Liber 419: “Aleister who?”

The Thirty Aethyrs or Aires are a feature of Enochian Magic which is surrounded by much controversy, most of which has been generated by the work of Aleister Crowley (1875 – 1947). Crowley was the first magician to publish an account of working with the Thirty Aethyrs¹: his record of those workings are now assumed by many Crowleyans to be ideologically central to the doctrine of Thelema. Crowley himself was keen to assert their definitive nature, e.g.:

Besides being the classical account of the thirty Aethyrs and a model of all visions, the cries of the Angels should be regarded as accurate, and the doctrine of the function of the Great White Brotherhood understood as the foundation of the Aspiration of the Adept. The account of the Master of the Temple should in particular be taken as authentic.

Crowley, Magick in Theory and Practice, Appendix I, Bibilography and Curriculum of the A.’.A.’.

It was during the sessions in which he explored the Thirty Aethyrs that one of the most notorious events of Crowley’s magical career took place. This was the infamous “Choronzon” incident. Dee & Kelley originally identified “Coronzon” (sic) as the true name of the Devil, who was the Tempter in the Garden of Eden, although this passage of their Angel Magick sessions was in fact unrelated to the Thirty Aethyrs².

What now happened was that for the tenth Aethyr, ZAX, Crowley and his assistant Victor Neuberg conducted an operation to evoke “Choronzon” to compel it to reveal its secrets. Apparently they succeeded spectacularly, if not magically then certainly artistically, as the description of what occurred has all the luridness and romance of what the evocation of a demon should be. Crowley was certainly satisfied with the result, as he claimed that he had “crossed the abyss” and had attained the exalted grade of Magister Templi.

However, a certain amount of folk-lore has grown-up around this incident: for example, one opinion which I have heard bandied about was that Crowley failed to banish “Choronzon” properly. Hence, this caused all the bad-luck which plagued Crowley for the rest of his life, and which brought misery in all forms to whomever who associated with him. Another, put forward by Israel Regardie³, is the claim that for the evocation, Crowley sat in the Triangle of Art itself, and let himself be possessed by the Demon – a practice that traditional ceremonial magicians would have found shocking.

My own experience of ZAX was completely different to that described by Crowley: although there were certain similarities in subject matter. For example, although I did not encounter one gigantic fearsome devil, I did experience clairvoyant information with regard to the nature of the Qlippoth. Moreover, there was a sense of experiencing Daath, and what it would be like to “Cross the Abyss”, but it seemed to approach the subject in a manner completely dissimilar to Crowley.

So what exactly are the Aethyrs for? In the manner they were originally revealed to Dee and Kelley, they appear to be a system of Magick for dealing with various “Parts of the Earth”: i.e. to remote-view them, to magically communicate with them, and perhaps even to influence major political and social events which happen in them. In this sense the system of the Aethyrs would appear to fulfill a similar function to the angel magic experiments mentioned in Trithemius’ Steganographia, a text with which Dee was known to be familiar. It is also interesting to note that Dee was very much into world-exploration, which was just beginning in Dee’s lifetime, in the sixteenth century. Indeed Dee was the patron of an (unsuccessful) expedition to Canada himself.

There are Ninety One parts in total: each Aethyr is assigned three parts, except the thirtieth Aethyr TEX, which is assigned four. Each part is ruled over by a “Governor”, whose name is an arbitrary grouping of letters to be found on one of the four Watchtowers or the Tablet of Union. In each Aethyr there live a number of Angels, who are subservient to the Governor and are associated with the respective parts. The amount of Angels assigned to each part is itself arbitrary, not following any recognisable pattern, although they usually number in their thousands. In addition, the Ninety One parts are assigned to the Angels of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (and hence, to the signs of the Zodiac), and to the “seven angels who stand in the Presence” (a term from the Book of Tobit meaning seven Archangels).

It is here interesting to note that apart from the information given to Dee and Kelley on this point, the wording of the Call of the Aethyrs seems to support this interpretation, e.g.:

The Heavens which dwell in (name of Aethyr) are mighty in the Parts of the Earth, and execute the Judgement of the Highest!

I have already written an account of a magical operation to explore one of these “parts” in the article Can “A O Spare”-Sigils be used in Golden Dawn Magick?

Now it so happens that Crowley’s accounts of the Aethyrs appear to show a much different use for them. To Crowley, they were an Initiatory ladder, from the Thirtieth or lowest (TEX) to the First or highest (LIL). The Aethyrs appeared to be showing him the passing away of the so-called Aeon of Osiris and the coming Aeon of Horus, preparing him for and raising him to the iniatory grade of Magister Templi, and confirming his role as the Prophet of the New Aeon.

The sceptics among us might wonder if Crowley unfortunately let his visions of the aethyrs be tainted by hubris. But my own experiences of the Aethyrs are not completely inimical to Crowley’s, for example:

I perceived early on that the Aethyrs might quite consistently be a means of initiation as well as a method of accessing the ninety-one parts of the Earth – this by spotting a link between the Aethyrs and the siddhis of raja yoga (see TEX).
I encountered my own evidence that Horus plays a significant part in the Aethyrs, and in initiation generally – though this stopped short of a confirmation of an “Aeon of Horus” per se (see ZEN).
At several points in the descriptions there are similarities in the actual clairvoyant imagery of both mine and Crowley’s accounts. I am particularly impressed by a reference to Shiva in both our descriptions of CHR, the Twentieth Aethyr.

I explored the Aethyrs in the same order as Crowley, starting with the Thirtieth (TEX) to the First (LIL). I should here point out that for the whole time I was skrying the aethyrs, I resolutely refused to look at The Vision and the Voice. In doing so I hoped to bring a measure of objectivity to a subject which relies very heavily on the subjective reports of its practitioners. I should note however that despite this precaution I remembered fairly well two of Crowley’s descriptions of the Aethyrs, ZAX and ZID.

As I look back on the Thirty Aethyrs, I notice a certain amount of structure and progression. For example, the first ones I skryed served to introduce the Aethyrs generally: I then received various instructions on things I should be doing to make my clairvoyance more accurate. I then received initiatory information, but presented to me in Metaphor-form. I.e. the pertinent information was given to me in the guise of discussion on a number of topics, such as: the importance of Horus; how Enochian Magick may be reconciled with both raja yoga and with the writings of Charles Stansfeld Jones (Frater Achad); and the nature of Alien Intelligences and Cosmic Spirituality. This last topic, despite its bizarre nature, was, I believe, a warning of the necessity not to rely on certain old-fashioned and out-dated theories of astrology.

After a little hiatus in which I was inspired to concentrate on improving my skill in meditating and clairvoyance, I noticed that the messages of the Aethyrs were verbally more terse, but were increasingly uplifting in the emotional and abstract mental states which I experienced while skrying them. After the trepidation I felt in the Tenth Aethyr, I was considerably surprised by the amount of pure joy to be experienced in the Ninth and subsequent Aethyrs, as I appeared to be experiencing states of the highest and most abstract theurgy.

At some point in the future I will explore the Aethyrs again. ZIP revealed to me certain lessons, such that by taking them into account I would probably gain deeper insights into all of the Thirty were I to repeat them. In any case, I received messages from the Aethyrs that I should in fact do so.

Finally, I would not like anyone to be under the illusion that I claim to be a Magister Templi myself – or even an “Avatar” for that matter (see ARN). I interpret these visions as indications of those exalted states, not necessarily the states themselves.

Procedure

To explore the Thirty Aethyrs, I adopted a common structure to each skrying session – with the exception of ZAX, the 10th Aethyr (See below). This was as follows:

Preparation beforehand: Pranayama and Meditation.
The Opening by Watchtower.
The Middle Pillar Ritual.
For all the aethyrs following ZAA (because it was then that the idea first occurred to me), Banishing with the Seven Planetary Hexagrams, and the corresponding Hebrew Double-letters. The rationale for doing so is explained in detail in my description of the Twenty Seventh Aethyr below, but essentially it is an extra precaution to purify ones clairvoyant vision of influences which may cause it to be inaccurate.
The Enochian Call of the Aethyr itself.
Skrying the Aethyr, which I usually did by settling in padmasana, meditating, and carefully “observing” what appeared before my “third-eye”.
When I was satisfied that I had skryed the Aethyr to as full an extent as I could, I then shifted my awareness back to my physical body and surroundings.
License to Depart. Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram.
Qabalistic Prayer of Dedication, viz.:

I dedicate this to the union of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Divine Presence, in Love and Awe, in the Name of All Israel.

See ASP below for more discussion of this prayer.
Finally, write up the record of the session in my magical diary.

The Call of the Thirty Aethyrs

The Enochian call used, below, is the same for all thirty aethyrs: however, the name of the particular Aethyr is inserted at the point marked ***.

Madriaax ds praf *** chis micaolz saanir caosgo, od fisis balzisras Iaida. Nonca gohulim: Micma adoian Mad, iaod bliorb, soba ooaona chis luciftias piripsol, ds abraassa noncf netaaib caosgi od tilb adphaht damploz, tooat noncf G micalz oma lrasd tol glo marb yarry Idoigo. Od torzulp iaodaf gohol: Caosga tabaord saanir od christeos yrpoil tiobl busdir tilb noaln paid orsba od dodrmni zylna. Elzap tilb parm gi pripsax, od ta qurlst booapis. L nibm ovcho symp od christeos ag toltorn mirc Q tiobl L el. Tol paombd dilzmo as pian, od christeos ag L toltorn parach asymp. Cordziz dodpal od fifalz L smnad: od fargt bams omaoas. Conisbra od avavox tonug. Orsca tbl noasmi tabges levithmong. Unchi imp tibl ors. Bagle? Moooah ol cordziz. L capimao ixomaxip od cacoasb gosaa. Baglen pii tianta a babalond, od faorgt teloc Vovim. Madriiax Torzu! Oadriax orocha aboapri! Tabaori priaz ar tabas. Adrpan cors ta dobix. Iolcam priazi ar coazior od quasb qting. Ripir paaoxt sa la cor. Vml od prdzar cacrg aoiveae cormpt. Torzu! Zacar! Od Zamran aspt sibsi butmona ds surzas tia baltan. Odo cicle qaa od ozozma plapli iadnamad.

The Heavens which dwell in *** are mighty in the parts of the Earth, and execute the judgement of the Highest. Unto you it is said: Behold the face of your God, the beginning of comfort, whose eyes are the brightness of the heavens, which provided you for the government of the Earth and her unspeakable variety, furnishing you with a power understanding to dispose of all things according to the providence of Him that sitteth on the Holy Throne. And rose up in the beginning, saying: The Earth, let her be governed by her parts, and let there be division therein, so that the glory of her may be always drunken and vexed in itself. Her course let it round (run) with the heavens, as a handmaid let her serve them. One season let it confound another, and let there be no creature upon or within her one and the same. All her members let them differ in their qualities, and let there be no one creature equal with another. “The Reasonable Creatures of the Earth” (Man), let them vex and weed out one another: and their dwelling places, let them forget their names. The Works of Man and his pomp, let them be defaced. His buildings, let them become caves for the beasts of the field! Confound her understanding with darkness? For Why? It repenteth Me that I have made Man. One while let her be known, and another while a stranger. Because she is the bed of an harlot, and the dwelling place of him that is fallen. O ye Heavens arise! The lower heaven beneath you, let them serve you! Govern those that govern. Cast down such as fall. Bring forth with those that increase and destroy the rotten. No place, let it remain in one number. Add and diminish until the Stars be numbered. Arise! Move! And Appear before the covenant of His mouth which he hath sworn unto us in His justice. Open the mysteries of your creation, and make us partakers of the Undefiled Knowledge.

Analysis of the Call of the Thirty Aethyrs

During my exploration of the Aethyrs, my comprehension of the Call of the Aethyrs itself improved, and I gained insights into esoteric meanings of the various phrases.

Micma adoian Mad… (Behold the face of your God…)

This refers to the fact that when the Magician invokes this Call, he is Assuming the form of, and identifying with, God: such that when those in the Temple, and the inhabitants of the Aethyr, look upon the Magician, they in fact see the face of God. But what does it look like?

…Soba ooaona chis luciftias piripsol… (Whose eyes are the brightness of the Heavens…)

See ZEN, the 18th Aethyr, below. As I recited the Call, I came to this line, and it occurred to me: the “brightness of the Heavens” are primarily the Sun and Moon. Now, whose eyes do I know to be the Sun and Moon, but Horus. Horus is the God mentioned in the Call of the aethyrs!

Instantly, a lot of my prejudice against the Thelemic notion of the Aeon of Horus melted away. I was able to sympathise with why Crowley believed that in this Aeon God is Horus (or Ra-Hoor-Khuit); and why C S Jones (Frater Achad) believed that the Tree of Life (i.e. the Universe) was Horus’ body. It was because Crowley had understood this line in the same manner as I had done now.

However, my subsequent investigation into the Aethyr convinced me that this did not mean that Crowley’s idea was completely valid. Whereas Crowley believed that the Aeon of Horus was a historic epoch dating precisely from 1904, I perceived that instead, the so-called Aeon of Horus is in fact a stage in the initiatory progress of the individual. In other words, at some point in his or her life, the Initiate necessarily progresses from an Osiris-phase to a Horus-phase (and then even to further phases after that).

But note that this revelation is not what Crowleyans call Thelema. It does not imply that the Book of the Law was anything other than Crowley’s personal revelation, addressed to him alone. It does not necessarily imply that anyone replaces anyone on the Throne of the East: although it does call for a reappraisal of the relationships of the God-forms of the Temple, which are metaphors for esoteric aspects of the soul.

Caosga tabaori saanir… (The Earth, let her be governed by her Parts…)

The parts in question are the Ninety One Parts of the Earth, which are assigned to the Angels of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (and by extension, to the signs of the Zodiac), and the Seven Archangels (i.e. Angels who stand in the presence of God) who in turn are referred to the Planets of classical astrology. The “Parts of the Earth” are given Astrological significations, because the signs represent the “ideal qualities” of the region in question. For example, the 67th Part, which is governed by Ronoamb, is assigned to Libra (whose ruler is Venus): hence the qualities or forces of harmony and balance are important for this part.

If all the Parts of the Earth were to manifest the qualities indicated in this way, then everything would be alright: this would be the “Natural Order” of things, as it were. However, in some present day locations the indigenous population are working against the “natural order” – here there is unnecessary strife and torment. Hence, the lawful use of the Ninety One parts of the Earth as a technique of Practical Magic is not to manipulate governments for ones own selfish ends (as Dee himself might have been tempted to do, however well-intentioned he was), but to see that everywhere is in accordance with the cosmic powers that preside over it.

…Od christeos yrpoil tiobl, busdir tilb noaln paid orsba od dodrmni zylna… (And let there division therein, so that the Glory of her may be drunken and vexed in itself.. etc)

Throughout the Call of the Aethyrs there are a number of prescriptions which all signify the Catabolism of Transient Nature, in one form or another. This has prompted some commentators to speculate that the Call’s purpose is to bring about some sort of apocalypse. The reality is far more subtle. The concepts conveyed in the call cannot be exactly translated in terms of Biblical notions of the Apocalypse – they are far closer to Hindu ideas of the nature of Shiva. Shiva is the aspect of God whose function is to Destroy the Universe. But Shiva is also the Divine author and Patron of Yoga, and the Lord of mystics. How can these two roles be reconciled? Very easily, according to the Hindu mindset: as in their culture the manifest universe is seen as essentially illusory; and the destruction of all such illusion is the ultimate goal of yoga.

It is in this sense that when the Call of the Aethyrs talks about the destruction of the world, it is actually referring to the Shaivite notion of destroying all attachments to the carnal ego, which are barriers to ultimate Realisation. Similarly:

Moooah ol cordziz (It repenteth me that I have made Man).

The sense of this sentence should actually be: It repenteth Me that “I” have made Man, i.e. it is contrary to the Will of the Divinity that the Ego has defined the existence of Mankind. I.e., ideally one should transcend the carnal ego, in order to be united with Divinity.

Madriiax torzu! Oadriax orocha abo aperi! (O ye Heavens arise! The lower heavens beneath you, let them serve you!

The “Heavens” referred to here – Madriiax are those contained withig the Aethyr being invoked. The “lower heavens” – Oadriax refer to previous Aethyrs. The Aethyrs are arranged in a hierarchy, with (for example) BAG being superior to RII and TEX, but inferior to ZAA.

Moreover, the peculiar qualities of every inferior combines to serve the “purpose” or “function” of the superiors. TEX serves all. RII is served by TEX and serves BAG. BAG is served by RII and TEX and serves ZAA. ZAA is served by BAG, RII, TEX – and so on. It therefore follows that LIL is at the top of the hierarchy, and is served by all of the twenty-nine other Aethyrs.

Appendix: Summaries of The Thirty Aethyrs

30. tex

I realise a hidden key to the use of the Thirty Aethyrs. Previously I had notices a discrepancy: between what is implied in the Dee diaries, that they are in fact solely to do with the 91 Parts of the Earth and their Governors; whilst, on the other hand, some people saw them as a ladder of spiritual progression. What I now realised was that there was in fact no discrepancy between the two viewpoints. He who masters all 30 Aethyrs manages to exist in all 91 parts of the Earth. In fact, he has a direct mystical apprehension of the concept of “Immanence&quot. Whilst this Aethyr is only good for comprehending the movement of magickal currents h three (or in TEX’ case, four) such parts, the Seer who has become initiated into all thirty perceives the flow of magick through all parths of the Earth (and even the Universe) simultaneously.

Here then is a connection between Enochian Magick and Raja Yoga, i.e.:

“Bahih akalpita vrittih mahavideha tatah prakasa avaranaksayah.”

“By Samyama (Perfectly integrated meditation) on the Disembodied state, where consciousness acts outside the body, the veil covering the light of illumination is destroyed.”

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, III.4⁴

The point being that the Aethyrs in Enochian Magick themselves cause the consciousness of the magician to enter this Disembodied state – to leave the body, and exist in the various parts of the Earth, which also correspond to the parts of the universe in general. In this way the magician of Enochian Magick becomes a Siddha, i.e. the Raja Yoga term for a perfected being, or adept.

29. rii

I notice a lot of Earth imagery in my vision of this Aethyr: herds of Oxen (the Bull is the Kerub of Earth); the image of the Goddess Hathor (who is represented as a Cow Goddess), etc. This is not surprising to me, however, as the names of the three Governors associated with this Aethyr are taken from the northern (Earth) Watchtower.

I clairaudiently hear the word “forgiveness”. The sense seems to be that as a necessary part of spiritual development one should forgive the debts that others owe to oneself, so as to be free from the ties which prevent one existing apart from the world of matter. One practical example which was revealed to me in the course of this vision was the Forgiveness of unpayable debts owed by third world countries to the developed world, which was talked about so much in the Jubilee 2000 campaign.

I turned me to the West and there was a great Bull; White with
horns of White and Black and Gold. His mouth was scarlet and his eyes as
Sapphire stones. With a great sword he shore the skies asunder, and amid
the silver flashes of the steel grew lightnings and deep clouds of Indigo.

Crowley, The Vision and the Voice, The Cry of the 29th Aethyr.

28. bag

An Angel tells me: “The 30 Aethyrs are to cause the Magician to become mystically attuned to all parts of the Universe, and then to offer them up to the hierarchy of divine and angelic beings above even them: the Twelve Angels of the Twelve Tribes, and the Seven that stand in the Presence of God.

“The Aethyrs are thus ultimately a theurgic ritual based upon geography.”

27. zaa

An image arises spontaneously in my mind: it is of a woman (see below) who makes a Banishing Hexagram to protect herself from some interfering influence. This sparks off a remarkable flash of intuition…

…I am reminded of the Seven Hebrew letters, which in the Golden Dawn are used to invorporate into visions in order to test their validity. The idea I get is that one should in fact invorporate these seven into ones life – i.e. by incorporating the positive virtues that they represent, and banishing the negative ones from ones personality: making them instruments of my Will.

These Seven letters – i.e. the so-called “Double-letters” represent the “Lords who Wander” (the planets of classical astrology). They are:

Hebrew		Planet	Used to ensure that Vision is not affected by:
Letter	Name	Planet	Used to ensure that Vision is not affected by:
t	Tau	Saturn	Memory
k	Kaph	Jupiter	(Poor) Construction
p	Pe	Mars	Anger, Impatience
r	Resh	Sol	Vanity
d	Daleth	Venus	Pleasure
b	Beth	Mercury	Imagination
g	Gimel	Luna	Wandering Thoughts

Hence the Virtue represented by Tau and Saturn would be a clairvoyant vision free from any images arising from ones memory i.e. in the way that ones dreams are affected by memories of the preceding day, unless one takes steps to control them. The virtue of Gimel and Luna would be a vision unaffected by wandering thoughts.

The Virtue of Resh and Sol would presumably be Visions free from attempts to gratify the Seer’s ego: e.g. by telling him he would become a Magister Templi and a Magus thereafter.

I clairaudiently heard the phrase “like separating the wheat from the chaff”. I speculated that this was a metaphor for the process described by this Aethyr – the separation of the dross to prepare for later on.

Later, because this idea of incorporating the Seven Double Letters seemed important to me, I constructed a Ritual which I thought would be appropriate. This Ceremony consisted of:

Middle Pillar Ritual
Opening by Watchtower
The Call of the 27th Aethyr, followed by (astrally) entering therein.
Seven Supreme Banishing Hexagram Rituals, one for each Double-letter/Planet. I carried them out in the order of Gimel (Luna); Beth (Mercury); Daleth (Venus); Resh (Sol); Pe (Mars); Kaph (Jupiter); and finally Tau (Saturn). My method of working was to trace the appropriate Hexagram, with the corresponding Double-letter in the center.
Here I observed any phenomena arising as a result of the ceremony.
Exit from the Astral.
Close with the LBRP and BRH.

“The Vision of the Initiation of Hecate (Atu XIV) The Redemption of the Woman of Witchcraft by Love.”

Crowley, ibid., The Cry of the 27th Aethyr (Summary).

26. des

I see an image of a school-room. It is a School in which my own Unconscious mind is the pupil. This Aethyr reveals images of my past life which still affect my Karma – though not images from previous lives.

A voice seems to say that I should be alert to the events which happen to me in the following 24 hours, as these would convey part of the message of this Aethyr. As it turned out, those events seemed to suggest tath I should destroy attachments to the past: to outmoded beliefs and habits which have no real justification; to expectations of things – or even People – which are too high. This puts me in mind of the teachings of the Buddha, who said that the cause of suffering is selfish attachment, and the way to end that suffering is the renunciation of such attachment.

It appears that each successive Aethyr is adding more conditions on how to refine myself, in order to be capable of the highest kind of spiritual insight.

25. vti

I sense myself ascending into a state of one-pointed awareness, which in Yoga is known as Ekagrata Parinama.

I am made to think of (e.g.) Mother Theresa, who eschewed celebrity, instead using all her influence to accomplish her Will. For example, there was the time when, meeting a reporter in an airport, she was single-handedly carrying 25 large cases of medicines, and single-mindedly called on every resource to hand e.g. the reporter himself, airport officials, etc to see that she was able to get the cases on to the correct flight.

The message of this Aethyr then is this: after the purification envisaged by the preceding Aethyrs, the next step is to develop single-mindedness, i.e. in pursuit of ones Will – excluding from consciousness all factors foreign to the True Will – hence, single-pointed awareness.

24. nia

A voice tells me:

“Project outside the body. Assume the form of your Holy Guardian Angel that you may contemplate your Higher Genius. Thus at length you will realise that you are a Soul with a Body, not a Body with a soul – or even a Body ignorant of the soul, which is worse.

“This then is the next step in your path – to meditate like this until reaching samadhi.

“When acting in the physical, realise that it is the soul thus contemplated controlling the physical body, and not vice versa.

“Let the astral vision be made subject to you Holy Guardian Angel.”

Later, I banish some distracting thoughts with a Hexagram of Mercury, with the letter Beth in the centre (see above). I get the impression that this is another part of the message of this Aethyr, corresponding to its supposed link to Hod. Purify oneself of distractions arising form the intellect, e.g.: scepticism – especially that which is ultimately illogical. After all, it is theoretically impossible to prove a negative, so why bother asserting one in the first place?

Therefore, to allow such thought to arise is bad. Ideally, mundane consciousness and magical consciousness are indivisible. The one is contained within the other, in the same way that a later hypostasis is contained within its “source” and predecessor i.e. Physis is in Psyche, Psyche is in Nous, and Nous is in En. These are all references to concepts of Neoplatonism.

23. tor

I realise a link between a passage in C S (Frater Achad) Jones’ Crystal Vision Through Crystal Gazing and the Siddhi mentioned in III.34 of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali:

Pratibhat va sarvam.

Through the faculty of spiritual perception, the yogi becomes the knower of all knowledge.

C S Jones had said that one should purify, consecrate and initiate ones Crystal, to make it sacred to ones Will. I myself had speculated that one should extend this principle to ones Mind, (i.e. to purify, consectate and initiate it); and ultimately, to the entire Universe.

But rewind a second: purifying, consecrating and initiating ones Mind, making it a vessel sacred to the Will, so that it becomes like the Crystal Ball itself, but relying on the images that one sees in the mind instead of having to use a crystal … Take this to its logical conclusion, I now realised, and this is indeed that Siddhi – that of Pratibhat va sarvam, the “Illuminated Knowledge of Everything”.

22. lin

The esoteric meaning of part of the Book of Genesis is revealed to me: in Genesis 22:17, hwhy says to Abraham:

I will indeed bless you, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore.Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies.

(My emphasis)

The irony is that Abraham’s immediate descendants did indeed become like the stars of heaven, but in another manner: for twelve of them, ten of Jacob’s sons and two of Jacob’s grandsons became the founders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel – which are associated astrologically with the Signs of the Zodiac. The sense that I now get from this Aethyr is that this is no coincidence or arbitrary idea invented by mediaeval magicians: it was deliberately planned by Jacob – and indeed by hwhy – all along. The implication of this was that Jacob was a powerful Magus, the author of (what was then) a new magical tradition, and ordering his life and his relations to give effect to it. Indeed, his vision of “Jacob’s Ladder” was his Initiation.

21. asp

Incubating a dream about the meaning of this Aethyr, the following phrases come to me:

“Realising Will ahead of getting married…” (see below); and

“Death and Hell are not the same…”

The first idea that occurs to me is that with regard to the first phrase, my unconscious has made a connection between the name of this Aethyr, ASP, and the Enochian word “aspt” (before).

In the Golden Dawn style of initiation, there is a pattern of Realising Will and then “marriage”. For example: the Adeptus Minor is told to realise his Higher Will (Daath) and marry it to the Lower Will (Tiphereth) to create the True Will. Later on, the more advanced Adept is told to realise his Divine Will (Chiah) before marrying it to his Higher Genius (Neshamah) and uniting both with his Divine Genius (Yechidah).

“Realising Will” consists of being clear about why the unification is take plaee. For example, when aspiring to ones Holy Guardian Angel, one should not just aspire Spiritually – with the Higher Will – but with every atom of the material body as well.

Consider this Qabalistic Prayer:

I dedicate this … to the Union of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Divine Presence, in Love and Awe, in the Name of all Israel.

The “Union” – which is another word for “Marriage” of the Holy One, Blessed Be He, and His Divine Presence is through Love and awe. One must Love what one is uniting, for is Love not the basis of any successful marriage?

(NB: This prayer is essentially a Qabalistic equivalent to Karma Yoga. The Qabalist, by praying this as he performs a given task, may both enter a meditative state and ask blessings for whatever he is doing. It is rather similar in effect and meaning to the mantra Om Tat Sat. See Jewish Meditation by Aryeh Kaplan and the Bhagavad Gita respectively.)

Give thou praise unto thy lady Nuit, and unto her lord Hadit, that are for
thee and thy bride, and the winners of the ordeal X.

Crowley, ibid., The Cry of the 21st Aethyr.

20. chr

The thought arises in my mind: Destroy the Universe. Then why not start by destroying myself. I will the destrucition of my body. I concentrate on destroying my consciousness of my body. As a result, I ascend into a high state of altered awareness. My astral body feels as if it is separating from the physical.

The Universe of which I am the Destroyer is Me. “Destroy” Physical, astral even, mind and most importantly Ego. Get rid of everything, and at the same time what is there that is left but the Face of God, the Beginning of Comfort, as is mentioned in the Call of the 30 Aethyrs. Thus I am realising the practical implications of manifesting Shiva, and of the meaning of the Tarot Key “Death”.

And now it is the dance of Shiva. I lie beneath his feet, his saint, his victim.

Crowley, ibid., the Cry of the 20th Aethyr.

19. pop

An Angel says:

“Consider the phenomenon of extra-solar worlds. On this planet you base Astrology on constellations which seem important to you, but the extrasolar planets are around stars in obscure constellations, or ones not in constellations per se. Your solar system is important to you because you are in it: theirs are important to them because they are in them.

“The true way of assessing the spiritual nature of the Cosmos, then, is by considering the spirituality of the races therein. The constellations are irrelevant in that regard – for from their planets they will have different constellations, different zodiacs – and your own sun may be consigned to an obscure part of their sky.

“Cosmic Spirituality is not something to observe, but in which to participate. You have your Human Spirituality to contribute, and the extrasolar races have theirs as well. All of these make up one Cosmic Whole, interconnected, interrelated, not separate.”

18. zen

It was in this Aethyr that I received the idea that Horus is the God referred to in the Call of the Aethyrs: see the Section above. Horus Himself appeared to me whilst exploring this Aethyr, and, after giving (what else?) the Signs of the Enterer and of Silence, he said:

“I am the power of Osiris Reborn. Osiris’ power is in me, and I assume the function of Osiris.

“The task is for the power of the Hierophant (Osiris) to manifest in the Hiereus (Horus) to act as the Guardian of the Temple: and for the Hiereus to manifest in the Hierophant as the temple’s source of power.

“Horus should meditate on Osiris – Osiris should meditate on Horus – both achieving samadhi on each other in so doing.

“Consider the metaphor of the Eclipse. The first appearance of Light after the eclipse is as a Solar Hawk,” (i.e. what we now call the Diamond Ring, with the diamond representing the body of the hawk, with long wings on either side). “Yet it is still the same sun (i.e. Osiris). Thus Osiris and Horus become one with each other – it is as if Horus is Osiris Reborn, having defeated Death.

“Consider further, this idea of Horus being God did not occur to you” (i.e. me personally) “until this Aethyr. How much more likely that there are even greater mysteries than this awaiting in the future! What is more: consider the theory of Cosmic Spirituality.” (See above.) “If there is still so much to discover in relation to your own spirituality, how much more likely is there so much yet hidden in theirs? Even from themselves?

“The Ancients ascribed the Sun and Moon to God, because all three concepts were above them: they were ignorant of their ture nature. The Ancients did not realise that the Sun and Moon were different from the the mystical states that they experienced.

“So it is in every age: when people discover a concept higher than their current understanding, they ascribe it to God. In the future, the interconnectedness of Cosmic Spiritualities will be ascribed to God. Yet beyond that there are the dark, obscure mysteries which are above even them. These too will be ascribed to God in due time: at present they are like a giant dark cloud.”

“Light streams from every side upon the pastos. This light is that
blue of Horus which we know, but being refined it is brilliance. For the
light of Horus only appears blue because of the imperfection of our
eyes.”

Crowley, ibid., The Cry of the 18th Aethyr.

17. tan

I am struck by a sudden intuition – I can see a link between the Knights Templar, Freemasonry, and the Tarot Key The Hanged Man. In Templar tombs, their effigies are consistently represented as having crossed legs. In Masonry, when a candidate for the Third Degree, representing Hiram Abiff, is struck and “killed”, he is lowered to the ground with one leg crossed behind the other. In the Hanged Man, the figure has, again, one leg crossed behind the other.

I realise that the Three are in fact the same: and that further illumination can be provided by considering the esoteric meaning of The Hanged Man: he is the “Drowned Giant”. The Hanged Man looks into the water and sees in his reflection Adam Qadmon, Microprosopus. Or, as was said of W B Yeats (Frater D.E.D.I.) at this point in his Adeptus Major ceremony, his “Resurrection Body”.

The Hanged Man is Enforced Sacrifice. Well, Hiram Abiff was certainly sacrificed. I recall of a phrase spoken in regard to Masonry: “Every man is the living, slain and resurrected Christ.” The Master Mason then, when hs “dies” does so in order that he can discover Adam Qadmon within himself. The so-called Lost Word of Freemasonry, if it can be expressed as an actual word at all, would therefore be some term denoting this idea of Microprosopus.

On a different subject altogether, whilst exploring this Aethyr I contemplate the mysteries of Tiphereth, which are those of Self-Sacrifice and the Vision of the Harmony of Created Things. The Mystery of Self-Sacrifice I have already been given, in the significance of The Hanged Man – sacrifice oneself and discover the Microprosopus within. But what of the Vision of Harmony?

I am prompted to think of the Hieros Gamos, the Divine marriage of Isis and Osiris. Osiris is the Mystery of Self-Sacrifice, Isis is the Vision of Harmony. This Vision of Harmony is revealed in the Egyptian Mysteries – in the Isiatic Mystery, which is the worship of the Great Goddess in Nature.

“No man has unveiled me,” says Isis. Therefore, to unveil Her I shall become “No-Man”, by Sacrificing myself.

Thus is the dual nature of the Spiritual Experiences of Tiphereth made one – one sacrifices ones ego in samadhi to make contact with the inner Microprosopus, which itself unites in mystic contemplation with the Goddess who is Immanent in Nature. Nature – not just a series of disconnected events but a single organism connected at the spiritual level with Itself, and ultimately in Tiphereth with the Soul of Man as well.

16. lea

I see the Vault of the Adepti – the Tomb of Frater C.R.C. I go in a voice gives me a stern warning: Never contemplate the floor of the Vault if you are not strong enough. I take this is meaning not only literally, but also metaphorically, i.e. dabbling with the forces which the floor of the Vault represents, the dark forces in Magic, those of the Evil Persona – which nevertheless the Adept is eventually required to subjugate and master.

I consider the ceiling. The everburning lamp must draw its fuel from somewhere, and indeed it does, from the God os Samadhis, i.e. from God Himself.

The Aethyr causes me to cast my mind back and consider the history of the Rosicrucian Order, to wit:

1484 – Frater C.R.C. dies.

1485 – Constantinople falls, causing the beginning of the Renaissance, as large numbers of Classical Scholars come to Western Europe as refugees.

1604 – Frater C.R.C.’s tomb is opened – coinciding with the end of the Renaissance: which has prepared Western Europe to receive the new Rosicrucian teaching.

The initiated meaning is clear: Frater C.R.C’s death actually caused the Renaissance! It was as if Frater C.R.C. worked a big magic ritual to institute the proper changed in Europe: e.g. growth of Hermetic philosophy, reception of Enochian materials by Dee, etc.

This demonstrates the interconnectedness of all things, and how Frater C.R.C. used this fact to work an elaborate ritual to ensure the future success of the Rosicrucian Order.

In this way I should trust in the interconnectedness as well, in addition to being afforded an insight into the kind of thing a Magus (or even Ipsissimus) would do for his Order: the preparations through which he would go, etc.

15. oxo

An Angel says:

“As the Aethyrs are arranged as a series of concentric spheres – like a glass onion – so travelling through the Aethyrs involves moving ones consciousness from the centre to the periphery.

“Consciousness is Being.

“In the ordinary material world, ones consciousness – and therefore being – takes on the shape of the point at the centre. But moving throught the Aethyrs requires one to expand ones consciousness (being) even as the radius of that sphere lengthens.

“Not only do the Aethyrs teach Union by meditation on omnipresence in the physical universe – i.e. the 91 Parts of the Earth – but this Aethyr shows that they impart Union by meditation on omnipresence in the Spiritual Universe, a concept which is much bigger, by a factor of 30 * Infinity.

“Note well the falsity of Astral Visions. Perceiving the Aethyrs in the Astral only, one sees all kinds of strange sights: but to those whose consciousness is centered in Briah, the Aethyrs are just upward steps.”

For a long time I simply meditate on the power of this Aethyr, and the Expanding, extroverting effect it has on my Being…

14. vta

Prior to attempting to skry this Aethyr, I am aware of a number of distracting noises. From the street, from nearby buildings, etc. It occurs to me to wonder whether these distractions are side-effects of me trying to enter this Aethyr? I Astrally make a Pentagram at the nearest and most troublesome source of noise: a phone call. They hang up!

On entering the Aethyr, an Angel in Green-blue robes appears, calling himself “Dodpal” (Enochian: Let them vex). “Is that really your name?” I say. He replies:

“The word Dodpal is significant. Mankind has a great capacity to vex each other. They will only spiritually advance when they learn to transcend their anger, and their tendency to anger. Right now that tendency is causing much destruction and misery, and will continue to do so in the near future.

“You too must personally transcend your own capacity to vex, and your suceptiblity to being vexed unnecessarily. Not just in your own life, but in the lives of people with whom you come into contact and over whom you have influence.

“And you biggest test in this regard is entering the successive Aethyrs. The distractions you experienced earlier – they were Qlippothic forces exteriorising themselves, manifesting in such a way as to try and put you off entering this Aethyr. But the human agents thereof were innocent – they were being affected unwittingly. Then you banished them instead of ignoring them, and they went away.

“You will find that this will happen with increasing regularity as you go higher and higher throughthe Aethyrs. Loose your connections to the material world, that it may not distract you. Banish thoroughly, twice or three times if necessary: do not wait, and do not ignore, hoping the distractions will go away of their own accord. And do not give them any situation they can use against you.”

Dodpal also has this to say about Alien Intelligences: “They say things that make no sense. They defy Psychology. They can be detected as being Aliens, because what they have to say does not fit in with how they would be if they were entities from the psyche. Jung, Freud, etc: they clash with these men’s ideas of unconscious for they are other.

13. zim

It is a dark night. The letters z i m surround me, as if I am with a stone circle: these three letters face outward. Above me there is a single star at the zenith, very bright.

I call for a guide to appear. An Angel materialises, calling himself “Zodimi”. We ascend – we are not just in a stone circle, but in a cylinder reaching up and down to infinity.

The Angel says: “Why do you imagine your vision empty, when thousands of angels are associated with this, and all the other Aethyrs?” As he says this, the void outside the cylinder (which is transparent) is filled with thousands of Angels glowing in the darkness.

Zodimi says: “91 Parts, 91 sets of Angels. Your next task – your next major magical working, is to perform 91 operations, one for each part, to compel the loyalty and obedience of all the Angels of those parts. Just as the task of the last Aethyr was to confront and face down ones shadow, so the next logical step is to face up to the Angelic beings.” I get the impression that I will have to therefore repeat the Calls of the Aethyrs at some point in the future.

I then get a sense that I can detect a pattern in recent events of my occult life. An adept wrote to me a personal message regarding Israel Regardie, at about the same time that I felt drawn to his book “The Art of True Healing” – and got the technique in there working. Coincidence? No. Now in my vision I get the impression that I can actually sense the spirit of Israel Regardie. His Spirit is still guiding people from … where? Does he “live” in this Aethyr?

But the point is that for the first time, I feel from an intuitive point of view the Real Existence of the spirits of deceased (“differently-living”) Adepts, who still exist in some magical realm, having departed the physical plane. I get the feeling that Franz Bardon also currently “lives” like this – I would be able to get into contact with him if I paid as much attention to his books as I do to Regardie’s.

Meanwhile, I am still ascending this cylinder. The star at the zenith is still as far away as ever. Zodimi tells me to warp there, in the sense of Miguel Alcubierre’s paper. But instead of warping the fabric of space-time, I am warping the fabric of spiritual consciousness, of the astral plane itself.

I accelerate at unimaginable speed and finally reach the star. My mind is anchored to it. I can feel it ascending into infinity. It is quite literally an uplifting experience… I link my Self to the star, and channel its light and influence down this cylinder to the physical plane.

12. loe

A mountainous, desolate landscape. It is a cloudy day. There are a multitude of Angels hereabout. I call for a guide. One of the Angels, wearing black robes, approaches and gives the LVX signs. He says his name is Turiviel. He takes me up, out of the atmosphere – there are angels accompanying us through space. He says:

“With this Aethyr you are effectively entering Chesed. In the last Aethyr you mad contact with Adepts on the astral plane. But every succeeding aethyr rolls up the preceding – hece all eighteen so far are pulled up – i.e. initiated – into this one.

“What this means is that whereas before you just met Adepts, from here on, you are not just acting for yourself, but for the whole College of Adepts. Living, dead, across time and space. You are bringing the whole College upwards so that they might also benefit from the grace of God.

&quo;All your magick is done with the Collegium, working with them and they working with you. Therefore lose your individual identity, but regard yourself as part of a whole – as indeed the whole. All your magick is to benefit th4e Adepts – so that they may learn from it, and indeed they are part of it. Therefore, firmly Will that as you are raised, so they are raised.

“Note this also: the College of Adepts is like the Ruach; the Third Order is the Neshamah, and the Ourter Order is the Nephesh. So therefore the whole order is a Single Being.

“You are a ruler of the College,” (though in the sense that every member is a ruler, though each has sacrificed their individuality). “Therefore, rule them, and act on their behalf, not because you are one of them, but because you are one with them.”

I perceive a network of connections reaching from me laterally through space and time. I am connected to all other Adepts. Angels pull me upward. But not only am I pulled upward, but all the other adepts are pulled with me.

The Angels I saw earlier are all lifting this network – they are the Adept’s Guardian Angels. In concentrating on Willing that all te Adepts are lifted up, I lose consciousness of my self, and become aware of only the Collegium.

The network stretches across to great Adepts from the past, to ones living today. It is as if I am realising in actuality the Angel’s words…

The thought occurs to me: Why did Crowley depict crossing the Abyss as a fight with a terrible demon? Because trying to take God’s place involves taking on His Responsibilities in fighting evil. But no one man can cross the abyss, and become one with God: only we can do that, acting in concert and together. We sacrifice all egoism and ego itself.

11. ich

I am in a completely white landscape. Thousands of angels are here, but because they are completely white also, they are practically invisible. The letters i c h are also here, as solid sculptures, very large in the centre of the landscape – but they too are also completely white.

I call for a guide. An angel approaches me and gives the LVX signs. He says:

“You are at the brink of the abyss. What holds you back? The bonds to the material world – i.e. the bonds of your karma.

“As in the preceding Aethyr, you learned to identify with the whole Collegium Spiritum Sanctum, so in this Aethyr you must take responsibility for discharging both your own karmic debts and those of the Collegium.

In the RR et AC, this is represented by the Chief Adept who fastens himself to the cross of Obligation each year on Corpus Christi, to retake the Adeptus Minor oath on behalf of all the second order.” (NB: the 11th Aethyr is equivalent to Chesed, which in turn is equivalent to the grade of 7=4, which is associated with the office of Chief Adept.) “But note the following:

“Westcott tried it and wanted to get out of it because it was too burdensome. Yeats tried to insist that the Chief Adept was not in fact doing this, i.e. trying to atone for the sins of the Second Order. But the irony is that in fact the Chief Adept is indeed meant to be atoning for the karmic debts incurred by the Second Order. If only he realised that he did it for them because he was them. If only they realised how much their fates were entwined with the Chief Adept’s act!

“It is like the Chod ritual, of Tibetan tradition – equivalent in purpose.

“Therefore you must countenance that both you and the Collegium have done wrong – by not being as good Adepts as you could have been, by n0ot behaving the correct way to those outside the order, etc.”

I meditate awhile on thise, firmly wiling that the Karmic debts of the order be remedied and thus discharged.

10. zax

I must admit that preparing for this Aethyr filled me with a certain amount of trepidation, given that it is the one in which Crowley infamously met the demon Choronzon. It later turned out to be unjustified, but more on that anon. I decided to depart from my usual routine, and follow the following structure for the ceremony:

(Pranayama and Meditation);
Opening by the formula of the Portal of the Paths of the Vault of the Adepti. I did this because, in the Golden Dawn, the Governors of this Aethyr, Lexarph, Comanan and Tabitom. are invoked in that ceremony, where they are said to be Angels who rule over the Tablet of Union.
The Middle Pillar Ritual;
The Supreme Invoking Hexagram of Daath Ritual. This is uses an Invoking-Saturn Hexagram, but instead of using YHVH Elohim as the divine name, I used the Enochian names Lexarph, Comanan and Tabitom.
The Call of the Tenth Aethyr;
The establishment of the Hebrew Double-letters and corresponding Banishing Planetary Hexagrams;
The skrying into the Aethyr itself;
The Supreme Banishing Hexagram of Daath Ritual (as above, but now using a Banishing-Saturn Hexagram);
The closing formulae of the Portal of the Paths of the Vault of the Adepti;
LBRP, LBRH.

I should add that all of the above was performed within a magic circle. Just in case.

As to what I skryed:

I contemplate the Ain Soph, and become it. Being the Infinite, I now regard the Tree of Life not as a human in Malkuth looking up, but from above, looking down. To manifest the Ain Soph Aur, I withdraw all of myself from space, apart from the Light (Aur). I then create Kether by the Tzimtzum process, constricting the light from the space of the Universe and injecting a point therein.

It moves – it is Chokmah creating a multitude of thoughts. Some of the Thoughts contemplate their own origins and realise how they proceeded from Kether and Chokmah. Thus do these Thoughts become Binah.

Born of these pure thoughts are creative spirits – Chesed. And from them are Spirits which voluntarily limit their creativity – Geburah. And then come the evolved spirits who can balance the desire to create and to self-limit – Tiphereth.

Now there are living creatures in the astral realms – Netzach, and those that assume definite forms – Hod. Now there are Personalities – Yesod. Finally, there is the end-result manifesting on the physical plane – Malkuth.

But beyond this there are the Qlippoth. What are they? At the stage of Binah, there were the primal thoughts that failed to contemplate their origin. At Chesed, the creative spirits that sought to create outside the bounds of their remit from Binah. Thus at every stage, the influences of one Sephirah which fail to act in accodance with the Superior Sephiroth become Qlippoth.

I gather them all up, the Ignorant Thoughts, the Cancers, the Atrophiers, the Lazy Ones, the Abortions and all the rest, and consign them to the realm below Malkuth.

Thus am I creating my own Universe. But it is also The Universe.

I realise that my purpose is to create a being who is in communiion with the Ain Soph – I go through the creative purpose I have just envisioned. I identify all the distracting thoughts, that come to me to try and interfere with my meditation, as manifestations of the Qlippoth that I realised presently. I consign them to their realm as I transcend them.

Ultimately, everything that is likely to distract one is everything connected with ones lower personality. Here then is the reason why there is commonly confusion between Daath and the Abyss. The so-called Abyss is what happens when one realises the Infinite, while failing to identify with it. It is like Hell, i.e. realising God by the fact that one is separate from Him. But he who realises the Infinite whilst identifying with it transcends the Abyss. The Abyss is what happens when one fails to transcend the material – and even Spiritual – distractions: but Daath is the successful contemplation of the Ain Soph.

9. zip

Before skrying into this Aethyr, I spent a lot of time visualising the Shekinah before me: each of Us establishing the Tree of Life in each others Auras, as well as the chakras with their corresponding Egyptian Gods. We then merge: I assume “Her”; “She” assumes me; We form one magical image. (This is based on a method of working suggested by Dion Fortune. In effect, the Shekinah, or Divine Presence, which is regarded by the Qabalists as feminine, is acting as my High Priestess, whilst I am the High Priest. This proves to be very powerful).

We visualise the letters z i p glowing white before Our magical vision. They project rays into our mind, pulling our consciousness upwards…

A voice says: “Ye are become a Master of the Temple – so make your Temple a fit place for the Deity to indwell.

“Know you that your psychic faculty is your Higher Self, and your Higher Self is Divine – worthy of reverence and honour. Therefore, every instance of clairvoyance is in fact a Manifestation of Divinity – worship it as such.

“While the letters z i p seemingly pull you higher, honour your psychic faculty for allowing you to appreciate them doing so.

“By extension, thus it is with all magical powers. He who treats them merely casually will seldom succeed: but he who reverences them as gifts from God – indeed, who recognises them as manifestations of God Himself – becomes the true magician.”

Thus We meditate on zip, honouring and reverencing our psychic faculty all the while. The effect is PHENOMENAL. We experience a tremendous feeling of Spiritual Energy. We realise that it is right to worship the instances of Samadhi in other people, as manifestations of God. The whole effect of the meditation – the sublime peace, the sense of energy and bliss – convinces us that the message of the Aethyr has indeed revealed an important Mystical Truth to us.

8. zid

z i d – they are not just letters, but Powers emanating from the Ineffable God. They are beings – in that they apparently possess me and communicate with me, displaying sentience. They are planes of existence, combining together to create and sustain the thought-experience / macro-plane that is zid the Eighth Aethyr.

Thus too are all the letters of the Enochian alphabet, applying by extension to the words of the Enochian language.

What then is the Eighth Aethyr? Its powers exist to communicate to mankind the various methods of theurgy and mysticism.

I imagine that I am in a vast hall. In the centre are three-dimensional representations of the letters z i d, whilst around the sides are all the Angels who inhabit this Aethyr. The letters in the centre are radiating streams of energy to each Angel. They in turn are individually chargedto communicate to members of mankind the Inspiration necessary to achieve union with God through Theurgy and Mysticism.

I perceive that this is a continuous process – it has happenned in the past, is happening now, and will continue to do so in the future.

I also perceive how some of the Angels here present have been in contact with people of whom I know, e.g.: the prophets of the Old Testament, St John the Divine, Franz Bardon, Israel Regardie – even me! It appears that in the case of Revelatio Revelationum the same angel that inspired St John the Divine also influenced one of the Water Seniors to contact me.

I perceive that Enochian Magic is Macromagic, because it reveals the whys and wherefores of magic from God’s point of view. Whereas other magicians are on the receiving end of communications, here I see them being transmitted originally, and gain an insight into why they are being transmitted in the first place.

Note that in the Vision and the Voice, a method of Theurgy, i.e. of attaining the Knowledge and Conversation of ones Holy Guardian Angel, is revealed to Crowley.

7. deo

I perceive that above and beyond the Eighth Aethyr there is a heavenly River, through which flows the pure Divine Inspiration – which I visualise as white light. This river is the source of the divine Energy which flows into the Eighth Aethyr, where it is distributed amongst the various Angels who then communicate it to mankind.

I meditate further on this: I identify with the powers of d e o – with the Aethyr itself – and realise it is I causing the River to flow. I identify with the River itself – I am that inspiration coming from the ineffable God to the Eighth Aethyr, and ultimately to mankind. And I give honour and reverence to the Higher Self, which is allowing me to witness – and indeed participate – in all this.

It appears that theurgically, my appreciation of higher mysticism has grown with this vision. Indeed, through this meditation I am exalted to a very high state indeed.

6. maz

I see a lake, which empties into the river which I saw in the Seventh Aethyr. There is the throughflow & baseflow; the source which enters the lake, and the rain.

The throughflow & baseflow are the letter m, and represent the Immanent power of God.

The river which feeds the lake is the letter a, and represents the Transcendent power of God.

The rainfall is the letter z, and represents the Shekinah, i.e. the Divine Influences which proceed from the Cosmos itself.

The lake therefore is the collected power of God, fed by three different sources, one of which is actually Feedback – the influence of Divinity which is already manifest in the Universe.

Thus, I meditate on maz, identifying myself with the forces of this Aethyr. In doing so I perceive the actions of those three letter both separately (i.e. receiving power from an Immanent Source, from a Transcendant Source, and from the cosmos) and collectively (i.e. combining into One).

I realise that because I now identify with the Aethyr itself, the Angels – thousands of them – which inhabit this Aethyr are in me. I direct them then to carry out what I perceive to be the functions of this Aethyr – the collecting and collating of the divine influence from the three different sources.

This meditation is very powerful: I am raised to high levels of ecstatic awareness as I perceive the Angels at work.

5. lit

From the lake I encountered in the Sixth Aethyr, I continue my journey upstream to the very source of the river which fed that lake. It orignates from a mountain: Mount Abiegnus itself, which is Mount Meru in the Hindu tradition.

I pass inside a large cave in the heart of the Mountain. I perceive that this Aethyr represents an abstract force which pulls the members of the Third Order into this chamber in the Mountain of Initiation.

In the Rosicrucian tradition, that force is personified as Frater C.R.C. But more generally, it is an irresistable attraction fel by the adepts of all ages and cultures to come together with the Heart of God, and commune together in samadhi, for the good of the whole universe.

I therefore meditate on this awhile, identifying myself with the forces of the Aethyr, willing that the Angels of this Aethyr go forth and bring the great ones into this central chamber. I imagine them appearing, and all of us meditating together: individualities dissolved in the unity of Divine Consciousness.

“Now I come to the top of the mountain, and the last pylon opens into a
circular hall…

Crowley, ibid., The Cry of the 5th Aethyr.

4. paz

There is none of the imagery associated with the previous aethyrs – instead it is far more abstract. I perceive God-as-the-source of the Thirty Aethyrs. It is His Will to emanate the Thirty Aires so that the Enochian magicians – and ultimately the whole of mankind – might be brought to wisdom.

Indeed, I perceive God-as-the-source-of-Wisdom for all the beings in the Universe. I realise that this Aethyr is demonstrating to me the inner meaning of the Sephirah Chokmah, both in its litera sense (i.e. “Wisdom”) and in its aspect as a function of deity, an integral part of the working of the Tree of Life.

I meditate awhile on the pure concept of being the source of wisdom, and find it very inspiring.

3. zom

Mysticism is observation, Magick is Participation. However, it is impossible to Observe if there is a barrier between oneself and the observed: and once inside the barrier, observation tends to become participation.

Furthermore, observation is not possible without acitve steps to enable one to observe: and participation is not possible withou passive observation, i.e of what to do, and what the results of ones actions are.

Hence, this is why that at the highest levels, there is no difference between Magick and Mysticism.

Whereas in the foregoing Aethyrs, one achieved samadhi meditating on various things, in zom the lesson or key characteristic of the Aethyr is the fact of Samadhi itself, unqualified.

2. arn

The key feature of the Second Aethyr is an experience “beyond samadhi”. Whatever could this possibly be? It is impossible to express.

I address a question to the forces of this Aethyr, as I get the feeling that this is the most appropriate “place” to do so: what is the essential nature of an Avatar?

The Avatar of Incarnated Deity is the nearest concept in Hinduism to the Rosicrucian idea of Ipsissimus. The Avatar has not merely achieved perfection: he was created in Perfection. His mind is created by God to be the perfect medium with which to perceive Him – in a sense He is that God, in human form, which created Him.

He feels the Divine Power naturally in Him – it comes to Him easily. The inspiration running through Him is so great, that He does not just attract disciples or admirers, he inspires great historic religious movements. Christ, Krishna, Buddha – these were all examples of Avatars: but so too are Frater C.R.C. and Babaji, whose influence is more recent and far more subtle.

I meditate a whil on all this, trying to feel what it is like to be an Avatar. In so meditating I feel exalted…

1. lil

I see, in a field of black, the letters l i l shining white, radiating light as if they are holes in a barrier between a place of infinite light, and the darkness where I am now. The light from these letters pours into me, illuminating me from the inside: and I feel my consciousness move into that realm whence the light proceeds…

The mystery of the First Aethyr is the fact of the Fundamental Unity of all things. I am the Shekinah: the Shekinah is the inspiration of all the prophets throughout history; I am that Inspiration – I am One with the prophets. I am my Holy Guardian Angel, as I am everyone else’s HGA. I am the Holy One (the Transcendant God) and “Blessed Be He” (the Immanent God). I let my Glory shine – I am that Glory – so that others may look upon Me and be led to Me. In a similar manner, I am also Love, and I am the source of Love for the whole Universe, so that many may experience Love and thus experience Me.

I meditate on all this awhile, Willing that now I am in fact the power of the First Aethyr, I project its influence out of the same three letters by which I cam in, and into my physical body.

Notes

LIBER XXX AERUM Vel Saecvli Svb Figvra CCCCXVIII, Being of the Angels of the 30 Aethyrs, THE VISION AND THE VOICE.
A True and Faithfull Relation…, (ed. Casaubon), p92.
The Eye in the Triangle, Israel Regardie.
This and other quotes from the yoga sutras are taken from Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, BKS Iyengar.

Bibliography

Casaubon, Meric (editor):A True and Faithfull Relation of What Passed for Many Years Between Dr John Dee and Some Spirits, 1659.

Crowley, Aleister: LIBER XXX AERUM Vel Saecvli Svb Figvra CCCCXVIII, Being of the Angels of the 30 Aethyrs, THE VISION AND THE VOICE, Thelema Publishing Company 1952

Crowley, Aleister: Magick in Theory and Practice.

Iyengar, BKS: Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Thorsons 1993.

Jones, Charles Stansfeld: Crystal Vision through Crystal Gazing, Chicago 1923

Regardie, Israel: The Eye in the Triangle

Sumner, Alex: Can “A O Spare”-Sigils be used in Golden Dawn Magick?, Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition, Spring 2002.