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entifies the direct mystical ascent to tiphareth from malkuth, the physical. netzach: the seventh emanation on the tree of life. netzach is regarded as the sphere of creativity, subjectivity, and emotions, a very clear contrast to the sphere of hod, which represents intellect and rational thought. netzach is the sphere of love and spiritual passion and is therefore associated with such deities as aphrodite, venus, hathor, and others that personify these qualities. hod: the eighth emanation on the tree of life. hod is associated with the planet mercury and represents intellect and rational thought. it also represents the structuring and measuring capacities of the mind as opposed to the emotional and intuitional aspects of netzach. hod has no exact parallel in the tarot, but is closely link

18276066 GRIMM JACOB TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY VOL 1

was a friend and kinsman of the former. but the two get mixed up. in loki, sa er flestu iuu raesr (sn. 4g, who devises the most of ill, we see also the giant demon who, like hephaestus, sets the gods a-laughing; his limping reminds us of hephsestus and the lame fire (n. cap. 76, his chaining of prometheus's, for loki is put in chains like his son fenrir. as hephaestus forges the net for ares and aphrodite, loki too prepares a net (sn. 69, in which he is caught himself. most salient of all is the analogy betw^een hephaestus being hurled down from olympus by zeus (ii. 1, 591-3) and the devil being cast out of heaven into hell by god (ch. xxxiii, devil, though the edda neither relates such a fall of loki, nor sets him forth as a cunning smith and master of dwarfs, probably the stories of lok

nktilblem. in the nursery-tales she sots the girls sewing and spinning like holda and berhta, and ilolda's snow appears to mean the same as mary's snow (p. 268. before so close a contact of the two names i pause, doubting with which of them to connect the strong and incontestable similarity of certain divine names in the non-teutonic [aryan] languages. first of all, an oboh. gloss gives priye for aphrodite; taking into account the goth, frijon, the ohg. friudil (lover, mhg. vriedel, and the slav, priyatel (friend. boh. pijtel, pol. przyiaciel, it must have meant either freyja the goddess of love and fruitfulness, or frigg the divine mother and patroness of marriage. in sanskrit also pri is to love, priyas a friend, eamapriya dear-to-lakshmi= lotus, yamapriya pleasing-to-yama= ficus indica

; an old heathen reminiscence came over him, as once before about doves perching on shoulders (p. 148. at the same time, as he names only the swine, not the dogs, it is possible that he meant halsmeni to be a mere amplification of' merigrioton' pearls. but this legend of the goddess's necklace gains yet more in importance, when we place it by the side of greek myths. brisinga men is no other than aphrodite's 6pijiovenus 88, and the chain is her girdle, the kearogods and mortals. how she loosens it off her neck diro ar7]6ea(piv) and lends it to hero to charm her zeus with, is told in a lay that teems with world-old myths, ii. 14, 214-8. as the ifxdaphrodite, the n

6upafreyja, especially as the t/u.a9 is spoken of directly after? hephaistos (vulcan, who built his mother the curiously contrived bedchamber, answers to the dwarfs who forged the necklace for freyja. the identity of frigg and freyja with here and aphrodite must after this mythus be as plain as day. 10. folla. sindgund. another thing that betrays the confusion of frigg with freyja is, that the goddess folld, now proved by the merseburg poem to belong to our german mythology, is according to it a sister of frua, while the ojst. falla again is handmaid to frigg, though she takes rank and order among the asynjor themselves (sn. 36-7^ her offic

ted (see suppl. two lays in the edda describe the way to the lower world, the^ the ancients also painted demeter, as the wrathful earth-goddess, mark (pans. 8, 42. o. miiller's p]umenides 168, conf. archteol. p. 509 the black demeter at phigalia, and sometimes even her daughter persephone, the fair maid doomed to the underworld^ furva proserpina' hor. od. 2, 13 (censorin. de die nat. c. 17. blade aphrodite (melanis) is spoken of by pausanias 2, 2. 8, g. 9, 27 and by athenanis bk. 13; we know the black diana of ephesus, and that in the i\lid. ages black madonnas were both painted and carved, the holy virgin appearing tlien as a sorrowing goddess of earth or niglit; such at loretto, naples, einsiedeln, wurzburg (altd. w. 2, 209. 28g 'at oettingen (goethe's corresp. with a child 2, 184, at pu

dm. 15, 8. ginfgest, firmissimus 176, 29. ginf?esten god, terrae dominus 211, 10. garsecges gin, oceani amplitudo 205, 3. the homeric pela= pasi(o, goth, rajnzo) beautifully expresses the power of the gods; whatever they do or undertake comes easy to them, their life glides along free from toil, while mortal men labour and are heavy laden: deol pela ^coovre'i, ii. 6, 138. od. 4, 805. 5, 122. when aphrodite wishes to remove her favourite alexander from the perils of battle, tov s' i^ijpira 'acfipobltr) pela fidx\ m cr r e ^eo, ii. 3, 381; the same words are applied to apollo, when he snatches hector away from achilles 20, 443. the wall so laboriously built by the greeks he overturns pela fidxa, as a boy at play would a sand-heap 15, 362. with a mere breath trvoifj, blowing a little /ca p,d\

owering of the brows or nodding with the head (veveiv, karaveiecv kvaverjacv eir cx^puai ii. 1, 527. 17, 209) is the regular expression of zeus's will: ke^axfj karavevaofxai, ddavdroicri fieyicrrov rek/jlcop, ii. 1, 524. in refusing, he draws the head back (dvavevei. thor's indignant rage is shown by sinking the eyebrows over the eyes (siga bryunar ofan fyrir 1 0. mi'iller's archseol. p. 515- and aphrodite throws her iri'jx^f xevkcl) round ieneas. tran3. suape. anger. 323 angun, sn. 50, displaying gloomy brows and shaking the beard. obviously the two gods, zeus and donar, have identical gestures ascribed to them for expressing favour or anger. they are the glowering deities, who have the avenging thunder at their command; tliis was shown of donar, p. 177, and to zeus is given the grim lour

mand; tliis was shown of donar, p. 177, and to zeus is given the grim louring look beiva s' virohpa iscov, 11. 15, 13, he above all is the fj,ey oxdi]aaposeidon of the dingy locks (8, 208. 15, 184. zeus again is distinguished by beaming eyes rpeirev oaae aphrodite has ofijxata fiapfiaipovra, 3, 397, twinkling, shimmering eyes (see suppl. figures of greek divinities show a circle of rays and a nimbus round the head^ on indo-grecian coins mithras has commonly a circular nimbus with pointed rays^ in other representations the rays are wanting. mao (deus lunus) has a halfmoon behind his shoulders; aesculapius too had rays about his head. in what centur

144. so artemis (diana) is lo-x^eaipa, rejoicing in arrows, 6, 428. 21, 480. od. 11, 198, at the limping of hephaestus, the assembly of gods bursts into acr/seo-to^ yexco, uncontrolled laughter, ii. 1, 599; but a gentle smile(/meisai) is peculiar to zeus, here and aj^hrodite, as^ andreas mid elene p. xxxvii^ helbl. 7, 518: diu warheit des crlachet, truth lauglis at that. ml kill. gait. pace, 62^ aphrodite's beauty is expressed by ^ix.o/x/zets/j's, smile-loving (ii. 4, 10. 5, 375, so is freyja's on the contrary by' gnltfogt/ fair in weeping (see suppl. we have to consider next the manner in which the gods put themselves in motion and become visible to the eyes of mortals. we find they have a gait and step like the human, only far mightier and swifter. the usual expressions are /3f> i/jlev

arrior, a herald, an old man, or they made themselves known to their hero himself, but not to others. in such a case they stand before, heside or behind him trapd, ii. 2, 279. eyyvdi, od. 1, 120. dyxoo, ii. 2, 172. 3, 129. 4, 92. 5, 123. irpoaeev 4, 129. oindev 1, 197; athene leads by the hand through the battle, and wards the arrows off 4, 52; she throws the dreadful egis round achilles 18, 204; aphrodite shields aeneas by holding her veil before him 5, 315; and other heroes are removed from the midst of the fray by protecting deities (p. 320. venus makes herself visible to hippomenes alone, ovid met. 10, 650. now they appear in friendly guise, od. 7, 201 sleep. sickness. laughter. 331 seq; now clothed in terror)(a\e7rol be deol ^aiveadat ivapyek, ii. 20, 131 (see suppl. the iliad, 14, 28

ep than a bird, sn. 30. and from this sway of sleep over the gods follows again, what was maintained above, that of death: death is the brother of sleep. besides, the gods fell a prey to diseases. freyr was sick with love, and his great hugsott (mind-sickness) awakened the pity of all the gods. osinn, niorsr and freyr, according to the yngl. saga 10. 11. 12, all sink under sicknesses (sottdausir. aphrodite and ares receive wounds, ii. 5, 330. 858; these are quickly healed [yet not without medical aid. a curious story tells how the lord god, having fallen sick, descends from heaven to earth to get cured, and comes to arras; there minstrels and merryandrews receive commands to amuse him, and one manages so cleverly, that the lord bursts out laughing and finds himself rid of his distemper^ tl

ir and loki travelled in company; medieval legend makes god the father seek a lodging, or the saviour and st. peter, or merely three angels (as the servian song does, vuk 4, no. 3. most frequent however are the solitary a^ipearanccs of gods, who, invoked or uninvoked, suddenly bring succour to their favoured ones in every time of need; the greek epos is quite full of this. athene, poseidon, ares, aphrodite mingle with the warriors, warning, advising, covering; and just as often do jniary and saints from heaven appear in christian legends. the lithuanian perkunos also walks on earth (see suppl. but when they descend, they are not always visible; you may hear the car of the god rush by, and not get sight of him bodily; like ghosts the blessed gods flit past the human eye unnoticed, till the

e son of sigeher was killed when young^ the servian]\larko was three hundred years old, almost like the giants of old. on the other hand, the life of heroes is enfeebled by union with goddesses and superhuman females. examples will be given, when the valkyrs are discussed; the belief of the greeks is expressed in a remarkable passage of the hymn to venus 190, where anchises, after he has embraced aphrodite, fears that he shall lead a stricken life afj, v7]v6) among men: evel ov ^io6u\fxio; avi)p fyiyvetac, oare oeal'i evvd^erai aoavutgcn. the goddess does not conceal, that age will come on him apace, and that zeus's thunderbolt will maim him if he boast of her favours. the story of staufenberger and the sea-fairy is founded on similar notions. another thing in which the condition of heroes

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT AND MAGICK SPELLS

ympathetic soul; but you might be surprised to learn that she would, according to myth, have her rejected lovers torn apart by her hounds. so, when setting up your icons, read about them first, and decide which are the attributes that will assist your magical workings. some deities fit into more than one category, so i have listed them under their most significant one. deities of love and passion aphrodite aphrodite is the cretan and greek goddess of love and beauty. her name means 'born from the foam. she can be invoked for the gentle attraction of new love as well as for sexuality and passion (hence the term 'aphrodisiac. aphrodite is especially potent in candle and mirror spells, romance and for love rituals involving the sea. artemis artemis is the twin sister of apollo, the young gree

c. aphrodite is especially potent in candle and mirror spells, romance and for love rituals involving the sea. artemis artemis is the twin sister of apollo, the young greek sun god, and is goddess of chastity, virginity, the hunt, the moon and nature. although a virgin goddess, she also presides over childbirth. because of her connection with the hunt, she is altogether a more active goddess than aphrodite if you are seeking love or, perhaps, trying to encourage a reluctant lover of either sex or win love under difficult circumstances. she is perfect for outdoor love spells and for casting your love net wide to attract an as yet unknown lover. freyja freyja is the viking goddess of love and sexuality and can be invoked for rituals to increase confidence in inner beauty and worth, for the i

de to attract an as yet unknown lover. freyja freyja is the viking goddess of love and sexuality and can be invoked for rituals to increase confidence in inner beauty and worth, for the increase of passion and for fertility in every aspect. a witch goddess, she is potent for all magick, especially astral projection and crystal and gem magick. venus venus, the goddess of love, is the roman form of aphrodite and by her liaison with mercury gave birth to cupid. although she had many lovers, she was the goddess of chastity in women and is a joybringer, and so represents not only sexual pleasure, but also innocent love and especially love in the springtime. her planetary associations mean she is the focus in all kinds of love rituals. as the evening star, venus takes on a warrior aspect and so

work or effort, for all mothering rituals and as a protectress of animals. innana innana was a sumerian goddess, known as the queen of heaven, who evolved into the babylonian goddess ishtar. innana was goddess of beauty, abundance, fertility and passion, famed for her loveliness and her lapis lazuli necklaces. she was the first goddess of the morning and evening stars, a legacy that has passed to aphrodite and venus. like many of the mother goddess icons, she descended into the underworld annually to face and overcome many trials, to bring back to life her shepherd god consort dumuzi. ishtar ishtar, the babylonian version of innana, also descended into the underworld each year to restore her consort tammuz to life. she was a fierce goddess of weapons and war. in ancient babylon, a sacred m

alth, material goods, creativity and domestic protection. hephaestus hephaestus, greek god of fire and metal-work, was thrown from mount olympus by his father zeus because he took the part of his mother hera in a quarrel; as a result of the fall, he became lame. he created armour, weapons and jewels for the gods in his workshop beneath the volcanic mount etna, in sicily, and as a reward was given aphrodite as his unwilling bride. he was among the least charismatic of the gods, but his roman counterpart, vulcan, fashioned jupiter's thunderbolts. hephaestus is patron of metal-workers in much of the western world and in the middle east from where his cult originated. he is effective in all rituals for craftsmanship, for the acquisition of wealth and treasures, for the development of skills an

ent to a salad and they will absorb the protection. a protective ritual with empowered salt* place the salt in a small ceramic dish on your altar and light a pure beeswax candle at the four main compass points around the edges of the altar. beeswax has a long tradition in magick: it was sacred to the mother goddess and later the virgin mary. demeter, goddess of the grain, was called queen bee and aphrodite's symbol at her hive-shaped shrine in eryx was a gold honeycomb. her high priestess was always called melissa, latin for bee* beginning at the north of your circle, light your elemental candles. at each quarter of the circle say: demeter, aphrodite, melissa, pure mother bee, charge with thy light this salt, to enfold my home (workplace/journey) with thy golden mantle of protection. you m

destructive lovers and possessiveness. also like the moon, the spells of venus are potent for fertility and for matters of women's health. venus is sometimes known as the morning or evening star and at her brightest she is the most brilliant object in the sky besides the sun and moon. for this reason, in many cultures she took the name of the goddess of beauty. she was ishtar to the babylonians, aphrodite to the greeks and her viking counterparts are the goddess frigg, the mother goddess, and freyja, maiden goddess of beauty and love, after one or both of whom friday is named. spells at the hour of venus are especially good for new love and the growth of self-love, for if we do not love ourselves we cannot love others creatively. element: earth colour: green, pink crystals: amethyst, emer

ALEE J BOOK OF AIWASS

to be worn about the neck. you must be specific concerning the material the amulet is to be made from, its design, the kind of protection you desire. aiwass, lord egan's daemonic form, grants one astral projection experience. lucifer grants increased intelligence. pan (priapus) grants one sexual encounter with whomever you desire. bacchus grants that your unpaid debts shall be brought up to date. aphrodite (venus) grants the perfect male partner shall come to you. harpocrates grants the power of invisibility. hermes grants healing for a friend, loved one or relative. amon grants rain where you reside for two days. thoth grants you clairvoyance and clairaudience- the ability to see and hear spirits. athena grants clairsentience- experiencing realities or entities via physical senses. once m

ALEISTER CROWLEY ABSINTHE THE GREEN GODDESS

opalescence of absinthe is some occult link with this mystery of the rainbow? for undoubtedly one does indefinably and subtly insinuate the drinker in the secret chamber of beauty, does kindle his thoughts to rapture, adjust his point of view to that of the artists, at least to that degree of which he is originally capable, weave for his fancy a gala dress of stuff as many-colored as the mind of aphrodite. oh beauty! long did i love thee, long did i pursue thee, thee elusive, thee intangible! and lo! thou enfoldest me by night and day in the arms of gracious, of luxurious, of shimmering silence. iii. the prohibitionist must always be a person of no moral character; for he cannot even conceive of the possibility of a man capable of resisting temptation. still more, he is so obsessed, like

ALEISTER CROWLEY MAGICK IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

last judgment: 32 :sebek, mako :brahama :32 "bis :satem, ahapshi, nephthys:(prithivi: ameshet :31 "bis :asar:(akasa: 310& 311 table i: xxxiv: xxxv :key scale: some greek gods: some roman gods: 0 :pan: 1 :zeus, iacchus :jupiter: 2 :athena, uranus :janus: 3 :cybele, demeter, rhea, here :juno, cybele, saturn, hecate: 4 :poseidon :jupiter: 5 :ares, hades :mars: 6 :iacchus, apollo, adonis :apollo: 7 :aphrodite, nike :venus: 8 :hermes :mercury: 9 :zeus (as air, diana of :diana (as moon: ephesus (as phallic stone: 10 :persephone (adonis, psyche :ceres :11 :zeus :jupiter: 12 :hermes :mercury: 13 :artemis, hecate :diana: 14 :aphrodite :venus: 15 :athena :mars, minerva: 16:(here :venus: 17 :castor& pollux, apollo the :casto& pollux (janus: diviner: 18 :apollo the charioteer :mercury: 19 :demeter (b

sophus, that although his work will be harder his reward will be greater if he choose a deity most remote from his own nature. this method is harder and higher than that of liber e. for a simple object as there suggested is of the same nature as the commonest things of life, while even the meanest deity is beyond uninitiated human understanding. on the same plane, too, venus is nearer to man than aphrodite, aphrodite than isis, isis than babalon, babalon than nuit. let him decide therefore according to his discretion on the one hand and his aspiration on the other; and let not one overrun<equinox has "outrun> his fellow. 42 "further concerning the value of this method- certain objections arise. firstly, in the nature of all human love is illusion, and a certain blindness. no

ALEISTER CROWLEY MAGICK WITHOUT TEARS

s of he wearer, is a dynamic portrait of the individual, while the pantacle, his universe, is a static portrait of him? and that, you pursue flattering, is why you preferred to call the weapon of earth (in the tarot) the disk, emphasizing its continual whirling movement rather than the pantacle of coin, as is more usual. once again, exquisite child of our father the archer of light and of seaborn aphrodite, your well-known acumen has "nicked the ninety and nine and one over" as browning says when he (he too) alludes to the tarot. magic without tears get any book for free on: www.abika.com 140 as you will have gathered from the above, a talisman is a much more restricted idea; it is no more than one of the objects in his pantacle, one of the arrows in the quiver of his lamen. as, then, you

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE LOST CONTINENT

priests and high priestesses were restricted in number to eleven times thirty-three in any one 'house. to them were entrusted the final secrets of atlas, and to them was confided the conduct of the experiments in which every will was bound up* the colour of the atlanteans was very various, though the hair was invariably of a fiery chestnut with bluish reflections. one might see women whiter than aphrodite, others tawny as cleopatra, others yellow as tu-chi, others of a strange, subtle blue like the tattooed faces of chin women, others again red as copper. green was however a prohibited hue for women, and red was not liked in men. violet was rare, but highly prized, and children born of that colour were specially reared by the high priestesses. however, in one part of the body all the wome

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE OLD AND NEW COMMENTARIES TO LIBER AL

l; whiskey for the dour temperament and damp cold climate of the scot. sex-expression, too, depends on climate and so on, so that we must interpret the law to suit a socrates, a jesus, and a burton, or a marie antoinette and a de lamballe, as well as our own don juans and faustines. with this expansion, to the honour and glory of them, of their natures, we acclaim therefore our helpers, dionysus, aphrodite, apollo, wine, woman, and song. intoxication, that is, ecstasy, is the key to reality. it is explained in "energized enthusiasm "the equinox" i(9) that there are three gods whose function is to bring the soul to the realization of its own glory: dionysus, aphrodite, apollo; wine, woman, and song. the ancients, both in the highest civilizations, as in greece and egypt, and in the most pri

as a star and set a guard of water in every abyss. w when distinct from u represents the operation of choice 'u" does this to some extent (will, word, way- also certain secret ones concealed the light of purity in themselves, protecting it from the persecutions. o the breath concentrated and directed. as to i as magic is to mysticism- likewise also did certain sons and daughters of hermes and of aphrodite, more openly g (hard) opening as if to devour (soft- but the enemy confused them. they pretended to conceal that light, that they might betray it, and profane it. z an irritated or excited form of s, emphasizing elements of anger and alarm- yet certain holy nuns concealed the secret in songs upon the lyre. b bursting forth. phallus and vulva. kissing* now did the horror of time pervert a

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 1

m the sinews of the fallen, and rottenness from the charnel-house of might. o reason! thou hast become as a vulture feasting off the corpse of a king as it floats down the dark waters of acheron. nay! not so grand a sight, but as an old, wizened woman, skaldy and of sagging breast, who in the solitude of her "latrina" cuddles and licks the oleograph of a naked youth. o adonis, rest in the arms of aphrodite, seek not the hell-fouled daughter of ceres, who hath grown hideous in the lewd embrace of the serpent-god, betrayer of the knowledge of good and of evil. behold her bulging belly and her shrivelled breasts, full of scale and scab "bald, rotten, abominable" her tears no longer blossom into the anemones of spring; 184 for their purity has left them, and they are become as the bilge which

es, of the gods, and of the goddesses, united in one form. i am she who was, who is, and will be; my form is one, my name is manifold; under the palm-trees, and in the deserts, in the valleys, and on the snowy mountains, mankind pays me homage, and thunders forth praises to my name. yet i am nameless in the deep, as amongst the lightsome mountains of the sky. some call me mother of the gods, some aphrodite of the seas of pearl, some diana of the golden nets, some proserpina queen of darkness, some hecate mistress of enchantments, some istar of the boat of night, some miriam of the cavern, and others yet again isis, veiled mother of mystery. i am she who cometh in unto all men, and if not here, then shalt thou behold me amidst the darkness of acheron, and as queen in the palaces of styx. i

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 5

hb:aleph cum hb:heh hb:vau hb:heh hb:yod conjunctum "there are three contemplations as it were breaths in the human mind, that "is the abyss of hell: the first is called" nu epsilon kappa rho omicron sigma, the "second" pi upsilon rho alpha mu iota sigma, and the third "phi alpha lambda lambda omicron sigma" these are the watery reflexions of the three enthusiasms; those of apollo "dionysys, and aphrodite" the whole star is nechesh and messiach, the name" hb:heh hb:yod hb:heh hb:aleph" joined "with "hb:heh hb:vau hb:heh hb:yod" 7 liber hhh sub figura cccxli. continet capitula tres: mmm, aaa, et sss. i m m m "i remember a certain holy day in the dusk of the year, in the dusk of the equinox of osiris, when first i beheld thee visibly; when first the dreadful issue was fought out; when the i

to accompany us in imagination to the sovereign nursery of wisdom and initiation, to the holy land of the uraeus serpent, to the land of isis and osiris, of the pyramids and the nile, even to khem, more magnificent in ruin than all other lands are in plenitude of their glory. 120 a nocturne in the little cleft of the rocks whence life first sprang to birth, by the secret shadowy molten sea, where aphrodite sprang to greet the sun, low voices murmur: shadowy under-world in the void of time; light song of erebus on the lips of a courtesan of rome- ah! list! a wandering singer caught the light o' the stars on his lips, and the sun-dawn of the world in his heart. for i that dwelt within the city of time was lost in a cloudy dawn; the silken veil of dew that clothed the green grass of the field

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 2

int action the number of manifestation- 4. in the worlds- assiah: in the taro, the princess- the throne of the spirit: in the tetragram, the he final, and in symbolic language- the daughter: in the cycle of life (birth, life, death, resurrection, the forth; in the keys of the book universal, the empress, kappa-omicron-rho-eta kappa-omicron-sigma-mu-omicron-upsilon, the virgin of the world, venus, aphrodite: centrum in trigonis centri- by whatsoever of a myriad names we call her, still the same in spirit, the same in number and in form! and this number is herein formulated by the concentration of the three in one. 3+ 1= 4. now in this figure ii. we behold six certain paths; and in six days did 172 god create the heavens and the earth. and the total numeration of its numbers is the perfect n

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 4

h the usual two figure result. 3. astral vision.186 i found myself in a boiling sea with geysers spouting around me. suddenly monsters shaped like lions and bulls and dragons rose from the deep, and about them sped many fiery angels, and titanic god-forms plunged and wheeled and rose amongst the waters. above all was built a white temple of marble through which a rose-flame flickered. there stood aphrodite with a torch in one hand and a cup in the other,187 and above her hovered archangels. then suddenly all was an immense void, and as i looked into it i beheld the dawn of creation. gusts of liquid fire flamed and whirled through the darkness. then nothing but the brilliance of fire and water. i was away fifteen minutes. 4. seven minutes breathing exercise fifteen seconds each way (breathi

ALEX SANDERS THE KING OF THE WITCHES

rcle is formed and set up with symbols for. the guardians of the watchtowers and incense burners. within the circle the altar is set up and laid with the witch weapons, with howls of consecrated salt and water, and fresh flowers. the first invocations are made to bring the power, and the high priest says 'listen to the words of the great mother who was of old also called among men artemis, diana, aphrodite, ariapxod and by many other names 'at my.altar, whenever you have need of anything, once a. month, and better it be when the moon.is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of me whp am queen of all the witches. there shall ye assemble. ye shall be free from slavery, naked in your rites, sing, feast and dance. my law is love unto all beings. mine is the cup

ALEXANDRIAN BOOK OF SHADOWS OCCULT

(and many more) for published versions: m janet and stewart farrar the witches' way m janet and stewart farrar eight sabbats for witches m stewart farrar what witches do m the grimoire of lady sheba l the charge (prose version) hp stands to hps's left; both face coven. hp: listen to the words of the great mother; she who of old was also called among men artemis, astarte, athene, dione, melusine, aphrodite, cerridwen, cybele, arianrhod, isis, dana, bride and by many other names. at her altars the youth of lacedaemon in sparta made due sacrifice. hps: whenever ye have need of anything, once in the month, and better it be when the moon is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of me, who am queen of all the witcheries. there shall ye assemble, ye who are fain

owest the mystery; that if that which thou seekest thee findest not within thee, thou wilt never find it without thee. for behold, i have been with thee from the beginning; and i am that which is attained at the end of desire. notes l lots of published sources eg. janet and stewart farrar's the witches' way the charge (verse version) hps: all ye assembled in my sight, bow before my spirit bright. aphrodite, arionrhod, lover of the horned god, mighty queen of witchery and night. morgan, etoine, nisene, diana, bridgid, melusine, am i named of old by men. artemis and cerridwen, hell's dark mistress, heaven's queen. ye who would ask of me a rune, or who would ask of me a boon, meet me in some secret glade, dance my round in greenwood shade, by the light of the full moon. in a place wild and lo

ALICE A BAILEY18 A TREATISE ON THE SEVEN RAYS VOLUME III ESOTERIC ASTROLOGY

i. 32) 9 "mercury is the elder brother of the earth (ii. 48) 10 "mercury receives seven times more light than any other planet (ii. 570) 11 "buddhi and mercury correspond with each other and both are yellow and radiant golden-coloured. in the human system the right eye corresponds with buddhi and the left eye with manas and venus or lucifer (iii. 447, 448) 12 "mercury is called hermes; and venus, aphrodite and their conjunction in man on the psycho-physical plane gives him the name hermaphrodite (iii. 458) references in a treatise on cosmic fire 13 "venus, jupiter and saturn might be considered. as the vehicles of the three super or major principles. mercury, the earth and mars are closely allied to these three but a hidden mystery lies here (299) 14 "the second hint i seek to give lies in

BLAVATSKY H P ANTHROPOGENESIS

by the movements and positions of the stars and planets, and especially as the result of the conjunction of the moon, earth, and sun. bentley comments on the hindu "war between the gods and the giants" as marked by the eclipse of the sun at the ascending node of the moon, 945 b.c, at which time was born* or produced from the sea, sri (sarai, s-r-i, the wife of the hebrew a-bram. sri is also venus-aphrodite the western emblem "of the luni-solar year or the moon (as sri is the wife of the moon; vide foot-note, the goddess of increase" therefore "the grand monument and landmark of the exact period of the lunar year and month, by which this cycle (of 19 tropical years and 235 revolutions of the moon) could be calculated, was mount sinai- the lord jehovah coming down thereon. paul speaks (then)

BLAVATSKY H P COSMOGENESIS

lxxxi. of the ritual (book of the dead, called "transformation into the lotus" a head emerging from this flower, the god exclaims "i am the pure lotus, emerging from the luminous one. i carry the messages of horus. i am the pure lotus which comes from the solar fields" the lotus-idea may be traced even in the elohistic chapter, the 1st of genesis, as stated in isis[[footnote(s* lakshmi is venus- aphrodite, and, like the latter, she sprang from the froth of the ocean with a lotus in her hand. in the ramayana she is called padma* in esoteric philosophy the demiurge or logos, regarded as the creator, is simply an abstract term, an idea, like "army" as the latter is the all-embracing term for a body of active forces or working units- soldiers- so is the demiurge the qualitative compound of a

tris and men" are the four orders of beings to whom the term ambhamsi is applied (in the vedas it is a synonym of gods: because they are all the product of waters (mystically, of the akasic ocean, and of the third principle in nature. pitris and men on earth are the transformations (rebirths) of gods and demons (spirits) on a higher plane. water is, in another sense, the feminine principle. venus aphrodite is the personified sea, and the mother of the god of love, the generator of all the gods as much as the christian virgin mary is mare (the sea, the mother of the western god of love, mercy and charity. if the student of esoteric philosophy thinks deeply over the subject he is sure to find out all the suggestiveness of the term ambhamsi, in its manifold relations to the virgin in heaven

BLUE EQUINOX

ch as the first sketches for a map: for love is infinite in diversity even as are the stars. for this cause do i leave love himself master in the heart of every one of you: for he shall teach you rightly if you but serve him with diligence and devotion even to abandonment. nor shall you take umbrage at the strange pranks that he shall play: for he is a wayward boy and wanton, wise in the wiles of aphrodite our lady his sweet mother: and all his jests and cruelties are spices in a confection cunning as no art may match. rejoice therefore in all his play, not remitting in any wise your own ardour, but glowing with the sting of his whips, and making of laughter itself a sacrament adjuvant to love, even as in the wine of rheims is sparkle and bite, like as they were ministers to the high pries

ut me, trapped by the siren night, whose words the sevenfold sacrament 189 were the river and the birds. so close it swaddled me, and bound my being to the pure profound of its own stealthy intimacy, had artemis come panting by, silver-shod with bow and quiver hunting along the reedy river, and called me to the chase, i should have neither heard nor understood. or had zeus his dangerous daughter, aphrodite, from the water risen all shining, her soft arms open, all her spells and charms melted to one lure divine of her red mouth pressed to mine, i had neither heard nor seen nor felt the idalian. between my soul and all it knowledge of the universe of light and love, thought, being, nature, time and space, the mother.s heart, the father.s face, all that was agony or bliss, stretched an infin

BUCKLAND RAYMOND COMPLETE BOOK OF WITCHCRAFT

es by so strong, and we bask in the light of her love" all lower their arms. priest rises and kisses priestess, then kneels again. priest "lovely lady, you have been known by so many names to so many people *in paganism generally it is thought to be far more efficacious to speak "from the heart" rather than read a set prayer, parrot-fashion, from a book. 62/ buckland's complete book of witchcraft aphrodite, kerridwen, diana, ea, freya, gana, isis, and many more have been your names. yet do we know you and love you as.(name, and in that name do we adore you and worship you. with your lord by your side, do we give you due honor and invite you to join with us on this, your special night" priest stands and, with his athame or wand, if used draws a pentagram above the priestess's head. a covene

est/ess takes the parchment and pen and writes, at the top, his/her "seed (try to concentrate it into as few words as possible. the parchment is passed around the circle and all add their "seeds. when it is returned, priest/ the priapic wand is named after priapus, the roman god of procreation. in asia minor he was equated with pan, the nature deity of greece, and was considered the off-spring of aphrodite and dionysus. he presided over the fecundity of fields and flocks, over the raising of bees, the culture of the vine and over fishing. he protected orchards and gardens, where his phallic image was prominently displayed. the priapic wand is, in effect, a representation of a phallus (penis. although only used in a few rituals (if you so desire, you will need one. it should be about twenty

CASSANDRA EASON A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC

urprised to learn that she would, according to myth, have her rejected lovers torn apart by her hounds. so, when setting up your icons, read about them first, and decide which are the attributes that will assist your magical workings. some deities fit into more than one category, so i have listed them under their most significant one [insert pic p059- deities of love and passion [insert pic p060- aphrodite aphrodite is the cretan and greek goddess of love and beauty. her name means 'born from the foam. she can be invoked for the gentle attraction of new love as well as for sexuality and passion (hence the term 'aphrodisiac. aphrodite is especially potent in candle and mirror spells, romance and for love rituals involving the sea. artemis artemis is the twin sister of apollo, the young gree

c. aphrodite is especially potent in candle and mirror spells, romance and for love rituals involving the sea. artemis artemis is the twin sister of apollo, the young greek sun god, and is goddess of chastity, virginity, the hunt, the moon and nature. although a virgin goddess, she also presides over childbirth. because of her connection with the hunt, she is altogether a more active goddess than aphrodite if you are seeking love or, perhaps, trying to encourage a reluctant lover of either sex or win love under difficult circumstances. she is perfect for outdoor love spells and for casting your love net wide to attract an as yet unknown lover. freyja freyja is the viking goddess of love and sexuality and can be invoked for rituals to increase confidence in inner beauty and worth, for the i

de to attract an as yet unknown lover. freyja freyja is the viking goddess of love and sexuality and can be invoked for rituals to increase confidence in inner beauty and worth, for the increase of passion and for fertility in every aspect. a witch goddess, she is potent for all magick, especially astral projection and crystal and gem magick. venus venus, the goddess of love, is the roman form of aphrodite and by her liaison with mercury gave birth to cupid. although she had many lovers, she was the goddess of chastity in women and is a joy-bringer, and so represents not only sexual pleasure, but also innocent love and especially love in the springtime. her planetary associations mean she is the focus in all kinds of love rituals. as the evening star, venus takes on a warrior aspect and so

work or effort, for all mothering rituals and as a protectress of animals. innana innana was a sumerian goddess, known as the queen of heaven, who evolved into the babylonian goddess ishtar. innana was goddess of beauty, abundance, fertility and passion, famed for her loveliness and her lapis lazuli necklaces. she was the first goddess of the morning and evening stars, a legacy that has passed to aphrodite and venus. like many of the mother goddess icons, she descended into the underworld annually to face and overcome many trials, to bring back to life her shepherd god consort dumuzi. ishtar ishtar, the babylonian version of innana, also descended into the underworld each year to restore her consort tammuz to life. she was a fierce goddess of weapons and war. in ancient babylon, a sacred m

alth, material goods, creativity and domestic protection. hephaestus hephaestus, greek god of fire and metal-work, was thrown from mount olympus by his father zeus because he took the part of his mother hera in a quarrel; as a result of the fall, he became lame. he created armour, weapons and jewels for the gods in his workshop beneath the volcanic mount etna, in sicily, and as a reward was given aphrodite as his unwilling bride. he was among the least charismatic of the gods, but his roman counterpart, vulcan, fashioned jupiter's thunderbolts. hephaestus is patron of metal-workers in much of the western world and in the middle east from where his cult originated. he is effective in all rituals for craftsmanship, for the acquisition of wealth and treasures, for the development of skills an

ey will absorb the protection. a protective ritual with empowered salt seite 97 wicca01.txt* place the salt in a small ceramic dish on your altar and light a pure beeswax candle at the four main compass points around the edges of the altar. beeswax has a long tradition in magick: it was sacred to the mother goddess and later the virgin mary. demeter, goddess of the grain, was called queen bee and aphrodite's symbol at her hive-shaped shrine in eryx was a gold honeycomb. her high priestess was always called melissa, latin for bee* beginning at the north of your circle, light your elemental candles. at each quarter of the circle say: demeter, aphrodite, melissa, pure mother bee, charge with thy light this salt, to enfold my home (workplace/journey) with thy golden mantle of protection. you m

destructive lovers and possessiveness. also like the moon, the spells of venus are potent for fertility and for matters of women's health. venus is sometimes known as the morning or evening star and at her brightest she is the most brilliant object in the sky besides the sun and moon. for this reason, in many cultures she took the name of the goddess of beauty. she was ishtar to the babylonians, aphrodite to the greeks and her viking counterparts are the goddess frigg, the mother goddess, and freyja, maiden goddess of beauty and love, after one or both of whom friday is named. spells at the hour of venus are especially good for new love and the growth of self-love, for if we do not love ourselves we cannot love others creatively. element: earth colour: green, pink crystals: amethyst, emer

DAVID ICKE CHILDREN OF THE MATRIX

ame with aeneas. the names "noah" and "king david" are also used as codes for the bloodline, but they did not exist in the way they are depicted and portrayed. the legends of aeneas fit with the codes and themes of the illuminati bloodlines, including his association with troy. aeneas is said to have been born in troy, the city so sacred to the merovingians and the knights templar. in the hymn to aphrodite, the goddess proclaims that aeneas, the son she has conceived by the mortal anchises, will come to rule the trojans, as will the generations upon generations that succeed him.29 the works of the greek poet, homer, who lived around the 9th or 8th century bc, is the main source of information about ancient troy and the conflicts that led to its demise. the two epics the iliad and the odyss

uracy of homer's work. in the iliad, aeneas recounts his birth and ancestry to his opponent achilles on the battlefield at troy. aeneas says that he descends from "divine and immortal stock" through both his mother and his father. this connection between divine immortality and the anunnaki under their various names constantly recurs in ancient accounts. aeneas says that his mother is the goddess, aphrodite, and his father is anchises, and he can trace his lineage back to dardanus, the son of zeus and legendary founder of the trojan race (trojan race= reptilian-nordic hybrids, the aryans or "master race. other accounts say that dardanus is the offspring of the union of zeus and electra and his origins are in samothrace, the sacred aegean island dedicated to goddess worship, from where he mi

ohim, the gods of the old testament, were the race of el, a dragon queen. the greeks knew el as artemis, the cruel mother-goddess who demanded human sacrifice. artemis (also known as diana) was the major deity of the merovingians. artemis was symbolised with bees, as is the merovingian bloodline. it is the same with other versions of the goddess like demeter, the "pure mother bee, and a symbol of aphrodite was a golden honeycomb. her priestess was given the name melissa, or "queen bee. the word honeymoon comes from this. it spanned a lunar month, normally in may, which was named after the virgin maya, another version of el. the honeymoon would include the menstrual period of the bride and the combination of menstrual blood and honey was once thought to be the elixir of life. el is also the

the edda says. the story of the marriage of her-thor (ar- thur) and his "queen" guin-eve-re, is a version of this, waddell suggests.37 he adds that "eve, despite being the "chief vestal priestess" of the serpent cult of eden, was, nevertheless, a gothic "aryan. however, the edda says that she was a "ward" of el and "born of the sea-froth or seafoam kin. she was later represented by the greeks as "aphrodite" or "sea-froth, and aphrodite was said to be born from the sea- the amphibious anunnaki? the constant connection of the goddess with the sea can be seen with the phoenician barati, who became the british "britannia. the famous british song "rule britannia, britannia rules the waves" is not about britain, but the ancient goddess, which, under different names, has been worshipped by the il

"holy ghost" of the christian trinity is also regarded as feminine in hebrew and the early christian church considered it to be so. the very name bible comes from byblos, home of a shrine to an earlier version of mary known as astarte. this shrine dates to neolithic times and astarte was believed to be the "true sovereign of the world. she is worshipped elsewhere as mother mary, hathor, demeter, aphrodite, and, in india, as kali. another location associated with the start of christianity is ephesus in south-west turkey. the mythical "st paul" was said to have written a letter to the ephesians, and greek myth says that the amazons founded the city. ephesus just happens to have been the headquarters of worship to the goddess artemis/diana- a goddess of the amazons. i visited ephesus in the

DAVID ICKE THE BIGGEST SECRET

secret societies the term, mother of god, is symbolic ofisis, the virgin mother of the egyptian son of god, horus, and the wife of the sun god,osiris, in egyptian legend. isis, in turn, is another name for queen semiramis, as innimrod-semiramis-tammuz. isis/semiramis is also known by a stream of other namesin the various regions, cultures and countries. these include barati, diana, rhea,minerva, aphrodite, v enus, hecate, juno, ceres, luna and many, many others. it is saidthat they are symbolic of the moon, the female energy in its various forms. theheadquarters of the grand mother lodge of english freemasonry (grand mother =semiramis/isis) is based in great queen street in london (great queen= semiramis/isis. in the end all the names were inspired by ninkharsag, the anunnaki mothergoddes

larly important strand, a fusion between freemasonry and thejacobite movement which became known as grand orient freemasonry. there are alsogrand orient networks in others countries like brazil and portugal. grand orient meansgrand east and its rituals are inspired by the worship of zoroaster in persia, ishtar andtammuz (semiramis and nimrod) in babylon, demeter, persephone and dionysus ingreece, aphrodite and adonis in syria, isis and osiris in egypt, and mithra in persia.39the grand orient in france was to be the focus behind the manipulation andcoordination of the french revolution. from the brotherhoods point of view, thispeoples revolution had nothing to do with freedom and everything to do with itsagenda for global control. the famous cry of the french revolutionaries: liberty,equali

. it is this dove symbolism which gives us thefictitious name of christopher columbus who in fact used to sign his name colon. thename columbus was invented as yet more brotherhood symbolism. the romans usedto worship a deity they called venus columba, v enus the dove. v enus and dove areassociated with queen semiramis in babylon. the word dove in french today is stillcolombre. columba is also an aphrodite goddess which symbolises the negative,death and destruction, aspects of the female energy. hence we have british columbia,columbia pictures, columbia university, columbia broadcasting (cbs, the spaceshuttle columbia, and district of columbia in which they placed washington dc.youve only got to look at some of the names for places around washington to seewhere their originators were comin

d the planetsmagnetic field. these people afe not obsessed with it for no reason.the brotherhood and satanic symbolism surrounding dianas death is endless and tounderstand the background to her ritual murder we must, once again, go back a very longtime. diana was one of the greatest goddesses of the ancient world and she representedthe female energy also known as barati, britannia, isis, artemis, aphrodite, all thesedifferent names for the same energy. if you go back far enough, they symbolise the sameentity, also, ninkharsag. diana was known as a moon goddess. one tribe of elitebloodlines who worshipped the goddess diana were called the sicambrian franks whocan be traced from troy (that name again, through asia minor, now turkey, thecaucasus mountains (again) and up into europe. they live

owing to them. astory that could be repeated thousands of times all over the world.another name for the goddess diana is hecate. one of the ancient triads ortrinities was that of diana, luna and hecate who were said to be three aspects of thesame female energy. it was called diana on earth, luna in heaven, and hecate in hell.hecate is one of the premier deities of satanism and she is a version of aphrodite andv enus, different names for the same energy. after her husbands death, jackie kennedytravelled to the greek island of delos in the south west aegean sea, the legendarybirthplace of diana and apollo and the considered domain of hecate, the goddess of theinfernal arts. delos is known for this reason as the island of the dead. hecate wasportayed as both the virgin and the whore and cross

DEITUS

being gods and begin to act in a manner that reflects the wisdom, enlightenment, beauty, power, and majesty which is within us. it is not required of us that we become pure or blessed, or that we become all-loving and charitable. these concepts are christian corruptions. we must become, like the gods of the ancient world, unique, powerful, and glorious beings an apollo, an artemis, a zeus, or an aphrodite. i say that such beings as these cannot be judged for they are governed each by their own laws alone. they set their own values and move in their own spheres. i have said that man has already become a god, but this knowledge is not yet fully realized and will not be fully realized until the end of the aeon. the law of the aeon of lucifer is will to come into being as a god. once we have

DEMONIC BIBLE

earer the name lucifer comes from the latin words lux (light) and fer (to bear. lucifer means, literally, light-bearer and was the name given by the romans to the morning star venus when it appeared in the eastern sky in the hours before dawn. lucifer, the light-bearer, the morning star, personified enlightenment, wisdom, and beauty. the cult of lucifer was associated with the worship of venus or aphrodite, the goddess of love and passion, and involved sexual acts of which the early christians did not approve. the acceptance of christianity as the official religion of rome, and subsequent conversion of pagans to the new faith, resulted in the name lucifer becoming associated with the devil satan. if jesus is the light and truth, reasoned the christian, then lucifer must be a false light, a

DION FORTUNE MYSTICAL QABALA

o the paths of the tree of which he is master. if he possesses the grade which corresponds to the sephirah netzach, he can work with the manifestation of the force of that aspect of the [page 12] mystical qabala page 11 godhead (distinguished by the qabalists by the name of tetragrammaton elohim) in whatever system he may select. in the egyptian system it will be the isis of nature; in the greek, aphrodite; in the nordic, freya; in the druidic, keridwen. in other words, he possesses the powers of the sphere of venus in whatever traditional system he may be using. having attained a grade in one system, he has access to the equivalent grades of all the other systems of his tradition. 11. but although he may use these other systems as occasion serves, experience proves that the qabalah suppli

ir different ways. 17. we must distinguish between the fertility rite, the vitality rite, and the illumination or inspiration rite, which calls down the pentecostal tongues of flame. the fertility cult aims at plain and simple reproduction, whether of flocks, fie]ds, or wives; it belongs to yesod, and has nothing whatever to do with the vitality cult, which belongs to netzacb, the sphere of venus-aphrodite. this concerns certain very important esoteric teaching on the subject of the vitalising or magnetic influences which the sexes have on each other, quite apart from physical intercourse, and will be dealt with when netzach, the sphere of venus, comes to be considered. 18. the rite of chokmah, if such it can be called, is concerned with the influx of cosmic energy. it is formless, being t

which we will consider in detail in due course. 23. chokmah and binah, then, represent essential maleness and femaleness in their creative aspects. they are not phallic irnages as such, but in them is the root of all lifeforce. we shall never understand the deeper aspects of esotericism unless we realise what phailicism really means. it most emphatically does not mean the orgies in the temples of aphrodite that disgraced the decadence of the pagan faiths of the ancients and brought about their downfall; it means that everything rests upon the principle of the stimulation of the inert yet all-potential by the dynamic principle which derives its energy direct from the source of all energy. in this concept lie tremendous keys of knowledge; it is one of the most important points in the mysteri

al reactions are not so fixed, for the soul is bi-sexual; in other words, in every relation of life we are sometimes positive and sometimes negative, accord mg to whether circumstances are stronger than we are, or we are stronger than circumstances. this is clearly indicated in the proverb, that the grey mare is sometimes the better horse. it also comes out clearly in the fact that netzach (venus-aphrodite) is the basal sephirah of chokmah's pillar. we thus get the female nature showing a different polarity on different levels, for in netzach she is as positive and dynamic as she is static in binah. mystical qabala page 103 31. all this is not only bewildering intellectually, but also confusing morally, and even at the risk of being accused of fostering all manner of abnormalities, i must

en to binah. she 15 the mighty mother of all living, and she is also the death principle; for the giver of life in form is also the giver of death, for form must die when its use is outworn. upon the planes of form, death and birth are the two sides of the same coin. 43. the mother aspect of binah finds expression in the title of marah, the sea, which is given her. it is a curious fact that venus-aphrodite is represented as being born of the sea-foam, and the virgin mary is called by catholics stella mans, star of the sea. the word marab, which is the root of mary, also means bitter, and the spiritual experience attributed to binah is the vision of sorrow. a vision which calls to ruind the picture of the virgin weeping at the foot of the cross, her heart pierced by seven swords. we also re

ure of netzach in the microcosm best if we remember that it is the sphere of venus, with all that that implies. translated from the symbolic language of the qabalah into plain english, it means that we are concerned here with the function of polarity, which is a very great deal more than mere sex as popularly conceived. 18. it is important to note in this respect that venus, or in her greek form, aphrodite, is not a fertility goddess at all, such as are ceres and persephone; she is the goddess of love. now in the greek concept of life, love embraced much more than the relationship between the sexes, it included the comr'deship of fighting men and the relationship of teacher and pupil. the greek hetaira, or woman whose profession is love, was something very different to our modern prostitut

ple physical relation of the sexes for his lawful wife, who was secluded in the gynieceum, or harem, and was kept simply for breeding purposes in order that he might have lawful heirs; and she was a woman without education though of good blood, and was not encouraged to render herself attractive or ply the arts of love. still less was she encouraged to worship the mystical qabala page 155 goddess aphrodite, who presides over the higher aspects of love; the deities of her adoration were expected to be the gods of hearth and home; ceres the earth-mother was the ruler of the mysteries of the greek women. 19. the aphrodite cult was something very much more than the simple performance of an animal function. it was concerned with the subtle interaction of the life-force between [page 228] two fa

. 21. the function of the hetaira was to minister to the intellect of her clients as well as their appetites; she was a hostess as well as a mistress, and to her resorted the philosophers and poets to receive inspiration and sharpen their wits; for it was well realised that there is no greater inspiration to an intellectual man than the society of a vital and cultured woman. 22. in the temples of aphrodite the art of love was sedulously cultivated, and the priestesses were trained from childhood in its skill. but this art was not simply that of provoking passion, but of adequately satisfying it on all levels of consciousness; not simply by the gratification of the physical sensations of the body, but by the subtle etheric exchange of magnetism and intellectual and spiritual polarisation. t

ve was sedulously cultivated, and the priestesses were trained from childhood in its skill. but this art was not simply that of provoking passion, but of adequately satisfying it on all levels of consciousness; not simply by the gratification of the physical sensations of the body, but by the subtle etheric exchange of magnetism and intellectual and spiritual polarisation. this lifted the cult nf aphrodite out of the sphere of simple sensuality, and explains why the priestesses of the cult commanded respect and were by no means looked upon as common prostitutes, although they received all comers. they were engaged in ministering to certain of the subtler needs of the human soul by means of their skilled arts. we have brought to a higher pitch of development than was ever known to the greek

n chokmah, then, we get the tremendous drive of lile, which is the great male potency of the universe; in chesed we get the organisation of forces into interacting wholes; and in netzach we get a sphere wherein evolution, ascending from malkuth as organised force ensouling vivified form, is able to contact essential force once more. netzach, the sphere of nogah, which is the hebrew name for venus-aphrodite, is therefore an exceedingly important sphere from the point of view of the practical work of occultism. it is because most people who go in for occultism work up the central pillar only, which is the pillar of consciousness, and pay no attention to the side pillars, which are the pillars of function, that such negligible results are obtained from initiation. the blind are leading the bl

21. not a great deal can be said concerning yesod, because in her are hidden the keys of the magical workings. we must therefore content ourselves with elucidating the symbolism in a somewhat cryptic form, though he that hath ears to hear is at liberty to use them. 22. we have already noted the curious two-sided nature of netzach and hod, the magical image of hod being a hermaphrodite, and venus-aphrodite sometimes being represented among the ancients as bearded. in yesod again we meet with this dual symbolism, and yet again, as we shall see presently, in malkuth. this indicates clearly that in these sephiroth belonging to the lower levels of the tree we must very definitely recognise a form and force side in each one. this comes out very clearly in both yesod and malkuth, to which both g

s story; you may not know what it means, if you are looking in the right direction, the direction whence light arises; and in proportion as you are able to receive it, light will flow into your soul if you contemplate these ideas. it is probable to the point of certainty that the illumination given in the mysteries included the elucidation of the metaphysics of these myths. 61. persephone, diana, aphrodite, hera, all exchange their symbols, functions, characteristics, and even subordinate titles in a bewildering manner in greek myths and art. likewise do priapos, pan, apollo, and zeus. the best we can say of them is that all the goddesses are great mothers and all the gods are givers of life; the difference between them lying not in function but in he level upon which they function. a dist

sphere of earth, for capricorn is the most earthy of the earthy triplicity. pan represents the positive magnetism of the earth uprushing in its return to the all-father. ceres, on the other hand, or many-breasted diana, who are both very earthly venuses and far from virgin, represent the final earthmg of the heavenly force in dense matter. hera, who has been called the celestial venus or heavenly aphrodite, represents the return of the uprushing earth-force to heaven, and is eatth-positive on a celestial level. 69. these are things difficult to elucidate to those who have not seen the sun at midnight. they yield much to meditation, but little to disputation. v mystical qabala page 196 70. in the sphere of malkuth are worked all divinations. now the object of any method of divination is to

forth in the yetziratic text, is binah upon a lower arc. 76. now binah is called the dark sterile mother, and malkuth is called the bride of microprosopos, or the bright fertile mother, and these correspond to the dual aspects of the egyptian moon-goddess as isis and hathor, isis being the positive aspect of the goddess, and hathor the negative aspect. in greek symbolism these would correspond to aphrodite and ceres. now aphrodite is the positive aspect of the female potency, for be it remembered that under the law of alternating polarity that which is negative on the outer planes is positive on the inner, and vice versa. aphrodite, the celestial venus, is the mystical qabala page 197 giver of magnetic stimulus to the spiritually negative male; it is because her function is not understood

EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD PAPYRUS OF ANI MALESTROM

. page 17, 1. 5. 2 page 18, l. 1. 3. am lineau, la morale, p. 138. 4. the various meanings of maat are illustrated by abundant passages from egyptian texts by brugsch, w rterbuch (suppl, p. 329. the gods of the book of the dead. http//www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ebod/ebod09.htm (9 of 19 [8/10/2001 11:23:59 am] 5. see lanzone, op. cit. tav. 109] happiness; and the greeks identified her with their own aphrodite. she is often depicted in the form of a woman having disk and horns upon her head, and at times she has the head of a lion surmounted by a ur us. often she has the form of a cow--the animal sacred to her--and in this form she appears as the goddess of the tomb or ta-sertet, and she provides meat and drink for the deceased.[1] meht-urt is the personification of that part of the sky wherei

EXTRAORDINARY ENCOUNTERS AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS AND OTHERWORLDY BEINGS

r testimony, folklorist t h o m a s e. bu l l a rd concluded, was indistinguishable f rom corresponding accounts emerging under hypnotic re g ression. still, hypnosis and its vagaries would play a large and continuing ro l e in the controversy surrounding the abduction p h e n o m e n o n. in the late 1970s budd hopkins, a new york city artist and sculptor, working with psychologist and hypnotist aphrodite clamar, began to investigate the abduction reports. through hopkins s work new dimensions of the phenomenon emerged, including not just little gray humanoids that would come to dominate abduction reports but also experiences that began in childhood and recurred 2 abductions by ufos throughout abductees lifetimes. some bore scars, the causes of which were mysterious until hypnosis reveale

ponents have argued that abducting aliens are benignly intentioned, hopkins holds that they are indifferent to human beings and are coldly unemotional. their purpose in coming here is to study humans as if they were lab animals, and they are particularly interested in our genetic makeup. see also: abductions by ufos; close encounters of the third kind; hybrid beings further reading bloecher, ted, aphrodite clamar, and budd hopkins, 1985. final report on the psychological test- ing of ufo abductees. mount rainier, md: fund for ufo research. hopkins, budd, 1981. missing time: a documented study of ufo abductions. new york: richard marek publishers, 1987. intruders: the incredible visitations at copley woods. new york: random house, 1996. witnessed: the true story of the brooklyn bridge ufo a

GAMBLE ELIZA BURT THE GOD IDEA OF THE ANCIENTS OR SEX IN RELIGION

. if the word be taken to mean strength, then amon will mean (the first syllable being in regimine) the temple of the strength of the generative or creative power, or the temple of the mighty procreative power. if the word am means mother, then a still more recondite idea will be implied, viz: the mother generative power, or the maternal generative power: perhaps the urania of persia or the venus aphrodite of crete and greece, or the jupiter genetrix of the masculine and feminine gender, or the brahme mai of india, or the alma venus of lucretius. and the city of on or heliopolis will be the city of the sun, or city of the procreative powers of nature of which the sun was always an emblem" according to prof. w. r. smith, om means uniting or binding, a fact which is explained by the early si

y necessarily run together and become confused in the minds of various authors" concerning sadi, sadim, or shaddai, higgins remarks "parkhurst tells us it means all-bountiful--the pourer forth of blessings; among the heathen, the dea multimammia; in fact the diana of ephesus, the urania of persia, the jove of greece, called by orpheus the mother of the gods, each male as well as female--the venus aphrodite; in short, the genial powers of nature" to which higgins adds "and i maintain that it means the figure which is often found in collections of ancient statues, most beautifully executed, and called the hermaphrodite" as in the old language there was no neuter gender, the gods must always appear either as female or male. for apparent reasons, in all the translations, through the pronouns a

e lower animal instincts in man. with religion bestialized and its management regulated wholly with an idea to the gratification of man's sensuous desires, religious temples, under the supervision of the priesthood, became brothels, in which were openly practiced as part and parcel of religious rites and ceremonies the most wanton profligacy and the most shameless self-abandonment. the worship of aphrodite or venus, and also that of bacchus, originally consisted in homage paid to the reproductive principles contained in the earth, water, and sun, but, as is well known, this pure and beautiful worship, in later times, and especially after it was carried to greece, became synonymous with the grossest practices and the most lawless disregard of human decency. with the light which in these lat

reat father. concerning the word am-mon, inman writes as follows "the association of the words signifying mother and father indicates that it is to such conjunction we must refer creative power. with such an androgyne element the sun was associated by ancient mythologists. jupiter was himself sometimes represented as being female; and the word hermaphrodite is in itself a union between hermes and aphrodite, the male and female creative powers. we may fairly conclude, from the existence of names like the above, that there was at one time in western as there was in eastern asia a strong feud between the adorers of on and am, the lingacitas and the yonijas, and that they were at length partially united under ammon, as they were elsewhere under nebo or the nabhi of vishnu"[80 [80] ancient fait

ciple of generation, and was adored by his apostate descendants with all the abominations of phallic worship" in the theogony of hesiod, uranus is represented as being the parent of three sons, and the same legend repeated in the story of cronus portrays him also as a triplicated deity. according to the peruvian kosmogony all things sprang from viracocha who is said to be identical with the greek aphrodite. besides this superior god they venerated a triad which was closely connected with the sun. these gods were called chuquilla, catuilla, and intyllapa. they say that as their ancestors journeyed from a remote country to the northwest they bore the image of their god in a coifer or box made of reeds. to the four priests who had charge of this box or ark he communicated his oracles and dire

GILBERT THE MAGICAL MASON

p hangs upon a pole, and several animals are also drawn in the upper part of the scene.resemblances of freemasonry to mithra 251thetauroctonic sculpture at osterburken is considered the best example extant. in some sculptures these scenes are supplemented by zodiacal figures, by kronos or time, by atlas, oceanus, the fates and zeus with his thunderbolt. at one period the goddess anaitis (astarte, aphrodite) was associated with mithras in sculptures.theancient persian work namedbundahish,which gives a theory of cosmogony after the zoroastrian ideals throws some light upon these mythical scenes. it narrates that the first creation of ormuzd was of goshurun, the heavenly bull, that this bull was killed by the evil ahriman, and that from its side came gayomort, the first man; from its tail all

GOLDEN DAWN RITUALS VENUSZAM16

feather, i do invoke thee passionatly. thou who art called the queen of happiness, come thou forth, i do invoke thee. oh hathor( vibratory formula of the middle pillar) before thee i have covered my face. arise, great queen, arise and shine now upon me, for i have clothed myself in thy image, and stand humbly before thy face. thy divine lady of a thousand names, if i call thee astarte, venus, or aphrodite, thou art nameless unto eternity. mistress of the evening, guide me unto the sacred light, let me call my home, the house of horus. the house above, het- heru is thy name, and through thee i shall arise into my higher selfhood which is found in god the vast one. step 27 pause while circulating the force within. say "this is the lord of the gods! this is he, lord of the universe! this is

GRAHAM HANCOCK FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS

ccording to legend it was established by manco capac and mama occlo, two children of the sun. here, though the incas worshipped the sun god, whom they knew as inti, quite another deity was venerated as the most holy of all. this was viracocha, whose namesakes were said to have made the nazca lines and whose own name meant foam of the sea. 5 no doubt it is just a coincidence that the greek goddess aphrodite, who was born of the sea, received her name because of the foam [aphros] out of which she was formed .6 besides, viracocha was always depicted uncompromisingly as a male by the peoples of the andes. that much about him is known for certain. no historian, however, is able to say how ancient was the cult of this deity before the spanish arrived to put a stop to it. this is because the cult

GRIMM JACOB TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY VOL 3

es and encounters with wise women and giants seem to be a common epic property prevailing everywhere, while the very absence here of all the other main motives of the greek myth excludes the supposition of borrowing. we may surely give their due weight to the many resemblances of wuotan to zeus and apollo, of zio to zeus and ares, we may recognise nerthus in demeter, fx-igg and freyja in hera and aphrodite, wieland in hephaestus and daedalus, without the whole swarm of grecian gods needing therefore to be transported to our soil, or all that this produced having to be looked for in greece. must' honum hlo hugr i briosti' have somehow got into the edda from homer's iyexaaae se ol<^i\ov r/rop? the distinction, drawn in homer as well as the edda, between the speech of gods and of men may sign

her (dorothea grimm, b. 20 nov. 1755, d. 27 may 1808. another thing also we learn from the oldest history of our people, that modesty and virtue had never fled from the land; beside tacitus, we may rely on salvian (5th cent) as the most unimpeachable of witnesses. refined grace might be wanting, nay, it has often retired before us, and been washed out of remembrance; to the greeks apollo, pallas, aphrodite stood nearer, their life was brighter like their sky. yet fro and frouwa appear altogether as kind and loving deities, in wuotan i have produced the god of song, and as wish he may have been a god of longing and love. however many blossoms of our old mythology and poetry may lie undisclosed and withered, one thing will not escape the eye of a judge, that our poesy still has virgin forms

strictly matter ejected from the raclien (tbroat, ohg. hraclio, as the as. hraca is both guttur and tussis, sputum; conf. ohg. hrachison screare, fr. cracher, serv. rakati, euss. kharkat. creating out of spittle and blood reminds one of the snow and blood m fan-ytales, where the wife wishes for children; of the snow-child in the modus liebmc; of the giants made out of frost and ice (pp. 440. 465; aphrodite's bemg generated out of sea-foam is a part of the same thing. 3 the technical term' inn dyri mio'sr' recurs in saem. 23. 28. a drink. od-heceri. 903 pulled a whetstone^ out of his belt, and gave them an edge; they cut so much better now, that the mowers began bargaining for the stone, but 05inn threw it up in the air, and while each was trying to catch it, they all cut one another's thro

GRIMM TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY VOL 2 1883 COMPLETE

nd bulls drew the car of the frankish kings, ra. 262. war-chariots continued to have oxen till late in the mid. ages: capto ducis (lovaniensis) vexillo, dicto gallice standart, 1 sup. m, 35 shews that esthouians ascribe prophetic powers to the horse. 2 ledebour s eeise nach dem altai, berl. 1830. 2, 54-5. 3 a sansk. name for the horse is sribhratri, brother of sri (lakshmi, because, like her (and aphrodite) it rose out of the sea-waves, pott 2, 407. still more natural is the identification of horse and ship. oxen. 665 opere plumario a regina augliae ei misso, quod fastu superbiae quadriga bourn ferebat/ chapeaville 2, 69 (an. 1129. a chariot drawn by four white oxen in lorraine occurs in scheffer s haltaus, p. 251. in plutarch s marius cap. 23 is the well-known story of the cimbrians swear

HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY

abstractly, as a merging of the creator with his own active power. hathor was the goddess who personified both the hand that made atum ejaculate and the divine seed itself. as the female creative principle, she could be the most seductive and alluring of deities. this erotic side of her nature made hathor the patroness of lovers in egyptian poetry and justified the greeks in identifying her with aphrodite. in the contendings of horus and seth, the sun god pre (ra) becomes angry when he is insulted by the baboon god babi and lies down on his back. this implies that the creator sun god was sinking back into the inert state that would mean the end of the world. hathor, lady of the southern sycamore, visits her father pre and shows him her genitals. he immediately laughs, gets up, and goes ba

HELENA BLAVATSKY NIGHTMARE TALES

ioned and limited by time and space. the hiranya garbha "theegg (or the womb) of gold, from which brahma emerges, is often called the heavenly lotus. the god,vishnu- the synthesis of the trimurti or hindu trinity- during the "nights of brahma" floats asleep onthe primordial waters, stretched on the blossom of a lotus. his goddess, the lovely lakshmi, rising from thebosom of the waters, like venus-aphrodite, has a white lotus beneath her feet. it was at the churning of theocean of milk- symbol of space and of the milky way- by the gods assembled together, that lakshmi,goddess of beauty and mother of love (kama) formed of the froth of the foaming waves, appeared beforethe astonished gods, borne on a lotus, and holding another lotus in her hand. thus have arisen the two chief titles of lakshm

o the urchin who piped away under the plane tree to the naiads of calirrhoe'scrystal fountain? did not the swift-footed nymphs frolic at his beck and call to the sound of the magic fluteof the arcadian shepherd- who was himself? behold, the goddess of love and beauty herself descendingfrom on high, attracted by the sweet-voiced notes of his violin. yet there came a time when he preferredsyrinx to aphrodite- not as the fair nymph pursued by pan, but after her transformation by the mercifulgods into the reed out of which the frustrated god of the shepherds had made his magic pipe. for also, withtime, ambition grows and is rarely satisfied. when he tried to emulate on his violin the enchanting soundsthat resounded in his mind, the whole of parnassus kept silent under the spell, or joined in h

HINE P OVEN READY CHAOS

gods; the episode which inadvertently brought about the trojan war. it seems that zeus was throwing a party and did not want to invite eris because of her reputation as a troublemaker. infuriated by the snub, eris fashioned a golden apple incribed with the word kallisti( to the prettiest one) and tossed it into the hall where all the guests were. three of the invited goddesses, athena, hera, and aphrodite, each claimed the apple for themselves and started fighting and throwing food around. to settle the dispute, zeus ordered all three to submit to the judgement of a mortal over just who was the prettiest one, and said mortal was paris, son of the king of troy. zeus sent all three to paris, via hermes, but each goddess tried to 25 oven-ready chaos outwit the others by sneaking out early an

to settle the dispute, zeus ordered all three to submit to the judgement of a mortal over just who was the prettiest one, and said mortal was paris, son of the king of troy. zeus sent all three to paris, via hermes, but each goddess tried to 25 oven-ready chaos outwit the others by sneaking out early and offering a bribe to paris. athena offered paris victory in battle, hera, great wealth, while aphrodite merely loosened the clasps by which her tunic was fastened and unknotted her girdle, also offering paris the most beautiful of mortal women. so, aphrodite got the apple, and paris got off with helen, who unfortunately happened to be married to menelaus, king of sparta. thanks to the meddling of athena and hera, the trojan war followed and the rest, as they say, is history. nowadays, in o

HP LOVECRAFT POETRY AND THE GODS

d helmet and sandals, caduceus-bearing, and of a beauty like to nothing on earth. before the face of the sleeper he thrice waved the rod which apollo had given him in trade for the nine-corded shell of melody, and upon her brow he placed a wreath of myrtle and roses. then, adoring, hermes spoke "0 nymph more fair than the golden-haired sisters of cyene or the sky-inhabiting atlantides, beloved of aphrodite and blessed of pallas, thou hast indeed discovered the secret of the gods, which lieth in beauty and song. 0 prophetess more lovely than the sybil of cumae when apollo first knew her, thou has truly spoken of the new age, for even now on maenalus, pan sighs and stretches in his sleep, wishful to wake and behold about him the little rose-crowned fauns and the antique satyrs. in thy yearni

pleasure to thy soul, though search for it through bleak years thou must. attend with diligence, for each chord that vibrates away into hiding shall appear again to thee after thou hast returned to earth, as alpheus, sinking his waters into the soul of hellas, appears as the crystal arethusa in remote sicilia" then arose homeros, the ancient among bards, who took his lyre and chanted his hymn to aphrodite. no word of greek did marcia know, yet did the message not fall vainly upon her ears, for in the cryptic rhythm was that which spake to all mortals and gods, and needed no interpreter. so too the songs of dante and goethe, whose unknown words dave the ether with melodies easy to ready and adore. but at last remembered accents resounded before the listener. it was the swan of avon, once a

ISIS UNVEILED

ananta (eternity, and moving, like the spirit of god, on the face of the primeval waters. vishnu is evidently the adam kadmon of the kabaliats, for adam is the logos or the first anointed, as adam second is the king messiah. lakhmi, or lakahml, the passive or feminine counterpart of vishnu, the creatot and the preserver, is also called adi-m&yfi. she is the 'mother of the world' dfuurt, the venus-aphrodite of the greeks; also isis and eve. while venus is bom from the sea-foam, lakshml spring o(it from the water at the churning of the sea; when bom, she is so beautiful that all the gods fall in love with her. the jews, borrowing their types wherever they could get them, made their first woman after the pattern of lakshml. it is curious that viracocha, the supreme being in peru, means, utera

JASMUHEEN THE FOOD OF GODS

s yet still be wise and nurture. represents spirit, valor, spiritual sight. spider woman. creates by thinking, dreaming and naming. reminds us that good comes from everywhere, brought the cherokee sun and fire. white shell woman. turquoise woman. protects us from our enemies, created the navajo, teaches us how to see life s joy and beauty in all things. and of course, some of the greek goddesses. aphrodite. represents freshness, renewal and hope and the feminine being in all her glory. her realm is relationship and feeling and mature love. the goddess of both spiritual and passionate love. athena. the virgin goddess of war and wisdom and limitlessness, she encourages warriors to gentleness, the patron of useful and elegant arts. artemis. mistress of animals and all wild untamed things, sym

JENNINGS HARGRAVE ROSICRUCIANS RITES MYSTERIES

ng (in stage of flowering) blooming fire (as a being. elementumignis. first affection, or results (p r) pyr-fri-ga phrodite first. empyr um. 1. teraphim. 3. cherubim. heraldic chart. 163 heraldic and figurative chart, according to the oldest heraldic systems (no. 2) prismatic colours. valois. bourbon. gaulois. sigma. obeliscus: mystic figure. red. baal bel osiris phoebus-apollo (in manifestation) aphrodite (sexless in this sense) theproducingpower (agent) therefore white, with the lilies, or creature- forms, in white, or the light. or green (charlemagne, emperor, or c sar, or kaisar of the west, with the golden, or bees, in lieu of the lisses, or lilies. napoleon the first and third. scarab us of egypt. lucifera. morningstar. scarabs red therefore the oriflamme (or fire of gold) is red and

ucians. the abstract membrum, or affluence, or means. to the initiated mind they imply glory, not grossness. figs. 25, 26 (p. 137, are the crux-ansata of the egyptians. this emblem is also found in india. according to ruffinus and sozomen, it imports the time that is to come. it is a magical symbol. fig. 27 is the imperial mound, and cross-sigma surmounting it. figs. 28, 29, are symbols of venus (aphrodite, the deity of the syrians and phoenicians. they are phallic emblems. fig. 30 is the phallus proper. it is the sigma of zeus, mithras, baalim, bacchus. figures numbered 31, osiris: these various figures signify also jupiter-ammon. the rectangular marks denote the scandinavian tuisco, thoth (mercurius, or hermes. fig. 35 is the indian form of the same idea. the figure marked 36 is to be fo

call unassisted world s knowledge, always vain. the feast of lanterns, or dragon-feast, occurs in china t their new year, which assimilates with that of the jews, and occurs in october at the high tides. they salute the festival with drums and music, and with explosions of crackers. during the feast, nothing is permitted to be thrown into water (for fear of profaning it. here we have the rites of aphrodite or venus, or the watery deity, 204 the rosicrucians. observed even in china, which worship, in protean forms, being also the worship of the dragon or snake, prevails, in its innumerable contradictory and effective disguises, over the whole world. how like are the noises and explosions of crackers &c, to the tumult of the festivals of dionusus or dionysius, to the riot or rout of the cory

walter scott to t. crofton croker, 7th july 1827 (qy. whether the above-named double fly of the hussar cap be not the dependent ears or horns of the original motley) mythic head-covers. 257 the hussars wear the original fur cap of tubal-cain, or the smiths, or artful workers in nature. the name hussar is borrowed from the oriental exclamation to (or invocation of) al husa or al-husa, or venus, or aphrodite, the original patroness of these ishmaelitish irregular light troops. the dolman or pelisse, properly worn on the left shoulder of the hussar, has its signification and origin in the following act related in scripture, which refers to a certain rosicrucian myth: shem and japheth took a garment (a cover or extra piece of clothing, and laid it upon both their shoulders (on the left shoulde

ly traced, the mythic phrygian cap when red, the venus attiring or arming. 277 vulcan s pileus when black, we prove the transmission of an inextinguishable important hint in religion. the following are some of the most significant talismans of the gnostics: fig. 254. bai, a prize. fig. 255. gnostic invocation. in fig. 255 we have the representation of the gnostic female power in nature, venus, or aphrodite, disclosing in the beauty, grace, and splendour of the material creation. on the other, or terrible, side of her character, the endowments of venus, or of the impersonated idea of beauty, fig. 255. change into the alarming; these are the attributes of the malific feminine elementary genius born of darkness or matter, whose tremendous countenance, veiled as in the instance of isis, or mas

es high-priest. the high-priest of the parsees at surat, even at the present day, is called mobed. the mythic figure placed in the front of the irish harp the meaning of which we have explained in a previous part of our book, and which is now represented as a woman with the lower parts twined as foliage, or as scrolls, into the body of the harp is properly a siren. this siren is the same as venus aphrodite, astarte, the sea-deity, or woman-deity, the dag, dagan, dagon, or idol of the syrians, tyrians, or phoenicians: hence her colour is green in the lona, ierne, or irish acceptation. the woman or virgin of the irish harp, who is impaled on the stock or tree of life the siren whose fatal singing means her mythic bhuddistic or buddhistic penance of existence the medusa whose insupportable be

cians, and to their supposed unintelligible beliefs. they are intelligible enough to the knowing ones; but they are not to be divulged. the most difficult problem of the greek artists was to exercise their talent in the production of a kind of beauty mixed with that of the two sexes, and time has spared some of the masterpieces. such is the figure known undee the name of the hermaphrodite (hermes-aphrodite; venus- mercury. in the classic times, both amongst the greeks and romans, as also in oriental countries, a cruel and flagitious violation of nature (not supposed-so; even accepted as sacred) produced this beauty by enforcing sacrifice of a peculiar kind on young male victims. in the case of true hermaphroditism, that which art could only effect by dispossession, nature brings-about by s

LEADBEATER CW GLIMPSES OF MASONIC HISTORY

earth, and the second of that creative life which makes the earth to flourish and blossom with corn and flowers and fruit, and then withdraws once more at the onset of winter into a kind of hibernation- a hidden life within, only to burst out again as though in a new incarnation under the influence of spring. demeter appears to correspond with uma, the great mother, still venerated in india. 331. aphrodite, the goddess of love- immortal aphrodite of the broidered throne, as sappho calls her- represented the feminine aspect of the deity as the divine compassion; she was called the foam-born because she was mystically supposed to have risen from the waters of the ocean. swinburne describes her in magnificent lines: 332. her deep hair heavily laden with the odour and colour of 333. flowers, 3

aether of space. all this was explained to the initiates of the mysteries. the same mystical idea lies in the title of our lady mary, star of the sea; although she embodies in herself a fuller manifestation of the divine love in the perfection of eternal motherhood, and indeed unites in her person many aspects of the deity that were divided in greece. there were, however, two sides of the cult of aphrodite. the higher side was embodied in aphrodite ouranios, the heavenly aphrodite, who was indeed the mother of fair love; but there was a lower aspect of her worship as aphrodite pandemos, the earthly, common love, which leads to much evil and base desire, unworthy of the name love; and this aspect was the most prominent in the days when the old religion had become outworn and corrupt. aphrod

LEWIS JAMES SATANISM TODAY AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION FOLKLORE AND POPULAR CULTURE

before its time (dalley 1989, 156. one of the more widespread mesopotamian stories involved the descent of the goddess ishtar to the underworld. the first version of this tale was recorded by the sumerians, whose name for ishtar was inanna. the second version was a later, akkadian text. ishtar was the most important goddess in all periods of mesopotamian history, the parallel of the mediterranean aphrodite/ venus. precisely why ishtar should have undertaken such a perilous journey is obscure. some interpreters have speculated that ishtar wished to usurp her sister and extend her rule to the underworld; others that she simply wished to visit her sister. before embarking, she has the wisdom to inform her chief minister that she is about to undertake a journey to the underworld, and instructs

LIBER 141

alley of london* addenda (the following occurs on a loose page in the japanese vellum bound note-book in which de arte magica was written) man is god therefore can create spirits by ceremonial masturbation on talismans as god first did. to be done peri ton broton tais abrotais erotos "o thou who hast formulated thy father and made fertile thy mother" 1. great adepts babalon- nuit. 2. isis- venus- aphrodite- astarte. 3. artemis- vesta- maria. 4. nymphs. in all cases death to be entrance into copulation, begetting yourself on them for new incarnation. woman adepts use corresponding male goou: liber 777 vel p rolegomena s y m b o l i c a ad s y s t e m am sceptico-mystic vi explicand fundamentum hieroglyphicum sanctissimorum scient summ v a\a\ publication in class b i 777 the following is an

LIBER ASTARTE

ophus, that although his work will be harder his reward will be greater if he choose a deity most remote from his own nature. this method is harder and higher than that of .liber e. for a simple object as there suggested is of the same nature as the commonest things of life, while even the meanest deity is beyond uninitiated human understanding. on the same plane, too, venus is nearer to man than aphrodite, aphrodite than isis, isis than babalon, babalon than nuit. let him decide therefore according to his discretion on the one hand and his aspiration on the other: and let not one outrun his fellow. 42. further concerning the value of this method. certain objections arise. firstly, in the nature of all human love is illusion, and a certain blindness. nor is there any true love below the ve

LIBER DCCCXI ENERGIZED ENTHUSIASM

zation of genius is on original lines, and ill-balanced and ignorant medicine-men mistake it for disorder. time has shown that whistler and gauguin gkept rules h as well as the masters whom they were supposed to be upsetting. iv the greeks say that there are three methods of discharging the leyden jar of genius. these three methods they assign to three gods. these three gods are dionysus, apollo, aphrodite. in english: wine, women and song. now it would be a great mistake to imagine that the greeks were recommending a visit to a brothel. as well condemn the high mass at st. peter fs on the strength of having witnessed a protestant revival meeting. disorder is always a parody of order, energized enthusiasm 5 because there is no archetypal disorder that it might resemble. owen seaman can par

hose thousand seeds ever shoots forth a blade, so do conditions all but kill the strongest shoots of genius. but just as rabbits increased apace in australia, where even a missionary has been known to beget ninety children in two years, so shall we be able to breed genius if we can find the conditions which hamper it, and remove them. the obvious practical step is to restore the rites of bacchus, aphrodite and apollo to their proper place. they should not be open to every one, and manhood should be the reward of ordeal and initiation. the physical tests should be severe, and weaklings should be 1 of course there has been a school of devilish ananders that has held the act in itself to be gwicked. h of these blasphemers of nature let no further word be said, 12 liber dcccxi killed out rathe

of it, however, than i began to tremble. it was a most astonishing sensation; i can imagine a man feel thus as he awaits his executioner, when he has passed through fear, and is all excitement. i looked down my stall, and saw that each was similarly affected. during the libation the high priestess sang a hymn, again in greek. this time i recognized the words; they were those of an ancient ode to aphrodite. the boy attendant now descended to the red cross, stooped and kissed it; then he danced upon it in such a way that he seemed to be tracing the patterns of a marvellous rose of gold, for the percussion caused a shower of bright dust to fall from the canopy. meanwhile the litany (different words, but the same chorus) began again. this time it was a duet between the high priest and prieste

us and treated of by renaissance writers such as ficino in his commentary on the symposium, agrippa in de occulta philosophia lib. iii cap. 45-49, and giordano bruno in de gli eroici furori (for which see yates, giordano bruno and the hermetic tradition. in connection with the three genthusiasms h mentioned here, there is evidence that crowley referred the letters of iao to iacchus, asi (isis) or aphrodite and `orus (permissible since h is not a letter in greek, the latter as a cognate of apollo. the reference to gspurious masons working under a forged charter h at the end of section xv probably denotes the ancient and accepted scottish rite, so called because it originated in france, claimed an authorisation from a prussian prince, and had its greatest initial success in the southern u.s

LIBER HHH

ocatur. et ha reflexiones aquatica sunt trium enthusiasmorum, apollonis, dionysi, veneris .total stella est nechesh et messiach, nomen hyha cum hwhy conjunctum. there are three contemplations as it were breaths in the human mind, that is the abyss of hell: the first is called.,2 the second.,3 and the third..4 these are the watery reflexions of the three enthusiasms; those of apollo, dionysus, and aphrodite.5 the whole star is nechesh and messiach, the name hyha joined with hwhy.6 2 i m m m .i remember a certain holy day in the dusk of the year, in the dusk of the equinox of osiris, when i first beheld thee visibly; when first the dreadful issue was fought out; when the ibis-headed one charmed away the strife. i remember thy first kiss, even as a maiden should. nor in the dark byways was th

three chapters of liber hhh as indicated, and svb figvra cccxli 9 its number, 341, is the sum of these letters. the other three letters, aleph, yod and vau, re-arranged, give way, a hebrew spelling of iao, which adds to 17. even leaving aside the purported liber iao, there is evidence in other crowley mss. that he referred the letters of iao to the .three enthusiasms. as i= iacchus (dionysus, a= aphrodite, o `orus (as a cognate of apollo: a permissable fudge since the aspirate is not a letter in greek. 7 this whole section parallels .liber pyramidos. fairly closely and is the .meditation practice corresponding to ritual dclxxi. mentioned in liber xiii. the versified solo version of liber 671 which has been published is adequate for the purposes of exploring the parallels, although one sus

LIBER MMCMXI NOTE ON GENESIS

r concentration: focalisation: producing by their joint action the number of manifestation.4. in the worlds.assiah: in the taro, the princess.the throne of the spirit: in the tetragram, the he final, and in symbolic language.the daughter: in the cycle of life (birth, life, death, resurrection, the fourth; in the keys of the book universal, the empress, korh kosmou, the virgin of the world, venus, aphrodite: centrum in trigonis centri.by whatsoever of a myriad names we call her, still the same in spirit, the same in number and in form! and this number is herein formulated by the concentration of the three in one. 3+ 1= 4. now in this figure ii. we behold six certain paths; and in six days did god create the heavens and the earth. and the total numeration of its numbers is the perfect number

LIBER TRIGRAMMATON

earth and hell. against him the brothers of the left-hand path, confusing the symbols. they concealed their horror [in this symbol; for in truth they were the master flamed forth as a star and set a guard of water in every abyss. also certain secret ones concealed the light of purity in themselves, protecting it from the persecutions. likewise also did certain sons and daughters of hermes and of aphrodite, more openly. but the enemy confused them. they pretended to conceal that light, that they might betray it, and profane it. svb figvra xxvii 3 yet certain holy nuns concealed the secret in songs upon the lyre. now did the horror of time pervert all things, hiding the purity with a loathsome thing, a thing unnameable. yea, and there arose sensualists upon the firmament, as a foul stain of

MANLY P HALL THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES

derworld. like many other savior-gods, he is referred to as a "shepherd" or "the lord of the shepherd seat" tammuz occupies the remarkable position of son and husband of ishtar, the babylonian and assyrian mother-goddess. ishtar--to whom the planer venus was sacred--was the most widely venerated deity of the babylonian and assyrian pantheon. she was probably identical with ashterorh, astarte, and aphrodite. the story of her descent into the underworld in search presumably for the sacred elixir which alone could restore tammuz to life is the key to the ritual of her mysteries. tammuz, whose annual festival took place just before the summer solstice, died in midsummer in the ancient month which bore his name, and was mourned with elaborate ceremonies. the manner of his death is unknown, but

al earth bring powerless to obstruct the rays of this divine orb. the mysterious lights which illuminated the temples of the egyptian mysteries during the nocturnal hours were said by some to he reflections of the spiritual sun gathered by the magical powers of the priests. the weird light seen ten miles below the surface of the earth by i-am-the-man in that remarkable masonic allegory etidorhpa (aphrodite spelt backward) may well refer to the mysterious midnight sun of the ancient rites. primitive conceptions concerning the warfare between the principles of good and evil were often based upon the alternations of day and night. during the middle ages, the practices of black magic were confined to the nocturnal hours; and those who served the spirit of evil were called black magicians, whil

shines forth immediately after sunset. because of these qualities, a number of names have been given to it by the ancients. being visible in the sky at sunset, it was called vesper, and as it arose before the sun, it was called the false light, the star of the morning, or lucifer, which means the light-bearer. because of this relation to the sun, the planet was also referred to as venus, astarte, aphrodite, isis, and the mother of the gods. it is possible that: at some seasons of the year in certain latitudes the fact that venus was a crescent could be detected without the aid of a telescope. this would account for the crescent which is often seen in connection with the goddesses of antiquity, the stories of which do not agree with the phases of the moon. the accurate knowledge which pytha

zing that all life has its origin in water, chose the fish as the symbol of the life germ. the fact that fishes are most prolific makes the simile still more apt. while the early priests may not have possessed the instruments necessary to analyze the spermatozoon, they concluded by deduction that it resembled a fish. fishes were sacred to the greeks and romans, being connected with the worship of aphrodite (venus. an interesting survival of pagan ritualism is found in the custom of eating fish on friday. freya, in whose honor the day was named, was the scandinavian venus, and this day was sacred among many nations to the goddess of beauty and fecundity. this analogy further links the fish with the procreative mystery. friday is also sacred to the followers of the prophet mohammed. the word

ent and highly revered pagan yonic emblem. in many of the ancient mysteries it represented the third person of the creative triad, or the fabricator of the world. as the lower worlds were brought into existence through a generative process, so the dove has been associated with those deities identified with the procreative functions. it is sacred to astarte, cybele, isis, venus, juno, mylitta, and aphrodite. on account of its gentleness and devotion to its young, the dove was looked upon as the embodiment of the maternal instinct. the dove is also an emblem of wisdom, for it represents the power and order by which the lower worlds are maintained. it has long been accepted as a messenger of the divine will, and signifies the activity of god. the name dove has been given to oracles and to pro

ring spirit in the midst of them. p. 186 relationship of the various parts of the alpha and omega to the seven sacred planets of the ancients. to quote "the logos-figure described is a composite picture of the seven sacred planets: he has the snowy-white hair of kronos('father time, the blazing eyes of 'wide-seeing' zeus, the sword of arcs, the shining face of helios, and the chiton and girdle of aphrodite; his feet are of mercury, the metal sacred to hermes, and his voice is like the murmur of the ocean's waves (the 'many waters, alluding to selene, the moon-goddess of the four seasons and of the waters" the seven stars carried by this immense being in his right hand are the governors of the world; the flaming sword issuing from his mouth is the creative fiat, or word of power, by which t

MASTERING WITCHCRAFT

nstrued to mean "the father of the temple of universal peace among men" the initials of which phrase in latin spell the name backwards: templi omnium hominum pacis abbas; or by others as a corruption of bathos metis "purification by wisdom" however, many witches take it to refer to "the stone of buffo" buffo being an ancient name for the island of cyprus where legend has it the greek love goddess aphrodite was born; from whence also certain of the feminine witch mysteries were said to have emanated. which brings me to my second consideration, namely, the titles bestowed upon female witch leader whether she be designated high priestess or queen of the sabbat. among the lady's titles are: andred. witch goddess name coming from the forest of weald in england. bensozia. twelfth-century french

d round the circle and proclaimed to the east, south, west, and north watchtowers as a prospective candidate for admission. at this point the charge of the goddess is made to the candidate by the high priestess. it is claimed to be traditional, and because of that, i shall quote it in full: listen to the words of the great mother, who was of old called among men artemis, astarte, dione, melusine, aphrodite, and many other names. at mine altars the youth of lacedaemon made due sacrifice. once a month and better it be when the moon is full, meet in some secret place and adore me, who am the queen of all magics. there assemble, and to those who would learn sorcery, i will teach things yet unknown. and you shall be free, and as a sign that you be really so, be naked in your rites, dance, sing

MICHAEL WYNN THE SOUL TRAVELERS

egin to absorb the traditions and gods of the other. this theory does not, however, explain how distant and unacquainted civilizations managed to acquire so many corresponding details in their traditions. easily one of the most common gods who transcend the borders of mythology is venus. venus is the roman goddess of love and fertility. the goddess venus is so closely related to the greek goddess aphrodite that one could hardly pull them apart categorically. aphrodite, from whom came the word aphrodisiac, is also a goddess of love and fertility. aphrodite is also associated with another greek goddess astarte. in mesopotamia, this goddess goes by the names ishtar, ashtoreth, and inanna. ishtar is also a fertility and love goddess who is further associated with the planet venus. the multiple

MORALS AND DOGMA

to pronounce at what time god was first worthily and truly honored, or when man first began to feel aright the mute eloquence of nature? in the obscure physics of the mystical theologers who preceded greek philosophy, love was the great first cause and parent of the universe "zeus" says proclus "when entering upon the work of creation, changed himself into the form of love: and he brought forward aphrodite, the principle of unity and universal harmony, to display her light to all. in the depths of his mysterious being, he contains the principle of love within himself; in him creative wisdom and blessed love are united "from the first of days on these his love divine be fixed, his admiration; till in time complete what he admired and loved, his vital smile unfolded into being" the speculato

uzd and the six amshaspands, the first three of whom were lords of the empires of light, fire, and splendor; the babylonians, bal and the gods; the chinese, shangti, and the six chief spirits; and the greeks, kronos, and the six great male gods, his progeny, zeus, poseidon, apollo, ares, hephaistos, and hermes; while the female deities were also seven: rhea, wife of kronos, here, athene, artemis, aphrodite, hestia, and demetei. in the orphic theogony, gaia produced the fourteen titans, seven male and seven female, kronos being the most potent of the males; and as the number _seven_ appears in these, nine by threes, or the triple triangle, is found in the three m ra or fates, the three centimanes, and the three cyclopes, offspring of ouranos and gaia, or heaven and earth. the metals, like t

MOTTA MARCELO THE COMMENTARIES OF AL

l; whiskey for the dour temperament and damp cold climate of the scot. sex-expression, too, depends on climate and so on, so that we must interpret the law to suit a socrates, a jesus, and a burton, or a marie antoinette and a de lamballe, as well as our own don juans and faustines. with this expansion, to the honour and glory of them, of their natures, we acclaim therefore our helpers, dionysus, aphrodite, apollo, wine, woman and song. intoxication, that is, ecstasy, is the key to reality. it is explained in "energized enthusiasm (equinox i, ix) that there are three gods whose function is to bring the soul to the realization of its own glory: dionysus, aphrodite, apollo; wine, woman, and song. the ancients, both in the highest civilizations, as in greece and egypt, and in the most primiti

d hell. j against him the brothers of the left-hand path, confusing the symbols. they concealed their horror (in this symbol; for in truth they were. w the master flamed forth as a star and set a guard of water in every abyss. o also certain secret ones concealed the light of purity in themselves, protecting it from the persecutions. g likewise also did certain sons and daughters of hermes and of aphrodite, more openly. z but the enemy confused them. they pretended to conceal that light, that they might betray it, and profane it. b yet certain holy nuns concealed the secret in songs upon the lyre. f now did the horror of time pervert all things, hiding the purity with a loathsome thing, a thing unnameable. s yes, and there arose sensualists upon the firmament, as a foul stain of storm upon

MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS E

us. to punish the former he commanded hephastus (vulcan) to mould a beautiful woman out of clay, and determined that through her instrumentality trouble and misery should be brought into the world. the gods were so charmed with the graceful and artistic creation of hephastus, that they all determined to endow her with some special gift. hermes (mercury) bestowed on her a smooth persuasive tongue, aphrodite gave her beauty and the art of pleasing; the graces made her fascinating, and athene (minerva) gifted her with the possession of feminine accomplishments. she was called pandora, which means all-gifted, having received every attribute necessary to make her charming and irresistible. thus beautifully formed and endowed, this exquisite creature, attired by page 25 the graces, and crowned w

gnant at not being invited, she determined to cause dissension in the assembly, and for this purpose threw into the midst of the guests a golden apple with the inscription on it "for the fairest" now, as all the goddesses were extremely beautiful, each claimed the apple; but at length, the rest having relinquished their pretensions, the number of candidates was reduced to three, hera, athene, and aphrodite, who agreed to appeal to paris for a settlement of this delicate question, he being noted for the wisdom he had displayed in his judgment upon page 39 several occasions. paris was the son of priam, king of troy, who, ignorant of his noble birth, was at this time feeding his flocks on mount ida, in phrygia. hermes, as messenger of the gods, conducted the three rival beauties to the young

ignorant of his noble birth, was at this time feeding his flocks on mount ida, in phrygia. hermes, as messenger of the gods, conducted the three rival beauties to the young shepherd, and with breathless anxiety they awaited his decision. each fair candidate endeavoured [40]to secure his favour by the most tempting offers. hera promised him extensive dominions; athene, martial fame and glory; and aphrodite, the loveliest woman in the world. but whether he really considered aphrodite the fairest of the three, or preferred a beautiful wife to fame and power, we cannot tell; all we know is that to her he awarded the golden apple, and she became ever after universally acknowledged as the goddess of beauty. hera, having fully expected that paris would give her the preference, was so indignant t

a pitiful existence [58] ceres. the roman ceres is actually the greek demeter under another name, her attributes, worship, festivals &c, being precisely identical. the romans were indebted to sicily for this divinity, her worship having been introduced by the greek colonists who settled there. the cerealia, or festivals in honour of ceres, commenced on the 12th of april, and lasted several days. aphrodite (venus. aphrodite (from aphros, sea-foam, and dite, issued, the daughter of zeus and a sea-nymph called dione, was the goddess of love and beauty. dione, being a sea-nymph, gave birth to her daughter beneath the waves; but the child of the heaven-inhabiting zeus was forced to ascend from the ocean-depths and mount to the snow-capped page 63 summits of olympus, in order to breathe that et

daughter of zeus and a sea-nymph called dione, was the goddess of love and beauty. dione, being a sea-nymph, gave birth to her daughter beneath the waves; but the child of the heaven-inhabiting zeus was forced to ascend from the ocean-depths and mount to the snow-capped page 63 summits of olympus, in order to breathe that ethereal and most refined atmosphere which pertains to the celestial gods. aphrodite was the mother of eros (cupid, the god of love, also of aneas, the great trojan hero and the head of that greek colony which settled in italy, and from which arose the city of rome. as a mother aphrodite claims our sympathy for the tenderness she exhibits towards her children. homer tells us in his iliad, how, when aneas was wounded in battle, she came to his assistance, regardless of pe

rojan hero and the head of that greek colony which settled in italy, and from which arose the city of rome. as a mother aphrodite claims our sympathy for the tenderness she exhibits towards her children. homer tells us in his iliad, how, when aneas was wounded in battle, she came to his assistance, regardless of personal danger, and was herself severely wounded in attempting to save his life [59] aphrodite was tenderly attached to a lovely youth, called adonis, whose exquisite beauty has become proverbial. he was a motherless babe, and aphrodite, taking pity on him, placed him in a chest and intrusted him to the care of persephone, who became so fond of the beautiful youth that she refused to part with him. zeus, being appealed to by the rival foster-mothers, decided that adonis should spe

d adonis, whose exquisite beauty has become proverbial. he was a motherless babe, and aphrodite, taking pity on him, placed him in a chest and intrusted him to the care of persephone, who became so fond of the beautiful youth that she refused to part with him. zeus, being appealed to by the rival foster-mothers, decided that adonis should spend four months of every year with persephone, four with aphrodite, whilst during the remaining four months he should be left to his own devices. he became, however, so attached to aphrodite that he voluntarily devoted to her the time at his own disposal. adonis was killed, during the chase, by a wild boar, to the great grief of aphrodite, who bemoaned his loss so persistently that aides, moved with pity, permitted him to pass six months of every year w

ces. he became, however, so attached to aphrodite that he voluntarily devoted to her the time at his own disposal. adonis was killed, during the chase, by a wild boar, to the great grief of aphrodite, who bemoaned his loss so persistently that aides, moved with pity, permitted him to pass six months of every year with her, whilst the remaining half of the year was spent by him in the lower world. aphrodite possessed a magic girdle (the famous cestus) which she frequently lent to unhappy maidens suffering from the pangs of unrequited love, as it was endowed with the power of inspiring affection for the wearer, whom it invested with every attribute of grace, beauty, and fascination. her usual attendants are the charites or graces (euphrosyne, aglaia, and thalia, who are represented undraped

ry attribute of grace, beauty, and fascination. her usual attendants are the charites or graces (euphrosyne, aglaia, and thalia, who are represented undraped and intertwined in a loving embrace. in hesiod's theogony she is supposed to belong to the more ancient divinities, and, whilst those of later date are represented as page 64 having descended one from another, and all more or less from zeus, aphrodite has a variously-accounted-for, yet independent origin. the most poetical version of her birth is that when uranus was wounded by his son cronus, his blood mingled with the foam of the sea, whereupon the bubbling waters at once assumed a rosy tint, and from their depths arose, in all the surpassing glory of her loveliness, aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty! shaking her long, fair tres

the head; the expression of the face is most bewitching, and bespeaks the perfect [61]joyousness of a happy nature combined with the dignity of a goddess; the drapery falls in careless folds from the waist downwards, and her whole attitude is the embodiment of all that is graceful and lovely in womanhood. she is of medium height, and the form is perfect in its symmetry and faultless proportions. aphrodite is also frequently represented in the act of confining her dripping locks in a knot, whilst her attendant nymphs envelop her in a gauzy veil. the animals sacred to her were the dove, swan, swallow, and sparrow. her favourite plants were the myrtle, apple-tree, rose, and poppy. the worship of aphrodite is supposed to have been introduced into greece from central asia. there is no doubt th

e-tree, rose, and poppy. the worship of aphrodite is supposed to have been introduced into greece from central asia. there is no doubt that she was originally identical with the famous astarte, the ashtoreth of the bible, against whose idolatrous worship and infamous rites the prophets of old hurled forth their sublime and powerful anathemas. venus. the venus of the romans was identified with the aphrodite of the greeks. the worship of this divinity was only established in rome in comparatively later times. annual festivals, called veneralia, were held in her honour, and the month of april, when flowers and plants spring forth afresh, was sacred to her. she was worshipped as venus cloacina (or the purifier, and as venus myrtea (or the myrtle goddess, an epithet derived from the myrtle, the

ower, which ever turns towards the sun. helios married perse, daughter of oceanus, and their children were, aetes, king of colchis (celebrated in the legend of the page 69 argonauts as the possessor of the golden fleece, and circe, the renowned sorceress. helios had another son named phaethon, whose mother was clymene, one of the oceanides. the youth was very beautiful, and a great favourite with aphrodite, who intrusted him with the care of one of her temples, which flattering proof of her regard caused him to become vain and presumptuous. his friend epaphus, son of zeus and io, endeavoured to check his youthful vanity by pretending to disbelieve his assertion that the sun-god was his father. phaethon, full of resentment, and eager to be able to refute the calumny, hastened to his mother

ath by her, with the lance which she bore in her hand. thus many suitors had perished, for the maiden was unequalled for swiftness of foot, but at last a beautiful youth, named hippomenes, who had vainly endeavoured to win her love by his assiduous attentions in the chase, ventured to enter the fatal lists. knowing that only by stratagem could he hope to be successful, he obtained, by the help of aphrodite, three golden apples from the garden of the hesperides, which he threw down at intervals during his course. atalanta, secure of victory, stooped to pick up the tempting fruit, and, in the meantime, hippomenes arrived at the goal. he became the husband of the lovely atalanta, but forgot, in his newly found happiness, the gratitude which he owed to aphrodite, and the goddess withdrew her f

of art, by two female statues of pure gold, formed by his own hand, which possessed the power of motion, and always accompanied him wherever he went. with the assistance of the cyclops, he forged for zeus his wonderful thunderbolts, thus investing his mighty father with a new power of terrible import. zeus testified his appreciation of this precious gift, by bestowing upon hephastus the beautiful aphrodite in marriage,[36] but this was a questionable boon; for the lovely aphrodite, who was the personification of all grace and beauty, felt no affection for her ungainly and unattractive spouse, and amused herself by ridiculing his awkward movements and unsightly person. on one occasion especially, when hephastus good-naturedly took upon himself the office of cup-bearer to the gods, page 107

and unattractive spouse, and amused herself by ridiculing his awkward movements and unsightly person. on one occasion especially, when hephastus good-naturedly took upon himself the office of cup-bearer to the gods, page 107 his hobbling gait and extreme awkwardness created the greatest mirth amongst the celestials, in which his disloyal partner was the first to join, with unconcealed merriment. aphrodite greatly preferred ares to her husband, and this preference naturally gave rise to much jealousy on the part of hephastus, and caused them great unhappiness. hephastus appears to have been an indispensable member of the olympic assembly, where he plays the part of smith, armourer, chariot-builder &c. as already mentioned, he constructed the palaces where the gods resided, fashioned the go

s in her power to defeat his bloodthirsty designs. thus she assists the divine hero diomedes at the siege of troy, to overcome ares in battle, and so well does he profit by her timely aid, that he succeeds in wounding the sanguinary war-god, who makes his exit from the field, roaring like ten thousand bulls [113] page 123 ares appears to have been an object of aversion to all the gods of olympus, aphrodite alone excepted. as the son of hera, he had inherited from his mother the strongest feelings of independence and contradiction, and as he took delight in upsetting that peaceful course of state-life which it was pre-eminently the care of zeus to establish, he was naturally disliked and even hated by him. when wounded by diomedes, as above related, he complains to his father, but receives

young god was now presented by his father with a winged silver cap (petasus, and also with silver wings for his feet (talaria, and was forthwith appointed herald of the gods, and conductor of shades to hades, which office had hitherto been filled by aides. as messenger of the gods, we find him employed on all occasions requiring special skill, tact, or despatch. thus he conducts hera, athene, and aphrodite to paris, leads priam to achilles to demand the body of hector [122]binds prometheus to mount caucasus, secures ixion to the eternally revolving wheel, destroys argus, the hundred-eyed guardian of io &c &c. as conductor of shades, hermes was always invoked by the dying to grant them a safe and speedy passage across the styx. he also possessed the power of bringing back departed spirits t

ck departed spirits to the upper world, and was, therefore, the mediator between the living and the dead. the poets relate many amusing stories of the youthful tricks played by this mischief-loving god upon the other immortals. for instance, he had the audacity to extract the medusa's head from the shield of athene, which he playfully attached to the back of hephastus; he also stole the girdle of aphrodite; deprived artemis of her arrows, and ares of his spear, but these acts were always performed with such graceful dexterity, combined with such page 135 perfect good humour, that even the gods and goddesses he thus provoked, were fain to pardon him, and he became a universal favourite with them all. it is said that hermes was one day flying over athens, when, looking down into the city, he

d contrived to discover in all things some defect or blemish. thus when prometheus created the first man, momus considered his work incomplete because there was no aperture in the breast through which his inmost thoughts might be read. he [150]also found fault with a house built by athene because, being unprovided with the means of locomotion, it could never be removed from an unhealthy locality. aphrodite alone defied his criticism, for, to his great chagrin, he could find no fault with her perfect form.[50] page 167 in what manner the ancients represented this god is unknown. in modern art he is depicted like a king's jester, with a fool's cap and bells. eros (cupid, amor) and psyche. according to hesiod's theogony, eros, the divine spirit of love, sprang forth from chaos, while all was

eless, conflicting elements, which, under his influence, began to assume distinct forms. this ancient eros is represented as a full-grown and very beautiful youth, crowned with flowers, and leaning on a shepherd's crook. in the course of time, this beautiful conception gradually faded away, and though occasional mention still continues to be made of the eros of chaos, he is replaced by the son of aphrodite, the popular, mischief-loving little god of love, so familiar to us all. in one of the myths concerning eros, aphrodite is described as complaining to themis, that her son, though so beautiful, did not appear to increase in stature; whereupon themis suggested that his small proportions were probably attributable to the fact of his being always alone, and advised his mother to let him hav

popular, mischief-loving little god of love, so familiar to us all. in one of the myths concerning eros, aphrodite is described as complaining to themis, that her son, though so beautiful, did not appear to increase in stature; whereupon themis suggested that his small proportions were probably attributable to the fact of his being always alone, and advised his mother to let him have a companion. aphrodite accordingly gave him, as a playfellow, his younger brother anteros (requited love, and soon had the gratification of seeing the little eros begin to grow and thrive; but, curious to relate, this desirable result only continued as long as the brothers remained together, for the moment they were separated, eros shrank once more to his original size [151] by degrees the conception of eros b

NAGEL CARL AMAZING SECRETS OF OCCULT POWER

s astrological signs: aries: cinnamon, pepper, and chestnuts. taurus: grapes and sage. gemini: carrots and fennel. cancer: garlic and peppermint. leo: almonds and celery seed. virgo: apples and thyme. scorpio: ginger, mustard, and onions. sagittarius: sesame seed and nutmeg. capricorn: dates and wintergreen. aquarius: bananas and rye. pisces: mint and oranges. the word aphrodisiac is derived from aphrodite, the love goddess of the ancient greeks whom the romans called venus. of all the goddesses of ancient greece and rome, none was more widely venerated than the goddess of love was. every god -even zeus himself- wanted the beautiful, golden aphrodite as his wife, but she was too proud and rejected them all. one of her children was eros, the winged god of love. the black candle of love< the

raft, red is the traditional color used by witches in sexual matters. the conjuration to summon the incubi and succubi works best if it is first worked three days before the new moon. aphrodisiac foods are ruled by the stars and exert a more potent effect if the correct foods are served to the person whose astrological sun sign agrees with the foods concerned. the word aphrodisiac is derived from aphrodite, the love goddess of the ancient greeks whom the romans called venus. sex backed by a definite thought or desire is a powerful magical force. you can make the irresistible combination of sex and magic work real wonders for you< the cabala is the secret teaching of the ancient hebrews concerning the inner meaning to the simplistic doctrines and philosophy of the old testament, and forms t

PHILIP NEIL MYTHS LEGENDS EXPLAINED

ks lived at the top of mount olympus, the highest peak in greece. later their home was conceived of as a heaven in the skies. from olympus, the gods loved, quarrelled, watched the world, and helped and hindered mortals according to their whims. presided over by zeus (roman jupiter, ruler of heaven and earth, there were many gods and immortals of whom 12 are usually regarded as the most important: aphrodite (venus, apollo (apollo, ares (mars, artemis (diana, athena (minerva, demeter (ceres, dionysus (bacchus, hephaestus (vulcan, hera (juno, hermes (mercury, hestia (vesta, and poseidon (neptune. hades (pluto, zeus brother, ruled the underworld. these olympian gods succeeded earlier generations of gods. gaia (mother earth) was the first goddess, and bore the race of titans by her son uranus

the race of titans by her son uranus. the titans, led by cronos (saturn, seized power from uranus; and in turn were defeated by their own children, led by cronos son zeus. after the defeat of the titans, zeus and his brothers poseidon and hades drew lots for the governance of the sky, the sea, and the underworld. eros eros, the god of love, represented as a child or a youth, is usually said to be aphrodite s son. he is shown here as winged cherub, carrying his arrows of desire. aphrodite aphrodite (see pp. 26 27, the goddess of sexual love, was born from the foam after cronos cast his father s genitals into the sea. she had power over everyone except hestia, athena, and artemis. poseidon poseidon was the god of the sea. he is shown here astride a fish, carrying his three-pronged trident. p

al virgins. gods of olympus athena athena, zeus daughter by the nymph metis, was goddess of war and wisdom. her approach was very different from that of the brutal war-god ares. she was born from zeus head and is usually shown wearing armour. ares ares, the god of war (see p. 27) was the only son of zeus and hera. his militant agression was often pitched against the strategy of athena (see above. aphrodite was his lover. zeus is the first, zeus is the last, the god with the dazzling lightning. zeus is the head, zeus is the middle, of zeus all things have their end. zeus is the foundation of the earth and of the starry sky. zeus is male, zeus is an immortal woman. zeus is the breath of all things. an orphic hymn to zeus zeus zeus, originally a sky god, was the supreme ruler of heaven and ea

is sister artemis were zeus children by the titaness leto. he was god of prophecy, divination, and the arts, especially music, and also a sun-god, although he was not the sun itself this was represented by the god helios. hephaestus hephaestus, the lame blacksmith god (see pp. 26 27, was the son of hera produced without a mate, although some sources say that zeus was his father. he was married to aphrodite. pan the goat-god pan (see pp. 42 43, the son of hermes, was the god of pastures and wild places. he was very lustful and is typically shown, as here, carrying off a nymph. four winds the winds, zephyrus (see pp. 35 5, eurus, notus, and boreas (see p. 43) and the stars were the children of the titan astraeus, and eos, the dawn. hear us blessed goddess, beloved wife sister of zeus, goddes

eat the meat raw. but prometheus, guided up into the sky by athena, stole fire from the chariot of the sun and brought it down to earth in a fennel stalk; the origin of the olympic torch. prometheus fennel stalk athena pandora s box pandora, the first mortal woman, was created by several gods, on zeus orders, to wreak havoc after prometheus stole fire from heaven. hephaestus (vulcan) shaped her; aphrodite (venus) gave her beauty; helios taught her to sing; hermes (mercury) to flatter and deceive; and athena (minerva) clothed her. although prometheus told epimetheus to refuse any gifts from zeus, he accepted pandora and married her. as intended, she brought chaos, opening a forbidden jar and releasing all the ills of the world that had been shut away. only blind hope remained pandora coaxe

ty; helios taught her to sing; hermes (mercury) to flatter and deceive; and athena (minerva) clothed her. although prometheus told epimetheus to refuse any gifts from zeus, he accepted pandora and married her. as intended, she brought chaos, opening a forbidden jar and releasing all the ills of the world that had been shut away. only blind hope remained pandora coaxed it out to comfort humankind. aphrodite and ares 26 aphrodite and ares aphrodite (roman venus, the goddess of love, was married to the blacksmith god hephaestus (vulcan) to whom she was never faithful. one day, helios, the sun god, came to hephaestus and told him that he had seen aphrodite with her lover ares (mars, the god of war, in the blacksmith s own palace. deeply jealous, hephaestus went to his workshop and in a fury fa

helios, the sun god, came to hephaestus and told him that he had seen aphrodite with her lover ares (mars, the god of war, in the blacksmith s own palace. deeply jealous, hephaestus went to his workshop and in a fury fashioned a net of metal so fine and light that it was almost invisible, yet so strong that it could not be broken. this he fastened to the bedposts and rafters in the bedroom. when aphrodite and ares next went to bed, the net was released and bound them so tightly that they were unable to escape. hephaestus then invited all the gods to come and laugh at the trapped lovers. poseidon (neptune, hermes (mercury, and helios came. hephaestus demanded that zeus (jupiter) should repay him all the gifts he had made in order to win aphrodite s hand, but in the end settled for a fine t

n invited all the gods to come and laugh at the trapped lovers. poseidon (neptune, hermes (mercury, and helios came. hephaestus demanded that zeus (jupiter) should repay him all the gifts he had made in order to win aphrodite s hand, but in the end settled for a fine to be paid by ares. amid much laughter, poseidon offered to stand surety for the debt, and so the lovers were freed. golden goddess aphrodite is called golden by the poet hesiod. she is also called laughter-loving, although here the joke is on her. imp of desire some sources say that eros (cupid) was aphrodite s son by either ares, hermes, or even by her father zeus. others say that he was the first god, and hatched from the world egg at the beginning of time. cunning net when hephaestus learned of aphrodite s betrayal, he mad

me sources say that eros (cupid) was aphrodite s son by either ares, hermes, or even by her father zeus. others say that he was the first god, and hatched from the world egg at the beginning of time. cunning net when hephaestus learned of aphrodite s betrayal, he made a net of fine metal to catch the lovers. hephaestus was the blacksmith god and was worshiped in athens as the patron of craftsmen. aphrodite, hephaestus, and ares by tintoretto, originally jacopo robusti (1518 94) this painting shows hephaestus fixing a net to the bed to trap ares and aphrodite together. oddly enough, aphrodite does not realize that he is setting a trap and he does not notice ares under the bed. all-seeing sun helios, the sun, saw aphrodite and ares together in the palace of hephaestus, and immediately inform

iginally jacopo robusti (1518 94) this painting shows hephaestus fixing a net to the bed to trap ares and aphrodite together. oddly enough, aphrodite does not realize that he is setting a trap and he does not notice ares under the bed. all-seeing sun helios, the sun, saw aphrodite and ares together in the palace of hephaestus, and immediately informed the cuckolded god. this greek sculpture shows aphrodite emerging from the sea, wringing the water from her hair as she comes to the island of paphos on a giant scallop shell. aphrodite scallop shell wet hair foam the birth of aphrodite some sources say that aphrodite was a daughter of zeus, but in the poet hesiod s account, she was born from the seafoam (aphros) that gathered around the genitals of uranus after they had been cut off and flung

llop shell wet hair foam the birth of aphrodite some sources say that aphrodite was a daughter of zeus, but in the poet hesiod s account, she was born from the seafoam (aphros) that gathered around the genitals of uranus after they had been cut off and flung away by his son cronos (saturn see p. 23. the drops of blood that fell became the furies, giants, and the ash-tree nymphs called the meliae. aphrodite came to shore at paphos in cyprus. as she stepped onto land, grass grew under her feet. also called anadyomene she who emerges she was accompanied by eros (desire) from the beginning. aphrodite and ares 27 goddess of sensual pleasure while hera (juno) blessed the marriage bed, aphrodite, her daughter by zeus, was the goddess of love and passion. she offered aid to human lovers, but cruel

re) from the beginning. aphrodite and ares 27 goddess of sensual pleasure while hera (juno) blessed the marriage bed, aphrodite, her daughter by zeus, was the goddess of love and passion. she offered aid to human lovers, but cruel and vengeful punishment to those who scorned her. barking dog the dog tries to alert hephaestus to the presence of ares under the bed but he remains oblivious. ares and aphrodite, although they were caught on this occasion, managed to have several children together: deimos (fear, phobos (panic, harmonia (concord, and, according to some sources, eros (desire. bed of love aphrodite had many lovers including dionysus (bacchus, who fathered her son the phallic god priapus, and hermes who fathered the twin-sexed hermaphroditus. mortal lovers included adonis (see pp. 3

: deimos (fear, phobos (panic, harmonia (concord, and, according to some sources, eros (desire. bed of love aphrodite had many lovers including dionysus (bacchus, who fathered her son the phallic god priapus, and hermes who fathered the twin-sexed hermaphroditus. mortal lovers included adonis (see pp. 32 33) and anchises, who was the father of her son, the hero aeneas (see pp. 66 67. the story of aphrodite s affair with ares, and the revenge of her husband hephaestus, is sung by the blind bard demodocus at the phaeacian games in the odyssey, to the delight of odysseus (see pp. 64 65. jealous husband hephaestus was enthralled by aphrodite, and deeply jealous of her infidelities. hephaestus himself is earlier represented as the husband of aglaia, the youngest of the graces, and also as havin

disgust. ares, the warrior ares cowers under the bed until hephaestus leaves the room. ares, although he was the god of war, was not the god of victory, and on several occasions suffered humiliation in battle, as he does in this story of love. ares, god of war ares loved to stir up trouble, often in league with eris, the goddess of strife (see p. 63. he was a bully and a braggart and, apart from aphrodite, no one, not even his parents zeus and hera, cared for him. hades, however, appreciated the steady stream of young men who entered the underworld thanks to ares warmongering. aphrodite, goddess of love aphrodite was only interested in making love. on the one occasion when aphrodite worked at a loom, athena, goddess of arts and crafts, protested most vigorously at this invasion of her own

, no one, not even his parents zeus and hera, cared for him. hades, however, appreciated the steady stream of young men who entered the underworld thanks to ares warmongering. aphrodite, goddess of love aphrodite was only interested in making love. on the one occasion when aphrodite worked at a loom, athena, goddess of arts and crafts, protested most vigorously at this invasion of her own domain. aphrodite humbly apologized, and has never done a day s work since. aphrodite, goddess from the east t he worship of aphrodite emanated from the island of cyprus, which was culturally influenced from the near east. she is related to the goddess ishtar (see p. 19; her love for adonis (see pp. 32 33) echoes that of ishtar and tammuz, and the existence of temple prostitutes in her temple in corinth r

from the greek word for riches. the recipent of buried treasure, he was, therefore, considered the god of agricultural wealth. as such, he exerted influence over crops and cultivation hence his marriage to the earth goddess daughter (in earlier times persephone and demeter may have been a single divinity) hades in love hades carries persephone away. according to ovid s roman version of the story, aphrodite (venus) instructed eros (cupid) to pierce the underworld god with an arrow of desire for his niece, in order to demonstrate her power over the other gods. royal trident hades struck the ground with his trident to open up a way to the underworld, where he took persephone to be his queen. weeping water nymph when hades seized persephone, the nymph cyane rose from the lake and rebuked him b

hese were the titans (see p. 23; king tantalus, who killed his son, abused the gods friendship and was condemned to stand chin-deep in water that he could never drink (thus forever tantalized; and sisyphus, deceitful and disobedient, who was forced to roll a heavy rock uphill for eternity every time it neared the top, the rock rolled back down. the underworld cerberus by william blake (1757 1827) aphrodite and adonis 32 aphrodite and adonis adonis was a beautiful youth with whom the goddesses aphrodite (roman venus) and persephone (proserpine, see pp. 28 29) fell in love. he died as a result of their quarrels, killed at the request of persephone (who wanted to keep adonis in the underworld with her forever) by ares (mars, aphrodite s jealous lover, who was disguised as a boar. adonis was t

whom the goddesses aphrodite (roman venus) and persephone (proserpine, see pp. 28 29) fell in love. he died as a result of their quarrels, killed at the request of persephone (who wanted to keep adonis in the underworld with her forever) by ares (mars, aphrodite s jealous lover, who was disguised as a boar. adonis was the son of cinyras, king of paphos in cyprus, and his daughter smyrna (myrrha. aphrodite had made smyrna fall in love and sleep with her father while he was drunk, in revenge for cinyras boasting that his daughter was more beautiful than she was herself. when smyrna fell pregnant, her father tried to kill her but aphrodite, now feeling sorry for smyrna, turned her into a myrrh tree. the tree subsequently split in two and the beautiful infant adonis tumbled out. aphrodite pla

ghter was more beautiful than she was herself. when smyrna fell pregnant, her father tried to kill her but aphrodite, now feeling sorry for smyrna, turned her into a myrrh tree. the tree subsequently split in two and the beautiful infant adonis tumbled out. aphrodite placed the baby in a chest and gave him to persephone for safekeeping. persephone was immediately infatuated. warnings of a goddess aphrodite clings to adonis, trying to persuade him not to go hunting. she constantly warned him against exposing himself to the dangers of hunting wild beasts fearing especially the wild boars that could so easily take his life. the struggle between aphrodite and persephone for adonis led zeus to ask the muse calliope (see p. 30) to make a decision about the situation. she decided that adonis shou

to persuade him not to go hunting. she constantly warned him against exposing himself to the dangers of hunting wild beasts fearing especially the wild boars that could so easily take his life. the struggle between aphrodite and persephone for adonis led zeus to ask the muse calliope (see p. 30) to make a decision about the situation. she decided that adonis should spend a third of his time with aphrodite in the upper world, a third with persephone in the underworld, and the rest he could do with as he pleased. to persephone s anger, aphrodite, with the aid of her magic girdle, persuaded him to spend his free time with her as well. careless cupid according to the roman poet ovid, aphrodite fell in love with adonis because her son eros (cupid, the god of love, accidentally grazed her with

issing her one day, thus inflaming her with passion for the beautiful youth. born from a tree some sources say that after his mother had been turned into a myrrh tree, the baby adonis continued to develop inside the tree. when it was time for him to be born, ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, released him. others say that foreshadowing his death a wild boar charged the tree and split it in two. aphrodite and adonis by hendrick goltzius (1558 1616/17) this painting shows the goddess aphrodite and the youth adonis in a summer embrace, just before he goes off on a hunting trip. aphrodite entreats him not to go because she is frightened for his safety. white roses the rose, a flower sacred to aphrodite, was originally white. according to one story, as she ran to help the dying adonis, aphrod

SCHLAGER NEIL WORLD RELIGIONS REFERENCE LIBRARY

he east in the fourth and third millennia bce by warrior tribes from central asia introduced religions based on patriarchal beliefs. with the development and spread of judaism, christianity, and islam, the earlier pagan religions and their goddess worship were replaced with religions dominated by males. nevertheless, at the time of jesus s birth, the worship of goddesses such as demeter, artemis, aphrodite, and cybele (also known as the great mother) was widespread throughout italy, greece, and the middle east. some historians of religion believe that the great admiration and respect held for mary, the mother of jesus christ, especially in the roman catholic faith, may be a holdover of this earlier form of goddess worship. by the time the first civilizations sprang up in what is now iraq

ophy zeus was a sky god, but he also represented order. he maintained order in the universe and in the home, protected strangers who arrived asking for hospitality, punished people who broke their sworn word, and served as god of intellectual thought. zeus s wife hera was the goddess of marriage, childbirth, and women. she was also sacred to herders of cattle; homer often called her ox-eyed hera. aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty. ares was the god of war. in warlike sparta he was held in high regard, but in athens he was worshipped in the same building where people were tried for murder. athena was the goddess of wisdom. according to greek myth, she was not born the way that her fellow gods were born, but sprang heraclitus while socrates, plato, and aristotle are usually conside

sh, water, or fertilize the earth or its creatures. the greeks also adapted the egyptian sphinx, the lion with a person s head. the sign or symbol of the sun was also worshipped by the greeks and romans as a life-giving source. this could be simply a circle or a stylized sun with rays. the frog was a symbol for fertility for the romans, often representing venus, their version of the greek goddess aphrodite. worship the major form of worship for both greeks and roman was sacrifice and prayer. the greeks felt that all human actions could be influenced by the gods, and it was important for humans to show their reverence or respect for the gods through their actions. they made daily sacrifices to their family or house god or goddess at a simple altar in the courtyard or at the hearth. these sa

e newly married couple will jump over a broom, which represents a threshold. the couple often has their hands bound with a cord, explaining the term handfasting. david hoffman photo library/ alamy. 382 world religions: almanac neo-paganism throughout history many cultures, including the ancient greeks, romans, and egyptians, worshipped goddesses. the names of some of these goddesses include anat, aphrodite, aradia, arianrhod, artemis, astarte, brigid, ceres, demeter, diana, eostre, freya, gaia, hera, ishtar, isis, juno, kali, lilith, maat, mary, minerva, ostare, persephone, venus, and vesta. some historians of religion would add mary, the mother of jesus christ (c. 6 bce c. 30 ce, to this list because mary has been venerated, or highly respected, by many christians throughout history. in m

or. while on a visit to the island of cyprus, he discovered what he described as places that he had dreamed about earlier. he became convinced that he had lived on cyprus gerald brousseau gardner 138 world religions: biographies in another lifetime. he used this as the background and setting for his second book, the 1939 novel a goddess arrives. the book centered around the worship of the goddess aphrodite 2,500 years earlier. gardner became fascinated with the idea of a goddess religion that supposedly ruled the peoples of europe during the stone age, the earliest known period of human culture. according to this religion, the mother goddess was the creator and the center of religious power. this feminine- based religion, many say, was the primary form of religious belief for many centurie

onship with telemachus she acts as the goddess of good counsel, practical insight, and cautious selfcontrol. world religions: primary sources 75 the odyssey things to remember while reading the excerpt from the odyssey: as the daughter of the sky god zeus, athena is one of the twelve olympians, the gods and goddesses who live on mount olympus. the other olympians, besides zeus and athena, include aphrodite, the goddess of love; hermes, the messenger god; poseidon, the god of the sea; and others. athena presents herself to telemachus in disguise. she enters ithaca in the form of mentes, one of odysseus s old friends, and meets with telemachus. she tells the prince that odysseus will return but that in the meantime telemachus has to stand up to the suitors who are the greek gods, depicted at

SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON ZANONI A ROSICRUCIAN TALE

on the sand; to the maiden, adorning yet, with many a silver fibula, her glossy tresses under the tree that overshadows her tranquil cot, the same great mother that watched over the wise of samos, the democracy of corcyra, the graceful and deep-taught loveliness of miletus, smiles as graciously as of yore. for the north, philosophy and freedom are essentials to human happiness; in the lands which aphrodite rose from the waves to govern, as the seasons, hand in hand, stood to welcome her on the shores, nature is all sufficient (homeric hymn) the isle which zanoni had selected was one of the loveliest in that divine sea. his abode, at some distance from the city, but near one of the creeks on the shore, belonged to a venetian, and, though small, had more of elegance than the natives ordinari

STEINER RUDOLF CHRISTIANITY AS MYSTICAL FACT

s appears in empedocles four elements. god osiris is slain. human beings, with their knowledge (which is divine in nature) will restore him to life. we are to rediscover him in the form of horus (son of god, logos, wisdom) in the opposition between strife (typhon) and love (isis. in a greek way, empedocles expresses his basic ideas in terms that still have a mythical ring; his love is the goddess aphrodite, his strife is neikos, divine beings who bind and loose the elements. myths of initiation the style in which the content of myth has been described here should not be equated with a symbolic or allegorical approach to myth. nothing of that kind is myth and mysteriosophy 73 intended. the images that form the content of the myth are not invented symbols for abstract truths. they are actual

TEXE MARRS CODEX MAGICA SECRET SIGNS MYSTERIOUS SYMBOLS AND HIDDEN CODES OF THE ILLUMINATI

saturn, the sixth planet from the sun (i.e. lucifer (from manly hall's secret teachings of all ages) from a recent catalog offering a multitude of talismans and charms, were these two products offered for sale. in this ad (left) in magical blend, a new age magazine, we see many occultic and pagan symbols, including the 5- pointed star above the goddess' head. the shell represents the love goddess aphrodite who, mythology says, rose out of the sea (see revelation 13:1 for a prophecy about the beast that rises up out of the sea. the goddess figure in this ad sits in the familiar lotus position with the flame in her genital area and her arms and hands arranged symbolically. every man and woman is a star h 547 this ad in magical blend magazine touts that for just $1,400 you can order this pent

THE MAGICIAN S KABBALAH

passive pillar of form, symbolises the ultimate feminine archetype, that of the great mother. the feminine can be broken down into a two-fold division, and a three-fold one: two-fold system ama: the dark, sterile, mother. light isis aima: the bright, fertile, mother. dark isis three-fold system sattva: goodness; maiden (first quarter- mary, isis, nephthys rajas: passion; mother (full moon- venus, aphrodite, nike tamas: darkness; crone (third quarter- kalli, lilith other forms of the feminine associated with binah range from the shekinah, the "indwelling presence of god (also associated with malkuth as the unwedded soul, to babalon, the great whore or scarlet woman, deified by crowley in his elaborate symbology as the lady babalon, nursing the babe of the abyss in the city of pyramids under

dies the energies of transmutation through sacrifice, hope and rebirth. this sequence is explored in the appropriate ritual of the sapphire temple given later. chapter eleven; hod, the crystal watercourse in the psyche, hod is the intellect as balanced against the sephirah of the emotions, netzach. the alchemical hermaphrodite is composed of these two sephiroth, as hermes represents the mind, and aphrodite the emotions. thus hod is specifically the power of the mind, the thoughts and the mental will. it acts as a lower arc of chockmah, the divine will, and a lower level of geburah, discrimination, and binah, understanding. all these are reflected in the process of thought, as we structuralise our perceptions of the environment and our intuitive processes equally. in a way, what we term tho

THE MIDDLE PILLAR

between the worlds" of life and death (conscious and subconscious, such as the sumerian inanna and the egyptian osiris. 4. the field of consciousness, whch contains the ego, is the incessant flow of observable images, feelings, thoughts, sensations, and impulses. archetypes of this region include several groups of deities with a variety of attributions: wisdom (enki, thoth, hermes; love (hathor, aphrodite; war (horns, ares; pleasure (bes, pan; etc. 5. the higher unconscious or superconscious is the transpersonal level of the unconscious-containing higher intuitions, inspirations, latent psychic functions, and spiritual energies. it is here that the higher self expresses itself in various forms through archetypes. the ordinary person is usually unaware of these forces and archetypes until

as "the tower) in which the old outmoded personality is dismantled, and a new personality is rebuilt. 31. transconscious is a term developed by psychologist/magician william stoltz to describe the psyche's creative and intuitive imagination. 32. although hermes is male, he is sometimes seen as an androgyne or hermaphrodite. in fact, the word hermaphrodite is a combination of the names hermes and aphrodite-the union of the anirna and the animus. 33. sometimes confused with freud's super-ego, which was an artificial construct composed of external influences in accordance with a process called introjection- the incorporation of the characteristics of a person or an object into one's own psyche which occurs unconsciously. 34. the descent of the neshamah into the individual's field of awarenes

ystem and another is an inexact science at best. the associations given here are only one of several that are possible. a list of deity correspondences sephirah egypfian greek roman celtic norse hindu kether chokmah binah chesed geburah tiphareth netzach hod yesod malkuth nudjer ptah thoth isis- amoun horus- osiris ra hathor- anubis khnum shu khonsu geb aither- uranus rhea hera zeus ares- apollo- aphrodite- hermes- artemis- demeter aether- coelus juno- jupiter mars- sol- venus- mercury- diana- ceres dagda- lugh danu- llyr morrigan- angus mac og brigit- ogma- cerridwen- cemunnos ymir- odin frigga- frey thor t y balder- freya- loki bragi nanna- nerthus brahman- vishnu mahasakti- indra shiva- krishna surya lakshmi pamati hunuman- chandra soma ganesha daath nephthys hypnos janus arianrhod heim

THE PAGAN BOOK OF WORDS PRAYERS CHANTS AND RHYMES

demons approach the circumference of my sanctuary. strange lines appear carved on my door and walls, and the light from the windows grows increasing dim. a wind has risen. the dark waters stir. this is the book of the servant of the godse luminous one! our eyes are upon you. light our paths and light our visions. lead us through the dark. eliza fegley http//www.sacredspiral.com morning prayer to aphrodite hail mother! the sun has risen. another day has begun. i wash my face in these new born rays and take my first step in the ways of love. eliza fegley http//www.sacredspiral.com trinity by the divinity of three, so mote it be! eliza fegley http//www.sacredspiral.com land prayer grain goddess, upon your body i live. you give to us the gift of life and the gift of nourishment. to you, i off

THE STAR IN THE WEST BY CAPTAIN FULLER A CRITICAL ESSAY ON THE WORKS OF ALEISTER CROWLEY

the ocean, who heaps the sea foam against him, as he makes for the paphian isle to seek aid from the goddess of love; and in his blinding anger he sees her not, though she is by his side journeying homeward from rome. she raises the swimmer to her pearly car and carries him to her fair home, where in the following beautiful symbolic action she promises to restore him his lost love. archais. then aphrodite loosed a snake of gold from her arm fs whiteness, and upon his wrist clasped it. its glittering eyes of amethyst fascinate him. geven so, h the goddess cried, gi will bind on thy arm the serpent bride freed from her fate, and promise by this kiss the warmer kisses of thy archais. h *the tale of archais, vol. i, pp. 13, 14. the handmaidens of aphrodite gather round them, and their silver

icity and sweetness: sing, little bird, it is dawn; cry! with the day the woods ring; now in the blush of the morn, sing! love doth enchain me and cling, love, of the breeze that is born, love, with the breeze that takes wing. love that is lighter than scorn, love that is strong as a king, love, through the gate that is horn, sing *the tale of archais, vol. i, p. 14. the anger of zeus is aroused. aphrodite bids charicles flee, but his passion is too great, he defies the powers (they are only gods; would he have succeeded had they been grundy) the curse of zeus is reversed: his form did change, and, writhing from her clasp, fled hissing outward, a more hateful asp than india breeds to-day. ctill day dropped her blue pinions, and the night drew on, and sable clouds banked out the weary sun *

ree fangs thrust up by magic, in the direst pangs of earth, when earth was yet a whirling cloud of fire and adamant, a ceaseless crowd of rushing atoms roaring into space, driven by demons from before the face *the tale of archais, vol. i, p. 17. so beautiful was she, that gthe sun forgot his chariot, nor would set h; and in this mystic hour, the marriage of day and night, she prayed fervently to aphrodite, fond goddess of lovers, and there amidst the thunder-smitten stone, beautiful and piteous, she waited, longing for that strong desire of love that had been so rudely snatched from her. again, love in the form of aphrodite listens to her prayer, but is helpless to help her till she has sought aid from the lewd city of aphaca, where lust in the grim shape of priapus dwelt. the large-lippe

ls, fenced in by thunder and lightning, was quite cut off from the simple minds of the suburra, so christ in those purlieus was manufactured; but he in his turn grew exaltedly dim, magnified as the mist of ages crept around him, and when romantic love was born, man being no longer able to worship man, enthroned the spotless virgin in his stead; for in his heart still lingered the sea-born form of aphrodite, and on his lips the warm kisses of the cytheran goddess, philommedis, basilea, isis, or astarte, call her what you will, of passionate love. so christ was enthroned amongst the gods, and his tender mother, the ever chaste virgin, set on the humbler throne over the destiny of men fs hearts; yet awake, the actual man loses the ideals of his dreaming hours, straining to his heart the form

me flaming region of equatorial fury, and flashing interfuse and interblend. once again must a prophet of the lord arise and wed a wife of whoredoms, who hath committed great whoredom, departing from the lord. once again must hosea expire on the crimson lips of gomer, and from the womb of a harlot must the christ be reborn a woman, wise, beautiful, and young; who is both circe and diana, isis and aphrodite, in whose veins course all the fury of medea, all the abominations of canidia, who revels in the infernal rites of sagana and locusta, and yet is vestal and virgin; white as the driven snow, pure as a mountain rill. one with the pale mother of bethlehem and the scarlet harlot of the city of abominations. then will the storm-clouds part, and the smoke and steam of the earth vanish, and th

f heaven, mystic, rapturous rose! the extreme passion glows deep in this breast; thou knowest (and love knows* rosa mundi, vol. iii, pp. 51-55. thus we end our chapter which we have called gthe mother. h and as diana, luna, and hecate are one, so rosa mundi, rosa coeli, rosa inferni, unite triformis in one great trinity in unity. and as the moon kisses the sea, so does diana embrace the wave-born aphrodite, as she rises from the blue foam, star of the deep; she who pours back into the ocean of eternity the pure waters of inexhaustible chastity mingled with the never-dying flames of inextinguishable love. at last she has been disclosed to us, she concerning whom it was prophesied in the beginning of time; and as the hollow sobs of the dying years have rolled back sonorous, rumbling and echo

discovered; the rough matrix contained a gem of surpassing beauty, the horny shell a pearl of perfect loveliness. charicles had to tread the thorny path before he won his archais, and so must we, before we can win knowledge, weep many bitter tears. the incessant search after truth carries us through desert lands of misery and oases of temptation, as is only too vividly illustrated in tannhauser. aphrodite before she could overcome the wiles of jove had to seek aid from priapus* thus so have we all to do, we must eat of the htree of knowledge of good and evil h before we can pluck the fruit of the gtree of life. h *the tale of archais, vol. i, p. 18. the mediaeval spiritualism of gparacelsus h is curiously modernized, if we may use so crude a word, in the mystical poem haceldama. h the str

THE SECRET RITUALS OF THE OTO

have need of it. i appoint you sentinel of this camp, while we enjoy the siesta of noon (e. leads c. to door, and bids him guard it, with his face outwards) the orator now reads one of the following: dolores (swinburne) file//c /documents%20and%20settings/michael..0secret%20rituals%20of%20the%20o.t.o/p2c3.html (9 of 15 [12/28/2001 2:03:09 pm] the secret rituals of the o.t.o. orpheus invocation of aphrodite (crowley (omitting the last verse) orpheus hymn: roll, strong life current (crowley) we have seen thee, o love, from atlanta (swinburne) isis i am from tannhauser (crowley) my soul is an enchanted boat (crowley) uncharmable chamber (crowley) third point (the ordeal) s: comrades, let us refresh ourselves at the sacred well (all group about well, except c, and drink, guarding each other) e

se christianity, is hidden the wheat of demeter. and even as the muslim trust to be united by death to the hur al ayn of paradise, so do these others yet think that earthly marriage is but fornication, for that death is a nuptial wherein the soul is united to that god or goddess to whom on earth his lust aspired. thus, even in the embraces of their lovers, their hearts were fixed on artemis or on aphrodite or on ares or on apollo, as the inner tendency urges and the intuition thereof proclaims. consider of this. viii file//c /documents%20and%20settings/michael..0secret%20rituals%20of%20the%20o.t.o/p3c2.html (5 of 12 [12/28/2001 2:05:25 pm] the secret rituals of the o.t.o. of succubi and incubi from all time the life of man has now and again overflowed, in sleep, without will, and only refl

TYSON DONALD NEW MILLENNIUM MAGIC

problem, he or she might invoke thoth and contemplate the problem through the eyes of the egyptian 1. stand in the outer temple before the altar faci g south (the golden dawn say west-this is a matter of the magical system eing followed) with your hands at your sides and your feet together. d' god of learning. if it were necessary for a female adept to dominate a social function, she might invoke aphrodite, greek goddess of love and beauty; a male might invoke apollo for the same purpose. usually invocation is made to meet the needs of a specific situation, or perhaps to briefly experience life through the personality of a particular god and thus grow in the area of wisdom related to that deity. sometimes, however, a single spirit is invoked repeatedly. in this way the magus can, in a sens

smoke and darkness who cares nothing for the sorrows of humanity. in magic, the common way of utilizing the power of the gods is by putting them on, like a cloak or mantle, over the perceived self. this is called assuming the god-form and is a kind of invocation. if the magus wished to become more attractive, through this method he or she might create a ritual to take on the god-form of apollo or aphrodite, and view the world through the eyes of that lesser deity for a time. if done correctly and repeat- edly, this would give the magus great personal charm and beauty of a combined physical and psychic character. the hidden forces of beauty channeled through the magus by the focusing lens of the god-form would transform the personality of the magus by reaction and alter the physical body as

TYSON DONALD SOUL FLIGHT

ond hypothesis does not preclude the existence on the astral level of enduring realms and populations, or of spirits who have a fixed and sustained identity, since it is possible that once having adopted an identity as its own, a spirit may be enabled to keep it over a span of human generations with the support of shared human belief in the existence of that spirit. for example, a goddess such as aphrodite may continue to exist on the astral level for many centuries because her nature and qualities are known to many human beings and are never absent from human thought. the same consideration applies to a being such as santa claus, or indeed, to jack the ripper. human spirit guides the first class, spirits who appear to be human in nature-at least on the surface-make better spirit guides, s

TYSON DONALD THE POWER OF THE WORD

d-form is very simple. to change ourselves in a fundamental way, it is necessary that we become 148 tetragrammaton someone else. to change for the better, we must become one who is better. to become wiser, we must take on the identity and persona of a spirit of wisdom such as the egyptian god thoth. to become more beautiful, we must assume the form and persona of a god of beauty such as apollo or aphrodite. to become more courageous and warlike, we must take on the nature of a war god such as mars or the northern god tew. when properly done, the assumed god or spirit actually displaces the thoughts, feelings, and even the physical appearance of the ritualist. while wearing the god-form, the ritualist retains only a detached self-awareness. his or her emotional responses, cogitations, sensa

WALLIS BUDGE E A LEGENDS OF THE EGYPTIAN GODS

ese days was born aroueris,[fn#300] whom some call apollo, and others the elder horus. upon the third day typhon was born, who came into the world neither at the proper time nor by the right way, but he forced a passage through a wound which he made in his mother's side. upon the fourth day isis was born, in the marshes of egypt,[fn#301] and upon the fifth day nephthys, whom some call teleute, or aphrodite, or nike, was born. as regards the fathers of these children, the first two are said to have been begotten by helios, isis by hermes, and typhon and nephthys by kronos. therefore, since the third of the superadded days was the birthday of typhon, the kings considered it to be unlucky,[fn#302] and in consequence they neither transacted any business in it, nor even suffered themselves to t

WICCA WITCHCRAFT TODAY

w life. the goddess of the witch cult is obviously the great mother, the giver of life, incarnate love. she rules spring pleasure, feasting and all the delights at a later time with other goddesses and has special affinity with the moon. before an initiation a charge is read beginning: listen to the words of the great mother, who of old was also called among men artemis, astarte, dione, melusine, aphrodite and many other names. at mine altars the youth of lacedaemon made due sacrifice. once in the month, and better it be when the moon is full, meet in some secret place and adore me, who am queen of all the magics. for i am a gracious goddess, i give joy on earth, certainty, not faith, while in life; and upon death, peace unutterable, rest and the ecstasy of the goddess. nor do i demand aug

be christians, but all their priests had fled. at that time many of the people of rome thought that all her troubles arose because they had deserted the old gods. presumably the roman-britons might think the same; but the priests of the recognised roman faiths had been abolished two hundred years before when rome turned christian. the little people had goddesses who were identified with diana and aphrodite, so it would be only natural for romans who wished to worship their own old gods, who had no temples, to call on and worship these. this influx might have brought about some changes in the cult, but the main objects would i think be unaltered. what they wanted was prosperity and fertility for the tribe, a life after death in happy conditions, and reincarnation into their tribe or nation

old faith, which is why we use those two names to describe non-christians to this day. next came the norman invasion. the normans were heathen norsemen who had received large grants of land from the french king on condition that they became christians and did him homage. we might well call them rice-christians nowadays. they are said to have had a sect in rouen, their chief city, which worshipped aphrodite; this was, it appears, only suppressed in the twelfth century. william the conqueror's father was robert the devil and he was credited with witchcraft. william's son, william rufus, was also said to be a witch leader. the normans were few among a very large population of saxons whom they had reduced to serfdom. these were good farmers and workers, living in places where the lord could re

WILLIAM WESCOTT NUMBERS THEIR OCCULT POWER AND MYSTIC VIRTUES

occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott ancient faiths, article abraham. secret doctrine, i. 578, ii. 77. also c. w. king, the gnostics. the name sarah also has a curious set of similars in hebrew- srh, princess; sar, flesh; sor, gate; schr, black; sor, hairy seir; srt, incision; sr and srr, navel; and note the sacti of brahma is sara-swati, watery. sara refers to sri, lakhsmi, aphrodite, and all are related to water and luna, vach, sophia of the gnostics, and the ideal holy ghost, all feminine. 30. the 243 of abram becomes 248 by adding h, and sarai 510 becomes 505 by taking 5 off, putting h for y, and the total of the two names is unaltered, being 753; 248 is the number of the members of microprosopus and of rchm, rechem or mercy. before leaving this subject, a referen

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