Aeon418
In the most literal sense the manifestation of the stele could be the attainment of the Knowledge and Coversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Ankh-af-na-Khonsu represents the aspirant. He is greeting Ra-Hoor-Khuit, the deific image of the HGA. This is one manifestion of the union of Nuit and Hadit, under which this greeting takes place.AlwaysWondering said:I guess I don't understand what this means. I will go read about the Stele again. And listen to Shoemaker.
In the previous verse we are instructed to close the stele in locked glass. The obvious surface interpretation of buying or building a replica and locking it in a display cabinet seems a little unsatisfying to me. A different angle may be to regard the instruction as a form of visualization practice. The "locked glass" may indicate a fixed mental image in one's own "secret temple" - the mind. This would make the "kiblah", the direction of prayer, an inward focus towards the "secret house" of R.H.K.
Within this "secret temple" the image "shall not fade, but miraculous colour shall come back to it day after day."
But what is the purpose behind this? Obvious reasons are that it is a good mindfulness and visualiztion technique that can be used as part of a devotional (bhakti) practice. But a deeper reason may be that it provides a link to the 'Thelemic current' via the images of the gods represented on the stele. As the Neophyte ritual states: "for by Names and Images are all Powers awakened and re-awakened."
(David Shoemaker provides an example of this use of the stele imagery in the closing remarks of his talk/essay on Liber Resh in Living Thelema.)
In this context I will quote Paul Foster Case on the Intelligence of Transparency which corresponds to Beth and the Magus card (Mercury).
The most immediate connection is with the transparency of glass letting light shine through it. But another link is provided by the placement of the Aeon card (the stele) on the Tree of Life. It sits on the path of Shin between Hod/Mercury and Malkuth/manifestation. The transformative Light of Shin is manifested via the channel of the mind and the imagery held within it. This suggests that the transformative energies of the New Aeon manifest through the minds of those who consciously align themselves with it. The Stele of Revealing makes for a perfect mental focus point and a channel for the Light to shine through into the world.P. F. Case said:Intelligence of Transparency is the mode of consciousness. "Transparency" means "letting light shine through." Here we have the same idea of transmission that is suggested by Hermes as the transmitter of the messages of the higher divinity. Clearly the mode of consciousness called transparent must be one which affords a free channel of communication, which permits the free passage downward and outward of the superconscious Light which is above and within
In a later verse the number of the stele is said to be 718. Crowley had a 'light bulb moment' when he discovered a variant Greek spelling of the word "stele" equaled 52. Quickly adding 666 (the actual catalogue number used to identify the stele in the Boulak museum) he discovered, much to his surprise and delight, that it totaled 718. The "Stele 666" = 718. But I wonder if there is another connection. On the Tree of Life the paths of the "lightning flash" total 777. The numerical value of the remaining paths is 718. Maybe the Stele as 718 represents a conduit or channel to bring down the "lightning flash" of 777.
The stele 'closed in locked glass' (fixed in consciousness) is described as a "proof to the world." The most common meaning of proof is evidence. But another meaning is an original design or pattern. In coin minting the first test coins are called Proof coinage. These coins are made to test the quality of the die and for archival purposes.
The coin to be struck with a new pattern is Malkuth, the World. The old aeon death and resurrection pattern seen on the Judgement card has been replaced by the new 'proof' of the Stele of Revealing.