Thelema ScholarTHE ALEISTER CROWLEY COLLECTION
FOLLOW A WORD THROUGH THE COLLECTION

Search the corpus.

Phrase search ignores case and repeated whitespace. All-words search finds whole words anywhere on the same page. OCR errors can affect results.

50 matching pages

Page 1 of 3
1913 · PDF PAGE 187

Book 4 (Part II)

…part of the book, are sufficiently dealt with later on. In these cases the references in the Index should be turned up. y/ .". A .'. The Great White Brotherhood which is giving this Method of Attainment to the world. See Equinox I. Adeptus Minor. A grade of adeptship, ^S^t'Equinox III. Aethyrs. See Equinox V and VII. Aima. The Great Fertile Mother Nature. Ama. The Great Mother not yet fertile. A?noufi. The God Amen = Zeus = Jupiter, etc., etc. Ankh. The Symbol of " Life." A form of the Rosy Cross. 6*6'^Equinox III. Apophis. The Serpent-God who …

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 4

Book 4 (Part II)

Issued by order of the GREAT WHITE BROTHERHOOD known as the A /. A .•. Witness our Seal, N .-.• Praemonstrator- General.

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 10

Book 4 (Part II)

Issued by order of the GREAT WHITE BROTHERHOOD known as the A.\ A.*. Witness our Seal, N.-.- PraemonstrcUor- General.

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 24

Book 4 (Part II)

…own in the illustration. The Tau and the circle together make one form of the Rosy Cross, the uniting of subject and object which is the Great Work, and which is symbolized sometimes as this cross and circle, sometimes as the Lingam-Yoni, sometimes as the Ankh or Crux Ansata, sometimes by the Spire and Nave of a church or temple, and sometimes as a marriage feast, mystic marriage, spiritual marriage, "chymical nuptials," and in a hundred other ways. Whatever the form chosen, it is the symbol of the Great Work. This place of his working therefor…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 31

Book 4 (Part II)

…s would make it of Acacia, for Acacia is the symbol of resurrection. The Altar is a double cube, which is a rough way of symbolizing the Great Work; for the doubling of the cube, Hke the squaring of the circle, was one of the great problems of antiquity. The surface of this Altar is composed of ten squares. The top is Kether, and the ' It represents the extension of Will. Will is the Dyad (see section on the Wand) ; 2x2 = 4. So the altar is foursquare, and also its ten squares show 4. 10 = i + 2 + 3 + 4- 21

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 23

Book 4 (Part II)

CHAPTER II THE CIRCLE THE Circle announces the Nature of the Great Work. Though the Magician has been Umited in his choice of room, he is more or less able to choose what part of the room he will work in. He will consider convenience and possibility. His circle should not be too small and cramp his movements; it should not be so large that he has long distances to traverse. Once the circle is made and consecrated, the Magician must not leave it, or even lean outside, lest he be de- stroyed by the hostile forces that are without. He chooses a ci…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 124

Book 4 (Part II)

…n the Arahat Nagasena and King Melinda ; and their attempts to square the text with their preconceptions will always stand as one of the great foUies of the wise. Again, it is almost impossible for the well-mannered Christian to reaHze that Jesus Christ ate with his fingers. The temperance advocate makes believe that the wine at the marriage feast of Cana was non-alcoholic. It is a sort of mad syllogism. Nobody whom I respect does this. I respect So-and-so. Therefore, So-and-so did 7iot do this. The moralist of to-day is furious when one points…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 189

Book 4 (Part II)

…iple. IJut these have many symbols, e.g., sometimes Yoni is o or 3 and Lingam 2. Lingani- Voni. A form of the Rosy Cross. Macrocosm. The great Universe, of which man is an exact image. Magus. A magician. Technically, also, a Master of grade 9" — 2'\ See Equinox VII, " Liber I," and elsewhere. Mahalingajii. See Lingam. Maha means great. Maha SattipattJiana. A mode of meditation. See "Science and Buddhism,' Crowley, Coll. Works, Vol. II, for a full account. Malka/i. A young girl. The "bride." The unredeemed soul. Malkuth. "The kingdom," loth "ema…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 85

Book 4 (Part II)

…ord must be in the mind of the student, thus showing that he is not in tune with that Universal choir. Let him then puzzle out first the great facts, then the little; until one summer, when he is bald and lethargic after lunch, he understands and appreciates the existence of flies ! This lack of Understanding with which we all begin is so terrible, so pitiful. In this world there is so much cruelty, so much waste, so much stupidity. The contemplation of the Universe must be at first almost pure anguish. It is this fact which is responsible for …

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 147

Book 4 (Part II)

…y master can give to any pupil is to destroy the Temple. Whatever yoi/ have and whate^^er you are are veils before that Light. Yet in so great a matter all advice is vain. There is no master so great that he can see clearly the whole character of any pupil. What helped him in the past may hinder another in the future. Yet since the Master is pledged to serve, he may take up that service on these simple lines. Since all thoughts are veils of this Light, he may advise the destruction of all thoughts, and to that end teach those practices which ar…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 134

Book 4 (Part II)

…annot be de- clared either by silence or by speech. In this preliminary task of collecting materials, the idea of the Ego is not of such great moment; all impressions are phases of the non-ego, and the Ego serves merely as a receptacle. In fact, to the well regu- lated mind, there is no question but that the impressions are real, and that the mind, if not a tabula fasa, is only not so because of the "ten- dencies " or " innate ideas " which prevent some ideas from being received as readily as others.' These "tendencies" must be combated: distas…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 133

Book 4 (Part II)

… of consciousness is also sometimes represented; and the Tree of Life itself may be figured therein, or the categories. An emblem of the Great Work should be added. But the Pantacle will be im- perfect unless each idea is contrasted in a balanced manner with its opposite, and unless there is a necessary connection between each pair of ideas and every other pair. The Neophyte will perhaps do well to make the first sketches for his Pantacle very large and complex, subsequently simplifying, not so much by exclusion as by combination, just as a Zoo…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 163

Book 4 (Part II)

The pages of this Book are of virgin vellum, made from the calf which was borne by Isis-Hathor the Great Mother, to Osiris-Apis the Redeemer. It is bound in blue leather on which the word Thelema is written in gold. Let the pen with which the writing is done be the feather of a young male swan — that swan whose name is Aum. And let the ink be made of the gall of a fish, the fish Cannes. Thus far concerning the Book.

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 82

Book 4 (Part II)

…. Some imbeciles have been able to store their memories with more knowledge than perhaps any sane man could hope to acquire. This is the great fault of modern education — a child is stuffed with facts, and no attempt is made to explain their connection and bearing. The result is that even the facts themselves are soon forgotten. Any first-rate mind is insulted and irritated by such treatment, and any first-rate memory is in danger of being spoilt by it. No two ideas have any real meaning until they are har- monized in a third, and the operation…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 87

Book 4 (Part II)

…ower and the higher, the waters which are below the firmament from the waters which are above the firmament, that appalling stage in the great curse of creation. Since at the best this water ' is but a reflection, how tremendously important it becomes that it should be still ! If the cup is shaken the light will be broken up. Therefore the Cup is placed upon the Altar, which is foursquare, will multiplied by will, the confirmation of the will in the Magical Oath, its fi.xation in Law. ' The water in this Cup (the latter is also a heart, as show…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 27

Book 4 (Part II)

… its aspira- tion to the Higher. They are placed outside the Circle to attract the hostile forces, to give them the first inkling of the Great Work, which they too must some day perform.

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 13

Book 4 (Part II)

…ularly to the practical exoteric side of it. Such difficulties as we have mentioned have been purely natural obstacles. For example, the great question of the surrender of the self, which bulks so largely in most mystical treatises, has not been referred to at ll. We have said only what a man must do ; we have not considered at ill what that doing may involve. The rebellion of the will against the terrible discipline of meditation has not been discussed; one may now devote a few words to it. There is no limit to what theologians call " wickedne…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 188

Book 4 (Part II)

…se and effect." See " Science and Buddhism," Crowley, Coll. Works, Vol. II. Kether. The Crown, ist "emanation" of the Absolute. Lao Tze. Great Chinese teacher, founder of Taoists. See Tao Teh A'ing. Liber Legis. See Equinox VII for facsimile reproduction of MS.

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 157

Book 4 (Part II)

…the blue of the night sky: it is embroidered with golden stars, and with roses and lilies. Around the hem, its tail in its mouth, is the great serpent, while upon the front from neck to hem falls the Arrow described in the Vision of the Fifth Aethyr. This Robe is lined with purple silk on which is embroidered a green serpent coiled from neck to hem. The symbolism of this Robe treats of high mysteries L

original embedded textRead original & transcription →
1913 · PDF PAGE 45

Book 4 (Part II)

CHAPTER V THE HOLY OIL THE Holy Oil is the Aspiration of the Magician; it is that which consecrates him to the performance of the Great Work; and such is its efficacy that it also consecrates all the furniture of the Temple and the instruments thereof. It is also the grace or chrism ; for this aspiration is not ambition ; it is a quality bestowed from above. For this reason the Magician will anoint first the top of his head before proceeding to consecrate the lower centres in their turn. This oil is of a pure golden colour; and when placed upon…

original embedded textRead original & transcription →