Liber 418 study group - 30th Aethyr: TEX

Aeon418 said:

Breath - Aleph.
Love - Vau.
World - Tau.
AVTh, a mark, a sign, or a token. Also the Union of the first and last letters of the alphabet. In Greek this is equivalent to the Alpha and the Omega.

AVTh = 407 = ARVR, a curse. A union of opposites? "Thy Shadow is as great Light." Or possibly a curse that is a blessing in disguise. (This is a theme of the 2nd Aethyr.) A process of union that outwardly appears destructive but conceals an inner purpose.

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Very nice and helpful.
Thanks.

Just thinking out loud here...

TEX said:

14. I see above the Book a multitude of white-robed Ones from whom droppeth a great rain of Blood; but above them is a Golden Sun, having an eye, whence a great Light.

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Crowley thought the 'rain of blood' symbolized the life blood of the Adepts that is poured into the Cup of Babalon. "The life which is as death."

AVTh is the word used in the bible to signify the 'mark' God placed on Cain's forehead after he fessed up to 'shedding the blood' of Abel. This 'curse' that is a blessing appears at the beginning of the 2nd Aethyr where we are told that "The shedding of blood is necessary, for God did not hear the children of Eve until blood was shed." It's also interesting that Cain's murder weapon is the Hammer of Thor - the Swastika!

ARN said:

... also there is a legend of Eve and the Serpent, for Cain was the the child of Eve and the Serpent, and not of Eve and Adam; and therefore when he had slain his brother, who was the first murderer, having sacrificed living things to his demon, had Cain the mark upon his brow, which is the mark of the Beast spoken of in the Apocalypse, and is the sign of initiation.

The shedding of blood is necessary, for God did not hear the children of Eve until blood was shed. And that is external religion; but Cain spake not with God, nor had the mark of initiation upon his brow, so that he was shunned by all men, until he had shed blood. And this blood was the blood of his brother. This is a mystery of the sixth key of the Taro, which ought not to be called The Lovers, but The Brothers.

In the middle of the card stands Cain; in his right hand is the Hammer of Thor with which he hath slain his brother, and it is all wet with his blood.

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I find the history of the first two aethyrs really interesting. As I understand it, Crowley scried these first two aethyrs (30 and 29) while still a GD member (though already under some dispute). He attempted other aethyrs at that time, without result. He then scried the later aethyrs some years later, and was successful which he attributed to his progressed initiation.

The Golden Dawn and Christian symbolism is obvious in this passage, and the Egyptian influence via the Golden Dawn also. Interesting that a fair bit of what I perceive as Christian could be related to the Book of Revelations. I've not looked ahead yet, so will be curious to contrast this with the later passages following reception of the BoL and see if and how the voice changes. I do read some passages as very similar to his thelemic writings, and there are parts that 'the voice' really resonates with me as one of the voices of the thelemic pantheon. Also interesting to note that the passage predicts the terrible child coming will be a she.

Grigori said:

Also interesting to note that the passage predicts the terrible child coming will be a she.

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Do you mean this line?

TEX 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.

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I read 'she' as the Mother - Eternity. The Child is the 'spark' of light who shall put 'his' father to flight.

Aeon418 said:

Do you mean this line?

I read 'she' as the Mother - Eternity. The Child is the 'spark' of light who shall put 'his' father to flight.

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Yup. I read the she as the child, who brings forth an universe of darkness. Made me also think of universes crushed in the left hand.

Grigori said:

Made me also think of universes crushed in the left hand.

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That symbolism, or something very similar, is part of the 28th Aethyr, BAG. In fact parts of these early visions are highly reminiscent of the final few verses of The Book of the Law. Maybe because Liber 418 charts a journey towards Binah we are going in reverse. RHK to Hadit to Nuit. I'm not sure if that holds water though.

Grigori said:

As I understand it, Crowley scried these first two aethyrs (30 and 29) while still a GD member (though already under some dispute). He attempted other aethyrs at that time, without result. He then scried the later aethyrs some years later, and was successful which he attributed to his progressed initiation.

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Yes Crowley did the 30th and 29th Aethyrs in Mexico, 1900. The whole Golden Dawn kerfuffle was still kicking off at the time. He tried to go further but felt blocked. He did not pick up the work again until 1909. The same year he accepted The Book of the Law.
Crowley did attribute his later success to his higher initiatory status, but even then some of the later Aethyrs were a big struggle. The second Aethyr, ARN, took four separate attempts because Crowley found the strain almost unbearable. At one point while sitting in some hot springs he passed out due to the intense effort and the 'scribe', Victor Neuburg, had to jump in and pull him out.

There is a section in one of the later Aethyrs that relates directly to this issue. I can't remember which one though. Basically it says that if one tries to obtain a vision beyond one's iniatory grade (in the real sense) you either get nothing or are prey to delusion. I think it said something about the necessity of being NEMO to get anything of value from the 15th Aethyr onwards.

Another bit of history....

During Crowley's brief stay in Mexico in 1900 he began scrying the Enochian Aethyrs. But at the exact same time he also founded his very first magical order, the Lamp of the Invisible Light, or L.I.L.

The significance of this is that LIL is the name of the final (1st) Aethyr. And Crowley's vision of this Aethyr ends with the phrase:

LIL said:

This is the formula of the Aeon, and with that the voice of LIL, that is the Lamp of the Invisible Light, is ended. Amen.

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Here's a link to a collection of L.I.L. rites and the history behind it. The link to the 23rd chapter of the Confessions is worth a (re)read. It recounts Crowley's time in Mexico, his meeting with Don Jesus Medina, and the founding of L.I.L.
http://hermetic.com/crowley/lil/

I found a link for visual depictions into the TEX.

http://mitchellnolte.deviantart.com/art/The-Cry-of-the-30th-Aethyr-312861381

Thanks for the link foolMoon. I enjoyed it.

There are some awesome arts in that site, and I enjoyed them as well. Thank you AW, I am glad to know you enjoyed them too