Liber 418 study group - 28th Aethyr: BAG

Aeon418

28. BAG - The Vision of the Dawn of the Aeon of Horus (Atu XVII) - Now is a further and clearer shadowing-forth of the Great Mystery of the Æon which is to be led up to by the Æthyrs. Note however that the King of the New Æon never appears until the very first Æthyr.
The Cry of the 28th Aethyr,
Which is Called BAG


1. There cometh an Angel into the stone with opalescent shining garments like a wheel of fire on every side of him, and in his hand is a long flail of scarlet lightning; his face is black, and his eyes white without any pupil or iris. The face is very terrible indeed to look upon. Now in front of him is a wheel, with many spokes, and many tyres; it is like a fence in front of him.

2. And he cries: O man, who art thou that wouldst penetrate the Mystery? for it is hidden unto the End of Time.

3. And I answer him: Time is not, save in the darkness of Her womb by whom evil came.

4. And now the wheel breaks away, and I see him as he is. His garment is black beneath the opal veils, but it is lined with white, and he has the shinning belly of a fish, and enormous wings of black and white feathers, and innumerable little legs and claws like a centipede, and a long tail like a scorpion. The breasts are human, but they are all scored with blood; and he cries: O thou who hast broken down the veil, knowest thou not that who cometh where I am must be scarred by many sorrows?

5. And I answer him: Sorrow is not, save in the darkness of the womb of Her by whom came evil.

6. I pierce the Mystery of his breast, and therein is a jewel. It is a sapphire as great as an ostrich egg, and thereon is graven this sigil:

[Sigil] Consult PDF linked below to view the sigil.

7. But there is also much writing on the stone, very minute characters carved. I cannot read them. He points with his flail to the sapphire, which is now outside him and bigger than himself; and he cries: Hail! warden of the Gates of Eternity who knowest not thy right hand from thy left; for in the aeon of my Father is a god with clasped hands wherein he holdeth the universe, crushing it into the dust that ye call stars.

8. Hail unto thee who knowest not thy right eye from thy left; for in the aeon of my Father there is but one light.

9. Hail unto thee who knowest not thy right nostril from thy left; for in the aeon of my Father there is neither life nor death.

10. Hail unto thee who knowest not thy right ear from thy left; for in the aeon of my Father there is neither sound nor silence.

11. Whoso hath power to break open this sapphire stone shall find therein four elephants having tusks of mother-of-pearl, and upon whose backs are castles, those castles which ye call the watch-towers of the Universe.

12. Let me dwell in peace within the breast of the Angel that is warden of the aethyr. Let not the shame of my Mother be unveiled. Let not her be put to shame that lieth among the lilies that are beyond the stars.

13. O man, that must ever be opening, when wilt thou learn to seal up the mysteries of the creation? to fold thyself over thyself as a rose in the embrace of night? But thou must play the wanton to the sun, and the wind must tear thy petals from thee, and the bee must rob thee of thy honey, and thou must fall into the dusk of things. Amen and Amen.

14. Verily the light is hidden, therefore he who hideth himself is like unto the light; but thou openest thyself; thou art like unto the darkness that bindeth the belly of the great goddess.

15. OLAHO VIRUDEN MAHORELA ZODIREDA! ON PIREDA EXENTASER; ARBA PIRE GAH GAHA GAHAL GAHALANA VO ABRA NA GAHA VELUCORSAPAX.

16. And the voice of the aeon cried: Return, return, return! the time sickeneth, and the space gapeth, and the voice of him that is, was and shall be crowned rattles in the throat of the mighty dragon of eld. Thou canst not pass by me, except thou have the mystery of the word of the abyss.

17. Now the angel putteth back the sapphire stone into his breast; and I spake unto him and said, I will fight with thee and overcome thee, except thou expound unto me the word of the abyss.

18. Now he makes as if to fight with me. (It is very horrible, all the tentacles moving and the flail flashing, and the fierce eyeless face, strained and swollen.) And with the Magic sword I pierce through his armour to his breast. He fell back, saying: Each of these my scars was thus made, for I am the warden of the aethyr. And he would have said more; but I cut him short, saying: expound the word of the Abyss. And he said: Discipline is sorrowful and ploughing is laborious and age is weariness.

19. Thou shalt be vexed by dispersion.

20. But now, if the sun arise, fold thou thine arms; then shall God smite thee into a pillar of salt.

21. Look not so deeply into words and letters; for this Mystery hath been hidden by the Alchemists. Compose the sevenfold into a fourfold regimen; and when thou hast understood thou mayest make symbols; but by playing child's games with symbols thou shalt never understand. Thou hast the signs; thou hast the words; but there are many things that are not in my power, who am but the warden of the 28th Aethyr.

22. Now my name thou shalt obtain in this wise. Of the three angels of the Aethyr, thou shalt write the names from right to left and from left to right and from right to left, and these are the holy letters:

23. The first 1, the fifth 2, the sixth 3, the eleventh 4, the seventh 5, the twelfth 6, the seventeenth 7.

24. Thus hast thou my name who am above these three, but the angels of the 30th Aethyr are indeed four, and they have none above them; wherefore dispersion and disorder.

25. Now cometh from every side at once a voice, terribly great, crying: Close the veil; the great blasphemy hath been uttered; the face of my Mother is scarred by the nails of the devil. Shut the book, destroy the breaker of the seal!

26. And I answered: Had he not been destroyed he had not come hither, for I am not save in the darkness in the womb of Her by whom came evil into the world.

27. And this darkness swallows everything up, and the angel is gone from the stone; and there is no light therein, save only the light of the Rose and of the Cross.

Aumale, Algeria. November 23, 1909, between 8 and 9 p.m.
Plain text versions of Liber 418 with Crowley's footnotes:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/418/418.htm
http://hermetic.com/crowley/the-vision-and-the-voice/

Liber 418 in PDF format with images:

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/cr...s/Liber418.pdf
 

smw

this feels different to the Aethyrs so far which seemed dynamic if turbulent. This one has such a melancholic feel. Kind of depressing and only a few in. I might have misunderstood the imagery of Binah the mother she feels horribly all consuming, more like kali and death.
 

Aeon418

General observations.

BAG. Pronounced ‘Bah-gee’ in the Golden Dawn’s Enochian dialect.

Hod in Yetzirah.

B – Aries, IV The Emperor, Tzaddi (Heh)
A – Taurus, V The Hierophant, Vau.
G – Leo , XI Lust, Teth. (Crowley: G = Cancer, VII The Chariot, Cheth)

This is the first vision where Crowley’s swap in the Enochian attributions appears. For some reason Crowley switched the signs associated with the Enochian letters P and G. The traditional attribution is G=Leo and P=Cancer, but Crowley reversed this attribution. Also Crowley was still using the Heh-Aries attribution at the time this vision was received. This may or may not be significant. But it is interesting that the Hebrew equivalents to the Enochain BAG spell ChVH in reverse. ChVH is Hebrew for Eve (the wife of Adam) which means ‘to manifest’, to ‘shew forth.’

Using the Aries-Tzaddi correspondence we find:

Tzaddi(90) + Vau(6) + Teth(9) = 105. This is the Mystic number of the Path of Daleth, III The Empress. This vision concerns the ‘unveiling of the Mother’ mentioned in the previous vision.

Using Crowley’s G/P swap we have Tzaddi(90) + Vau(6) + Ch(8) = 104. This is the value of the letter Tzaddi spelt in full – TzDI. Crowley attributed the 28th Aethyr to Atu XVII The Star, which to him in 1909 would have still been Tzaddi. But it’s interesting to note how confrontational and aggressive this vision is. These attributes seem more consistent with Atu IV The Emperor. This mixing of Emperor/Star symbolism occurs in The Book of the Law, chp.I, v.5.
Liber CCXX said:
5. Help me, o warrior lord of Thebes, in my unveiling before the Children of men!

On to the vision itself.

1. The angel of the Aethyr is fiery and armed with a flail of scarlet lightning. This weapon relates to the scourge attributed to Geburah and is also the Alchemical weapon of Sulphur used to subdue the Nephesh (Heh – final).

2 – 3. Confrontation. Question and answer typical of initiation ceremonies. A challenge delivered and accepted. Round One – Fight!

4. The veil is dispelled and the true form of the guardian revealed. He is fish scaled and insect like. His colours are contrasting black and white with a reflective belly. This symbolism suggests the mercurial intellect of the sephira Hod. Wings = Air, the mind? The scorpion tails suggests that he is poisonous, but possibly self destructive. The blood scored breasts give a suggestion of wounded femininity. Maybe he/she has been a little over zealous with the flail.

5. Second response to the challenge of the angel. Denying his assertion.

6 – 10. This angel conceals a mystery. But this mystery is greater than the angel and appears to reconcile contradictions. Binah?

11. The Sapphire stone corresponds to the sephira Chesed. Maybe the breaking open of this stone may indicate the crossing to Binah.

12. Resistance to this revelation. From this angels point of view this ‘unveiling’ of the Mother is shameful.

13. A lament on the revelation of the Mysteries. But this may be contradictory. Crowley himself notes this.

14 – 15. Donald C. Laycock’s suggested translation:
For the second time I have beautified those dark Heavens I inhabit! Builded there for the Holy Mother of all. The shrine of the spirits existed, exists, and shall exist, wherein it is provided that the Babe of the Abyss is enthroned.

16 – 18. The last stand of the rule of the intellect. The resistance of the Old Aeon to give way to the New. Also the inhibiting thoughts and modes of thinking that keep us where we are. The inner demon? But his own weapon (Sword-Air) is turned upon him and he is defeated.

19. Dispersion – Choronzon.

20. Transition from Adept to Master?

21. All three of the Hod visions have an element of practical instruction. And this instruction is very practical. The Master can make a new Qabalah, but playing games with symbols will not bring one to Understanding. (A hint to wannabe Tree builders? :laugh: )
“Thou hast the signs; thou hast the words.” Crowley was 7=4 at the time of this vision. The sum of the Mystic numbers of the sephiroth Malkuth to Chesed is 210, which is NOX the word of the Abyss.

22 – 24. The three angels of the Aethyr are: LABNIXP, FOCISNI, OXLOPAR. Instructions are given that should reveal a name. Crowley does not appear to have followed these instructions exactly. The name he constructed, after conversion to Hebrew characters, totaled 553. ThNIN GDVL – Draco Magnus.

25 – 27. Further ranting about the unveiling of the Mother. The darkness swallows everything and the vision ends with the light of the Rose Cross. A symbolic descent from NOX to LVX?
 

Aeon418

this feels different to the Aethyrs so far which seemed dynamic if turbulent. This one has such a melancholic feel. Kind of depressing and only a few in. I might have misunderstood the imagery of Binah the mother she feels horribly all consuming, more like kali and death.
Placing this vision in a slightly wider context might help. Within the unfolding scheme of the visions the 28th Aethyr is still in the preparatory phase. The conscious revelation of the New Aeon and the unveiling of Atu XX, the Stele of Revealing, does not occur until the 26th Aethyr. Until then we are still stuck in the Alchemical Nigredo.

The 30th and 29th Aethyrs show the arrival of the Aeon at a deep subconscious level and the turbulence caused by it's birth. The 28th Aethyr contains themes of resistance, mental conflict, and the slaying of inner demons that allows for further growth. But that's not a pleasant process. The next Aethyr, 27th, continues the work of transformation in the lunar, feeling, and reflective parts of consciousness. But not until the 26th Aethyr is the New Aeon announced consciously.
 

Always Wondering

I am not getting many good connections meditating on the tarot images that correspond to the Enochian letters of the aethyr's name. In this case The Emperor, The Hierophant and Lust.

But as in RII and Daleth, I got such a feeling of Chet, more or less via Jupiter that goes beyond any other reading and understanding that I have accomplished before. Lady Freda's visuals are wonderful and helpful, but it is almost as if Crowley guides me past the crutch of the card to a dimensional, living, breathing thing. I could almost hear the spokes and tires like a giant bumble bee or something.

I did much rereading this morning just in case there had been too much time between me and The Book of Thoth and other basics, but that isn't the case. And I am so taken with Chet right now I will have to retry tomorrow to get a more general feel.
 

Aeon418

I am not getting many good connections meditating on the tarot images that correspond to the Enochian letters of the aethyr's name. In this case The Emperor, The Hierophant and Lust.
I link the Emperor to the overall confrontational tone of this vision. Plus the angel is initially surrounded by fire and holds a flail of scarlet lightning. The flail relates to both Sulphur and Mars, and scarlet is one of the Emperor's main colours. I suspect that this flail has been used on the angels own breasts, which are scored with blood. The breasts relate to the Hebrew letter Heh and are connected to the twin breast-cups that the goddess on Atu XVII pours water from. This hint of self flagellation suggests forced domination and submission of the feminine.

The Hierophant? I suppose the angel in this vision is acting, although very reluctantly, as a Revealer of the Mysteries. In fact the angel calls for the sealing up of the mysteries.

Lust? Could it be the "great blasphemy" and shame of the Mystery of the Woman riding the Beast that he/she does not want to reveal? Shame in Hebrew is GShNH = 358. This the same value is the words for Messiah and Serpent. Shame is the veil before the Holy of Holies. A veil that this angel wishes to preserve.
Liber CCXX. II:52 said:
There is a veil: that veil is black. It is the veil of the modest woman; it is the veil of sorrow, & the pall of death: this is none of me. Tear down that lying spectre of the centuries: veil not your vices in virtuous words: these vices are my service; ye do well, & I will reward you here and hereafter.
 

Always Wondering

I link the Emperor to the overall confrontational tone of this vision. Plus the angel is initially surrounded by fire and holds a flail of scarlet lightning. The flail relates to both Sulphur and Mars, and scarlet is one of the Emperor's main colours. I suspect that this flail has been used on the angels own breasts, which are scored with blood. The breasts relate to the Hebrew letter Heh and are connected to the twin breast-cups that the goddess on Atu XVII pours water from. This hint of self flagellation suggests forced domination and submission of the feminine.

Okay, I can see this now.

The Hierophant? I suppose the angel in this vision is acting, although very reluctantly, as a Revealer of the Mysteries. In fact the angel calls for the sealing up of the mysteries.


Lust? Could it be the "great blasphemy" and shame of the Mystery of the Woman riding the Beast that he/she does not want to reveal? Shame in Hebrew is GShNH = 358. This the same value is the words for Messiah and Serpent. Shame is the veil before the Holy of Holies. A veil that this angel wishes to preserve.

Yes, I don't get this sealing up and preserving. I understood this idea more in the first two aethyrs due to the Christian undertones, but it kind of threw me here.
 

Aeon418

Yes, I don't get this sealing up and preserving. I understood this idea more in the first two aethyrs due to the Christian undertones, but it kind of threw me here.
An important key to this vision is that it relates to the Sephira Hod in the world of Yetzirah. That's the sphere of the intellect in the world of Air. This confrontation is taking place in the conscious mind. In the previous two visions the action is taking place 'behind the scenes' on a more subconscious level. But now the turmoil is beginning to manifest on other levels of awareness.

The guardian of this Aethyr appears to be a personification of residual patriarchal, Old Aeon resistances to the New Aeon. It's a demon in the mind that must be fought and overcome. The waters in the Mind-Cup of Hod are reflecting Binah, the Great Mother. But the water-mind is still tainted with the bitterness of the previous Aeon, and so the reflection is monstrous and demonic. The defeat of this demon represents the overcoming of an internal blockage.
 

Aeon418

BAG said:
22. Now my name thou shalt obtain in this wise. Of the three angels of the Aethyr, thou shalt write the names from right to left and from left to right and from right to left, and these are the holy letters:

23. The first 1, the fifth 2, the sixth 3, the eleventh 4, the seventh 5, the twelfth 6, the seventeenth 7.

24. Thus hast thou my name who am above these three, but the angels of the 30th Aethyr are indeed four, and they have none above them; wherefore dispersion and disorder.
Crowley's interpretation of these lines is slightly problematic. Using the geomancy based method of converting Enochian words into Hebrew characters he obtained the number 553 which he related to Draco Magnus, the Great Dragon, a symbol of Binah.

The angel of the Aethyr tells Crowley to write the three names, LABNIXP, FOCISNI, and OXLOPAR, right to left, left to right, and right to left.
PXINBAL
FOCISNI
RAPOLXO
From this Crowley derived the name, LIXIPSP, by counting along the first line right to left and the second line from left to right. But he also counted the third line from left to right. The instructions of the angel suggest that the third line should be counted in the same direction that it was written. This would make the name, LIXIPSL. Using Crowley's system the numeric value of this new name is 552. The only significant gematria hit that I can think of that matches this number is the Greek, Σαταν, Satan. This might fit in with the adversarial theme of this vision. In Hebrew Satan (ShTN) is the Adversary. But he is also identified as the Great Dragon, Draco Magnus, in the Book of Revelation. I wonder if this relates to the section in line 25 which reads: "the face of my Mother is scarred by the nails of the devil."
 

smw

BAG said:
1. There cometh an Angel into the stone with opalescent shining garments like a wheel of fire on every side of him, and in his hand is a long flail of scarlet lightning;

2. And he cries: O man, who art thou that wouldst penetrate the Mystery? for it is hidden unto the End of Time.



this gives me thoughts of the mystery of Genesis when Adam and Even were kicked out of the Garden of Eden having already gained like the gods the knowledge of good and evil from the serpent (dragon?) and to stop them taking of the tree of life and living for ever...immortality too. The tree of life in the East of Eden is then protected by Cherubims and with 'the flaming sword' which turns every way.

The oddly conflicting and contradictory nature of this Aethyr, (open or close?) also reminds me of the myth of the fall of Satan and his angels, cast down to earth and the division of the Angelic world. Perhaps this echoes on the personal scale conflicts of meeting and integrating the less pleasant bits of ourselves.

Probably off on one again...

Thank you Aeon for the helpful comment earlier.