Liber 418 study group - 30th Aethyr: TEX

Aeon418

This is also a nice addition. You could post in the OP the Aethyr, in the commentary post the name amalysis (really helpful) and some guidance through the Vision as a standard template.

I did start a name analysis in the OP but deleted it because I felt it was getting a bit too 'top heavy' too early. But if you think it's useful I will include a brief analysis in the next thread.

One difficulty with the name analysis is that Crowley was inconsistent with his attributions to some of the enochian letters. The 19th Aethyr, POP, is a good example. The traditional correspondence to the enochain letter P is the sign of Cancer. At some point Crowley decided Leo was a better fit. But I can't see anything remotely suggestive of Leo in the vision of POP. In fact it is mostly dominated by Lunar symbols. :confused:
 

Owl Tarot

I did start a name analysis in the OP but deleted it because I felt it was getting a bit too 'top heavy' too early. But if you think it's useful I will include a brief analysis in the next thread.

One difficulty with the name analysis is that Crowley was inconsistent with his attributions to some of the enochian letters. The 19th Aethyr, POP, is a good example. The traditional correspondence to the enochain letter P is the sign of Cancer. At some point Crowley decided Leo was a better fit. But I can't see anything remotely suggestive of Leo in the vision of POP. In fact it is mostly dominated by Lunar symbols. :confused:

I don't mean that you should put it in the OP, and then post 1-2 commentary posts which give some context to study the Aethyr with. If you would like to think about it in a way, I would suggest to think of the question "If someone read those posts together, would the info be enough for him/her to begin understanding it?"

From what I have seen up to now, I think the name analysis and the narrative are pretty helpful!

About Crowley being inconsistent with the attributions, I think in this case posting both the "traditional" and the "new" attribution may help us... Try to understand what he did???
 

Aeon418

It is also interesting to note that, in a certain sense (keeping in mind the suggestion that The Emperor does double-duty for a while), the letters from the book of the East cross the Abyss. The new Aeon presents the context in a different way, and so I think the paths to the Supernals (as you mentioned) is now easier to see then what it was with the old Aeon's "lies", where the "truth" was twisted as seen fit.

In his book, Initiation in the Aeon of the Child, J. Daniel Gunther claims the card switch is indicative of a change in the symbolism of Messiah. The Emperor on the new path of Tzaddi represents the old, abrogate symbolism of the Fisher King and the Lamb. But the new Messianic symbols are the Woman, the Star, and the Thunderbolt. This changing of the guard is predicted in line 7 of the present vision:

"7. Seal the book with the seals of the Stars Concealed: for the Rivers have rushed together and the Name הוהי is broken in a thousand pieces (against the Cubic Stone)."

J. Daniel Gunther said:
The "Rivers" described in this Vision are the four rivers of Eden, the branches of the River that "floweth and faileth not." According to dogmatic Qabalah of western mysticism, the River Naher was described as flowing from the Supernal Eden unto Daath where it divided into four heads, being the rivers Pison (fire) flowing into Geburah, Gihon (water) flowing into Chesed, Hiddikel (air) flowing into Tiphareth, and Phrath (earth) flowing into Malkuth. After the so-called "fall of Adam" Tetragrammaton Elohim placed the four letters IHVH between the devastated Garden and the Supernal Eden. The four rivers formed a Cross upon which the "second Adam" (Jesus) was symbolically crucified.

The rushing together of the Rivers described in the Vision and the Voice predicts the annihilation of the Cross of Suffering (the throne of the Christian Messiah) and the destruction of the name Jehovah which sealed it's establishment. The Cubic Stone against which the name of Jehovah is broken has six sides with twelve lines and eight points, the total of which is twenty-six, the balance of the elements in the Tetragrammaton. But more than this, the Cubic Stone is the Throne of the Emperor.

The Woman of the Star pours the bright dew over herself (Heh final), and into the sand of the accursed Abyss so that the river (Heh prima) gushes forth. She is thus Anima Mundi even as she is the Lady of the Great Sea. A clue to her true identity is offered in the Wake World:

"Then there was another passage which was really too secret for anything; all I shall tell you is, there was the most beautiful Goddess that ever was, and she was washing herself in a river of dew. If you ask her what she is doing, she says: "I'm making thunderbolts." It was only starlight, and yet one could see quite clearly, so I don't think I'm making a mistake."

As revealed in Liber CDXVIII (418), the light of that Star comes from the path of Aleph [and is projected onto the Path of Heh. Aeon418], and Aleph is the Thunderbolt by shape. This is also indicated by Liber CCXXXI, which describes The Star as follows:

"Transformed, the holy virgin appeared as a fluidic fire, making her beauty into a thunderbolt."

..................................

In the Aeon of the Child, the Thunderbolt is one of the symbols of Messiah, as it is revealed in the Holy Books:

"Blessed, blessed, blessed; yea, blessed; thrice and four times blessed is he that hath attained to look upon thy face. For I will hurl thee forth from my presence as a whirling thunderbolt to guard the ways, and whom thou smitest shall be smitten indeed. And whom thou lovest shall be loved indeed."
Liber LXV. V:65 said:
65. So also is the end of the book, and the Lord Adonai is about it on all sides like a Thunderbolt, and a Pylon, and a Snake, and a Phallus, and in the midst thereof he is like the Woman that jetteth out the milk of the stars from her paps; yea, the milk of the stars from her paps.
 

Owl Tarot

In his book, Initiation in the Aeon of the Child, J. Daniel Gunther claims the card switch is indicative of a change in the symbolism of Messiah. The Emperor on the new path of Tzaddi represents the old, abrogate symbolism of the Fisher King and the Lamb. But the new Messianic symbols are the Woman, the Star, and the Thunderbolt. This changing of the guard is predicted in line 7 of the present vision:

I think the Emperor Trump, with the Lamp being in the dark corner and the Red Tincture of the Alchemists with the Phoenix recieving the light of the Beast-Chokmah on it (resulting in a "new" Emperor) further illustrates the points up to now:

The final stage of the work was often symbolised by the Phoenix rising from the flames. This goes back to the Greek myth of the Phoenix bird which renewed itself every 500 years by immolating itself on a pyre. This is thus a kind of resurrection and was paralleled with the symbol of Christ rising from the tomb. In interior terms its marks the rebirth of the personality from out of the crucible of transformation.

http://www.alchemywebsite.com/animal.html
 

Aeon418

But when Crowley constructed the A.'.A.'. system on the skeleton of the Golden Dawn he moved the old Tiphareth based rebirth and resurrection motifs to Yesod because they no longer signify the supreme attainment. The initiatory goal posts have moved. The symbols of rebirth and resurrection from death signify an intermediate stage. Atu XX The Aeon was redesigned to reflect this shift in emphasis.
 

Owl Tarot

But when Crowley constructed the A.'.A.'. system on the skeleton of the Golden Dawn he moved the old Tiphareth based rebirth and resurrection motifs to Yesod because they no longer signify the supreme attainment. The initiatory goal posts have moved. The symbols of rebirth and resurrection from death signify an intermediate stage. Atu XX The Aeon was redesigned to reflect this shift in emphasis.

That's what I -kind of- meant to say with the previous thought process, that the function of The Emperor connecting the Son-Sun center to the Beast-Chokmah wasn't dimmed as the "true" function of the Emperor, rather the Star-Babablon-Nuit-Binah-Archetypical Mother was more proper connecting the two of them and on the same note, different aspects of the Emperor have been brought in the light of Chokmah (Red Tincture) and some aspects went into "the dark" (The Lamp). It makes sense to me, in the sense that the Trump connecting the primal dynamic aspect of the Universe to Hadit's-Kether's Son is the Mother. I don't know if that presents my thoughts more clearly.
 

Aeon418

It makes sense to me, in the sense that the Trump connecting the primal dynamic aspect of the Universe to Hadit's-Kether's Son is the Mother.

It made sense to Crowley too. The Book of Thoth: The Ace of Swords.
Aleister Crowley said:
The Ruach is centred in the airy Sephira, Tiphareth, who is the Son, the first-born of the Father, and the Sun, the first emanation of the creative Phallus. He derives directly from his mother Binah through the Path of Zain, the sublime intuitive sense, so that he partakes absolutely of the nature of Neschamah. From his father, Chokmah, he is informed though the Path of Heh', the Great Mother, the Star, our Lady Nuit, so that the creative impulse is communicated to him by all possibilities soever. [How strikingly this fact confirms the counterchange of IV and XVII, above fully expounded: as a link between Chokmah and Tiphareth, the Emperor would have no great significance, and this exquisite doctrine of the Three Mothers would be lost.] Finally, from Kether, the supreme, descends directly upon him, though the Path of Gimel, the High Priestess, the triune light of Initiation. The Three-in-One, the Secret Mother in her polymorphous plenitude; these, these alone, hail him thrice blessed of the Supernals!
 

Aeon418

Liber 418. TEX. said:
1. I AM in a vast crystal cube in the form of the Great God Harpocrates. This cube is surrounded by a sphere. About me are four archangels in black robes, their wings and armour lined out in white.
Compare this with the words of Hadit in The Book of the Law.
Liber CCXX. II:7 said:
7. I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. «Come unto me» is a foolish word: for it is I that go.
The Vision of TEX opens with symbols of Hadit (the cube) and Nuit (the sphere/circle). At the centre of this union is the child-god Harpocrates. The remaining 29 Aethyrs are said to be concentric spheres around the cube. The 30th sits inside the 29th, which sits within the 28th, etc. In a way this whole series of visions may be seen as the continual union of Nuit and Hadit and the unfolding mystery of the Child. The visions begin in TEX with Harpocrates and end in LIL with the revelation of the Crowned and Conquering Child.

Liber 418. said:
8. Tremble ye, O Pillars of the Universe, for Eternity is in travail of a Terrible Child; she shall bring forth an universe of Darkness, whence shall leap forth a spark that shall put his father to flight.
Comapre with The Book of the Law.
Liber CCXX. III:71 said:
71.Hail! ye twin warriors about the pillars of the world! for your time is nigh at hand.
Line 8 of TEX speaks of the birth of the 'Terrible Child' as a whirling spark (swastika/thunderbolt) from a universe of darkness. Verse 71 of Liber Legis seems to be saying something similar. Even the verse number 71, which combines the numbers 70 and 1, hints at this. 70 = Ayin, The Devil, and 1 = Aleph, The Fool, could be the Terrible Child.

Verse 71 of chapter III is also the 216th verse in the book. 216 is the numerical value of the 'terrible' sphere of Geburah. But 216 is also 6 cubed. 6 x 6 x 6 = 216. 6 is the Child Tiphareth. The triple repetion gives 666.
 

Owl Tarot

Compare this with the words of Hadit in The Book of the Law.

The Vision of TEX opens with symbols of Hadit (the cube) and Nuit (the sphere/circle). At the centre of this union is the child-god Harpocrates. The remaining 29 Aethyrs are said to be concentric spheres around the cube. The 30th sits inside the 29th, which sits within the 28th, etc. In a way this whole series of visions may be seen as the continual union of Nuit and Hadit and the unfolding mystery of the Child. The visions begin in TEX with Harpocrates and end in LIL with the revelation of the Crowned and Conquering Child.

The Aethyrs are THAT awesome! I find the dynamic of the 30th (since we are studying that one currently), as presented by now, to be really great! I find it really interesting that the Cube, which is traditionally assosiated with Tiphareth, is here presenting Hadit! I think an interesting comparison is to be made with the unfolding of the Cube which leads us to the Rosy cross that's at the back of the Thoth deck's Trumps.


Comapre with The Book of the Law.

Line 8 of TEX speaks of the birth of the 'Terrible Child' as a whirling spark (swastika/thunderbolt) from a universe of darkness. Verse 71 of Liber Legis seems to be saying something similar. Even the verse number 71, which combines the numbers 70 and 1, hints at this. 70 = Ayin, The Devil, and 1 = Aleph, The Fool, could be the Terrible Child.

Verse 71 of chapter III is also the 216th verse in the book. 216 is the numerical value of the 'terrible' sphere of Geburah. But 216 is also 6 cubed. 6 x 6 x 6 = 216. 6 is the Child Tiphareth. The triple repetion gives 666.

Really interesting!
That also got me thinking that The Devil and The Fool along with the thunderbolt/swastiga is pretty informing indeed, because I think those two cards reveal both aspects of Heru-Ra-Ha, Harpocrates (Atu 0) and Ra-Hoor-Khuit (depicted in a way in Atu XV).

Also, The Fool is the 11th Path and The Devil is the 26th Path adding to 37, GOD, To grow great, Flame, Behold!.

The numerical value of Geburah is also interesting, and it connects to the event depicted in Atu XX, the Judgment of the World by Fire which took place when Heru-Ra-Ha took his seat.

28. Until the Book of the East be opened!
Until the hour sound!
Until the Voice vibrate!
Until it pierce my Depth;
Look not on High!
Look not Beneath!
 

Always Wondering

Wonderful, meaty conversation to be quietly lurking over. Both of your thoughts have been helpful. I was hoping others would chime in by now. But I am getting a little overwhelmed again and feel it is time to step back and try the visualization Eschelman recommends in Visions & Voices before continuing.

Owl Tarot, if you don't have the book or are still waiting for it, he simply recommends to read the vision aloud, visualizing the scenes that are described, alluding to both the vision and the voice.

This is not my first attempt, but I can see now I was making it much harder than it is.

AW