Book 4 (Part II)

96 is actually the largest of his weapons ; happy is he who can make the dagger suffice ! The hilt of the Sword should be made of copper. The guard is composed of the two crescents of the waxing and the waning moon — back to back. Spheres are placed between them, form- ing an equilateral triangle with the sphere of the pommel. The blade is straight, pointed, and sharp right up to the guard. It is made of steel, to equilibrate with the hilt, for steel is the metal of Mars, as copper is of Venus. Those two planets are male and female —and thus reflect the Wand and the Cup, though in a much lower sense. The hilt is of Venus, for Love is the motive of this ruthless analysis — if this were not so the sword would be a Black Magical weapon. The pommel of the Sword is in Death, the guard extends to Chesed and Geburah; the point is in jNIalkuth. Some magi make the three spheres of lead, tin, and gold respectively; the moons are silver, and the grip contains quicksilver, thus making the Sword symbolic of the seven planets. But this is a phantasy and affectation. " Whoso taketh the sword shall perish by the sword," is not a mystical threat, but a mystical promise. It is our own complexity that must be destroyed.