Michael Wynn's Occult Reference Library
SEVERITY

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he sceptre. the hegemon raises all hoodwinks) hierophant (blocking the way "thou cannot pass me, for i am the guardian of the east, unless thou can tell me my name" hegemon "light dawning in the darkness is thy name, the light of a golden day (the hierophant lowers the sceptre) hierophant "child/children of earth, unbalanced power is evil, unbalanced mercy is weakness and lack of will, unbalanced severity is cruelty and the barreness of mind. thou hast known me now, so pass thou on to the cubical altar of the universe (hegemon replaces the hoodwink and leads the candidate to the altar) hierophant (comes forward between the pillars with sceptre held high in the right hand with the banner of the east in the left "i come in the power of light, i come in the light of wisdom, i come in the merc

you never to ridicule or cast criticism or curses upon the form of religion professed by another, for what right have you to desecrate what is sacred in his eyes? thirdly, never let the seal of secrecy regarding the order be absent from your recollection, and beware that you betray it not by a casual or unthinking word. fourthly, study well that great arcanum, the proper equilibrium of mercy and severity, for either unbalanced is not good; unbalanced severity is cruelty and oppression; unbalanced mercy is but weakness and would permit evil to exist unchecked, thus making itself as it were the accomplice of evil. lastly, do not be daunted by the difficulties of occult study, and remember that every obstacle can at length be conquered by perseverance" hierophant "this only reveals a partial

olor, so the white painted symbols would be on the black, black symbols would be on the white. the following is a section from the z-1 document which can be found in the golden dawn by israel regardie, lewellyn publications "the base of the two pillars are respectively in netzach and in hod, the white pillar being in netzach and the black pillar in hod. they represent the two pillars of mercy and severity. the bases are cubical and black to represent the earth element in malkuth. the columns are respectively in black and white to represent the manifestation of the eternal balance of the scales of justice. upon them should be represented in counter-charged color any appropriate egyptian designs and emblematic of the soul "the scarlet tetrahedronal capitals represent the fire of test and tri

ghing of its actions in earth life against a figure of truth in the mystical scales of ma by anubis. thoth, ibis-headed, records the judgment and the devourer stands ready to seize if the soul has led an evil life. passing through this ordeal, the soul is then introduced into the presence of osiris by horus. osiris sits in his shrine upon a throne, with the crook and scourge, symbols of mercy and severity, in his hands; behind him are isis and nephthys, the 39 goddesses of nature and perfection, and before him are the four genii of the dead, upon the lotus flower, the emblem of the metempsychosis. thus the whole of the symbols upon the pillars represent the advance and purification of the soul and its uniting with osiris the redeemer in that golden dawn of an infinite light, wherein the so

emanation on the tree of life. occultists identify chesed as the ruler, but not creator, of the manifested universe. he is characterized as stable, wise, and merciful by contrast with his more dynamic opposite, geburah. chesed is associated with the gods zeus and jupiter. geburah: the fifth emanation on the tree of life. geburah is often associated with mars, the roman god of war, and represents severity and justice. the destructive forces of the sphere of geburah are intended to have a purging, cleansing effect on the universe. geburah represents the creator god who applies discipline and precision in governing the cosmos and removes unwanted or unnecessary elements after their usefulness has passed. geburah is reflected in the charioteer in the tarot. tiphareth: the sixth emanation on t

ealing. this may be helpful to those who are lethargic because it will give the person a quick dose of energy. in referring to meditation, it aids in the ability to raise the mind to the higher planes as well as channeling the same energies down into the material universe, our body if you will. the ritual of the middle pillar obtained its name by the tree of life. it stands between the pillars of severity and mercy. in the perspective of applying the middle pillar to the microcosm, man, it means to say that man himself must combine the opposing forces of nature as well as his own self. it refers to that which is said in the neophyte initiation: the white triangle symbolizes the immortal light, which indicates that there are always two contending forces and always one uniting them."put simp

0 0 INITIATION CEREMONY

e west. i assist in the reception of the candidate and i superintend the inferior officers in the execution of their duties. hiero: what does the black color of your robe symbolize? hiereus: darkness. hiero: your peculiar insignia of office? hiereus: the sword and banner of the west hiero: what does the banner of the west symbolize? hiereus: twilight hiero: what does the sword symbolize? hiereus: severity and judgement hiero: what does your office symbolize? hiereus: fortitude. hiero: my place is on the throne of the east, which symbolizes the rise of the sun of life and light. my duty is to rule and govern this hall in accordance with the laws of the order. the red color of my robe symbolizes light. my insignia are the sceptre and the banner of the east which signify power and light mercy

ner in left hand and raises sceptre as if to strike. heg: hegemon slips up candidate's hoodwink. hiero: thou canst not pass by me saith the guardian of the east unless thou canst tell me my name. heg: light dawning in darkness is thy name, the light of a golden day. hiero (slowly lowering sceptre) child of earth, remember that unbalanced force is evil, unbalanced mercy is but weakness, unbalanced severity is but oppression. thou hast known me, so pegs thou on unto the cubical altar of the universe. heg: hoodwink slipped down and candidate taken to west of altar hiero: hierophant leaves throne and stands between the pillars, facing candidate with sceptre in right hand and banner in left. hiero: i come in the power of the light. i come in the light of wisdom. i come in the mercy of the light

et me advise you never to ridicule or cast obloquy upon the form of religion professed by another, for what right have you to desecrate what is sacred in his eyes? thirdly, never let the seal of secrecy regarding the order be absent from your recollection, and beware that you betray it not by a casual or unthinking word. fourthly, study well that great arcanum, the proper equilibrium of mercy and severity, for either unbalanced is not good; unbalanced severity is cruelty and oppression; unbalanced mercy is but weakness and would permit evil to exist unchecked, thus making itself as it were the accomplice of that evil. lastly, do not be daunted by the difficulties of occult study and remember that every obstacle can at length be conquered by perseverance. hiero: before you can pass on to th

1 10 INITIATION CEREMONY

o the sight and good for food; the tree of life also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and of evil. this is the tree that has two paths, and it is the tenth sephira malkuth, and it has about it seven columns, and the four splendors whirl around it as in the vision of the mercabah of ezekiel; and from gedulah it derives an influx of mercy, and from geburah an influx of severity and the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil shall it be until it is united with the supernals in daath. but the good which is under it is called the archangel metatron, and the evil is called the archangel samael, and between them lies the straight and narrow way where the archangel sandalphon keeps watch. the souls and the angels are above its branches, and the qlippoth or demons d

3 8 INITIATION CEREMONY

e of fire. the 31st path of the sepher yetzirah which answereth unto the letter shin, is called the perpetual intelligence, and it is so called because it regulateth the motions of the sun and moon in their proper order, each in an orbit convenient for it. it is therefore the reflection of the sphere of fire, and the path connecting the material universe as depicted in malkuth, with the pillar of severity on the side of geburah, through the sephira hod. hierophant, hegemon and theoricus come to west of altar. hiero: before you upon the altar is the 20th key of the tarot, which symbolically resumes the ideas. to the uninitiated eye it apparently represents the last judgement, with an angel blowing a trumpet and the dead rising from the tombs. but its meaning is far more occult and recondite

4 7 INITIATION CEREMONY

it is the serpent of the paths of the tree. and he set it on a pole, that is, twined round the middle pillar of the sephiroth. and the word used in the passage in numbers 21 for fiery serpents, is the same as the name of the angels of geburah, the same spelling, the same pointing, seraphim, around the middle pillar of the sephiroth, because that is the reconciler between the fires of geburah and severity, and the waters of chesed or mercy, and hence it is said in the new testament, that it is a type of christ, the reconciler. and the serpent is of brass, the metal of venus, whose sphere is called nogah or external splendor, as shown further in the alchemic symbol of the planet venus, wherein the circle of the sun is exalted above the cross of corrosion. and therefore it is said in the zoh

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT AND MAGICK SPELLS

diminishing self-destructive tendencies and replacing them with the gentle growth of new hope. gabriel also rules rituals to protect water creatures and to cleanse polluted seas, lakes and rivers. colour: silver crystal: moonstone and opal incenses or oils: myrrh and jasmine samael samael is the archangel who rules the planet mars (see page 229. samael's day is tuesday. he is sometimes called the severity of god and as such is an angel of cleansing and of righteous anger. one of the seven regents of the world and said to be served by two million angels, he is also called the dark angel who in the guise of the serpent tempted eve. this is a very ancient concept in which kings and rulers were constantly tested to prove worthy of their sacred trust and so he is not an angel to invoke lightly

ABRAMELIN3

one of the chief evil spirits and has been elsewhere explained. no. i consists of b j squares in the form of a capital f, taken from a square of e j squares. lofitos is evidently from the greek lophesis, meaning rest, cessation from action (ie. in this case military action. no. j consists of b d squares arranged in the form of an f, and taken from a square of c f squares. gibor= strength, might, severity. no. b a is a square of c f squares. nokam, vengeance. no. b b is also a square of c f squares. kelim= for all kinds of things. no. b c consists of c f squares from a square of e j. kerabah, assault, attack. of abramelin the mage 182 the twenty-first chapter. o transform oneself, and take different faces and forms( b) to appear old( c) to take on the appearance of an old woman( d) to appe

ADDTLS

he four linea s.s. then form the complete circle of the ecliptic, a circle at the center of the zodiacal circle. it is demonstrated in the tarot manuscripts that when the 10 sephiroth in their grouping which is called the tree of life, are projected in a sphere (kether coinciding with the north pole, malkuth coinciding with the south pole, the pillar of mildness with the axis) then the pillars of severity and of mercy are quadrupled, i.e. there are five pillars instead of three pillars. the same scheme is therefore, applicable to the celestial heavens, and the mode of the governance of these tablets in the heavens is also set forth in these four tablets, terrestrial as well as in the heavens, is in the spaces between the 4 pillars. 30 that is, between the double pillars of severity and mer

etc. those hebrew angel names which have been taught unto the first order are rather general than particular, attending especially to an office or rule whereunto such an angel is allotted. as it is written: one angel does not undertake two messages. for these mighty angels do rather shew forth their power in the governance of the 4 great sephirotic columns as aforesaid, viz: the double columns of severity and mercy when projected in a sphere, and this also is under the presidency of the sephiroth. but the names of the angels of the enochian tablets do rather express particular adaptations of forces shewing forth all variations and diverse combinations of those which are in the other case manifested in a more general way. it will be found written in the clavicula tabularum enochi: now we ar

ADEPTUS MINOR INITIATION

ld. in the alembic of thine heart, through the athanor of affliction, seek thou the true stone of the wise (aspirant gives chief adept wand and crux ansata to the chief adept who then gives in exchange the crook and scourge) 21 crook and scourge chief "quit then this tomb, o aspirant, with thine arms crossed upon thy breast, bearing in thy right hand the crook of mercy and thy left the scourge of severity, the emblems of those eternal forces betwixt which the equilibrium of the universe dependeth; those forces whose reconciliation is the key of life, whose separation is evil and death. therefore thou art inexcusable, whosoever thou art, that judgeth another, for in that thou condemnest another, thou condemnest but thyself. be thou therefore merciful, even as thy father who is in heaven is

s chamelionis, the 'path of the chamelion' the path of mixed colors, and i give thee the symbol of hiddekel, the third river which floweth towards the east of hycu (they return to altar, and second adept indicates crook and scourge thereon. second "the colors of the crook and scourge are taken from those of the minutum mundum diagram, and they thus represent the just equilibrium between mercy and severity on the tree of life. the crook therefore is divided into the colors symbolic of: rtk, a, hmkj, b, dsj, e, trapt, a, dwh, j. and the scourge into those symbolizing: jxn, h, trapt, c, hnyb, d, hrwbg, m" third (indicates sword and serpent "the colors of the minutum mundum are also the key to those which compose the admission badge of the sword and serpent; and thus, by their aid it may be th

ALEISTER CROWLEY ACROSS THE GULF

nd in the ninth month i was weaned, and my mother bade me farewell, for never again might she look upon my face, save in the secret rites of the gods, when we should meet otherwise than as babe and mother, in the garment of that second birth which we of khemi knew. the next six years of my life have utterly faded. all that i can recall is the vision of the greatness of our city of thebai, and the severity of my life. for i lived on the back of a horse, even eating and drinking as i rode; for so it becometh a prince. also i was trained to lay about me with a sword, and in the use of the bow and the spear. for it was said that horus- or men tu, as we called him in thebai- was my father and my god. i shall speak late of that strange story of my begetting. at the end of seven years, however, s

ALEISTER CROWLEY BOOK OF LIES

2, the concentration of ain soph aour in kether; step 3, duality and the rest of it down to malkuth; step 4, the stooping of malkuth to the qliphoth, and the consequent ruin of the tree of life. part 2 show the impossibility of stopping on the path of adeptship. the final couplet represents the first step upon the path, which must be taken even although the aspirant is intellectually aware of the severity of the whole course. you must give up the world for love, the material for the moral idea, before that, in its turn, is surrendered to the spiritual. and so on. this is a laylah-chapter, but in it laylah figures as the mere woman. book of lies get any book for free on: www.abika.com 156 [159] 75 kappa-epsilon-phi-alpha-lambda-eta omicron-epsilon plovers' eggs(38) spring beans and strawber

ALEISTER CROWLEY MAGICK IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

ny sober student from such examples as the following. binah, the supernal understanding, is connected with tiphereth, the human consciousness, by zain, gemini, the oracles of the gods, or the intuition. that is, the attribution represents a psychological fact: to replace it by the devil is either humour or plain idiocy. again, the card "fortitude, leo, balances majesty and mercy with strength and severity: what sense is there in putting "death, the scorpion, in its stead? there are twenty other mistakes in the new wonderful illuminated-from-on-high attribution; the student can therefore be sure of twenty more laughs if he cares to study it> a synopsis of the grades of the a. a. as illustrative of the magical hierarchy in man is given in appendix 2 "one star in sight" this should be read be

r. it is the symbol of nuit, the totality of the possible ways in which he may represent himself and fulfill himself> on his left, or let him take the ankh, or the bell, or the cup. and however little he move to the right, let him balance it by an equivalent movement to the left; or if forwards, backwards; and let him correct each idea by implying the contradictory contained therein. if he invoke severity, let him recount that severity is the instrument of mercy< if stability, let him show the basis of that stability to be constant change, just as the stability of a molecule is secured by the momentum of the swift atoms contained in it< in this way let

is the great word stibettchephmefshiss, which is a line drawn on the tree of life (coptic attributions) in a certain manner<descent of a certain influence. see the evocation of taphtatharath, equinox i, iii. the attributions are given in 777. this word expresses the current kether- beth- binah- cheth- geburach- mem- hod- shin- malkuth, the descent from 1 to 10 via the pillar of severity> with all such words it is of the utmost importance that they should never be spoken until the supreme moment, and even then they should burst from the magician almost despite himself- so great should be his reluctance<power of these words to awaken the suppressed subconscious libido> to utter them. in fact, they should be the utterance of the god

sturbed, and the value of the ceremony completely destroyed, by the embarrassment caused by the discovery of some such error, just as if a pre-occupied t-totaller found that he had strayed into a temple of the demon rum! it is therefore impossible to neglect the theory of the circle. 81 to take a simple example, suppose that, in an evocation of bartzabel, the planet mars, whose sphere is geburah (severity) were situated (actually, in the heavens) opposite to the square of chesed (mercy) of the tau in the circle, and the triangle placed accordingly. it would be improper for the magus to stand on that square unless using this formula "i, from chesed, rule geburah through the path of the lion; while- taking an extreme case- to stand on the square of hod (which is naturally dominated by gebura

t hand &c> free forefinger on lips. 6. the fourth position (the thunderbolt. sit; left heel pressing up anus, right foot poised on its toes, the heel covering the phallus; arms stretched out over the knees; head and back straight. 7. various things will happen to you while you are practising these positions; they must be carefully analysed and described. 8. note down the duration of practice; the severity of the pain (if any) which accompanies it, the degree of rigidity attained, and any other pertinent matters. 9. when you have progressed up to the point that a saucer filled to the brim with water and poised upon the head does not spill one drop during a whole hour, and when you can no longer perceive the slightest tremor in any muscle; when, in short, you are perfectly steady and easy, y

ALEISTER CROWLEY MEDITATION

two symbols. the pantacle is the food of the magus; and some of it he gives up in order to give light to that which is without. for these lights are only apparently hostile to intrusion; they serve to illuminate the circle and the names of god, and so to bring the first and outmost symbols of initiation within the view of the profane. these candles stand upon pentagrams, which symbolize geburah, severity, and give protection; but also represent the microcosm, the four elements crowned by spirit, the will of man perfected in its aspiration to the higher. they are placed outside the circle to attract the hostile forces, to give them the first inkling of the great work, which they too must some day perform. 59 diagram on this page: a double cubic altar with universal sigil on top, sigils of

r being replaced by the nails<magical instruments. the hill of golgotha is a circle, and the cross the tau. christ had robe, crown, sceptre, etc; this thesis should one day be fully worked out> the scourge should be made with a handle of iron; the lash is composed of nine strands of fine copper wire, in each of which are twisted small pieces of lead. iron represents severity, copper love, and lead austerity. the dagger is made of steel inlaid with gold; and the hilt is also golden. the chain sic is made of soft iron. it has 333 links<equinox, no. v "the vision and the voice: xth aethyr> it is now evident why these weapons are grouped around the phial of clear crystal in which is kept the holy oil. the scourge keeps the aspiration keen: the

ALEISTER CROWLEY SEPHER SEPHIROTH

hat, which, why, how; anything, something; yetzitah fs gsecret nature h (see s.d. 1:38-39) hm 46 a name of god yhl) a female slave; an ell, cubit hm) tin, the metal of jupiter lydb a dividing, sundering, separation hldbh a ruiner lbwx 47 foolish, silly, stupid lyw) a weeping hyykb cloud; high place; waves; fortress hmb to clutch, hold +lx that it was good bw+ yk aum (cf. 111) mw) 48 the pillar of severity: the paths cheth and mem (cf. 26& 463) m x planet; star: the sphere of mercury bkwk greatness, magnificence, glory: a title of chesed hlwdg a woman; strength; an army lyx to grow warm; heat, fire; black mx jubilee lbwy from that time, of old (see ps. 93:2& prov. 8:22) z)m fat; marrow xm 49 the living god yx l) resembled; meditated; silent hmd drooping, being sick hlwx strength )lyx heat

-khuit( gincorrect h. cf. 93) s)wy) the breaker; dream (n& v) mlx to pity lmx to initiate knx bread (ps. 78:20= mlx, by metathesis) mxl the influence through the paths (cf. 77 )lzm salt xlm the name of a giant )z( palace of love (referred to chesed) hbh) lkyh before (in front of, over against xkn 79 jachin, the pillar of mercy (chokmah-chesed-netzach; situate in netzach) nyx)y boaz, the pillar of severity (binah-geburah-hod; situate in hod) z(b die (wg conjunction, meeting, union hd( writing instrument( 80 yesod: the foundation dwsy water (alternative spelling of mem, 90) mm union; an assembling d(w to make perfect; general, universal, collective llk throne (ex. 17:16, i.e. there gbecause a hand is on the throne of yah h) sk ruins y( crowd ks shovel (y 81 gods myl) i (ex. 23:20) ykn) also

trbg adam: man; red *md) to grow warm; they (masc *mh 606 let them bring forth wcr#y essentiality, quintessence twmc( nexus, ligature rw#q a turtle-dove rwt 607 adam primus: the first man (see 210) nw#)rh md) the mountains of spices (ct. 8:14) mym#b yrh a span, palm (lit. gthe little finger h) trz aum (cf. 111 *mw) 608 the last gate )rtb )bb to dig (subterranean activity; to row rtx the pillar of severity: the paths cheth and mem (cf. 26& 463 *m x to grow warm; heat, fire; black *mx 610 gold coin, gold money trwg) the citron tree and fruit (lust and desire) gwrt) closed, shut up *m) the sea *my the angel of redemption *l)gh k)lm 611 torah: instructions, glaw h hrwt the fear [of the lord (ps. 111:10; cf. 211) t)ry edom *mwd) tumultuously; to harass, perturb *mwh 612 covenant tyrb brother-in

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE OLD AND NEW COMMENTARIES TO LIBER AL

hristianity, a faith of slaves, liars and dastards. the same remarks apply roughly to buddhism 'mongol" presumably the reference is to confucianism, whose metaphysical and ethical flawlessness has not saved its adherents from losing those ruder virtues which are proper to a fighting animal, and thus yielding at last a civilization coeval with history itself to the barbarous tribes of europe "din 'severity' or 'judgment' may refer to the jewish law, rather than to the faith (ad 'din) of islam. assuming this, the six religions whose flesh must be torn out cover the whole globe outside islam and christianity. why assault their flesh rather than their eyes, as in the other cases? because the metaphysics, or point of view, is correct- i take judaism as qabalistic- but the practice imperfect. al

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE QABALAH

ity of pyramids reference with the 12 by 13 squares on each of john dee s tablets of the watchtowers and the pyramids drawn on each square in the golden dawn s book of the concourse of the forces t.s. 52 also arb, he created, second word of genesis t.s. 53 see the remarks on ob, od and aour in the introduction to levi s rituel de haute magie t.s. liber lviii 31 280. the sum of the five letters of severity, those which have a final form kaph, mem, nun, pe, tzaddi. also the number of the squares on the sides of the vault 7 40; see 5= 6 ritual. also [r= terror. 300. the letter c, meaning tooth, and suggesting by its shape a triple flame. refers yetziratically to fire, and is symbolic of the holy spirit \yhla jwr= 300. descending into the midst of hwhy, the four inferior elements, we get hwchy

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE SWORD OF SONG

rnly discouraged as indulgence. how would the electrician do his work after a guildhall banquet? the strain of watching would be too much, and he would go off to sleep. so with the meditatior. if, on the other hand, he had been without food for twenty-four hours, he might indeed, it has been done often perform prodigies of work for the necessary period; but a reaction must follow of proportionate severity. nobody will pretend that the best work is done starving.3 now to such an observer certain phenomena present themselves sooner or later which have the qualities above predicated of our imaginary dream preceded by a transition-state very like total loss of consciousness. are these fatigue phenomena? is it that this practice for some as yet unknown reason stimulates some special nerve-centr

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 1

by material events; strengthen and control the animal passions, discipline the emotions and the reason, nourish the higher aspirations. 11. do good unto others for its own sake, not for reward, not for gratitude from them, not for sympathy. if thou art generous, thou wilt not long for thine ears to be tickled by expressions of gratitude. 12. remember that unbalanced force is evil; that unbalanced severity is but cruelty and oppression; but that also unbalanced mercy is but weakness which would allow and abet evil. act passionately; think rationally; be thyself. 13. true ritual is as much action as word; it is will. 14. remember that this earth is but an atom in the universe, and that thou thyself art but an atom thereon, and that even couldst thou become the god of this earth whereon thou

nd &c) free forefinger on lips. 6. the fourth position (the thunderbolt. sit: left heel pressing up anus, right foot poised on its toes, the heel covering the phallus; arms stretched out over the knees: head and back straight. 7. various things will happen to you while you are practising these positions; they must be carefully analysed and described. 8. note down the duration of the pracitce, the severity of the pain (if any) which accompanies it, the degree of rigidity attained, and any other pertinent matters. 9. when you have progressed up to the point that a saucer filled to the brim with water and poised upon the head does not spill one drop during a whole hour, and when you can no longer perceive the slightest tremor in any muscle; when, in short, you are perfectly steady and easy, y

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 5

between the sluggish, viscous 9, and the keen, ecstatic 11. 210. pertains to part ii. see liber 418. 214. rvch, the air, the mind. 220. pertains to part ii. the number of verses in liber legis. 231. the sum of the first 22 numbers, 0 to 21; the sum of the key-numbers of the tarot cards; hence an extension of the idea of 22, q.v. 270. i.n.r.i. see 5= 6 ritual. 280. the sum of the "five letters of severity" those which have a final form- kaph, men, nun, pe, tzaddi. also the number of the squares on the sides of the vault 7 x 40; see 5= 6 ritual. also rp= terror. 300. the letter hb:shin, meaning "tooth" and suggesting by its shape a triple flame. refers yetziratically to fire, and is symbolic of the holy spirit, rvch alhim= 300. hence the letter of the spirit. descending into the midst of ih

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 5

d green. yet also these are the severities. it is only in the first three aethyrs that we find the pure 141 essence, for all the other aethyrs are but as malkuth to complete these three triads, as hath before been said. and this being the second reflection, therefore is it the palace of two hundred and eighty judgments. for all these paths21 are in the course of the flaming sword from the side of severity. and the other two paths are zayin, which is a sword; and shin, which is a tooth. these are then the five severities which are 280. all this is communicated to the seer interiorly "and the eye of his benignancy is closed. let it not be opened upon the aethyr, lest the severities be mitigated, and the house fall" shall not the house fall, and the dragon sink? verily all things have been sw

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 1 2

to be made between attainment of this grade in the natural and in the spiritual world. the former i long since possessed. 1. it may perhaps mean severe asceticism. in case i should be going out on that path i will try and get a real good dinner to fortify myself. 2. the paths leading to geburah are from hod, that of the hanged man, and from tiphereth, that of justice, both equilibrated aspects of severity, the one implying self-sacrifice, the other involuntary suffering. one is freewill, the other karma; and that in a wider sense than that of suffering. the ritual dclxxi will still be applicable: indeed, it may be considered sufficient; but of course it must be lived as well as performed.(i must here complain of serious trouble with fountain pens, and the waste of priceless time fixing the

. but scourging oneself is not easy with a robe on; and though one could take it off, there is this point to be considered: that one can never (except by a regrettable accident) hurt oneself more than one wants to. in other words, it is impossible thus to inflict pain, and so flagellants have been rightly condemned as mere voluptuaries. the only way to do so would be to inflict some torture whose severity one could not gauge at the time:"e.g. one might dip oneself in petroleum and set light to it, as the young lady mystic did i suppose in brittany! the other day. it's not the act that hurts, but the consequences; so, although one knows only roughly what will happen, one can force oneself to the act. this, then, is a possible form of self-martyrdom. similarly, mutilations; though it is per

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 2 2

n the tree of life, viz: malkuth, jesod, hod, and netzach, and the outer side of paroketh,8 which latter formeth the east of the temple" the plan of the temple as arranged in this grade is shown on the adjoining diagram; therein it will be seen that it contains two pillars or obelisks. these two pillars, which are respectively in netzach and hod, need careful explanation. they represent mercy and severity, the former being white and in netzach, the latter black and in hod. their bases are cubical and black to represent the earth element in malkuth; the columns are respectively white and black to manifest eternal balance of the scales of justice. 245 4 hb:yod stands for chokmah, and hb:heh for binah, hb:vau for the rest except malkuth which is the final h. 5 father and (glorified) mother. 6

not pass by me, saith the guardian of the west, unless thou canst tell me my name" in this challenge is signified the knowledge of the formula; and that without the formula of horus being formulated in the candidate, that of osiris cannot be grasped. to the candidate this appears as the anger of god; for he cannot as yet comprehend that before mildness can be exercised rightly the forces both of severity and mercy must be known and wielded. therefore the "hegemon" answers for him "darkness is thy name! thou art the great one of the path of the shades" the hegemon then suddenly lifts the veil, and the candidate sees before him standing on the steps of the throne the hiereus with sword pointed to his breast. slowly sinking the blade the "hiereus" says "child of earth, fear is failure: be th

n of the angle of kether. once again is the candidate purified with water and consecrated by fire; and the 256 hoodwink is slipped up to give a glimpse of the light as dimly seen through darkness yet heralding a glory which is in the beyond. the "hierophant" then slowly lowering his sceptre, says "child of earth! remember that unbalanced force is evil. unbalanced mercy is but weakness: unbalanced severity is but oppression. thou hast known me; pass thou on unto the cubical altar of the universe" thus formulating the force of the hidden central pillar. the hierophant then leaveth his throne and passeth between the pillars, halting at either the station of harpocrates, the place of the evil triad, or at the east of the altar. the hiereus standeth on the left of the candidate, and the hegemon

e thirty-first path of the sepher yetzirah, which answereth to the letter hb:shin, is called the perpetual intelligence; and it is so called because it regulateth the motions of the sun and moon in their proper order; each in an orbit convenient for it. it is, therefore, the reflection of the sphere of fire; and the path connecting the material universe, as depicted in malkuth, with the pillar of severity and the side of geburah through the sephira hod" 11 this introduction of the samothracian mysteries is evidently a straining after effect. they were of a much lower order than the eleusinian, and a great deal more obscure; in fact, even at the time, people could not define with anything like accuracy what the kabiri really were. the student will find more concerning these semi-mythical be

a "the emblem of the sun below the horizon, as he ever is when the moon is increasing above" the "hierophant" then leads the practicus to the serpent of brass, and says "this is the serpent nehushtan, which moses made 'and he set it upon a pole- that is, he twined it about the middle pillar of the sephiroth, because that is the reconciler between the fires of geburah (seraphim, fiery serpents) or severity, and the waters of chesed or mercy. this serpent is also a type of christ the reconciler, also it is known as nogah amongst the shells, and the celestial serpent of wisdom 'but the serpent of the temptation was the serpent of the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil, and not the serpent of the tree of life" illustration on page 278 approximated below_ aries_ gemini_ taurus aquarius c

clothed with gold, or naked, and shooting from the bow shafts of light, and standing on the shoulders of the horse. but if thy meditation prolongeth itself thou shalt unite all these symbols into the form of the lion.'27 for thus wilt thou cleave upwards by the path of hb:samekh, through the sixth sephira unto the path of hb:tet answering unto leo, the lion, the reconciling path between mercy and severity, chesed and geburah; beneath whose centre hangs the glorious sun of tiphereth "v.h. associate adept, will you explain to the philosophus the 13th key of the tarot" 27 "see" preface "associate adept" the 13th key of the tarot represents the figure of a skeleton. the five extremities of the body, delineated by head, hands and feet, allude to the powers of the number five, the letter hb:heh

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 3 2

h the guardian of the east, except thou canst tell me my name [saith the aspirant "light dawning in the darkness" is thy name: the light of a golden day [saith the osiris] 20 these are the two pillars of the tree of life; the first containing the sephira chesed, and the second the sephira geburah. child of earth! remember that unbalanced force is evil: unbalanced mercy is but weakness, unbalanced severity is but cruelty and oppression. thou hast known me now: so pass thou on unto the cubical altar of the universe [pass to the west of the altar, project astral to between the pillars, kneel at altar and repeat in astral "the prayer of osiris" lord of the universe, the vast and the mighty one! ruler of light and of darkness: we adore thee and we invoke thee! look with favour upon this neophyt

im have ye suffered tribulation. poverty, torture, and death have ye passed through. they have been but the purification of the gold. in the alembic of thine heart, through the athanor of affliction, seek thou the true stone of the wise* quit thou this vault, then, o aspirant, with thine arms crossed upon thy breast, bearing in thy right hand the crook of mercy and in thy left hand the scourge of severity,7 the emblems of those eternal forces, betwixt which in equilibrium the 217 universe dependeth: these forces whose reconciliation is the key of life, whose separation is evil and death [the "third adept" then continues frater n.n.'s narrative, in which are mentioned the names of the early brothers. he ends by saying] ex deo nascimur; in jesu morimur; per spiritum sanctum reviviscimus [the

he sign taurus (redemption, but of scorpio; for he is dead or disintegrated into his component parts. also, as shown by "libertas evangelii" he is in the position of free choice_ his lower will must decide the result. the seven are about him_ the universe watches his choice. note the 7 x 40= 280 symbolism. for 280 is sandalphon, who in 1= 10 made him a path: it is also mntzpk, the five letters of severity and judgment, and hb:peh-final hb:resh, terror, also hb:resh hb:ayin hb:yod, the angel of the wood of the world of assiah, since the greater part of it is sterile trees. the "third adept" is on the southern side of the pastos_ themis as "legis jugum" and horus in the fire position. nobody is in the quarter of air, where wait the other fragments of postulant: his nephesch being thus ready

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 3

the place of the hierophant (in this case the throne of the east. then let him slowly mentally formulate before him the eidolon of a great angelic torch-bearer: standing before him as if to lead and light his way. l. following it, let the aspirant circumambulate and pass to the south, there let him halt and aspire with his whole will: first to the mercy side of the divine ideal, and then unto the severity thereof. and then let him imagine himself as standing between two great pillars of fire and of cloud, whose bases indeed are buried in black enrolling clouds of darkness: which symbolise the chaos of the world of assiah, but whose summits are lost in glorious light undying: penetrating unto the white glory of the throne of the ancient of days. m. now doth the aspirant move unto the west;

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 4

the figure of d.a: leaning on an ice-axcw was clearly seen, but at first it was a shade difficult to fix. the figure at once went 35 to my left, and stayed there; then i observed a scarlet tiphereth above the head and the blue path of hb:gemel (gimel) going upwards. around the head was bluish light, and tiphereth was surrounded by 156 the ak sic egg of spirit set between the pillars of mercy and severity with a ray of light descending upon it from kether. 157 there golden dawn symbol here meditated upon consisted of a white triangle surmounted by a red cross. see diagram 4. 158 this meditation took place whilst p. was on a journey. 159 these meditations are called objective cognitions, by concentrating on certain nerve centres super-physical sensations are obtained. rays as of a sun. i th

AN INTRO TO STUDY OF THE KABALAH

ions, the trio shining in the symbol of a radiant triangle. chkmh, chokmah, wisdom, the king, with the divine name ih, jah is the second sephira; binh, binah, understanding, the queen, and the divine name ihvh jehovah is the third sephira--the supernal triad" is demonstrated. then follow gdulh, gedulah, also called chsd, chesed, mercy, with the divine name al, el; and its contrast gburh, geburah, severity, also called pachad, fear, with the divine name alh, eloah; and the reflected triangle is completed by the sixth sephira, the sun, named tpart, tiphareth, or beauty, with the name alhim elohim; considered as a triangle of reflection with the apex below. the third triangle may be considered as a second reflection with the apex below; it is formed of the seventh, eighth, and ninth sephiroth

ard the "tree of life" as a type of many divine processes and forms of manifestation, but these are symbols we use to classify our ideals, and we must not debase the divine emanations by asserting these views of the sephiroth are real, but only as conceivable by humanity. for example, the kabalah demonstrates the grouping of the ten sephiroth into three pillars; the pillar of mercy, the pillar of severity, and the pillar of mildness between them: these may also be associated with the three mother letters, a, m, sh; aleph, mem and shin. then again by two horizontal lines we may form three groups and consider these sephiroth to become types of the three divisions of man's nature, the intellectual, moral, and sensuous (neglecting malkuth, the material body, thus connecting the kabalah with me

CASE PAUL F THE BOOK OF TOKENS

ent on beth* beth, pronounced bayth. transcribed as" b. the number 2. meaning: house. the transparent intelligence. the ten "lights" are the ten sephiroth, represented by the circles on the diagram of the tree of life used as a frontispiece in this volume. their names are; 1. kether, the crown, or primal will; 2. chokmah, wisdom; 3. binah, understanding; 4. chesed, mercy; 5. geburah, strength, or severity; 6. tiphareth, beauty; 7. netzach, victory; 8. hod, splendor; 9. yesod, foundation; 10. malkuth, kingdom. the second, fourth and seventh sephiroth form the pillar of mercy, named after the fourth sephirah. opposed to them, yet their complements, are the third, fifth and eighth sephiroth, which form the pillar of severity, named after the fifth sephirah. the middle pillar, composed of the

this eager longing altereth not. it is a thing concluded before all manifestation, a purpose unalterably decided upon [66] v a v a determination which i confirm by mine experience. out of that longing cometh the fixing of the boundaries of the universe. by it i draw the circle of the something which emergeth from the illimitable deep of the no-thing. therefore is this longing the root of geburah, severity, for it restricteth the liberty of the no-thing, and produceth an appearance of limitation and separateness therein. 5 the nail is a perfect symbol of this severity. it hath a property of sharpness and stringency, like the point of a nail; and again, as a nail fasteneth together the parts of a house, so doth the desire of coming forth join together the parts of the universe, my dwelling-p

v n [135] the meditation on samekh* 1 i am the support of all that enter into existence. upon me all depend, and i fail not. this have i declared unto thee in various ways, but listen now to my words again. 2 i sustain creation in the midst of a perpetual ebb and flow. therefore do i assume the appearance of a refiner's fire, forever purging out the dross of forms outworn. this is mine aspect of severity, and of this it is written "tetragrammaton elohim is a devouring fire" thus am i as one who testeth gold in a furnace, and this aspect of my being presenteth to the unrighteous a face of wrath. yet by the purgation of fire do i uphold and sustain thee in every moment of thy life [139] the book of tokens 3 behold, i am he who tryeth thee with many subtle tests. wise art thou if thou knowes

d "one, is written with letters whose total value is 13. the number 10 may always be taken as a symbol of the ten sephiroth. thus 130 qabalistically corresponds to the statement "the eye is the one, multiplied through the sephiroth" the two aspects spoken of in the last section of this paragraph are represented on the tree of life by the two opposing pillars, the pillar of mercy and the pillar of severity. the pillar of mercy is that of light, and the pillar of severity is that of darkness. in hebrew the noun for "pillars" is ammoodi, o m v d i, and the number of this is 130, the same as the letter-name o i n [151] t h e book o f t o k e n s 7 "who succeedeth in contemplation, as did our father abraham" refers to the last section of the last chapter of the book of formation" and when our f

e, and the tearing-down thou seest is but the assembling of material for a grander structure. therefore is it written" man doth not live by bread only, but by all that proceedeth out of the peh of tetragrammaton" not by the part, o israel, but by all which proceedeth from the mouth of the lord. deluded are they who say "man liveth by the mercy of the lord" know ye that by the balance of mercy and severity is the continuance of every life, yea, and of this whole universe [156] comment on peh* p e h, pronounced pay. transcribed as" p. the number 80. meaning: mouth. the exciting intelligence. 2 here as elsewhere in these meditations our author regards the process of manifestation as being one in which the life-power realizes itself. 3 this paragraph refers to the 27th path of wisdom, called t

CASSANDRA EASON A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC

uctive tendencies and replacing them with the gentle growth of new hope. gabriel also rules rituals to protect water creatures seite 144 wicca01.txt and to cleanse polluted seas, lakes and rivers. colour: silver crystal: moonstone and opal incenses or oils: myrrh and jasmine samael samael is the archangel who rules the planet mars (see page 229. samael's day is tuesday. he is sometimes called the severity of god and as such is an angel of cleansing and of righteous anger. one of the seven regents of the world and said to be served by two million angels, he is also called the dark angel who in the guise of the serpent tempted eve. this is a very ancient concept in which kings and rulers were constantly tested to prove worthy of their sacred trust and so he is not an angel to invoke lightly

CHIREAU YVONNE BLACK MAGIC RELIGION AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CONJURING TRADITION

s. clauses in south carolina's 1751 negro act were also extreme. this law provided "that in case any slave shall teach or instruct another slave in the knowledge of any poisonous root, plant, herb, or other poison whatever, he or she, so offending, shall upon conviction thereof, suffer death as a felon" acts of poisoning by blacks were considered seditious and were usually treated with the utmost severity by authorities or with violent public reprisals.[26] perhaps as much as the members of anglo-american communities, many african americans themselves feared the poisoners. their concerns were not without foundation, for a great proportion of cases indicate that poisoning flared within racial boundaries, with blacks harming other blacks. in the north carolina slave court of 1761, for exampl

egated, crowded, and concentrated in ghettos in the cities of new york, chicago, detroit, washington, philadelphia, and st. louis (where the greatest population gains occurred, african americans faced especially harsh living conditions. and yet it was under these oppressive circumstances that many of the spiritual practices that had originated with the slaves had an urban rebirth.[36] braving the severity of city life, blacks created institutions that helped them withstand the staggering disorientation of relocation. african american churches, fraternal associations, and clubs gave expression to diverse new cultural forms even as they tempered the vagaries of black people's urban existence. some cultural establishments became important sites for the survival of supernatural practices. blac

CHYMICAL WEDDING OF CHRISTIAN ROSENKREUTZ

h, and so on. it is likewise very wonderful that amongst one hundred and twenty six who weighed anything, none was equal to another; and i would very willingly name them all, with each man s weight, were it not as yet forbidden me. but i hope it may hereafter be published with the interpretation. now this judgement being read over, the lords in the first place were well satisfied, because in such severity they did not dare look for a mild sentence. so they gave more than was desired of them, and each one redeemed himself with chains, jewels, gold, money and other things, as much as they had about them, and with reverence took leave. now although the king s servants were forbidden to jeer at any at his going away, yet some unlucky birds could not hold their laughter, and certainly it was su

DAVID ICKE AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

believe they are doing the right thing. they don't know what they are involved in. they are pawns in a game they don't understand. the real agenda is hidden behind terms like "global village "global neighbourhood, the "global commons" and the need for "one world. the covert plan for the united nations is exactly the same as that unfolding in europe. the pressure is being applied with ever greater severity for centralisation of political power and decision making within the ever-expanding european union which is now a maze of centralised power structures and legislation affecting every facet of daily life. the face of that organisation has changed beyond measure in the last forty years. it has been a metamorphosis from trading area to centralised tyranny and the same steppingstones process

DICTIONARY GLOSSARY OF OCCULT TERMINOLOGY

ar" of the spine. similar to laya yoga (q.v. pillar, of mildness: the central column on the tree of life (q.v. it is composed of the first, sixth, ninth, and tenth sephiroth (q.v. also known as the middle pillar (q.v. pillar, of mercy: the right hand column on the tree of life (q.v. it is composed of the second, fourth, and seventh sephiroth (q.v, and is said to be masculine in nature. pillar, of severity: the left hand column on the tree of life (q.v. it is composed of the third, fifth and eighth sephiroth (q.v, and is said to be feminine in nature. pisces "the fish" in astrology (q.v, the twelfth sign of the zodiac (q.v) having the qualities of mutable (q.v) and water (q.v) and is ruled by the planet neptune (q.v. on the rainbow wand (q.v) and on the lotus wand aries is represented by th

DION FORTUNE MYSTICAL QABALA

saturn is called, according to crowley, the great one of the night of time. 10. we have, then, kether differentiating into an active male potency, chokmah, and a passive female potency, binah, and these are placed at the head of the two side columns formed by the vertical alignment of the sephiroth in their spacing on the tree of life. of these two columns, the left-hand one under binah is called severity; the right-hand one under chokmah is called mercy; the middle one under kether is called mildness, and it is said to be the column of equilibrium. these two side columns are the two pillars that stand at the entrance to king solomon's temple and are represented in all lodges of the mysteries, the candidate himself, when he stands between them, is the middle pillar of equilibrium. 11. here

le upon the tree of life is formed of the sephiroth chesed, geburah, and tiphareth. chesed is formed by the overflowing of binah, and is situated in the right-hand pillar of mercy, immediately below chokmah; the angle of the lightning flash, which is used to indicate the course of the emanations upon the tree, slopes downwards to the right across the glyph, from binab at the head of the pillar of severity to chesed, which occupies the middle section of the pillar of mercy. then the flash turns and goes horizontally across the glyph back again to the pillar of severity, in the middle section of which is found the sephirab gehurab. down and to the right slopes once more the symbol of emanating force, and indicates the sephirah tiphareth, which occupies the very centre of the tree in the pill

human mind can know of kether is its reflection in tiphareth, the christ-centre, the sphere of the son. paroketh is the veil of the temple which was rent asunder at the crucifixion. 25. we now come in our brief preliminary survey to the third triangle composed of the sephiroth netzach, hod, and yesod. netzach is the basal sephirah of the pillar of mercy, hod is the basal sephirah of the pillar of severity, and yesod is upon the middle pillar of mildness or equilibrium, in direct alignment with kether and tiphareth. thus the third triangle is an exact replica of the second triangle upon a lower arc. 26. the meaning of netzach is victory, and to it is assigned the sphere of the planet venus; the meaning of hod is glory, and to it is assigned the sphere of the planet mercury; the meaning of y

able the decimal system of the tree to be equated with the three, four, and sevenfold systems. 3. the primary conformation of the tree is into three pillars. it will be observed by reference to the diagrams that the sephiroth readily lend themselves to this threefold vertical division, for they are arranged in three columns. these are called the right-hand pillar of mercy, the left-hand pillar of severity, and the middle pillar of mildness or equilibrium (see diagram i. 4. before proceeding any further we must make clear the significance of the right and left sides of the tree. as we look at the tree in the diagram we see binah, geburah, and hod upon the left side, and chokmah, chesed) and netzach upon the right side; this is the way we view the tree when we are using it to represent the m

verses the usual presentation of the tree; but it may be taken for granted that most representations of the symbol give the objective tree, not the subjective. when the tree is being used to indicate the lines of force in the aura, it is the subjective tree that must be used, so that geburah equates with the right arm. in all cases, of course, the middle pillar remains steadfast. 5. the pillar of severity is considered to be negative or feminine, and the pillar of mercy to be positive or masculine. superficially it may be thought that these attributions lead to incompatible symbolism, but a study of the pillars in the light of what we now know concerning the individual sephiroth will reveal that the incompatibilities are purely superficial and that the deeper significance of the symbolism

creation than if the spheres were represented one above another in a straight line, for it indicates the difference in the nature of the divine emanations and their relations to each other; for when we look at the glyph of the tree we readily perceive the relations existing between the different sephiroth, and see how they group, reflect, and react upon each other. 7. at the head of the pillar of severity, the negative, feminine pillar, is binah, the great mother. now to binah is assigned the sphere of saturn, and saturn is the giver of form. at the head of the pillar of mercy is chokmah, the supernal father, a male potency. thus we see that we have here the apposition of form and force. 8. in the second trinity we have the apposition of chesed (jupiter) and geburah (mars. again we have th

why such a male potency as geburah should be placed in the feminine pillar. it must be remembered that mars is a destructive potency, one of the infortunes in astrology. the positive builds up, the negative breaks down; the positive is a kinetic force, the negative is a static force. 9. these aspects appear again in netzach at the base of the pillar of mercy, and hod at the base of the pillar of severity. netzach is venus, the green nature ray, elemental force, the initiation of the emotions. hod is mercury, hermes, the initiation of knowledge. netzach is instinct and emotion, a kinetic force; hod is intellect, concrete thought, the reduction of intuitive knowledge to form. 10. we must remember, however, that each sephirah is negative, that is to say feminine, in relation to its predecess

iroth are more congenial to us than others, and that we get better results when working with them than we do with the uncongenial ones, where the associations-chains keep on breaking and the doors of subconsciousness resolutely refuse to open to our knocking. one pupil of mine could do excellent meditations on binah saturn, and tiphareth, the redeemer, but did not get on at all well with geburah- severity-mars. 27. i shall never forget my own experience with the first attempt i made at this method. i was working on the thirty-second path, the path of saturn, uniting malkuth and yesod, a very difficult and treacherous path. in my horoscope saturn is not well aspected, and i have often experienced his opp9sing influence in my affairs. but after i had succeeded in treading the path of saturn

aken as uniting for function in daath, situated at the base of the skull. 20. the sahasrara chakra, the thousand-petalled lotus, situated above the head, is referred by crowley to kether, and there can be little reason to quarrel with this attribution, for it is foreshadowed in the very name of the first path, kether, the crown, which rests upon and above the head. 21. the two flanking pillars of severity and mercy can be seen as representing the positive and negative principles- and their respective sephiroth as representing the modes of functioning of these forces upon the different levels. 22. the pillar of severity contains binah, geburah, and hod, or saturn, mars, and mercury. the pillar of mercy contains chokmah, chesed, and netzach, or the zodiac, jupiter, and venus. chokmah and bin

ects through his sickle with death with his scythe, and time with his hour-glass. in binah we find the root of form. it is said of malkuth in the sepher yetzirah that it sitteth upon the throne of binah-matter has its root in binah-saturn death; form is the destroyer of force. with this passive destroyer goes also the active destroyer, and we find marsgeburah immediately below it on the pillar of severity; thus is the force locked up in form set free by the destructive influence of mars, the siva aspect of the godhead. chokmah, the zodiac, represents kinetic force; and chesed, jupiter, the benign king, represents organised force; and the two are synthesised in tiphareth, the christ-centre, the redeemer and equilibrator. 24. the next trinity, of netzach, hod, and yesod, represents the magic

t, and they synthesise in the elemental yesod. this pair of sephiroth should never be considered apart, any more than the upper pair of geburah and gedulah, which is another name for chesed. this is indicated by the fact that the qabalah attributes thern respectively to the right and left arms and the left and right legs. 25. it will thus be seen that the three form-sephiroth are in the pillar of severity, and the three force-sephiroth in the pillar of mercy, and between them, in the pillar of equilibrium, are set the different levels of consciousness. the pillar of severity, with binah at its head, is the female principle, the pingala of the hindus and the yang of the chinese; the pillar of mercy, with chokmah at its head, is the ida of the hindus and the yin of the chinese; and the pilla

say that whole classes of drugs could be regarded as under the presidency of certain sephiroth because they partake of the nature of certain modes of activity which are classified under these sephiroth. for instance, all aphrodisiacs could justly be assigned to netzach (venus, and all abortifacients to yesod in her hecate aspect; analgesics to chesed (mercy, and irritants and caustics to geburah (severity. 30. this opens up a very interesting aspect of the study of materia medica-the psychic and psychological aspect of drug activity. it was this aspect which was especially studied by the initiate-physicians such as paracelsus, and it was the ignorant and superstitious abuse of this aspect by uninitiated physicians that led to the extraordinary aberrations of folk-medicine. 31. the occultis

eld not countenance" and manifestation was incipient. it is from these primary pairs of opposites that the pillars of the universe spring, between which is woven the web of manifestation. 6. as we have already noted, the tree of life is a diagram matic representation of me universe on which the positive and negative, male and female aspects are represented by the two flanking pillars of mercy and severity. it may seem strange to uninstructed thought that the title of mercy should be given to the male or positive pillar, and that of severity to the female pillar; but when it is realised that the dynamic male type of force is the stimulator of upbuilding and evolution, and that the female type of force is the builder of forms, it will be seen that the nomenclature is apt; for form, although

rstood the method of arranging these symbols in their pattern as the tree, nor of applying to them the alchem;cal principles of transmutation and distillation wherein lie. the real secrets of their use. chapter xvii binah, the third sephirah title: binah, understanding (hebrew spelling:beth, yod, nun, he) magical image: a mature woman. a matron. situation on the tree: at the bead of the pillar of severity in the supernal triangle. yetziratic text: the third intelligence is called the sanctifying intelligence, the foundation of primordial wisdom; it is also called the creator of faith, and its roots are in amen. it is the parent of faith, whence faith emanates. titles given to binah: ama, the dark sterile mother. aima, the bright fertile mother. khorsia, the throne. marab, the great sea. go

whence it comes and whither it goes; what influences have gone to its making, and what it contributes to the scheme of things entire. 2. binah represents the female potency of the universe, even as chokmah represents the male. as already noted, they are positive and negative; force and form. each heads its pillar, chokmah at the head of the pillar of mercy, and binah at the head of the pillar of severity. it may be thought that this is an unnatural distribution; that the supernal mother should preside over the mercies, and the male force of the universe over the seventies. but we must not sentimentalise these things. we are dealing with cosmic principles, not personalities; and even the symbols under which they are presented give us insight if we have eyes to see. freud would not have qua

that the supernal mother should preside over the mercies, and the male force of the universe over the seventies. but we must not sentimentalise these things. we are dealing with cosmic principles, not personalities; and even the symbols under which they are presented give us insight if we have eyes to see. freud would not have quarrelled with the attribution of binab to the head of the pillar of severity, for he has a great deal to say about the image of the terrible mother. 3. kether, eheieh, i am, is pure being, all-potential but non-active; when a flowing-forth of activity takes place from it, we call that activity chokmah; it is this descending stream of pure activity which is the dynamic force of the universe, and all dynamic force belongs to this category. 4. it must be remembered t

t was when it was unlimited (though also unorganised) on its own plane. involvement in a form is therefore the beginning of the death of life. it is a straitening and a limiting; a binding and a constricting. form checks life, thwarts it, and yet enables it to organise. seen from the point of view of free-moving force, incarceration in a form is extinction. form disciplines force with a merciless severity. 9. the disembodied spirit is immortal; there is nothing of it that can grow old or die. but the embodied spirit sees death on the horizon as soon as its day dawns. we can see then how terrible must the great mother appear as she binds free-moving force into the discipline of form. she is death to the dynamic activity of chokmah; the chokmah-force dies as it issues into binah. form is the

f it that can grow old or die. but the embodied spirit sees death on the horizon as soon as its day dawns. we can see then how terrible must the great mother appear as she binds free-moving force into the discipline of form. she is death to the dynamic activity of chokmah; the chokmah-force dies as it issues into binah. form is the discipline of force; therefore is binah the head of the pillar of severity. 10. we may conceive that the first cosmic night set in, the first pralaya, or sinking of manifestation to rest, when the supernal triangle found stability and equilibrium of force with the emanation and organisation of binah. all was dynamic before; all was mystical qabala page 97 forthrushing and expansion; but with the coming into manifestation of the binah aspect there was an interloc

actions are fundamentally and permanently modified thereby. 18. in the light of this definition we can see how the roots of faith may indeed rest in binah, understanding, the synthetic principle of consciousness. for there is a form aspect to consciousness as well as to substance, and that aspect we shall consider in detail when we come to the study of hod, the basal sephirah of binah's pillar of severity. thus we see yet again how the sephiroth link up among themselves, and the illumination that comes from observing their interrelationships. 19. the statement that the roots of binah are in amen refers to kether, for one of the titles of kether is amen. this clearly declares that although chokmah emanates binab, we must not pause there when seeking origins, but move back to the fount of al

sopos and microprosopos, serve to indicate the potential and the actual. actual manifestation, as our finite minds can conceive it, begins with microprosopos; and the first aspect of microprosopos to come into being is chesed, the fourth sephirah, situated immediately below chokmah, the father, in the pillar of mercy, of which it is the central sephirah. it is balanced across the tree by geburah, severity; and this pair, geburab and gedulab, form "the power and the glory" of the final invocation of the lord's prayer; the "kingdom" being, of course, malkuth. 4. as we have already seen, we can learn much from the position of a sephirah in the pattern of the tree; and from the position of chesed on the pillar of mercy we see tha it is chokmah upon a lower arc. it is emanated by binab, a passi

urah, a katabolic sephirah, whose mundane chakra is mars with all his warlike symbolism, who is saturn upon a lower arc. 5. from these things we can learn a great deal about chesed. it is the loving father, the protector and preserver, just as chokmah is the all-begetter. it continues the work of chokmah, organising and preserving that which the all-father has begotten. it balances with mercy the severity of geburah. it is anabolic, or uphuilding, in contra-distinction to the katabolism, or down-breaking of geburah. 6. these two aspects are very well expressed in the magical images assigned to these two sephiroth. these magical images are both kings; that of chesed a king on his throne, and that of geburah a king in his chariot; in other words, the rulers of the kingdom in peace and in war

DION FORTUNE PSYCHIC SELF DEFENSE

care any printed systems of magic, and not to use them at all unless they have the fullest control over the entities invoked" among the general public, who do not dabble in occultism, the results of a magical mishap are never seen, and the only doctors who ever see them are fellow-initiates who happen to be medical men, and they, naturally, keep silence. the catastrophes are of varying degrees of severity, ranging from a bad fright to a fatality. i cannot say much upon these subjects, for they are among the most secret paths of occult lore. enough must be hinted, however, to reveal what, under certain circumstances, may be experienced. i do not think it in the least likely, however, that the qlippotic demons will be encountered save through the use of ceremonial magic. they are as rare as

ELIPHAS LEVI THE CONJURATION OF THE FOUR ELEMENTS

s. they then form great invisible chains, and can occasion or determine grand elementary commotions. phenomena ascertained in the processes of magic and all those recently verified by m. eudes de merville have no other causes. elementary spirits are like young children. they torment those more who busy themselves with them, unless one has control of them by means of superior rationality and great severity. these are the spirits which we designate under the name of "occult elements" these spirits are those who often prepare disquieting or fantastic dreams. they are those who produce the movements of the divining rod, and the raps on walls and furniture. but they can never manifest any other thought than our own, and if we are not thinking, they talk to us with all the incoherence of dreams

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 1

ins changed into owls and other nocturnal birds. most hideous of all the evil spirits were the srei ap, or ghouls, who, represented only by head and alimentary canal, prowled nightly in search of gruesome orgies. they were known by their terrible and bloodshot eyes, and much feared, since even their wish to harm could inflict injury. when anyone was denounced as a ghoul she was treated with great severity, either by the authorities, who may have sentenced her to banishment or death, or by the villagers, who sometimes took the law into their own hands and punished the supposed offender. astrology was also widely practiced in cambodia. astrologers, or, as they were called, horas, were attached to the court, and their direct employment by the king gave them some standing in the country. at th

ended that she seek the tomb of st. francis de paris in the cemetery of st. medard. after she had gone there a few times, she recovered her health. the news spread abroad, and other cures followed. violent convulsions became a feature of the crisis that preceded these cures. at length, the healing of an unusually obstinate case at the tomb of st. francis preceded by a crisis of more than ordinary severity, was the signal for a violent outburst of epidemic frenzy. people of both sexes and all ages began to visit. people from the provinces helped to swell the ranks, until there was not a vacant foot of ground in the neighborhood of st. medard. on january 27, 1732, the cemetery was closed by order of the king. on its closed gate a wit inscribed the lines. de par le roi defense a dieu de faire

priests preserved the remaining relics of the former wisdom of nature. these were not imparted as the sciences are, in our age, but to all appearances they were neither learned nor taught; but as a reflection of the old revelations of nature, the perception must arise like an inspiration in the scholar s mind. from this cause appear to have arisen those numerous preparations and purifications the severity of which deterred many from initiation into the egyptian priesthood; in fact, not infrequently resulted in the scholar s death. long fasting, and the greatest abstinence, appear to have been particularly necessary: besides this, the body was rendered insensible through great exertions, and even through voluntary inflicted pain, and therefore open to the influence of the mind. the imaginat

he ferro-cerium with a pen nib in the dark, erto s light effects could be easily reproduced. for many years nothing further was heard of erto s psychic adventures. in 1931, however, emanuele sorge, a prominent italian scientist, requested the national laboratory of psychical research of london to undertake an investigation. erto arrived in london during december and under conditions of increasing severity gave a series of sittings under the auspices of psychical researcher harry price. when left to himself, erto produced brilliant flashes of light in the dark. under conditions of strict control, however, beyond the roaring voice of near, a claimed trance personality, and whisperings of a female voice, no phenomena came forth. erto was investigated by emilio servadio in 1932, but although t

tmastide with evergreen plants.holly, ivy, box, laurel, mistletoe.is sometimes said to have originated when christianity was introduced into europe in order to typify the first british church, built of evergreen boughs. more probably it extends back into antiquity. in druidic times, people decorated their houses with evergreen plants so that the sylvan spirits might come there to shelter from the severity of winter until their leafy bowers were renewed in the coming year. it was a widespread superstition that it was unlucky to remove evergreen christmas decorations until after twelfth night. everitt, mrs. thomas (1825.1915) one of the earliest and best british private mediums and the first to produce direct voice in england. she was the wife of a north london tailor. she began to give sean

to account for the gifts. he refused to appear, was excommunicated, and, in return, had the pope kidnapped by brigands. gregory, however, was rescued by the people of rome and on his release commanded the germans to elect a new emperor, rudolph, duke of swabia. henry, attended by a very small retinue, went to canossa, where gregory resided, to arrange for terms of peace. he was treated with such severity and neglect that he lost his desire to come to terms with the pope, and on his return he elected an antipope, clement iii. in the struggle that ensued, henry defeated rudolph in battle and gregory was sentenced as a sorcerer. he died in exile at salerno. gregory s fame rests not in magic but chiefly on a prophecy he made publicly that rudolph would be victorious before st. peter s day, a

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 2

r several thousand dollars. nolan has also flown to washington to treat a young vietnamese war soldier. nolan has held clinics in london as well as the united states and is credited with some remarkable cures. an interesting experiment with nolan was carried out by robert e. willner, diplomate of the board of family practice, in his office in florida. willner selected ten patients on the basis of severity of their disease and failure to respond to multiple attempts at medical therapy. nolan was introduced to them as dr. finn, a medical student from the medical school in dublin, ireland. his function was ostensibly to confirm willner s observations and provide an independent evaluation of each patient s disease process. the ten patients were involved with the experiment for three visits a w

wing pins were affixed to his clothing so that his slightest movements could be seen by witnesses even in the dark. willi sat outside the cabinet. two witnesses held his wrists and a third sat in front of him, holding his hands and keeping his legs between his own. both medium and experimenters were shut off from the objects to be telekinetically moved by a gauze screen in the form of a cage. the severity of the control did not prevent the phenomena. the result of these sittings was published in schrenck- notzing s experimente der fernbewegung in 1924. in english-speaking countries, the mediumship of the schneider brothers began to be known after british psychical researcher harry price, accompanied by eric j. dingwall, attended some sittings in 1922 in munich. both price and dingwall sign

n a covenanter, and peculiarly attached to that cause. in the years of the commonwealth this man was trusted and employed by those who were then at the head of affairs, and was in 1649 commander of the city-guard of edinburgh, which procured him his title of major. in this capacity he was understood, as was indeed implied in the duties of that officer at the period, to be very strict in executing severity upon such royalists as fell under his military charge. it appears that the major, with a maiden sister who had kept his house, was subject to fits of melancholic lunacy, an infirmity easily reconcilable with the formal pretences which he made to a high show of religious zeal. he was peculiar in his gift of prayer, and, as was the custom of the period, was often called to exercise his tale

avor throughout the rest of his life, the last notice given to him being on march 27, 1513, when the sum of 20 was paid to him to travel to the mine in crawford moor, where the king had artisans at work searching for gold. from the reign of james iv to that of mary stuart, no magician or alchemical practitioner of note appears to have existed in scotland, and in the reign of james vi, too great a severity was exhibited against such to permit them to avow themselves publicly. in the reign of james vi, however, lived the celebrated alexander seton of port seton near edinburgh, known abroad as the cosmopolite, who is said to have succeeded in achieving the transmutation of metals. magic and religion in the scottish highlands pagan scotland appears to have been lacking in benevolent deities. t

f confinement, entertaining the soldiers who guarded the alchemist and judiciously bribing those who were directly concerned in his imprisonment. at last he judged that the time was ripe to attempt seton s rescue. he feasted the guards and they were soon in a condition of drunken carelessness. sendivogius hurried to the tower in which seton was imprisoned, but found him unable to walk through the severity of his tortures. he therefore supported seton to a carriage, which they reached without being observed. they halted at seton s house to pick up his wife, who had in her possession some of the all-important powder, and sped to cracow, which they reached in safety. when quietly settled in that city, sendivogius reminded seton of his promise to assist him in his alchemical projects, but was

many of them into confessions dictated to them by their persecutors. during this interval, the pope s orders were carried into other countries, authorizing the arrest of the templars and the seizure of their goods. everywhere the same charges were brought against them. the same means of imprisonment and torture were used to procure their condemnation, although they were not subjected to the same severity as in france. the destruction of the order in france at length, in the spring of 1316, the grand process was opened in paris. an immense number of templars, brought from all parts of the kingdom, underwent a public examination. a long act of accusation was read: they denied christ (and encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. templars 1545 sometimes they denied expressly all the

among whom was the grand master himself, were subsequently brought to the stake. after having lasted two or three years, the process ended in the condemnation and suppression of the order; its estates were given in some countries to the knights of st. john. it was in france that the persecution was most cruel. in england, the order was suppressed, but no executions took place. even in italy, the severity of the judges was not everywhere the same. in lombardy and tuscany the templars were condemned, while they were acquitted at ravenna and bologna. they were also pronounced innocent in castile; in arragon they were reduced by force only because they had attempted to resist by force of arms. in spain and portugal they only gave up their own order to be admitted into others. the pope was off

seize him by force. they kidnapped him while he was traveling to paris, where he had been sent to complete his course of instruction, and they carried him off to the castle of aquino, where he had been born. here aquinas was confined for two years, but he found a way to correspond with the superiors of his order, and he finally escaped from a window in the castle. aquinas exceeded most men in the severity and strictness of his metaphysical disquisitions and thus acquired the name of seraphic doctor. he was canonized by pope john xxii in 1323. because of his association with albertus magnus, he shared many legends of magical powers. for example, it was said that because his study was placed in a great thoroughfare where the grooms exercised their horses, aquinas found it necessary to apply

FELDMAN DANIEL QABALAH THE MYSTICAL HERITAGE OF THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM

t choose to support your back against a wall. if you do let the wall support your back, you may want to put something soft between your back and the wall, and you may wish to augment support to your lumbar spinal region. try to maintain good posture while you are meditating. keep your spine and your head upright but not rigid. it is good to cross your legs, but it is not necessary to maintain the severity of a lotus position. the operative words here are upright but comfortable, so that you can engage in extended meditation without being distracted by your body (if you are unable to sit with legs crossed on a flat surface, you may elect to sit in a chair) place your hands comfortably on your knees, palms down or up. you can alternately place them in your lap, with either the fingers of the

FRANCIS A YATES GIORDANO BRUNO AND THE HERMETIC TRADITION

arlier chapter on the spaccio that the reform really represents a victory of good sides of astral influences over bad ones.1 the way to study the spaccio is to correlate the epithets in it with those in the de imaginum compositione which reveals to what planet the epithets belong. further, in the de imaginum compositione the epithets for saturn are nearly all bad, things like squalor, moroseness, severity, rigidity; and so are the epithets for mars, such as ferocity, rabid rigidity, implacable truculence.2 reading round the constellations in the spaccio and noting what bad things are driven down, it becomes evident, when these are compared with saturn and mars epithets in the de imaginum compositione, that in the celestial reform, saturn and mars are downed by the influence of the good pla

FULLER J F C SECRET WISDOM OF THE QABALAH

l the lamps that receive their light from the holy ancient are triadic. 11 the second triad is called the moral or sensuous world; it is the world soul which emanates from the world spirit (spiritus mundi. it consists of the positive or male principle 'hesed, which means grace or mercy, also called gedulah (magnificence; and the negative or female principle pahad (punishment, also called geburah (severity) and din (judgment. these two unite in the sixth sephirah, tiphereth (beauty, the highest manifestation of ethical life- the ideal. the third triad is called the physical or material world and consists of the male or positive sephirah netzah (triumph or victory, and the female or negative hod (glory or splendour. they constitute the garms of god h and represent the centripetal and centrif

; they unite in themselves everything and are themselves united to the no-thing (4) dsc 'hesed, grace, love, mercy, or compassion. from 'hokmah emanate six sephiroth, secret wisdom of the qabalah page 29 which, as we have explained, symbolize the dimensions of matter 'hesed is the right arm of macrocosmos; it endows the world with feeling and sentiment (5) dhp, pahad, rigour, punishment, fear, or severity. this sephirah is the left arm of macrocosmos. it is feminine and passive, as 'hesed is masculine and active. as 'hesed symbolizes life, so does pahad symbolize death (6) urapu tiphereth, beauty. this sephirah is the common centre or harmony of 'hesed and pahad, of life and death, the active and passive in the moral world. its symbol is the sun, the heart of the universe and also the hear

infinity of the good and the infinity of the evil. 7 and again: twenty-two basal letters; they are placed together in a ring, as a wall with two hundred and thirty-one gates. the ring may be put in rotation forwards or backwards and its token is this: nothing excels gno= ong= pleasure) in good, and nothing excels ogn= ngo= plague) in evil. 8 in man good and evil represent the pillars of mercy and severity (or justice, whilst free will represents the central pillar of mildness. this mystery of good, will, and evil is the foundation of the symbolical temple of solomon. myer writes: the widow's son, hiram abiff of tyre, cast for the qabalistic temple of king solomon two high pillars or pylons of bronze; their capitals were pomegranates and lily work. the lily, most likely the lotus, an emblem

to reunite with the od. in its lower aspect od represents microcosmic man; in its higher it represents the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. as man is a trinity in unity inhibited by a gleam of the supernal shin- the shin which, volatilizing into light, enabled tetragrammaton to become visible-so also is the od threefold in nature. it represents not only the pillars of severity, mercy, and mildness, but also formation, reformation, and transformation; activity, passivity, and equilibrium; and good, evil, and deliverance. thus it is not one od but three odin, which to unite must climb the three trunks of the inseparable trees and, interlacing in kether, the crown, reformulate the letter shin, a trinity in unity. thus will it deliver back to tetragrammaton the pow

GILBERT THE GOLDEN DAWN TWILIGHT OF THE MAGICIANS

dconse255crated with fire, you may approach thegateofthe east.'thekeruxleads sunward to thehierophantand raiseshood255winkofcandidate.hierophant:'youcannotpass by me, saidtheguardianoftheeast, until you havelearnedmy name.'hegemon(replying for candidate 'your name is light dawning indarkness.'hierophant:'unbalancedforceisthesquandering oflife;unba255lanced mercy isthepassingofthe will; unbalanced severity isthebarrennessofthemind. you have known me; pass onward now to the cubical altarofcreated things.'thekeruxreplaces hoodwinkandleads the procession tothealtar.thehierophantleaves histhroneandpasses betweenthepillars with sceptre in his righthandandthebanneroftheeastin his left.hestops (a) between the pillars, or (b) halfway between theseandthealtar, or (c) close to theeastsideofthealtar.t

GILBERT THE MAGICAL MASON

ead. the devout rabbi bows his head and adores the sublime conception.theconscious god having arisen in his energy, there follow immediately two further emanations, the trio subsiding into the symbol of a radiant triangle.chokmah,wisdom, is the name of the second sephira;binah,understanding, is the third sephira- the supernal triad is demonstrated. then followchesed,mercy; and its contrastgeburah,severity; and the reflected triangle is completed by the sixth sephiratiphereth,beauty: considered as a triangle of reflection with the apex below. the third triangle may be considered as a second reflection with the apex below; it is formed of the seventh, eighth, and ninth sephirothnetsach,victory; hod, splendour; andyesod,foundation. finally, all these ideals are resumed in a single form, the t

view we may regard the tree of life as a type of many divine processes and forms of manifestation,butthese are symbols we use to classifyourideals, and we must not debase the divine emanations by asserting these views of the sephiroth are real,butonly apparent to humanity.forexample, the kabalah demonstrates the grouping of the ten sephiroth into three pillars; the pillar of mercy, the pillar of severity, and the pillar of mildness between them; these may also be associated with the three mother letters, a, m, sh, aleph, mem and shin.thenagain by two horizontal lines we92themagical masonmay form three groups and consider these sephiroth to become types ofthethreedivisions of man'snature,the intellectual, moral,andsensuous (neglecting malkuth the material body)thusconnectingthekabalah with

ht; first is kether the crown, thence proceed chochmah and binah, wisdom and understanding, and then is the crown concealed and lost to perception in its exaltedness, the word is lost, and replaced by other titles. in thetensephiroth, as in our lodges, we are taught of two great pillars, one on the right and on the left, the pillars of mercy and judgment; then a third exists between them, that of severity; tempered by mercy, and called pillar of mildness. these are similar to the masonic pillars of wisdom, strength, and beauty, while the ain soph aur above them is the mystic blazing star in the east. wisdom, strength, and beauty are the sephirotic triad of chochmah, geburah, and tiphereth.theseveral emanations of the sephiroth of the kabbalah, one proceeding from the other, produce, as the

ighest members sought for magic powers in plants and stones with a view to healing the sick and to succeed in prophecy. suidas, the lexicographer of the tenth century, describes the essenes as men of contemplation and as mystic theologians. theophilus gale gives a summary of their characteristics from eusebius. in the times of the latercasar,named trajan, we read that the essenes had relaxed the. severity of their rules, revised their oaths, and in some districts they married 'for the sake of children and not for pleasure, and at last they faded out of the view of history. no trace of any essene writing has come down to us, nor do we know whether their books were written in hebrew, aramaic, or greek; by the time, says james moffat, that rabbinic hebrew and christian literature arose, the w

GILBERT THE SORCERER AND HIS APPRENTICE

the weighing of its actions in earth life against a figure oftruthinthe mystical scales ,of ma by anubis. tl).oth, ibis-headed, records the judgement and the devourer stands readytoseizeifthe soul has ledaneviuife.passing through this ordeal, the soul is then introduced into the presence of osiris by horus. osiris sits in his shrine upon a throne, with the crook and scourge. symbols.of mercy and severity, in, his hands; behind him are isis and nephthys, the goddesses()f nature and perfection, and before him are the four genii ofthedead, upon the lotus flower, the emblem of the metempsychosis.thusthe whole of the symbols upon the pillers.represerit the advance and purification of the soul, and its uniting with osiris the redeemer inthatgolden dawn of an infinite light, wherein the. soul is

the spanish tarot.thefigure, like an inverted m on its front, is all that remains of the egyptian twin serpents which originally decorated it.itrepresents the waters of creation in the first chapter of genesis.itis the symbol of the power which receives and modifies.theace of swords isasword surmounted by a crown, from which depend on either side an olive and a palm branch, symbolic of mercy and severity; around it are six hebrew yods, recalling the six days of the mosaic creation.itis the symbol of that justice which maintains the world in order, the equilibrium of mercy and severity. the ace of pentacles represents eternal synthesis, the great whole of the visible universe, the realisation of counterbalanced power.the22 trumps are the hieroglyphic symbols of the occult meanings of the 2

GNOSTIC STUDIES THE GNOSTIC HANDBOOK II GNOSTIC THEURGY

atziluth, the lower seven centres are mixed and offer amalgams of light and darkness. fig 23 fig 24 gnostic theurgy page 93 the fourth centre is chesed or gedulah. it is known as mercy and is considered male and positive in action. in traditional texts it is known as receptive intelligence. some descriptions of it include love, majesty and magnificence. the fifth centre is geburah. it is known as severity or radical intelligence. while it is seen as feminine, it has characteristics not of passiveness but of strength and force. it is martial in tone. the sixth centre is tiphareth. it is known as beauty or mediating intelligence. it has characteristics of harmony and equilibrium. it forms the point of the triangle of chesed, geburah and itself. between tiphareth and netzach and hod is anothe

GOLDEN DAWN RITUALS Z1

he next highest grade, 3=8, is the n reflected from dsj. the third is the cancellarius because in dwsy, 2=9, is the m reflected from trapt. thus, the order is governed by a triad, one in intention but having different functions: the imperator to command, the praemonstrator to instruct, and the cancellarius to record. the proper mantle of office of the imperator is the flame, scarlet robe of o and severity, as on him do the energy and stability of the temple depend. if he has subofficers to assist him, they partake of his symbolism. his mantle is the symbol of unflinching authority, compelling the obedience of the temple to all commands issued by the second order. upon the left breast thereof, is the cross and triangle of the golden dawn, both white, representing the purification of the tem

black and white or plain black squares of approved pattern. the key to the formation of the tunic and nemyss is the crux ansata, for the nemyss makes the oval, and the arms and body of the tunic, the cross. the symbolism of the temple the bases of the two pillars are respectively in jxn and dwh; the white pillar being in jxn and the black pillar in dwh. they represent the two pillars of mercy and severity. the bases are cubical and black to represent the l element in twklm. the columns are respectively black and white to represent the manifestation of the eternal balance of the scales of justice. upon them should be represented in counterchanged color any appropriate egyptian designs, emblematic of the soul. 5 the scarlet tetrahedronal capitals represent the o of test and trial, and betwee

and q, o and n, terminating respectively in the russet and olive quarters of twklm. therefore, is he placed there as almighty and avenging guardian to the sacred mysteries. the symbols and insignia of hiereus are: the throne of the west in the black of twklm, where it borders on the kingdom of shells. the black robe of darkness, bearing a white cross on the left breast. the sword of strength and severity. the lamen suspended from a scarlet collar. the banner of the west. the position of the throne of the west at the limits of twklm is fitting for the avenger of the gods, for he is placed there in eternal affirmation against the evil ones "hitherto shall ye come and no further" the throne is also placed there as a seat of witness and of punishment decreed against evil. the robe or mantle i

o further" the throne is also placed there as a seat of witness and of punishment decreed against evil. the robe or mantle is of darkness, threatening and terrible to the outer, as concealing an avenging force ever ready to break forth against the evil ones. on the left breast is a white cross to represent the purification of matter unto the light. the sword represents the forces of the pillar of severity as a whole, but the places of the sephiroth are not necessarily indicated thereon. the guard is dwh and may be of brass, the grip is the path of c and may be of scarlet. the pommel, twklm, and may be black. the grip by which it is wielded, being the path c, represents the universe governed by the flaming force of severity and represents the hiereus as wielding the forces of divine severit

darkness is circumscribed in its turn by the circle of light" in addition to this explanation, the lamen represents "the light that shineth in the darkness though the darkness comprehendeth it not" it affirms the possibility of the redemption from evil and even that of evil itself through self sacrifice. it is suspended from a scarlet collar which represents its dependence on the force of divine severity for overpowering the evil. it is a symbol of tremendous strength and fortitude and is a synthesis of the office of the hiereus as in regards to the temple, as opposed to his office as in regards to the outer world. for these reasons, it should always be worn by the hiereus. the banner of the west completes the symbols of the hiereus. it is thus explained in the zelator grade "the white tr

nded from a black collar to show that suffering is the purgation of evil "before the face of the gods in the place of the threshold" is the name of hegemon, and she is the goddess thma-ae-st having the following coptic forms: thma-ae-st- this is as in regards to the middle pillar and the influence from rtk. thma-aesh- this is more fiery as in regards to her influence with respect to the pillar of severity. thmaa-ett- this is more fluidic as in regard to her influence with respect to the pillar of mercy. she is the wielder of the sceptre of dual wisdom from hmkj, and therefore, is the mitre head split in two and not closed, to indicate the dual manifestation of wisdom and truth, even as the hall of the neophyte is called "the hall of the dual manifestation of the goddess of truth" the three

neophyte. he is the younger brother of horus, hoor-po-kratt-l st. 5. the stations of isis and nephthys are respectively at the places of the pillars in jxn and dwh, and these great goddesses are not otherwise shown in the grade, save in connection with the praemonstrator and imperator, as operating through the hierophant, seeing that isis corresponds to the pillar of mercy and nephthys to that of severity. therefore, the positions of the pillars or obelisks are but, as it were, the places of their feet. the station of aroueris: the invisible station of aroueris (horus the elder) is beside the hierophant as though representing the power of osiris to the outer order. for while the hierophant is an adeptus, he is shown only as lord of the paths of the portal so that when the hierophant is on

GOLDEN DAWN RITUALS Z2

e place of the hierophant (in this case, to the throne of the east. then, let him slowly mentally formulate before him the eidolon of a great angel torch-bearer, standing before him as if to lead and light the way. l. following it, let the aspirant circumambulate, and pass to the south, then let him halt, and aspire with his whole will, first to the mercy side of the divine ideal, and then to the severity thereof. let him then imagine himself as standing between two great pillars of o and cloud, whose bases indeed are buried in black ever rolling clouds of darkness, which symbolizes the chaos of the world of hycu, but whose summits are lost in glorious light undying, penetrating unto the white glory of the throne of the ancient of days. m. now does the aspirant move unto the west, faces so

GOLDEN DAWN RITUALS Z3

e gods. after the kerux comes the hegemon, the translator of the higher self, leadng the candidate. then comes the goddesses of the scales of the balance, the stolistes and the dadouchos. they move once around; the formation in darkness of the hnyb angle of the white triangle of the three supernals. the hierophant knocks once as they pass him in affirmation of mercy, the hiereus in affirmation of severity. the invisible assessors each give the sign of the enterer as the candidate passes on his way. at the second passing by the hierophant, the knock affirms the commencement of the angle of hmkj. the kerux bars the candidate s approach to the west to mark that the natural man cannot obtain the understanding of even the son of osiris unless by purification and equilibrium. again is the candid

he hiereus to know the name. if the formula of horus be not with the candidate, that of osiris cannot be grasped, but to the candidate, the power of horus as yet can only appear as a terrible and incomprehensible force, the force of the avenger of the gods, hence, the speech of the hegemon for him. the candidate cannot as yet comprehend that before mildness can be exercised rightly, the forces of severity and mercy must be known and wielded. to accomplish this, the greatest courage and energy is required and not hysterical weakness and absence of resolution in action. hence, in the answer of the hiereus is an affirmation of the necessity of courage and of the danger of fear. he gives one knock to seal the vibration of that force imaged in the candidate s sphere of sensation. 6 the next bar

GOLDEN DAWN RITUALS ZAM20

stop in the north, form the pillars, and aspire. pass east, say "after the formless and the void and the darkness, cometh the knowledge of the light. so in the place of the guardian of the gate of the east, i draw thee into my heart, o vision of the rising sun. thou dwellest in the place of the balance of the forces where alone is perfect justice. unbalanced mercy is but weakness, and unbalanced severity is cruelty and oppression. therefore, in the name of the motionless heart, i pass on unto that great altar whereon is sacrificed the body of my higher genius" step 24 pass to the cauldron on the altar. stand east of altar, facing west, and as you read, place the four elements of rose, wine, bread and salt, and incense from the censer, into the burning cauldron. say "o ynda, thou mighty an

GRERALD SCHUELER AN ADVANCED GUIDE TO ENOCHIAN MAGICK

god of the dead. isis solidification, manifestation, nature, law, principie, l o v e. i s i s g o v e r n s t h e f o r c e s o f sol idi f icat ion. she gives form to the formless and thus rules over all birth processes. her name rneans'throne' and she is the source or seat of creative power. isis is similar to the tantric goddess, kundalini. 66 nephthys dispersion, fragmentation, dissociation, severity. she is the counterpart of her sister,'sis. her name means 'lady of the house' nephthys roles over all dispersion processes. she turras forro into formless essence. nephthys is similar to the tantric goddess, kali. horus attainment, fruition, man, humanity, the present as a result of the past. his title is 'the avenger of his father' because he fought set and avenged his father, osiris, w

GREY W G CONDENSATION OF KABBALAH

mbination that everything appears to consist of. combining the lot, the kabbalists pushed them a stage further and saw another positive state of generous outpouring they called chesed, or mercy-benevolence. realising that a countercurb had to be applied as a control to make any energy effective, they again combined all the previous spheres, and conceived a fifth state or sphere called gevurah, or severity, the economy of existence which applies a brake to the acceleration of initial energy. having thus got things under control, a central resultant came into being as the sphere of tiferet, or beauty and harmony. a condition of balance, stability and order to act as a nucleus for the now controllable pattern being produced. so now the triplicity-scheme could be repeated on lower levels and t

age. 1 keter, crown or summit. a bearded head of an ancient and crowned king seen in right profile. this was because it is said: he is all right. in him there is no left hand path. 2 chochmah, wisdom. a wise looking elder holding a book of the law. 3 binah, understanding. a throned matriarch, expressing comprehension. 4 chesed, mercy. a cheerfully benevolent uncrowned but throned king. 5 gevurah, severity. an armed warrior, usually in a chariot. 6 tiferet, beauty. three related figures which are really the same divine king at different stages. first a young naked child (incarnation, second a crucified body (sacrifice, third a crowned and robed priest-king (transformation. the birth, death and resurrection of sacred kings. 7 netzach, victory. a beautiful young woman with a palm branch. 8 ho

le representing nature clothed as a bride, because nature was regarded as the proper mate of mankind symbolised by the shechinah or visible signs of the presence of god on earth, personified as an attractive female. there are colour-associations with the spheres of the tree. again there is a simple up and down and side to side logic to this. the left hand pillar is black, and called the pillar of severity, the right hand one beingwhite and termed the pillar of mercy, while themiddle pillar is gold (or yellow) and called the pillar of mildness. this illustrates the golden rule of life- 7 between extremities always choose the middle way. from top to bottom of the tree the first sphere is just a brilliance beyond being plainwhite. at sphere 2, we have very light grey, and at sphere 3, very da

d and man becomes the great abyss, across which the lifestream goes to) 4 mercy or generosity. origination governed by god-aspect el (the one. creatively by archangel tzadkiel (righteous of god. formatively by the angel order of the chashmalim (brilliant ones. expressively by the planet tzedek (jupiter, traditional giver of good things. humanly the development of male chromosomes in the foetus. 5 severity or economy. origination governed by the god-aspect elohim gibur (god-goddesses of strength/might).creation byarchangelchamael orsamael (burner or venom of god. formation by the angelic order of serafim (fiery serpents. expressively by the planet madim (mars. humanly by the development of female chromosomes in the foetus. 6 harmony and beauty. here life is brought to balance originatively

trismegistus, patron of the hermetic 11 figure 4 keshet the bow, and chetz the arrow mysteries. these concern ordered rituals, intellectual pursuits, sciences, and exact procedures governed by definite rules and calculated formulae. often regarded as the opposite of orphic procedures. rationality and logic is the control here. hermetic people usually associate with the black pillar, the pillar of severity, of the tree. 3. the mystic way or the middle way is the most difficult way of approaching divinity. it is by sheer devotion and absolute dedication to the cause of cosmos. it takes a very great sense of self-sacrifice to follow this way, and almost no ordinary soul is capable of following this path of progress. many start, then usually branch to one side or the other because they are saf

ves all of the time towards the ultimate objective, the godhead. see table 1. table 1: paths of the tree with tarot associations path numbers connecting sefirot tarot card 1- 2 1- 3 1- 6 2- 3 2- 4 2- 6 3- 5 3- 6 4- 5 4- 6 4- 7 5- 6 5- 8 6- 7 6- 8 6- 9 7- 8 7- 9 7- 10 8- 9 8- 10 9- 10 crown- wisdom crown- understanding crown- beauty wisdom- understanding wisdom- mercy wisdom- beauty understanding- severity understanding- beauty mercy- severity mercy- beauty mercy- victory severity- beauty severity- glory beauty- victory beauty- glory beauty- foundation victory- glory victory- foundation victory- kingdom glory- foundation glory- kingdom foundation- kingdom hierophant hermit star judgment emperor temperance death hanged man justice strength empress blasted tower devil lovers chariot sun wheel

HAMIL THE ROSICRUCIAN SEER

bro. irwin, i have long been wistfully meditating writing to you,buti have been utterly unable, ever since we met i am never out ofpain-indeedyesterday morning walking to the office my chest became so painful that had not my neck burst out in perspiration i should have fainted in the street. fortunately a cab came up into which i was helped&driven to my office, unfortunately it comes on with most severity in the evening&by the time i reach home i am thoroughly exhausted, unfit for anything, read only with difficulty, forgetting what i have read. my doctor tonight says i live too loose. i must eat more&takestimulants-butmy horoscope has for a long time been grievously afflicted&the long continued0of1;&14to each other&squaring of so many of my radical planets' places accounts for all my perp

ISIS UNVEILED

iml hrvtt beaiu'"die dog i* turned \o hit own tomit aguu; and ihe tote th t wfts wuhed to ha mlloiriiig in u>e mire (f psupreme being, ue throu^ tbe enuuutionf of adun kadmon; thete ate "hie crown, witdom, pradenot, mami- fienee, stterilg, btauty, vietory, olory, fornidation, empirt. wimlom it called lak; pnidedce, rcamoa; severity, eiohin; ma^mgcence, eloak; beauty, tipkenth; vktory, and glory, teb'baoih; ei^>ire or dominion, adokai" iiiub when the naxaiene* and othcc gnostic* of the more flatonic teadeocy twitted tbe jewb at "aborliona who digitizecoy google aos ^s unveiled dignities are the subordinate genii t^ the archangels and angela emanations are the very life and soul of the kabala and

ich prevail unto day and which sentence a ahdn, or punghi (a learned man: sanskrit pandit, as well as a simple talapoin, to death by digitizecoy google the steict chastity op eastern mystics 321 decapitation for the crime of unchastity. no foreigner can be admitted into their kyutru, or vih&rat (monasteries; and yet there are french writers, otherwise impartial and fur, who, speaking of the great severity of the rules to which the buddhist monks are subjected in these com- munities, and without possessing one single fact to corroborate their skepticism, bluntly say, that" notwithstanding the great laudations bestowed upon them (talapoins) by certain travelers, merely on the strength of appearatuet, i do not believe at all in their chastity^ fortunately for the buddhist talapmns, lamatt tah

JENNINGS HARGRAVE ROSICRUCIANS RITES MYSTERIES

think) first worshipped this very stone which jacob set up, and afterwards consecrated others in imitation and in reminder of it. it is to little purpose that we are reminded that the jews were forbidden by their law to make unto themselves any graven image; for, as lewis shows in the following passage, there may be exceptions to this, as to every other general rule. notwithstanding, he says, the severity of the law against the making of images, yet, as justin martyr observes in his book against trypho, it must be somewhat mysterious, that god in the case of the brazen serpent* should command an image to be made, for which* the brazen serpent continued to be worshipped by the jews, and to have incense offered to that idol, till the reign of hezekiah: for it being written in the law of mose

JESSUP MK THE CASE FOR THE UFO

"slow" meteor which took fifteen to twenty seconds to cross the sky and mentions a "stationary" meteor which seemed to be approaching the observer in a sinuous track. there are many references to unusual meteors during 154 these years, and there are hundreds of drawings showing meteor trains, explosions, zigzag paths and erratic movements. on the night of april 18, 1880, a storm of unprecedented severity passed over missouri and adjacent states. local whirlwinds, probably tornadoes, developed, and at least one town was completely destroyed. everywhere along the track there was evidence of a wave of water flowing in the rear of the cloud spots, and in places debris was carried over obstacles of considerable height. the direction of the currents was always uphill. one man and his family wer

KNOWLEDGE LECTURE THREE

e above and water below. this symbol has another meaning on the tree of life. the upper part and wings touch chokmah and binah. the knob touches kether. these are the three supernals. the seven lower sephiroth are embraced by the twin serpents whose heads rest upon chesed and geburah the moon on the tree of life in the moon s increase the pillar of mercy is embraced. in its decrease the pillar of severity is embraced. at the full moon it reflects the sun of tiphare tii- second knowledge lecture (zelator) the names and alchemical symbols of the three principles of nature are: sulphur f mercury h salt g the metals attributed to the planets in alchemy are' lead! gold& tin$ copper or brass% iron# quicksilver (mercury" silver the following terms are used in books about alchemy. they have the me

LAITMAN M THE KABBALAH EXPERIENCE

malchut of atzilut. the souls compel them to mate by raising desire for correction, called man. only at the end of correction, when there is a screen over all the desires, will it be possible to receive without limits. that is why in the holiday of purim there is a mitzva to drink until you cannot tell between good and bad, because it symbolizes the end of correction. but there is a difference in severity between ejaculation and intoxication until one cannot tell good from bad, until the ability to correct is lost. c o n c e p t s i n k a b b a l a h 383 in the case of intoxication, a person descends from the level of man to that of a beast, where one is not considered a sinner, but simply detaches from consciousness, from correction. but the act of ejaculation without a screen is a sin. y

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

ources, such as talmud yalkut, where he represents esau s guardian angel, and in sotah, where he is regarded as edom s angelic prince guardian. he is equated with the serpent who tempted eve and, by seducing her, became the father of cain in the sayings of rabbi eliezer. in the zohar he is the dark angel who wrestled with jacob at peniel. sammael is also cited in waite s the holy kabbalah, as the severity of god, and as fifth of the archangels of the world of briah, where he corresponds to the sefira geburah. in baruch iii and in the ascension of isaiah, sammael and satan are used interchangeably. sammael also has a literary presence, as in longfellow s lengthy poem the golden legend, where he is mentioned as the angel of death. see also demons; fallen angels; satan for further reading: da

act that some of their well-intentioned activity is contaminating and damaging the prosecutive potential of the cases where criminal acts did occur. we must all (i.e, the media, churches, therapists, victim advocates, law enforcement, and the general public) ask ourselves if we have created an environment where victims are rewarded, listened to, comforted, and forgiven in direct proportion to the severity of their abuse. are we encouraging needy or traumatized individuals to tell more and more outrageous tales of their victimization? are we making up for centuries of denial by now blindly accepting any allegation of child abuse no matter how absurd or unlikely? are we increasing the likelihood that rebellious, antisocial, or attention-seeking individuals will gravitate toward satanism by p

LIBER DCCCLX JOHN ST

to be made between attainment of this grade in the natural and in the spiritual world. the former i long since possessed) 1. it may perhaps mean severe asceticism. in case i should be going out on that path i will try and get a real good dinner to fortify myself. 2. the paths leading to geburah are from hod, that of the hanged man, and from tiphereth, that of justice, both equilibrated aspects of severity, the one implying self-sacrifice, the other involuntary john st. john 37 suffering. one is free-will, the other karma; and that in a wider sense than that of suffering. the ritual 671 will still be applicable: indeed, it may be considered sufficient; but of course it must be lived as well as performed (i must here complain of serious trouble with fountain pens, and the waste of priceless

. but scourging oneself is not easy with a robe on; and though one could take it off, there is this point to be considered: that one can never (except by a regrettable accident) hurt oneself more than one wants to. in other words, it is impossible thus to inflict pain, and so flagellants have been rightly condemned as mere voluptuaries. the only way to do so would be to inflict some torture whose severity one could not gauge at the time: e.g, one might dip oneself in petroleum and set light to it, as the young lady mystic did.i suppose in brittany!.the other day. it fs not the act that hurts, but the consequences; so, although one knows only roughly what will happen, one can force oneself to the act. this, then, is a possible form of self-martyrdom. similarly, mutilations; though it is per

LIBER E

sitions the ibis the god the thunderbolt the dragon in the ibis the head is tilted very slightly too far back; in the thunderbolt the right foot might be a little higher and the right knee lower with advantage. svb figvra ix 5 7. various things will happen to you while you are practising these positions; they must be carefully analysed and described. 8. note down the duration of the pracitce, the severity of the pain (if any) which accompanies it, the degree of rigidity attained, and any other pertinent matters. 9. when you have progressed up to the point that a saucer filled to the brim with water and poised upon the head does not spill one drop during a whole hour, and when you can no longer perceive the slightest tremor in any muscle; when, in short, you are perfectly steady and easy, y

LIBER LIBRAE

by material events; strengthen and control the animal passions, discipline the emotions and the reason, nourish the higher aspirations. 11. do good unto others for its own sake, not for reward, not for gratitude from them, not for sympathy. if thou art generous, thou wilt not long for thine ears to be tickled by expressions of gratitude. 12. remember that unbalanced force is evil; that unbalanced severity is but cruelty and oppression; but that also unbalanced mercy is but weakness which would allow and abet evil. act passionately; think rationally; be thyself. 13. true ritual is as much action as word; it is will. svb figvra xxx 3 14. remember that this earth is but an atom in the universe, and that thou thyself art but an atom thereon, and that even couldst thou become the god of this ea

LIBER LVII

between the sluggish, viscous 9, and the keen, ecstatic 11.54 210. pertains to part ii. see liber 418. 214. jwr, the air, the mind. 220. pertains to part ii. the number of verses in liber legis. 231. the sum of the first 22 numbers, 0 to 21; the sum of the key-numbers of the tarot cards; hence an extension of the idea of 22, q.v. 270. i.n.r.i. see 5= 6 ritual. 280. the sum of the .five letters of severity. those which have a final form. kaph, mem, nun, pe, tzaddi. also the number of the squares on the sides of the vault 7 40; see 5= 6 ritual. also [r= terror. 300. the letter c, meaning .tooth. and suggesting by its shape a triple flame. refers yetziratically to fire, and is symbolic of the holy spirit \yhla jwr 52 [also laqzjy, ezekiel, and [swy, joseph. elsewhere crowley connects the .cit

LIBER LXVII THE SWORD OF SONG

rnly discouraged as indulgence. how would the electrician do his work after a guildhall banquet? the strain of watching would be too much, and he would go off to sleep. so with the meditatior. if, on the other hand, he had been without food for twenty-four hours, he might.indeed, it has been done often.perform prodigies of work for the necessary period; but a reaction must follow of proportionate severity. nobody will pretend that the best work is done starving.1 now to such an observer certain phenomena present themselves sooner or later which have the qualities above predicated of our imaginary .dream. preceded by a transition-state very like total loss of consciousness. are these fatigue phenomena? is it that this practice for some as yet unknown reason stimulates some special nerve-cen

MANLY P HALL THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES

the zodiacal signs of cancer and capricorn, which were formerly placed in the chamber of initiation to represent birth and death--the extremes of physical life. they accordingly signify the summer and the winter solstices, now known to freemasons under the comparatively modern appellation of the "two st. johns" in the mysterious sephirothic tree of the jews, these two pillars symbolize mercy and severity. standing before the gate of king solomon's temple, these columns had the same symbolic import as the obelisks before the sanctuaries of egypt. when interpreted qabbalistically, the names of the two pillars mean "in strength shall click to enlarge moses receiving the tables of the law. from an old bible. moses maimonides, the great jewish philosopher of the twelfth century, in describing

hat i am. from a 1 came a 2, the first wisdom, and the name of the second power of god was jehovah, which means essence of being. from a 2 came a 3, the first understanding, and the name of the third power of god was jehovah elohim, which means god of gods. from a 3 came a 4, the first mercy, and the name of the fourth power of god was el, which means god the creator. from a 4 came a 5, the first severity, and the name of the fifth power of god was elohim gibor, which means god the potent. from a 5 came a 6, the first beauty, and the name of the sixth power of god was eloah vadaath, which means god the strong. from a 6 came a 7, the first victory, and the name of the seventh power of god was jehovah tzaboath, which means god of hosts. from a 7 came a 8, the first glory, and the name of the

he second crown; it is called metatron, the angel of the presence. from b 1 came b 2, the second wisdom; it is called raziel, the herald of deity who revealed the mysteries of qabbalah to adam. from b 2 carne b 3, the second understanding; it is called tsaphkiel, the contemplation of god. from b 3 came b 4' the second mercy; it is called tsadkiel, the justice of god. from b 4 came b 5, the second severity; it is called samael, the severity of god. from b 5 came b 6, the second beauty; it is called michael, like unto god. from b 6 came b 7, the second victory; it is called haniel, the grace of god. from b 7 came b 8, the second glory; it is called raphael, the divine physician. from b 8 came b 9, the second foundation; it is called gabriel, the man-god. from b 9 came b 10, the second kingdo

hird crown; the hierarchy is the cherubim, chaioth ha kadosh, the holy animals. from c 1 came c 2, the third wisdom; the hierarchy is the cherubim, orphanim, the wheels. from c 2 came c 3, the third understanding; the hierarchy is the thrones, aralim, the mighty ones. from c 3 came c 4, the third mercy; the hierarchy is the dominations, chashmalim, the brilliant ones. from c 4 came c 5, the third severity; the hierarchy is the powers, seraphim, the flaming serpents. from c 5 came c 6, the third beauty; the hierarchy is the virtues, melachim, the kings. from c 6 came c 7, the third victory; the hierarchy is the principalities, elohim, the gods. from c 7 came c 8, the third glory; the hierarchy is the archangels, ben elohim, the sons of god. from c 8 came c 9, the third foundation; the hiera

e d 1, the fourth crown; rashith ha-galagalum, the primum mobile, the fiery mist which is the beginning of the material universe. from d 1 came d 2, the fourth wisdom; masloth, the zodiac, the firmament of the fixed stars. from d 2 came d 3, the fourth understanding; shabbathai, the sphere of saturn. from d 3 came d 4, the fourth mercy; tzedeg, the sphere of jupiter. from d 4 came d 5, the fourth severity; madim, the sphere of mars. from d 5 came d 6, the fourth beauty; shemesh, the sphere of the sun. from d 6 came d 7, the fourth victory; nogah, the sphere of venus. from d 7 came d 8, the fourth glory; kokab, the sphere of mercury. from d 8 came d 9, the fourth foundation; levanah, the sphere of the moon. from d 9 came d 10, the fourth kingdom; cholom yosodoth, the sphere of the four elem

om d 1 came d 2, the evil wisdom; the hierarchy is called chaigidiel, those who obstruct; the archdemon is adam belial. from d 2 came d 3, the evil understanding; the hierarchy is called satharial, the concealment of god, the archdemon is lucifuge. from d 3 came d 4, the evil mercy; the hierarchy is called gamchicoth, the disturber of things; the archdemon is astaroth. from d 4 came d 5, the evil severity; the hierarchy is called golab, incendiarism and burning; the archdemon is asmodeus. from d 5 came d 6, the evil beauty; the hierarchy is called togarini, the wranglers; the archdemon is belphegor. from d 6 came d 7, the evil victory; the hierarchy is called harab serap, the dispensing raven; the archdemon is baal chanan. from d 7 came d 8, the evil glory; the hierarchy is called samael

balah supplies, the spiritual mysteries of both the old and the new testament must remain unsolved by jew and gentile alike. the sephirothic tree consists of ten globes of luminous splendor arranged in three vertical columns and connected by 22 channels or paths. the ten globes are called the sephiroth and to them are assigned the numbers i to 10. the three columns are called mercy (on the right, severity (on the left, and, between them, mildness, as the reconciling power. the columns may also be said to represent wisdom, strength, and beauty, which form the triune support of the universe, for it is written that the foundation of all things is the three. the 22 channels are the letters of the hebrew alphabet and to them are assigned the major trumps of the tarot deck of symbolic cards. eli

unchangeable. the ten sephiroth composing the body of the prototypic adam, the numbers related to them, and the parts of the universe to which they correspond are as follows: no. the sephiroth the universe alternative 1 kether--the crown primum mobile the fiery heavens 2 chochmah--wisdom the zodiac the first motion 3 binah--understanding saturn the zodiac 4 chesed--mercy jupiter saturn 5 geburah--severity mars jupiter 6 tiphereth--beauty sun mars 7 netsah--victory venus sun 8 hod--glory mercury venus 9 jesod--the foundation moon mercury 10 malchuth--the kingdom elements moon it must continually be emphasized that the sephiroth and the properties assigned to them, like the tetractys of the pythagoreans, are merely symbols of the cosmic system with its multitude of parts. the truer and fulle

nce, because these are delicate divinities and so its rather slender outlines, its flowers, leaves, and ornamental volutes will lend propriety where it is due. the construction of temples of the ionic order to juno, diana, father bacchus, and the other gods of that kind, will be in keeping with the middle position which they hold; for the building of such will be an appropriate combination of the severity of the doric and the delicacy of the corinthian" p. 175 in describing the societies of ionian artificers, joseph da costa declares the dionysiac rites to have been founded upon the science of astronomy, which by the initiates of this order was correlated to the builder's art. in various documents dealing with the origin of architecture are found hints to the effect that the great building

MORALS AND DOGMA

received what it gives, light and life, it is equally considered as the generative and conceptive principle, the primitive man, adam kadmon. as such, it has revealed itself in ten emanations or _sephiroth, which are not ten different beings, nor even beings at all; but sources of life, vessels of omnipotence, and types of creation. they are _sovereignty_ or _will, wisdom, intelligence, benignity, severity, beauty, victory, glory, permanency, and _empire. these are attributes of god; and this idea, that god reveals himself by his attributes, and that the human mind cannot perceive or discern god himself, in his works, but only his mode of manifesting himself, is a profound truth. we know of the invisible only what the visible reveals _wisdom_ was called nous and logos [and, intellect or the

phy veiled under the name"_kabalah" and indicated by all the sacred hieroglyphs of the ancient sanctuaries, and of the rites, so little understood by the mass of the initiates, of the ancient and modern free-masonry. the sohar declares that everything in the universe proceeds by the mystery of "the balance" that is, of equilibrium. of the sephiroth, or divine emanations, wisdom and understanding, severity and benignity, or justice and mercy, and victory and glory, constitute pairs. wisdom, or the intellectual generative _energy, and understanding, or the _capacity_ to be impregnated by the active energy and produce intellection or thought, are represented symbolically in the kabalah as male and female. so also are justice and mercy. strength is the intellectual energy or activity; establis

red _yellow, and _blue; and four secondary _orange _green _indigo, and _violet; and all these god displays to man in the rainbow; and they have their analogies also in the moral and intellectual world. the same number _seven, continually reappears in the apocalypse, compounded of _three_ and _four; and these numbers relate to the last seven of the sephiroth, three answering to benignity or mercy, severity or justice, and beauty or harmony; and four to _netzach _hod _yesod, and _malakoth, victory, glory, stability, and domination. the same numbers also represent the _first_ three sephiroth, kether, khokmah, and bainah, or _will _wisdom, and _understanding, which, with daath or _intellection_ or _thought, are also four, daath not being regarded as a sephirah, not as the deity acting, or as a

energy, or attribute, but as the divine action. the sephiroth are commonly figured in the kabalah as constituting a human form, the adam kadmon or macrocosm. thus arranged, the universal law of equipoise is three times exemplified. from that of the divine intellectual, active, masculine energy, and the passive capacity to produce thought, the action of thinking results. from that of benignity and severity, harmony flows; and from that of victory or an infinite overcoming, and glory, which, being infinite, would seem to forbid the existence of obstacles or opposition, results stability or permanence, which is the perfect dominion of the infinite will. the last nine sephiroth are included in, at the same time that they have flowed forth from, the first of all, kether, or the crown. each also

ds according to the mystery of the balance--that is, by the equilibrium of opposites: and thus from the infinite mercy and the infinite justice, in equilibrium, flows the perfect harmony of the universe. infinite power, which is lawless, and infinite wisdom, in equilibrium, also produce beauty or harmony, as son, issue, or result--the word, or utterance of the thought of god. power and justice or severity are the _same: wisdom and mercy or benignity are the same--in the infinite divine nature. according to philo of alexandria, the supreme being, primitive light or archetype of light, uniting with wisdom [s??a, the mother of creation, forms in himself the types of all things, and acts upon the universe through the word. logos, who dwells in god, and in whom all his powers and attributes dev

ishing impulses of virtue, and, by affording clear proof of the consistency and identity of all interests, substituting co-operation for rivalry, liberality for jealousy, and tending far more powerfully than any other means to realize the spirit of religion, by healing those inveterate disorders which, traced to their real origin, will be found rooted in an ignorant assumption as to the penurious severity of providence, and the consequent greed of selfish men to confine what seemed as if extorted from it to themselves, or to steal from each other rather than quietly to enjoy their own. we shall probably never reach those higher forms containing the true differences of things, involving the full discovery and correct expression of their very self or essence. we shall ever fall short of the

g actual existence; and this possibility or potentiality was to the kabalists a real ens. before the evolvement of the universe, it had to exist _potentially, the whole of it, with all its individuals, included in a single unity. this was the idea or plan of the universe; and this had to be _formed. it had to emanate from the infinite deity, and be _of_ himself, though not his very self. geburah, severity, the sephirah opposite to and conjoined sexually with gedulah, to produce tephareth, harmony and beauty, is also called in the kabalah"_judgment" in which term are included the ideas of _limitation_ and _conditioning, which often seems, indeed, to be its principal sense; while benignity is as often styled _infinite. thus it is obscurely taught that in everything that is, not only the _fin

emispheres of the brain, are hakemah and binah, and their result and progeny, daath. these three are found also in the spiritual world, and are universals in the psychical and material world, producing the lower sephiroth. then follow, in perfect equilibrium, law and equity, justice and mercy, the divine infinite nature and the human finite nature, good and evil, light and darkness, benignity and severity, the male and the female again, as hakerrah and binah are, mutually tempering each other, and by their intimate union producing the other sephiroth. the whole universe, and all the succession of entities and events were present to the infinite, before any act of creation; and his benignity and leniency, tempering and qualifying the law of rigorous justice and inflexible retribution, enabl

it results from the apparent opposition of two forces, concluded from the physical to the metaphysical equilibrium, and thought that in god, that is to say, in the first living and active cause, two properties necessary to each other, should be recognized; stability and movement, necessity and liberty, order dictated by reason and the self-rule of supreme will, justice, and love, and consequently severity and grace, mercy or benignity. the idea of equilibrium among all the impersonations; of the male on one side, and the female on the other, with the supreme will, which _is_ also the absolute reason, above each two, holding the balance, is, according to the kabalah, the foundation of all religions and all sciences, the primary and immutable idea of things. the sephiroth are a triple triang

ons and all sciences, the primary and immutable idea of things. the sephiroth are a triple triangle and a circle, the idea of the ternary explained by the balance and multiplied by itself in the: kether: crown will\ binah: hakemah: passive capacity> active potency of being impregnated/ of begetting intellection and producing/ intellection: daath: intellection? gedulah: benignity geburah> or or or severity or rigid? khased: mercy. justice: tephareth: beauty\ the universal harmony> hod: netsach: victory glory/ or success? yesud: foundation _i.e, stability and permanency of things: malakoth: dominion: supremacy and absolute control of the divine will in all things, domain of the ideal; then the realization of this idea in forms. unity can only be manifested by the binary. unity itself and the

m the father, and was intermingled with the mother, under the mysteries of the letter [hebrew [he, resolved in [hebrew] that is, daleth and vau; by which vau is denoted microprosopos: because vau is six, and he is constituted of the six parts that follow hakemah and binah. and, according to this conception, the father is called father of fathers, because from him these fathers proceed, benignity, severity, and beauty. microprosopos was then like the letter vau in the letter he, because he had no head; but when he was now born, three brains were constituted for him, by the flow of divine light from above. and as the world of restitution [after the vessels of the sephiroth below binah had been broken, that from the fragments evil might be created] is instituted after the fashion of the balan

; because the former is absolute commiseration; while in macroprosopos his lights have the nature of severities, with respect to the elder universal; though they are commiseration, with respect to the lights of malakoth and the three lower worlds. all the conformations of macroprosopos come from the first adam; who, to interpose a second covering, caused a single spark to issue from the sphere of severity, of whose five letters is generated the name alohim. with this issued from the brain a most subtle air, which takes its place on the right hand, while the spark of fire is on the left. thus the white and red do not intermix, that is, the air and fire, which are mercy and judgment. microprosopos is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, his severities being the evil. regnum, to which

ot in the most holy ancient; that is, they were all _dead, destroyed, shattered; but they were placed in equilibrium, in the equipoise of the occult wisdom, when it was conformed into male and female, rigor and love, and they were then restored, and there was given them a root above. the father is love and mercy, and with a pure and subtle aur or benignity impregnates the mother, who is rigor and severity of judgments; and the product is the brain of microprosopos. it was determined, says the _introduction_ to the book _sohar, by the deity, to create good and evil in the world, according to what is said in isaiah"_who makes the light and creates the evil" but the evil was at first occult, and could not be generated and brought forth, except by the sinning of the first adam. wherefore he de

ziluth, and afterward the three other worlds. and though in them were, both good and evil, still this evil did not develop itself in act, since the severities remained, though mitigated; some portion of them being necessary to prevent the fragments of the integuments from ascending. these were also left, because connection of two is necessary to generation. and this necessity for the existence of severity is the mystery of the pleasure and warmth of the generative appetite; and thence love between husband and wife. if the deity, says the _introduction, had not created worlds and then destroyed them, there could have been no evil in the world, but all things must have been good. there would have been neither reward nor punishment in the world. there would have been no merit in righteousness

n america's threshold, originated in the avarice and cruelty of the slave-trade, translating the african coast fever to the congenial climate of the west indies and southern america--the yellow fever of the former, and the _vomito negro_ of the latter. but we should be slow to make inferences from our petty human logic to the ethics of the almighty. whatever the cruelty of the slave-trade, or the severity of slavery on the continents or islands of america, we should still, in regard to its supposed consequences, be wiser, perhaps, to say with that great and simple casuist who gave the world the christian religion "suppose ye that these galileans were sinners above all the galileans because they suffered such things? or those eighteen upon whom the tower of siloam fell and slew them, think

athers in vast reservoirs in the earth's bosom. god manifested fills all the extension that we foolishly call empty space and the void. and everywhere in the universe, what we call life and movement results from a continual conflict of forces or impulses. whenever that active antagonism ceases, the immobility and inertia, which are death, result. if, says the kabalah, the justice of god, which is severity or the female, alone reigned, creation of imperfect beings such as man would from the beginning have been impossible, because sin being congenital with humanity, the infinite justice, measuring the sin by the infinity of the god offended against, must have annihilated humanity at the instant of its creation; and not only humanity but the angels, since these also, like all created by god a

MOTTA MARCELO THE COMMENTARIES OF AL

n the slim chance of getting to binah, and without even knowing whether he will get there, he must resign himself to receive her influence through geburah and through tiphareth, which are technically his "inferiors" in the hierarchy. therefore, what ra-hoor-khuit is saying is, let the adept exempt take the oath of the abyss! for, as it is written "unbalanced force is iniquity: mercy untempered by severity is but weakness that would permit abuse, and tolerate the manifestation of evil. again, see liber vii, vii, 36-39. 19. that stele they shall call the abomination of desolation; count well its name& it shall be to you as 718. the reference appears to be to the old prophecies of 'daniel' and 'john. the first qabalistic allusion is yet (an xiv) undiscovered. an xvii. i think it proper to ins

hristianity, a faith of slaves, liars and dastards. the same remarks apply roughly to buddhism "mongol: presumably the reference is to confucianism, whose metaphysical and ethical flawlessness has not saved its adherents from losing those ruder virtues which are proper to a fighting animal, and thus yielding at last a civilization coeval with history itself to the barbarous tribes of europe "din 'severity' or 'judgment' may refer to the jewish law, rather than to the faith (ad 'din) of islam. assuming this, the six religions whose flesh must be torn out cover the whole globe outside islam and christianity. it should be noted that these religions are mentioned impersonally, while christianity and islam are mentioned in the person of their founders, or alleged founders. obviously 'din' refer

MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS E

of its obligations. so strongly was she imbued with this hatred of any immorality, that, finding herself so often called upon to punish the failings of both gods and men in this respect, she became jealous, harsh, and vindictive. her exalted position as the wife of the supreme deity, combined with her extreme beauty, caused her to become exceedingly vain, and she consequently resented with great severity any infringement on her rights as queen of heaven, or any apparent slight on her personal appearance. the following story will signally illustrate how ready she was to resent any slight offered to her. at the marriage of the sea-nymph thetis with a mortal called peleus, all the gods and goddesses were present, except eris (the goddess of discord. indignant at not being invited, she determ

hey took place by torchlight, and were conducted with the greatest solemnity. in order to spread abroad the blessings which agriculture confers, demeter presented triptolemus with her chariot drawn by winged dragons, and, giving him some grains of corn, desired him to page 60 journey through the world, teaching mankind the arts of agriculture and husbandry. page 61 page 62 demeter exercised great severity towards those who incurred her displeasure. we find examples of this in the stories of stellio and eresicthon. stellio was a youth who ridiculed the goddess for the eagerness with which she was eating a bowl of porridge, when weary and faint in the vain search for her daughter. resolved that he should never again have an opportunity of thus offending, she angrily threw into his face the r

RABBI AMIRAM MARKEL MARKEL THE KNOWLEDGE OF G D VOL 1

of all wisdom in contrast to the depth of an individual wisdom in binah) chaga"t of abba and imma now, the second level of the intellect constitutes the emotions of chochmah and the emotions of binah. in binah this is intellect in a way of comprehendible terms and reasoning, which lean either toward kindness or sternness. in chochmah it is the power of the intellect which leans toward kindness or severity. the difference between the two is that in binah this is in a way of comprehension and reasoning. in contrast, in chochmah, although the intellect leans either to the right or to the left, it is not yet in a way of comprehension and reasoning. an example for this is when two people are having an argument in which one intellect leans toward chesed and the other leans toward gevurah. now, e

nce comes from the comprehension of binah to the heart, to arouse heartfelt emotions is through the "thirty two pathways of binah (lamed beit shvilin d binah. there are four main chambers in the brain: chochmah, binah, chesed of da at and gevurah of da at (the reason da at is divided into two chambers is because it is specifically da at that causes the intellect to lean either towards kindness or severity) these four chambers each have eight chambers within them: chochmah, binah, chesed and gevurah going up into the self, and chochmah, binah, chesed and gevurah going down toward the outside. all in all, there are thirty two main chambers in the brain. these are called the "thirty two pathways of binah. these thirty two pathways are the source of the emotions of the heart. it is for this re

open saying" of the actual sounds of the letters "let there be light" which are heard. this thought of speech, is the vessel for the "intellect of speech (chaba"d of malchut. now, the aspect of speech of speech is the vessel for the emotional attributes of speech (chaga"t of malchut. in other words, in the speech of the king, there are these three qualities, either a speech of kindness, speech of severity, or the intermediary quality of speech of mercy. this refers both to the combination of the letters and words themselves and to the tone of the speech, i.e. the harshness or kindness in the words. the aspect of action of speech is the vessel for the gut emotions of speech (nehi"y of malchut. as explained earlier, the aspect of nehi"y always denotes the bringing of the influence out, into

RABBI MOSHE WISNEFSKY APPLES FROM THE ORCHARD THE ARIZAL ON THE PARASHAH

owed to walk in the public domain on the sabbath, and this is not considered carrying for him (which would be forbidden. the numerical value of the word for gstump h (kav) is 102 [as stated] these states of judgment issued from the gevurah of the holy nukva and smote the netzach of the evil z feir anpin [as for these states of judgment, the shin of shechin signifies the 300 states of judgment and severity. to these, add the numerical value of the name havayah spelled out to equal 52 (i.e, with the letter hei, plus the number of letters in the name adni (4) and the number of letters used to spell it out (12. this gives 368, the numerical value of the word for gboils. h according to rabbi shalom sharabi, the 300 states of severity are the three sefirot on the left axis of the sefirah tree (b

he one came not near the other all the night. then moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and g-d drove the sea back with a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land; thus the waters were divided. h16 in hebrew, these three verses each contain 72 letters. in the zohar17 it is stated that these three verses refer in sequence to the divine attributes of loving-kindness (chesed, severity (gevurah, and mercy (tiferet. the harmonious blending of these three principle emotive attributes forms the basic paradigm of how g-d relates to the world. thus, they together form a composite gname h of g-d, since a gname h is a means by which one is made known to others, i.e, manifests his attributes. 14 exodus 14:14. 15 in our comments on parashat nitzavim. 16 exodus 14:19-21. 17 2:51b

ch verse contains 72 letters means that they can be aligned in parallel, forming 72 triplets of letters. in this configuration, the zohar states, the first verse is to be written in its proper order, since it represents gd fs loving-kindness, or a direct revelation of g-d fs goodness. the second verse is to be written in reverse order, from the last letter to the first, since it represents g-d fs severity, which is an indirect revelation of his goodness. although tiferet is a blend of both chesed and gevurah, the third verse is not to be written half in the proper order and half in reverse order, as one might expect. there are two reasons for this (1) in tiferet, chesed dominates over gevurah, and (2) as the ideal blend of chesed and gevurah, tiferet is a direct revelation of g-d fs goodne

nciple of gevurah, corresponding to the 32 teeth. g-d is referred to exclusively by the name elokim in the account of creation, and this name is mentioned exactly 32 times in the course of this section of the torah. as we said above, the 32 teeth manifest the 32 pathways of wisdom. both the contraction that produces chochmah and the grinding action of the teeth are acts of gevurah, limitation and severity. thus: sub-category of ox sefirah tooth gevurah foot hod horn malchut when an ox causes damage with its tooth or foot in public domain, its owner is not held responsible, since it is expected to graze and walk around, and people should therefore be careful about leaving their things in a public domain. if, however, the ox roams into someone fs premises other than its owner fs and causes d

im in z feir anpin of atzilut, corresponding to [its] binah, gevurah, and malchut. the numerical value of these is 258, the numerical value of haran. betzalel made three arks corresponding to these three names. elokim: alef-lamed-hei-yud-mem= 1+ 30+ 5+ 10+ 40= 86. 3 x 86= 258. haran: chet-reish-nun= 8+ 200+ 50= 258. the name elokim signifies contraction, restriction (tzimtzum, judgement (din, and severity (gevurah. it can therefore be seen to signify any sefirah that exhibits these properties. as we have explained previously, binah is the faculty of the intellect whose function it is to analyze and evalute the insight of chochmah, thereby purifying it from any admixtures of subjectivism it might contain due to the imperfection of the individual fs ability to perceive and recognize the trut

irah that exhibits these properties. as we have explained previously, binah is the faculty of the intellect whose function it is to analyze and evalute the insight of chochmah, thereby purifying it from any admixtures of subjectivism it might contain due to the imperfection of the individual fs ability to perceive and recognize the truth behind his insight. it is thus functions with judgement and severity. gevurah is the sefirah whose task it is to limit the indiscriminate benificence of chesed, in order that goodness be bestowed only on recipients who deserve it. finally, malchut is the funnel through which the consciousness of one world passes to the next, lower one, and thus becomes the ruling principle of that lower world. since it functions in this context as the definer of the lower

over divine discipline),2 which immediately precedes g-d fs call ggo forth h to abraham at the beginning of parashat lech lecha, is gand terah [abraham fs father] died in haran. h significantly, as a word, haran means ganger, h signifying g-d fs frustration with mankind fs rejection of him prior to abraham.3 thus, these three names elokim constitute the full manifestation of g-d fs attributes of severity. the three arks that made up the ark of the covenant were intended to counterbalance these names elokim. since the top of the supernal tree is binah and its bottom is malchut, the inner and outer arks were made of gold, whereas the middle ark, corresponding to gevurah, was made of wood. since chochmah in a way transcends human intellect and rationality, being a revelation of some insight

reason for this is that the archetypes for the priests and the levites are chochmah and binah, respectively. since, as we have said [these two sefirot] never part, the levite on this level is gsweetened, h i.e [he exhibits] no strict judgment. he therefore is closely allied to the priests, and they all exist together, as one. but below [in their physical manifestation, the levites manifest strict severity. they therefore cannot connect with the priests [as they do in their spiritual archetype. this is why the showbread is eaten only by the priests, who manifest chochmah .translated from sefer halikutim 12 joshua 3:3. 13 deuteronomy 21:5. 347 parashat terumah [fourth installment] in this torah portion, g-d tells moses to make an ark in which to house the tablets of the covenant. from the to

ord for gmountain h is har: har: hei-reish= 5+ 200= 205. 205, as we just saw, refers to the regressive iteration of the name elokim. the word horeb (chorev) means gdestruction. h thus, this verse can be read, gand he came to the mountain, which signifies the name elokim undergoing destruction, h i.e, withdrawl, or regression. the name elokim, we know, is anyways associated with gevurah (judgment, severity, and its withdrawl signifies an especially negative situation, in which the divine beneficence is severly limited. the divine consciousness implied by such a situation is not sufficient to gcivilize h reality, and therefore leaves reality outside its own realm a gdesert h or gwasteland, h devoid of divine consciousness. two times the numerical value of gmountain h [205] equals the numeric

ine brilliance of the inspiration can keep the intellectual process on track. so, in the upper worlds, where chochmah and binah are in a state of constant union, as we have said, binah, or the levite, is constantly being purified by chochmah, the priest. down here below, however, where chochmah and binah are not always connected, matters are different: below, however, where the levite personifies severity, they do not unite. since in this world binah can, if left alone, stray far from the pristine insight of chochmah, it can even serve as a potential source for evil, which elicits g-d fs severe judgement. 5 exodus 25:30. 6 1 samuel 21:7. 7 deuteronomy 17:9. 8 ibid. 21:5. the arizal on parashat emor 510 therefore, the shewbread was eaten [only] by the priests, who personify chochmah .transl

e five final forms of the letters signify the five states of gevurah. their combined numerical value is 280, and when we add 5 for the five letters themselves, we have [285, the numerical value of] gheifer. h five letters of the hebrew alphabet have different forms that they assume at the end of a word. since these final forms signal a pause in the flow of reading, they signify the five states of severity (gevurah, or restraint. the letters with their numerical values are: mem (40, nun (50, tzadik (90, pei (80, chaf (20. 40+ 50+ 90+ 80+ 20= 280. gheifer h: parah: pei-reish-hei= 80+ 200+ 5= 285. alternatively [the extra hei, whose numerical value is the 5 needed to equal the numerical value of gheifer, h signifies that the five states of gevurah] descend to binah, which is referred to by th

owers of evil. what causes these [evil] states of judgment is the fact that they [z feir anpin and nukva] were not facing each other, and therefore occurred the [breaking of the vessels] signified by the kings of the land of edom [who died, producing] the powers of severe judgment. in the world of tohu, the precursors of the partzufim of tikun are not facing each other, and therefore the inherent severity of the female principles cannot be mitigated by the male principles. therefore, the sefirot cannot gtolerate h each other; each one insists on expressing its own content and identity without any admixture of any other sefirah. this judgmentality causes the vessels of tohu to break, and the shattered remains of this world become the consciousness of evil in the subsequent worlds of tikun

rabbah 18:21. the arizal on parashat chukat 611 gevurah is associated with fire. severe judgment is the fire or evil enthusiasm of righteous indignation. this fire must be subsumed within holy fire, i.e, enthusiasm for holiness. after it has been burnt, its holy [source] is left, i.e, one-fifth, namely malchut, which is referred to by the letter hei, alluding to the fifth of the [five states of] severity. malchut is the source of these states of severity, as we have said. the fact that malchut is represented by the hei, whose numerical value is 5, indicates that malchut is one-fifth of these fallen five states of severity, i.e, their root in holiness. the heifer is then called gashes. h for these 280 [par] states of gevurah become all included in just 1. therefore, what was before the ghe

ame is not showing its gface, h but rather its gback, h we sense ourselves in this context as being removed, or gfar h from g-d fs presence. this is why king solomon described his inability to fathom the workings of the red heifer rite as feeling gfar h from wisdom. therefore the heifer must be red, to signify the state of severe judgment [to which malchut is subject. red is the color of gevurah, severity. someone who has been defiled by means of contact with death is in a state of extreme, severely limited divine consciousness. the stark confrontation with the reality of death carries with it the seeds of abject depression born of a nihilistic, fatalistic, pagan, or absurd attitude toward life. the individual must therefore gpurify h himself from this defilement. the retrogressive spellin

seen paradoxically seen to be the result of the maturation of the name ekyeh, and its rectification involves tracing it back to its source in this divine name. finally, the combined numerical values of the names elokim and adni are 151. elokim: alef-lamed-hei-yud-mem (1+30+5+10+40= 86; adni: alef-nun-dalet-yud (1+50+4+10= 65. 65+86= 151. the name elokim signifies g-d fs attribute of judgement and severity, while the name adni signifies his attribute of authority and dominion (adon means master or ruler. when these two divine attributes are combined, this also can produce anger, and thus the rectification of anger involves as well tracing it back to these two attributes in the soul, as will be explained further on. these three aspects of vengeance are alluded to in the verse: gi descended t

nd thus signifies unmitigated judgement. as such, this kingdom and the eight kings who ruled it (genesis 36:31-39) express the energy of the world of tohu( gchaos h, the order of creation that preceded the rectified order of tikun or atzilut. in this world, the sefirot could not interact because they did not allow each other to enter each other fs vessels. in other words, they exhibited excessive severity, judgement, and selfcenteredness. by exhibiting anger, the individual causes the world to regress to this level. this is the mystical meaning of the verse, gand the querulous man alienates his friend. h7 the word used for gfriend h in this verse (aluf) is the same as that for gchieftain, h possibly alluding to the chieftains of edom (genesis 36:15-19. the meaning would then be that an ang

binah. inasmuch as binah is the source of gevurah, joining these two names in effect grants gevurah an experience of its source, or returns gevurah to its source in binah. as we said above, binah is the analysis through which the insight of chochmah is processed. this process entails evaluating one fs preconceived notions and way of thinking in light of the new insight, a process of judgement and severity, since old ideas that do not jibe with the new insight will have to be rejected. thus, binah is the source of gevurah. however, it is always necessary to keep gevurah connected to its source in binah, so that it retains the gpersonality h of an objective arbitrator rather than degenerating into an arbitrary despot. when saying gblessed are you, o g-d h during the third blessing (kedushat

name havayah spelled out to 15 numbers 12:3. 16 exodus 16:7,8. 17 2 samuel 6:22. the arizal on parashat pinchas 639 equal 72. thus, all three aspects of anger have been rectified: the root and its two branches. to summarize: amidah name to be rectified name havayah used to rectify it first blessing (avot) ekyeh (will& understanding) havayah= 72 (wisdom in mercy) second blessing (gevurot) elokim (severity) havayah= 63 (understanding in mercy) third blessing (kedushat hashem) adni (sovereignty) havayah= 45 (humility in mercy) in summary, then, we see that by tracing the root of vengeance (kuf-nun-alef) back to its origin in the divine names, we see how the perversions of divine power that give rise to anger can be rectified and sweetened in their source. evidently pinchas succeeded in doing

xpression is implicit in the insight. in contrast, the midot (out of which are formed the partzuf of z feir anpin, represented by the vav in the name havayah) are more directly a result of binah rather than a manifestation of chochmah; the emotional response is elicited only when the full intellectual development of the idea in binah has occurred. since they are both [expressions of] judgment and severity, they are called gthe booty that is captured. h as we have explained previously, binah is primarily a process of evaluating, judging, accepting and rejecting. the person fs previous way of thinking has to be evaluated in light of the new insight, and those aspects of his previous way of thinking that do not fit in with his new, higher perception of the truth have to be rejected, often pai

cal value is 63 produces the world of tohu; that whose numerical value is 45 produces the masculine aspect of the world of tikun or atzilut; and that whose numerical value is 52 produces the feminine aspect of the world of tikun or atzilut. it is to this scheme that the arizal refers when he says here that the kings of edom issued from the upper hei. in contrast, the other aspects of judgment and severity, which issue from the lower hei, are called gthe community. h they inform the lower court, and they are more fragranced and sweetened. it is known that the lower court is called gthe community, h as it is written, gg-d stands in the community of g-d. h7 the gevurah of binah is much more severe than that of malchut. in simple terms, this is because it is much more crucial to be selective a

, as it is written, ggive them to eleazar the priest as a contribution to g-d. h the priest is the personification of chesed, which serves to develop this portion into a full-fledged gcontribution to g-d h in the sense of something separated.9 we have explained previously that the priests (kohanim) express the divine attribute of loving-kindness (chesed) while the levites express the attribute of severity (gevurah. by giving this embryonic version of malchut to chesed, the love z feir anpin showers on it causes it to grow and develop until, at birth, it emerges as an independent partzuf and not just an appendage sticking out of the lower extremity of z feir anpin (this process is obviously re-enacted in the way eve is created out of adam in the garden of eden) the word used in this verse f

REGARDIE ISRAEL THE COMPLETE GOLDEN DAWN

of the undying. for thy glory flows out rejoicing to the ends of the earth. perhaps one of the most important of these passages to be memorized, and which is unequivocally at the core of all the qabalistic teaching in the order is the excerpt from the neophyte ritual: unbalanced power is the ebbing away of life. introduction unbalanced mercy is weakness and the fading out of the will. unbalanced severity is cruelty and the barrenness of mind. a whole textbook could be elaborated on this one simple piece of teaching. since the order system is replete with such choice gems, it is clear that volumes would be required to elaborate the beauty and full meaning of its teaching. still another dynamic passage which could be incorporated into one's daily practice of the middle pillar technique: i c

i should very much liked to have done so. but by using the waite and the available french and italian packs, and by comparing them with the accounts given in the rituals, the imagination of the reader will render this omission unimportant. the third grade is that of practicus referred to the sephirah hod, the splendour, the lowest of the sephiroth on the left hand side of the tree, the pillar of severity. its attributions refer to the sphere of the operation of mercury, but more especially to the element of water which in this ceremony is invoked to power and presence. as i have previously remarked, and it bears constant reiteration, the tree of life and the qabalistic scheme as a whole should be carefully studied so that the aptness of the attributions both to the sephiroth and the paths

he undines, but avoid r: lrke the gnomes, but avoid i r r fie powers of thy soul and fit k-zmns are exhibited, each one l-?c in the upward quest. the 1 -e stages of that journey, and t e:%cause of the exigencies of t -lto cards based upon esoteric b 51 to have done so. but by using r :1, and by comparing them i- f the reader will render this t 5 +phirah hod, the splendour, r e tree, the pillar of severity. its rq, but more especially to the- xwer and presence. as i have f- 2% the tree of life and the r- r.ed so that the aptness of the+ fully appreciated. two paths- malkuth, and the path of the theme apparently is biblical in nature, phraseology consonant therewith, they the elements of a profound psychology. wait of three months, referred to the regimen silent incubation, during which time

ner they form the tree of life. hebrew zetters are holy symbols. they should be carefully drawn and square <102> the sephiroth are: 1. kether k- t h- r 2; chokmah c h- k- m- h 3. binah b-i-n-h 4. chesed ch-s-d 5. geburah g- b- u- r- h 6. tipareth th-ph-a-r-th 7. netzach n- t s- c h 8. hod h- 0- d 9. yesod y-s-0-d 10. mdkuthm-l-k-u-th -the crown in2 -wisdom hb2n -understanding ii f '3 -mercy f bn -severity illl33 -beauty n l n -victory nu -gby llil -the foundation tlbt -tie kingdom n12% 52 the golden dawn: volume i book one the dagesh or pointing which represents the vowel sounds in modem hebrew script is not given. it was a later invention to standardize pronunciation and is described in hebrew grammars <103> the hebrew alphabet- letter power value final name meaning h a 1 aleph ox 2 biv 2

letters placed on one another thus: the caduceus has another meaning on the tree of life. the upper part wings touch chokmah and binah: these are the three supernal. the seven lower sephiroth are embraced by the twin serpents whose heads rest upon chesed and p geburah <132> the meaning of luna on the tree of life is thus: in its increase it embraces the side of mercy; in its decrease the side of severity, and at the full, it reflects the sun of tiphareth <133> meditation let the theoricus practise the moon breath, while saying mentally the word aum (moon breath is through the left nostril only) let him meditate upon the waxing and waning crescents, while visualising a silver crescent upon an indigo background. let him now call before his mind the signs of the airy triplicity= and enclosed

ty and beauty, and the originator of them; the sphere of the zodiac acting through aries upon the sun, and initiating spring <142> 5. hierophant=the wisdom and fountain of mercy, the sphere of the zodiac acting through taurus upon jupiter. 6. the lovers=the understanding of beauty and production of beauty and sovereignty. saturn acting through gemini upon sol. 7. chariot=understanding acting upon severity. saturn acting through cancer upon mars. 8. strength=fortitude. mercy tempering severity. the glory of strength. jupiter acting through leo upon mars. 9. hermit=the mercy of beauty, the magnificence of sovereignty, jupiter acting through virgo upon sol. 10. wheel of fortune=the mercy and magnificence of victory. jupiter acting through jupiter direct upon venus. 11. justice=the severity of

strength. jupiter acting through leo upon mars. 9. hermit=the mercy of beauty, the magnificence of sovereignty, jupiter acting through virgo upon sol. 10. wheel of fortune=the mercy and magnificence of victory. jupiter acting through jupiter direct upon venus. 11. justice=the severity of beauty and sovereignty. mars acting through libra upon sol. fourth knowledge lecture 73 12. the hanged man=the severity of splendour. execution of judgment. mars acting through water upon mercury. 13. death=the sovereigntyand result of victory. solacting through scorpio u on venus, or osiris under the destroying power of typhon afkcting isis <143> 14. temperance=the beauty of a firm basis. the sovereignty of fundamental power. sol acting through sagittarius upon luna. 15. the devil=the sovereignty and beau

e disturbances by material events. restrain the animal passions and nourish the higher aspirations; the emotions are purified by suffering. do good unto others for god's sake, not for reward, not for gratitude from them, not for sympathy. if thou art generous, thou wilt not long <148> for thine ears to be tickled by expressions of gratitude. remember that unbalanced force is evil, that unbalanced severity is but cruelty and oppression, but that also unbalanced mercy is but weakness which would allow and abet evil. true prayer is as much action as word; it is will. the gods will not do for man what his higher powers can do for himself, if he cultivate will and wisdom. remember that this earth is but an atom in the universe, and thou thyself but an atom thereon. and that even couldst thou be

and correspondences <161> the diagrams as confusion is found to exist with regard to the right and left pillars of the sephiroth on the tree of life in relation to the right and left sides of a man, and as to the phases of the moon-you must note: that in every diagram and picture, the right hand side of the observer is next to the pillar of mercy-chokrnah, chesed, and netzach; while the pillar of severity is on the observer's left hand. yet when you apply the tree of life to yourself, your right side, arm, and leg represent the side of strength and severity, binah, geburah and hod, and your left side refers to the, pillar of mercy. so that when you look at a diagram, you are looking, as it were, at a man facing you, that your right side faces his left. his merciful side forms the right han

acing you, that your right side faces his left. his merciful side forms the right hand pillar in front of you, so that it is as if you looked at yourself in a mirror. just as the man looks at you, so does the moon look at you and so you say that the moon in her increase is on the side of mercy, the right hand pillar of the sephiroth; and in her decrease, the crescent is on the left hand pillar of severity. a diagram, then, is a picture of a man or the moon facing you. the temple pillars are similar: black pillar severity left north white pillar mercy right south black pillar boaz stolistes white pillar jachin dadouchos that is, the white mercy or jachin pillar is on your right hand as 162> you approach the altar from the west and from the hiereus (see chronicles 11. iii, 17 "and call the n

pillar severity left north white pillar mercy right south black pillar boaz stolistes white pillar jachin dadouchos that is, the white mercy or jachin pillar is on your right hand as 162> you approach the altar from the west and from the hiereus (see chronicles 11. iii, 17 "and call the name on the right hand (of him who enters) jachin, and the name of that on the left, boaz" now boaz= strength, severity, binah, black pillar, and jachin= white pillar of mercy. so in making the qabalistic cross on your breast it is correct to touch the forehead and say ateh-thou art; the heart-malkuth; right shoulder, ve- geburah; left shoulder ve-gedulah, and with the fingers clasped on the breast say, le, olahm, amen (note: the following items and attributions are those which were formerly eliminated fro

ess, is the serpent of the paths of the tree. and he set it on a pole-that is, twined it round the middle pillar of the sephiroth. and the word used in the passage in numbers 21 for fiery serpents is the same as the name of the angels of geburah, the same spelling, the same pointing, seraphim. round the middle pillar of the sephiroth, because that is the reconciler between the fires of geburah or severity, and the waters of chesed or mercy-and hence it is said in the new <166> testament that it is a type of christ, the reconciler. and the serpent is of brass, the metal of venus, whose sphere is called nogah, or external splendour, as shewn further by the alchemical symbol of venus, wherein the circle of the sun is exalted above the cross of corrosion. and therefore it is said in the zohar

is to say the deity names aloud. take a deep breath and say them softly, smoothly and slowly, imagining the while that your voice travels out to the confines of the universe. this can be done in conjunction with the pentagram ritual. 5. the tree of life in the aura. in the aura which interpenetrates and surrounds our physical bodies, we are to build up a replica of the tree of life. the pillar of severity is on our right side, the pillar of mercy on our left, and the pillar of benificence in our midst. the middle pillar exercise it is best to build up the middle pillar first. to do this stand up and raise yourself in imagination to your kether-a brilliant light above your head. imagine this light descending to daath, at the nape of your neck, and thence to tiphareth in your heart where it

he light goes to yesod in the region of the hips, and thence to malkuth in which your feet are planted. having made a clear image of the middle pillar, you can then establish the other sephiroth by vibrating the deity names. this can be done as <181> an alternative to the pentagram ritual as a preparation for meditation. 1. imagine yourself standing in the temple, facing west. the black pillar of severity will be on your right-the white pillar of mercy on your left. you will make the middle pillar as you stand between them. 2. imagine now that the black pillar is reflected in your right side-the white pillar in your left. 3. take a deep breath and raise your consciousness to your kether above your head and vibrate the name eheieh-which means i am. imagine the light flowing down through daa

the procession fonoard to hierophant who stands threatening with his sceptre. the hood-wink is again raised for a moment. thou canst not pass by me, saith the guardian of the east, unless thou canst tell me my name. light dawning in darkness is thy name, the light of a golden day! unbalanced power is the ebbing away of life. unbalanced mercy is weakness and the fading out of the will. unbalanced severity is cruelty and the barrenness of mind. thou hast known me now, so pass thou on to the cubical altar of the universe. the hood-wink is replaced. kerux leads the procession to the altar. candidate is placed exactly west of the altar- hegemon on his right- hiereus on his left; kew, stolistes and dadouchos at the rearform a supportingtriangk. hierophant, holdingsceptre in his right hand and t

ess and mystery. remember that you hold all religions in reverence, for there is none but contains a ray from the ineffable light that you are seeking. remember the penalty that awaits the breaker of his oath. remember the mystery that you have received, and that the secret of wisdom can be discerned only from the place of balanced powers. study well the great arcanum of the proper equilibrium of severity <37> and mercy, for either unbalanced is not good. unbalanced severity is cruelty and oppression; unbalanced mercy is but weakness and the golden dawn: volume ii book two would permit evil to exist unchecked, thus making itself, as it were, the accomplice of that evil. remember that things divine are not attained by mortals who understand the body alone, for only those who are lightly arm

the sight and good for food; the tree of life also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and of evil. this is the tree that has two paths, and it is the tenth sephirah malkuth, and it has about it seven columns, and the four splendours whirl around it as in the vision of the mercabah of ezekiel; and from gedulah it derives an influx of mercy, and from geburah an influx of severity, and the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil shall it be until it is united with the supernals in daath. but the good which is under it is called the archangel metatron, and the evil is called the archangel samael, and between them lies the the golden dawn: volume ii book two hiero hiero hiero straight and narrow way where the archangel sandalphon keeps watch. the souls and the ange

olically passed <86> to this grade, as to those preceding it, certain signs and tokens are attributed. they consist of a sign, token, grand word, mystic number and pass-word formed therefrom. the sign is thus given. stand with feet together and raise both arms upwards and back, palms up, as if supporting a weight, thus w. it represents you in the path of yesod, supporting the pillars of mercy and severity. it is the sign made by the greek god atlas, who supported the universe on his shoulders and whom hercules was directed to emulate. it is the isis of nature, supporting the heavens. the grip is that of the first order which you received in the preceding grade. the grand word is a name of seven letters, shaddai el chai, which means the almighty and living one. the mystic number is 45, and

which are borne upon the banners of the east, and number less divine and angelic names which appertain unto the element of air. to the moon, also, is this grade related. its kamea or mystical square is shown in the east, with seals and names appropriate thereto. it is also shown inscribed upon the tree of life, whereon its crescent in increase represents the side of mercy- in decrease the side of severity, while at the full it reflects the sun of tipareth. hegemon conducts zelator to a seat west of the altar. i now congratulate you on having attained the grade of theroicus and in 'recognition thereof, i confer upon you the mystic title of poraios de rejectis which means "l3rought from among the rejected, and i give you the symbol of ruach, which is the hebrew name for air (knocks) frater k

he thirty first path of the sepher yetsirah which answereth unto the letter shin is called the perpetual intelligence, and it is socalled because it regulateth the proper motion of the sun and the moon in their proper order, each in an orbit convenient for it. it is therefore a reflection of the sphere of fire, and the path conneding the material universe as depicted in malkuth with the pillar of severity and the side of geburah, through the sephirah hod. hierophant rises. hegemon steps back and when he has descended from the dais, indicates to theoricus to follow him. he leads theoricus to the west of <104> the altar, hegemon follows and stands on the south side- hierophant being on the north. before you upon the altar, is the twentieth key of the tarot, which symbolically represents thes

fiery or clothed with gold, or naked and shooting from the bow, shafts of light, and standing on the shoulders of a horse. but, if thy meditation prolongeth itself thou shalt unite all these symbols in the form of a lion" for thus wilt thou cleave upward by the path of sagittarius, through the sixth sephirah into the path of teth, answering to leo, the lion- the reconciling path between mercy and severity, chesed and geburah, beneath whose centre hangs the glorious sun of tiphareth. therefore, by the straight and narrow path of sagittarius, let the philosophus advance, like the arrow from the centre of qesheth, the bow. and as this sign of sagittarius lieth between the sign of scorpio- death and capricomus the devil, so had jesus to pass through the wilderness, tempted by satan. 2nd ad. de

RITUEL ET DOGME DE LA HAUTE MAGIE BY ELIPHAS LEVI PART I

niversal law in physics, and is consequent on the apparent opposition of two forces, argued from physical to metaphysical equilibrium, and maintained that in god, that is, in the first living and active cause, there must be recognized two properties which are necessary one to another stability and motion, necessity and liberty, rational order and volitional autonomy, justice and love, whence also severity and mercy. and these two attributes were personified, so to speak, by the kabalistic jews under the names of geburah and chesed. above geburah and chesed abides the supreme crown, the equilibrating power, principle of the world or equilibrated kingdom, which we find mentioned under the name of malkuth in the occult and kabalistic versicle of the paternoster to which we have already referr

re of the first decade after the following manner: 1. kether- the crown, the equilibrating power. 2. chokmah.-wisdom, equilibrated in its unchangeable order by the initiative 46 the doctrine of transcendental magic of intelligence. 3. binah.-active intelligence, equilibrated by wisdom. 4. chesed.-mercy, which is wisdom in its secondary conception, ever benevolent because it is strong. 5. geburah.-severity, necessitated by wisdom itself, and by goodwill. to permit evil is to hinder good. 6. tiphereth.-beauty, the luminous conception of equilibrium in forms, intermediary between the crown and the kingdom, mediating principle between creator and creation a sublime conception of poetry and its sovereign priesthood! 7. netsah- victory, that is, eternal triumph of intelligence and justice. 8. ho

hiltres justitia mysterium canes we have now to approach the most criminal abuse to which magical sciences can be put, namely, venomous magic, or rather sorcery. let it be understood here that we write not to instruct but to warn. if human justice, instead of punishing the adepts, had proscribed only the nigromancers and poisoning sorcerers, it is certain, as we have observed previously, that its severity would have been well placed, since the most severe penalties could never be excessive in the case of such criminals. at the same time it must not be supposed that the right of life and death which belongs secretly to the magus has been exercised always to satisfy some infamous vengeance, or some cupidity more infamous still. in the middle ages, as in the ancient world, magical association

RITUEL ET DOGME DE LA HAUTE MAGIE BY ELIPHAS LEVI PART II

g and regenerating at the same time. now, according to the allegory of duchentau fs magical calendar, man, that magical equilibrium 19 is to say, the initiate, is the ape of nature, who confines himself by a chain but makes him act unceasingly, imitating the proceedings and works of his divine mistress and imperishable model. the alternate use of contrary forces, warmth after cold, mildness after severity, love after anger, etc, is the secret of perpetual motion and the permanence of power. coquettes know this instinctively, and hence they make their admirers pass from hope to fear, from joy to despondency. to operate always on the same side and in the same manner is to overweight one basin of the balance, and complete destruction of equilibrium is a rapid result. continual caressings bege

on and the permanence of power. coquettes know this instinctively, and hence they make their admirers pass from hope to fear, from joy to despondency. to operate always on the same side and in the same manner is to overweight one basin of the balance, and complete destruction of equilibrium is a rapid result. continual caressings beget satiety, disgust and antipathy, just as constant coldness and severity in the long run alienate and discourage affection. an unvarying and ardent fire in alchemy calcines the first matter and not seldom explodes the hermetic vessel: the heat of lime and mineral manure must be substituted at regular intervals for the heat of flame. and so also in magic: works of wrath or severity must be tempered by those of beneficence and love. if the will of the operator b

d employed by wills more powerful; then mighty invisible chains form and may occasion or determine great elementary commotions. the phenomena established by the criminal trials of magic, and quite recently by m. eudes de mirville, have no other cause. elementary spirits are like children: they torment chiefly those who trouble about them, unless indeed they are controlled by high reason and great severity. we designate such spirits under the name of occult elements, and it is these who frequently occasion our bizarre or disturbing dreams, who produce the movements of the divining rod and rappings upon walls or furniture; but they can manifest no thought other than our own, and when we are not thinking, they speak to us with all the incoherence of dreams. they reproduce good and evil indiff

RUBY TABLET OF SET

act that some of their well-intentioned activity is contaminating and damaging the prosecutive potential of the cases where criminal acts did occur. we must all (i.e, the media, churches, therapists, victim advocates, law enforcement, and the general public) ask ourselves if we have created an environment where victims are rewarded, listened to, comforted, and forgiven in direct proportion to the severity of their abuse. are we encouraging needy or traumatized individuals to tell more and more outrageous tales of their victimization? are we making up for centuries of denial by now blindly accepting any allegation of child abuse no matter how absurd or unlikely? are we increasing the likelihood that rebellious, antisocial, or attention-seeking individuals will gravitate toward "satanism" by

ion.(43) card sephirah titles and symbols 1 kether the primal glory. the primordial point. completion of the great work. 2 chokmah crown of creation. the supernal father. 3 binah understanding. fountain of primordial wisdom. creator of faith. ama, the dark sterile mother. aima, the bright fertile mother. khorsia, the throne. marah, the great sea. 4 chesed mercy. love. majesty. 5 geburah strength. severity. justice. fear. 6 tiphareth beauty. melekh, the king. adam, the son. the man. 7 netzach victory. occult intelligence. firmness. 8 hod glory. splendour. 9 yesod the foundation. 10 malkuth the kingdom. the gate. malkah, the queen. kallah, the bride. the virgin. five of wands: geburah is strength and severity, the destroyer. geburah is the active daughter of binah, who destroys the old and w

worldly involvement and material success or failure. the new job will answer the querant's desire for some intellectual involvement, and may also answer the querant's need for material comfort. these are numerological interpretations, and in numerology the eight is a chancy number- it may be lucky or unlucky for the querant. according to the kaballah, the eight is unbalanced, low on the pillar of severity. crowley attempts to lighten the impact of this position inthe four eights, where he says: yet one may perhaps urge this alleviation, that the eights come as (in a sense) a remedy for the error of the sevens. the mischief has been done; and there is now a reaction against it. one may, therefore, expect to find that, while there is no possibility of perfection in the cards of this number

SATANIC RITUALS

by placing both the simple muzhik, who cherished the good old devils, and the educated, in mortal fear of any remnant of dark forces. thus a satanic underground that was carefully cloaked in christian trappings was bound to develop in russia. those who entered such sects were either driven by emotion alone (the followers) or by emotion and reason (the leaders. by the nineteenth century, religious severity had reached its zenith, with virtually all of russia adhering to the orthodox church. but the old gods were preparing a vehicle of retaliation: the men of "god" were revealed, as in other countries, as the real villains, but they were so steeped in their holy selfrighteousness, they were unable to imagine their own disintegration. out of the morass of "goodness" flickered an occasional se

SCHEM HA MEPHORESH

e letters each. then each column will give a word of three letters, and there will be 72 names of three letters each, which are the shem ha mephoresch or 72 names of the deity, expounding the powers of the name yhvh. from these names 72 names of angels are formed by the addition of, in some cases, the suffice yh which signifies mercy and beneficence, or in others of the suffice al which signifies severity and judgment. or as it is said: and the name is in him, etc. these 72 angels rule over the 72 quinances or sets of 50 of the zodiac, and therefore each decanate or set of 100 of a sign has 2 quinances, and each sign has 3 decanates, which are again allotted to the planets in regular order. this is the formation as given above (each angel s name containing 5 letters and each name of deity

hown in the great altar diagram of the 4-7 grade. behold, i am against thee, pharoah, king of egypt, the great dragon thai lieth in the midst of the rivers. and the first of the sons of jacob who goeth down is joseph whose two tribes, ephraim and manasseh, balance each other in chesed and geburah. that is to say, that there first comes down into the desolated earth the combined power of mercy and severity. and ephraim, the kerubic sign of the ox, is the natural ruler of earth in malkuth, under the power of h final of the holy name, the bride, eve, and the queen. and the schem ha-mephoresch, the 72, are found in the number of the family of jacob s sons is 70; and jacob and joseph equals 72. but the then ruling pharoah, corresponds more to hadar amongst the edomite kings, as representing one

SCHLAGER NEIL WORLD RELIGIONS REFERENCE LIBRARY

which was written around 150 ce by the indian monk nagarjuna. the system of thought detailed by nagarjuna discusses an important foundation in buddhism. it is called madhyamaka, or the middle way. the phrase middle way is often used to describe buddhism. it illustrates the buddha s belief, as discussed by nagarjuna, that one must avoid extremes in order to achieve enlightenment, including extreme severity or harshness and extreme indulgence or ease. sacred symbols buddhism is rich in symbols. many of the different schools find value in different sacred images. some of the most prominent symbols are the dharmachakra (dharma wheel, bodhi tree, buddhist flag, vajra (thunderbolt, and mandala. the dharmachakra is one of the most well-known buddhist symbols. it is an eight-spoked wheel signifyin

SEVEN SCROLLS CHILDREN OF THE BLACK ROSE

pick up on all of them at one sitting. that is why in a luciferian home, the cbr keys to wisdom are read cover to cover over and over again, a key at a time. the children hear it from the cradle on until they begin reading it to their children. human beings, like other small animals, are not born with inherent wisdom and knowledge, but must be taught by their parents and peers. the frequency and severity of the lessons depend upon how good of a memory the younger develops and how fast he or she dose it "raising worthy children is like finishing a piece of fine furniture. much polishing is required to bring up the shine" children of the black rose, scroll #4 [scroll#1 attitude adjustment all the world is a st

SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON ZANONI A ROSICRUCIAN TALE

rror, to his relation's recital, and sought earnestly, but in vain, to induce him to give information against his protege "tush, tush, rene dumas" said the old man "you are a lawyer. you are bred to regard human life with contempt. let any man break a law, and you shout 'execute him "i" cried dumas, lifting up his hands and eyes "venerable sage, how you misjudge me! i lament more than any one the severity of our code. i think the state never should take away life, no, not even the life of a murderer. i agree with that young statesman, maximilien robespierre, that the executioner is the invention of the tyrant. my very attachment to our advancing revolution is, that it must sweep away this legal butchery" the lawyer paused, out of breath. the stranger regarded him fixedly and turned pale "y

THE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNUSUAL UNEXPLAINED VOL 1

e been somehow brought back to life after accidents, severe injuries, surgeries, and other physical traumas, and they have related their own accounts of life beyond death, the journey of the soul, and the process of judgment that awaits the spirits of the deceased on the other side. while the various representatives of religious orthodoxy may often look upon such stories as visions wrought by the severity of a painful ordeal and a subsequent misinterpretation of accepted religious teachings, and while the proponents of the material sciences may consider these experiences delusions, those who have survived such near-death encounters cannot be shaken from the testimony of their own personal experiences, regardless of the accepted dogmas and doctrines taught by the various religious bodies or

satanism it fears most through the excesses of the inquisition, which made an industry out of hunting, persecuting, torturing, and killing those men and women accused of being doctrinal heretics and those practitioners of the old religion who were condemned for worshipping the devil through the practice of witchcraft. then, in the sixteenth century, a jaded and decadent aristocracy, weary of the severity of conventional morality legislated by the church, perversely began to convert the t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d mystery religions and cults 289 primitive belief structures of serf and peasant into an obscene rendering of the rites of traditional paganism with the ritualistic aspects of christian worship. in contemporary times, m

THE MAGICIAN S KABBALAH

is symbolism, and perhaps should be drawn bearing a quill, not a staff. chapter eight; geburah, the folding of the robe geburah is the fifth sephirah of the creative process, and signifies in hebrew a number of related meanings, around the theme of strength: strength, power, force, valour, courage, victory, might, god, strong, mighty, hero. geburah is connected with the punishment of god, rigour, severity, and justice. an alternative title of this sephirah is pachad, meaning "fear. its most negative aspect is said to be blind fanaticism, which is often the result of a fear of that which is considered different to one's own beliefs. when the seven sins are allocated to the tree, the sin of geburah is said to be that of anger. it is also connected, in a more positive sense, with discipline a

rk of the adept grades in the initiatory system to learn to balance these states both within and without, to ensure that tiphareth, the pivotal point of the tree, is maintained in a dynamic equilibrium. the zohar puts it that the "left arm draws the immensity of space in rigour, and that geburah is associated with the "repentance of god" and the archangel samael. it also points out that mercy and severity are united in tiphareth. the sepher yetzirah states "the fifth path is called the radical intelligence, because it is more similar than any other to the supreme unity and emanates from the depths of the primordial wisdom" it is the conciliatory force, restricting and directing the expansion of chesed. the link with kether is in its role in defining the process of zimzum as din, which will

haviour and not cause. working for reward, again whether self-reward or peer-reward goes against the dictum of working "without lust of result" which is central to success. as already noted, the "trick" of working the two sephiroth is, as one should expect from the system, pictured on the tarot card connecting the two, which is strength. the woman (mercy) rests her hand upon the head of the lion (severity) without conflict. the key represents an act of tikkun "restoration and reintegration, or restoring elements to their appropriate role in the creative process. sturzaker states that geburah is the "centre of the dark night of the soul, which relates to the progress between tiphareth and binah, and the crossing of the abyss. dion fortune terms the sephiroth as the "sacrificial priest of th

k art] if necessary. fortune also points out the connection of chesed and geburah with running a group, or managing a team. she symbolises it by making an analogy to the reins of a horse team, where sometimes one needs to let the rein out, and sometimes one needs to rein the horse in sharply. this is part of the mystery of the chariot, the tarot card running from binah (understanding) to geburah (severity. in modern management training, a balanced geburah is the difference between aggressiveness and assertiveness. the paths of rigour which lead to and from geburah can be categorised as follows: cheth- chariot the mystery of directing teth- strength the mystery of control lamed- justice the mystery of equilibrium mem- hanged man the mystery of sacrifice it should be noted that geburah ultim

ore the emanation of the microprosopus, or lesser countenance. this single king or state is that which reigns after the synthesis of the multiple fragmentary states of identity that flicker in and out in the constant picture-show of our awareness, each of which in its turn demands temporary rulership. the edomite kings were seen by loria as sons of the mother, the pillar on the left hand, perfect severity, but had no foundation in the holy ancient one. they are the "empty lights" dispelled by the source of lights which is concealed within the mother. halevi states that the first origin of the concept of the klippoth lies in the kabbalistic model of the universe itself being composed of a series of shells. the first kernel is the light of ain soph, with the first shell being kether, enclosi

otes as to their relationships in terms of the pillars and the triads (see diagram 2. it should also be noted that the descriptions offered by the text seem to describe some paths in their descending context and functions, and others in their ascending context. it may be that the sepher yetzirah was pieced together from fragmentary notes of larger, oral, commentaries. diagram part a the pillar of severity is composed of paths 18 and 23, which both indicate the "formative" nature of the pillar. path 18 is described as the "house of affluence, from which are drawn hidden meanings. this refers to binah, from which the path runs, as understanding, and geburah, as discernment. with these qualities, one can discover the secret "arcana" or mysteries of universal processes. the lower path on the p

l. a rose should be placed on the altar for the duration of this ceremony. point tau move to the left of the temple, standing in the north, facing the eastern wall, and state firmly; i have entered in. visualise standing in the sephirah of hod, which can be as complex or simple as you are able. the simplest form would be to visualise an orange circle beneath your feet. now visualise the pillar of severity stretching out in front of you to geburah, which is outside of the temple, and beyond that to binah, which can only dimly be seen. when you are ready, turn to face the west and touch your right shoulder with your right hand, saying; geburah this activates the pillar of severity and identifies it with your right side and the actions of your right hand. points peh, aleph and resh the word p

THE MIDDLE PILLAR

, then may he move fornard on the upward path with joy and equanimity. introduction to the second edition xxvii so it is that, at a time when the planet seems to be rocking beneath our feet, i derive great pleasure from writing an introduction to a new edition of the middle pillar. it is that pillar which stands dependable and relatively changeless as the sphinx, between the extremes of mercy and severity, the two outer pillars of the qabalah's tree of life.6 equally important, it also provides basic principles of magic whch can speed the student on his way to blessed release from the necessity of the accursed wheel. once he has gained this new understanding, the student, it is to be hoped, will gradually but steadily progress until he has completed the great work. in so doing, not only wi

ant ideas communicated to the student of magic, in his ceremonial initiation when he is led from one station to another, is that an extreme leaning either to one or the other of the opposites is a very dangerous t h g. it is unwise to swing to opposite poles of life's pendulum "unbalanced power is the ebbing away of life. unbalanced mercy is but weakness and the fading out of the will. unbalanced severity is cruelty and the barrenness of mind' were we to change the terminology of the speech, instead of the word "mercy" we might substitute "emotion" or "generosity" or "love; for "severity" we may substitute "power "the rational side of us" or "justice" or "tyranny" either of these qualities when carried to an extreme, unmodified by the other, is conducive to an unhealthy state of psyche. th

cures. in spite of these the illness persists unchanged. enquiry elicits that there is, frequently a conscious conflict between two courses of conduct. more often than not, however, the real seat of the conflict is not in consciousness at all, but exists in a far deeper level of mind, in the unconscious. it was probably around puberty that an already existent conflict developed such acuteness and severity as to require for the psychic safety of the ego to be repressed completely out of sight. from this, we might conclude-and there is some psychological evidence to ths end-that the conflict is one between the instincts and social dictates. that is, because of parental training there is a blind refusal to recognize the necessity for the proper and legitimate expression of the instincts. it i

possible that we should find a cancer-the symptom par excellence of the death-wish, the so-called suicide complex indicative of a division in the psyche's integrity. moreover, we could proceed a step further. we might enquire as to whether the affliction were on the right or left, remembering the qabalistic definition of the left pillar as the side of mercy, and that on the right as the pillar of severity.23 "unbalanced mercy is weakness and the fading out of the will. unbalanced severity is cruelty and the barrenness of mind."24 enquiry might elicit the fact that an afflicted left kidney was symptomatic of one who had been afraid to taste life to the full. or on the other hand, out of sheer compensation, had lived, so completely as to have over-indulged. the right kidney would indicate sy

intl. universities press, 1977. 21. any mental or emotional disorder, arising from no apparent organic lesion or change and involving symptoms such as insecurity, anxiety, depression, and irrational fears. 22. chronic inflammation of the kidneys. 23. this is unnecessarily confusing. regardie's definition of the pillars here (the left pillar as the side of mercy and the right pillar as the side of severity) only applies to the alignment of the tree of life as it is reflected onto the human body in magical workings, not as it is seen in diagrams of the tree. these pillars are almost always described as they are seen in the diagram. that is, the lefthand pillar (binah, geburah, and hod) is known as the pillar of severity and the right-hand pillar (aokmah, chesed, and netzach) is known as the

being than the newer schools would allow. the diagram it employs is a qabalistic glyph called the tree of life. this shows the ten spheres or sqhirofh as they are called arranged in a geometrical pattern to form three columns or pillars. that to the left shows the tree of life 27 three spheres one above the other, and is called the left pillar or the pillar of mercy.2 the right pillar or that of severity also shows three spheres, while the central pillar is indicated by four spheres one above the other, the pillar of beneficence.3 to each one of these spheres is ascribed a different characteristic of the self. that is, the diagram expresses the integral nature of man according to ten quite distinct functions. it is the unity of these ten factors which together comprise what we choose to c

iddle pillar receives attention. but as practice renders the student expert, even dexterous in manipulating his visualizations, he will find it worth while to lengthen the duration of the practice, increasing the field of his attention. balance and equilibrium brought within achievement by the formulation of the centers of the middle pillar, then the sephiroth of the two side pillars of mercy and severity are added to the picture.28 progress is bound to the tree of lifi 43 be slow and gradual here, but given patience and perseverance a new sphere of power and spiritual perception will unfold itself. as a means of giving poise to neurotic patients, and of assisting the task of analysis, the practice of the middle pillar may be recommended to psychologists. for by these means the conscious m

no escape, except through the admission and the acceptance of the abuse, followed by a grim determination for ever to avoid a similar deed. endnotes 1. the "soul of the world" 2. once again;regardiels description is unnecessarily confusing, and we feel impelled to point out once more that his definition of the pillars here (the left pillar as the side of mercy and the right pillar as the side of severity) only applies to the tree of life as it is reflected onto the human body in magical workings, not as it is seen in diagrams of the tree. the left-hand pillar (binah, geburah, and hod) is known as the pillar of severity and the right-hand pillar (chokmah, chesed, and netzach) is known as the pillar of mercy. 3. also known as the middle pillar, the pillar of mildness or the pillar of balanc

econd pronoun "thou" the other words employed are names of sephroth on the tree of life. geelurah or "power" is that center numbered five on the diagram. gedulah or "mercy" is the fourth.3 these two are the centers represented by the two lodge room pillars, the two opposites encountered in everyday life. it is of these two centers that speaks the ritual in junction already quoted about unbalanced severity being cruelty and oppression. malkuth is the tenth sephirah. it is translated by the word "kingdom" inasmuch as the ancients considered that man's nature was a kingdom of inconceivable extent, a kingdom of vast and wide complexity, one having over it a divinely ordained ruler, the yechidah. the last phrase of the ritual is of little significance, save as it completes the gesture. the word

hs that connect them are given colors that correspond to the world of atziluth. the color that regardie suggests using for daath here (lavender, relates it to the world of atziluth. this implies that daath as a bridge or energy conduit has more in common with the paths of the tree than with the sephiroth. 14 "god" 15 "righteous of god" 16. elohirn gibor "god of battles" or "almighty god" 17. the "severity of god" william gray erroneously stated that the root of this name was khab, whch meant "to suffer, to feel pain, or make war" however, prominent golden dawn scholar adam p. forrest has pieced together the true origin of this name. according to forrest, the original archangel of mars was samuel-a name that macgregor mathers changed to zarnael in order to avoid confusion with the qliphotic

er of points on this figure, the pentagram is connected to the sphere of geburah on the tree of life, and to its corresponding planet, mars. the pentagram represents that fiery, purifying power of the divine that takes the name of pachad or "fear" one of the titles of geburah, whose other primary title is "strength" another higher function of geburah is that of din meaning "justice "judgment" or "severity" the divine name of geburah is elohim gibor or "god of battles" according to iamblichus, a neoplatonic philosopher-magician of the fourth century c.e "the pentad is highly expressive of justice, and justice comprehends all the other virtues."l3 in his book numbers, their occult power and mystic virtues, w. wynn westcott states that the pentad is called "the unconquered" westcott also stat

in his book numbers, their occult power and mystic virtues, w. wynn westcott states that the pentad is called "the unconquered" westcott also states: proclus on hesiod gives two reasons for its semblance to justice "because it punishes wrong, and takes away inequality of possession, and also equalizes what is less, to benefit "14 thus the number five provides us with the ideas of fear, strength, severity power, and justice. the awesome energy of geburah can strike fear into the minds of negative powers and those who do not understand its harsh, purifying, and equilibrating power. eliphas levi tells us that the pentagram is a potent sign that extends its power over the elementary intelligences that inhabit the astral realms: the pentagram .exercises a great influence upon spirits and terri

of light described earlier. finally focus some of the energy back into your tiphareth center, the seat of equilibrium and balance. the rite of five pillars the following exercise is a very simplified method for exploring the idea of a three-dimensional tree of life.8 using this method, a total of five pillars are formed within the student's sphere of sensation- the two outer pillars of mercy and severity are duplicated, while the middle pillar maintains the pivotal balance. the image of the tree of life is reflected into the human body (see chapter nine, pages 180-184) so that the practitioner faces the archetypal image of the tree, which is in turn reflected behind him (see figure 16 below).g many more complex variations of the five pillar exercise are possible. this exercise is best per

nt's articulation of free associations is encouraged in order to reveal unconscious thoughts and emotions, such as traumatic experiences that have been repressed. gabriel: hebrew archangel of elemental water. galgal: hebrew word meaning "whirling" the plural form is galgalim, referring to the sephiroth as they exist withn the human aura or sphere of sensation. geburah: hebrew word for "power" or "severity" referring to the fifth sephirah on the tree of life. the phrase ve-geburah, meaning "and the power" is used in the qabalistic cross. gedulah: hebrew word for "greatness, magnificence" a title of chesed. the phrase ve-gedulah, meaning "and the glory" is used in the qabalistic cross. gematria: a form of hebrew numerology that uses the numerical values of the letters of the hebrew alphabet

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

t your husbands know; but. read me!*2 *1. why jesus wept, vol. iii, p. 24 *2. why jesus wept, vol. iii, p. 22. cf. martial, epigrams, xi. 16: erubuit, posuitque meum lucretia librum, sed coram bruto; brute, recede, leget. in this extraordinary volume, which seems to be the child of a promise made to mr. chesterton in gthe sword of song, h we find a deeply cynical satire castigating with no little severity the menial servility of modern society, as scathing as a beverland, as cynical as a carlyle, and as satirical as a butler. its great theme is the contest gof age and sense with flatulence and youth. h we have already shaken hands with percy, molly, and lady baird (angela; we have still to be introduced to lord glenstrae. the first two form the flatulent element, the latter two the constip

THE HOLY BIBLE KING JAMES VERSION

branches. but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 11:19 thou wilt say then, the branches were broken off, that i might be graffed in. 11:20 well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. be not highminded, but fear: 11:21 for if god spared not the natural branches [take heed] lest he also spare not thee. 11:22 behold therefore the goodness and severity of god: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 11:23 and they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for god is able to graff them in again. 11:24 for if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree:

TRUE HISTORY OF WITCHCRAFT

t me" was the victim calling upon "the goddess? or, as seems more likely, upon that aforementioned transfiguration of all ancient goddesses in christian mythology, the virgin mary. one more quote from dr. robbins, and i will cease to parade late medieval history before you. it comes from yet another priest, father cornelius loos, who observed, in 1592 that "wretched creatures are compelled by the severity of the torture to confess things they have never done, and so by cruel butchery innocent lives are taken (ibid, p 16. the "evidence" of the witch trials indicates, on the whole, neither the satanism the church and state would have us believe, nor the pagan survivals now claimed by modern wicca; rather, they suggest only fear, greed, human brutality carried out to bizarre extremes that hav

TURNER ROBERT ARBETEL OF MAGICK

t all without distinguishing; hour-glasses, which receive, and pour out as fast; bags, which retain onely the 4 dregs of spices, and let the wine escape; and sieves, which retain the best onely. some there are of the last sort, and to them i present this occult philosophy, knowing that they may reap good thereby. and they who are severe against it, they all pardon this my opinion, that such their severity proceeds from self-guiltiness; and give me leave to apply that of ennodius that it is the nature of self-wickedness, to think that of others, which themselves deserve. and it is all the comfort which guilty have, not to find any innocent. but that amongst others this may find some acceptance, is the desire of r. turner london, ult. aug. l654. 5 arbatel of magick containing nine tomes, and

TWO ESSAYS ON THE WORSHIP OF PRIAPUS

es of corinth and 1 priap. carm. 34. ed sciappii. 2 see plate iii, fig. 3. 3 ver. 613. 4 herodot. lib. ii. of priapus 105 eryx;1 and to that of the latter the express words of juvenal, who, though he lived an age, later, lived when the same religion, and nearly the same manners, prevailed.2 diodorus siculus also tells us, that when the roman pr tors visited eryx, they laid aside their magisterial severity, and honoured the goddess by mixing with her votaries, and indulging themselves in the pleasures over which she presided.3 it appears, too, that the act of generation was a sort of sacrament in the island of lesbos; for the device on its medals (which in the greek republics had always some relation to religion) is as explicit as forms can make it.4 the figures appear indeed to be mystic a

TYSON DONALD NEW MILLENNIUM MAGIC

cal magic. the tree is consulted to discover the workings of spirit in the soul of human- ity and used to affect aspects of the personality and correct imbalances. the zodi- ac is more useful in delving into the blind forces of nature that constantly surge around and drive human life without being aware of the effects of their actions. the tree reflects moral qualities such as beauty, wisdom, and severity. the zodiac reflects the uncaring drives of nature such as being, having, feeling, and so on. keep in mind that either of these complex systems is complete in its own right. the tree also expresses blind forces and the zodiac moral qualities, but the dis- tinction above indicates the pervading tones. the signs of the zodiac are each assigned one of the four philosophical ele- ments and on

TYSON DONALD SOUL FLIGHT

but i will list the ten sephiroth on the tree of life and show how they join various parts of the body with various astral levels. 1. kether above the crown of the head the crown-sphere of the primum mobile 2. chokrnah left side of the brain wisdom-sphere of fixed stars 3. binah right side of the brain understanding-sphere of saturn 4. chesed left arm mercy-sphere of jupiter 5. geburah right arm severity-sphere of mars 108 soul flight 6. tiphareth torso beauty-sphere of the sun 7. netzach left leg victory-sphere of venus 8. hod right leg glory-sphere of mercury 9. yesod genitals foundation-sphere of the moon 10. malkuth entire physical body kingdom-sphere of the four elements those familiar with the tree of life will notice that when applied to the human body by the golden dawn, it was re

ercy) divine name: el (the mighty one) archangelic name: tzadqiel correspondence: jupiter "the fourth path is named the cohesive or receptacular intelligence; and is so called because it contains all the holy powers, and from it emanate all the spiritual virtues with the most exalted essences; they emanate one from the other by the power of the primordial emanation (the highest crown" 5. geburah (severity) divine name: elohim gibor (god of battles) archangelic name: kamael correspondence: mars "the fifth path is called the radical intelligence, because it resembles the unity, uniting itself to the binah, or intelligence which emanates from the primordial depths of wisdom or chokrnah" 6. tiphareth (beauty) divine name: ihvh eloah vedaath (lord god manifest) archangelic name: raphael corresp

TYSON DONALD THE POWER OF THE WORD

c choirs, and heavenly spheres. late in their evolution, from the fourteenth century onward, they were ordered into a graphic pattern of connecting channels that is known as the sephirothic tree of the kabbalah. from highest to lowest these sephiroth are: 1. kether-the crown 2. chokmah-wisdom, the supernal father (abba) 3. binah-understanding, the supernal mother (aima) 4. chesed-mercy 5. geburah-severity 6. tiphareth-beauty, the son (messiah) 7. netzach-victory 8. hod-splendor 9. yesod-foundation 10. malkuth-the kingdom, the daughter tree of the sephiroth 10 tetragrammaton the holy name ihvh is specifically assigned to llphareth, the heart of the sephirothic tree. in a sense, the sixth sephirah is in itself the active process of creation. the three highest spheres, called the supernals, a

reat mother, binah. each cycle is active for a period of six thousand years corresponding to the six days of creation, followed by a period of a thousand 12 tetragrammaton years of chaos corresponding to the day of rest, during which the universe is torn down and rebuilt in the pattern of the succeeding sephirah. presently we are living in the shemittah of geburah, the age of strict judgement and severity, which accounts for our unceasing wars. the previous age was that of chesed, a period of happiness and love that is dimly echoed in the greek myth of a golden age of heroes. the next shemittah will be that of tiphareth, characterized by beauty and harmony. at the end of the seven cycles of 49,000 years there is a grand jubilee of a millennium when all the lower worlds together and the sev

very banner has two forms that appear the same but are distinguished by the placement of the first h and second h. these two sets of banners correspond to the twelve hours of the day and the twelve hours of the night. each beast has three pairs of wings. each pair represents the two angels associated with a particular banner, an angel of mercy on the right who protects and rewards and an angel of severity on the left who administers judgments. since the four beasts stand for the elements fire, air, water, and earth, it is clear that six angels of tetragrammaton administer to each element, three the hieroglyphic monad 61 that are merciful and kind and three that are severe in judgment. they are in pairs ruled by the three banners of the name set over each element, the cardinal, mutable, and

e of their angels and their allotted works. the merciful and severe angels of each sign may be invoked and banished by means of the sigils of the banners described in chapter v the invoking sigil of a banner invokes the angel of mercy that labors under that banner. this angel can then be banished by the banishing sigil. however, if the banishing sigil is used first, it acts to invoke the angel of severity set under that banner. the angel of severity can then be banished by means of the invoking sigil. in fact, the "invoking" sigil of the merciful angel is the banishing sigil of the severe angel, and the "banishing" sigil of the merciful angel is the invoking sigil of the severe angel. whether a sigil invokes or banishes depends upon whether it is used first or second. either sigil invokes

132-6. in order to distinguish these two sets of angelic names, i have added the divine suffix al to the merciful angels and the suffix ih to the angels of judgment. the results are tabulated below. the position of the second h in each of the twenty-four permutations of ntragrammaton is indicated by boldface type: ihvh: aries (fire-cardinal) 1. angel of mercy: qthh+ al (kethahe1)-ihvh 2. angel of severity: hthq+ ih (hatakiah)-ihvh ihhv: sagittarius (fire-mutable) 3. angel of mercy: qtzh+ al (kazahe1)-ihhv 4. angel of severity: htzq+ ih (hazekiahkihhv ivhh: leo (fire-fixed) 5. angel of mercy: qli+ al (kelie1)-ivhh 6. angel of severity: ilq+ ih (ye1ekiah)-ivhh hvhi: cancer (water-cardinal) 7. angel of mercy: dvi+ al (davie1)-hvhi 8. angel of severity: ivd+ ih (yodiahbhvhi 64 tetragrammaton h

ercy: qtzh+ al (kazahe1)-ihhv 4. angel of severity: htzq+ ih (hazekiahkihhv ivhh: leo (fire-fixed) 5. angel of mercy: qli+ al (kelie1)-ivhh 6. angel of severity: ilq+ ih (ye1ekiah)-ivhh hvhi: cancer (water-cardinal) 7. angel of mercy: dvi+ al (davie1)-hvhi 8. angel of severity: ivd+ ih (yodiahbhvhi 64 tetragrammaton hvih: pisces (water-mutable) 9. angel of mercy: dmv+ al (demuelbhvih 10. angel of severity: vmd+ ih (vamediah)-hvih hhiv scorpio (water-fixed) 11. angel of mercy: dab+ al (dabaelbhhiv 12. angel of severity: bad+ ih (badiahbhhiv vhih: libra (air-cardinal) 13. angel of mercy: vah+ al (vahae1)-vhih 14. angel of severity: hav+ ih (haviahbvhih vhhi: gemini (air-mutable) 15. angel of mercy: vih+ al (vihaelbvhhi 16. angel of severity: hiv+ ih (hiviahl-vhhi vihh: aquarius (air-fixed) 1

fixed) 11. angel of mercy: dab+ al (dabaelbhhiv 12. angel of severity: bad+ ih (badiahbhhiv vhih: libra (air-cardinal) 13. angel of mercy: vah+ al (vahae1)-vhih 14. angel of severity: hav+ ih (haviahbvhih vhhi: gemini (air-mutable) 15. angel of mercy: vih+ al (vihaelbvhhi 16. angel of severity: hiv+ ih (hiviahl-vhhi vihh: aquarius (air-fixed) 17. angel of mercy: viv+ al (vivaell-vihh 18. angel of severity: viv+ ih (viviahl-vihh hihv capricorn (earth-cardinal) 19. angel of mercy: shbv+ al (shabuell-hihv 20. angel of severity: vbsh+ ih (vabashiah)-hihv hivh: virgo (earth-mutable) 21. angel of mercy: shhv+ al (shahave1)-hivh 22. angel of severity: vhsh+ ih (vaheshiah)-hivh hhvi: taurus (earth-fixed) 23. angel of mercy: shia+ al (shiae1)-hhvi 24. angel of severity: aish+ ih (aishiah)-hhvi thes

cessary to assume the god-form of yehovashah (ihvshh, the creative and compassionate aspect of the heavenly christ, when we seek to command and direct the twelve wings of mercy on the right side through the "invoking" sigils of the banners; and to assume the god-form of yeheshuah (ihshvh, the judicative and vengeful aspect of heavenly christ, when we seek to command and direct the twelve wings of severity on the left side through the "banishing" sigils of the banners. the symbolism in the fourth chapter of the revelation of st. john the divine is not only the key to understanding dee's hieroglyphic monad, but also to a true comprehension of his four enochian watchtowers and fortyeight enochian keys. this is a very bold statement, i know, but i believe i have completely justified it in chap

ssible. upon the bezels of the silver rings, engrave, or have engraved, the twelve occult banners of tetragrammaton in hebrew letters, right to left, in the same dimension and style that was used to engrave the gold rings. on the inside of the hoops beneath the bezels of the silver rings, engrave, or have engraved, the twelve corresponding names of the wings of the winds who make up the angels of severity. zodiac gold (sun) silver (moon) 1. aries 2. taurus 3. gemini 4. cancer 5. leo 6. virgo 7. libra 8. scorpio 9. sagittarius 10. capricorn 11. aquarius 12. pisces ihvh (qthh+al) hhvi (shia+al) vhhi (vih+al) hvhi (dvi+al) ivhh (qli+al) hivh (shhv+al) vhih (vah+al) hhiv (dab) ihhv (qtzh+al) hihv (shbv+al) vihh (viv+al) hvih (dmv+al) ihvh (hthq+ih) hhvi (aish+ih) vhhi (hiv+ih) hvhi (ivd+ih) iv

gical expression of the overt banner ihvh, and its active agent the angel kethahel (qthhal. the silver rings represent the powers of the mirror-opposite occult banners. these occult banners are analogous to the power of the moon acting through the corresponding zodiac signs. for example, the moon in cancer is the astrological expression of the occult banner hvhi, and its active agent the angel of severity yodiah (ivdih. in human psychology, the overt banners and the sun accord with inspiration, consciousness, and will. the occult banners and the moon accord banner rings 99 with the unconscious mind, instincts, urges, habits, and the rhythms of the body. the angels of mercy are the active agents of the overt banners that convey and express the potencies of these banners in the sphere of hum

ert banners and the sun accord with inspiration, consciousness, and will. the occult banners and the moon accord banner rings 99 with the unconscious mind, instincts, urges, habits, and the rhythms of the body. the angels of mercy are the active agents of the overt banners that convey and express the potencies of these banners in the sphere of human existence, which is the universe. the angels of severity are the active agents of the occult banners, and, in a similar manner, they express the powers of the occult banners upon human life and the greater physical world. this polarity is fundamentally the same as that which exists between the right pillar and the left pillar of the tree of the sephiroth. the overt banners are expansive, fiery, creative, and benevolent; the occult banners are c

g as the moon remains within that sign. when the moon passes into the succeeding sign, the ring is replaced by that which bears the occult banner of the succeeding sign. for example, as the moon enters the sign of sagittarius, the silver ring bearing the occult banner ihhv is put upon the left index finger. all during the period when the moon remains within the bounds of sagittarius, the angel of severity hazekiah can be used by the magician, under the authority of this banner, to accomplish controlling, analytical, critical, or restricting works both in the outer and inner worlds. this angel is especially powerful in those works that involve the controlling, critical, and physical aspects of the sign sagittarius, and the ninth house of the zodiac, to which sagittarius corresponds- such as

which sagittarius corresponds- such as experiments involving new ideas, novel sensations, body transformations, role reversals, explorations in philosophy or religion. when the moon passes from sagittarius into capricorn, the silver ring bearing the occult banner hihv is put upon the left index finger. for so 102 tetragrammaton long as the moon continues its course through capricorn, the angel of severity vabashiah can be employed in works involving restriction, concentration, and judgment. it is particularly effective in those areas that lie within the province of capricorn and the tenth house of the zodiac, which corresponds with capricorn-practicality and self-restraint in matters of social status and material responsibility. the moon passes completely around the circle of the heavens i

ed to determine the exact minute when the moon enters each sign, for the changing of the silver rings. a ring is worn on the index finger of both hands at all times. each ring favors different areas of magical work, defined by the action of the sun or moon in individual signs and houses. however, in time of need, any ring can be pressed to perform any magical work: those on the left hand works of severity, restriction, judgement, and formation; those on the right hand works of kindness, expansion, mercy, and creation. when the magician wishes to bless a person, place, or thing, the right hand and the golden ring is used. on those rare occasions when it is found necessary to curse or punish, the left hand and the silver ring is employed. while both rings are worn, the body, mind, and spirit

hat the ritual is fulfilled; or, if the cross is only the opening part of a more complicated ritual, proceed with the ritual. 108 tetragrammaton the words spoken while making the cross are translations of names of the sephiroth. the crown is kether. the kingdom is malkuth. both are located on the central pillar of the tree of the sephiroth. the power is geburah, which is more commonly translated "severity" but which gershom scholem translates as "power (kabbalah, p. 106. geburah lies midway on the left pillar of the tree. the glory is gedulah, a very common alternate name for the fourth sephirah, chesed, located midway on the right pillar of the tree. scholem translates gedulah as "greatness" the everlasting law corresponds to ephareth on the tree. tiphareth lies in the midst of the centra

this lunar radiance into my heart; i invoke this lunar radiance into my mind. i am filled with holy light, in thy name ihshvh (or ihvshh. so let it be. will the light to enter into your body through your pores and inhale the light with your breaths, until your entire body is charged with lunar (or solar) radiance. with your left index finger in the case of a silver ring inscribed with an angel of severity, make a counterclockwise inward spiral in the air over the altar, so that its focus terminates directly above the silver ring. start the spiral with your left arm held straight overhead above the altar. as you form this spiral, vibrate powerfully the hebrew letters of the fivefold name ihshvh("yod-hay-shin-vav-hay")a. s you complete the spiral, touch the ring and will the lunar light that

with your left arm held straight overhead above the altar. as you form this spiral, vibrate powerfully the hebrew letters of the fivefold name ihshvh("yod-hay-shin-vav-hay")a. s you complete the spiral, touch the ring and will the lunar light that fills you to flow into the ring, saying: in the name of the ancient one (vibrate the banner on the ring) i infuse this ring of power (name the angel of severity) with the cooling radiance of the moon. so let it be! use the same procedure to charge gold rings with solar light, but in the case of a gold ring, the spiral is made with the right index finger, and is a clockwise inward spiral. begin the clockwise inward spiral with the right hand high overhead, and terminate it at its focus by touching the bezel of the gold ring. as you make the clockw

single banner are related and are like brother and sister twins. the brother is the right wing, and the sister is the left wing. this polarity is expressed in the banner sigils by the invoking and banishing forms in each pair of sigils, which are mirror opposites. the female wings are under the influence of the supernal sephirah binah, understanding, which stands at the head of the left pillar of severity on the tree of the kabbalah. binah is the seat of aima, the great dark mother who is the fruitful womb of the universe. it is the role of the wings on the left side to bring forth into being ideas and possibilities. the female angels are responsible for the fashioning, limiting, and destroying of things; for all analytical and critical judgement; for punishment, pain, and matters relating

the fixed signs are in the four compass points: leo-south, scorpio-west, aquarius-north, and taurus-east. the sigils the invoking and banishing sigils for each wing are derived from the tetragram described in chapter five. refer to the diagram on page 33, which shows the invoking and banishing sigils for the twelve wings of mercy of the twelve overt banners of the name. remember that the wings of severity of the occult banners are the mirror opposites of the wings of mercy of the overt banners. therefore, the invoking sigils of the wings of mercy are the banishing sigils of the wings of severity; the banishing sigds of the wings of mercy are the invoking sigils of the wings of severity. you can readily see this by comparing the sigils for pairs of wings. for example, compare the sigils for

easily angered, with stormy emotions, rapid speech, darting eyes, expressive hands, and harsh laughter. function: urgent matters relating to the ego, self-worth, and personal dignity. mairs of honor. duels or other fonns of personal combat. self-assertion. 124 tetragrammaton i1 angel: hatakiah (hthq+ih) pronounced: ha-tak'-i-ah hebrew: 7'3tl7 enochian: c)?113/$c3 banner: ihvh polarity: moon qpe: severity side: left sex: female element: fire quality: cardinal sign: aries house: first direction: north-northeast invoking banishing stone: sard (orange-red) pibe: reuben apostle: peter enochian god name: mor enochian senior: aczinor appearance: short but muscular woman with narrow hips and small breasts, a pointed chin, very pale gray eyes, flushed cheeks, thin lips, small teeth, upturned nose

sincere. his voice is pleasant, but he has a tendency to moralize. function: matters that expand personal horizons, travel, distant communications, dealings with distant relatives, escape from all forms of prison or bondage. new vistas of thought or experience. 126 tetragrammaton angel: hazekiah (htzq+ih) pronounced: ha-zek'-i-ah hebrew: 7'337 enochian: c321131pm banner: ihhv polarity: moon qpe: severity side: left sex: female element: fire quality: mutable sign: sagittarius house: ninth invoking direction: west-northwest banishing stone: topaz (yellow-green) dibe: simeon apostle: philip enochian god name: dial enochian senior: alhctga appearance: she is tall and slender, with clear gray eyes, high cheekbones, a high forehead, a long face and straight nose, a golden-pink complexion, and v

WEOR SAMAEL AUN ESOTERIC COURSE OF KABBLAH

ca del hombre. binah la inteligencia. planeta venus. tercera carta del tarot, la emperatriz. el s mbolo primitivo es una mano en actitud de coger. estos tres sephirotes son la corona sephir tica. 6 the other seven inferior sephiroth come in the following order: chesed mercy; jupiter, the divine i, atman, primeval hieroglyphic is represented by a breast. the fourth tarot card, the emperor. geburah severity; the fifth card of man, the pope or the hierophant of the tarot: mars, the warrior of aries. tiphereth beauty, venus of taurus, the love of the holy spirit, the causal body of the man, the sixth card of the tarot, the lover. netzach victory, justice of the arcanum, the seventh card of the tarot, the chariot, saturn. hod glory, mercury of gemini, the eighth card of the tarot, the eternity

WILLIAM WESCOTT NUMBERS THEIR OCCULT POWER AND MYSTIC VIRTUES

great planets of our system. 97. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott but in some cases, even the whole of seven are unknown. we acknowledge but five senses in man, but there are two more awaiting perception by process of evolution. these ten sephiroth are not only viewed as triads from above below, but are also imaged in three columns entitled the pillars of severity and mercy, with the median of benignity or mildness. but this scheme is not for this treatise, nor can the sephirotic alliance with the planetary symbols, the angelic host, the divine names and the book of thoth, or tarot be here described. these subjects present a mine of wisdom concealed in the rituals of the kabalistic chabrath zereh aur bokher, from whose parent stem the rosicrucian f

WOLFSON ELLIOT ALEF MEM TAU KABBALISTIC MUSINGS ON TIME TRUTH AND DEATH

the emanation of all things in the concatenation of being will unfold250 schelling contends that what is altogether first in god, in the living god, the eternal beginning of itself in itself, is that god restricts itself, denies itself, withdraws its essence from the outside and retreats into itself. 251 the primary gesture of god is an originary negation (urspr ngliche verneinung, 252 an act of severity, exclusivity, and intolerance that schelling associates with the jealous jewish god, 253 a withdrawing that exposes what remains withdrawn, a concealment that facilitates disclosure.254 the now active negating potency is the force (i.e, the possibility) of positing the a rming potency. for god is precisely in that god does not have being. god is only as not having being, in the state of i

ZALEWSKI GOLDEN DAWN ENOCHIAN MAGIC OCR

dei aemeth. in his addendum to "the concourse of the forces" regardie attributes the cross to malkuth, something which i cannot agret with in this particular instance. if one uses the first method of drawing out the angel's names, the cross becomes a substitute for l, a name of god used in the manufacture of some of the names of the schemhamphoresch which, when prefixed by the letter, stands for "severity and judgement. and thy name is in him" taking the next set of inward names around the heptagon, of which the angel uriel says "the 7 names proceed from the left to the right are the names of god not known to the angels; neither can be spoken or read by man? placing these names in the square sequence we have: 13 in the dee manuscripts, referring to the above letters, numbers were given ins

circle of the ecliptic, a circle at the center of the zodiacal circle" and he also says "ft is demonstrated in the book called "t [the tarot manuscripts p.z] that when the 10 sephiroth in their grouping which is called the tree of life are projected in a sphere (kether coinciding with the north pole, malkuth coinciding with the south pole, the pillar of mildness with the axis, then the pillars of severity and of mercy are quadrupled, i.e. there are 5 pillars instead of 3 pillars (see figures 22& 23 `the same scheme is therefore applicable to the celestial heavens, and the mode of the governance of these tablets in the heavens is also set forth in the book [the tarot manuscripts ra. but as before and there is said, the rule of these 53 54 four tablets, terrestrial as well as in the heavens

lars (see figures 22& 23 `the same scheme is therefore applicable to the celestial heavens, and the mode of the governance of these tablets in the heavens is also set forth in the book [the tarot manuscripts ra. but as before and there is said, the rule of these 53 54 four tablets, terrestrial as well as in the heavens, is in the spaces between the 4 pillars. that is between the double pillars of severity and mercy. in these vast spaces at the ends of the universe are these tablets placed as watch-towers, and therein is their dominion limited on either side by the sephirothie pillars, and having the great central cross of each tablet coinciding with one of the 4 tiphareth points in the celestial heavens. therefore even in the small squares unto which each tablet is divided, each represents

al to have at his disposal, which is analogous to injecting him with a "booster" 185 appendix g the middle pillar exercise the thrust of this meditational exercise is to make your body correspond to the form of the tree of life, a microcosm of the macrocosm. the following is from the golden dawn's middle pillar exercise: 1. imagine yourself standing in the temple, facing west. the black pillar of severity will be on your right the white pillar of mercy on your left. you will make the middle pillar as you stand between them. 2. imagine now that the black pillar is reflected in your right side the white pillar in your left. 3. take a deep breath and raise your consciousness to your kether above your head and vibrate the name eheieh which means "i am" imagine the light flowing down through da

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