Magick in Theory and Practice (Section 1)

into the West. This is the gift of the wielding of the thunderbolt of Zeus or Indra, the God of Air. Lamed is the Ox-goad, the driving force; and it is also the Balance, representing the truth and love of the Magician. It is the loving care which he bestows upon perfecting his instruments, and the équilibration of that fierce force which initiâtes the ceremony \ Yod is the créative energy — the procreative power ; and yet Yod is the solitude and silence of the hermitage into which the Magician has shut himself. Mem is the letter of Water, and it is the Mem final, whose long fiat lines suggest the Sea at peace ; not the ordinary (initial and médial) Mem whose hieroglyph is a wave 2 And then, in the Centre of ail, broods Spirit, which combines the mildness of the Lamb with the horns of the Ram, and is the letter of Bacchus or “Christ”.8 After the magician has created his instrument, and balanced it truly, and filled it with the lightnings of his Will, then is the weapon laid away to rest; and in this Silence, a true Consécra¬ tion cornes. The Formula of Alim It is extremely interesting to contrast with the above the for¬ mula of the elemental Gods deprived of the créative spirit. One 1. The letters Aleph and Lamed are infinitely important in this Aeon of Horus; they are indeed the Key of the Book of the Law. No more can be said in this place that that Aleph is Harpocrates, Bacchus Diphues, the Holy Ghost, the “Pure Fool” or Innocent Babe who is also the Wandering Singer who imprégnâtes the King’s Daughter with Himself as Her Child; Lamed is the King’s Daughter, satisfied by Him, holding His “Sword and Balances” in her lap. These weapons are the Judge, armed with power to execute His Will, and Two Witnesses “in whom shall every Truth be established” in accordance with whose testimony he gives judgment. 2. In the symbolism above outlined, Yod is the Mercurial “Virgin Word”, the Spermatozoon concealing its light under a cloke; and Mem is the amniotic fluid, the flood wherein is the Life-bearing Ark. See A. Crowley “The Ship”, Equinox I, X. 3. The letter Hé is the formula of Nuith, which makes possible the process described in the previous notes. But it is not permissible here to explain fully the exact matter or manner of this adjustment. I hâve preferred the exoteric attributions, which are sufficiently informative for the beginner. 25