crowley little essays towards truth

8/12/2019 Crowley Little Essays Towards Truth

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AC

Little Essays Towards Truth

The Mind of the Father

riding on the subtle guiders

which glitter with the inflexible tracingsof relentless fire.

ZOROATER.

MAN.

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

Man being the subject of these Essays, it is first proper to explain what will be meanttherein by the word.

Man is a microcosm: that is, an image (concentrated around the point ofconsciousness) of the macrocosm, or Unierse. !his !heorem is guaranteed by thehylo"idealistic demonstration that the perceptible Unierse is an extension, orphantasm, of the nerous system.

#t follows that all phenomena, internal and external, may be classified for the purpose

of discussing their obsered relations, in any manner which experience may show tobe the most conenient. (Examples: the elaborate classifications of science,chemical, physical, etc., etc. !here is no essential truth in any of these aids tothin$ing: conenience is the sole measure.) %ow for the purposes of analysing thespiritual nature of man, of recording and measuring his experiences in this $ind, ofplanning his progress to loftier heights of attainment, seeral systems hae beendeised. !hat of theAbhidhammais on the surface ali$e the most practical, the mostscientific, and the most real& but for European students it is certainly far too unwieldly,to say nothing of other lines of criticism.

!herefore, despite the danger of agueness inoled in the use of a system whoseterms are largely symbolic, # hae, for many reasons, preferred to present to theworld as an international basis for classification, the classico"mathematical systemwhich is ulgarly and erroneously (though coneniently) called the 'abalah.

!he 'abalah, that is, the ewish !radition concerning the initiated interpretation oftheir criptures, is mostly either unintelligible or nonsense. *ut it contains as itground"plan the most precious jewel of human thought, that geometrical arrangementof names and numbers which is called the !ree of +ife. # call it the most precious,

because # hae found it the most conenient method hitherto discoered ofclassifying the phenomena of the Unierse, and recording their relations. hereof


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the proof is the ama-ing fertility of thought which has followed my adoption of thisscheme.

ince all phenomena soeer may be referred to the !ree of +ife (which may be

multiplied or subdiided at will for conenience sa$e) it is eidently useless toattempt any complete account of it. !he correspondences of each unit/the !enephiroth and the !wo"and"!wenty 0aths/are infinite. !he art of using it consistsprincipally in referring all our ideas to it, discoering thus the common nature ofcertain things and the essential differences between others, so that ultimately oneobtains a simple iew of the incalculably ast complexity of the Unierse.

!he whole subject must be studied in the *oo$ 777, and the main attributionscommitted to memory: then when by constant use the system is at last understood/as opposed to being merely memorised/the student will find fresh light brea$ in on

him at eery turn as he continues to measure eery item of new $nowledge that heattains by this tandard. 1or to him the Unierse will then begin to appear as acoherent and a necessary hole.

1or the purpose of studying these +ittle Essays, it will be sufficient if a bare outline ofthe 2osmic !heory which they imply be gien: but it may be added that, the fuller thecomprehension of the !ree of +ife which the reader brings to them, the clearer willtheir thought appear, and the more cogent their conclusions.

(3) Jechidah

!his is the 4uintessential principle of the oul, that which ma$es man at the sametime identical with eery other spar$ of 5odhead, and different (as regards his point"of"iew, and the Unierse of which it is the centre) from all others. #t is a 0oint,possessing only position& and that position is only definable by reference to co"ordinate exes, to secondary principles, which only pertain to itper accidents, andmust be postulated as our conception grows.

(6) Chiah.

!his is the 2reatie #mpulse or ill of echidah, the energy which demands theformulation of the co"ordinate axes aforesaid, so that echidah may obtain self"realisation, a formal understanding of what is implicit in its nature, of its possible4ualities.

(7) Neschamah.

!his is the faculty of understanding the ord of 2hiah. #t is the intelligence or intuitionof what echidah wishes to discoer about itself.


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!hese three principles constitute a !rinity& they are one, because they represent thebeing, and apparatus which will ma$e the manifestation possible, of a 5od, inmanhood. *ut they are only, so to spea$, the mathematical structure of mans nature.8ne might compare them with the laws of physics as they are before they are

discoered. !here are as yet no data by whose examination they may be discerned.

9 conscious man, according, cannot possibly $now anything of these threeprinciples, although they constitute his essence. #t is the wor$ of #nitiation to journeyinwardsto them. ee, in the 8ath of a 0robationer of 9 9 # pledge myself to discoer the nature and powers of my own *eing.

this triune principle being wholly spiritual, all that can be said about it is reallynegatie. 9nd it is complete in itself. *eyond it stretches what is called !he 9byss.!his doctrine is extremely difficult to explain& but it corresponds more or less to the

gap in thought between the ;eal, which is ideal, and the Unreal, which is actual. #nthe 9byss all things exist, indeed, at least in posse, but are without any possiblemeaning& for they lac$ the substratum of spiritual ;eality. !hey are appearanceswithout +aw. !hey are thusInsane Delusions.

%ow the 9byss being thus the great storehouse of 0henomena, it is the source of allimpressions. 9nd the !riune 0rinciple has intended a machinefor inestigating theUnierse& and this machine is the fourth 0rinciple of Man.

(


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(A) Nephesch.

!his is usually translated the 9nimal oul. #t is the ehicle of the ;uach, theinstrument by which the Mind is brought into contact with the dust of Matter in the

9byss, that it may feel it, judge it, and react to it. !his is itself a principle still spiritual,in a sense& the actual body of man os composed of the dust of Matter, temporarilyheld together by the 0rinciples which inform it, for their own purposes, and ultimatelyfor the supreme purposes of self"realisation of echidah.

*ut %ephesch, deised as it is with no other object that the direct traffic with Matter,tends to parta$e of its incoherence. #ts faculties of perceiing pain and pleasure lure itinto paying undue attention to one set of phenomena, into shunning another. =ence,for the %ephesch to do its wor$ as it should, it re4uires to be dominated by theseerest discipline. %or is the ;uach itself to be trusted in this matter. #t has its own

tendencies to wea$ness and injustice. #t tries eery tric$/and it is diabolically cleer/to arrange its business with Matter in the sense most conenient to its inertia,without the smallest consideration of its duty to the upernal !riad, cut off as that isfrom its comprehension& indeed, unsuspecting as it normally is of its existence.

hat then determines !iphareth, the =uman ill, to aspire to comprehend%eschamah, to submit itself to the diine ill of 2hiahB

%othing but the realisation, born sooner or later of agonising experience, that its

whole relation through ;uach and %ephesch with Matter, i!e., with the Unierse, is,and must be, only painful. !he senselessness of the whole procedure sic$ens it. #tbegins to see$ for some menstruum in which the Unierse may become intelligible,useful and enjoyable. #n 'abalistic language, it aspires to %eschamah.

!his is what we mean in saying that the !rance of orrow is the motie of the 5reator$.

!his !rance of orrow (which must be well"distinguished from any petty personaldespair, and coniction of sin, or other blac$ magical imitations) being cosmic in

scope, comprehending all phenomena actual or potential, is then already an 8peningof the phere of %eschamah. !he awareness of ones misfortune is itself anindication of the remedy. #t sets the see$er on the right road, and as he deelops his%eschamah he soon attains other Experiences of this high order. =er learns themeaning of his own true ill, to pronounce his own ord, to identify himself with2hiah.

1inally, realising 2hiah as the dynamic aspect of echidah, he becomes that pure*eing, at once uniersal and indiidual, e4ually nothing, 8ne, and 9ll.

#t is of the essence of the #deas of the upernal !riad that the +aws of ;eason whichapply to intellectual functions are no longer operatie. =ence it is impossible to


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coney the nature of these Experiences in rational language. 1urther, their scope isinfinite in eery direction, so that it would be futile to attempt to enumerate or todescribe them in detail. 9ll that one can do is to note the common types in erygeneral language, and to indicate what experience has shown to be the most useful

main lines of research.

!he 'uest of the =oly 5rail, the earch for the tone of the 0hilosophers/bywhateer name we choose to call the 5reat or$/is therefore endless. uccessonly opens up new aenues of brilliant possibility. Cea, erily, and 9menD the tas$ istireless and its joys without bounds& for the whole Unierse, and all that in it is, whatis it but the infinite playground of the 2rowned and 2on4uering 2hild, of theinsatiable, the innocent, the eer"rejoicing =eir of pace and Eternity, whose name isM9%B

MEMORY.

Memory is of the ery stuff of 2onsciousness itself. 2onsider that we can neer$now what is happenin", but only whathas just happened, een when most actielyconcentrated on what we call the present.

Moreoer, no impression short of ammasamadhi can eer pretend to confer anycoherent idea of the elf. !hat exists only in an order of 2onsciousness far deeperthan direct perception, in a type of thought which is capable of combining the4uintessence of countless impressions into one, as also of transforming this tabularasainto a positie prehensile Ego. hether this process be hallucinatory or no, it issurely memory which, more than any other function of the mind, determines itspossibilities.

%ow, whateer iew we may ta$e of the nature of the elf, it is clear that our limit oferror will constantly diminish as the range of our obserations is extended. !ocalculate the orbit of %eptune from a period of days when it is retrograde could leadto formidable fallacies. hen memory is seriously wea$ened, the resulting state

approximates to dementia. Memory is then, in a figure, the mortar of the architectureof the mind.

#t seems impossible een to begin to discuss its nature as it is in itself& for it is not a!hing at all, but only a relation between impressions. e must be content to obsereits irtues.

1irst of all is that already noted, its extent in time. econd is the faculty of selection.

#t would be as undesirable as it is impossible for the memory to retain all impressions

indiscriminately. uch memories are found only in lunatic asylums. !he memory,


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whateer it may be, depends on cerebral metabolism& and it thries on a properharmony of exercise, repose, and economy just as does muscular strength.

Memory as such is practically worthless& it is li$e an abandoned library. #ts data must

be coordinated by judgment, and played upon by s$ill& it resembles a great 8rganwhich re4uires an organist.

*y classifying simple impressions, one obtains ideas of a higher order& the repetitionof this process gies a structure to the mind which ma$es it a worthy instrument ofthought. 9nd this means enables one to retain, and to bring at will from their 4uietresting"place, a thousandfold the number of facts which would oerwhelm theuntrained memory. 8ne must model ones mind upon the arrangement of the ends ofthe nere"fibres and the brain.

9t willD =ere is the great $ey to proper selection, that one should resolutely rememberall facts that may be useful, and as resolutely forget all those impertinent, to the !rueay of ones tar in pace. 1or so only can one economise the mnemonic faculty&and this is to say: no man can begin to train his memory duly until he is aware of his!rue ill.

!here is then/as in all matters pertaining to the intellect/a icious circle& for onecan only become conscious of ones true ill by a judgment (of amadhic intensity)upon all facts that it is possible to assimilate. !he resolution of the antinomy is

found ambulando: that is by the selectie training aboe indicated.

9 further complication of this whole 4uestion appears during the practice of Coga,when, the sheaths being successiely stripped from the mind, one begins toremember not only long"forgotten facts, but matters which do not refer to theincarnated Ego at all. !he memory extends in time to infancy, to ones preiousdeath, and so further to an unlimited series of experiences whose scope depends onthe degree of one progress. *ut, parallel with this intensification of the idea of theEgo, its expansion through the aeons, there arises (in conse4uence of the wea$eningof the 9ham$ara, the Ego"ma$ing faculty) a tendency to remember thing which hae

happened not to oneself, but to other people or beings.

=erein is one of the most irritating obstacles in the 0ath of the ise& for the normaldeelopment of the memory in !ime leads to a better understanding of the !rue illof the indiidual (as he conceies of himself) so that he perceies an unierseteleologically more rational as he progresses. !o be compelled to assimilate theexperiences of supposes alien beings is to become confused: the old hotchpot of2horon-on (;estriction be unto him in the name of *9*9+8%D) gapes once more forthe 9dept, who possibly supposed himself already (in a sense) a 1reeman of the 2ity

of the 0yramids.


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*ut it is just this experience/in default of any other/which eentually insists on hisunderta$ing to cross the 9byss: for the alternatie to sheer insanity is seen to be thediscoery of a 5eneral 1ormula comprehensie of Uniersal Experience withoutreference to the Ego (real or supposed) in any sense.

!his paradox, li$e all others, should be a lesson of supreme alue: this, that eerydifficulty is for our antage, that eery 4uestion is posed only in order to lead us to ananswer inoling a triumph infinitely more glorious than we could otherwise haeconceied.

9nd meditation upon this whole matter may not unli$ely bring us to this further isionof wonder: that the nature of things themseles is in reality but a function of Memory.

SORROW.!he 9spiration to become a Master is rooted in the !rance of orrow.

!his trance is not simple and definite& indeed, it commonly begins in a limited selfishform.

!he imagination cannot pierce beyond terrestrial conditions, or the sense of selfgrasp more than the natural consciousness.

8ne thin$s at first no more than this: there is nothing possible that is good enoughfor me. 8nly as one grows by #nitiation dies one approach the asymptote sabb pi>u$$ham**Eerything is orrowof the *uddha, when the relations of subject andobject, both expanded to infinity, are seen to be no less in the bosom of the 5reat2urse than were their first aatars, the petty Ego and the perceptible Unierse.

o also for the transcending of this !rance of orrow. 9t first the ictory often comesby tric$ of mind& extending subject or object, as the case may be, by an effort toescape reality, one seems for a moment to hae defeated the E4uation& but the

clouds regather as the mind recoers its e4uilibrium. !hus, one inents some=eaen, defining it arbitrarily as free from sorrow: only to find, on exactexamination, that its conditions are the same as those of Earth.

%or is there any rational issue from this hell of thought. !he transcending of the!rance of orrow is to be made by means of such other trances as the =igher*eatific Fision, the !rance of onder, and others, een the !rance call the Uniersalo$e, though this last is thereunto strangely a$inD

!here is this further consideration& that eery subject of contemplation as$s only that

the mind should become fixed upon it, in a degree far inferior to that of trueconcentration such as secures amadhi, to become eidently an illusion.


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o much for a brief summary of the technical aspects of the matter. *ut all this isremote indeed from the simplicity of the affirmation of #he $oo% of the &aw:

;emember all ye that existence is pure joy: that all the sorrows are but as shadows& they pass G are

done& but there is that which remains.

Upon what can depend this perception, which claims to sweep away with the fire ofscorn the formidable batteries of all serious philosophical thoughtB !he solution mustlie in the metaphysics of !helema itself.

9nd here we come upon what is apparently a paradox of the most disconcertingorder. 1or #he $oo% of the &aw, anticipating the most subtle of recent mathematicalconceptions, that of the greatest genius of this generation, ma$es the unit ofexistence consist in an Eent, an 9ct of Marriage between %uit and =adit& that is, the

fulfillment of a certain 0oint"of"Fiew. 9nd is not the procession of eents the eryconditions of orrow as opposed to the perfection of 0ure ExistenceB !hat is theold philosophy, a tangle of false words: we see more clearly. !hus:

Each Eent is an 9ct of +oe, and so generates oy: all existence is composed solelyof such Eents. *ut how comes it then that there should be een an illusion oforrowB

imply enough& by ta$ing a partial and imperfect Fision. 9n example: in the humanbody each cell is perfect, and the man is in good health& but should we choose toregard almost any portion of the machine which sustains him, there will appeararious decompositions and the li$e, which might well be ta$en to imply the mosttragic Eents. 9nd this would ineitably be the case had we neer at any time seenthe man as a whole, and understood the necessity of the diers processes of naturewhich combine to ma$e life.

9>>E%>UM

1urthermore, to the normal or dualistic consciousness it is precisely the shadows

Hwhich pass and are doneI which constitute perceptibly: what maJn sees is in factjust that which obstructs the rays of light. !his is the justification for the *uddhasaying: Eerything is orrow: in that word HEerythingI he is most careful to includespecifically all those things which men count joyous. 9nd this is not really a paradox&for to him all reactions which produce consciousness are ultimately sorrowful, asbeing disturbances of the 0erfection of 0eace, or (if you prefer it) as obstructions tothe free flow of Energy.

oy and orrow are thus to him relatie terms& subdiisions of one great sorrow,

which is manifestation. e need not trouble to contest this iew& indeed, theHhadowsI of which our boo$ spea$s are those interferences with +ight caused by thepartiality of our apprehension.


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!he hole is #nfinite 0erfection, and so is each Unit thereof. !o transcend the !ranceof orrow it is thus sufficient to cancel the subject of the contemplation by marrying itto its e4ual and opposite in imagination. e may also pursue the analytical method,and resole the complex which appears orrow into its atoms. Each eent of it is a

sublime and joyous act of +oe& or the synthetical method, proceeding from the partto the hole, with a similar result.

9nd any one of the moements of the mind is (with assiduity and enthusiasm)capable of transforming the !rance of orrow itself into the cognate !rance attributedto Understanding, the !rance of onder.

WONDER.

9 little more than $in, and less than $ind are the !rance of orrow, and the Fision ofthe Machinery of the Unierse& this latter being the technical aspect of the9pprehension of the +aw of 2hange, which is also a !rance of the same order asthat of orrow. %ow one mode of ictory oer all these is the !rance of #ndifference,in which one stands aloof from the whole matter& but it is only one mode, and (in thegenerally $nown form) full of falsehood and imperfection. 1or to stand aloof is toaffirm duality, which is itself the root of orrow. !o obtain the highest one must uniteoneself with all things, parta$e of all as a true acrament. 9nd this motion leads tothe !rance of onder.

#t is written !he fear of the +ord is the *eginning of isdom. =ere the 0redicaterefers to the 8pening of the 5rade of Magus& but the ubject, duly translated, reads!he ondering at !etragrammaton, and so refers to this !rance. 1or herein one iswholly identified with the Unierse in its dynamic aspect& and the first synthesis of theunderstanding thereof is this 9ma-ement at the fitness and necessity of the entiremechanism. 1or, gien the formula of Manifestation, the need to conceie andperceie 0erfection by means of the symbolism of #mperfection, the actual process ofideation becomes apodeictic. (# write as for the least instructed of the +ittle 2hildrenof the +ight.)

!he !rance of onder arises naturally/it is the first moement of the mind/fromthe final phrase of the 8ath of a Master of the !emple. # will interpret eeryphenomenon as a particular dealing of 5od with my Jsoul. 1or, immediately theUnderstanding illuminates the dar$ness of $nowledge, eery fact appears in its trueguise miraculous.

It is so'then, how marellous that it should so beD

#n all !rances of importance, and most especially in this, the 0ostulant should haeac4uired the greatest possible $nowledge and Understanding of the Unierseproperly so called. =is rational mind should hae been trained thoroughly in


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intellectual apprehension: that is, he should be familiar with all cience. !his iseidently impossible on the face of it& but he should aspire to the closestapproximation to perfect 9deptship in this matter. !he method most possible is toma$e a detached study of some chosen branch of cience, and a general study of

epistemology. !hen by analogy, fortified by contemplation, a certain innerapprehension of the Unity of %ature may grow up in the mind, one which will not beunduly presumptuous and misleading.

*ut our or$ demands more than this. !he %eschamah or #ntuitie Mind must alsobe furnished with @nowledge and Understanding of those 0lanes of %ature which areinaccessible to the untrained sense. !hat is, he must pursue our Methods of Fisionwith indefatigable ardour.

%ow in all this the true unitie and transcendental cience is that of Mathematics for

the ;uach, and its crown the =oly 'abalah for the %eschamah. *y this means theor$ is not, as would at first seem, increased beyond human capability. !here is adefinite critical stage, comparable to that familiar to the 9depts of 9sana and of>harana, after which the terms of the E4uation (li$e the latter terms of a *inomialExpansion) repeat themseles, though after another manner, so that the meditationbecomes progressiely easier. !he 0ostulant, so to spea$, finds himself at home.!he added $nowledge is no longer a burden to the mind. he is able to throw off thegross facts which present themseles as complication, and to apprehend theiressence in simplicity. =e had in fact succeeded in deeloping a higher function of the

mind. !he process is similar to that which occurs in ordinary study of a science, whenone, by grasping the nature of a general law underlying diersity of experience, isable not only to assimilate new facts with ease, but to predict new facts whollyun$nown. 8ne may instance the discoery of %eptune from mathematicalconsiderations without optical research, and the description of un$nown elements bycontemplation of the 0eriodic +aw.

+et it be $nown each such step in Meditation is itself a motie Energy capable ofinducing the !rance of onder& and this !rance (li$e all others) grows in sublimityand splendour with the 4uantity and 4uality of the material which is furnished to themind by the 9dept.

!hose, therefore, who effect to despise profane cience are themselesdespicable. #t is their own incapacity for true !hought of any serious $ind, their anityand pertness& nay more alsoD their own subconsciousness sense of their own shameand idleness, that induces them to build these flimsy fortification of pretentiousignorance.

!here is nothing in the Unierse which is not of supreme significance, nothing with

may not be used as the ery $eystone of the ;ainbow 9rch of the !rance of onder.


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#t is necessary to add but one brief word to this elementary essay: this !rance is of itsnature not only passie and intuitie. #ts occurrence floods the mind with 2reatieEnergy& it fills the 9dept with 0ower, and excites in him the ill to wor$. #t exalts himto the 9t-iluthic orld in his Essence, and in his manifestation to the *riatic. #n a ery

special sense, therefore, it may be said that the 0ostulant is most intimately unitedwith the upreme +ord 5od Most =igh, the !rue and +iing 2reator of all !hings,whensoeer he attains to enter this most Majestic 0ylon of the !rance of onder.

BEATITUDE.

!here are two well"distinguished forms of the *eatific Fision. !he higher pertains to@ether, and is thus proper only to the #psissimus, though it may be enjoyedsporadically (and, as it were, by accident) by those of lower grades.

#t is of extremely rare occurrence, and has indeed neer been described in any detail&it may een be said that it is doubtful whether any account of its true form has eerbeen gien to the world. #t need only be said in this place that its formula is +oe isthe law, loe under will, and that its nature is the 0erpetual acrament of Energy inaction. #t is dependent upon the perfect mastery of the Mysteries of orrow and of2hange, with thorough identification with that of #ndiiduality.

+et us then occupy ourseles with the lower form of this Fision (so called)& it is nottechnically a Fision at all) which pertains to !iphareth, and is thus the natural graceof the Minor 9dept. #t may be said at once that those who hae attained to highergrades, especially those aboe the 9byss, can hardly return to this Fision. 1or itimplies a certain innocence, a certain defect of Understanding which is not possibleto a Master of the !emple. 9gain, the 5rades of Exempt and Major 9dept are tooenergetic to admit of the balanced 4uietude of this state.

8nly in the centre of the !ree of +ife, only in the self"poised security of the olar 9xis,can we expect to find the steady indifference to Eent which is the basis of the!rance, and that 8ntogenous radiance which tinges it with ;ose and 5old.

!his !rance differs notable from most others in a way which the aboe"statedconditions would lead us to expect. #t is, psychologically, a state& as opposed to an9ction or an Eent. !rue, all !rances of amadhic intensity are in a sense timeless&but it may be said that most of them are mar$ed by well"defined issues of a criticalcharacter. !hat is, the entry to each is 4uasispasmodic.

#n this case, howeer, we find no such diagnostic.

!he !rance may be continued for wee$s or months, and the most ardent deotee of

!ahuti, searching his Magical ;ecord with the most conscientious acuteness, finds itimpossible to indicate the onset of the Fision. #n fact, it may be surmised that the


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Fision arises not from any gien action but rather from a subtle suspension of action.!he conflict of eents has ended happily in a state of serenely perfect balance, inwhich, though energy continues to manifest, its issues hae become withoutsignificance. e may compare the condition with the return of health of a feer"

stric$en man. !he alternation of pyrexia and subnormal temperatures has subsided&he forgets gradually to consult the thermometer at the accustomed interals, becomeabsorbed instinctiely in his regular pursuits. 9t the same time he is not longer awareof the hot and cold spells, but half consciously of the 4uiet glow of health. imilarly inthis ision all conscious magical effort ceases, although the practices are continuedwith all customary diligence, and the whole of the 9deptss impressions, internal asexternal, are suffused with the glow of beauty and delight. !he state is in manyrespects closely a$in to that sought by the smo$er of opium& but it is natural andre4uires no artificial regulation.

#t will appear from the foregoing that nothing could be more absurd than to attempt togie instructions for the attainment of this state.

!o aspire to it (still worse, to see$ to regain it after it has passed) must appear theclimax of bad logic. %or, delectable and blessed as it is, can one call it actuallydesirable.

e need not assume that it is in any way deleterious, that it exhausts good @arma,or that it wastes time and damps aspiration. #t should be accepted, when it occurs,

with calm indifference, enjoyed to the full, and 4uitted without regret. #ts occurrence isin any case clear eidence that the 9dept has reached a definite and rather exaltedstate of being, since he can lie so many hours without being perturbed by theincidence of any motie force. #t implied a mar$ed degree of attainment of internaland external control. #t proes the possibility of perfect repose in the midst of thegreatest actiity, and thus indicates the solution of the ultimate problem ofphilosophy, the proem to the con4uest of the !hree 2haracteristics. #t shouldencourage the 9dept in his 9spiration by heartening him to confront the appallingpostulate of the 9byss. #t should sere him as refreshment and nourishment& it shouldassure him of the possibility of perfection in the 5reater or$ by demonstrating itsexistence as a 2rown to the +ess.

Moreoer, the enjoyment of >elight and the apprehension of *eauty in all things,een on this plane where analysis has not yet become acute, do actually fortify theheart and en$indle the imagination.

+et therefore the 0ostulant of the ;osy 2ross pursue his 0ath in solemn strength,aware that at the proper moment he may receie, unas$ing, the reward, and enjoythe reiifying flood of dulcet +ight, which has been called by the 9depts the *eatific

Fision.


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LAUGHTER.

!he common defect of all mystical systems preious to that of the 9eon whose +awis !helema is that there has been no place for +aughter. *ut the sadness of the

mournful Mother and the melancholy of the dying Man are swept in the limbo of thepast by the confident smile of the immortal 2hild.

9nd there is no Fision more critical in the career of the 9dept of =orus than theUniersal o$e.

#n this !rance he accepts fully the 1ormula of 8siris, and in the act transcends it& thespear of the 2enturion passes harmlessly through his heart, and the sword of theExecutioner stri$es idly on his nec$. =e discoers that the !ragedy of which so many

centuries hae made such a case is but a farce for childrenIs pleasure. 0unch is$noc$ed down only to get up grinning with his gay ;oot"too"too"titD =ere we areagainD udy, the *eadle, the =angman and the >eil are merely the companions ofhis playtime.

o, since (after all) the facts which he thought tragic are real enough, the essence ofhis solution is that they are not true, as he thought, of himself& they are just one set ofphenomena, as interesting and as fatuously impotent to affect him as any other set.=is personal grief was due to his passionate insistence on contemplating oneinsignificant congeries of Eents as if it were the sole reality and importance in theinfinite mass of Manifestation.

#t is thus that the 0erception of the Uniersal o$e leads directly to the Understandingof the #dea of elf as conterminous with the Unierse, and at the same time one withit, creator of it, and aloof from it& which !riune tate is, as is well $nown, one of themost necessary stages of amadhi. (#t is the culmination of one of the two mostimportant chapters of the $ha"a(ad"ita.)

!here is a further merit in this matter. #n the idea of +aughter is inherent that of

2ruelty, as has been shewn by many philosophers& and this is doubtless why it hasbeen excluded by the Mystic chools of 0itymongers from their dull curricula. !heonly answer is to shrug the shoulders in humorous contempt. 1or on this roc$ and noother hae all their brae bar$s foundered one by one amid the anrithmon gelasmaK5;@ ;> (countless smiles)L of 8cean. %ature is full of cruelty& its highest pointsof joy and ictory are mar$ed by laughter. #t is the true physiological explosion andrelaxation which produces it. %otably, such drugs as CannabisIndicaandAnhalonium &ewinii, which do actually loosen the girders of the soul whichgie her breathing, cause immediate laughter as one of their most characteristiceffects.


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8h the huge wholesome contempt for the limiting self which springs from the senseof 5argantuan disproportion perceied by this +aughterD !ruly it slays, with jolliestcannibal reels, that sour blac$"coated missionary the serious Ego, and plumps himinto the pot. !e"heD/the Foice of 2iilisation/the Messenger of the hite ManIs

5od "" bubble, bubble, bubbleD !hrow in another handful of sage, brotherD 9nd thesweet"smelling smo$e rises and eils with ex4uisite shy seduction the shamelessbodies of the tarsD

*eyond all this for practical alue/since the signpost at eery turn of the 0ath of theise reads >9%5E;/yet springing directly from it by irtue of this ery slaying ofthe Ego, is the use of +aughter as a safeguard of sanity. =ow easy for the charlatansof oratory to seduce the simple enthusiasm of the soulD hat help hae we unless wehae the wit to $now them as ridiculousB !here is no limit to the abyss of #diocywherein the 4uac$s would plunge us/our only saing reflex is the automatic jo$e of

the ense of =umourD

;obert *rowning was not far from the @ingdom of 5od when he wrote:

;ejoice that man is hurled

....1rom change to change unceasingly,

=is soulIs wings neer furled

and there is after all but little salt in the sneer of uenalIs atur est cum dicit

=oratius EohD 1or it is yet to be recorded that any man brought aid or comfort tohis fellow by moping.

%o, the Uniersal o$e, though it be not a true !rance, is most assuredly a means of5race, and often proes the chief ingredient of the Uniersal olent.

*ac$ then to *rowning, to the brae last words he wrote while fourscore struc$ uponthe timepiece of his years:

5reet the unseen with a cheerD

*id him forward, breast and bac$ as either should be.Htrie and thrie,I cry Hpeed, fight on, fare eer.I

H!here as hereDI:

9men.

ere the world understood,

....Ce would see it was good,

9 dance to a delicate measureD


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#t is apt, moreoer, to lead to seeral types of error to regard #ndifference as a stateinferior to amadhi. #n particular one may tend to thin$ of it as passie, as imperfect,as an interregnum& whereas it should be considered as a state of 0eace with Fictory.

#t need only be added, in conclusion, that #ndifference is not perfect until it hasentered into full possession of at least one amadhic trait, 9utomatism. 9s long asthere remains any need of conscious effort in dealing with any impression, any needto remember the process by which the state is reached, or een any need ofconscious interference with, or cogni-ance of, the purely spontaneous elastic reflexreaction, the 9spirant to the ummum *onum, !rue isdom and 0erfect =appiness,has not ade4uately ac4uired the =abit of #ndifference.

MASTERY.

!he aim of him who would be Master is single& men call it 0ersonal 9mbition. !hat is,he wants his Unierse to be as ast, and his control of it as perfect, as possible.

1ew fail to understand this aim& but many fail in the formulation of their campaign toattain it. ome, for instance, fill their purse with fairy gold, which, when they try to useit, is found to be dead leaes. 8thers attempt to rule the unierse of another, notseeing that they cannot een ta$e true cogni-ance thereof.

!he proper method of extending ones unierse, besides the conentional apparatus

of material cience, is tripartite: eocation, inocation, and ision. 2ontrol is a matterof theoretical and practical ac4uaintance with Magical 1ormulae, but notably also ofelf">iscipline. !he ground is to be consolidated, and all contradictions resoled inhigher harmonies, by arious !rances.

o much indeed is obious to superficial consideration& strange, then, that so fewMagicians ta$e the further step of en4uiry as to the aailability of the #nstrument.hortsighted selfishness, good sooth, to ta$e for granted that ones elf is sure tofind its proper medium to hand for its next adenture.

=ere the Magical Memory is of irtue marellous to correct perspectie& for, howoften in the past has ones life been all but sheer failure from the mere lac$ of propermeans of self"expressionB 9nd who among us can be seriously satisfied (to"day,$nowing what we do) with een the most perfect human instrumentB

#t is then no more than simple good sense for the Magus to formulate his generalpolitical aim in some such terms as these:

!o secure the greatest possible freedom of self"expression for the greatest possible number of 0oints"

of"Fiew.

8f which issue the practical aspect may be phrased as follows:


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!o improe the human race in eery conceiable way, so as to hae aailable for serice the greatest

possible ariety of the best #nstruments imaginable.

9nd this is the rational justification of the apparently imbecile and too often

sentimental"hypocritical aphorism:

+oe all *eingsD ere Man$indD

!hat is, upon the political plane& for also these two phrases contain (3) the Magical1ormula which is the @ey ali$e of #nocation and of !rance (6) the implicit injunctionto ma$e clear the ay of the Magician through the =eaens by right ordering ofeery tar. !he word sere is indeed misleading and objectionable: it implies afalse and despicable attitude. !he relation between men should be the brotherlyrespect which obtains between noble strangers. !he idea of serice is either true,

and humiliating& or false, and arrogant.

!he most common and fatal pitfall which menaces the man who has begun to extendhis Unierse beyond the world of sense"perception is called 2onfusion of the 0lanes.!o him who realises the 9ll"8ne, and $nows that to distinguish between any twothings is the basic error, it must seem natural and een right to perform what seemperforce 9cts of +oe between incongruous ideas. =e has the @ey of +anguages:why then should not he the Englishman aail himself of it to spea$ in =ebrew withoutlearning itB !he same problem offers itself daily in a myriad subtle shapes.

2ommand these stones to become bread. !hrow thyself down from the pinnacle ofthe !emple: as it is written H=e shall gie his angels charge oer thee, to $eep thee inall thy waysI/!hese last four words throw light upon the fog of 2horon-on/;estriction be unto him in the %ame of *9*9+8%D 1or his ways are the ways of%ature, who hath appointed between the planes a well"ordered relation& to deformthis deice is not, and cannot be, thy way. !he 9ct of +oe, so"seeming, is a falsegesture& for such loe is not loe under will. *e thou well aware, 8 thou whosee$est to attain to Mastery, of doing aught miraculous: the surest sign of theMaster is this, that he is a man of li$e passions with his fellows. =e does indeedtranscend them all, and turn them all to perfections: but he does this without

suppression (for HEerything that lies is holyI) or distortion (for HEery 1orm is a truesymbol of ubstanceI) or confusion (for H9dmixture is hatred as Union is loeI).#nitiation means the ourney #nwards: nothing is changed or can be changed& but allis trulier understood with eery step. !he Magus of the 5ods, with =is one ord thatseems to oerturn the chariot of Man$ind in ruin, does not in fact destroy or eenalter anything& =e simply furnishes a new mode of applying existing Energy toestablished 1orms.

!he inention of electric machines has in no way interfered with Matter or Motion& it

has only helped us to get rid of certain aspects of the #llusion of !ime and pace, andso brought the most intelligent minds to the threshold of the Magical and Mystical>octrine: they hae been forced to imagine the possibility of the perception of the


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Unierse as it is, freed of conditions. !hat is, they hae been gien a glimpse of thenature of the 9ttainment of Mastery. 9nd it is surely but a little step to ta$e for theleaders of natural cience, Mathematics their guiding tar, that they shouldunderstand the compelling necessity of the 5reat or$, and apply themseles to its

achieement.

=ere the great obstacles are these& firstly, the misunderstanding of elf& andsecondly, the resistance of the rational mind against its own conclusions. Men mustcast off these two restrictions& they must begin to realise that elf is hidden behind,and independent of, the mental and material instrument in which they apprehendtheir 0oint"of"Fiew& and they must see$ an instrument other than that which insists(with eery single obseration) on impressing on them what is merely its own mosthateful flaw and error, the idea of duality.

!he 9eon of =orus is here: and its first flower may well be this: that, freed of theobsession of the doom of the Ego in >eath, and of the limitation of the Mind by;eason, the best men again set out with eager eyes upon the 0ath of the ise, themountain trac$ of the goat, and then the untrodden ;idge, that leads to the ice"gleaming pinnacles of MasteryD

TRANCE.

!he word !rance implies a passing beyond: scil., the conditions which oppress. !hewhole and sole object of all true Magical and Mystical training is to become free fromeery $ind of limitation. !hus, body and mind, in the widest sense, are the obstaclesin the 0ath of the ise: the paradox, tragic enough as it seems, is that they are alsothe means of progress. =ow to get rid of them, to pass beyond or to transcend them,is the problem, and this is as strictly practical and scientific as that of eliminatingimpurities from a gas, or of adroitly using mechanical laws. =ere is the ineitablelogical flaw in the sorites of the 9dept, that he is bound by the ery principles which itis his object to oercome: and on him who see$s to discard them arbitrarily theyhaste to ta$e a terrible reengeD

#t is in practice, not in theory, that this difficulty suddenlydisappears. 1or when we ta$e rational steps to suspend the operation of the rationalmind, the inhibition does not result in chaos, but in the apprehension of the Unierseby means of a faculty to which the laws of the ;eason do not apply& and when,returning to the normal state, we see$ to analyse our experience, we find that thedescription abounds in rational absurdities.

8n further consideration, howeer, it becomes gradually clear/gradually, becausethe habit of !rance must be firmly fixed before its fulminating impressions are trulyintelligible/that there are not two $inds of !hought, or of %ature, but one only. !he+aw of the Mind is the sole substance of the Unierse, as well as the sole means by


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!he essence of the idea of !rance is indeed contained in that of Magic$, which ispre"eminently the transcendental cience and 9rt. #ts method is, in one chief sense,+oe, the ery $ey of !rance& and, in another, the passing beyond normal conditions.!he erbs to transcend, to transmit, to transcribe, and their li$e, are all of cardinal

irtue in Magic$. =ence +oe is the law, loe under will is the supreme epitome ofMagical doctrine, and its uniersal 1ormula. 1or need any man fear to state boldlythat eery Magical 8peration soeer is only complete when it is characterised (in onesense or another) by the occurrence of !rance. #t was ill done to restrict the use ofthe word to the supersession of dualistic human consciousness by the impersonaland monistic state of amadhi. 1ast bubbles the fountain of Error from the morass of#gnorance when distinction is forcibly drawn between any one thing and any otherthing. Cea, erily, and 9menD it is the first necessity as it is the last attainment of!rance to abolish eery form and eery order of diiduality so fast as it presentsitself. *y this ray may ye read in the *oo$ of your own Magical ;ecord the authenticstigma of your own success.

ENERGY.

Energy is the acramental Motie of Eent: it is thus omnipresent, in manifestationby interruption and compensation and otherwise by the corresponding withdrawal. (#nthis connection let there be remembered the full formula of !etragrammaton.)

!here are, howeer, three main types of special experience which are noteworthylandmar$s in the process of #nitiation, and of urgent practical alue to the Magician.

!he symbol of the acrament being obsered they differ as do the three participantstherein: the 5od, the 0riest, and the 2ommunicant.

#n the highest, that is of @ether, the Energy radiates wholly from oneself: that is, oneis entirely identified with =adit.

#n the middle, that of 2ho$mah, the Energy passes wholly through oneself: that is,

one assumes the functions of !ahuti.

#n the lowest, that is of 5eburah, the Energy impinges wholly upon oneself: that is,one absorbs it as a man.

#n all cases, the Energy of which it is here written is not particular or personified& it isEnergy in itself, without 4uality.

!he highest mode can only be fully apprehended by an #psissimus: it is the finalattainment. #t is the actie counterpart of the higher form of the *eatific Fision.


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!he middle mode is proper to a Magus, or to one aspiring to his prophetic function. itis described, and the method of attaining it set forth, in the *oo$ called /pus&utetianum.

!he lowest mode is the peculiar tas$ of a Major 9dept. #t is best accomplished bymeans of the ecret of the anctuary of the 5nosis. (#V8.!.8.)

8f the highest mode it would be neither fit not useful to treat more intimately: themiddle mode concerns each Magician in his peculiar and priate relations with the#nfinite, and demands from each of its 9depts a special preoccupation: but of thelowest it is conenient to ma$e further mention.

#t is strangely conincing proof of the true care of %ature for =er instruments, despitethe superficial eidence to the contrary on which the doctrines of pessimism are

based, that the most precious, the one ultimately essential 5race that can possiblybe bestowed on man$ind is, of all Magical benefit, that which may be attained withmore ease and certainty than any other. 1or Energy is itself all that is: and we arywith the 4uantity and 4uality thereof, which we can call ourseles.

!he price which he demands is without doubt heay enough for a certain class& butit is e4ually to be paid, in arying degree, for eery type of Mystical and Magical9denture.

!his price is in essence the full Understanding of the Mind of %ature =erself, andcomplete sympathy with =er ay of or$. 9ll the moral codes of man$ind, for alltheir absurd diersities, hae one common factor: they pretend to hae found motiesand methods which are superior to =ers.

that is, they presume a conception of the End which is beyond =er iew: they assertthe possession of an #ntelligence loftier than that which has produced the Unierse.2onsider only that the highest manifestation possible to the rational mind is thediscoery of the +aws which summari-e =er manner of operationD

e may then say at once that all such pretentious arrogance is impudence andabsurdity& and it must be surrendered, nay more, uprooted and calcined before anyserious progress can be made in the ;oyal and acerdotal 9rt. =ence also anyaspiration of a partial order, any which depends for its wisdom on the justice of ourperceptions of our own needs, is almost certain to be tainted with the ery poison ofwhich %ature would purge us.

!here is in fact only one Magical 8peration of whose propriety we may always besure& and that is the increase of our sum of Energy. #t is een indiscreet to try to

specify the $ind of Energy re4uired, and worse to consider any particular purpose.Energy being increased, %ature will herself supply clarity: our Fision is obscure onlybecause our Energy is deficient. 1or Energy is the ubstance of the Unierse. hen


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it is ade4uate, we are in no doubt as to how to employ it& witness the eident case ofthe will of the 9dolescent. #t is also to be well noted that moral obstruction to the rightuse of this Energy cause at once the most hideous deformations of character, anddetermine the graest lesions of the nerous system.

+et therefore the Magician diest himself of all preconceptions as to the nature of his!rue ill, but apply himself eagerly to increasing his 0otential. #n this discipline(moreoer) he is beginning to fit himself for that ery abdication of all that he has andall that he iswhich is the essence of the 8ath of the 9byssD

!hus then do we find one more of those paradoxes which are the images of the !ruthof the upernals: by destroying our own highest morality, and relying upon ournatural instinct as the sole guide, we come unaware upon the most simple, and themost sublime, of all ethical and spiritual conceptions.

&NOWLEDGE.

>a?th/@nowledge/is not a ephira. #t is not on the !ree of +ife: that is, there is inreality no such thing.

8f this thesis there are many proofs. !he simplest (if not the best) is perhaps asfollows:

9ll $nowledge may be expressed in the form W0

*ut if so, the idea 0 is really implicit in & thus we hae learnt nothing.

9nd, of course, if not so, the statement is simply false.

%ow see how we come at once to paradox. 1or the thought !here is no such thingas $nowledge, @nowledge is a false idea, or howeer it may be phrased, can beexpressed as W0: it is itself a thing $nown.

#n other words, the attempt to analyse the idea leads immediately to a muddle of themind.

*ut this is of the essence of the 8ccult isdom concerning >a?th. 1or >a?th is thecrown of the ;uach, the #ntellect& and its place is in the 9byss. !hat is, it brea$s intopieces immediately it is examined.

!here is no coherence below the 9byss, or in it& to obtain this, which is one of thechief canons of !ruth, we must reach %eschamah.

1or this there is another explanation, 4uite apart from the purely logical trap. W0(unless identical, and therefore senseless) is an affirmation of duality& or, we may


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say, intellectual perception is a denial of amadhic truth. #t is therefore essentiallyfalse in the depths of its nature.

!he simplest and most obious statement will not bear analysis. Fermilion is red is

undeniable, no doubt& but on in4uiry it is found to be meaningless. 1or each termmust be defined by means of at least two other terms, of which the same thing istrue& so that the process of definition is always obscurum per obscurius. 1or thereare no truly simple terms. !here is no real intellectual perception possible. hat wesuppose to be such is in fact a series of more or less plausible conentions basedupon the apparent parallelism of experience. !here is no final warrant that any twopersons mean precisely the same thing by HsweetI or HhighI& een such conceptionsas those of number are perhaps only identical in relation to practical ulgarapplications.

!hese and similar considerations lead to certain types of philosophical scepticism.%eschamic conceptions are nowise exempt from this criticism, for, een supposingthem identical in any number of persons, their expression, being intellectual, willsuffer the same stress as normal perceptions.

*ut none of this sha$es, or een threatens, the 0hilosophy of !helema. 8n thecontrary, it may be called the ;oc$ of its foundation. 1or the issue of all is eidentlythat all conceptions are necessarily uni4ue because there can neer be two identicalpoints"of"iew& and this corresponds with the facts& for there are points"of"iew close

$in, and thus there may be a superficial general agreement, as there is, which isfound to be false on analysis, as has been shewn.

1rom the aboe it will be understood how it comes that there are no !rances of@nowledge& and this bids us en4uire into the tradition of the 5rimoires that all$nowledge is miraculously attainable. !he answer is that, while all !rances are>estroyers of @nowledge/since, for one thing, they all destroy the sense of >uality""they yet put into their 9dept the means of $nowledge. e may regard rationalapprehension as a projection of !ruth in dualistic form& so that he who possesses anygien !ruth has only to symbolise its image in the form of @nowledge.

!his conception is difficult& an illustration may clear its iew. an architect can indicatethe general characteristics of a building on paper by means of two drawings/aground plan and an eleation. %either but is false in nearly eery respect& each ispartial, each lac$s depth, and so on. 9nd yet, in combination, they do represent tothe trained imagination what the building actually is& also, illusions as they are, noother illusions will sere the mind to discoer the truth which they intend.

!his is the reality hidden in all the illusions of the intellect& and this is the basis of the

necessity for the 9spirant of haing his $nowledge accurate and ade4uate.


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(#t is a significant illustration of the truth of this 'abalistic theory, that women oftenpossess most excellent #ntelligence, while totally incapable of the @nowledge and;eason on which, logically, it is founded.)

amadhi, at first onset productie of bewildering Ecstasy, ultimates in thisUnderstanding& one may say, therefore, that Understanding implies a certainamadhic 4uality of apprehension. >uality is (perhaps) not absolutely abolished saein the superstructure of the state& but it assumes a form which it would be absurd tocall dualistic.

(#t will be noticed that iolation of logic is essential to eery true effort to coney theconception.)

!his fact lies at the root of all !rinitarian symbolism& the scheme is geometrical in

idea, and een arithmetical, as shewn by the attribution of *inah to the number 7. *utthe solution of eery dyad in a !riune !riad is misleading, in so far as it purports tointerpret the phenomenon in terms of intellect, and only useful as it may train thereasoning faculties to supersede themseles in a sublime suicide upon the 9ltar ofthe Mystic #ntuition/though this, after all, is a mean imitation of the proper process.1or it is, firstly, unscientific in method& and secondly, illegitimate in its denial of itsown alidity.

!he only correct and ade4uate mode of the 9ttainment of Understanding is to shut off

and to inhibit the rational mind altogether, thus leaing a #abula rasaupon which theentirely alien faculty/de no(oand sui "eneris/can write its first word.

*ut then (it will surely be said) what is more unintelligent than this supposed#ntelligenceB than this formless, een delirious Ecstasy which sweeps away allshapes of thoughtB %o sane man would deny this premiss: but the explanation is thatthis Ecstasy is (so to say) the throe of *irth of the new faculty. #t is surely natural foran obserer to be startled, for the moment, by the discoery of a new Unierse.9nanda must be mastered manfully, not indulged as a ice in the manner of theMysticD amadhi must be clarified by ila, by the stern irtue of constraint: and then

appears the paradox that the new +aw of the Mind has come not to destroy but tofulfil the old. !he Understanding ta$es full cogni-ance of all that ast material whichthe ;eason was unable to build into any coherent structure. !he contradictions haedisappeared by absorption& they hae been accepted as essential factors in thenature of !ruth, which without them were a mere congeries of 1acts.

#t will be clear from all these considerations that there need be no surprise at thisprimordial paradox: that cepticism, absolute in eery dimension, is the sole possiblebasis of true 9ttainment. 9ll attempts to shir$ the issue by appeals to faith, by

mystic transcendental sophistries, or any other spiritual arieties of the !hree"2ard"!ric$, are deoted to the most abject destruction.


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Y!he root cas means house& and an house is $eth, the letter of Mercury, the Magus of the !arot. =e is

not still, in a place of repose, but the 4uintessence of all Motion. =e is the +ogos& and =e is phallic.

!his doctrine is of the utmost 'abalistic importance.

suggests, may be supposed to assert the moral attitude of readiness to resist anyassault upon an existing state of 0urity.

o dear to heaen is saintly chastity

!hat when a soul is found sincerely so

9 thousand lieried angels lac$ey it,

sang Milton, with the true poets eil"piercing sword"ision& for serice is but wasteunless action demands it.

!he phinx is not to be mastered by holding aloof& and the brutish innocence of0aradise is always at the mercy of the erpent. it is his isdom that should guardour ays& we need his swiftness, subtlety, and his royal prerogatie of dealing death.

!he #nnocence of the 9deptB e are at once reminded of the strong #nnocence of=arpocrates, and of =is Energy of ilence. 9 chaste man is thus not merely one whoaoids the contagion of impure thoughts and their results, but whose irility iscompetent to restore 0erfection to the world about him. !hus the 0arsifal who fleesfrom @undry and her attendant flower"witches loses his way and must wander longyears in the >esert& he is not truly chaste until he is able to redeem her, an act whichhe performs by the reunion of the +ance and the angraal.

2hastity may thus be defined as the strict obserance of the Magical 8ath& that is, inthe +ight of the +aw of !helema, absolute and perfected deotion to the =oly5uardian 9ngel and exclusie pursuit of the ay of the !rue ill.

#t is entirely incompatible with the cowardice of moral attitude, the emasculation ofsoul and stagnation of action, which commonly denote the man called chaste by theulgar.

*eware of abstinence from actionD is it not written in 8ur lectionB 1or the nature ofthe Unierse being 2reatie Energy, aught else blasphemes the 5oddess, and see$sto introduce the elements of a real death within the pulses of +ife.

!he chaste man, the true @night"Errant of the tars, imposes continually his essentialirility upon the throbbing omb of the @ings >aughter& with eery stro$e of hispear he penetrates the heart of =oliness, and bids spring forth the 1ountain of theacred *lood, splashing its scarlet dew throughout pace and !ime. =is #nnocencemelts with its white"hot Energy the felon fetters of that ;estriction which is in, andhis #ntegrity with its fury of ;ighteousness establishes that ustice which alone cansatisfy the yearning lust of omanhood whose name is 8pportunity. 9s the function


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of the castrum or castellum is not merely to resist a siege, but to compel to8bedience of +aw and 8rder eery pagan within range of its riders, so also it is theay of 2hastity to do more than defend its purity against assault. 1or he is not whollypure who is imperfect& and perfect is no man in himself without his fulfillment in all

possibility. !hus then must he be instant to see$ all proper adenture and achiee it,seeing well to it that by no means should such distract him or diert his purpose,polluting his true %ature and hamstringing his true ill.

oe, woe therefore to him the unchaste who shir$s scornful the seeming"triial, orflees fearful the desperate, adenture. 9nd woe, thrice woe, and four times woe be tohim who is allured by the adenture, slac$ing his ill and demitted from his ay: foras the laggard and the dastard are lost, so is the toy of circumstance dragged downto nethermost =ell.

ir @night, be igilant: watch by your arms and renew your 8ath& for that day is ofsinister augury and deadly charged with danger which ye fill not to oerflowing withgay deeds and bold of masterful, of manful 2hastityD

SILENCE.

8f all the Magical and Mystical Firtues, of all the 5races of the oul, of all the9ttainments of the pirit, none has been so misunderstood, een when at allapprehended, as ilence.

#t would not be possible to enumerate the common errors: nay, it may be said that tothin$ of it at all is in itself an error& for its nature is 0ure *eing, that is to say, %othing,so that it is beyond all intellection or intuition. !hus then the utmost of our Essay canbe only a certain ardenship, as it were a !yling of the +odge wherein the Mystery ofilence may be consummated.

1or this attitude there is sound traditional authority& for =arpocrates, 5od of ilence,is called !he +ord of >efense and 0rotection.

*ut =is nature is by no means that negatie and passie silence which the wordcommonly connotes& for =e is the 9ll"andering pirit& the 0ure and 0erfect @night"Errant, who answers all Enigmas, and opens the 2losed 0ortal of the @ings>aughter. *ut ilence in the ulgar sense is not the answer to the ;iddle of thephinx& it is that which is created by that answer. 1or ilence is the E4uilibrium of0erfection& so that =arpocrates is the omniform, the uniersal @ey to eery Mysterysoeer. !he phinx is the 0u--el or 0ucelle, the 1eminine #dea to which there isonly one complement, always different in form, and always identical in essence. !hisis the signification of the 5esture of the 5od& it is shewn more clearly in =is adultform as the 1ool of the !arot and as *acchus >iphues, and without e4uiocationwhen =e appears as *aphomet.


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hen we in4uire more closely into =is symbolism, the first 4uality which engages ourattention is doubtless =is innocence. %ot without deep wisdom is =e called the twinof =orus& and this is the 9eon of =orus: it is =e who sent forth 9iwass =is minister toproclaim its adent. !he 1ourth 0ower of the phinx is ilence& to us then who aspire

to this power as the crown of our or$, it will be of utmost alue to attain =isinnocence in all its fullness. e must understand first of all that the root of Moral;esponsibility, on which Man stupidly prides himself as distinguishing him from theother animals, is ;estriction, which is the ord of in. #ndeed, there is truth in the=ebrew fable, that the $nowledge of 5ood and Eil brings forth >eath. !o regain#nnocence is to regain Eden. e must learn to lie without the murderousconsciousness that eery breath we draw swells the sails which bear our frail esselsto the 0ort of the 5rae. e must cast our 1ear by +oe& seeing that Eery 9ct is an8rgasm, their total issue cannot be but *irth. 9lso, +oe is the law: thus eery actmust be ;ighteousness and !ruth. *y certain Meditations this may be understoodand established& and this ought to be done so thoroughly that we becomeunconscious of our anctification, for only then is #nnocence made perfect. !his stateis, in fact, a necessary condition of any proper contemplation of what we areaccustomed to consider the first tas$ of the 9spirant, the solution of the 4uestion,hat is my !rue illB 1or until we become innocent, we are certain to try to judgeour ill by some 2anon of what seems HrightI or HwrongI& in other words, we are apt tocriticise our ill from the outside, whereas !rue ill should spring, a fountain of+ight, from within, and flow unchec$ed, seething with +oe, into the 8cean of +ife.

!his is the true idea of ilence& it is our ill which issues, perfectly elastic, sublimely0rotean, to fill eery interstice of the Unierse of Manifestation which it meets in itscourse. !here is no gulf too great for its immeasurable strength, no strait too arduousfor its imperturbable subtlety. #t fits itself with perfect precision to eery need& itsfluidity is the warrant of its fidelity. #ts form is always aried by that of the particularimperfection which it encounters: its essence is identical in eery eent. 9nd alwaysthe effect of its action is 0erfection, that is, ilence& and this 0erfection is eer thesame, being perfect, yet eer different, because each case presents its own peculiar4uantity and 4uality.

#t is impossible for inspiration itself to sound a dithyramb of ilence& for each newaspect of =arpocrates is worthy of the music of the Unierse throughout Eternity. #hae simply been led by my loyal +oe of that strange ;ace among whom # findmyself incarnate to indite this poor stan-a of the infinite Epic of =arpocrates as beingthe facet of =is fecund *rilliance which has refracted the most needful light uponmine own dar$ling Entrance to =is shrine of fulminating, of ineffable 5odhead.

# praise the luxuriant ;apture of #nnocence, the irile and pantomorphous Ecstasy ofall"1ulfilment& # praise the 2rowned and 2on4uering 2hild whose name is 1orce and

1ire, whose subtlety and strength ma$e sure serenity, whose Energy and Enduranceaccomplish the 9ttainment of the Firgin of the 9bsolute& who, being manifested, is


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the 0layer upon the seenfold pipe, the 5reat 5od 0an, and, being withdrawn intothe 0erfection that he willed, is ilence.

LOVE.

Now the 2a"us is &o(e, and bindeth to"ether #hat and #his in his Conjuration!

!he 1ormula of !etragrammaton is the complete mathematical expression of +oe.#ts essence is this: any two things unite, with a double effect& firstly, the destruction ofboth, accompanied by the ecstasy due to the relief of the strain of separateness&secondly, the creation of a third thing, accompanied by the ecstasy of the realisationof existence, which is oy until with deelopment it becomes aware of itsimperfection, and loes.

!his formula of +oe is uniersal& all the laws of %ature are its seritors. !hus,graitation, chemical affinity, electrical potential, and the rest/and these are ali$emere aspects of the general law/are so many differently"obsered statements of theuni4ue tendency.

!he Unierse is consered by the duplex action inoled in the formula. !hedisappearance of 1ather and Mother is precisely compensated by the emergence ofon and >aughter. #t may therefore be considered as a perpetual"motion"enginewhich continually deelops rapture in each of its phases.

!he sacrifice of #phigenia at 9ulis may be ta$en as typical of the formula: the mysticaleffect is the assumption of the maid to the bosom of the goddess& while, for themagical, the destruction of her earthly part, the fawn composes the rage of Zolus,and bids the >anaids set sail.

%ow it cannot be too clearly understood, or too acutely realised by means of action,that the intensity of the oy liberated aries with the original degree of oppositionbetween the two elements of the union. =eat, light, electricity are phenomena

expressie of the fullness of passion, and their alue is greatest when the diersity ofthe Energies composing the marriage is most strenuous. 8ne obtains more from theexplosion of =ydrogen and 8xygen than from the dull combination of substancesindifferent to each other. !hus, the union of %itrogen and 2hlorine is so littlesatisfying to either molecule, that the resulting compound disintegrates with explosieiolence at the slightest shoc$. e might say, then, in the language of !helema, thatsuch an act of loe is not loe under will. #t is, so to spea$, a blac$ magicaloperation.

+et us consider, in a figure, the HfeelingsI of a molecule of =ydrogen in the presence

of one of 8xygen or of 2hlorine. #t is made to suffer intensely by the realisation of theextremity of its deiation from the perfect type of monad by the contemplation of an


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element so supremely opposed to its own nature at eery point. o far as it is egoist,its reaction must be scorn and hatred& but as it understands by the true shame that isput upon its separateness by the presence of its opposite, these feelings turn toanguished yearning. #t begins to crae the electric spar$ which will enable it to

assuage its pangs by the annihilation of all those properties which constitute itsseparate existence, in the rapture of union, and at the same time to fulfil its passionto create a perfect type of 0eace.

e see the same psychology eerywhere in the physical world. 9 stronger and moreelaborate illustration might well hae been drawn, were the purpose of this essayless catholic, from the structure of the atoms themseles, and their effort to resolethe agony of their agitation in the beatific %irana of the HnobleI gases.

!he process of +oe under ill is eidently progressie. !he 1ather who has slain

himself in the womb of the Mother finds himself again, with her, and transfigured, inthe on. !his on acts as a new 1ather& and it is thus that the elf is constantlyaggrandi-ed, and able to counterpoise an eer greater %ot"elf, until the final act of+oe under ill which comprehends the Unierse in ammasamadhi.

!he passion of =atred is thus really directed against oneself& it is the expression ofthe pain and shame of separateness& and it only appears to be directed against theopposite by psychological transference. !his thesis the chool of 1reud has madesufficiently clear.

!here is then little indeed in common between +oe and such tepid passions asregard, affection, or $indliness& it is the uninitiate, who, to his damnation in a hell ofcabbage soup and soap"suds, confuses them.

+oe may best be defined as the passion of =atred inflamed to the point of madness,when it ta$es refuge in elf"destruction.

+oe is clear"sighted with the lust of deadly rage, anatomi-ing its ictim with $eenenergy, see$ing where best to stri$e home mortally to the heart& it becomes blind

only when its fury has completely oerpowered it, and thrust it into the red maw of thefurnace of self"immolation.

e must further distinguish in this magical sense from the sexual formula, symboland type though that be thereof. 1or the pure essence of Magic$ is a function ofultimate atomic consciousness, and its operations must be refined from all confusionand contamination. !he truly magical operations of +oe are therefore the !rances,more especially those of Understanding& as will readily hae been appreciated bythose who hae made a careful 'abalistic study of the nature of *inah. 1or she is

omniform as +oe and as >eath, the 5reat ea whence all +ife springs, and whoseblac$ womb reabsorbs all. he thus resumes in herself the duplex process of the1ormula of +oe under ill& for is not 0an the 9ll"*egetter in the heart of the 5roes


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C.

2=#9=. !he 2reatie impulse or ill. !he econd principle of the fiefold constitutionof man. ee >iagram.

2=8@M9=. #>8M. !he econd Emanation of the 9bsolute, the Cod of!etragrammaton, the 1ather in the !rinity. ee >iagram.2=8;8%X8%. ee 45uino.F. The Vision and the Voice,1(#$ Ae#$%r.

D.

>9[!=. @nowledge, child of 2ho$mah and *inah in one sense, in the other theempty and structureless condition of 2horon-on.

E.

EEM0! 9>E0!. 5rade \VWiagram.

G.

5E*U;9=. trength& the 1ifth Emanation of the 9bsolute. !he ephira of Mars.ee >iagram.

H.

=9>#!. !he infinitely small and atomic yet omnipresent point. ee +iber +egis,E4uinox F##. alsoLiber '''.=9;082;9!E. !he Egyptian 5od of ilence, the babe in the egg. (!he image ofthe concealed 1ather.) !he +ord of >efence and 0rotection. ee \\\.=8;U. #n Egyptian cosmogony, the child of #sis and 8siris. !he true Magic$ of=orus re4uires the passionate Union of opposites. !he new 9eon of =orus. !he2rowned and 2on4uering 2hild. ee Magic$.

I.

#0##MU. 5rade 3QVW3]#s beyond all comprehension of those of lower degrees.

).

E2=#>9=. !he 4uintessential principle of the soul. 8ne principle of the fiefoldconstitution of man. ee >iagram.

&.

@9;M9. !hat which is made. !he law of cause and effect, see cience and*uddhism. 2rowleysCollected Wor%s, Fol. 6.
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@E!=E;. !he 2rown. !he 1irst Emanation of the 9bsolute. @ether is in Mal$uthand Mal$uth is in @ether, but after another manner, Mal$uth reflects @ether, for thatwhich is aboe is li$e that which is below, and that which is below is li$e that which isaboe. ee >iagram.

M.

M95#2@. !he science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the ill.ee 2a"ic% in #heory and 0ractice, by the Master !herion.M95U. 9 Magician& also, technically, a Master of the 5rade ^ VW6]!he highestgrade which it is eer possible to manifest in any way upon this plane. 9ttains toisdom, declares his law, and is the Master of all Magic$ in its greatest and highestsense. ee E4uinox F##., Liber I., and elsewhere.M98; 9>E0!. 9 grade of 9deptship. _VWA] 8btains a general mastery of all

practical Magic$, though without full comprehension. ee 45uino.#. and ###.

N.

%E2=9M9=. #ntuition. 9spiration. #ntelligence. !he !hird principle of the fiefoldconstitution of man. ee >iagram.%E0=E=. !he 9nimal oul of man, senses, emotion. !he 1ifth principle of thefiefold constitution of man. ee >iagram.%U#!. #nfinite pace. ee &iber &e"isand 45uino.F##., p. 33.

O.

8#;#. !he 9ncient Egyptian ;edeemer, father of =orus.82!#%8M8. Master Magician.

.

0C;9M#>. !he 2ity of *inah, the !hird ephira, referred to aturn. !he finaldestruction of the $nowledge of >a?th opens the gate of the 2ity of 0yramids.

ee The Vision and the Voice!

+.

'9*9+9=. !he !radition of the ecret isdom of the =ebrews. ee 45uino.F.

R.

;U92=. !he #ntellect and other mental 4ualities. ;eason. !he 1ourth principle of thefiefold constitution of man. ee 777, and >iagram.

S.
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9**(92E)E 0# >U@@9M. Eerything is sorrow.9M9>=#. Ecstasy or uper"consciousness. Etymologically: !ogether with the +ord.9MM99M9>=#. ;ight amadhi.E0=#;8!=. !he !ree of +ife. ee !emple of olomon, E4uinox F. !he *epher

*ephiroth, the *oo$ of Emanations, describes the gradual eolution of the >eity fromnegatie into positie existence. ee 45uino.#., F###. uppl., and >iagram.#+9. Firtue.

T.

!9;8!. !he *oo$ of !hoth, a pictorial epitome of the 9ncient #nitiated isdom. 9method of >iination based on the 'abalistic !ree of +ife.

!=E E%>.

crowley little essays towards truth

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