In Correlation with Certain Principal Plates
from the Mutus Liber
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
There are fifteen plates in the Mutus Liber, the number of the Devil Atu and key to the formula of ON. It is the Devil that holds the key to understanding and interpreting the Maya.
“This Goat is called also Strength, and standeth in the meridian at the Sunrise of Spring, and it is his Nature to leap upon the mountains. So therefore is he a Symbol of true Magick, and his Name is Baphomet, wherefore did I design him as an Atu of Thoth, the Fifteenth…Now the Goat flieth not as doth the Eagle; but consider this also, that it is the true Nature of Man to dwell upon the Earth, so that his Flights are oft but Phantasy; yea, the Eagle also is bound to his Eyrie, nor feedeth upon the Air. Therefore this Goat, making each Leap with Fervour, yet at all Times secure in his own Element, is a true Hieroglyph of the Magickician.” –Liber Aleph
“Nun joineth the Sun with Venus, and is referred to Scorpio in the Zodiac. This Path is perilous, for it seeketh the Level, and may abase thee, except thou take Heed unto the Going. Of its three Modes, the Scorpion destroyeth himself, as if it were a type of Animal Pleasure. Next, the Serpent is proper to Works of Change, or Magick; yet is he poisonous also unless thou hast Wit to enchant him. Lastly, the Eagle is subtlest in this Sort, so that this Path is proper to a Transcendental Labour.” –Liber Aleph
AL I.46: "Nothing is a secret key of this law. Sixty-one the Jews call it; I call it eight, eighty, four hundred & eighteen."
AL I.47: "But they have the half: unite by thine art so that all disappear."
The Hebrew oracle, encased in the two pillars of Solomon’s temple and revered by Masons says: 'By his strength he (or the king) will be established.' It refers to a man of war, David. Jachin refers to making something firm, establishing it; this is Solomon. David is told that the kingdom would be 'established' by his son at a time of 'peace' (a reference to Solomon whose name means peace or pacific).
Graphic Summary of the Formula of ON
Boaz/Strength War Nuit/Binah Cheth/Chariot Atu Connects Binah to: |
Jachin/Establishment Peace Hadit/Chokmah Vau/Hierophant Atu Connects Chokmah to: |
Geburah |
Chesed |
Mem (Water)/Hanged Man Atu Connects Geburah to Hod Ayin Devil Atu [joins Tiphareth to Hod] Divine Formula of Man Hod/Mercury Left Hand Pillar draws current downwards (Fire) the Aeon Atu |
Kaph/Fortune Atu Connects Chesed to Netzach Nun Death Atu [joins Netzach to Tiphareth]Divine Formula of Woman Netzach/Venus Right Hand Pillar forces current |
Red Lion <Sperm> |
White Eagle <Gluten> |
The Tower Atu (War; a form of Love) is the connecting link between the Male (Hod) and Female (Netzach)
I
The Annunciation
And he came to a certain place, and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending on it! –Genesis 28:11-12
The Holy Guardian Angel transmits the Bud-Will to the Ruach and hence to the sleeping Beast. All work is completed in the Astral.
II
Sol above is the
Father of the Temple of Universal Peace Among Men
Templi Omnium Hominum Pacis Abbas
TEM O H P AB
BAPHOMET=418
The formula of ABRAHADABRA is delineated just below this. The two angels are both ABRA with HAD[2], the Babe in the Egg, between them. This is shown as a sperm and is the utterance or Logos of the Father, the Phallus.
"The philosophic Egg presented by the angels shows us that the superior being who is father of the one thing is also the father of the universal Thelema." – Armand Barbault
The formula of ON shows the male and female being connected via Peh, the Tower Atu. The sperm is given over to the curcurbit as delineated within the glyph of the tower (as an oven), shown above. The woman represents the ascending energy as she points upwards. The male is shown in a state of reception of the energy from above (Tiphareth) as shown by his arms. But his head is lowered to the physical world, wherein the formula will become manifest via Shin (fire), the Aeon Atu; as delineated by the fire at the bottom of the Athanor.
III
Upon completion of the Great Work, the Adept will attain “knowledge of all elements, all forces and all secrets of nature which he required to complete the Work and to affirm his power.” – Armand Barbault
Thus thou wilt possess the glory of the brightness of the whole world, and all obscurity will fly far from thee. This thing is the strong fortitude of all strength, for it overcometh every subtle thing and doth penetrate every solid substance. – Emerald Tablet
“Thus the power of the adept radiate[s] over the world. This is symbolized by the Father enthroned at the top [sic], holding in his hand the scepter of power and knowledge. At his service he has the two necessary opposites, here represented by the sun and the moon. These, as can be seen, are situated [at] either side of a series of concentric circles.” – Armand Barbault
IV
The celestial dew is collected in the curcurbit. Each day (Sol) of the month (Luna) is a marking of time (kala) as shown by the presence of the celestial orbs in the upper corners. The aethyric energy rains down upon and into the dew (gluten). And so the Bud-Will (Sol) is effectuated by the Moon. The two animals that preside over the operation are the Ram and the Bull; Aries and Taurus respectively. That is when the operation should begin as the aethyric forces contain the appropriate nature at this time.
V
The first three pictures show the procedure of the Star Sapphire with the fourth introducing Kronos (time/kala) or Saturn (Lead, which will be turned into Gold). The number at the bottom is 40, an allusion to the Hanged Man Atu (Mem). This path connects Geburah with Hod and is the element of Water that must be combined with Fire in the Great Work. Geburah is Mars, whose circumference is approximately 4,180 miles (10*418) and has two moons, with a combined circumference of 31 miles (the Key to AL).
VIII
AL I.50: "There is a word to say about the Hierophantic task. Behold! there are three ordeals in one, and it may be given in three ways. The gross must pass through fire; let the fine be tried in intellect, and the lofty chosen ones in the highest. Thus ye have star & star, system & system; let not one know well the other!"
Plates II, VIII & XI describe the Heirophantic Task. Note the fire in Plate II is not in Plate VIII, but Mercury (Intellect) appears. And in Plate XI, we have groups of birds, alluding to “the highest.”
XI
The male is, in [plates II, VIII and XI], shown in an attitude of prayer, while his female counterpart is more active, gesticulating and perhaps even making some statement. This indicates a passive meditation, a listening to the inward soul, of the male alchemist, and an externalization of inner psychic contents, as prophecy or inspirational sayings, on the part of the female alchemist. (Interestingly, this was precisely the relationship and Armand Barbault and his wife adopted when working alchemically with the Mutus Liber.) –Adam McLean
XV
The fulfillment of the first plate; the Sun of both operators indwells within the Vesica Piscis (shown as two suns next to the male and female figures) and are ultimately united as shown by the Sun above. The energy carried up by the female comes by the annihilation of opposites as they both attain mutual orgasm. In this he transmits the Bud-Will from Tiphareth as she has drawn the Agape from Tiphareth in order to nurture that Will. Hence, the formula of Love under (supporting) Will.
“In discussing these two formulas found on the Left and Right-hand Pillars I am referring to two separate Trees, one found within a man and the other found within a woman…Like the formula on the male Tree, we know a female must also draw her current through her own internal Sun, or Tiphareth. In other words, similar to the formula of the Left-Hand Pillar, the woman must have ‘something,’ like the Sun’s energy, to utilize in a nourishing capacity. Instead of drawing the force downward, she allows the force to ascend the Right-Hand Pillar. On a more simple level the ‘Bud-Will,’ or programming (Speech-the Word), is done by the male through his Sun, but it is through the female’s Sun that the Power descends (Silence) which will enable the force to be nourished and grow. In a more secretive sense regarding both Trees, one ABRA is the Male’s Sun while the other is the Female’s Sun and what transpires between this is HAD…” –Jerry Cornelius
The Latin phrase from each of their mouths is ‘Oculatis Abis,’ (pure vision).
On the Formula of Abrahadabra
The Lion dwells on the ground while the Eagle flies to the skies; Babalon rides the Beast.
Greater paths for the formula of ABRAHADABRA on left hand Pillar:
Formula of the Beast
Formula of Manifestation and of Speech
Fulfillment of the Logos (Old Aeonic); Sets up individuals to be receivers
Binah to Geburah |
Cheth 8 |
Chariot |
Cancer |
Geburah to Hod |
Mem 40 |
Hanged Man |
Water |
Hod to Tiphareth |
Ayin 70 |
Devil |
Capricorn |
Hod to Malkuth |
Shin 300 |
Aeon |
Fire |
|
418 |
|
|
8 (The VIIIth) Atu: Attributed to the Hebrew letter Cheth (Chariot Atu) which spelt in full equals 418; Cheth is Cancer opposite Capricorn–the Devil Atu (Shaitan)–on the Zodiac and is the formula of this Aeon of Horus.
J. Edward Cornelius writes in Red Flame Vol. VII:
“According to Qabalists, this card not only portrays our Inner Self but also the 'conquest of Illusions', or one's control over Illusions, the very basic tenets of Thelema which enable us to seek our Star.”
This formula is drawn from Silence; Binah, by way of the Chariot (8/418; Silence-the Great Work). The Bud-Will is taken from Tiphareth and all is Sacrificed (Hanged Man) through the Tower (80)…every last drop of blood is given to the Cup of Babalon.
Connecting Formula
80 Peh Tower Atu; Hebrew word that means Tongue; Phallus connected with Tower; Tower of Babel was one of Speech; Tongue of Love. In the aforementioned Epistles of J. Edward Cornelius, we find a validation of this last idea:
“…if correctly portrayed, using the formula of Silence 418, the fire should be 'emitting out of the tower's head' and not striking it from above.”
The Tower card holds the key to the transition between the male-female currents, from the Left to the Right Pillar.
On the Formula of Babalon
That 'Key' could possibly be found in the Egg of the Amalantra Working as the Tower of Babel was built in Sumeria which would later become Egypt. And in the Amalantra working, Crowley was bid to go to Egypt to find the Egg…he was told that it was all (emphasis mine) in the Egg. The Egg of course is Silence (Hoor-paar-kraat) with Egypt being the desert.
The Devil ('O') and Death ('N') Atus hold opposite positions on the Tree-of-Life
Greater paths for formula of BABALON (The Scarlet Woman) on right hand Pillar:
Formula of the Scarlet Woman
Formula of Silence
New Aeonic Formula
Chokmah to Chesed |
Vau 6 |
Hierophant |
Taurus |
Chesed to Netzach |
Kaph 20 |
Fortune |
Jupiter |
Netzach to Tiphareth |
Nun 50 |
Death |
Scorpio |
Hod to Netzach |
Peh 80 |
Tower |
Mars |
|
156 |
|
|
Notice that female formula does not ground from Netzach to Malkuth. Feminine current moves upwards and male current grounds. If she also grounds by Speech, work is neutralized.
"I am Nuit, and my word is six and fifty." AL I.24
Vau (Hierophant Atu) equals 6 and Nun (Death Atu) equals 50. These are also Taurus and Scorpio which oppose each other on the wheel of the Zodiac.
Kaph (Hand/Fortune Atu) holds the three principles on its Wheel, Salt, Sulphur and Mercury that are involved in the Hierophantic Task. These are the negative, positive and neutral currents of energy. Jupiter, attributed to Kaph, is exalted in Cancer; attributed to the Chariot from which the male finds his silence (working without lust of result). Set is Typhon on the Wheel and the Salt. The Sphinx is Sulphur and Hermanubis is the Mercury. These represent the interplay of energy that is the nature of life with luck or Fortune acting as a fourth element.
AL II.32: "Also reason is a lie; for there is a factor infinite & unknown; & all their words are skew-wise."
In a footnote to his vision of the 20th Aethyr, Crowley writes:
“The Jupiter of the Wheel is that Invisible Energy, whom one can only divine from his Hand, his means of Expression…We find accordingly that these Solar Deities, who spring from the manifested Juipiter (asit at first sight appears) are soon recognized in their deeper nature.”
The 28th Aethyr is called KHR, which equals 308 (by Aiq Bkr, 11). 308 is 28*11. 28 is Kaph and Cheth (Jupiter exalted in Cancer). These two letters form the Hebrew word, Power (Boaz). 28 is the Mystic Number of Netzach, which hangs from the path of Kaph. The Wheel spins with incredible velocity in this vision, emitting bright lightenings in a dance of life. In relation to the Formula of ON, it is as if there is a churning of the elements as the energy begins to ascend in some evolutionary fashion.
The Bud-Will is seeding itself in a way quite aptly described in the 4th Aethyr, PAZ; the Hierophant (next up the Right-Hand Pillar). Crowley writes:
“…about him clingeth a young girl, like unto the king’s daughter…But she is become rosy by reason of his force, and her purity hath tinged his black with blue. They are clasped in a furious embrace, so that she is torn asunder by the terror of the god; yet so tightly clingeth she about him, that he is strangled. She hath forced back his head, and his throat is livid with the pressure of her fingers. Their joint cry is an intolerable anguish, yet it is the cry of their rapture, so that every pain, and every curse, and every bereavement, and every death of everything in the whole universe, is but one little gust of wind in that tempest-scream of ecstasy.”[3]
Note also, the Earth travels around the Sun at approximately 66,600 mph (666*100; 100 is Liber C, each of the 10 Sephiroth having their own complete Tree-of-Life. This is a virulent speed.)
The Hierophant then represents the Silence that comes after this ecstasy; the trance that induces the interior hearing faculty necessary for conversing with a praeter-human intelligence[4]. Yet this intelligence cannot descend except by way of the unity of Chokmah and Binah; connected by Daleth/The Empress Atu.
AL II.16: "I am the Empress & the Hierophant. Thus eleven, as my bride is eleven."
The female nurtures the Bud-Will and travels the path of the Hierophant, but she does not end up in Chokmah. This depiction on the tree is misleading. Rather, she enters the Abyss in the swell of orgasmic ecstasy, which is implosive and strengthens her detached nature.[5] In this way, her love is Pure and Universal. Or more appropriately, she enters the sphere of Da’ath/Knowledge. Da’ath is the Son of the Unity of Chokmah and Binah; connected by Daleth, the Door (the womb of the Empress). And so a vehicle is provided for the descent of Kether, the All-Father, who has then formulated himself as the Son in Da’ath.
The path of Gimel carries this downward into Tiphareth (the Ruach), where the Angel or praeter-human intelligence resides. The circuit is now closed, having come full way around. The oval circle of Vesica Piscis is traced, as depicted in the Mutus Liber by a large wreath in several important plates. As the male begins in Silence, where ABRAHADABRA draws its Strength, and the female completes the operation in Silence, it is worth considering Frater Achad’s idea of a ‘wordless aeon.’ Silence is certainly the Key to ON.
Theoretical Appendix
On the Golden Childe
AL III.47: "This book shall be translated into all tongues: but always with the original in the writing of the Beast; for in the chance shape of the letters and their position to one another: in these are mysteries that no Beast shall divine. Let him not seek to try: but one cometh after him, whence I say not, who shall discover the Key of it all. Then this line drawn is a key: then this circle squared in its failure is a key also. And Abrahadabra. It shall be his child & that strangely. Let him not seek after this; for thereby alone can he fall from it."
If we consider the drawing of energy from Tiphareth (Soul or Sulphur) by both partners in the working of the Formula of ON, and we consider their connection by the path of Peh, we formulate a triangle. Samekh descends from this to Yesod, the house where the business is done. And the glyph for Sulphur is drawn. Samekh connects to Yesod, but a square is not drawn, though we’ve used four lines. And there is no completed circuit or circle because of this. Samekh is an important key in the Alchemical formula as it represents the Coagula, which in this case would be between the male and female operators. But it holds no direct place in the operation of the formula.[6]
Rendering the square as a circle with Peh cutting its diameter, we get the symbol for Salt. With the praeter-human intelligence indwelling the Ruach, an astral body is manifested. But the soul or Sulphur is as yet, Volatile; due to the fact that the triangle has its apex upwards. Fortifying the coagula would give weight to the force and bring it into Yesod, where it is at the peak of manifestation. Now an inverted triangle is formulated and the soul or Sulphur becomes fixed.
Above all of this is Kether with the Ain Soph Aur for a crown. Gimel is the line drawn down; crossed by Daleth, the Abyss and Teth. The symbol of Mercury is formulated. This becomes actuated as the partners fulfill the working of this formula. Therein, the female actuates her male nature; Netzach becomes Chokmah. And the male actuates his female nature; Hod becomes Binah.
Love is the law, love under will.