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the Hermetic
maxim ,
“ That
which
is
above is
as
that which
is
below ,” we find
stated in
“
The Philo
sopher's Progress ":
That which is highest as the deep
Is fixed , the depth as that above :
Death's face is as the face of Sleep ;
And Lust is likest Love . ?
In
“
The Quest ” and in several parts of
“ Tann
häuser , ” we
are
conveyed into
the
maze
of mystic
numbers , which we do not intend to enter here .
“ My
womb is pregnant with mad moons and
suns ,
and
yet we ultimately
feel,
on
reading
deep
into
these
mystical
poems ,
“ Too wise to grieve , too happy to
rejoice. ”
With
one
number , however , or
rather
with
the
primal
symbol
of
all
numbers
~
0
(
zero
),
we shall
deal
.
In
a
slender
pamphlet
entitled
“
Berashith
.”
Aleister
Crowley
ontologically
asserts
the Absolute
ness
of
the
Qabalistic
Zero
.'
Let
us
as
shortly
as
possible
now
see
how
he
arrives
at
this
ultimate
genesis
.
The
ancient Hebrew
Qabalah
was
as
closely
con
nected
with
Assyriology
,
as
it
was with
Babylonian
and
Egyptian
thought
,
Hindu mythology
,
and
the
philosophy
of
the Vedas and Upanishads
;
its
concep
tion
of
the
supreme God was ineffable
,
for He
bore
neither name
nor attribute
,
being beyond the power
of
human
conception
.
Over
the
face
of
the
whole
world
we find earnest thought arriving
at
or
towards
such
a
conclusion
.
In
ancient China we hear Lao
-
Tze
declaring
:
“
What
is
there superior
in
Heaven
and
1
Songs
of
the Spirit
,
vol
.
i,
p
.
34
.
?
The Temple
of
the Holy
Ghost
,
vol
.
i,
p
.
166
.
3
Berashith
,
vol
.
ii,
p
.
236
.