur#ose of stud!ing these 0ittle Essa!s" it will be sufficient if a bare outline of the 7osmic Theor! which the! im#l! be gi(en$ but it ma! be added that" the fuller the com#rehension of the Tree of 0ife which the reader brings to them" the clearer will their thought a##ear" and the more cogest their conclusions. The 7onstitution of Man is fi(efold. %8& .echidah. This is the 9uintessential #rinci#le of the Soul" that which ma+es man at the same time identical with e(er! other s#ar+ of :odhead" and different %as regards his #oint)of)(iew" and the 'ni(erse of which it is the centre& from all others. *t is a 5oint" #ossessing onl! #osition, and that #osition is onl! definable b! reference to co)ordinate axes" to secondar! #rinci#les" which onl! #ertain to it per accidens" and must be #ostulated as our conce#tion grows. %;& 7hiah. This is the 7reati(e *m#ulse or 1ill of .echidah" the energ! which demands the formulation of the co) ordinate axes aforesaid" so that .echidah ma! attain self)realisation" a formal understanding of what is im#licit in its nature" of its #ossible 9ualities.

%<& Neschamah. This is the facult! of understanding the 1ord of 7hiah. *t is the intelligence or intuition of what .echidah wishes to disco(er about itself. These three #rinci#les constitute a Trinit!, the! are one" because the! re#resent the being" and the a##aratus which will ma+e the manifestation #ossible" of a :od" in manhood. /ut the! are onl!" so to s#ea+" the mathematical structure of man3s nature. One might com#are them with the laws of #h!sics" as the! are before the! are disco(ered. There are as !et no data b! whose examination the! ma! be discerned. A conscious man" accordingl!" cannot #ossibl! +now an!thing of these three #rinci#les" although the! constitute his essence. *t is the wor+ of *nitiation to journey inwards to them. See" in the Oath of a 5robationer of A.3.A.3. =* #ledge m!self to disco(er the nature and #owers of m! own /eing.= This triune #rinci#le being wholl! s#iritual" all that can be said about it is reall! negati(e. And it is com#lete in itself. /e!ond it stretches what is called The Ab!ss. This doctrine is extremel! difficult to ex#lain, but it corres#onds more or less to the ga# in thought between the Real" which is ideal" and the 'nreal" which is actual. *n the Ab!ss all things exist" indeed" at least in posse" but the! are without an! #ossible meaning, for the! lac+ the substratum of s#iritual Realit!. The! are a##earances without 0aw. The! are thus Insane Delusions. Now the Ab!ss being thus the great storehouse of 5henomena" it is the source of all im#ressions. And the Triune 5rinci#le has in(ented a machine for in(estigating the 'ni(erse, and this machine is the fourth 5rinci#le of Man. %>& Ruach. This ma! be translated Mind" S#irit" or *ntellect$ none of these is satisfactor!" the connotation (ar!ing with e(er! writer. The Ruach is a closel!)+nitted grou# of Fi(e8 Moral and *ntellectual #rinci#les" concentrated on their core" Ti#hareth" the 5rinci#le of ?armon!" the ?uman 7onsciousness and 1ill of which the four other Se#hiroth are %so to s#ea+& the feelers. And these fi(e #rinci#les culminate in a sixth" @aAth" Bnowledge. /ut this is not reall! a #rinci#le, it contains in itself the germ of self) contradiction and so of self)destruction. *t is a false #rinci#le$ for" as soon as Bnowledge is anal!sed" it brea+s u# into the irrational dust of the Ab!ss. Man3s as#iration to Bnowledge is thus sim#l! a false road$ it is to s#in ro#es of sand. 1e cannot here enter into the doctrine of the =Fall of Adam"= in(ented to ex#lain in #arable how it is that the 'ni(erse is so unfortunatel! constituted. 1e are concered onl! with the obser(ed facts. All these mental and moral faculties of the Ruach" while not #urel! s#iritual li+e the Su#ernal Triad" are still" as it were" =in the air.= To be of use" the! need a basis through which to recei(e im#ressions" much as a machine re9uires fuel and fodder before it can manufacture the article which it is designed to #roduce. %C& Ne#hesch. This is usuall! translated the =Animal Soul.= *t is the (ehicle of the Ruach" the instrument b! which the Mind is brought into contact with the dust of Matter in the Ab!ss" that it ma! feel it" udge it" and react to it. This is itself a #rinci#le still s#iritual" in a sense, the actual bod! of man is com#osed of the dust of Matter" tem#oraril! held together b! the 5rinci#les which inform it" for their own #ur#oses" and ultimatel! for the su#reme #ur#ose of self)realisation of .echidah. /ut Ne#hesch" de(ised as it is with no other ob ect than the direct traffic with Matter" tends to #arta+e of its incoherence. *ts faculties of #ercei(ing #ain and #leasure lure it into #a!ing undue attention to one set of #henomena" into shunning another. ?ence" for the Ne#hesch to do its wor+ as it should" it

re9uires to be dominated b! the se(erest disci#line. Nor is the Ruach itself to be trusted in this matter. *t has its own tendencies to wea+ness and in ustice. *t tries e(er! tric+4 and it is diabolicall! cle(er4 to arrange its business with Matter in the sense most con(enient to its inertia" without the smallest consideration of its dut! to the Su#ernal Triad" cut off as that is from its com#rehension, indeed" unsus#ecting as it normall! is of its existence. 1hat then determines Ti#hareth" the ?uman 1ill" to as#ire to com#rehend Neschamah" to submit itself to the di(ine 1ill of 7hiahD Nothing but the realisation" born sooner or later of agonising ex#erience" that its whole relation through Ruach and Ne#hesch with Matter" i.e." with the 'ni(erse" is" and must be" onl! #ainful. The senselessness of the whole #rocedure sic+ens it. *t begins to see+ for some menstruum in which the 'ni(erse ma! become intelligible" useful" and en o!able. *n -abalistic language" it as#ires to Neschamah. This is what we mean in sa!ing that the Trance of Sorrow is the moti(e of the :reat 1or+. This =Trance of Sorrow= %which must be well distinguished from an! #ett! #ersonal des#air" an! =con(iction of sin"= or other blac+ magical imitations& being cosmic in sco#e" com#rehending all #henomena actual or #otential" is then alread! an O#ening of the S#here of Neschamah. The awareness of one3s misfortune is itself an indication of the remed!. *t sets the see+er on the right road" and as he de(elo#s his Neschamah he soon attains other Ex#eriences of this high order. ?e learns the meaning of his own true 1ill" to #ronounce his own 1ord" to identif! himself with 7hiah. Finall!" realising 7hiah as the d!namic as#ect of .echidah" he becomes that #ure /eing" at once uni(ersal and ind(idual" e9uall! nothing" One" and All. *t is of the essence of the *deas of the Su#ernal Triad that the 0aws of Reason which a##l! to intellectual functions are no longer o#erati(e. ?ence it is im#ossible to con(e! the nature of these Ex#eriences in rational language. Further" their sco#e is infinite in e(er! direction" so that it would be futile to attem#t to enumerate or to describe them in detail. All that one can do is to note the common t!#es in (er! general language" and to indicate what ex#erience has shewn to be tbe the most useful main lines of research. The -uest of the ?ol! :rail" the Search for the Stone of the 5hiloso#hers4b! whate(er name we choose to call the :reat 1or+4is therefore endless. Success onl! o#ens u# new a(enues of brilliant #ossibilit!. Eea" (eril! and AmenF the tas+ is tireless and its o!s without bounds, for the whole 'ni(erse" and all that in it is" what is it but the infinite #la!ground of the 7rowned and 7on9uering 7hild" of the insatiable" the innocent" the e(er)re oicing ?eir of S#ace and Eternit!" whose name is MAND

MEMORY
MEMORE is of the (er! stuff of 7onsciousness itself. 7onsider that we can ne(er +now what is happening" but onl! what has just happened" e(en when most acti(el! concentrated on what we call =the #resent.= Moreoe(er" no im#ression short of Sammasamadhi can e(er #retend to confer an! coherent idea of the Self. That exists onl! in an order of 7onsciousness far dee#er than direct #erce#tion" in a t!#e of thought which is ca#able of combining the 9uintessence of countless im#ressions into one" as also of transforming this tabula rasa into a #osit(e #rehensile Ego. 1hether this #rocess be hallucinator! or

no" it is surel! memor! which" more than an! other function of the mind" determines the #ossibilities. Now" whate(er (iew we ma! ta+e of the nature of the Self" it is clear that our limit of error will constantl! diminish as the range of our obser(ations is extended. To calculate the orbit of Ne#tune from a #eriod of da!s when it is retrograde could lead to formidable fallacies. 1hen memor! is seriousl! wea+ened" the resulting state a##roximates to dementia. Memor! is then" in a figure" the mortar of the architecture of the mind. *t seems im#ossible e(en to begin to discuss its nature as it is in itself, for it is not a Thing at all" but onl! a relation between im#ressions. 1e must be content to obser(e its (irtues. First of all is that alread! noted" its extent in time. Second is the facult! of selection. *t would be as undesirable as it is im#ossible for the memor! to retain all im#ressions indiscriminatel!. Such memories are found onl! in lunatic as!lums. The memor!" whate(er it ma! be" de#ends on cerebral metabolism, and it thri(es on a #ro#er harmon! of exercise" re#ose" and econom! ust as does muscular strength. Memor! as such is #racticall! worthless, it is li+e an abandoned librar!. *ts data must be co)ordinated b! udgement" and #la!ed u#on with s+ill, it resembles a great Organ which re9uires an organist. /! classif!ing sim#le im#ressions" one obtains ideas of a higher order, the re#etition of this #rocess gi(es a structure to the mind which ma+es it a worth! instrument of thought. And this means enables one to retain" and to bring at will from their 9uiet resting)#lace"a thousandfold the number of facts which would o(erwhelm the untrained memor!. One must model one3s mind u#on the arrangement of the ends of the ner(e)fibres and the brain. At willF ?ere is the great +e! to #ro#er selection" that one should resolutel! remember all facts that ma! be useful" and as resolutel! forget all those im#ertinent" to the True 1a! of one3s Star in S#ace. For so onl! can one economise the mnemonic facult!, and this is to sa!$ no man can begin to train his memor! dul! until he is aware of his True 1ill. There is them4as in all matters #ertaining to the intellect4a (icious circle$ for one can onl! become conscious of one3s True 1ill b! a udgement %of Samadhic intensit!& u#on all facts that it is #ossible to assimilate. The resolution of the antinom! is found in ambulando$ that is b! the selecti(e training abo(e indicated. A further com#lication of this whole 9uestion a##ears during the #ractice of Eoga" when" the sheaths being successi(el! stri##ed from the mind" one begins to remember not onl! long)forgotten facts" but matters which do not refer to the incarnated Ego at all. The memor! extends in time to infanc!" to one3s #re(ious death" and so further to an unlimited series of ex#eriences whose sco#e de#ends on the degree of one3s #rogress. /ut" #arallel with this intensification of the idea of the Ego" its ex#ansion through the Gons" there arises %in conse9uence of the wea+ening of the Aham+ara" the Ego)ma+ing facult!& a tendenc! to remember things which ha(e ha##ened not to =oneself"= but to =other #eo#le= or beings. ?erein is one of the most irritating obstacles in the 5ath of the 1ise, for the normal de(elo#ment of the memor! in Time leads to a better understanding of the True 1ill of the indi(idual %as he then concei(es of himself& so that he #ercei(es an uni(erse teleologicall! more rational as he #rogresses. To be com#elled to assimilate the ex#eriences of su##osed =alien beings= is to become confused$ the old hotch)#ot of 7horon2on %Restriction be unto him in the name of /A/A0ONF& ga#es once more for the Ade#t" who #ossibl! su##osed himself alread! %in a sense& a Freeman of the 7it! of the 5!ramids. /ut it is ust this ex#erience4in default of an! other4which e(entuall! insists on his underta+ing to cross the Ab!ss$ for the alternati(e to sheer insanit! is seen to be the disco(er! of a :eneral Formula com#rehensi(e of 'ni(ersal Ex#erience without reference to the Ego %real or su##osed& in an! sense.

This #aradox" li+e all others" should be a lesson of su#reme (alue$ this" that e(er! difficult! is for our (antage" that e(er! 9uestion is #osed onl! in order to lead us to an answer in(ol(ing a trium#h infinitel! more glorious than we could otherwise ha(e concei(ed. And meditation u#on this whole matter ma! not unli+el! bring us to this further (ision of 1onder$ that the nature of things themsel(es is in realit! but a function of Memor!.

SORROW
T?E AS5*RAT*ON to become a Master is rooted in the Trance of Sorrow. This trance is not sim#le and definite, indeed it commonl! begins in a limited selfish form. The imagination cannot #ierce be!ond terrestrial conditions" or the sense of self gras# more than the natural consciousness. One thin+s at first no more than this$ =there is nothing #ossible that is good enough for me.= Onl! as one grows b! *nitiation does one a##roach the as!m#tote =sabbH #i @u++ham= of the /uddha" when the relations of sub ect and ob ect" both ex#anded to infinit!" are seen to be no less in the bosom of the :reat 7urse than were their first a(atars" the #ett! Ego and the #erce#tible 'ni(erse. So also for the transcending of this Trance of Sorrow. At first the (ictor! often comes b! tric+ of mind, extending sub ect or ob ect" as the case ma! be" b! an effort to esca#e realit!" one seems for a moment to ha(e defeated the E9uation =E(er!thing is Sorrow=, but the clouds regather as the mind reco(ers its e9uilibrium. Thus" one in(ents some =?ea(en"= defining it arbitraril! as free from sorrow$ onl! to find" on exact examination" that is conditions are the same as those of =Earth.= Nor is there an! rational issue from this hell of thought. The transcending of the Trance of Sorrow is to be made b! means of such other trances as the ?igher /eatific Iision" the Trance of 1onder" and others" e(en the Trance called the 'ni(ersal .o+e" though this last is thereunto strangel! a+inF There is this further consideration, that e(er! sub ect of contem#lation as+s onl! that the mind should become fixed u#on it" in a degree far inferior to that of true concentration such as secures Samadhi" to become e(identl! an illusion. So much for a brief summar! of the technical as#ects of the matter. /ut all this is remote indeed from the sim#licit! of the affirmation of The /oo+ of the 0aw$ Remember all !e that existence is #ure o!, that all the sorrows are but as shadows, the! #ass J are done, but there is that which remains. '#on what can de#end this #erce#tion" which claims to swee# awa! with the fire of scorn the formidable batteries of all serious #hiloso#hical thoughtD The solution must lie in the meta#h!sics of Thelema itself. And here we come u#on what is a##arentl! a #aradox of the most disconcerting order. For The Book of the aw" antici#ating the most subtle of recent mathematical conce#tions" that of the greatest genius of this generation" ma+es the unit of existence consist in an E(ent" an Act of Marriage between Nuit and ?adit, that is" the fulfilment of a certain 5oint)of)Iiew. And is not the #rocession of e(ents the (er! condition of Sorrow as o##osed to the #erfection of =5ure ExistenceD= That is the old #hiloso#h!" a tangle of flase words$ we see more clearl!. Thus$ Each E(ent is an Act of 0o(e" and so generates .o!$ all existence is com#osed solel! of such E(ents. /ut how comes it then that there should be e(en an illusion of SorrowD

Sim#l! enough, b! ta+ing a #artial and im#erect Iision. An exam#le$ in the human bod! each cell is #erfect" and the man is in good health, but should we choose to regard almost an! #ortion of the machine which sustains him" there will a##ear (arious decom#ositions and the li+e" which might well be ta+en to im#l! the most tragic E(ents. And this would ine(itabl! be the case had we ne(er at an! time seen the man as a whole" and understood the necessit! of the di(ers #rocesses of nature which combine to ma+e life. Furthermore" to the normal or dualistic consciousness it is #recisel! the shadows which =#ass J are done= which constitute #erce#tibilit!$ what man =sees= is in fact ust that which obstructs the ra!s of light. This is the ustification for the /uddha sa!ing =E(er!thing is Sorrow=$ in that word =E(er!thing= he is most careful to include s#ecificall! all those things which men count o!ous. And this is not reall! a #aradox, for to him all reactions which #roduce consciousness are ultimatel! sorrowful" as being disturbances of the 5erfection of 5eace" or %if !ou #refer it& as obstructions to the free flow of Energ!. .o! and Sorrow are thus to him relati(e terms, subdi(isions of one great sorrow" which is manifestation. 1e need not trouble to contest this (iew, indeed" the =Shadows= of which our boo+ s#ea+s are those interferences with 0ight caused b! the #artialit! of our a##rehension. The 1hole is *nfinite 5erfection" and so is each unit thereof. To transcend the Trance of Sorrow it is thus sufficient to cancel the sub ect of the contem#lation b! marr!ing it to its e9ual and o##osite in imagination. 1e ma! also #ursue the anal!tical method" and resol(e the com#lex which a##ears Sorrow into its atoms. Each e(ent of it is a sublime and o!ous act of 0o(e, or the s!nthetical method" #roceeding from the #art to the 1hole" with a similar result. And an! one of the mo(menets of the mind is %with assiduit! and enthusiasm& ca#able of transforming the Trance of Sorrow itself into the cognate Trance attributed to 'nderstanding" the Trance of 1onder.

WONDER
=A 0*TT0E MORE than +in" and less than +ind= are the Trance of Sorrow" and the Iision of the Machiner! of the 'ni(erse, this latter being the technical as#ect of the A##rehension of the 0aw of 7hange" which is also a Trance of the same order as that of Sorrow. Now one mode of (ictor! o(er all these is the Trance of *ndifference" in which one stands aloof from the whole matter, but onl! one mode" and %in the generall! +nown form& full of falsehood and im#erfection. For to stand aloof is to affirm dualit!" which is itself the root of Sorrow. To obtain the highest one must unite onself with all things" #arta+e of all as a true Sacrament. And this motion leads to the Trance of 1onder. *t is written =The fear of the 0ord is the /eginning of 1isdom.= ?ere the 5redicate refers to the O#ening of the :rade of Magus, but the sub ect" dul! translated" reads =The 1ondering at Tetragrammaton"= and so refers to this Trance. For herein one is wholl! identified with the 'ni(erse in its d!namic as#ect, and the first s!nthesis of the understanding thereof is this Ama2ement at the fitness and necessit! of the entire mechanism. For" gi(en the formula of Manifestation" the need to concei(e and #ercei(e 5erfection b! means of the s!mbolism of *m#erfection" the actual #rocess of ideation becomes a#odeictic. %* write as for the least instructed of the 0ittle 7hildren of the 0ight.& The Trance of 1onder arises naturall!4it is the first mo(ement of the mind4from the final #hrase of the Oath of a Master of the Tem#le. =* will inter#ret e(er! #henomenon as a #articular dealing of :od with m! soul.= For" immediatel! the 'nderstanding illuminates the dar+ness of +nowledge" e(er! fact a##ears in its true guise miraculous.

It is so! then" how mar(ellous that it should so beF *n all Trances of im#ortance" and most es#eciall! in this" the 5ostulant should ha(e ac9uired the greatest #ossible +nowledge and 'nderstanding of the 'ni(erse #ro#erl! so called. ?is rational mind should ha(e been trained thoroughl! in intellectual a##rehension$ that is" he should be familiar with all Science. This is e(identl! im#ossible on the face of it, but he should as#ire to the closest a##roximation to #erfect Ade#tshi# in this matter. The method most #ossible is to ma+e a detached stud! of some chosen branch of one Science" and a general stud! of e#istemolog!. Then b! analog!" fortified b! contem#lation" a certain inner a##rehension of the 'nit! of Nature ma! grow u# in the mind" one which will not be undul! #resum#tuous and misleading. /ut our 1or+ demands more than this. The Neschamah or *ntuiti(e Mind must also be furnished with Bnowledge and 'nderstanding of those 5lanes of Nature which are inaccessible to the untrained sense. That is" he must #ursue our Methods of Iision with indefatigable ardour. Now in all htis the true uniti(e and transcendental Science is that of Mathematics for the Ruach" and its crown the ?ol! -abalah for the Neschamah. /! this means the 1or+ is not" as would at first seem" increased be!ond human ca#abilit!. There is a definite critical stage" com#arable to that familiar to the Ade#ts of Asana and @harana" after which the terms of the E9uation %li+e the latter terms of a /inomial Ex#ansion& re#eat themsel(es" though" after another manner" so that the meditation becomes #rogressi(el! easier. The 5ostulant" so to s#ea+" finds himself at home. The added +nowledge is no longer a burden to the mind. ?e is able to throw off the gross facts which #resent themsel(es as com#lications" and to a##rehend their essence in sim#licit!. ?e has in fact succeeded in de(elo#ing a higher function of the mind. The #rocess is similar to that which occurs in ordinar! stud! of a science" when one" b! gras#ing the nature of a general law underl!ing di(ersit! of ex#erience" is able not onl! to assimilate new facts with ease" but to #redict new facts wholl! un+nown. One ma! instance the disco(er! of Ne#tune from mathematical considerations without o#tical research" and the descri#tion of un+nown elements b! contem#lation of the 5eriodic 0aw. 0et it be +nown that each such ste# in Meditation is itself a moti(e Energ! ca#able of inducing the Trance of 1onder, and this Trance %li+e all others& grows in sublimit! and s#lendour with the 9uantit! and 9ualit! of the material which is furnished to the mind b! the Ade#t. Those" therefore" who effect to des#ise =#rofane= Science are themsel(es des#icable. *t is their own inca#acit! for true Thought of an! serious +ind" their (anit! and #ertness, na! more alsoF their own subconscious sense of their own shame and idleness" that induces them to build these flims! fortifications of #retentious ignorance. There is nothing in the 'ni(erse which is not of su#reme significance" nothing which ma! not be used as the (er! +e!stone of the Rainbow Arch of the Trance of 1onder. *t is necessar! to add but one brief word to this elementar! essa!$ this Trance is of its nature not onl! #assi(e and intuiti(e. *ts occurrence floods the mind with 7reati(e Energ!, it fills the Ade#t with 5ower" and excites in him the 1ill to wor+. *t exalts him to the At2iluthic 1orld in his Essence" and in his manifestation to the /riatic. *n a (er! s#ecial sense" therefore" it ma! be said that the 5ostulant is most intimatel! united with the Su#reme 0ord :od Most ?igh" the True and 0i(ing 7reator of all Things" whensoe(er he attains to enter this most Ma estic 5!lon of the Trance of 1onder.

BEATITUDE
T?ERE ARE T1O well)distinguished forms of the /eatific (ision. The higher #ertains to Bether" and

is thus #ro#er onl! to the *#sissimus" though it ma! be en o!ed s#oradicall! %and" as it were" b! accident& b! those of lower grades. *t is of extremel! rare occurrence" and has indeed ne(er been described in an! detail, it ma! e(en be said that it is doubtful whether an! account of its true form has e(er been gi(en to the world. *t need onl! be said in this #lace that its formula is =0o(e is the law" lo(e under will"= and that its nature is the 5er#etual Sacrament of Energ! in action. *t is de#endent u#on the #erfect master! of the M!steries of Sorrow and of 7hange" with thorough identification with that of *ndi(idualit!. 0et us occu#! oursel(es with the lower form of this Iision %so called, it is not technicall! a Iision at all& which #ertains to Ti#hareth" and is thus the natural grace of the Minor Ade#t. *t ma! be said at once that those who ha(e attained to higher grades" es#eciall! those abo(e the Ab!ss" can hardl! return to this Iision. For it im#lies a certain innocence" a certain defect of 'nderstanding which is not #ossible to a Master of the Tem#le. Again" the :rades of Exem#t and Ma or Ade#t are too energetic to admit of the balanced 9uietude of this state. Onl! in the centre of the Tree of 0ife" onl! in the self)#oised securit! of the Solar Axis" can we ex#ect to find the stead! indifference to E(ent which is the basis of the Trance" and that ontogenous radiance which tinges it with Rose and :old. This Trance differs notabl! from most others in a wa! which the abo(e)stated conditions would lead us to ex#ect. *t is" #s!chologicall!" a state, as o##osed to an Action or an E(ent. True" all Trances of Samadhic intensit! are in a sense timeless, but it ma! be said that most of them are mar+ed b! well) defined issues of a critical character. That is" the entr! to each is 9uasi)s#asmodic. *n this case" howe(er" we find no such diagnostic. The Trance ma! be continued for wee+s or months" and the most ardent de(otee of Tahuti" seaching his Magical Record with the most conscientious acuteness" finds it im#ossible to indicate the onset of the Iision. *n fact" it ma! be surmised that the Iision arises not from an! gi(en action but rather from a subtle sus#ension of action. The conflict of e(ents has ended ha##il! in a state of serenel! #erfect balance" in which" though energ! continues to manifest" its issues ha(e become without significance. 1e ma! com#are the condition with the return to health of a fe(er)stric+en man. The alternation of #!rexia and sub)normal tem#erature has subsided, he forgets graduall! to consult his thermometer at the accustomed inter(als" becoming absorbed instincti(el! in his regular #ursuits. At the same time he is no longer aware of the hot and cold s#ells" but half consciousl! of the 9uiet glow of health. Similarl! in this Iision all conscious magical effort ceases" although the #ractices are continued with all customar! diligence" and the whole of the Ade#t3s im#ressions" internal as external" are suffused with the glow of beaut! and delight. The state is in man! res#ects closel! a+in to that sought b! the smo+er of o#ium, but it is natural and re9uires no artificial regulation. *t will a##ear from the foregoing that nothing could be more absurd than to attem#t to gi(e instructions for the attainment of this state. To as#ire to it %still worse" to see+ to regain it after it has #assed& must a##ear the climax of bad logic. Nor" delectable and blessed as it is" can one call it actuall! desirable. 1e need not assume that it is in an! wa! deleterious" that it exhausts good Barma" or that it wastes time and dam#s as#iration. *t should be acce#ted" when it occurs" with calm indifference" en o!ed to the full" and 9uitted without regret. *ts occurence is in an! case clear e(idence that the Ade#t has reached a definite and rather exalted state of being" since he can li(e so man! hours without being #erturbed b! the incidence of an! moti(e force. *t im#lies a mar+ed degree of attainment of internal and external control. *t #ro(ides the #ossibilit! of #erfect re#ose in the midst of the greatest acti(it!" and thus indicates the solution of the ultimate #roblem of #hiloso#h!" the #roem to the con9uest of the Three

7haracteristics. *t should encourage the Ade#t in his As#iration b! heartening him to confront the a##alling #ostulate of the Ab!ss. *t should ser(e him as refreshment and nourishment, it should assure him of the #ossibilit! of #erfection in the :reater 1or+ b! demonstrating its existence as a 7rown to the 0ess. Moreo(er" the en o!ment of @elight and the a##rehension of /eaut! in all things" e(en on this #lane where anal!sis has not !et become acute" do actuall! fortif! the heart and en+indle the imagination. 0et therefore the 5ostulant of the Ros! 7ross #ursue his 5ath in solemn strength" aware that at the #ro#er moment he ma! recei(e" unas+ing" the reward" and en o! the re(i(if!ing flood of dulcet 0ight" which has been called b! the Ade#ts the /eatific Iision.

LAU'HTER
T?E 7OMMON @EFE7T of all m!stical s!stems #re(ious to that of the Kon whose 0aw is Thelema is that there has been no #lace for 0aughter. /ut the sadness of the mournful Mother and the melachol! of the d!ing Man are swe#t into the limbo of the #ast b! the confident smile of the immortal 7hild. And there is no Iision more critical in the career of the Ade#t of ?orus than the 'ni(ersal .o+e. *n this Trance he acce#ts full! the Formula of Osiris" and in the act transcends it, the s#ear of the 7enturion #asses harmlessl! through his heart" and the sword of the Executioner stri+es idl! on his nec+. ?e disco(ered that the Traged! of which so man! centuries ha(e made such a case is but a farce for children3s #leasure. 5unch is +noc+ed down onl! to get u# grinning with his ga! =Root)too)too)titF ?ere we are againF= .ud!" the /eadle" the ?angman and the @e(il are merel! the com#anions of his #la!time. So" since %after all& the facts which he thought tragic are real enough" the essence of his solution is that the! are not true" as he thought" of himself, the! are ust one set of #henomena" as interesting and as fatuousl! im#otenet to affect him as an! other set. ?is #ersonal grief was due to his #assionate insistence on contem#lating one insignificant congeries of E(ents as if it were the sole realit! and im#ortance in the infinite mass of Manifestation. *t is thus that the 5erce#tion of the 'ni(ersal .o+e leads directl! to the 'nderstanding of the *dea of Self as coterminous with the 'ni(erse" and at the same time one with it" creator of it" and aloof from it, which Triune State is" as is well +nown" on of the most necessar! stages of Samadhi. %*t is the culminatation of one of the two most im#ortant cha#ters of the Bhaga"adgita.& There is a further merit in this matter. *n the idea of 0aughter is inherent that of 7ruelt!" as has been shewn b! man! #hiloso#hers, and this is doubtless wh! it has been excluded b! the M!stic Schools of 5it!mongers from their dull curricula. The onl! answer is to shrug the shoulders in humerous contem#t. For on this roc+ and not other ha(e all their bra(e bar+s foundered one b! one amid the #an$rithmon gelasmaL of Ocean. Nature is full of cruelt!, its highest #oints of o! and (ictor! are mar+ed b! laughter. *t is the true #h!siological ex#losion and relaxation of a tension which #roduces it. Notabl!" such drugs as %annabis indica and &nhalonium ewinii" which do actuall! =loosen the girders of the soul which gi(e her breathing"= cause immediate laughter as one of their most characteristic effects. Oh the huge wholesome contem#t for the limiting self which s#rings from the sense of :argantuan dis#ro#ortion #ercei(ed in this 0aughterF Trul! it sla!s" with olliest cannibal re(els" that sour blac+) coated missionar! the serious Ego" and #lum#s him into the #ot. Te)heF4the Ioice of 7i(ilisation4

the Messenger of the 1hite Man3s :od4bubble" bubble" bubbleF Throw in another handful of sage" brotherF And the sweet)smelling smo+e rises and (eils with ex9uisite sh! seduction the shameless bodies of the StarsF /e!ond all this for #ractical (alue4since the sign#ost at e(er! turn of the 5ath of the 1ise reads @AN:ER4!et s#ringing directl! from it b! (irtue of this (er! sla!ing of the Ego" is the use of 0aughter as a safeguard of sanit!. ?ow eas! for the charlatans of orator! to seduce the sim#le enthusiasm of the soulF 1hat hel# ha(e we unless we ha(e the wit to +now them as ridiculousD There is no limit to the ab!ss of *dioc! wherein the 9uac+s would #lunge us4our onl! sa(ing reflex is the automatic o+e of the Sense of ?umourF Robert /rowning was not far from the Bingdom of :od when he wrote$ Re oice that man is hurled From change to change unceasingl!" ?is soul3s wings ne(er furled and there is after all but little salt in the sneer of .u(enal3s =Satur est cum dicit ?ortius 3E(oheF3 =M For it is !et to be recorded that an! man brought aid or comfort to his fellow b! mo#ing. No" the 'ni(ersal .o+e" though it be not a true Trance" is most assuredl! a means of :race" and often #ro(es the chief ingredient of the 'ni(ersal Sol(ent. /ac+ then to /rowning" to the bra(e last words he wrote while fourscore struc+ u#on the time#iece of his !ears$ :reet the unseen with a cheerF /id him forward" breast and bac+ as either should be. 3Stri(e and stri(e"3 cr! 3S#eed"4fight on" fare e(er 3There as hereF3 Amen. 1ere the world understood" Ee would see it was good" A dance to a delicate measureF; A!F let us end with that most sudden sur#rising 1ord of a certain Angel of The 'ision and the 'oice" who left the Seer la#sed in his solemn Trance with the ga! laughing #hrase4=/ut * go dancingF= The Tablets of the 0awD /ahF (ol"untur tabul)*+risu*N ( O:ree+" =countless smiles.= :i(en in :ree+ letters in the original.P M O0atin" =?orace was well)sated when he cried 3E(ohQ.3 =P N O0atin" =0et the tables be bro+enF4with laughterF=P

INDI))ERENCE
T?E STATE OF M*N@ which is characterised b! *ndifference is commonl! called Trance" but the misnomer is unfortunate. *t is" in fact" in a sense the #recise contrar! of a Trance, for Trance usuall! im#lies Samadhi" and this state s#ecificall! excludes an! such occurrence. That im#lies a uniting" and

this a willed dissociation. Eet there is nothing herein to suggest necessaril! an! #ractice of the /lac+ /rothers, for it is not" #ro#erl! s#ea+ing" an Attainment, but rather a con(enient attitude. And it is one of the (er! greatest #ractical im#ortance and use. One cannot remain indefinitel! in an! Samadhi, at the same time it is #ro#er to fill the inter(als between gusts of #ositi(e wor+ in such a wa! as to lea(e oneself as free as #ossible to ta+e the next ste#. One should therefore culti(ate a habit of mind which is not bound b! an! form of desire. The State of *ndifference is thus a form of that Silence which is defence and #rotection" and is cognate with the Third Noble Truth of /uddhism" Sorrow3s 7easing. The general idea of the state is that the mind should react automaticall! to each and e(er! im#ression$ =*t does not matter whether the E(ent be a! or na!.= /la(ats+! obser(es that the feeling is at least tinged with disgust. /ut this is an error, such a state is im#erfect. There should" on the contrar!" be a 9uite definite o!" not in the im#ression itself but in being indifferent to it. This o! s#rings doubtless from the sense of #ower in(ol(ed, but that is again an im#erfection, one should rather re oice in the cogni2ance of the ultimate truth that =existence is #ure o!"= not in an! feeling more immediate. *t is to be obser(ed that the attainment and maintenance of this state de#ends to a great extent on the master! of se(eral Trances. For instance" one must be con(inced of the First Noble Truth b! the Trance of Sorrow" or it would not be logical to be indifferent to all things, there might be" in the absence of this #erce#tion of =sabbQ #i @u++ham"= some im#ression which actuall! led to some state free from Sorrow" and this is not the case. Freedom from Sorrow de#ends on freedom from im#ression. Eet it would not be fair to sa! that this State of *ndifference was a+in to that @ullness which succeeds the acute s#asm of Sorrow, it is not the anGsthesia of a ner(e worn out b! excess of #ain. There is ne(er an! #lace in the curriculum of a Magician for #assi(it!4of course we here exce#t what ma! be called the Acti(e or 1illed 5assi(it! described in 0iber 0RI. *ndifference is to be an intensel! acti(e condition. One ma! com#are it with the ease of a s+illed fencer" who meets and deflects e(er! #ossible attac+ of his antagonist with e9ual (igour" unconscious of his acts" because he has trained his e!e" wrist" and e(en his blade to thin+ for themsel(es. Thus *ndifference is the s#iritual form of the Automatic 7onsciousness of the Ade#t, and this resides in Eesod" the #lace of the Fortress on the Frontier of the Ab!ss" as described in iber ,-. in the Ele(enth Kth!r. This *ndifference being a habit of Normal Mind" it is easier to attain than an! true Samadhic State" and in(ol(es less technical abilit!. This is #articularl! the case because" as noted abo(e" the Trance of Sorrow has been an almost necessar! #reliminar! to the #ro#er understanding of what it im#lies. The method therefore of ac9uiring %the word to be #referred to =attaining=& *ndifference is sim#le, it is" in effect" the 1a! of the Tao. The following Sorites ma! #ro(e useful to the As#irant$ Existence is onl! to be understood as a 7ontinuum. All #arts of Existence are therefore ultimatel! e9ui(alent" each being e9uall! necessar! to com#lete the whole. Each e(ent is thus to be recie(ed with e9ual honour" and the reaction to it made with e9ual indifference. To offer a #ractical #arallel. Su##ose one is to recei(e a thousand #ounds" and this amount is #aid o(er in di(ers coins" with *.O.'.3s for (arious sums. Since one +nows in ad(ance that the balance in one3s fa(our is S8"TTT" one does not get excited on the a##earance of an! #articular item" but goes on steadil! counting" ma+ing the right reaction" whether a #lus or a minus item is at issue" with #erfect calm and accurac!. Each entr! in the account ma! be different, but one3s mental attitude is in(ariable. The common error of the un#hiloso#hical mind is indeed due to ignorance of the true nature of the soul. One is a#t to su##ose that each E(ent as it occurs ma! be =good= or =bad"= ma! indicate that one is

winning or losing. /ut as soon as one is certain that the issue is factitious" that it has been determined beforehand" it becomes absurd to be affected b! one incident in the illusor! #rocess which Nature uses s!mbolicall! to ex#ress the facult! of Truth rather than b! an! other. *t is interesting to note that this method of ac9uiring *ndifference is 9uite inde#endent of an! ex#erience of the Trance of Sorrow, it is a sim#le and normal consideration based on strictl! Thelemic #remisses. *t is thus most highl! to be recommended. The methods of the dead Kon of Osiris were in fact attended with no inconsiderable danger. The 9uesion of se#arateness from the 'ni(erse is critical" for one thing, for another" it is a mista+e to be de#endent on such as theor! as that im#lied in the First Noble Truth in its outer as#ects. *t is altogether better to ado#t the #urel! intellectual attitude" and anchor it subse9uentl! in Neschamah b! sim#l! transcending the normal rational mind in the usual wa! b! the Method of 7ontradiction" or e9uating of O##osites" such as is described in /on0 1m 2a0" and in the best Essa!s on the ?ol! -abalah. *t is a#t" moreo(er" to lead to se(eral t!#es of error to regard *ndifference as a state inferior to Samadhi. *n #articular one ma! tend to thin+ of it as #assi(e" as im#erfect" as an interregnum, whereas it should be considered as a state of 5eace with Iictor!. *t need onl! be added" in conclusion" that *ndifference is not #erfect until it has entered into full #ossession of at least one Samadhic trait" Automatism. As long as there remains an! need of conscious effort in dealing with an! im#ression" an! need to remember the #rocess b! which the state is reached" or e(en an! need of conscious interference with" or cogni2ance of" the #urel! s#ontaneous elastic reflex reaction" the As#irant to the Summum /onum" True 1isdom and 5erfect ?a##iness" has not ade9uatel! ac9uired the ?abit of *ndifference.

MASTERY
T?E A*M of him who would be Master is single, men call it 5ersonal Ambition. That is" he wants his 'ni(erse to be as (ast" and his control of it as #erfect" as #ossible. Few fail to understand this aim, but man! fail in the formulation of their cam#aign to attain it. Some" for instance" fill their #urse with fair! gold" which" when the! tr! to use it" is found to be dead lea(es. Others attem#t to rule the uni(erse of another" not seeing that the! cannot e(en ta+e true cogni2ance thereof. The #ro#er method of extending one3s uni(erse" besides the con(entional a##aratus of material Science" is tri#artite$ e(ocation" in(ocation" and (ision. 7ontrol is a matter of theoretical and #ractical ac9uaintance with Magical FormulG" but notabl! also of Self)@isci#line. The ground is to be consolidated" and all contradictions resol(ed in higher harmonies" b! the (arious Trances. So much indeed is ob(ious to su#erficial consideration, strange" then" that so few Magicians ta+e the further ste# of en9uir! as to the a(ailabilit! of the *nstrument. Shortsighted selfishness" good sooth" to ta+e for granted that one3s Self is sure to find its #ro#er medium to hand for its next ad(enture. ?ere the Magical Memor! is of (irtue mar(ellous to correct #ers#ecti(e, for" how often in the #ast has one3s life been all but sheer failure from the mere lac+ of #ro#er means of self)ex#ressionD And who amongus can be seriousl! satisfied %to)da!" +nowing what we do& with e(en the most #erfect human instrumentD *t is then no more than sim#le good sense for the Magus to formulate his general #olitical aim in some such terms as these$

To secure the greatest #ossible freedom of self)ex#ression for the greatest #ossible number of 5oints)of)Iiew. Of which issue the #ractical as#ect ma! be #hrased as follows$ To im#ro(e the human race in e(er! concei(able wa!" so as to ha(e a(ailable for ser(ice the greatest #ossible (ariet! of the best *nstruments a(ailable. And this is the rational ustification of the a##arentl! imbecile and too often sentimental)h!#ocritical a#horism$ 0o(e all /eingsF Ser(e Man+indF That is" u#on the #olitical #lane$ for also thesse two #hrases contain %8& the Magical Formula which is Be! ali+e of *n(ocation and Trance %;& the im#licit in unction to ma+e clear the 1a! of the Magician through the ?ea(ens b! right ordering of e(er! Star. The word =ser(e= is indeed misleading and ob ectionable$ it im#lies a false and des#icable attitude. The relation between men should be brotherl! res#ect which obtains between noble strangers. The idea of ser(ice is either true" and humiliating, or false" and arrogant. The most common and fatal #itfall which menaces the man who has begun to extend his 'ni(erse be!ond the world of sense)#erce#tion is called 7onfusion of the 5lanes. To him who realises the All) One" and +nows that to distinguish between an! two things is the basic error" it must seem natural and e(en right to #erform what seem #erforce Acts of 0o(e between incongruous ideas. ?e has the Be! of 0anguages$ wh! then should not he the Englishman a(ail himself of it to s#ea+ in ?ebrew without learning itD The same #roblem offers itself dail! in a m!riad subtle sha#es. =7ommand these stones to become bread.= =Throw th!self down from the #innacle of the Tem#le$ as it is written 3?e shall gi(e his angels charge o(er thee" to +ee# thee in all th! wa!s.3=4These last four words throw light u#on the fog of 7horon2on4Restriction be unto him in the Name of /A/A0ONF For =his wa!s= are the wa!s of Nature" who hath a##ointed between the #lanes a well)ordered relation, to deform this de(ice is not" and cannot be" =th! wa!.= The Act of 0o(e" so)seeming" is a false gesture, for such lo(e is not =lo(e under will.= /e thou well aware" O thou who see+est to attain to Master!" of doing aught =miraculous=$ the surest sign of the Master is this" that he is a man of li+e #assions with his fellows. ?e does indeed transcend them all" and turn them all to #erfections, but he does this withou su##ression %for =E(er!thing that li(es is hol!=& or distortion %for =E(er! Form is a true s!mbol of Substance=& or confusion %for =Admixture is hatred as 'nion is lo(e=&. *nitiation means The .ourne! *nwards$ nothing is changed or can be changed, but all is trulier understood with e(er! ste#. The Magus of the :ods" with ?is one 1ord that seems to o(erturn the chariot of Man+ind in ruin" does not in fact destro! or e(en alter an!thing, ?e sim#l! furnishes a new mode of a##l!ing Energ! to established Forms. The in(ention of electric machines has in no wa! interfered with Matter or Motion, it has onl! hel#ed us to get rid of certain as#ects of the *llusion of Time and S#ace" and so brought the most intelligent minds to the threshold of the Magical and M!stic @octrine$ the! ha(e been forced to imagine the #ossibilit! of the #erce#tion of the 'ni(erse as it is" freed of conditions. That is" the! ha(e been gi(en a glim#se of the nature of the Attainment of Master!. And it is surel! but a little ste# to ta+e for the leaders of Natural Science" Mathematics their guiding Star" that the! should understand the com#elling necessit! of the :reat 1or+" and a##l! themsel(es to its achie(ment. ?ere the great obstacles are these, firstl!" the misunderstanding of Self, and secondl!" the resistnece of the rational mind against its own conclusions. Men must cast off these two restrictions, the! must begin to realise that Self is hidden behind" and inde#endent of" the mental and material instrument in

which the! a##rehend their 5oint)of)Iiew, and the! must see+ an instrument other than that which insists %with e(er! single obser(ation& on im#ressing on them what is merel! its own most hateful flaw and error" the idea of dualit!. The Kon of ?orus is here$ and its first flower ma! well be this$ that" freed of the obsession of the doom of the Ego in @eath" and of the limitation of the Mind b! Reason" the best men again set out with eager e!es u#on the 5ath of the 1ise" the mountain trac+ of the goat" and then the untrodden Ridge" that leads to the ice)gleaming #innacles of Master!F

TRANCE
T?E 1OR@ Trance im#lies a #assing be!ond$ scil." the conditions which o##ress. The whole and sole ob ect of all true Magical and M!stical training is to become free from e(er! +ind of limitation. Thus" bod! and mind" in the widest sense" and the obstacles in the 5ath of the 1ise$ the #aradox" tragic enough as it seems" is that the! are also the means of #rogress. ?ow to get rid of them" to #ass be!ond or to transcend them" is the #roblem" and this is as strictl! #ractical and scientific as that of eliminatiing im#urities from a gas" or of adroitl! using mechanical laws. ?ere is the ine(itable logical flaw in the sorites of the Ade#t" that he is bound b! the (er! #rinci#les which it is his ob ect to o(ercome$ and on him who see+s to discard them arbitraril! the! haste to ta+e a terrible re(engeF *t is in #ractice" not in theor!" that this difficult! suddenl! disa##ears. For when we ta+e rational ste#s to sus#ect the o#eration of the rational mind" the inhibition does not result in chaos" but in the a##rehension of the 'ni(erse b! means of a facult! to which the laws of the Reason do not a##l!, and when" returning to the normal state" we see+ to anal!se our ex#erience" we find that the descri#tion abounds in rational absurdities. On further consideration" howe(er" it becomes graduall! clear4graduall!" because the habit of Trance must be firml! fixed beofre its fulminating im#ressions are trul! intelligible4that there are not two +inds of Thought" or of Nature" but one onl!. The 0aw of the Mind is the sole substance of the 'ni(erse" as well as the sole means b! which we a##rehend it. There is thus no true antithesis between the conditions of Trance and those of ratiocination and #erce#tion, the fact that Trance is not amenable to the rules of argument is im#ertinent. 1e sa! that in 7hess a Bnight tra(erses the diagonal of a rectangle measuring three s9uares b! two" neglecting its motion as a material ob ect in s#ace. 1e ha(e described a definite limited relation in terms of a s#ecial sense which wor+s b! an arbitrar! s!mbolism$ when we anal!se an! exam#le of our ordinar! mental #rocesses" we find the case entirel! similar. For what we =see"= =hear"= etc." de#ends u#on our idios!ncrasies" for one thing" and u#on con(entional inter#retation for another. Thus we agree to call grass green" and to a(oid wal+ing o(er the edge of #reci#ices" without an! attem#t to ma+e sure that an! two minds ha(e exactl! identical conce#tions of what these things ma! mean, and ust so we agree u#on the mo(es in 7hess. /! the rules of the game" then" we must thin+ and act" or we ris+ e(er! +ind of error, but we ma! be #erfectl! well aware that the rules are arbitrar!" and that it is after all onl! a game. The constant foll! of the traditional m!stic has been to be so #roud of himself for disco(ering the great secret that the 'ni(erse is no more than a to! in(ented b! himself for his amusement that he hastens to dis#la! his #owers b! deliberatel! misunderstanding and misusing the to!. ?e has not gras#ed the fact that ust because it is o more than a #ro ection of his own 5oint)of)Iiew" it is integrall! ?imself that he offendsF ?ere lies the error of such 5antheism as that of Mansur el)?alla "< whom Sir Richard /urton so delightfull! twits %in the /asidah& with his im#otence4 Mansur was wise" but wiser the! who

smote him with the hurlQd stones, And though his blood a witness bore" no 1isdom)Might could mend his bones. :od was in the stones no less than within his tarband)wra##ing, and when the twain crashed together" one #oint of #erce#tion of the fact was obscured4which was in no wise his designF To us" howe(er" this matter is not one for regret, it is %li+e e(er! #henomenon& an Act of 0o(e. And the (er! definition of such Act is the 5assing /e!ond of two E(ents into a Third" and their withdrawal into a Silence or Nothingness b! simultaneous reaction. *n this sense it ma! be said that the 'ni(erse is a constant issue into Trance, and in fact the #ro#er understanding of an! E(ent b! means of the suitable 7ontem#lation should #roduce the t!#e of Trance a##ro#riate to the com#lex E(ent)*ndi(idual in the case. Now all Magic+ is useful to #roduce Trance, for %U& it trains the mind in the disci#line necessar! to Eoga, %V& it exalts the s#irit to the im#ersonal and di(ine sublimit! which is the first condition of success, %W& it enlarges the sco#e of the mind" assuring it full master! of e(er! subtler #lane of Nature" thus affording it ade9uate material for ecstatic consummation of the Eucharist of Existence. The essence of the idea of Trance is indeed contained in that of Magic+" which is #re)eminentl! the transcendental Science and Art. *ts method is" in one chief sense" 0o(e" the (er! +e! of Trance, and in another" the #assing be!ond normal conditions. The (erbs to transcend" to transmit" to transcribe" and their i+e" are all of cardinal (irtue in Magic+. ?ence =0o(e is the law" lo(e under will= is the su#reme e#itome of Magical doctrine" and its uni(ersal Formula. For need an! man fear to state boldl! that e(er! Magical O#eration soe(er is onl! com#lete when it is characterised %in one sense or another& b! the occurrence of Trance. *t was ill done to restrict the use of the word to the su#ersession of dualistic human consciousness b! the im#ersonal and monistic state of Samadhi. Fast bubbles the fountain of Error when distinction is forcibl! drawn =between an! one thing and an! other thing.= Eea" (eril! and AmenF it is the first necessit! as it is the last attainment of Trance to abolish e(er! form and e(er! order of di(idualit! so fast as it #resents itself. /! this ra! ma! !e read in the /oo+ of !our own Magical Record the authentic stigma of !our own success.

ENER'Y
ENER:E is the Sacramental Moti(e of E(ent$ it is thus omni#resent" in manifestion b! interru#tion and com#ensation and otherwise b! the corres#onding withdrawal. %*n this connection let there be remembered the full formula of Tetragrammaton.& There are" howe(er" three main t!#es of s#ecial ex#erience which are noteworth! landmar+s in the #rocess of *nitiation" and of urgent #ractical (alue to the Magician. The s!mbol of the Sacrament being obser(ed" the! differ as do the three #artici#ants therein$ the :od" the 5riest" and the 7ommunicant. *n the highest" that is of Bether" the Energ! radiates wholl! from oneself$ that is" one is entirel! identifieds with ?adit. *n the middle" that of 7ho+mah" the Energ! #asses wholl! through oneself$ that is" one assumes the functions of Tahuti. *n the lowest" that is of :eburah" the Energ! im#inges wholl! u#on oneself$ that is" one absorbs it as a

man. *n all cases" the Energ! of which it is here written is not #articular or #ersonal, it is Energ! in itself" without 9ualit!. The highest mode can onl! be full! a##rehended b! an *#sissimus, it is the final attainment. *t is the acti(e counter#art of the higher form of the /eatific Iision. The middle mode is #ro#er to a Magus" or to one as#iring to his #ro#hetic function. *t is described" and the method of attaining it set forth" in the /oo+ called 1pus utetianum.> The lowest mode is the #eculiar tas+ of a Ma or Ade#t. *t is best accom#lished b! means of the Secret of the Sanctuar! of the :nosis %*RX O.T.O.&. Of the highest mode it would be neither fit nor useful to treat more intimatel!$ the middle mode concerns each Magician in his #eculiar and #ri(ate relations with the *nfinite" and demands from each of its Ade#ts a s#ecial #reoccu#ation$ but of the lowest it is con(enient to ma+e further mention. *t is a strangel! con(incing #roof of the true care of Nature for ?er instruments" des#ite the su#erficial e(idence to the contrar! on which the doctrines of #essimism are based" that the most #recious" the one ultimatel! essential :race that can #ossibl! be bestowed u#on man+ind is" of all Magical benefit" that which ma! be attained with more ease and certaint! than an! other. For Energ! is itself all that is$ and we (ar! with the 9uantit! and 9ualit! thereof" which we call =oursel(es.= The #rice which She demands is without doubt hea(! enough for a certain class, but it is e9uall! to be #aid" in (ar!ing degree" for e(er! t!#e of M!stical and Magical Ad(enture. This #rice is in essence the full 'nderstanding of the Mind of Nature ?erself" and com#lete s!m#ath! with ?er 1a! of 1or+. All the moral codes of man+ind" for all their absurd di(ersities" ha(e one common factor$ the! #retend to ha(e found mot(ices and methods which are su#erior to ?ers. That is" the! #resume a conce#tion of the End which is be!ond ?er (iew$ the! assert the #ossession of an *ntelligence loftier than that which has #roduced the 'ni(erse. 7onsider onl! that the highest maifestation #ossible to the rational mind has been the disco(er! of the 0aws which summari2e ?er manner of o#erationF 1e ma! then sa! at once that all such #retentious arrogance is im#udence and absurdit!, and it must be surrendered" na! more" u#rooted and calcined before an! serious #rogress can be made in the Ro!al and Sacredotal Art. ?ence also an! as#iration of a #artial order" an! which de#ends for its wisdom on the ustice of our #erce#tions of our own needs" is almost certain to be tainted with the (er! #oison of which Nature would #urge us. There is in fact onl! one Magical O#eration of whose #ro#riet! we ma! alwa!s be sure, and that is the increase of our sum of Energ!. *t is e(en indiscreet to tr! to s#ecifi! the +ind of Energ! re9uired" and worse to consider an! #articular #ur#ose. Energ! being increased" Nature will herself su##l! clarit!$ our Iision is obscure onl! because our Energ! is deficient. For Energ! is the Substance of the 'ni(erse. 1hen it is ade9uate" we are in no doubt as to how to em#lo! it, witness the e(ident case of the will of the Adolescent. *t is also to be well noted that moral obstructions to the right use of this Energ! cause at once the most hideous deformations of character" and determine the gra(est lesions of the ner(ous s!stem. 0et therefore the Magician di(est himself of all #reconce#tions as to the nature of his True 1ill" but a##l! himself eagerl! to increasing his 5otential. *n this disci#line %moreo(er& he is beginning to fit himself for that (er! abdication of all that he has and all that he is which is the essence of the Oath of the Ab!ssF

Thus then do we find one more of those #aradoxes which are the images of the Truth of the Su#ernals$ b! destro!ing our own highest moralit!" and rel!ing u#on our natural instincts as the sole guide" we come unaware u#on the most sim#le" and the most sublime" of all ethical and s#iritual conce#tions.

%NOWLED'E
@AYT?4Bnowledge4is not a Se#hira. *t is not on the Tree of 0ife, that is" there is in realit! no such thing. Of this thesis there are man! #roofs. The sim#lest %if not the best& is #erha#s as follows$ All +nowledge ma! be ex#ressed in the form S Z 5. /ut if so" the idea 5 is reall! im#licit in S, thus we ha(e learnt nothing. And" of course" if not so" the statement is sim#l! false.C Now see how we come at once to #aradox. For the thought =There is no such thing as +nowledge"= =Bnowledge is a false idea"= or howe(er it ma! be #hrased" can be ex#resed as S Z 5$ it is itself a thing +nown. *n other words" the attem#t to anal!se the idea leads immediatel! to a muddle in the mind. /ut this is of the essence of the Occult 1isdom concerning @aAth. For @aAth is the crown of the Ruach" the *ntellect, and its #lace is in the Ab!ss. That is" it brea+s into #ieces immediatel! it is examined. There is no coherence below the Ab!ss" or in it, to obtain this" which is one of the chief canons of Truth" we must reach Neschamah. For this there is another ex#lanation" 9uite a#art from the #urel! logical tra#. S Z 5 %unless identical" and therefore senseless& is an affirmation of dualit!, or" we ma! sa!" intellectual #erce#tion is a denial of the Samadhic truth. *t is therefore essentiall! false in the de#ths of its nature. The sim#lest and most ob(ious statement will not bear anal!sis. =Iermillion is red= is undeniable" no doubt, but on in9uir! it is found to be meaningless. For each term must be defined b! means of at least two other terms" of which the same thing is true, so that the #rocess of definition is alwa!s =obscurum per obscuris.= For there are no trul! sim#le terms. There is no real intellectual #erce#tion #ossible. 1hat we su##ose to be such is in fact a series of more or less #lausible con(entions based u#on the a##arent #arallelism of ex#erience. There is no final warrant that an! two #ersons mean #recisel! the same thing b! =sweet"= or =high=, e(en such conce#tions as those of number are #erha#s onl! identical in relation to #ractical (ulgar a##lications. These and similar considerations lead to certain t!#es of #hiloso#hical sce#ticism. Neschamic conce#tions are nowise exem#t from this criticism" for" e(en su##osing them identical in an! number of #ersons" their ex#ression" being intellectual" will suffer the same stress as normal #erce#tions. /ut none of this sha+es" or e(en threatens" the 5hiloso#h! of Thelema. On the contrar!" it ma! be called the Roc+ of its foundation. For the issue of all is e(identl! that all conce#tions are necessaril! uni9ue because there can ne(er be two identical #oints)of)(iew, and this corres#onds with the facts, for there are #oints)of)(iew close +in" and thus there ma! be a su#erficial general agreement" as there is" which is found to be false on anal!sis" as has been shewn. From the abo(e it will be understood how it comes that there are no Trances of Bnowledge, and this

bids us en9uire into the tradition of the :rimoires that all +nowledge is miraculousl! attainable. The answer is that" while all Trances are destro!ers of Bnowledge4since" for one thing" the! all destro! the sense of @ualit!4the! !et #ut into their Ade#t the means of +nowledge. 1e ma! regard rational a##rehension as a #ro ection of Truth in dualistic form, so that he who #ossesses an! gi(en Truth has onl! to s!mbolise it in terms of the intellect to obtain its image in the form of Bnowledge. The conce#tion is difficult, an illustration ma! clear its (iew. An architect can indicate the general characteristics of a building on #a#er b! means of two drawings4a ground #lan and an ele(ation. Neither but is false in nearl! e(er! res#ect, each is #artial" each lac+s de#th" and so on. And !et" in combination" the! do re#resent to the trained imagination what the building actuall! is, also" =illusions= as the! are" no other illusions will ser(e the mind to disco(er the truth which the! intend. This is the realit! hidden in all the illusions of the intellect, and this is the basis of the necessit! for the As#irant of ha(ing his +nowledge accurate and ade9uate. The common M!stic affects to des#ise Science as =illusion=$ this is the most fatal of all errors. For the instruments with which he wor+s are all of this (er! order of =illusor! things.= 1e +now that lenses distort images, but for all that" we can ac9uire information about distant ob ects which #ro(es correct when the lens is constructed according to certain =illusor!= #rinci#les and not be abitrar! ca#rice. The M!stic of this +ind is generall! recogni2ed b! men as a #roud fool, he +nows the fact" and is hardened in his #resum#tion and arrogance. One finds him goaded b! his subconscious shame to acti(e attac+s on Science, he gloats u#on the a##arent errors of calculation which constantl! occur" not at all understanding the self)im#osed limitations of (alidit! of statement which are alwa!s im#lied, in short" he comes at last to abandon his own #ostulates" and ta+es refuge in the hermit)crab)cara#ace of the theologian. /ut" on the other hand" to him who has firml! founded his rational thin+ing on sound #rinci#les" who has ac9uired dee# com#rehension of one fundamental science" and made #ro#er #ath between it and its germans which he understands onl! in general" who has" finall!" secured the whole of this structure b! #enetrating through the a##ro#riate Trances to the Neschamic Truths of which it is the rightl!)ordered #ro ection in the Ruach" to him the field of Bnowledge" thus well)#loughed" well)sown" well)fertili2ed" well left to ri#en, is read! for him to rea#. The man who trul! understands the underl!ing formulG of one root)sub ect can easil! extend his a##rehension to the boughs" lea(es" flowers" and fruit, and it is this sense that the mediG(al master of Magic+ were ustified in claiming that b! the e(ocation of a gi(en @aimon the worth! Octinomos might ac9uire the #erfect +nowledge of all sciences" s#ea+ with all tongues" command the lo(e of all" or otherwise deal with all Nature as from the stand#oint of its Ma+er. 7rude are those credulous or critical who thought of the E(ocation as the wor+ of an hour or a wee+F And the gain thereof to the Ade#tD Not the #ure gold" certes" nor the Stone of the 5hiloso#hersF /ut !et a (er! (irtuous wea#on of much use on the 1a!, also" a might! comfort to the human side of him, for the sweet fruit that hangs u#on the Tree that ma+es men gods is ust this sun)ri#e and soft)bloom) (eiled globe of Bnowledge.

UNDERSTANDIN'
T?E NAT'RE of Bnowledge" the culmination and stasis of the *ntellectual faculties" has been discussed in the #re(ious essa!. *t im#lies a contradiction in terms. 'nderstanding in the resolution of this antinom!. *t is the chief 9ualit! of Neschamah" the *ntelligence4an idea insusce#tible of true definition because su#ra)rational" and onl! a##reciable b! direct ex#erience. One can sa!" at most" that

it is inde#endent of an! of the normal modes of motion of the mind. %*t is a significant illustration of the truth of this -abalistic theor!" that women often #ossess most excellent *ntelligence" while totall! inca#able of the Bnowledge and Reason on which" logicall!" it is founded.& Samadhi" at first onset #roducti(e of bewildering Ecstas!" ultimates in this 'nderstanding, one ma! sa!" therefore" that 'nderstanding im#lies a certain Samadhic 9ualit! of a##rehension. @ualit! is %#erha#s& not absolutel! abolished sa(e in the su#erstructure of the state, but it assumes a form which it would be absurd to call dualistic. %*t will be noticed that (iolation of logic is essential to e(er! true effort to con(e! the conce#tion.& This fact lies at the root of all Trinitarian s!mbolism, the scheme is geometrical in idea" and e(en arithmetical" as shewn b! the attribution of /inah to the number <. /ut the solution of e(er! d!ad in a Triune Triad is misleading" in so far as it #ur#orts to inter#ret the #henomenon in terms of intellect" and onl! useful as it ma! train the reasoning faculties to su#ersede themsel(es in a sublime suicide u#on the Altar of the M!stic *ntuition4though this" after all" is a mean imitation of the #ro#er #rocess. For it" firstl!" unscientific in method, and secondl!" illegitimate in its denial of its own (alidit!. The onl! correct and ade9uate mode of the Attainment of 'nderstanding is to shut off and to inhibit the rational mind altogether" thus lea(ing a Tabula rasa u#on which the entirel! alien facult!4de no"o and sui generis4can write its first word. /ut then %it will surel! be said& what is more unintelligent that this su##osed *ntelligenceD Than this formless" e(en delirious" Ecstas! which swee#s awa! all sha#es of thoughtD No sane man would den! this #remiss$ but the ex#lanation is that this Ecstas! is %so to sa!& the throe of /irth of the new facult!. *t is surel! natural for an obser(er to be startled" for the moment" b! the disco(er! of a new 'ni(erse. Ananda must be mastered manfull!" not indulged as a (ice in the manner of the M!sticF Samadhi must be clarified b! Sila" b! the stern (irtue of constraint$ and then a##ears the #aradox that the new 0aw of the Mind has =come not to destro! but to fulfil= the old. The 'nderstanding ta+es full cogni2ance of all that (ast material which the Reason was unable to build into an! coherent structure. The contradictions ha(e disa##eared b! absor#tion, the! ha(e been acce#ted as essential factors in the nature of Truth" which without them were a mere congeries of Facts. *t will be clear from all these considerations that there need be no sur#rise at this #rimordial #aradox$ that Sce#ticism" absolute in e(er! dimension" is the sole #ossible basis of true Attainment. All attem#ts to shir+ the issue b! a##eals to =faith"= b! m!stic transcendental so#histries" or an! other s#iritual (arieties of the Three)7ard)Tric+" are de(oted to the most ab ect destruction. One cannot =find the 0ad!= b! an! other wa! than that of the Bnight)Errant" of the :reat Fool4the 1a! of the Eagle in the Air4whose Sacred Number is the Sacred Zero. Eea also" Naught being All" and All being 5an" the onl! due address to :odhead is in the dual form [U\]UW^ [UWW^_^`abL For all must be destro!ed that All ma! be begotten. ( O:ree+" =all)de(ourer" all)begetter.=P

CHASTITY
T?OSE 1ORBS of Ancient and MediG(al 0iterature which more #articularl! concern the See+er after

Truth" concur on one o#oint. The most worthless :rimoires of /lac+ Magic" no less than the highest #hiloso#hical flights of the /rotherhood which we name not" insist u#on the (irtue of 7hastit! as cardinal to the :ate of 1isdom. 0et first be noted this word Iirtue" the 9ualit! of Manhood" integral with Iirilit!. The 7hastit! of the Ade#t of the Rose and 7ross" or of the :raal)Bnights of Mosal(at" is not other than (er! o##osite to that of which the #oet can write$ . . . 7hastit! that sla(ering sates ?is lust without the walls" mews" and is gone" 5reening himself that his lewd li#s re#ent. Or to that emasculate frigor of Alfred Tenn!son and the Academic Schools. The 7hastit! whose Magical Energ! both #rotects and urges the as#irant to the Sacred M!steries is 9uite contrar! in its dee#est nature to all (ulgar ideas of it, for it is" in the first #lace" a #ositi(e #assion, in the second" connected onl! b! obscure magical lin+s with the sexual function, and" in the third" the deadliest enem! of e(er! form of bourgeois moralit! and sentiment. *t ma! assist us to create in our minds a clear conce#t of this noblest and rarest4!et most necessar!4 of the Iirtues" if we draw the distinction between it and one of its ingredients" 5urit!. 5urit! is a #assi(e or at least static 9ualit!, it connotes the absence of all alien admixture from an! gi(en idea, as" #ure gallium" #ure mathematics" #ure race. *t is a secondar! and deri(ed use of thw word which we find in such ex#ressions as =#ure mil+"= which im#l! freedom from contamination. 7hastit!" per contra" as the et!molog! %castus" #ossibl! connected with castrum" a fortified cam#L& suggests" ma! be su##osed to assert the moral attitude of readiness to resist an! assault u#on an existing state of 5urit!. So dear to hea(en is saintl! chastit! That when a soul is found sincerel! so A thousand li(eried angels lac+e! it" sang Milton" with the true #oet3s (eil)#iercing sword)(ision, for ser(ice is but waste unless action demands it. The S#hinx is not to be mastered b! holding aloof, and the brutish innocence of 5aradise is alwa!s at the merc! of the Ser#ent. *t is his 1isdom that should guard our 1a!s, we need his swiftness" subtlet!" and his ro!al #rerogati(e of dealing death. The *nnocence of the Ade#tD 1e are at once reminded of the strong *nnocense of ?ar#ocrates" and of ?is Energ! of Silence. A chaste man is thus not merel! one who a(oids the contagion of im#ure thoughts and their results" but whose (irilit! is com#etent to restore 5erfection to the world about him. Thus the 5arsifal who flees from Bundr! and her attendant flower)witches loses his wa! and must wander long !ears in the @esert, he is not trul! chaste until he is able to redeem her" and act which he #erforms b! the reunion of the 0ance and the Sangraal. 7hastit! ma! thus be defined as the strict obser(ance of the Magical Oath, that is" in the 0ight of the 0aw of Thelema" absolute and #erfected de(otion to the ?ol! :uardian Angel and exclusi(e #ursuit of the 1a! of the True 1ill. *t is entirel! incom#atible with the cowardice of moral attitude" the emasculation of soul and stanation of action" which commonl! denote the man called chaste b! the (ulgar.

=/eware of abstinence from actionF= is it not written in Our lectionD For the nature of the 'ni(erse being 7reati(e Energ!" aught else blas#hemes the :oddess" and see+s to introduce the elements of a real death within the #ulses of 0ife. The chaste man" the true Bnight)Errant of the Stars" im#oses continuall! his essential (irilit! u#on the throbbing 1omb of the Bing3s @aughter, with e(er! stro+e of his S#ear he #enetrates the heart of ?oliness" and bids s#ring forth the Fountain of the Sacred /lood" s#lashing its scarlet dew throughout S#ace and Time. ?is *nnocence melts with its white)hot Energ! the felon fetters of that Restriction which is Sin" and his *ntegrit! with its fur! of Righteousness establishes that .ustice which alone can satisf! the !earning lust of the 1omanhood whose name is O##ortunit!. As the function of the castrum or castellum is not merel! to resist a siege" but to com#el to Obedience of 0aw and Order e(er! #agan within range of its riders" so also it is the 1a! of 7hastit! to do more than defend its #urit! against assault. For he is not wholl! #ure who is im#erfect, and #erfect is no man in himself without his fulfillment in all #ossibilit!. Thus then must he be instant to see+ all #ro#er ad(enture and achie(e it" seeing well to it that b! no means should such distract him or di(ert his #ur#ose" #olluting his true Nature and hamstringing his true 1ill. 1oe" woe therefore to him the unchaste who shir+s scornful the seeming)tri(ial" or flees fearful the des#erate" ad(enture. And woe" thrice woe" and four times woe be to him who is allured b! the ad(enture" slac+ing his 1ill and demitted from his 1a!$ for as the laggard and the dastard are lost" so is the to! of circumstance dragged down to nethermost ?ell. Sir Bnight" be (igilant$ watch b! !our arms and renew !our Oath, for that da! is of sinister augur! and deadl! charged with danger which !e fill not to o(erflowing with ga! deeds and bold of masterful" of manful 7hastit!F ( The root cas means house, and an house is /eth" the letter of Mercur!" the Magus of the Tarot. ?e is not still" in a #lace of re#ose" but the 9uintessence of all Motion. ?e is the 0ogos, and ?e is #hallic. This doctrine is of the utmost im#ortance.

SILENCE
OF A00 the Magical and M!stical Iirtues" of all the :races of the Soul" of all the Attainments of the S#irit" none has been so misunderstood" e(en when at all a##rehended" as Silence. *t would not be #ossible to enumerate the common errors$ na!" it ma! be said that to thin+ of it at all is in itself an error, for its nature is 5ure /eing" that is to sa!" Nothing" so that it is be!ond all intellection or intuition. Thus then the utmost of our Essa! can be onl! a certain 1ardenshi#" as it were a T!ling of the 0odge wherein the M!ster! of Silence ma! be consummated. For this attitude there is sound traditional authorit!, for ?ar#ocrates" :od of Silence" is called =The 0ord of @efence and 5rotection.= /ut ?is nature is b! no means that negati(e and #assi(e silence which the word commonl! connotes, for ?e is the All)1andering S#irit, the 5ure and 5erfect Bnight)Errant" who answers all Enigmas" and o#ens the 7losed 5ortal of the Bing3s @aughter. /ut Silence in the (ulgar sense is not the answer to the Riddle of the S#hinx, it is that which is created b! that answer. For Silence is the e9uilibrium of 5erfection, so that ?ar#ocrates is the omniform" the uni(ersal Be! to e(er! M!ster! so(er. The S#hinx is the =5u22el or 5ucelle"= the Feminine *dea to which there is onl! one com#lement" alwa!s different

in form" and alwa!s identical in essence. This is the signification of the :esture of the :od, it is shewn more clearl! in ?is adult form as the Fool of the Tarot and as /acchus @i#hues" and without e9ui(ocation when ?e a##ears as /a#homet. 1hen we in9uire more closel! into ?is s!mbolism" the first 9ualit! which engages our attention is doubtless ?is innocence. Not without dee# wisdom is ?e called twin of ?orus, and this is the Kon of ?orus$ it is ?e who sent forth Aiwass his minister to #roclaim its ad(ent. The Fourth 5ower of the S#hinx is Silence, to us then who as#ire to this #ower as the crown of our 1or+" it will be of utmost (alue to attain ?is innocence in all its fullness. 1e must understand first of all that the root of Moral Res#onsibilit!" on which Man stu#idl! #rides himself as distinguishing him from the other animals" is Restriction" which is the 1ord of Sin. *ndeed" there is truth in the ?ebrew fable" that the +nowledge of :ood and E(il brings forth @eath. To regain *nnocence is to regain Eden. 1e must learn to li(e without the murderous consciousness that e(er! breath we draw swells the sails which bear our frail (essels to the 5ort of the :ra(e. 1e must cast out Fear b! 0o(e, seeing that E(er! Act is an Orgasm" their total issue cannot be but /irth. Also" 0o(e is the law$ thus e(er! act must be Righteousness and Truth. /! certain Meditations this ma! be understood and established, and this ought to be done so thoroughl! that we become unconscious of our Sanctification" for onl! then is *nnocence made #erfect. This state is" in fact" a necessar! condition of an! #ro#er contem#lation of what we are accustomed to consider the first tas+ of the As#irant" the solution of the 9uestion" =1hat is m! True 1illD= For until we become innocent" we are certain to tr! to udge our 1ill b! some 7anon of what seems =right= or =wrong=, in other words" we are a#t to criticise our 1ill from the outside" whereas True 1ill should s#ring" a fountain of 0ight" from within" and flow unchec+ed" seething with 0o(e" into the Ocean of 0ife. This is the true idea of Silence, it is our 1ill which issues" #erfectl! elastic" sublimel! 5rotean" to fill e(er! interstice of the 'ni(erse of Manifestation which it meets in its course. There is no gulf too great for its immeasurable strength" no strait to arduous for its im#erturbable subtlet!. *ts form is alwa!s (aried b! that of the #articular im#erfection which it encounters$ its essence is identical in e(er! e(ent. And alwa!s the effect of its action is 5erfection" that is" Silence, and this 5erfection is e(er the same" being #erfect" !et e(er different" because each case #resents its own #eculiar 9uantit! and 9ualit!. *t is im#ossible for ins#iration itself to sound a dith!ramb of Silence, for each new as#ect of ?ar#ocrates is worth! of the music of the 'ni(erse throughout Eternit!. * ha(e sim#l! been led b! m! lo!al 0o(e of that strange Race among whom * find m!self incarnate to indite this #oor stan2a of the infinite E#ic of ?ar#ocrates as being the facet of ?is fecund /rilliance which has refracted the most needful light u#on mine own dar+ling Entrance to ?is shrine of fulminating" of ineffable :odhead. * #raise the luxuriant Ra#ture of *nnocence" the (irile and #antomor#hous Ecstas! of all)Fulfilment, * #raise the 7rowned and 7on9uering 7hild whose name is Force and Fire" whose subtlet! and strength ma+e sure serenit!" whose Energ! and Endurance accom#lish the Attainment of the Iirgin of the Absolute, who" being manifested" is the 5la!er u#on the se(enfold #i#e" the :reat :od 5an" and" being withdrawn into the 5erfection that he willed" is Silence.

LO*E
&nd the 3agus is o"e, and bindeth together That and This in 4is %onjuration. T?E FORM'0A of Tetragrammaton is the com#lete mathematical ex#ression of 0o(e. *ts essence is this$ an! two things unite" with a double effect, firstl!" the destruction of both" accom#anied b! the ecstas! due to the relief of the strain of se#arateness, secondl!" the creation of a third thing"

accom#anied b! the ecstas! of the realisation of existence" which is .o! until with de(elo#ment it becomes aware of its im#erfection" and lo(es. This formula of 0o(e is uni(ersal, all the laws of Nature are its ser(itors. Thus" gra(itation" chemical affinit!" electrical #otential" and the rest4and these are ali+e mere as#ects of the general law4are so man! differentl! obser(ed statements of the uni9ue tendenc!. The 'ni(erse is conser(ed b! the du#lex action in(ol(ed in the formula. The disa##earance of Father and Mother is #recisel! com#ensated b! the emergence of Son and @aughter. *t ma! therefore be considered a #er#etual)motion)engine which continuall! de(elo#s rature in each of its #hases. The sacrifice of *#higenia at Aulis ma! be ta+en as t!#cial of the formula$ the m!stical effect is the assum#tion of the maid to the bosom of the goddess, while" for the mgical" the destruction of her earthl! #art" the fawn" com#oses the rage of Kolus" and bids the @anaids set sail. Now it cannot be too clearl! understood" or too acutel! realised b! means of action" that the intensit! of the .o! liberated (aries with the original degree of o##osition between the two elements of the union. ?eat" light" electricit! are #henomena ex#ressi(e of the fulness of #assion" and their (alue is greatest when the di(ersit! of the Energies com#osing the marriage is most strenuous. One obtains more from the ex#losion of ?!drogen and Ox!gen than from the dull combination of substances indifferent to each other. Thus" the union of Nitrogen and 7hlorine is so little satisf!ing to either molecule" that the resulting com#ound disintegrates with ex#losi(e (iolence at the slightest shoc+. 1e might sa!" then" in the language of Thelema" that such an act of lo(e is not =lo(e under will.= *t is" so to s#ea+" a blac+ magical o#eration. 0et us consider" in a figure" the =feelings= of a molecule of ?!drogen in the #resence of one of Ox!gen or 7hlroine. *t is made to suffer intensel! b! the realisation of the extremit! of its de(iation from the #erfect t!#e of monad b! the contem#lation of an element so su#remel! o##osed to its own nature at e(er! #oint. So far as it is egoist" its reaction must be scorn and hatred, but as it understands the true shame that is #ut u#on its se#arateness b! the #resence of its o##osite" these feelings turn to anguished !earning. *t begins to cra(e the electric s#ar+ which will enable it to assuage its #angs b! the annihilation of all those #ro#erties which constitute its se#arate existence" in the ra#ture of union" and at the same time to fulfil its #assion to create a #erfect t!#e of 5eace. 1e see the same #s!cholog! e(er!where in the #h!sical world. A stronger and more elaborate illustration might well ha(e been drawn" were the #ur#ose of this essa! less catholic" from the structure of the atoms themsel(es" and their effort to resol(e the agon! of their agitation in the beatific Nir(ana of the =noble= gases. The #rocess of 0o(e under 1ill is e(identl! #rogressi(e. The Father who has slain himself in the womb of the Mother finds himself again" with her" and transfigured" in the Son. This Son acts as a new Father, and it is thus that the Self is constantl! aggrandi2ed" and able to counter#oise and e(er greater Not)Self" until the final act of 0o(e under 1ill which com#rehends the 'ni(erse in Sammasamadhi. The #assion of ?atred is thus reall! directed against oneself, it is the ex#ression of the #ain and shame of se#arateness, and it onl! a##ears to be directed against the o##soite b! #s!chological transference. This thesis the School of Freud has made sufficientl! clear. There is then little indeed in common between 0o(e and such te#id #assions as regard" affection" or +indliness, it is the uninitiate" who" to his damnation in a hell of cabbage sou# and soa#)suds" confuses them. 0o(e ma! best be defined as the #assion of ?atred inflamed to the #oint of madness" when it ta+es refuge in Self)destruction.

0o(e is clear)sighted with the lust of deadl! rage" anatomi2ing its (ictim with +een energ!" see+ing where best to stri+e home mortall! to the heart, it becomes blind onl! when its fur! has com#letel! o(er#owered it" and thrust it into the red maw of the furnace of self)immolation. 1e must further distinguish 0o(e in this magical sense from the sexual formula" s!mbol and t!#e though that be thereof. For the #ure essence of Magic+ is a function of ultimate atomic consciousness" and its o#erations must be refined from all confusion and contamination. The trul! magical o#erations of 0o(e are therefore the Trances" more es#eciall! those of 'nderstanding, as will readil! ha(e been a##reciated b! those who ha(e made a careful -abalistic stud! of the nature of /inah. For She is omniform as 0o(e and @eath" the :reat Sea whence all 0ife s#rings" and whose blac+ womb re)absorbs all. She thus resumes in herself the du#lex #rocess of the Formula of 0o(e under 1ill, for is not 5an the All)/egetter in the heart of the :ro(es at high noon" and is not ?er =hair the trees of Eternit!= the filaments of All)@e(ouring :odhead =under the Night of 5an=D Eet let it not be forgotten that though She be lo(e" her function is but #assi(e, she is the (ehicle of the 1ord" of 7ho+mah" 1isdom" the All)Father" who is the 1ill of the All)One. And thus the! err with grie(ous error and dire who #rate of 0o(e as the Formula of Magic+, 0o(e is unbalanced" (oid" (ague" undirected" sterilem na!" more" a (er! Shell" the #re! of ab ect orts" demonic$ 0o(e must be =under will.=

TRUTH
1?AT is TruthD *t is absurd to attem#t to define it" for when we sa! that S is 5" rather than S is -" or S is R" we assume that we alread! +now the meaning of Truth. This is reall! wh! all the discussions as to whether Truth de#ends of external corres#ondence" internal coherence" or what not" neither #roduce con(iction" nor withstand anal!sis. /riefl!" Truth is an idea of a su#ra)rational order" #ertaining to Neschamah" not to Ruach. That all rational conce#tions im#l! that we +now Truth" and that Truth is in their #ro#ositions" onl! shows that these so)called rational ideas are not real! rational at all. Truth is b! no means the onl! idea that resists rational anal!sis. There are (er! man! ideas that remain indefinable$ all sim#le ideas do so. At the bac+ of all our efforts is the dead wall that we must alread! +now what we are #retending to find out. 7onsider the statement of the Angel in the Cth Kth!r in The 'ision and the 'oice$ . . . all the s!mbols are interchangeable" for each one containeth in itself its own o##osite. And this is the great M!ster! of the Su#ernals that are be!ond the Ab!ss. For below the Ab!ss" contradiction is di(ision, but abo(e the Ab!ss" contradiction is 'nit!. And there could be nothing true exce#t b! (irtue of the contradiction that is contained in itself. 1hen that was gi(en to the Master Therion" how obscure a sa!ing and hard that seemed to himF Eet in the light of the abo(e #aragra#hs" how sim#l! ob(ious the #ro#osition has become" and how far short of4TruthF 1hat then can be meant b! the title of this com#ilation$ =0ittle Essa!s toward Truth=D @o we not all assume a #erfectl! illogical conce#tion of Truth as an entit! of =the su#ramundane order" whence a whirling flame and fl!ing 0ight subsist=D @o we not instincti(el! assimilate these ideas of Truth and 0ight" though there is no rational nexusD *s it not clear" then" that we do understand each other #erfectl!" so far as we can understand each other at all" in a s#here such as Zoroaster calls =*ntelligible"= which =subsisteth be!ond Mind= but which we should =see+ to gras# with the Flower of Mind=D Must we not then assent to that other Oracle" in which that Magus most sublime asserts$

For the Bing of all #re(iousl! #laced before the #ol!mor#hous 1orld a T!#e" intellectual" incorru#tible" the im#rint of whose form is sent forth through the 1orld" b! which the 'ni(erse shone forth dec+ed with *deas all)(arious" of which the foundation is One" One and alone. From this the others rush forth" distributed and se#arated through the (arious bodies of the 'ni(erse" and are borne in swarms through its (ast ab!sses" e(er whirling forth in illimitable radiation. The! are intellectual conce#tions from the 5aternal Fountain #arta+ing abundantl! of the brilliance of Fire in the culmination of unresting Time. /ut the #rimar! self)#erfect Fountain of the Father #oured forth these #rimogenial *deas. %*t is to be remembered that the 1racles of 5oroasterc continuall! #roclaim in words of boundless brillianc! the doctrine here set forth$ these Essa!s are indeed a s#ecies of 7ommentar! thereu#on" and * ma! sa! that * onl! came to understand them as #erfectl! as * now do in the course of this writing.& Now this same Truth" which is 0ight" which is im#licit in each s#ar+ of the *ntelligible, what is it but the Self of E(er!manD *t is this that informs his e(er! motion" this that lies closest to his heart and soul" being indeed their mains#ring and their dial" the #rinci#le of section and of measure. Now *nitiation is" b! et!molog!" the journeying inwards6 it is the Io!age of @isco(er! %oh 1onder) 1orldF& of one3s own Soul. And this is Truth that stands u#on the #row" eternall! alert, this is Truth that sits with one strong hand gri##ing the helmF Truth is our 5ath" and Truth is our :oal, a!F there shall come to all a moment of great 0ight when the 5ath is seen to be itself the :oal, and in that hour e(er! one of us shall exclaim$ =* AM T?E 1AE T?E TR'T? AN@ T?E 0*FEF= Eea" the 0ife also" 0ife eternal in Time and boundless in S#ace, for what is 0ife but the continual resolution of the antinom! of the di(erse b! the s#asm of 0o(e under 1ill" that is" b! the constantl! ex#losi(e" the orgiastic" #erce#tion of Truth" the dissolution of di(idualit! in one radiant star of Truth that e(er re(ol(eth" and goeth" and filleth the ?ea(ens with 0ightD * beseech !ou earnestl!" dear /rethren" to gra##le manfull! as might! wrestlers with the ideas in these 0ittle Essa!s$ to understand them4 . . . with the extended flame of far)reaching Mind" measuring all things exce#t that *ntelligible. /ut it is re9uisite to understand this, for if thou inclinest th! Mind thou wilt understand it" not earnestl!, but it is becoming to bring with thee a #ure and in9uiring sense" to extend the (oid mind of th! soul to that *ntelliggible" that thou ma!st learn the *ntelligible" because it subsisteth be!ond Mind. For thus not onl! will !ou de(elo# the s#iritual intuition" the (er! Neschamah of !our di(ine /eing" but %in the degree of !our 7oncentration" of !our #ower to slow down and finall! to sto# the irritable mo(ements of !our ratiocinati(e machiner!& to transmute these Essa!s4the 2rima 3ateria of !our :reat 1or+, #assing them through the stage of the /lac+ @ragon" in which !our rational ideas are wholl! destro!ed and #utrefied" !ou will succeed in enflaming them in the fierce Furnace of !our 7reati(e 1ills" until all things burn u# together in one bla2ing mass of li(ing" of relentless 0ight. And thus come !e to Sammasamadhi4thus are !e free for e(er of all the bonds that bound !our :odheadF A similar Fire flashingl! extending through the rushings of Air" or a Fire formless whence cometh the *mage of a Ioice" or e(en a flashing 0ight abounding" re(ol(ing" whirling forth" cr!ing aloud. Also there is the Iision of the fire) flashing 7ourser of 0ight" or else a 7hild" borne aloft on the shoulders of the

7elestial Steed" fier!" or clothed with gold" or na+ed" or shooting with the bow shafts of 0ight" and standing on the shoulders of the horse, then if th! meditation #rolongeth itself" thou shalt unite all these s!mbols into the Form of a 0ion. Then shall !e understand what is Truth" for !e shall understand !our Sel(es" and EE ARE TR'T?F

'LOSSARY
A
A/?*@?AAMA. The collection of treatises which embod! the meta#h!sics of the /uddhist #hiloso#h!. A?AMBARA. The Ego)ma+ing facult!. ANAN@A. /liss. ASANA. 5osture. An! correct #osition of holding the bod!. ATZ*0'T?*7 1OR0@. The Archet!#al 1orld that ga(e birth to three other worlds" each containing a re#etition of the Se#hiroth" but in a descending order of brightness. See @iagram.

B
/A/A0ON. Our 0ad!. See 78uino0 *%C&" The 'ision and the 'oice. /ET?. Second letter of the ?ebrew Al#habet. *t is the letter of 1isdom" Magic+" Mercur!. /?A:AIA@:*TA. Sacred h!mn of the Iedanta 5hiloso#h!" translated b! Sir Edwin Arnold in The (ong %elestial. /*NA?. 'nderstanding. The third =Emanation= of the Absolute. The first =?e= of Tetragrammaton" the =Mother= in the Trinit!. See @iagram.

C
7?*A?. The 7reati(e *m#ulse or 1ill. The second #rinci#le of the Fi(efold constitution of man. See @iagram. 7?OBMA?. 1isdom. The Second =Emanation= of the Absolute" the =Eod= of Tetragrammaton" the =Father= in the Trinit!. See @iagram. 7?ORONZON. See 78uino0 *%C&" The 'ision and the 'oice" 8Tth Kth!r. 7*TE OF T?E 5ERAM*@S. /inah" the Third Se#hira" referred to Saturn. The final destruction of the +nowledge of @aAth o#ens the gate of the 7it! of 5!ramids. See The 'ision and the 'oice.

D
@AYT?. Bnowledge" child of 7ho+mah and /inah in one sense" in the other the em#t! and structureless condition of 7horon2on.

E
EREM5T A@E5T. :rade 6X Z >X" which refers to 7hesed" a corres#ondence of .u#iter. See @iagram.

'
:E/'RA?. Strength, the Fifth =Emanation= of the Absolute. The Se#hira of Mars. See @iagram.

H
?A@*T. The infinitel! small and atomic !et omni#resent #oint. See 0iber 0egis" 78uino0 *%6&" also 0iber CCC. ?AR5O7RATES. The Eg!#tian :od of Silence" the babe in the egg. %The image of the concealed Father.& The 0ord of @efence and 5rotection. See 999. ?OR'S. *n Eg!#tian cosmogon!" the child of *sis and Osiris. The true Magic+ of ?orus re9uires the #assionate 'nion of o##sites. The new Kon of ?orus. The 7rowned and 7on9uering 7hild. See 3agick.

I
*5S*SS*M'S. :rade 8TX Z 8X. *s be!ond all com#rehension of those of lower degrees.

+
.E7?*@A?. The 9uintessential #rinci#le of the soul. One #rinci#le of the fi(efold constitution of man. See @iagram.

%
BARMA. That which is made. The law of cause and effect" see Science and /uddhism" 7rowle!3s %ollected Works" Iol. ;. BET?ER. The 7rown. The first =Emanation= of the Absolute. Bether is in Mal+uth and Mal+uth is in Bether" but after another manner. Mal+uth reflects Bether" for that which is abo(e is li+e that which is below" and that which is below is li+e that which is abo(e. See diagram.

M
MA:*7B. The science and art of causing change to occur in conformit! with 1ill. See 3agick in Theory and 2ractice" b! the Master Therion. MA:'S. A Magician, also" technicall!" a Master of the :rade dX Z ;X. The highest grade which it is e(er #ossible to manifest in an! wa! whate(er u#on this #lane. Attains to 1isdom" declares his 0aw" and is the Master of all Magic+ in its greatest and highest sense. See 78uino0 *%6&" 0iber *" and elsewhere. MA.OR A@E5T. A grade of Ade#tshi#. cX Z CX. Obtains a general master! of all #ractical Magic+" though without full com#rehension. See 78uino0 *%8" <&.

N
NES7?AMA?. *ntuition. As#iration. *ntelligence. The Third #rinci#le of the fi(efold constitution of man. See @iagram. NE5?ES7?. The =Animal Soul= of man" senses" emotion. The Fifth #rinci#le of the fi(efold constitution of man. See @iagram. N'*T. *nfinite S#ace. See 0iber 0egis and 0iber R* %78uino0 *%6&" #. 88&.

O
OS*R*S. The Ancient Eg!#tian Redeemer" father of ?orus. O7T*NOMOS. Master Magician.6

,
5ERAM*@S" 7*TE OF T?E. /inah" the Third Se#hira" referred to Saturn. The final destruction of the +nowledge of @aAth o#ens the gate of the 7it! of 5!ramids. See The 'ision and the 'oice.

-A/A0A?. =The Tradition of the Secret 1isdom of the ?ebrews.= See 78uino0 *%C&.

R
R'A7?. The *ntellect and other mental 9ualities. Reason. The Fourth #rinci#le of the fi(efold constitution of man. See 666" and @iagram.

S
SA//e 5* @'BB?AM. =E(er!thing is sorrow.= SAMA@?*. Ecstas! or Su#er)consciousness. Et!mologicall!$ =Together with the 0ord.= SAMMASAMA@?*. Right Samadhi. SE5?*ROT?. The Tree of 0ife. See =Tem#le of Solomon"= 78uino0 *%C&. The (epher (ephiroth" the /oo+ of Emanations" describes the gradual e(olution of the @eit! from negati(e into #ositi(e existence. See 78uino0 *%f& %Su##lement&"f and @iagram. S*0A. Iirtue.

T
TAROT. The /oo+ of Thoth" a #ictorial e#itome of the Ancient *nitiated 1isdom. A method of @i(ination based on the -abalistic Tree of 0ife. TETRA:RAMMATON. Eod" ?e" Iau" ?H, The *neffable Name %.eho(ah& of the ?ebrews. See @iagram. T?E0EMA. 1ill. The word of the 0aw. T*5?ARET?. /eaut! or ?armon!" the Sixth =Emanation= of the Absolute. The Se#hira harmonising

and mediating between Bether and Mal+uth. See @iagram.

Y
EO:A. 'nion. /etween the sub ect and ob ect" in consciousness, the soul and god" etc." according to context.

THE TREE O) LI)E

The abo(e diagram shows the Se#hiroth with their connecting #aths. On each Se#hirah is shown its number" its name in transliterated ?ebrew and English" and the #lanet and A.3.A.3. grade corres#onding. Also shown are the formula of Tetragrammaton" one #ossible arrangement of the Four 1orlds of the -abala %although in another sense" each world contains a com#lete Tree of ten Se#hiroth, and b! some accounts" At2iluth is referred to 7ho+mah and /riah to /inah&" and the fi(e 5arts of the Soul as described in these essa!s. As ex#lained in m! first footnote" this last arrangement differs slightl! from that in 999 g Frater T.S. Notes %Notes at the end of each essa! are either 7rowle!3s" or %when in s9uare brac+ets& translations due to a modern editor.& .$ The :olden @awn scheme of referring the -abalistic Soul to the Se#hiroth" as gi(en in 999" referrs the Ruach to 7hesed to Eesod inclusi(e" and Ne#hesch to Mal+uth. There do" howe(er" exist (ersions of the scheme with Ruach as ?od to 7hesed and Ne#hesch in Eesod, Mal+uth is referred to the :#uph or #h!sical bod! which might not be considered to be #art of the soul. 7rowle!3s comments in this essa! suggest he ma! be here ado#ting this use" although in The Book of Thoth %#. ;T& he again gi(es the :.@. scheme, the Tree of 0ife diagram %b! a modern editor& #refixed to the New Falcon edition of ittle 7ssays gi(es the arrangement from 999. /$ This last 9uote is not from /rowning" but from the final section of 7rowle!3s 1rpheus. 0$ Mughit al)?ussa!n bin Mansur bin Muhammad al)/aidawi al)?alla %fCf)d;; e.(.&$ *slamic m!stic" executed for heres! and blas#hem! as a result of factional #olitics at the court of the 7ali#h" on the grounds that he had #roclaimed =An3el ?a99= %* am the Truth, that he added =and in m! turban is wra##ed nothing but :od= ma! ha(e been a later embellishment&. The stor! that he was stoned to death was #o#ularised b! /urton3s /asidah" and #robabl! arises from a misreading of an earl! hagiogra#hical account, it is not historicall! accurate. Accounts of his life and teachings can be found in The 4istory of Islam b! Robert 5a!ne and (candal! 7ssays in Islamic 4eresy b! 5eter 0amborn 1ilson. 1$ iber %D;'" also +nown as The 2aris Working. See 78uino0 *I %;&. 2$ 7om#are 1ittgenstein" Tractatus ogico<2hilosophicus" C.C<T<$ =Roughl! s#ea+ing" to sa! of two things that the! are identical is nonsense" and to sa! of one thing that it is identical with itself is to sa! nothing at all.= /ut 7rowle!3s first #remise" that all +nowledge is ex#ressible as identit!)statements" is manifestl! false. Further" the argument in the second line contains a false sur#ressed #remise$ that our

conce#tion of S includes" or is sufficient to logicall! deduce" all things that can be +nown about S. ?ence =the morning star is the e(ening star= while an identit!)statement was ne(ertheless an im#ortant astronomical disco(er!. *t is #ossible that 7rowle! also here commits the fallac! of failing to distinguish between different senses of the (erb =to be.= 3$ I.e. the %hald)an 1racles. These cr!#tic fragments were #robabl! first written down b! a ?elleni2ed 7haldGan called .ulian the Theurgist during the reign of Marcus Antoninus Aurelius. There is no clear connection between the #hiloso#h! h theolog! h cosmolog! of the 1racles and the dualistic religion founded b! the 5ersian #ro#het Zoroaster, the ascri#tion seems to ha(e been first made b! :emisthus 5letho" a 8Cth)centur! /!2antine writer %#ossibl! to gi(e the 1racles a more (enerable #lace among the prisci theologi&" and was #ic+ed u# b! :io(anni 5ico della Mirandola in his %onclusiones. A #o#ular English translation of the sur(i(ing fragments" most of which are onl! +nown in 9uotations b! 5roclus and other 5latonists" was edited b! 1. 1!nn 1estcott and #ublished in the Theoso#hical Societ!3s %ollecteana 4ermetica series in the late 8dth centur!, most recent re#rint b! Sure Fire 5ress in the 8dfTs. Another edition was #ublished b! the Theoso#hical writer :.R.S. Mead in his 7choes from the :nosis series about the same time" and has been re#rinted b! Bessinger. Modern academic edition including texts" translations and commentar! %trans. and ed. Ruth Ma erci+&" 0eiden$ E... /rill" 8dfd. 4$ *n the ?e#tameroni" a 8cth)centur! grimoire of #lanetar! magic+ deri(ing in #art from the Solomonic c!cle and the iber =uratus %Sworn /oo+ of ?onorius&" the magician" addressing the s#irits" describes himself as =#rGce#tor (ester" 9ui (ocatur Octinomos=$ =!our master" who is called Octonimos.= 7rowle!3s immediate source was #robabl! the :oetia" the con urations from which deri(e in #art from a se(enteenth centur! English translation of the 4eptameron. The number eight was signifant in ?ermeticism and :rGco)Eg!#tian magic+ as re#resenting %a& the =celestial s#here= be!ond the se(en s#heres of the classical #lanets and thus outside their influence %and further" able to command them, hence the a##earance of the name in the 4eptameron&" and %b& the ?erme#olitan Ogdoad" the #rimal com#an! of Eg!#tian :ods" who rea##ear as the =eight guardians= mentioned in the =Eighth /oo+ of Moses= %5:M R***" 6f6)dT& and the ?ermetic =@iscourse on the Eighth and Ninth= %N?7 I*" c.c;.>)d&. 1hile it is unli+el! that whoe(er coined the term Octinomos intended an! allusion to certain eight)letter words %beginning with ." / or M for instance& communicated b! modern Masonic or 9uasi) Masonic grou#s" 7rowle! ma! well ha(e had such things in mind. 5$ The (epher (ephiroth or =/oo+ of Emanations= is a -abalistic text mentioned b! Mathers in his introduction to The /abbalah >n"eiled" and 7rowle! sim#l! 9uotes Mathers3 descri#tion of it. *t is not identical with the (epher (ephiroth % iber D& which a##eared as a su##lement to 78uino0 * %f&" the latter is a :ematria dictionar! com#iled b! Allan /ennet and 7rowle!.