Rituals of HML bear much in
form and tone of the rituals formulated by Crowley, which, in turn,
were derived from grade workings of The Hermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn and from the Masonic-style degree rites used by the OTO before
Crowley was inducted. The most telling feature of the HML rituals
offered below is the Thelemite formulæ DO WHAT THOU WILT SHALL BE
THE WHOLE OF THE LAW and LOVE IS THE LAW, LOVE UNDER WILL, which appear
in both Nexus and Consecration-Dedication.
α. NEXUS OF HORUS/MAAT RITUAL,
131 – 12/3/95
(reprinted with permission from the author)
[The brief ritual, Nexus of Horus/Maat, composed by Aion 131
(ref. http://www.horusmaat.com/nexus.htm)
with commentary My own few additions appear in brackets.]
Needed: Feather, Crystal, Chalice, Red Candle, Wine
0. Banish: Silence. Cast a circle with feather
[a symbol of Maat] counterclockwise with black flames [another symbol
of Maat] that banish chanting: LUTIS NITRA...........
There is a simple method of “field analysis” to determine the nature of
an Astral entity. Since Yesod reflects Tiphereth, the procedure is to
radiate the essence of the Sun of the Hawk [≈ Horus] and the negative
radiance of the Black Flame [≈ Maat]. The allies will match the
radiance intonal or harmonic frequencies; alien entities will flee or
be rendered immobile. The radiance may be engendered by visualizing a
sunsphere bearing the Eye of Horus, and a black flame speckled with
stars. Vibrate the mantram LUTIS NITRA* and your astral body will emit
the envisioned radiance.
_____________________
*Lutis nitra = 654, Ra(6) Hoor(5) Khuit(4); also 456 by metathesis; 456
= IPSOS. [See below, § 2.]
—Nema. “Foundation,” in The Cincinnati Journal of Ceremonial Magick,
Volume I, Issue 5—page 34.
1. The Center: Light the candle with pure light
manifesting, chanting: AUM......... HA!
What does “aumha” mean? The name of this domain consists of the two
Sanskrit words, aum ha, the first and last letters of the (devanagari)
Sanskrit alphabet — thus equivalent to the Greek “Alpha and Omega,” the
beginning and end and, implicitly, the eternity that passes between.
The first, aum, most often written in English as Om, is a sacred
syllable representing the course of breath and the life-cycle —
creation, preservation, destruction — “a symbol both of the Personal
God and of the Absolute” (Swami Vivekananda). It is “at once an
invocation, a benediction, an affirmation, and a promise” (G. A.
Barborka). Ha is an expulsion of breath and a word for the Sun. As a
pun, it is also the Hebrew word for “behold,” etc. One translation of
the phrase aum ha, therefore, might be, “Alpha & Omega, The
Sempiternal Sun.” As you can see, this has nothing at all to do with
computers (or, possibly, has everything to do with computers). It is a
mantra that, for about 25 years, has had deep personal meaning for me.
—WINDOWS SUPPORT CENTER, James A. Eshelman, Proprietor & Webmaster:
“Policies, Personalities & Occasional Curiosities,” at http://www.aumha.org/about.php
[James A. Eshelman is the author of The Mystical & Magical System
of the A.˙.A.˙. : The Spiritual System of Aleister Crowley & George
Cecil Jones Step-by-Step (Los Angeles: College of Thelema, 2000).]
2. The
Circle: Pass the candle from hand-to-hand
clockwise casting the red-flame circle, with each pass everyone
chanting: ABRAHADABRA........
ABRAHADABRA … represents the Great Work complete, and it is therefore
an archetype of all lesser magical operations. It is in a way too
perfect to be applied in advance to any of them.
—Aleister Crowley, Chapter VII, “The Formula of the Holy Graal: of
ABRAHADABRA: “and of certain other Words,” in Magick / Liber ABA §
Magick in Theory and Practice [= BOOK FOUR, PART THREE] (Paris: Lecram
Press, 1929 [actually 1930]); on-line at http://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/aba/chap7.htm
It is unfortunate in some ways that Abrahadabra comes down to us
wrapped in a fairly “pushy” Hebrew packaging, creating a false
impression of either its history or its technical significance in the
moment. To understand why this has occurred, we need to scrutinize the
process of magickal “transmission” itself, since Crowley insists that
this is the means by which he came by his own knowledge of this
magickal formula. It is never really possible to separate out the
transmission from the transmitee in such cases, since the language and
mental habits of the latter will always impact the exact shape and
content of the former. It happens that Aleister Crowley was obsessive
about Hebrew Qaballah throughout his entire career and hardly any of
his written works fail to emphasize it in some pronounced way or
another. This obsession made its mark on the whole discussion of
Abrahadabra in general, which in fact, has almost no significant
relationship to Hebrew Qaballah at all, other than a handful of
makeshift transliterations, proving nothing in the end. Anyone who has
studied the Hebrew language at all will recognize at once that there is
hardly a word of any kind in any language that cannot be traced to some
austere Hebrew phrasing or another. Abrahadabra never once appears in
any classical Qaballistic texts that we know of but rather comes down
to us via an obscure Latin reference to its talismatic applications
among the 3rd Century Gnostics, probably referencing Abraxas (also
Aeon) by all appearances. Referring to it as the “Word of the Aeon” is
thus an impish a play on words, since it is more properly the “Word of
Aeon” in point of historical fact.
—m1thr0s, “Core Meditation ~ Letters,” ABRAHADABRA: THE ALCHEMICAL BOOK
OF MIRRORS, at http://www.abrahadabra.com/coremeditation.letters.htm
Candle back on altar. Pass the
feather around, hand-to-hand, each peering at the flame through the
feather, all chanting: IPSOS..........
Ipsos is the Word of the future aeon of Maat, the Egyptian Goddess of
Truth or Measure. It means ‘By the same mouth’
(from the Greek ‘Ipse’ and ‘Sos’).
—Nema, note 7 to “Liber Pennae Ultim-Atum,” at http://www.horusmaat.com/LPUC.htm
And just as Crowley received his word of the Aeon (thelema) in his
book, so, too, did Nema receive her word, Ipsos. Notice, however, that
I said she received her word, not her word of the Aeon.
— Donald Michael Kraig, “Maat Magick, By Nema,” in New Moon Rising: A
Magicakal Pagan Journal, Issue 45 (1996), at http://www.nmrising.com/public/756.htm
(not found: Dec. 28, 2007)
3. The
Uniting: All touch the base of the chalice
with their left hands, see it glowing with ultraviolet light, all
chanting: AGAPE........
Love enters this discussion because Agape, the Greek word for “Love,”
is a quintessential part of the Law of Thelema. In fact, Thelema and
Agape both evaluate to 93 when computed against the Greek Gematria.
That these concepts are tightly bound and intertwined is a vital
concept to comprehend in the attempt to incorporate the Law of Thelema
into one’s Life.
Love is not a particularly complicated subject, but it is a deeply
important one to the follower of the Law of Thelema.
In essence, Love is here very nearly a synonym for the word “respect.”
If you love your neighbor, then you respect your neighbor, and
everything they stand for. You will, therefore, be inclined to show
them respect, and thus, create no unnecessary conflict with them in
Life.
I interpret the inclusion of Agape in the Law of Thelema as this: While
we are each to exert our Will (Thelema) in our Life, it is to be
tempered by Love (Agape). If an action we are about to take, seemingly
due to our Will to accomplish the task, fails to exhibit Love --
respect -- for another star, then perhaps it is time to review the
action to ensure it really fits our True Will. Love is the law, love
under will. There should never be any conflict between the two
components if we are truly on the right Path.
—Solemnus, “Introduction to Thelema” (2004) at http://solemnus.org/thelema.htm#Love
Without moving the left hands, all
pick up the crystal together using their right hands, see it glowing
with infra-red light, all chanting: THELEMA.......
Thelema (“THEL-ay-mah”) is a Greek word meaning “will” or “intention.”
It is also the name of a new spiritual philosophy which has arisen over
the past several hundred years and is now gradually becoming
established worldwide.
One of the earliest mentions of this philosophy occurs in the classic
Gargantua and Pantagruel written by François Rabelais in 1532.
One episode of this epic adventure tells of the founding of an “Abbey
of Thelema” as an institution for the cultivation of human virtues,
which Rabelais identified as being squarely opposite the prevailing
Christian proprieties of the time. The sole rule of the Abbey of
Thelema was: “Do what thou wilt.” This has become one of the basic
tenets of Thelemic philosophy today.
Although touched upon by various prominent visionary thinkers in the
following few hundred years, the seeds of Thelema sown by Rabelais
eventually came to fruition in the early part of this century when
developed by an Englishman named Aleister Crowley. Crowley was a poet,
author, mountaineer, magician, and member of the occult society known
as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In 1904, while traveling in
Egypt with his wife Rose, Crowley became inextricably involved in a
series of events which he claimed to inaugurate a new aeon of human
evolution. These culminated in April when Crowley entered a state of
trance and wrote down the three chapters of 220 verses which came to be
called The Book of the Law (also known as Liber AL and Liber Legis).
Among other things, this book declared:
“The word of the law is Thelema” and “Do what thou wilt shall be the
whole of the Law.”
—[Vere Chapell] “What Is Thelema?” at http://www.thelema101.com/intro.html
The simplest example of Dr Ireland’s dangerously biased interpretation
of the OTO dogma is shown in his section describing the moral beliefs
of Thelemic Law (ie., the law of the OTO), in which he takes The Book
of the Law as an authoritative guide. Dr Ireland notes these points to
be:
- “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”, which he takes as
meaning, “one must do what one must and nothing else” rather than, “do
as you like, and to hell with anyone that gets in your way”.
- some rejection of traditional, especially Christian, moral
principles, like compassion.
- OTO beliefs in regard to the coming about and
authorship/authority of the text,
He distinctly left out the following, about which The Book of the Law
is just as “prosaically clear” and which are just as prominent in the
text:
- stamping down the wretched and the weak, eg., “stamp down the
wretched & the weak: this is the law of the strong: this is our law
and the joy of the world.” “...on the low men trample in the fierce
lust of your pride, in the day of your wrath” “Ye are against the
people, O my chosen!” “...the Slaves shall serve”
- killing and torturing, warring and avenging for the “god of War
and of Vengeance”, eg., “… ye shall delight to slay”, “force and fire
are of us.”
- sacrifice of animals, children, for worship with blood,
eg.,”Worship me with fire and blood”, “Sacrifice cattle, little and
big: after a child.”
- excess, eg., “enjoy all things of sense and rapture”,
”Exceed!”
In his point 3.1, Thelema as a religion, Dr Ireland writes how, for
Thelemites, “The good and the worthwhile to be encouraged are found in
the unremitting pursuit and the celebration of the individual’s true
inner self.” He clearly neglected to mention that the above-noted
stamping down of the wretched, killing and torturing, avenging and
bloody sacrifice are presented by the text as good and worthwhile and
are seemingly part of the celebration of true self. “This is our law
and a joy to the world”. Thankfully, the second part of his point
reveals more of the OTO’s seditious doctrines. “The bad and harmful to
be rejected by the faithful are laws, creeds, and conventions that
stand in the way of the individual’s attainment of the free, true
self”.
The commentary on The Book of the Law, prominently referred to by
both the OTO’s Chief Executive Steven King and by Dr Ireland, clearly
contradicts the contention by Mr King that its graphic war imagery is
metaphorical. Nevertheless, Dr Ireland’s “expert report” evidently
accepts Mr King’s facile sophistry. This is even when Mr King also says
in his Tribunal Witness Statement that, “The precise interpretation of
‘acceptance’ and what the book itself says is left to the individual to
determine, with reference to Crowley’s exegesis and teachings as was
prescribed in the primary ‘Comment’ to the Book of the Law, another
‘received’ spiritual Thelemic text.”
—Vivienne Legg and Dyson Devine, “‘Expert’ Tribunal Report Agrees with
O.T.O. Propaganda and Fails to List Key Belief-Components of Violence
and Oppression,” at GAIAGUYS:
http://www.gaiaguys.net/OTO.Ireland.16.10.06.htm (removed)
“On 27 July 2007 Legg and Devine were found guilty of religious
vilification and ordered to remove the offensive materials from their
website. They failed to do this and contempt proceedings were
initiated. To ensure their appearance before the Tribunal four police
officers from Victoria travelled more than 1500 kilometres to New South
Wales where Legg and Devine live, and brought them to Melbourne.
Released on bail overnight with orders to appear the next day, they
failed to take the opportunity provided by VCAT to comply with the
Tribunal's orders and on the morning of Wednesday 28 November 2007
Judge Harbison found that their contempt was deliberate. She sentenced
Legg and Devine to nine months imprisonment with no minimum period.” —http://www.wildhunt.org/2007/12/update-thelemites-fight-pedophillia.html
The six syllables purify the six realms of existence in suffering.
For example, the syllable Om purifies the neurotic attachment to bliss
and pride, which afflict the beings in the realm of the gods.
PURIFIES SAMSARIC REALM
Om bliss / pride gods
Ma jealousy /
lust for entertainment jealous gods
Ni passion / desire human
Pe stupidity / prejudice animal
Me poverty /
possessiveness hungry ghost
Hung aggression / hatred hell
—“Om Mani Padme Hum: The Meaning of the Mantra in Tibetan Buddhism” at
DHARMA HAVEN: A HARBOR FROM THE STORMS OF PANIC AND CONFUSION, http://www.dharma-haven.org/
While the power of Horus is one of expansion and brilliance, that of
Maat is of insight and mystery. As Yang & Yin, Androgyne &
Gynander, these Twins transform the two-sided Tree of Life & Death
for the Next Step in evolution, leading eventually towards N’Aton, the
collective global mind of awakened humanity. In practice we have found
that the magicks of Horus are often catalyzed and accelerated by those
of Maat, forming a synergy of illumination and mutation. The Word of
Horus is ABRAHADABRA, and that of Maat is IPSOS.
—“Horus/Maat Lodge F. A. Q,” § WHO IS N’ATON? at http://www.horusmaat.com/HMLFAQ.html#HGA%20N’ATON
With the awakening of the groupmind of N’aton, the wargod aspect of
Horus is transmogrified, from hawk into lion form.
—Orryelle Bascule, “The Book of Going Back By Night,” at
http://www.hermetic.com/wisdom/back-night.html
4. The Becoming/Thanking:
All place fingers to lips in the sign of silence. In silence, each sips
the sacred wine until all are finished. The light is felt within. The
last bit is poured onto the ground, all chanting: GAIA!
Hesiod says that “in the beginning there was chaos, vast and dark
space; then appeared Gaia, the deep breasted earth...”
According to Hesiod, Gaia is the only divinity with well defined
features: from her all things issued.
—”Gaia in Ancient Greek History” at http://www.ozi.com/ourplanet/greeks.html
[OZICOM Web Services]
Gaia theory today is a spectrum of hypotheses, ranging from the
undeniable to the radical.
At one end is the undeniable statement that the organisms on the Earth
have radically altered its composition. A stronger position is that the
Earth’s biosphere effectively acts as if it is a self-organizing system
which works in such a way as to keep its systems in some kind of
equilibrium that is conducive to life. The history of evolution,
ecology and climate show that the exact characteristics of this
equilibrium intermittently have undergone rapid changes, however, which
are believed to have caused extinctions and felled civilisations (see
climate change).
Biologists and earth scientists usually view the factors that stabilize
the characteristics of a period as an undirected emergent property of
the system; as each individual species pursues its own self-interest,
for example, their combined actions tend to have counterbalancing
effects on environmental change.
Opponents of this view sometimes point to examples of life’s actions
that have resulted in dramatic change rather than stable equilibrium,
such as the conversion of the Earth’s atmosphere from a reducing
environment to an oxygen-rich one. However, proponents will point out
that those atmospheric composition changes created an environment much
more suitable to life.
Some go a step further and hypothesize that all lifeforms are part of a
single planetary being called Gaia. In this view, the atmosphere, the
seas and the terrestrial crust would be results of interventions
carried out by Gaia through the coevolving diversity of living
organisms. While the Earth as a unit does not match the generally
accepted biological criteria for life itself (Gaia does not reproduce,
for instance), many scientists would be comfortable characterising the
earth as a single “system”.
—Ellie Crystal. “Gaia Hypothesis” at http://www.crystalinks.com/gaia.html
[CRYSTALINKS]
Then arms raised up, chanting:
TO ME TO ME! The crystal is placed in the chalice
with the feather placed on top.
5. The
Going: DO WHAT THOU WILT
SHALL BE THE WHOLE OF THE LAW. LOVE IS THE LAW, LOVE UNDER
WILL! Blow out the
candle and go.
Thelema—which is Greek for Will—is paired with Agape, the Greek word
for Love. Love, from a mystical point of view, is the drive to achieve
Union, thereby losing the sense of ego-individuality and isolation.
This theme is repeated again and again within Thelema, and is
considered to be the key to accomplishing the Great Work. This is
reflected in the core expression of Thelema from The Book of the Law [=
AL]:
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. (AL I:40)
Love is the law, love under will. (AL I:57)
This notion of divine Love is personified in the Thelemic deities Nuit
and Hadit, who represent (respectively) the Union of the
infinitely-expanded Goddess of the Night Sky and the
infinitely-condensed masculine Point, the hidden Flame in the being of
all that lives. Their Union results in the birth of Ra-Hoor-Khuit (or
Horus), the Hawk-Headed sun god, called the Crowned and Conquering
Child.
—Fr. Ash (John Bowie). “Thelema, Magick, & Crowley” (2006)
at http://thelema.magick.googlepages.com/
β. CONSECRATION-DEDICATION RITE:
93/MAAT by Nema
(reprinted with permission from the author)
[While the title of this ritual suggests that it is directed toward
Maat, as with Aion’s Nexus, it is fully within the Double Current, as
the god-forms invoked indicate. The Consecration-Dedication Rite was
composed by Nema and included in “Kingdom,” in The Cincinnati Journal
of Ceremonial Magick, Volume 1 – Issue V (1983), pages 28-31; it also
appears in Silverstar: A Journal of New Magick, Issue 5 (Spring Equinox
2006), page 22, at http://horusmaat.com/silverstar/SILVERSTAR5-PG22.htm.]
It is suggested the
celebrant bathe and rinse the body with the traditional hyssop-water as
a pre-ceremonial ablution/preparation. The Temple shall be appointed
and arranged as follows: The altar shall be bare.
The Circle, which is the boundary of the Universe, shall be scribed
astrally. About its circumference are arranged the following: To the South, the Wand and
candleflame. To the West, the Chalice and vessel
of water. To the North, the Pantacle and a
small mound of earth. To the East, the Sword and the
feather. Central is a vessel of oil (pure
olive oil or one’s personal scent); small quantities, in appropriate
containers, of salt, rice, and milk; one’s “badge of office” – robe,
crown, or ring; a vessel of wine.
Enter naked. Approach the Circle from
the South, in the Sign of the Enterer. Walk the Circle deosil, and at
the East, assume the gesture of Heru-Pa-Kraat. Banish, according to the
rite given previously. Face the center of the Circle and proclaim: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole
of the Law. “By the same mouth that declares the
Law, shall the Will be spoken and the Work be vowed. “THELEMA! AGAPE!
ABRAHADABRA! IPSOS!” Extend the arms upward, palms to the
sky. “To NUIT! “By HADIT! “In the Name of RA-HOOR-KHUIT!”
Proceed to the South, stand before
Wand and candle flame, facing outward. Take up the Wand in the right
hand, pass it through the flame, hold it aloft, saying: “This Wand is the weapon of my Will.
It is the phallus of my spirit, the sceptre of my Kingdom.” Turn to the center of the Circle,
pour a few drops of oil upon the Wand, and return to the South, facing
outward. Rub the oil into the Wand: as you do so, chant then Name
SHAITAN-AIWASS—loudly at first, then diminishing to a whisper. Breathe
the whispered Name into the Wand as you anoint it. Then: “In the Name SHAITAN-AIWASS, I will
work for the manifestation of the Law of Thelema. I will work for the
establishment of Truth, Balance and Justice in the Kingdom. I will work
for the evolution of the Universe.”
Keep silence for a space, then, with
Wand in hand, proceed to the West. Place the Wand before the Chalice.
Take up the Chalice, rinse it with the water, hold it aloft, saying: “This Chalice is the weapon of my
Love. It is the yoni of my spirit, the Graal of my Kingdom.” Proceed
with the anointing as with the Wand, this time using the Name
BABALON-MAAT. Then: “In the Name BABALON-MAAT, I love
thee, NUIT, all that is, and is not! I love thee, Lord PAN, god of
living beauty! I love thee, Man, sleeper in the night of pain and
madness.”
Keep silence for a space, then, with
Wand and Chalice, proceed to the North. Place the weapons before the
Pantacle. Take up the Pantacle, rest it upon the earth, then hold it
aloft, saying: “This Pantacle is the weapon of my
Bodies. It is the Word of my spirit, the seal of my Kingdom.” Proceed with the anointing as above,
using the Name NUIT-HADIT. Then: “In the Name NUIT-HADIT, I am King
and Mage. I am Priest, Hermit, Warrior, and Fool. I am the Dancer of
the Mask; the Mask conceals nothing.”
Keep silence for a space. Then, with
the three weapons, proceed to the East. Place them before the Sword.
Take up the Sword, touch it to the feather, hold it aloft, saying: “This Sword is the weapon of my Mind.
It is the sentinel of my spirit, the warrior of my Kingdom.” Proceed
with the anointing as above, using the Name HERU-RA-HA. Then: “In the Name HERU-RA-HA, I know that
we dream as we dance. I know the Law that governs the play of the
dream. I know that I am as much illusion as the rest of the Dream.”
Leaving the weapons assembled in the
East, return to the center. Anoint the Chakras with the oil, saying: (At base of spine) “I dedicate and
consecrate my body of flesh to the Great Work. I will keep it in
strength and health to this end.” (Genitals) “I dedicate and consecrate
my astral body and sexual power to the Great Work. I will make love
only under Will, and always to NUIT.” (Navel) “I dedicate and consecrate my
etheric body and my Chi to the Great Work. I will fight as warrior and
brother, and will strike low and hard.” (Heart) “I dedicate and consecrate my
complete identity, Inner and Outer, to the Great Work. All that I am,
yea, to the last drop of blood, I pour into the Chalice of our Lady
BABALON.” (Throat) “I dedicate and consecrate
my speech and my silence to the Great Work. I will speak only Truth,
and keep silence forever within.” (Third Eye ) “I dedicate and
consecrate my vision to the Great Work. I will behold all things with
clarity, making no difference between any one thing and any other
thing, soever.” (Back of skull) “I dedicate and
consecrate my Observer, the True Self, to the Great Work. I will accept
my non-existence, and again become Tao.” (Top of skull) Silence.
Put on the ring/crown/robe. Take up
the vessels of salt, rice and milk. Beginning at the south, cast a few
grains/drops beyond the circle at each compass-point, saying. “To thee, SHAITAN-AIWASS, are the
kingdoms of the Kingdom.” (West) “To thee, BABALON-MAAT, are
the kingdoms of the Kingdom.” (North) “To thee, NUIT-HADIT, are the
kingdoms of the Kingdom.” (East) “To thee, HERU-RA-HA, are the
kingdoms of the Kingdom.”
Return to the center with the
vessels. Take the wine to the East. Pour wine into the Chalice. Take up
the Wand, and proceed with VIII°, making sure the Elixir flows onto
the Wand. Transfer the Elixir to the wine:
using the Wand, stir to commingle. Dip the Sword-point into the
Chalice, so the fluid runs down the blade. Spill a few drops upon the
Pantacle. Turn to the center of the Circle,
holding the Chalice in the left hand, the Wand in the right, and
declare: “I will pursue the Great Work to its
completion. I will continue from life to life, from world to world;
yea, until the end of Time, until the evolution of the Universe be
complete. This is my Work, my Word, my Will, my Love.” “ABRAHADABRA” “IPSOS.”
Drink from the Chalice, to the final
drop. Place the weapons upon the Altar. “So mote it be. “Love is the law, love under will.”
The closing banishment is done by
making the Mark of the Beast at each station deosil, as follows: South:
In the Name SHAITAN S. W.:
In the Name AIWASS West:
In the Name BABALON N. W.:
In the Name MAAT North:
In the Name NUIT N. E.:
In the Name HADIT East:
In the Name RA-HOOR-KHUIT S. E.:
In the Name HERU-PA-KRAAT.
NOTES on the names in the Consecration-Dedication Rite from the
glossary in Kenneth Grant’s Aleister Crowley & the Hidden God
(New York: Samuel Weiser, 1974):
• Aiwass : “A praeter-human intelligence with whom
Crowley was in contact at various times throughout his life. In 1904,
Aiwass communicated The Book of the Law (AL) which forms the basis of
Crowley’s Cult of ‘Do What Thou Wilt’” (—Aleister Crowley & the
Hidden God, page 202).
• Babalon : “The curious orthography stems from The
Book of the Law, for Babalon is the formula of Babylon, the Scarlet
Woman of the Apocalypse before the Great Whore had become the scapegoat
of the later Osiran paternalistic cults” (—Aleister Crowley & the
Hidden God, page 205).
• Hadit : “…represents the infinitely small yet
supremely potent point…which, in union with Nuit, generates the
manifest universe (Ra-Hoor-Khuit)” (—Aleister Crowley & the Hidden
God, page 209).
• Heru-pa-Kraat, or Hoor-paar-Kraat : Horus the
Child. Solar God, whose minister is Aiwass.
• Maat : “The Egyptian goddess of Truth and Justice”
(—Aleister Crowley & the Hidden God, page 213).
• Nuit : represents the infinitely vast space,
counter-part to the infinitely small point of Hadit. She is “Goddess of
the night-sky, frequently depicted by the ancient Egyptians in the form
of a woman arched over the earth, her body sewn with stars” (—Aleister
Crowley & the Hidden God, page 217).
• Ra-Hoor-Khuit : twin, or father, of
Hoor-paar-Kraat. “Ra-Hoor-Khuit stands for the projection of energy
which begets the ‘child’ [Hoor-paar-Kraat], the dwarf- or bud-will in
the womb of Nuit, the child that bears the imprint of that will and
emerges as Horus…” (—Aleister Crowley & the Hidden God, page 223).
• Shaitan : “The biblical version of this god as
Satan is a degradation of the meaning if the Power which it originally
represented and which Crowley made the central formula of his Cult”
(—Aleister Crowley & the Hidden God, page 226).
Regarding VIII°, Grant writes (Nightside of Eden [London: Frederick
Muller Limited, 1977], page 204), “Broadly speaking, the VIII° is
of a masturbatory nature…,” though versions of this degree exist
involving two operators (as in “VIII° of Priestess by Priest” via
tongue or via hand and “VIII° of Priest by Priestess” via mouth or
via hand). Grant continues, “…the IX° involves coitus proper, and
the XI° comports of the lunar current.”
