The Book of the Law Study Group 3.10

Aeon418

Stele 666

Liber 25 The Star Ruby

FLEGEI GAR PERI MOU O ASTHR TON PENTE,
KAI EN THI STHLHI O ASTHR TON HEX ESTHKE.

Here's a few thoughts to start the ball rolling.

In the previous verse the symbolism of the Hexagram appeared. I think this verse completes what the other one started. (9+10=19. Atu XIX The Sun). In verse 9 RHK says, "thus shall my worship be about my secret house". This suggests a circle to me. In this present verse the focus seems to shift to the point at the centre of the circle, making the glyph of Sun. For this reason I think the attribution of Atu IX The Hermit - Yod fits quite well.

On the surface this verse appears to be telling us to get the actual funerary stele of Ankh-af-na-Khonsu. But as far as I know it's still in an Egyptian museum. So what is this? A Thelemic version of the movie, Highlander. "There can only be one!" :laugh:
But I don't think that is what is being said here. Note that it says to get the stele itself. The stele is a symbol of something else, and it is this reality behind the symbol that is to be set inside the "secret temple". I think two of the most basic summaries of the imagery on the stele are the glyph of the Sun and the hexagram. (Hermit's lamp. Locked glass. ;)) Two opposite principles coming together to make a third. Nuit + Hadit = RHK.

Glory to thee, eternal Sun
Thou One in Three, Thou Three in One!

It is this internal Sun, LVX, HGA etc., that is the Kiblah to which we turn to pray and worship. Any physical stele/sun that we might turn to in worship is an exterior symbol for this inner way.

The word stele also makes me think of the column in the pentagram rituals. See above for the Star Ruby version.

For about me flames the Pentagram,
And in the Column stands the six-rayed Star.

The circle of pentagrams is symbolic of Nuit. While the column in the centre is Hadit. Essentially it is a symbol of the Phallus joined with the Yoni. This brings to mind a couple of verses from Liber LXV.
Liber LXV 5:5-6

Now is the Pillar established in the Void; now is Asi fulfilled of Asar; now is Hoor let down into the Animal Soul of Things like a fiery star that falleth upon the darkness of the earth.

Through the midnight thou art dropt, O my child, my conqueror, my sword-girt captain, O Hoor! and they shall find thee as a black gnarl’d glittering stone, and they shall worship thee.

The phrase "locked glass" seems problematic at first. It appears to run counter to any inner symbolic interpretation. Locked suggests something that is fixed in place, while glass is a transparent material that lets light shine through it.
The Intelligence of Beth/Mercury (Ruler of Virgo/Hermit) is the Intelligence of Transparency.
Intelligence of Transparency is the mode of consciousness. "Transparency" means "letting light shine through." Here we have the same idea of transmission that is suggested by Hermes as the transmitter of the messages of the higher divinity. Clearly the mode of consciousness called transparent must be one which affords a free channel of communication, which permits the free passage downward and outward of the superconscious Light which is above and within.

P. F. Case - The Tarot (p.40)


This suggests to me an internal mental (Mercury) image of the Stele or an equivalent, fixed through daily practice. Through this daily Fixing of Mercury the Light(LVX) can shine through it and "miraculous colour shall come back to it day after day."
A proof to the world? Apart from evidence it makes me think both something that strengthens and tests.

This verse is 155 in the book as a whole. 777 gives:

155 - ADNI MLK, Adonai the King

155 - QNH, a seed.

The previous verse was XI Lust. This verse is IX The Hermit.
XI + IX = XX The Aeon.

Chp.III, verse 10 - 310. 777 gives 310 - DVSh. To trample on, conquer.
 

Aeon418

set it in thy secret temple
Just noticed that it is Yod-Teth.

III x 10 = 30. The 30th path is Resh - Atu XIX The Sun.
 

brightcrazystar

First, Despite the protests in Egypt: As of December, The Stele is alive and well, two shelves from the bottom of the far right of the left side of the furthest door into room 22, around the rotunda on the second floor of the Museum in Cairo. Looters never made it into this wing, and it is likely to be one of the antiquities thay are putting in security as it is one of the most specific to Western wants and also a icon of heresy to many who even know of Thelema and condemn it as false. From the stealth video my friend took, it is beautiful, and most people both expect it to be larger, and to be less shiny. It has a premanent gloss on it that is not really present on other steles of its era. It does retain it's color. They have analyzed the traces on the stele and they seem to have enzymes indicating that the gloss is of an enzyme, perhaps derived from eggs such as tempura of the time or possibly some other tincture.

To, me this verse is a specific method by which one can attain doing little more else than daily devotion to a personal and private monad which contains all the secrets of the universe in a visual synthesis. This is outwardly represented by the Stele, and all magicans of Thelema generally regard the stele as a universal Metaphor for it... and the real key to most of Crowely's own work. The fault he had was in his role of promoting it. He had to concede to lose all power for a Monad when he revealed it; the price of prophecy, if you will.... but what The Stele conceals to the Magician is their own Monad which is their profession of the motto of the Adepti. This should be "installed" into one's own Temple by the active form of Liber HHH, into a Magician prepared by Liber NU. It is a key to the Lingham/Yoni bakhti at the heart of all solar phallic religion; essentialy left-hand Vajrayana.

I look at the Stele and see the truth of my Monad, and say "Glory be to Adonai." My Brother looks at the Stele and sees the truth of his Own Monad, and me saying, "Glory be to Adonai." We mutually benefit from the "disposed" Stele for it gives us a common interpretation of the Sigillum of our own Monad. There is only Adonai to those who love Adonai and all his beloved are Adonai. This is the first REAL key to the mysteries of the Gra'al. Only Adonai is worthy of the Cup which Adonai pours himself into.

Tarot-wise... It is crucial to me two realize that it is two things... the infinitude of ciphers which open the 231 gates of consciousness and the omnipresence of Nuit. The Key of the Tarot sense of it for me is in the wording, "disposed" which means "ready for the ordeal" or "of certain condition." It shows that the REAL key to the Book of Thoth is only able to be seen in limited perspectives, based on a given cipher. It also aludes to a cipher used in the work of Adepti. The locked Glass is the Hermetic truth that all variables are expressions of any potential meaning, until one chooses a proof to express. This is the light of the Hermit, or the Transparent Intelligence as was said before... and reveals the the blood libel of Amfortas that obligates Parsifal; by the power of the Lifted Lance.

I think we are all on the same page, I just wanted to say my own piece.
 

Aeon418

Just another bit of trivia.

III:9 and III:10 are verses 154 and 155 in the book as a whole.

154 + 155 = 309. This is the value of Shin-Teth, ShT.
Sh is Fire as T is Force; conjoined they express Ra-Hoor-Khuit.
 

Grigori

FLEGEI GAR PERI MOU O ASTHR TON PENTE,
KAI EN THI STHLHI O ASTHR TON HEX ESTHKE.

This is one of the things that really bugs me with Crowley's rituals. I can't even get google translate to tell me what the words mean :laugh: Is there a translation for this, or are we looking at barbarous words that include something that may be "stele"?

Aeon418 said:
For about me flames the Pentagram,
And in the Column stands the six-rayed Star.
The circle of pentagrams is symbolic of Nuit. While the column in the centre is Hadit. Essentially it is a symbol of the Phallus joined with the Yoni. This brings to mind a couple of verses from Liber LXV.

This is why I like Orpheus's version

About me flame the stars of Nuit
Within me flames the star of Hadit
(I prefer my Hadit to 'burn' rather than flame, but I think Orpheus was all about the flaming) I have my reproduction of the Stele on display in my room, and keep it in mind as I do the LBRP with this variation. In a way I think I myself as a character in the scene depicted in the Stele, at the junction of Hadit and Nuit. Also it works well while speaking the words out loud, as the tongue connects to the heart for me due to its daoist association of the tongue as the flowering of the heart. So it's like the phrase itself is an outpouring of Hadit via the tongue into Nuit.

Be thou Hadit, my secret centre, my heart & my tongue!
 

Grigori

PS Sorry Aeon, I accidentally clicked edit instead of quote and nearly deleted your first post :( Fortunately noticed right away and I think everything is back to as it was before now. Sorry for the confusion anyone following the thread at the moment.
 

Aeon418

Grigori said:
Is there a translation for this, or are we looking at barbarous words that include something that may be "stele"?
A rough translation would be:

For about me flames the Star of Five
and in the Column[Stele] stands the Star of Six.


Although I have seen translations of the last line that say:

and in the Column the Star of Six is fixed.
 

Aeon418

Grigori said:
PS Sorry Aeon, I accidentally clicked edit instead of quote and nearly deleted your first post :( Fortunately noticed right away and I think everything is back to as it was before now.
It's looks ok to me. Just a bit of bold is missing and the spacing is a bit different. I can live with it though. :D