The Star in the West

290 THE STAR IN THE WEST the plains , like those of Ephesus , traduce in every way those who threaten their occupation . “ There fore , O Ananda , be ye lamps unto yourselves . Be ye a refuge to yourselves . Betake yourselves to no ex ternal refuge. Hold fast to the truth as a lamp . Hold fast as a refuge to the truth . Look not for refuge to any one besides yourselves .” (Mahaparanibbana Sutta , ii , 33. ) ' YOGA » 2 Now comes the supreme question : How is this in ward mystery revealed ? And the answer is : In the East by Yoga , and in the West by Magic . “ Thus East and West from A to Z agree . In the East , by an entirely artificial and scientific method , in the West by a stimulation and sudden outflowing of the poetic faculty. The East , we may take it , is almost entirely static ; whilst the West is wholly dynamic . Yet their methods , whatever they may be , ultimately harmonize (as everything ultimately must do ) , leading the aspirant through various stages of illuminism , till he stands out from the illusions of his birth , and becomes one with that higher glow of glory in exalted states of Ecstasy or Samâdhi . Crowleyanity has now led us through the realms of sceptical idealism , in which rationalism has been found completely wanting as a constructive force, and through which we have travelled with satyr and nymph and many other profaners of the sanctuary . And , as of old , the scented courtezans revelled in the mysteries of Eleusis , and the vine of lacchus was 1 Cited , vol. ii, p. 255. ? Pentecost , vol. ii , p. 173.