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Writer - Aleister Crowley - Auto initiation Ritual To The Neophyte Gr
Vitriol14 - Jun 06, 2008 - 07:54 AM
Post subject: Aleister Crowley - Auto initiation Ritual To The Neophyte Gr
hello,
I was checking Ebay for nice Crowley stuff to order, and I found a book (in french) called
"Praxis Magick & Mystique de l'Ordo A:. A:. LIBER 671 Vel PYRAMIDOS Rituel d'Auto-Initiation au Grade de Néophyte 1 = 10 Document & Rituel de l'Ordo A.A. Par Aleister Crowley Rituel d'Auto-initiation. Version dessinée par Aleister Crowley. "
http://cgi.ebay.fr/ALEISTER-CROWLEY-Aut ... 18Q2el1247
It says there are drawings from Crowley
Publisher is "Sesheta Publications" (some french RC inspired occult group.)
Is it a fake or are they really texts and drawings by Crowley himself about the A.°.A.°. ?
ptoner - Jun 06, 2008 - 08:24 AM
Post subject: RE: Aleister Crowley - Auto initiation Ritual To The Neophyt
Its prob is real but as far as i am aware Liber DCLXXI vel Pyramidos ; A ritual of self Initiation based on the Neophyte ritual is only a handful of pages long.
It may not have the correct copyrights in order to publish the pamphlet tho, but nether the less they have.
The image on the cover seems to me to be from JFC Fuller, i could be wrong.
They have probably expanded the pamphlet using images from various parties without their consent.
Vitriol14 - Jun 06, 2008 - 08:26 AM
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I guess I will buy it and if you wish I'll post some of the content.
93
ptoner - Jun 06, 2008 - 08:47 AM
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yeah would be interesting to see some of the images...
i don't understand French after all!
nashimiron - Jun 06, 2008 - 09:26 AM
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The cover image is the same as used on The Equinox vol IV no 1, which also happens to contain Pyramidos. I guess they just photocopied the few pages of Pyramidos and stapled them together. Obviously you would be better served getting the Equinox than a dodgy photocopy of some of it's contents.
Vitriol14 - Jun 06, 2008 - 10:02 AM
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The Equinox book is obviously much harder to find and expensive isn't it ?
ptoner - Jun 06, 2008 - 10:47 AM
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Its not that expensive, look for "Commentaries on the Holy Books' .
Baccus93 - Jun 06, 2008 - 01:09 PM
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Vitriol14 wrote: › The Equinox book is obviously much harder to find and expensive isn't it ?
I'm going from memory here, so the $300 price may be + or -, but I'm sure it is accurate.
You can buy the full 10 volumes of the Equinox from Samuel Weiser, Inc. It comes in two books, white with gold embossed lettering on the cover. Each book is equal in size to the Big Blue Brick (but not as tall by about an inch) and it even comes in a nifty little box to keep them together in.
If you buy books from AzureGreen, after a little while they send you a coupon stating you can buy any book of your choice for half price as long as your total order after the discount is $50 or more. That's how I bought my copy of The Equinox (Vol I, 1-10) for $150. 
They use Samueal Weister as one of their wholesale sources.
ptoner - Jun 06, 2008 - 02:37 PM
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Hi Baccus93
How long ago was that?
I was under the impression that they where out of print and no long available.
I have seen the 2no set on ebay but never actually seen them on Samuel Weiser or Weiser Antiquarian.
So can anyone confirm it they are still available?
Vitriol14 - Jun 06, 2008 - 02:47 PM
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Quote: › That's how I bought my copy of The Equinox (Vol I, 1-10) for $150.
I did'nt find it at Weiser's nor at Azuregreen. At Azuregreen they got this, which may comprehend the textes I'm looking for : "Gems form the Equinox (hc) by Aleister Crowley"
As for "Commentaries on the Holy Books", it actually costs no less than 170 dollars on Amazon . com .
ptoner - Jun 06, 2008 - 02:52 PM
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Gems does not contain the text.
Commentaries does tho, i myself got a copy not 8 months ago for around £30 or $60 approx via ebay.
I suggest u search on www.abebooks.com
found one for u here.
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=1104562560&searchurl=sts%3Dt%26tn%3DCommentaries%2Bon%2Bthe%2BHoly%2BBooks%2Band%2BOther%2BPapers%26x%3D0%26y%3D0
the_real_simon_iff - Jun 06, 2008 - 03:57 PM
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Baccus93 wrote: › I'm going from memory here, so the $300 price may be + or -, but I'm sure it is accurate.
93!
I am afraid you are mixing the book with this one, which is really expensive: http://www.lashtal.com/nuke/module-pnMe ... d-99.phtml
Baccus93 wrote: › You can buy the full 10 volumes of the Equinox from Samuel Weiser, Inc. It comes in two books, white with gold embossed lettering on the cover.
Liber Pyramidos is not in one of the original Equinoxes, although those are of course a treasure house of wisdom and wit.
The text-only version can be found quite often and easily, Sothis magazine Vol.2 No.1 has it for example or the Stellar Visions series, and it is also available online. The manuscript with Crowley's illustrations is to my knowledge officially only in Equinox Vol.4 No.1 and most pamphlets reproducing it were simply (and often poorly) copied from there. ptoner's link is highly recommandable, especially if you live outside the US, since the dollar is so low at the moment.
A tip: regularly check out (and better: add to) the Bibliographica Thelemica here on Lashtal.com
Love=Law
Lutz
Baccus93 - Jun 06, 2008 - 06:22 PM
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the_real_simon_iff wrote: ›
Baccus93 wrote: › I'm going from memory here, so the $300 price may be + or -, but I'm sure it is accurate.
93!
I am afraid you are mixing the book with this one, which is really expensive:
http://www.lashtal.com/nuke/module-pnMe ... d-99.phtml
No. I'm talking about the book(s) I'm talking about. The Equinox Vol I, 1-10 is $300 but I don't think Samuel Weiser carries it any more because I can't seem to find it on their site.
Baccus93 wrote: › You can buy the full 10 volumes of the Equinox from Samuel Weiser, Inc. It comes in two books, white with gold embossed lettering on the cover.
the_real_simon_iff wrote: ›
Liber Pyramidos is not in one of the original Equinoxes, although those are of course a treasure house of wisdom and wit.
The text-only version can be found quite often and easily, Sothis magazine Vol.2 No.1 has it for example or the Stellar Visions series, and it is also available online. The manuscript with Crowley's illustrations is to my knowledge officially only in Equinox Vol.4 No.1 and most pamphlets reproducing it were simply (and often poorly) copied from there. ptoner's link is highly recommandable, especially if you live outside the US, since the dollar is so low at the moment.
A tip: regularly check out (and better: add to) the Bibliographica Thelemica here on Lashtal.com
You are right about Liber Pyramidos not being in The Equinox - my copy is in "The Commentaries on the Holy Books" and is a handwritten "illuminated" manuscript of Crowley's. A text only version can be found here: http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib671.html
I was merely pointing out that The Equinox Vol One, Issues One through Ten is (or was) $300 from Samuel Weiser.
Baccus93 - Jun 06, 2008 - 06:23 PM
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Ps. The Commentaries on the Holy Books and Other Papers (Samuel Weiser, Inc.) only costs 29.95 US.
And, AHA, I found an Internet link to the book(s) I am talking about - and yes, my memory was faulty. It is $375
http://www.bestwebbuys.com/The_Equinox- ... c=b-search
the_real_simon_iff - Jun 06, 2008 - 06:27 PM
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Baccus93 wrote: › Ps. The Commentaries on the Holy Books and Other Papers (Samuel Weiser, Inc.) only costs 29.95 US.
Sorry to have misread you, in the first place I did not want to encourage Vitriol14, who might not be aware that there are many different volumes of The Equinox....
Love=Law
Lutz
Baccus93 - Jun 06, 2008 - 06:34 PM
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the_real_simon_iff wrote: ›
Baccus93 wrote: › Ps. The Commentaries on the Holy Books and Other Papers (Samuel Weiser, Inc.) only costs 29.95 US.
Sorry to have misread you, in the first place I did not want to encourage Vitriol14, who might not be aware that there are many different volumes of The Equinox....
Love=Law
Lutz
That's okay - I counted your misunderstanding as a problem about as much as I count my money! See? I didn't even realise how much I did spend on it. Half of 375 is 187.50, and now that I'm reminded - yep, that's what I spent. And it wasn't like I really could have afforded that much at the time - but I just had to have it.
Walterfive - Jun 06, 2008 - 08:36 PM
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No, you guys are getting confused.
1st, the book cited was the Equinox Vol. IV No. 1, "Commentaries on the Holy Books and Other Papers" NOT the Equinox Vol. V. No. 1, that's Motta's "The Comentaries to Liber AL vel Legis ." That's not to be confused with "Magickal and Philosophical Commentaries on the Book of the Law" (yes, that one's rather expensive, if you can find a copy to buy). Easy to see why one might be confused, the titles (if not the books in question) *are* very similar.
The Equinox Vol. IV No. 1 is out of print. Grab that copy at $45 while you can! The next copy available is going for over $200! I don't recall wether or not Pyramidos is in that one or not... I don't see it listed in the Table of Contents here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Equinox
I'll check when I get home tonite...
Vitriol14 - Jun 06, 2008 - 09:28 PM
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Maybe the text i was looking for is not in it, I bought the Commentaries anyway, shipping costs included it was 45 euros, so thanks for the link !
93
the_real_simon_iff - Jun 07, 2008 - 11:00 AM
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[quote="Vitriol14"]Maybe the text i was looking for is not in it,/quote]
It is in it. Here is a review of the book, copyright The College of Thelema:
Review from BLACK PEARL: The Journal of the College of Thelema (Vol. I, No. 1, March, 1997). Copyright 1997, College of Thelema (permission by editor granted Amazon Books to use). COMMENTARIES ON THE HOLY BOOKS & OTHER PAPERS by Aleister Crowley, with H.P. Blavatsky, J.F.C. Fuller & Charles Stansfeld Jones. (Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1996. Hardcover, 382 pp. ISBN 0-87728-888-7. $40.00) Fra. Hymenæus Beta is the preeminent Crowley editor of our time. Although his name does not appear anywhere on this present volume (subtitled The Equinox, Vol. IV, No. 1), his able hand is visible in both the quality handling of the content, and the beautiful form. Primarily, the volume consists of Crowley commentaries to many Class A Documents; but it contains much more. Its main feature is the 'Holy Book' Liber Cordis Cincte Serpente (Liber LXV), with Crowley's extraordinary commentary thereon. In addition to Karl Germer's small 1952 Ontario edition, the commentary had been serialized by Sor. Meral (In the Continuum, I:7-II:1, 1976-1979), and later published by C.O.T. in a single volume (1995). Unfortunately, in the present book the editor did not see fit to maintain the useful format of these three earlier editions wherein the commentary was positioned opposite and facing the corresponding text of Liber LXV. Other, shorter commentaries are included (on Libri B, Liberi, Trigrammaton, Stellæ Rubeæ, A'ash, Tav, and Ararita). Some have been published before; most have not. Their inclusion lends a welcome completeness to the volume. Frater Achad's commentary on Liber A'ash (written by him as an A.'.A.'. assignment, and then annotated by Crowley) will interest many. Also reprinted are documents important in defining the A.'.A.'. training system -- essentially the same set of defining documents appended, in 1993, to C.O.T.'s The Mystical & Magical System of the A.'.A.'. (One Star in Sight, Liber XIII, and Liber CLXXXV -- to which this book adds An Account of A.'.A.'.). These are introduced by a hitherto unpublished Crowley essay titled "Occultism," which includes one unpublished version of the A.'.A.'. Student Examination. A large color plate section includes a color reproduction of Crowley's original illuminated manuscript of Liber Pyramidos. Readers of "John St. John" (in Equinox 1) will recall that, during a magical retirement in late 1908, Crowley adapted the A.'.A.'. Neophyte initiation ceremony into a self-initiation ritual for his use in attaining the 6=5 Grade. This self-initiation ritual is now published. Though known to private collectors for many years, this color manuscript has not been available to most students until now, and we are happy to see it finally in print. However, we must disagree with the editor's labeling it as Liber DCLXXI, since that is the number of the official A.'.A.'. initiation ritual from which it was adapted, Liber ThROA. The one serious embarrassment of the volume is a new paper titled Liber Vesta, which claims to give "the correct designs (with color illustrations)" of the robes for each A.'.A.'. grade. This paper is new, created for the A.'.A.'. lineage served by the individuals who lent it their imprimatur. Except for the Probationer robe, these designs do not at all match those which have come down to us from the A.'.A.'.'s founders. They do not even distantly resemble the many published photographs of A.'.A.'. robes which embellish Crowley's writings. (The correct designs, published in Appendix F of The Mystical & Magical System of the A.'.A.'., 2nd. Ed., will be reprinted with further discussion in a later issue of BLACK PEARL.) Our conclusion, based on the colorful and entertaining appearance of these robes and the fact that the book was released the first week of October, is that Liber Vesta was the special Halloween Supplement. A further criticism concerns the inclusion of Blavatsky's (non-Class A) The Voice of the Silence, with Crowley's commentary. This lengthy piece -- constituting one-third of the entire, expensive volume -- was already included in Equinox III:1 (the "Blue Equinox"), and in Gems. It is readily available. Its inclusion here makes no sense in terms of the present book, the Equinox series overall, or service to the audience, and merely cranked up the size and cost unnecessarily. In fact, about 85% of this book's contents are already in print and accessible (which, however, is not inappropriate for a reference volume). Nonetheless, based, if nothing else, on the full color Pyramidos, and the compendium of commentaries, the book has enough new material, of such excellent virtue, as to win a Three Rose recommendation (|||). -- QUIL
Love=LAw
Lutz
Vitriol14 - Jun 07, 2008 - 11:13 AM
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Thank you all for your info and advice ! I'm happy to have ordered this book instead of the french one !
Best regards from Paris !
93
uranus - Jun 09, 2008 - 03:04 AM
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The "illuminated" copy of Liber Pyramidos was also available in the 1970s. I first saw it in B&W form in a chapbook that a friend had bought in an occult bookstore and wanted me to authenticate as the real A.'.A.'. initiation ritual, which I had to sadly inform him it was not. It can be used in self-initiation and is sometimes used by A.'.A.'. lineages where proper temple initiation is not available.
Pyramidos is also valuable in that it breaks down into 4 rituals. The Frank Bennett version of PYramidos is often noted as not being the full ritual. IT is actually just the opening of the full ritual and is the lection referenced in Liber Israfel!
As far as the paintings by Fuller, those were made for the A.'.A.'. temple, replacing such concepts as the Banners of the East and West from the Golden Dawn and represented the entrances to the Three orders of the A.'.A.'. etc.
Nehushtan - Jun 09, 2008 - 12:55 PM
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93 Uranus,
Quote: › The Frank Bennett version of PYramidos is often noted as not being the full ritual. IT is actually just the opening of the full ritual and is the lection referenced in Liber Israfel!
You mentioned this on another Pyramidos related thread here at LAShTAL. I did ask a question on the other thread about this point, but the thread was so speedy that my question went unanswered. As you bring it up again, I'll ask again. How do you know that the Frank Bennett opening variant of Pyramidos is the missing Lection from Israfel? So far I've not seen anything written by Crowley, or any of Crowley's contemporaries either, which suggests this link. I'm more than happy to welcome the idea if it has any truth to it. Some of the points in both texts do seem to fit nicely together, although if you take any two Crowley texts there is probably a high chance of this being the case. The problems I see here are the dates involved: Israfel was first published in The Equinox, Vol.I, No. VII, in 1912; Frank Bennett's Pyramidos opening variant is from 1921, or at least that's the date I have on the TS. Israfel's history goes even further back to Allan Bennett's Golden Dawn material (and from there to the Greek Magical Papyri and other sources), and some of it is even in the the evocation of Taphthartharath in The Equinox, Vol.I, No.III. Even if we take the two closest dates, 1912 and 1921, there is near enough a decade between their writings. This is far too problematic for me to believe that the latter is somehow meant to be a part of the earlier text, unless, of course, there is evidence to suggest otherwise.
I do know that you've had connections (by keeping an open third eye on what's being said and by whom) with Bersson, Rovelli, UR-OTO and the Typhonian OTO, but unless there is some solid evidence somewhere which either directly states or strongly implies this link, I think you're mistaken. I think it's far more likely that Bennett wrote the opening variant for use with Grimorium Sanctissimum. He signed the Oath of a Zelator in 1921 at the Abbey of Thelema, which is possibly where he could have written the Pyramidos variant. He was a X degree O.T.O. in Australia at this time too, so he would have had both theoretical knowledge (from Agape and other papers) and practical insights into the IX degree during his Abbey visit.
9T3
Nehushtan
uranus - Jun 09, 2008 - 10:08 PM
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The publishing date of Israfel or Bennett receiving the opening Lection of Pyramidos are not a necessary element of the issue. That Pyramidos is described of being 4 different rituals labelled A-D goes a long way to explaining and the version of Israfel published by Crowley and the Allan Bennett version are similar but not exact. You can find the Bennett version in Regardie's Golden Dawn. Crowley adapted Israfel from Bennett's version of the ritual. There are oral teachings in the A.'.A.'. that can't be totally divulged in totality and this is a case of oral teachings. Now I did not receive this element from Bersson or Rovelli but from study and reading between the lines and confirmation from the Brazilian elements of my initiation. Remember that Pyramidos itself was written by Crowley in 1907 based on the 0=0 formula of the Golden Dawn.
Just a small note, I was only a Probationer of the Typhonian O.T.O. never a full member. I corresponded with Mick Staley for about 4-5 years or thereabouts. We mostly discussed Lam in those letters, not the system of the Typhonian O.T.O. Any knowledge I have of their workings came from other sources and are exactly why I respect the Typhonian O.T.O. so much.
ianrons - Jun 09, 2008 - 10:27 PM
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Liber Israfel seems to be an adaptation of ancient Egyptian oration that was performed preparatory to speaking to Pharaoh (see Erman, "Life in Ancient Egypt", pp.71-2). The "lection" is thus one's petition or speech to Pharaoh. Whether it fits with Liber 671 is another matter entirely.
babalond - Jun 09, 2008 - 11:22 PM
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Quote: › The one serious embarrassment of the volume is a new paper titled Liber Vesta, which claims to give "the correct designs (with color illustrations)" of the robes for each A.'.A.'. grade. This paper is new, created for the A.'.A.'. lineage served by the individuals who lent it their imprimatur. Except for the Probationer robe, these designs do not at all match those which have come down to us from the A.'.A.'.'s founders. They do not even distantly resemble the many published photographs of A.'.A.'. robes which embellish Crowley's writings.
This was responded to in "The Magickal Link", Spring-Fall 1998ev. This printed shots of the original colour 'roughs' by Crowley from which the robe designs given in Eq IV, 1 were taken.
I just thought it important to clear up this small matter of fact. The robe designs given are historically authentic, contra the reviewer's opinion.
Hope this is of use.
uranus - Jun 09, 2008 - 11:57 PM
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They were never used though as is evident in the advertisements for the robes in the Equinox. Crowley had a lot of ideas and not all of them were meant for use. Being "historically authentic" doesn't mean used by the old man. In fact the 0=0 robe changed from the white robe to a black one later in Crowley's life.
Patriarch156 - Jun 10, 2008 - 02:27 AM
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Slightly off topic for this thread, so this will be my only reply on this matter:
Not really. It should be noted that there were precious few members of the A.'.A.'. in the outer during the Rites of Eleusis period time above neophyte and none above Zelator. Those above were inner Order members and in fact the pictures taken does not disagree with the designs given in in the ads in the back of the Equinox, nor with the pictures in question for the simple reason that what is shown is Neophyte robes and inner Order robes.
In fact, those are the only robes Crowley described during this period, with the sole exception of the Probationer robe which were also described in Liber VIII. The roughs along with Crowley's descriptions of them resides in Kings College in London with the Fuller collection and there is ample discussion about them in their correspondence along with the official designs for the Temple of the A.'.A.'. (and while it is true that Fuller's designs were intended to be used for an A.'.A.'. temple they were not intended to be used in the way you present them as being used, nor does any such use agree with the Temple A.C. designed for A.'.A.'. use) Crowley were doing at the time. After this there is no mention of any change in either of them, whether it be in correspondence, official instructions or diaries. The implication is clear.
and in case anyone brings up the only different public discussion of the designs of the Robes goes, i.e. James Eschelman's book, I think a comparison of his listed sources in the first edition with the later ones are in order for anyone who wants to see whether or not any such Regardie paper describing them is likely (especially considering that there was not even a reference to any such thing in the actual Regardie collection of which the O.T.O. kept all the items related to A.'.A.'.).
The change from white to black you are referencing is a misunderstanding of a note in Magick Without Tears, "You being a Probationer, plain black is correct" from chapter 23. This is not a description of the robe of a Probationer, but in fact a description of the general type of Robe suitable for someone who is just starting out, with no particular standing. I know this is a popular misunderstanding in a few of the groups you have associated with, but it is a misunderstanding still and even if it were a reference to such a change in collor, it certainly is not an opening to merely add the designs of the Probationer robe to that of the Black one as the groups you have associated with have done, given the reference to only "plain black."
uranus - Jun 10, 2008 - 03:53 AM
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Actually they were not referenced as "plain black" or even with just a Unicursal hex on the breast. The robe of a Probationer that I was handed down was a black version of the white robes described in Liber VIII. A Nemyss was also worn. So it wasn't based on Magick Without Tears in whole. I will concede that this may have been based on Motta's error, he designed an elaborate robe system that I think is alternately quite beautiful in some grades and extremely gaudy in others. I have seen some brilliant innovations on the robe system utilized by Motta to make the gaudy not so bad and sometimes stunning. Take the red robe and white nemyss, by using a darker and richer red and a subdued white it looks great, but the bright primary colours often used are... words can't describe. The colours of the Nemyss can be extrapolated from Eshelman's book.
As to the Regardie notes, I am not implying anything in this but perhaps the items received were incomplete or the item was lost. Eshelman describes having received them in 1980. I am not doubting your statement, nor am I doubting Eshelman's. It is a "he said, she said" arguement until conclusive proof is presented.
Nehushtan - Jun 10, 2008 - 12:07 PM
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93 Uranus,
Quote: › The publishing date of Israfel or Bennett receiving the opening Lection of Pyramidos are not a necessary element of the issue.
On the contrary, the publishing dates necessarily have to be an element of the issue. If what you say is true then there wasn't a lection for use in Israfel at all for at least 9 years after Israfel's publication, perhaps significantly longer depending on Israfel's compositional history and practical use. If it was merely the opening of Pyramidos being used as the lection prior to Bennett writing down the variant in 1921, we not only have several different versions of said lection (from the Kowal MS/TS and Illuminated MS, etc.), but your point of Bennett's variant alone being the lection also implies that it is some form of finalised or superior version of the opening (i.e. it was preferred over the earlier Pyramidos openings). I can't believe that Bennett's variant was in use for near enough a decade or more prior to it being written down. I'd also be surprised that if Bennett's version was viewed by Crowley as a finalised variant, why wasn't Pyramidos rewritten in full with the new modifcations? This is, of course, all without the big questions of 'why was it used?' and 'what makes Bennett's version more applicable than the earlier openings?' Once again, I think you're mistaken on this, or at least what you've been communicated in private is only half true at the very most. If what you say has any truth to it at all it would be more accurate to say that the Bennett Pyramidos variant was used as the Israfel lection after 1921, but not before.
9T3
uranus - Jun 10, 2008 - 04:41 PM
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I never said it was a superior or finalized version of Pyramidos but that it was rituals A&D of Pyramidos, the rituals of the opening and closing, and that the opening is used as the Lection in Liber Israfel. I never implied any superiority issues. The publication date doesn't matter because it wasn't published. It was an oral teaching that Crowley handed down to Bennett who wrote it down, probably under Crowley's instruction and with the illuminated manuscript in hand for accuracy. The date of that writing doesn't matter one whit in this matter. It is obvious when looking at and comparing the different versions that the Bennett version is only the Building of the Pyramid and the Tearing down of the Pyramid. It lacks the negative confession and the actual initiation aspect of the ritual itself. I am not saying Bennett's version is more applicable, I haven't even implied that, but that it is a good clue to the functioning of the ritual and unlocks certain "lost" elements of the A.'.A.'. system. I use quotes around the term "lost" not to be derogatory but in the sense that some things can be recovered with simple scholarship or even just insight.
Nehushtan - Jun 10, 2008 - 10:03 PM
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So the lection to be used in Israfel isn't specifically Bennett's variant at all, as you stated, but rather just the opening of any extant version of Pyramidos? Sorry if I seem to be nitpicking here, but the way you've brought this intriguing point up here and in the past simply doesn't make much sense to me. It's false inference due to the dates of the papers in question. If Bennett was instructed by Crowley to copy the Pyramidos building/sealing sections specifically for use in Israfel, it is still secondary to the lection having already existed as those Pyramidos sections, both of which existed in several forms for more than a decade prior to Bennett jotting them down again.
There are also subtle differences between the Kowal MS/TS, the Illuminated MS and Bennett's variant too, which is why I brought up the point of which text was more applicable/favoured. The fact that you specifically said Bennett's version was/should be used led me to believe that you were implying that either your lineage or Crowley himself favoured the variant.
I suppose I'd understand a lot more if I knew exactly why you'd use the opening at that section of that specific ritual. Ahhhh well, sure I'll survive.
9T3
uranus - Jun 10, 2008 - 11:21 PM
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I don't think the dates matter at all. It is like when an oral teaching of the GD is written down 20 years later, it doesn't mean it was something "new". I also never implied that the Bennett version was meant for Israfel, but that the opening of Pyramidos was used for the lection. For me where the Bennett version came in was helping me to understand the breakdown of the ritual into it's 4 parts and how they interact. Other interactions helped me to come to the opening being used as the Lection of Liber Israfel. What you are doing is missing the forest for the trees and complicating the issue when it is incredibly simple. The variations in the different typescripts of PYramidos are inconsequential to the issue as well. How does that affect whether or not the opening of Pyramidos is the lection of Liber Israfel?
As to why you'd use it, read Israfel and then the opening of Pyramidos, lets do this:
0. The Temple being in darkness, and the Speaker ascended into his place let him begin by a ritual of the Enterer, as followeth.
1. HB:Vau Priocul, O procul este profani.
2. Bahlasti! Ompehda!
3. In the name of the Mighty and Terrible One, I proclaim that I have banished the Shells unto their habitations.
4. I invoke Tahuti, the Lord of Wisdom and of Utterance, the God that cometh forth from the Veil.
5. O Thou! Majesty of Godhead! Wisdom-crowned Tahuti! Lord of the Gates of the Universe! Thee, Thee, I invoke.
O Thou of the Ibis Head! Thee, Thee I invoke.
Thou who wieldest the Wand of Double Power! Thee, Thee I invoke!
Thou who bearest in Thy left hand the Rose and Cross of Light and Life: Thee, Thee, I invoke.
Thou, whose head is as an emerald, and Thy nemmes as the night-sky blue! Thee, Thee I invoke.
Thou, whose skin is of flaming orange as though it burned in a furnace! Thee, Thee I invoke.
6. Behold! I am Yesterday, To-Day, and the Brother of To-Morrow!
I am born again and and again.
Mine is the Unseen Force, whereof the Gods are sprung! Which is as Life unto the Dwellers in the Watch-Towers of the Universe.
I am the Charioteer of the East, Lord of the Past and of the Future.
I see by mine own inward light: Lord of Resurrection; Who cometh forth from the Dusk, and my birth is from the House of Death.
7. O ye two Divine Hawks upon your Pinnacles!
Who keep watch over the Universe!
Ye who company the Bier to the House of Rest!
Who pilot the Ship of Ra advancing onwards to the heights of heaven!
Lord of the Shrine which standeth in the Centre of the Earth!
8. Behold, He is in me, and I in Him!
Mine is the Radiance, wherein Ptah floatheth over the firmament!
I travel upon high!
I tread upon the firmament of Nu!
I raise a flashing flame, with the lightning of Mine Eye!
Ever rushing on, in the splendour of the daily glorified Ra: giving my life to the Dwellers of Earth.
9. If I say "Come up upon the mountains!" the Celestial Waters shall flow at my Word.
For I am Ra incarnate!
Kephra created in the Flesh!
I am the Eidolon of my father Tmu, Lord of the City of the Sun!
10. The God who commands is in my mouth!
The God of Wisdom is in my Heart!
My tongue is the Sanctuary of Truth!
And a God sitteth upon my lips.
11. My Word is accomplished every day!
And the desire of my heart realises itself, as that of Ptah when He createth!
I am Eternal; therefore all things are as my designs; therefore do all things obey my Word.
12. Therefore do Thou come forth unto me from Thine abode in the Silence: Unutterable Wisdom! All-Light! All-Power!
Thoth! Hermes! Mercury! Odin!
By whatever name I call Thee, Thou art still nameless to Eternity:. Come Thou forth, I say, and aid and guard me in this work of Art.
13. Thou, Star of the East, that didst conduct the Magi!
Thou art The Same all-present in Heaven and in Hell!
Thou that vibratest between the Light and the Darkness!
Rising, descending! Changing ever, yet ever The Same!
The Sun is Thy Father!
Thy Mother is the Moon!
The Wind hath borne Thee in its bosom: and Earth hath ever nourished the changeless Godhead of Thy Youth!
14. Come Thou forth, I say, come Thou forth!
And make all Spirits subject unto Me:
So that every Spirit of the Firmament
And of the Ether.
And of the Earth.
And under the Earth.
On dry land
And in the Water.
Of whirling Air
And of rushing Fire.
And every Spell and Scourge of God the Vast One, may be obedient unto Me!
15. I invoke the priestess of the Silver Star, Asi the Curved One, by the ritual of Silence.
16. I make open the gate of Bliss; I descend from the Palace of the Stars; I greet you, I embrace you, O children of Earth, that are gathered together in the Hall of Darkness.
17. (A pause.)
18. The Speech in the Silence.
The Words against the Son of Night.
The Voice of Tahuti in the Universe in the Presence of the Eternal.
The Formulas of Knowledge.
The Wisdom of Breath.
The Root of Vibration.
The Shaking of the Invisible.
The Rolling Asunder of the Darkness.
The Becoming Visible of Matter.
The Piercing of the Scales of the Crocodile.
The Breaking Forth of the Light!
19. (Follows the Lection.)
(In S.W.) (The "East" is the Direction of Boleskine)
Hail, Asi! (sound bell) (establishing Demeter in S.W.)
(in N.W.) Hail, Hoor-Apep! (sound bell) est. Hades in N.W.)
Let
The Silence speech beget! (Banishing spiral dance)
From the Throne of East. (establishing Hermes in E.)
The Words against the Son of Night!
Tahuti speaketh in the Light.
Knowledge and Power, twin warriors shake
The Invisible, they roll asunder
The Darkness, Matter shines, a snake.
Sebek is smitten by the thunfder!
The Light breaks forth from under!
From West. (invoking Hermes)
Oh thou! the apex of the Flame
With Ibis head and Phoenix wand
And wings of Night, whose serpents strain
Their bodies, bending the Beyond.
Thou in the light and in the Night.
Art one, above their moving might!
At altar with Scourge, Dagger, Chain and Oil
The Lustral Water. Let its flood
Cleanse me, lymph, marrow, and blood!
The Fire informing. Let the Oil
Balance assain, assoil!
Optional The Scourge, the Dagger, and the Chain
Purge body, breast, and brain
With invoking spiral dance.
Now let me pace the path, bind on
The girdle of the Starry One!
In West M M
Homage to the, Lord of the Word! (Sign of enterer)
Lord of the Silence, homage to Thee (Sign of Silence)
Lord we adore Thee, still and stirred
Beyond Eternity! (Both signs)
Far from the silence of the wand
Unto the speaking of the Sword,
And back again to the Beyond,
This is the toil and the reward.
This is the path of Hua - Ho! (? T.)
This is the path of IAO.
Hail, Asi, hail! (bell) thou wanded wheel:
Alpha and Delta kissed, and came
For Five that feed the flame.
Hail, Hoor-Apep! (bell) ythou sword of steel!
Alpha and Delta and Epsilon
Met in the Shadow of the Pylon:
And in Iota did proclaim
That tenfold core and crown of flame.
Hail, Hoor-Apep! Unspoken name!
20. There is an end of the speech; let the Silence of darkness be broken; let it return into the silence of light.
21. The speaker silently departs; the listeners disperse unto their homes; yea, they disperse unto their homes.
uranus - Jun 10, 2008 - 11:33 PM
Post subject:
Just a quickie here, I am perfectly willing to admit I am wrong, but it just seems so much like common sense to me on this one.