The Law is for All

38 The Law is for All 33. Then the priest fell into a deep trance or swoon, & said unto the Queen of Heaven; Write unto us the ordeals; write unto us the rituals; write unto us the law! Commentary: Law, in the common sense of the word, should be a formulation of the customs of a people, as Euclid’s proposi­ tions are the formulation of geometrical facts. But modern knav­ ery conceived the idea of artificial law, as if one should try to square the circle by tyranny. Legislators try to force the people to change their customs, so that the “business men” whose greed they are bribed to serve may increase their profits. “Law,” in Greek, is NOMOC, from NEMO, and means strictly “anything assigned, that which one has in use or possession”; hence “custom, usage,” and also “a musical strain.” The literal equivalence of NEMQ and the Latin nemo is suggestive. In Hebrew, “Law” is ThORA and equivalent to words meaning “The Gate of the Kingdom” and “The Book of Wisdom.”1 1 [Heb. X"IX?n. Cf. “Sepher Sephiroth sub figura D,” §671. See Works Cited.] 2 See “The Rites of Eleusis,” “Energized Enthusiasm,” Book 4, Part III, etc. [See Works Cited.] 34. But she said: the ordeals I write not: the rituals shall be half known and half concealed: the Law is for all. Commentary: The Ordeals are at present carried out unknown to the Candidate by the secret Magick Power of The Beast. Those who are accepted by Him for initiation testify that these Ordeals are frequently independent of His conscious care. They are not, like the traditional ordeals, formal, or identical for all; the Candidate finds himself in circumstances which afford a real test of conduct, and compel him to discover his own nature, to become aware of himself by bringing his secret motives to the surface. Some of the Rituals have been made accessible, that is, the Magical Formulas have been published.1 2 Note the reference to “not” and “all.” Also the word “known” contains the root ^gn, “to beget” and “to know”; while “concealed” indicates the other half of the Human Mystery.