Liber 418 study group - 23rd Aethyr: TOR

smw

Yes, this was just a small sample. He gets to experience the real deal in the 2nd Aethyr, ARN. (ARN = 156 = Babalon) The same three letters in Hebrew, Aleph, Resh, Nun, are the word for Ark - as in the Ark of the Covenant. And we all know what happens to those who take a look before they are ready. :laugh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTcheaqt0rU

Thanks for the visual :laugh: that was hideous!
no peeking... Not even through fingers
 

Owl Tarot

Awesome posts Aeon, that was nice! I haven't had much time lately to play around with the Aethyrs so I haven't done my homework the way I would like to, but I would still like to participate.

One thing that I find informative about this Vision is that Crowley worked with it the morning after a Full Moon in Tropical Taurus. The full name of the Aethyr, TOR, also includes Gimel-The Path of the Moon and Pisces, corresponding to Atu XVIII, which according to Crowley
The Book of Thoth said:
this card represents midnight.
Our 3rd Trump is Adjustment, the Zodiac Sign of Libra. Libra is the Sign of partnership and marriage.

TOR, as you said Aeon, is Binah in Yetzirah and I find this to be extremely useful for us, since Binah is the Sephira in which the first Archetype of Duality arises. Yetzirah is the mental plane which itself functions in a dualistic manner and so I think that in this Vision we have two "opposing" elemental forces (Air and Earth) being annihilated by the "venom"(verses 5 and 10). Since Binah is above the Abyss, there are no contradictions.

The Bull (Taurus) is also The Hierophant, the aspect of Hoor which initiates and instructs. I think that this is most prominent in verses 9 and 14. The symbolism of Rose and the Cross is also really relevant in my opinion. Could he be the "carrier" of the venom? ;)

In verse 1 we are told that the Bull holds the Sign of the Beetle. Being consistent with the ideas of the Vision, the Beetle might refer to the Solar Deity Khephra, who holds the Sun disk and is a symbol of Resurrection. He is also depicted in Atu XVIII-The Moon (Pisces).

In verse 11, doesn't the Eagle "reveal" that he is an aspect of Scorpio (Atu XIII)? And doesn't that nicely sit with the representation of putrefaction in verse 13?
The highest aspect of the card is the Eagle, which represents exaltation above solid matter.

For some reason I intuitively feel that the whole Vision -and more strongly the dissolution of the two women of verse 10- could refer to the Path of Zain which connects Binah to Tiphareth.
 

Aeon418

Since Binah is above the Abyss, there are no contradictions.
Contradictions still exist at this level, but they are viewed as a unified whole. This is the Truth of Maat represented by Atu VIII. The opposing partial truths balance the scales and reveal Supernal Truth with a capital T.
In verse 11, doesn't the Eagle "reveal" that he is an aspect of Scorpio (Atu XIII)? And doesn't that nicely sit with the representation of putrefaction in verse 13?
It does. But you've then got the problem of Scorpio being a Water sign, and Crowley's insistence that the Eagle is now Air/Aquarius in the New Aeon Tarot.
This is part of Crowley's first footnote to the 24th Aethyr, NIA:
Aleister Crowley said:
The Beast and the Scarlet Woman are attributed to [Fire] Leo and Water Scorpio. They are the two-in-one Chief Officers, of the Temple of the New Aeon of Heru-Ra-Ha. (Note: The Eagle Kerub in the 23rd Aire is Aquarius. Scorpio is the Woman-Serpent. This is important; for the old attribution is of the Eagle is to Scorpio.)
So how do we reconcile this? In the opinion of J. Daniel Gunther the new attribution is indicative of the N.O.X. formula. The older attribution of the Eagle to Scorpio is part of the L.V.X. formula. It is the new attribution that is displayed on Atu's V & XXI, indicating the ultimate goal of initiation is Binah, not Tiphareth. The latter is now just a step on the way to Binah.

But while N.O.X. supersedes L.V.X., it does not abrogate L.V.X. The latter is still a valid initiatory formula up to Tiphreth. This might be confirmed by the Eagle himself who says, "my heart is the heart of a scorpion."

It's also useful to note that the Bull is also being portrayed in Scorpionic terms in this vision. Taurus is directly opposite Scorpio in the Zodiac!
In section 6 we see the four elements (= Earth) with Scorpionic symbols.

1.The Basilisk according to 777 has a destructive (Geburan) 'fiery' glance. Mars rules Scorpio

2. Poison(Scorpio) = Milk = Water.

3. Babe = Fool = Air(Vau?). Asp = Scorpio.

4. The Vine and the Bacchanal are Earth and sexual energy - Scorpio.

I think this is meant to show that the elements of the lesser mysteries, Air & Earth, are subject to the transformation and Change by Love represented by Water, the Cup, and the Woman-Serpent.
 

Always Wondering

The Bezoar stone is a collection of many separate things (usually hair) all compacted together, giving it the 'appearance' of a single unified thing. This ties in perfectly with the descriptions of Air and Earth in this vision.

Also, and more importantly, it is a good image of the Air/Earth - Mind & Body - that we routinely identify as 'self'. But this little self is just a collection of separate things that serves as the perfect vehicle for experience. This is one reason why the HGA in Liber LXV is nuts about the Bezoar stone. (The first 10 lines of chapter 4 are meant to be from the perspective of the Angel.)

Very helpful. Thanks. Going to reread chapter 4.
 

Aeon418

The original cover to Liber Aleph, drawn by Frieda Harris under Crowley's instruction, shows the new placement of the Kerubim in the Thoth Tarot. It is meant to be a stylised Hebrew letter Aleph, made up of the four elemental Kerubim.

http://hermetic.com/crowley/book-of-wisdom-or-folly/book-of-wisdom-or-folly.gif

The distribution of the elements follows the usual pattern:

Fire - lower right.
Water - upper right.
Air - upper left.
Earth - lower left.

But in a deviation from the normal pattern, the Woman and Eagle have switched places. This conforms with Crowley's assertion that the Eagle is Air, and the Woman is Water.

But which symbolic pattern is being shown here. According to J. Daniel Gunther in his book, The Angel & the Abyss, it represents the functional opposition between the signs of N.O.X. as given in Liber V vel Reguli. The traditional elemental correspondences to the Tetragrammaton, IHVH, do not apply in this scheme.

Lower left Bull = Taurus/Earth = Vir(Man) = Yod.
Opposes:
Upper right Woman = Scorpio/Water = Mulier(Woman) = Heh.

Lower right Lion = Leo/Fire = Puer(Son) = Vau.
Opposes:
Upper left Eagle = Aquarius/Air = Puella(Daughter) = Heh final.

According to Gunther this arrangement is the final Adjustment that balances the Mother and the Daughter - The Woman Satisfied. Projected onto a pentagram the two letters Heh's now sit at either end of the horizontal line that connects Air and Water.

But this pentagram does not signify the crowning of the four elements in Tiphareth by the letter Shin (L.V.X.). Instead it represents the "setting of the Daughter on the throne of the Mother". The fifth point in the N.O.X. pentagram is reserved for the letter L - Lamed (and the sign of Mater Triumphans).
The numerical value of this new pentagram is 56, which is Nuit's number. And the five pointed star is her sacred symbol. (AL I:60)

The two Heh's flanking the letter Lamed on the new pentagram total 40. (H + L + H = 40) This is the value of, XII The Hanged, the Master who has drained his life blood into the Cup of Babalon. This transforms Da'ath (Hebrew: DOTh) into Daleth (Hebrew: DLTh)

DOTh(474) - Mem(40) = DLTh(434).