Book of Law Study Group 1.15

Grigori

Book of the Law Study Group 1.15

Aiwass said:
15. Now ye shall know that the chosen priest & apostle of infinite space is the prince-priest the Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman is all power given. They shall gather my children into their fold: they shall bring the glory of the stars into the hearts of men.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/index.htm
http://hermetic.com/crowley/index.html
http://lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0220.html

Other threads in this study group
 

Aeon418

On the surface this verse seems to relate directly to Crowley and the various women in his life who assumed the role of "Scarlet Woman" at one time or another. Even though Crowley came to view the Beast and Scarlet Woman as offices and not people, I still think it is too literal. It's one specific "outer" interpretation that was relevant to Crowley, and may be relevant to other individuals in the future.

In a wider, more general sense I see this verse as a "setting up", or introduction of new archetypes of the divine masculine and feminine that are compatible with the formula of the New Aeon.

Whereas Nuit and Hadit are infinite incommensurables, the Beast (Therion) and the Scarlet Woman (Babalon) are more like lower, finite analogues of the same principles.

I think the easiest way to understand Therion and Babalon is as personifications of the sephiroth Chokmah and Binah respectively. Because the Tree of Life is both macrocosmic and microcosmic, Therion and Babalon are macrocosmic masculine & feminine forces, but they are also aspects of yourself.
 

Aeon418

Now ye shall know

Ye - Yod Heh / Chokmah-Binah shall know in the biblical sense?

Crowley claimed that the New Aeon activated the path of Teth. This makes access to the supernals possible. Previously the old archetype of Binah was the Virgin Mary. As a virgin she did not "know".
 

Grigori

Aeon418 said:
On the surface this verse seems to relate directly to Crowley and the various women in his life who assumed the role of "Scarlet Woman" at one time or another. Even though Crowley came to view the Beast and Scarlet Woman as offices and not people, I still think it is too literal. It's one specific "outer" interpretation that was relevant to Crowley, and may be relevant to other individuals in the future.

Thats intersting Aeon. I'd wondered a few times about Crowley's transferrance of the nickname/title "the Beast" over into Thelema. I'd assumed that it was beacause of the association of 666 with the Sun, and the solar nature of Thelema. But its interesting that the title is there in the BoL, and that Crowley saw it as a position that others could fill, and not soley a reference to himself. Perhaps the multiple Scarlet Women also made Crowley consider the possibility of multiple Beast's.

Was Crowley selective in which of his publications he signed with the title Beast? I know he gave different classes to different works, some like the BoL considered inspired, and others to be only personal thoughts. My bookcase is packed away at the moment, so I can't check the things that I have, but I wonder if he used the title Beast selectively on the more important works related to that role?
 

Aeon418

similia said:
I'd assumed that it was beacause of the association of 666 with the Sun, and the solar nature of Thelema.
Thelema is inherently stellar, not solar. The solar aspect is only true up to Tiphareth. And even then it's with a stellar tweak.

The old Osirian death and resurrection formula is solar. The Horus perspective is a subtle twist on the old solar formula. The Osiris perspective of the solar cycle is firmly rooted to the Earth, and the illusion of rising and setting created by the rotation of the planet.

Horus represents the Ever-living Sun. But to gain that perspective you have to move your focus away from the terrestrial to the stellar. This was illustrated in Achad's, "Stepping out of the Old Aeon" essay.
similia said:
But its interesting that the title is there in the BoL, and that Crowley saw it as a position that others could fill, and not soley a reference to himself. Perhaps the multiple Scarlet Women also made Crowley consider the possibility of multiple Beast's.
I think Crowley's thoughts on this evolved over time as his initiation deepened. At first his identification with the Beast was almost entirely personal. But later his conception of the Beast changes into the more impersonal Logos of the Aeon.
(Crowley's comments on the grade of Magus in "One Star in Sight" might be helpful.)
similia said:
Was Crowley selective in which of his publications he signed with the title Beast? I know he gave different classes to different works, some like the BoL considered inspired, and others to be only personal thoughts. My bookcase is packed away at the moment, so I can't check the things that I have, but I wonder if he used the title Beast selectively on the more important works related to that role?
Well the Book of the Law was given to 666 by 93=418. So that doesn't really count.

Off the top of my head, the only two books I can think of are The Book of Thoth and Liber Aleph. But both of them are merely Class B works of "ordinary scholarship".
 

Aeon418

They shall gather my children into their fold

The paths between Chokmah/Binah and Tiphareth?

The path of Heh - The Star: Daughter of the Firmament. Dweller between the Waters.

The path of Zain - Children of the Voice. Oracle of the Mighty Gods
(Crowley subtitled this card The Brothers.)

they shall bring the glory of the stars into the hearts of men.
Each of the paths connecting the Supernals to Tiphareth contains star symbolism. Specifically the star Sirius, the dog star. The Star of Isis.

Atu II The Priestess of the Silver Star - Isis.

Atu XVII The Star - Nuit - Infinite Space Infinite Stars.

Atu VI - Sirius longitude is 19° Gemini.
 

Grigori

Aeon418 said:
Well the Book of the Law was given to 666 by 93=418. So that doesn't really count.

Off the top of my head, the only two books I can think of are The Book of Thoth and Liber Aleph. But both of them are merely Class B works of "ordinary scholarship".

Thanks Aeon, that is interesting to know, though not the pattern I expected.
 

Aeon418

similia said:
Thanks Aeon, that is interesting to know, though not the pattern I expected.
Sorry. :(

Nearly all the early works were by Frater Perdurabo. I can only think of one where Crowley used his Adeptus motto, Christeos Lucifitias.

Most of the Holy Books were received by the Master of the Temple, V.V.V.V.V.

I think Magick in Theory and Practice (1929) was the first book published under the name To Mega Therion, but I could be wrong on that. Of course Liber Aleph was written under the same name many years before, but was never published in Crowley's lifetime. And I'm not even sure if it was meant to be published!
 

Beira

This line, as usual, mey be read at many different levels.
The first, plain one is the description of the Task that thw Beast and the Scarlet Woman are called to perform; AC calls himself the Beast 666, so he is claiming the title for himself; then in the commentaries he explains how many different women during his life have covered the role of the Scarlet Woman.
Even tho he changes so many of them, he still says that all the power of the Beast is given unto the SW.
This makes me think: on one side AC is one that wouldn't think twice to strip the title from one to give it to the next; on the other side he doesn't say that the power is in him; the power is still in the SWs.
This highlights how 2=0: he needs a counterpart to his energy to annihilate them both and get back into Nuit.
I think we don't go wrong up to here.
As for the manifestation of the Beast and the SW, I have kind of wrapped my mind around it like this:
Nuit and Hadit are the archetypal energies of masculine and feminine in Atziluth.
Beast and Scarlet Woman as we see them in the Lust card are their emanations in Briah.
But AC attributes the titles to himself and some of his companions, taking them in the phisical reality of Assiah. What happens at Yetzirah level, then?
I think that the title is to be passed down, but I am not sure that the present Thelemic community have a Beast and a Scarlet woman in charge.
It could be that when a priest and priestess achieve access to yetzirahtic states of consciousness through K&C of HGA, then they may claim the titles for themselves and get on with the task of gathering people and spreading the word of Thelema.
Like they attain a level of consciousness that allow them to start their own group?
I may be way wrong here, but I would like to understand..
I want to make clear that this is just my opinion, I am writing down what I think to ask if I am right, and get corrected if I am wrong.
Thanks to everyone for helping me through the discovery of this beautiful book.