Liber XV
The Gnostic Mass
Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae Canon Missae
I
Of the Furnishings of the Temple
II
Of the Officers of the Mass
III
Of the ceremony of the Introit
The deacon, opening the door of the Temple, admits the congregation and takes his stand between the small altar and the font. (There should be a doorkeeper to attend to the admission.)
The deacon advances and bows before the open shrine where the Graal is exalted. He kisses the Book of the Law three times, opens it, and places it upon the super-altar. He turns West.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. I proclaim the Law of Light, Life, Love, and Liberty in the name of ΙΑΩ.
The congregation.Love is the law, love under will.
The deacon goes to his place between the altar of incense and the font, faces East, and gives the step and sign of a Man and a Brother. All imitate him.
I believe in one secret and ineffable lord; and in one Star in the Company of Stars of whose fire we are created, and to which we shall return; and in one Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, in His name chaos,[14] the sole viceregent of the Sun upon the Earth; and in one Air the nourisher of all that breathes.
And I believe in one Earth, the Mother of us all, and in one Womb wherein all men are begotten, and wherein they shall rest, Mystery of Mystery, in Her name babalon.
And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in His name baphomet.
And I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is ΘΕΛΗΜΑ.
And I believe in the communion of Saints.
And, forasmuch as meat and drink are transmuted in us daily into spiritual substance, I believe in the Miracle of the Mass.
And I confess one Baptism of Wisdom whereby we accomplish the Miracle of Incarnation.
And I confess my life one, individual, and eternal that was, and is, and is to come.
ΑΥΜΙ'Ν. ΑΥΜΙ'Ν. ΑΥΜΙ'Ν.
Music is now played. The Child enters with the ewer and the salt. The virgin enters with the Sword and the Paten. The child enters with the censer and the perfume. They face the deacon deploying into line from the space between the two altars.
Greeting of Earth and Heaven!
All give the hailing sign of a Magician, the deacon leading.
The priestess, the negative child on her left, the positive child on her right, ascends the steps of the High Altar. They await her below. She places the Paten before the Graal. Having adored it, she descends, and with the children following her, the positive next her, she moves in a serpentine manner involving 3½ circles of the Temple. (Deosil about altar, widdershins about font, deosil about altar and font, widdershins about altar, and so to the Tomb in the west.) She draws her sword and pulls down the Veil therewith.
The priest, issuing from the Tomb, holding the Lance erect with both hands, right over left, against his breast, takes the first three regular steps. He then gives the Lance to the priestess and gives the three penal signs.
I am a man among men.
He takes again the Lance and lowers it. He rises.
The priest.
How should I be worthy to administer the virtues to the Brethren?
The priestess takes from the child the water and the salt, and mixes them in the font.
The priestess.
Let the salt of Earth admonish the Water to bear the virtue of the Great Sea. (Genuflects.) Mother, be thou adored!
She returns to the West. 
Be the priest pure of body and soul!
The priestess takes the censer from the child, and places it on the small altar. She puts incense therein.
Let the Fire and the Air make sweet the world! (Genuflects.) Father, be thou adored!
She returns West, and makes
Be the priest fervent of body and soul!
(The Children resume their weapons as they are done with.)
The deacon now takes the consecrated Robe from the High Altar and brings it to her. She robes the priest in his Robe of scarlet and gold.
Be the flame of the Sun thine ambience, O thou priest of the sun!
The deacon brings the crown from the High Altar. (The crown may be of gold or platinum, or of electrum magicum; but with no other metals, save the small proportions necessary to a proper alloy. It may be adorned with divers jewels; at will. But it must have the Uraeus serpent twined about it, and the cap of maintenance must match the scarlet of the Robe. Its texture should be velvet.)
Be the Serpent thy crown, O thou priest of the lord!
Kneeling, she takes the Lance between her open hands, and runs them up and down upon the shaft eleven times, very gently.
Be the lord present among us!
All give the Hailing Sign.
The people:
So mote it be.
IV
Of the ceremony of the opening of the Veil
Thee therefore whom we adore we also invoke. By the power of the lifted Lance!
He raises the Lance. All repeat Hailing Sign.
A phrase of triumphant music.
The priest takes the priestess by her right hand with his left, keeping the Lance raised.
I, priest and king, take thee, Virgin pure without spot; I upraise thee; I lead thee to the East; I set thee upon the summit of the Earth.
He thrones the priestess upon the altar. The deacon and the children follow, they in rank, behind him. The priestess takes the Book of the Law, resumes her seat, and holds it open on her breast with her two hands, making a descending triangle with thumbs and forefingers.
The priest gives the lance to the deacon to hold; and takes the ewer from the child, and sprinkles the priestess, making five crosses, forehead, shoulders, and thighs.
The thumb of the priest is always between his index and medius, [33] whenever he is not holding the Lance. The priest takes the censer from the child, and makes five crosses as before.
The children replace their weapons on their respective altars.
The priest kisses the Book of the Law three times. He kneels for a space in adoration, with joined hands, knuckles closed, thumb in position as aforesaid. He rises and draws the veil over the whole altar. All rise and stand to order.
The priest takes the Lance from the deacon and holds it as before, as Osiris or Phthah. He circumambulates the Temple three times, followed by the deacon and the children as before. (These, when not using their hands, keep their arms crossed upon their breasts.) At the last circumambulation they leave him and go to the place between the font and the small altar, where they kneel in adoration, their hands joined palm to palm, and raised above their heads.
All imitate this motion.
The priest returns to the East and mounts the first step of the Altar.
The priest.
O circle of Stars whereof our Father is but the younger brother, marvel beyond imagination, soul of infinite space, before whom Time is ashamed, the mind bewildered, and the understanding dark, not unto Thee may we attain, unless Thine image be Love. Therefore by seed and root and stem and bud and leaf and flower and fruit we do invoke Thee.
Then the priest answered and said unto the Queen of Space, kissing her lovely brows, and the dew of her light bathing his whole body in a sweet-smelling perfume of sweat; O Nuit, continuous one of Heaven, let it be ever thus, that men speak not of Thee as One but as None; and let them speak not of thee at all, since thou art continuous!
During this speech the priestess must have divested herself completely of her robe, See CCXX.I.62. [37]
"But to love me is better than all things: if under the night-stars in the desert thou presently burnest mine incense before me, invoking me with a pure heart, and the Serpent flame therein, thou shalt come a little to lie in my bosom. For one kiss wilt thou then be willing to give all; but whoso gives one particle of dust shall lose all in that hour. Ye shall gather goods and store of women and spices; ye shall wear rich jewels; ye shall exceed the nations of the earth in splendour and pride; but always in the love of me, and so shall ye come to my joy. I charge you earnestly to come before me in a single robe, and covered with a rich headdress. I love you! I yearn to you! Pale or purple, veiled or voluptuous, I who am all pleasure and purple, and drunkenness of the innermost sense, desire you. Put on the wings, and arouse the coiled splendour within you: come unto me!
"To me! To me!
"Sing the raptuous love-song unto me! Burn to me perfumes! Wear to me jewels! Drink to me, for I love you! I love you!
"I am the blue-lidded daughter of Sunset. I am the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night-sky.
"To me! To me!"
The priest mounts the second step.
The priest.
O secret of secrets that art hidden in the being of all that lives, not Thee do we adore, for that which adoreth is also Thou. Thou art That, and That am I.
I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star. I am Life, and the giver of Life, yet therefore is the knowledge of me the knowledge of death. I am alone; there is no God where I am.
(The deacon and all rise to their feet with Hailing Sign.)
The deacon.
But ye, O my people, rise up and awake. Let the rituals be rightly performed with joy and beauty!
There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times.
A feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride!
A feast for the three days of the writing of the Book of the Law.
A feast for Tahuti and the Children of the Prophet—secret, O Prophet!
A feast for the Supreme Ritual, and a feast for the Equinox of the Gods.
A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death!
A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture!
A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight!
(The priest mounts the third step.)
The priest:
Thou that art One, our Lord in the Universe, the Sun, our Lord in ourselves whose name is Mystery of Mystery, uttermost being whose radiance, enlightening the worlds, is also the breath that maketh every God even and Death to tremble before thee — by the Sign of Light appear thou glorious upon the throne of the Sun.
Make open the path of creation and of intelligence between us and our minds. Enlighten our understanding.
Encourage our hearts. Let thy light crystallize itself in our blood, fulfilling us of Resurrection.
A ka dua
Tuf ur biu
Bi a'a chefu
Dudu nur af an nuteru![42]
There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.
(The priest parts the veil with his Lance.)
(During the previous speeches the priestess has resumed her robe.)
ΙΩ ΙΩ ΙΩ ΙΑΩ ΣΑΒΑΟ ΚΥΡΙΕ ΑΒΡΑΣΑΧ ΚΥΡΙΕ ΜΕΙΘΡΑΣ ΚΥΡΙΕ ΦΑΛΛΕ. ΙΩ ΠΑΝ, ΙΩ ΠΑΝ ΠΑΝ ΙΩ ΙΣΧΥΡΟΕ, ΙΩ ΑΘΑΝΑΤΟΝ, ΙΩ ΑΒΡΟΤΟΝ ΙΩ ΙΑΩ. ΧΑΙΡΕ ΦΑΛΛΕ ΧΑΙΡΕ ΠΑΜΦΑΓΕ ΧΑΙΡΕ ΠΑΓΓΕΝΕΤΟΡ. ΑΓΙΟΣ, ΑΓΙΟΣ, ΑΓΙΟΣ ΙΑΩ.[59]
(The priestess is seated with the Paten in her right hand and the Cup in her left. The priest presents the Lance which she kisses eleven times. She then holds it to her breast while the priest falling at her knees, kisses them, his arms stretched along her thighs. He remains in this adoration while the deacon intones the collects. All stand to order, with the Dieu Garde, that is: feet square, hands, with linked thumbs, held loosely. This is the universal position when standing, unless other direction is given.)
V
Of the Office of the Collects
which are Eleven in Number
(the sun)
The deacon.
Lord visible and sensible of whom this earth is but a frozen spark turning about thee with annual and diurnal motion, source of light, source of life, let thy perpetual radiance hearten us to continual labour and enjoyment; so that as we are constant partakers of thy bounty we may in our particular orbit give out light and life, sustenance and joy to them that revolve about us without diminution of substance or effulgence for ever.
The people.
So mote it be.
(the lord)
The deacon.
Lord secret and most holy, source of light, source of life, source of love, source of liberty, be thou ever constant and mighty within us, force of energy, fire of motion; with diligence let us ever labour with thee, that we may remain in thine abundant joy.
The people.
So mote it be.
(the moon)
The deacon.
Lady of night, that turning ever about us art now visible and now invisible in thy season, be thou favourable to hunters, and lovers, and to all men that toil upon the earth, and to all mariners upon the sea.
The people.
So mote it be.
(the lady)
The deacon.
Giver and receiver of joy, gate of life and love, be thou ever ready, thou and thine handmaiden, in thine office of gladness.
The people.
So mote it be.
(the saints)
The deacon.
Lord of Life and Joy, that art the might of man, that art the essence of every true god that is upon the surface of the Earth, continuing knowledge from generation unto generation, thou adored of us upon heaths and in woods, on mountains and in caves, openly in the marketplaces and secretly in the chambers of our houses, in temples of gold and ivory and marble as in these other temples of our bodies, we worthily commemorate them worthy that did of old adore thee and manifest thy glory unto men, Lao-tzu and Siddhartha and Krishna and Tahuti, Mosheh, Dionysus, Mohammed and To Mega Therion, with these also, Hermes, Pan, Priapus, Osiris and Melchizedek, Khem and Amoun and Mentu, Heracles, Orpheus and Odysseus; with Vergilius, Catullus, Martialis, Rabelais, Swinburne, and many an holy bard; Apollonius Tyanaeus, Simon Magus, Manes, Pythagoras, Basilides, Valentinus, Bardesanes and Hippolytus, that transmitted the Light of the Gnosis to us their successors and their heirs; with Merlin, Arthur, Kamuret, Parzival, and many another, prophet, priest and king, that bore the Lance and Cup, the Sword and Disk, against the Heathen; and these also, Carolus Magnus and his paladins, with William of Schyren, Frederick of Hohenstaufen, Roger Bacon, Jacobus Burgundus Molensis the Martyr, Christian Rosencreutz, Ulrich von Hutten, Paracelsus, Michael Maier, Roderic Borgia Pope Alexander the Sixth, Jacob Boehme, Francis Bacon Lord Verulam, Andrea, Robertus de Fluctibus, Johannes Dee, Sir Edward Kelly, Thomas Vaughan, Elias Ashmole, Molinos, Adam Weishaupt, Wolfgang von Goethe, Ludovicus Rex Bavariae, Richard Wagner, Alphonse Louis Constant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Hargrave Jennings, Carl Kellner, Forlong dux dux, Sir Richard Payne Knight, Sir Richard Burton, Paul Gauguin, Docteur Gérard Encausse, Doctor Theodor Reuss, and Sir Aleister Crowley.[131]
Oh Sons of the Lion and the Snake! With all thy saints we worthily commemorate them worthy that were and are and are to come.
May their Essence be here present, potent, puissant and paternal to perfect this feast!
(At each name the deacon signs + with thumb between index and medius. At ordinary mass it is only necessary to commemorate those whose names are italicized, with wording as is shown.)
The people.
So mote it be.
(the earth)
The deacon.
Mother of fertility on whose breast lieth water, whose cheek is caressed by air, and in whose heart is the sun's fire, womb of all life, recurring grace of seasons, answer favourably the prayer of labour, and to pastors and husbandmen be thou propitious.
The people.
So mote it be.
(the principles)
The deacon.
Mysterious energy triform, mysterious Matter, in fourfold and sevenfold division; the interplay of which things weaves the dance of the Veil of Life upon the Face of the Spirit, let there be harmony and beauty in your mystic loves, that in us may be health and wealth and strength and divine pleasure according to the Law of Liberty; let each pursue his Will as a strong man that rejoiceth in his way, as the course of a Star that blazeth for ever among the joyous company of Heaven.
The people.
So mote it be.
(birth)
The deacon.
Be the hour auspicious, and the gate of life open in peace and in well-being, so that she that beareth children may rejoice, and the babe catch life with both hands.
The people.
So mote it be.
(marriage)
The deacon.
Upon all that this day unite with love under will let fall success; may strength and skill unite to bring forth ecstasy, and beauty answer beauty.
The people.
So mote it be.
(death)
(All stand, Head erect, Eyes open.)
The deacon.
Term of all that liveth, whose name is inscrutable, be favourable unto us in thine hour.
The people.
So mote it be.
(the end)
The deacon.
Unto them from whose eyes the veil of life hath fallen may there be granted the accomplishment of their true Wills; whether they will absorption in the Infinite, or to be united with their chosen and preferred, or to be in contemplation, or to be at peace, or to achieve the labour and heroism of incarnation on this planet or another, or in any Star, or aught else, unto them may there be granted the accomplishment of their wills; yea, the accomplishment of their wills.
ΑΥΜΙ'Ν, ΑΥΜΙ'Ν, ΑΥΜΙ'Ν.
The people.
So mote it be.
(All sit.)
(The deacon and the children attend the priest and priestess, ready to hold any appropriate weapon as may be necessary.)
VI
Of the Consecration of the Elements
(The priest makes the five crosses.
Life of man upon earth, fruit of labour, sustenance of endeavour, thus be thou nourishment of the Spirit!
(He touches the Host with the Lance.)
By the virtue of the Rod!
Be this bread the Body of God!
(He takes the Host.)
(He kneels, adores, rises, turns shows Host to the people, turns, replaces Host and adores. Music. He takes the Cup.)
Vehicle of the joy of Man upon earth, solace of labour, inspiration of endeavour, thus be thou ecstasy of the Spirit!
(He touches the Cup with the Lance.)
By the virtue of the Rod!
Be this wine the Blood of God!
(He takes the Cup.)
ΤΟΥΤΟ ΕΣΤΙ ΤΟ ΠΟΤΗΡΙΟΝ ΤΟΥ ΑΙΜΑΤΟΣ ΜΟΥ.[141]
(He kneels, adores, rises, turns, shows the Cup to the people, turns, replaces the Cup, and adores. Music.)
For this is the Covenant of Resurrection.
He makes the five crosses on the priestess. [142]
Accept, O Lord, this sacrifice of life and joy, true warrants of the Covenant of Resurrection.
(The priest offers the Lance to the priestess, who kisses it; he then touches her between the breasts and upon the body. He then flings out his arms upward as comprehending the whole shrine.)
Let this offering be borne upon the waves of Aethyr to our Lord and Father the Sun that travelleth over the Heavens in his name ON.
Hear ye all, saints of the true church of old time now essentially present, that of ye we claim heirship, with ye we claim communion, from ye we claim benediction in the name of IAO.
(He makes three crosses on Paten and Cup together. He uncovers the Cup, genuflects, takes the Cup in his left hand and the Host in his right. With the Host he makes the five crosses on the Cup.)
| 1 |
||||
| 3 | 2 | |||
| 5 | 4 |
(He elevates the Host and the Cup.)
(The Bell strikes.)
(He replaces the Host and the Cup and adores.)
VII
Of the Office of the Anthem
Thou who art I, beyond all I am,
Who hast no nature and no name,
Who art, when all but Thou are gone,
Thou, centre and secret of the Sun,
Thou, hidden spring of all things known
And unknown, Thou aloof, alone,
Thou, the true fire within the reed
Brooding and breeding, source and seed
Of life, love, liberty, and light,
Thou beyond speech and beyond sight,
Thee I invoke, my faint fresh fire
Kindling as mine intents aspire.
Thee I invoke, abiding one,
Thee, centre and secret of the Sun,
And that most holy mystery
Of which the vehicle am I.
Appear, most awful and most mild,
As it is lawful, in thy child!
The chorus.
For of the Father and the Son
The Holy Spirit is the norm;
Male-female, quintessential, one,
Man-being veiled in Woman-form.
Glory and worship in the highest,
Thou Dove, mankind that deifiest,
Being that race, most royally run
To spring sunshine through winter storm.
Glory and worship be to Thee,
Sap of the world-ash, wonder-tree!
first semichorus, men.
Glory to Thee from Gilded Tomb!
second semichorus, women.
Glory to Thee from Waiting Womb!
men.
Glory to Thee from earth unploughed!
women.
Glory to Thee from virgin vowed!
men.
Glory to Thee, true Unity
Of the Eternal Trinity!
women.
Glory to Thee, thou sire and dam
And self of I am that I am!
men.
Glory to Thee, beyond all term,
Thy spring of sperm, thy seed and germ!
women.
Glory to Thee, eternal Sun,
Thou One in Three, Thou Three in One!
chorus.
Glory and worship unto Thee,
Sap of the world-ash, wonder-tree![155]
(These words are to form the substance of the anthem; but the whole or any part thereof shall be set to music, which may be as elaborate as art can. But even should other anthems be authorized by the Father of the Church, this shall hold its place as the first of its kind, the father of all others.)
VIII
Of the Mystic Marriage and Consummation of the Elements
(The priest takes the Paten between the index and medius of the right hand. The priestess clasps the Cup in her right hand.)
The priest.
Lord most secret, bless this spiritual food unto our bodies, bestowing upon us health and wealth and strength and joy and peace, and that fulfilment of will and of love under will that is perpetual happiness.
(He makes + with Paten and kisses it. He uncovers the Cup, genuflects, rises. Music. He takes the Host, and breaks it over the Cup. He replaces the right hand portion in the Paten. He breaks off a particle of the left hand portion.)
ΤΟΥΤΟ ΕΣΤΙ ΤΟ ΣΠΕΡΜΑ ΜΟΥ.
’Ο ΠΑΤΕΡ ΕΣΤΙΝ ’Ο ’ΥΙΟΣ ΔΙΑ ΤΟ ΠΝΕΥΜΑ ’ΑΓΙΟΝ.
ΑΥΜΙ'Ν. ΑΥΜΙ'Ν. ΑΥΜΙ'Ν.[159]
(He replaces the left-hand part of the Host. The priestess extends the lance point with her left hand to receive the particle.)
(The priest takes the Lance. The priestess covers the Cup. The priest genuflects, rises, bows, joins hands. He strikes his breast.)
The priest.
O Lion and O Serpent that destroy the destroyer, be mighty among us.
O Lion and O Serpent that destroy the destroyer, be mighty among us.
O Lion and O Serpent that destroy the destroyer, be mighty among us.
(The priest joins hands upon the breast of the priestess, and takes back his Lance. He turns to the People, lowers and raises the Lance, and makes
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
The people.
Love is the law, love under will.
(He lowers the Lance, and turns to East. The priestess takes the Lance in her right hand, with her left hand she offers the Paten. The priest kneels.)
In my mouth be the essence of the Life of the Sun.
(He takes the Host with the right hand, makes
(Silence.)
(The priestess takes, uncovers, and offers the Cup, as before.)
In my mouth be the essence of the Joy of the Earth!
(He takes the Cup, makes
(Silence.)
(He rises, takes the Lance, and turns to the people.)
The priest.
There is no part of me that is not of the Gods.[168]
(Those of the people who intend to communicate, and none other should be present, having signified their intention, a whole Cake of Light and a whole goblet of wine have been prepared for each one. The deacon marshals them; they advance one by one to the altar. The children take the Elements and offer them. The people communicate as did the priest, uttering the same words in an attitude of Resurrection;
'There is no part of me that is not of the Gods.'
The exceptions to this part of the ceremony are when it is of the nature of a celebration, in which case none but the priest communicate, of a wedding, in which none, save the two to be married, partake; part of the ceremony of baptism, when only the child baptised partakes, and of puberty, when only the persons confirmed partake. The Sacrament may be reserved by the priest, for administration to the sick in their homes.)
(The priest closes all within the veil. With the Lance he makes
- The priest.
(He goes out, the deacon and children following, into the tomb of the West.)
Music. (Voluntary.)
NOTE: The priestess and other officers never partake of the Sacrament, they being as it were part of the priest himself.
NOTE: Certain secret formulae of this Mass are taught to the priest in his Ordination.[170]
Notes:
[The Gnostic Mass] This copy of the Gnostic Mass is as given in Appendix VI of Aleister Crowley's Magick, edited by John Symonds and Kenneth Grant, pubished in USA by Samuel Weiser, Inc. The footnotes that appear here as superscripted numbers are from that document. The other annotations in this text are ours. This copy exists because our notes on the Mass differ from other annotations we've seen. Not surprising: we're Hereticks.
We are also not above the occasional rude comment. You Have Been Warned.
In this Web version of that text, I retained most of the spelling and punctuation idiosyncrasies of the original copy I worked from. I assumed that all the Greek in that edition was as intended, so I transliterated it misspellings and all. I could not, however, restrain myself from penciling the occasional change into the margins.
[of Boleskine] This instruction demonstrates that East is a concept, not a direction. In London, for example, "east" would be almost directly north.
[dimensions] These dimensions may be a veiled reference to the "Principles" mentioned in the seventh of eleven Collects: "Mysterious matter triform, mysterious matter in fourfold and sevenfold division...": 3, 4, 7; with 4 x 11 = 44. We have also seen it stated that these are the dimensions of the sarcophagus in the King's Chamber of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Also note that 44 = דם, blood.
[each side] These mimic Boaz and Jachin, the pillars of Solomon's temple. Together with the Stélé, they indicate the Supernal triad: Binah, Chokmah, Kether, above the Veil of the Abyss.
[great veil] This represents the Abyss. When Mass begins, it is open; the Priest will close it later.
[tomb] This description shows that the temple is laid out as though it were the Tree of Life. Stélé, square altar, font, and tomb form the middle pillar.
[7] Note 1, p. 423:
In Crowley's own copy of this work, he has written in the margin opposite the Priestess, 'i.e. a sworn whore'. The expression Virgo Intacta in this context is misleading. It means, in fact, that the woman who performs the function of the Priestess should be dedicated solely to the Great Work, like Artemis to Pan. 'A sworn whore' would therefore be a suitable candidate for the office, not a virgin in the ordinary sense.
[white and black] This fails to say whether one is in white and the other in black, or both wear white and black. This is subject to interpretation. Most, however, seem to assume that the Child bearing the censer and perfume wears white, while the other wears black.
[salt] Water and earth are the negative, passive elements. They will be placed at Yesod, the Moon, represented by the font.
[perfume] Fire and air are the positive, active elements. They will be placed at Tiphareth, the Sun, represented by the small altar.
[ΙΑΩ] "IAO" is the Gnostic name of God equivalent to יהוה.
[lord] Kether, here indicating the root of the Tree of Life, and the element Spirit.
[chaos] Chokmah, here indicating the Right Pillar of the Tree of Life, and the element Fire.
[14] Note 1, p. 424:
In Crowley's copy of MAGICK, this name is replaced by that of AIWASS, Crowley's Holy Guardian Angel, but here used in a cosmic sense, the vehicle or medium of the Solar-phallic current.
[Air] Aleph, the path connecting Kether to Chokmah. This is the path of the Pure Fool, by which the Light begins its descent.
[babalon] Binah, here indicating the Right Pillar of the Tree of Life, and the element Water.
[baphomet] Tiphereth, the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life, the balancing principle, and the element Air.
[Church] The "Church" here refers to Malkuth, the base of the Tree of Life, and the element Earth. With this, we have professed belief in all the Sephiroth governed by court cards of the Tarot and in the five elements, and have thus declared the Qabalistic nature of the working.
[ΘΕΛΗΜΑ] THELEMA
[ΑΥΜΙ'Ν] AUMGN, pronounced [very] approximately, "OM". There are three groups of three of these in the Mass: from the People (Mem), from the Deacon (Shin), and from the Priest (Alef). Refer to the 11th Aethyr of The Vision and the Voice: By three and by three and by three hath He made firm the foundation against the earthquake that is three. For in the number nine is the changefulness of the numbers brought to naught. For with whatsoever number thou wilt cover it, it appeareth unchanged.
[enters] The Virgin should enter from as close to the east (i.e., from the altar) as she can manage. She is at this point the messenger sent by the Ineffable to waken the sleeping Priest.
[Greeting] Here the Virgin gives the statement of intent of this working: heaven (the Supernals) will be united with earth (Malkuth).
[Deosil] Clockwise. More properly spelled "deasil". From Gaelic "deiseal", literally "right turn".
[widdershins] Anti-clockwise. From Middle Low German "weddersinnes", literally "against course".
[26] Note 3, p. 425:
She traces with her sword the sign of the Cross in the air: it is the Mark of the Beast.
[27] Note 4, p. 425:
The crosses traced here are symbols of the Sun, Lord of the Macrocosmic Universe, and of the Phallus, the Sun's Viceregent in the Microcosm.
[from the Tomb] Here, the priest steps out of Malkuth.
[among men] "I am a man among men", IAAMAM, יאאמאם = 93. Did Crowley know that? We don't know, but it is the sort of thing he would write into a ritual.
[in the font] Water and salt (earth) are the passive elements, which the Priestess here combines in Yesod, the Moon. These also represent Binah, and the left pillar (Severity). When looked at as two points of the pentagram, water and earth are the first two points of the invoking pentagram of Passive Spirit, which the Priestess invokes to make the Priest pure.
[on the small altar] Fire and air are the active elements, which the Priestess here combines in Tiphareth, the Sun. These also represent Chokmah, and the pillar of Mercy (the right pillar). When looked at as two points of the pentagram, fire and air are the first two points of the invoking pentagram of Active Spirit, which the Priestess invokes to make the Priest fervent.
[in rank] In rank
: that is, side by side. In rank and file
, the ranks go across where the files go up and down.
[33] Note 1, p. 426:
A phallic sign.
[above their heads] With the palms held thus, one places them at the chest to acknowledge one's equals; at the head for superiors; and above the head for the Divine.
[CCXX.I.62] At all my meetings with you shall the priestess say — and her eyes shall burn with desire as she stands bare and rejoicing in my secret temple — To me! To me! calling forth the flame of the hearts of all in her love-chant.
[37] CCXX = 220, The Book of the Law, chapter I, verse 62.
[But to love me] This text is from Liber CCXX, I:61-65.
[Thou art That] Tat Tvam Asi, "Thou Art That," is a statement of the ineffability of Being. See here for more information.
[no God] This text, from CCXX II:23, is not a refutation or denial of God. For more context, refer to the Fifth Aethyr of The Vision and the Voice: "For all that thou thinkest is but thy thought; and as there is no god in the ultimate shrine, so there is no I in thine own Cosmos." And later in the same Aethyr: "And the barb thereof is the star that thou sawest in the place where was No God."
[rise up and awake] This text is from the Book of the Law, Chapter II, verses 34-43. Note, though, that this ritual uses "children" of the Prophet, not "child".
[42] Note 1, p. 428:
Unity uttermost showed
I adore the might of Thy Breath
Supreme and Terrible God
Who makest the gods and Death
To tremble before Thee
I, I, adore Thee.
(Paraphrased by Crowley from 'The Stele of Revealing.' See The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, Cape 1969.)
[Do what thou wilt] This quote is from CCXX.III.60
[resumed her robe] This instruction is changed in other versions to read: "During the previous speeches the priestess has, if necessary, as in savage countries, resumed her robe."
We prefer that reading, that when the veil opens it is the Priestess' privilege to be clothed or not, according to her will.
[ΙΩ ΙΩ ΙΩ ΙΑΩ ΣΑΒΑΟ] "IO IO IO IAO SABAO".
IAO SABAO is the Gnostic rendering of יהוה צבאות, YHVH Tzabaoth, LORD of Hosts.
[ΚΥΡΙΕ ΑΒΡΑΣΑΧ] "KURIE ABRASAX"
Lord Abraxas
[ΚΥΡΙΕ ΜΕΙΘΡΑΣ] "KURIE MEITHRAS"
Lord Mithras
[ΚΥΡΙΕ ΦΑΛΛΕ] "KURIE PHALLE"
Lord Phallus
[ΙΩ ΠΑΝ] "IO PAN"
[ΙΩ ΠΑΝ ΠΑΝ] "IO PAN PAN"
[ΙΩ ΙΣΧΥΡΟΕ] "IO ISCHUROE"
"Ischuros" means "strong one".
[ΙΩ ΑΘΑΝΑΤΟΝ] "IO ATHANATON"
"Athanaton" means "deathless one".
[ΙΩ ΑΒΡΟΤΟΝ] "IO ABROTON"
"Abroton" means "woundless one" (i.e., one who cannot be wounded).
[ΙΩ ΙΑΩ] "IO IAO"
[ΧΑΙΡΕ ΦΑΛΛΕ] "CHAIRE PHALLE"
Hail Phallus
[ΧΑΙΡΕ ΠΑΜΦΑΓΕ] "CHAIRE PAMPHAGE"
Hail All-devourer
[ΧΑΙΡΕ ΠΑΓΓΕΝΕΤΟΡ] "CHAIRE PAGGENETOR"
Hail All-begetter. Note that "paggenetor" is pronounced "pan-genetor".
[ΑΓΙΟΣ] "HAGIOS, HAGIOS, HAGIOS IAO"
Holy, holy, holy IAO
[59] Note 1, p. 429:
Io, Io, Io IAO Sabao, Lord Abrasax, Lord Mithras, Lord Phallus. Io Pan, Io Pan, Pan, Io Strong One, Io Immortal, Io Divine, Io IAO. Hail Phallus, hail All-devourer, hail All-begetter. Holy, Holy, Holy IAO.
[stand to order] Yes, really: stand up now, in Dieu Garde: feet at a 90° angle, arms down, hands side by side, fingers outstretched with the thumbs linked. Others claim this is wrong because there's a second instruction to stand, later in the Collects; but the two instructions are different. See the tenth Collect, Death, to see what we mean.
[Lao-tzu] Lao-tzu was the founder of Taoism and reputed author of the Tao te Ching. This and the next seven names are the eight great prophets. Why is he important?
[Siddhartha] Siddhartha is Gautama Buddha, the Supreme Buddha. Why is he important?
[Krishna] Krishna is a Hindu god, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. Why is he important?
[Tahuti] Tahuti is the Egyptian god Thoth. Why is he important?
[Mosheh] Mosheh, Moses, was a founding prophet of Judaism. Why is he important?
[Dionysus] Dionysus is a Greek god, father of civilization and a lawgiver, and a god of religious mystery rites. Why is he important?
[Mohammed] Mohammed was the founder of Islam. Why is he important?
[To Mega Therion] "To Mega Therion, "The Great Beast", is Aleister Crowley. Here, he is the last of the prophets of the various Aeons. Why is he important?
[Hermes] Hermes is the Greek god of (among other things) liars and thieves. He is conflated with Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom, to become Hermes Trismegistus. This and the next ten names are the list of gods and mythic figures. Why is he important?
[Pan] Pan is a Greek god of herdsmen and flocks. He is sometimes said to be the son of Hermes, but is probably older than the Olympians, having taught prophecy to Apollo. Why is he important?
[Priapus] Priapus is a Greek fertility god said to be the son of Dionysus. Why is he important?
[Osiris] Osiris is an Egyptian god, merciful judge of the dead; also a fertility god who (among other things) caused the Nile to flood and crops to grow. Why is he important?
[Melchizedek] Melchizedek — literally, "My king is righteous"; said by the Zohar to be "the King Who rules with complete sovereignty". The Rabbis say he instructed Abraham in the Torah. Why is he important?
[Khem] Khem … this name is an error. This is a mistranscription of the fertility god Min, brought into the popular literature by E.A. Wallis Budge. Why is he important?
[Amoun] Amoun, "The hidden one", is the Egyptian god of air (and the breath of life, which creates the Ba). He later also became a fertility god. Historically, eventually he becomes an aspect of Horus. Why is he important?
[Mentu] Mentu is the hawk-headed Egyptian god of war, the "Warrior Lord of Thebes". Why is he important?
[Heracles] Heracles is a demigod, son of Zeus and Alcmene, arguably the greatest of the mythical Greek heroes. He is also identified with the Egyptian god Heryshaf ("Hershaphes" in Greek), who is identified with Osiris. Why is he important?
[Orpheus] Orpheus was an augur and seer, inventor of the lyre, said by Pindar to be the "father of songs". He is thought by some to be the founder of the Dionysiac rites. Why is he important?
[Odysseus] Odysseus was a (mythical) king of Ithaca, the guileful and resourceful hero of Homer's Odyssey. Why is he important?
[Vergilius] Vergilius is known in English as Virgil, Latin poet and author of the Eclogues, the Georgics and the Aeneid. This name is the first of a list of five Bards. Why is he important?
[Catullus] Catullus was a Roman poet, author of a wide variety of invectives and erotic poetry, many with homosexual or Lesbian themes. Why is he important?
[Martialis] Martialis was a Latin poet, known in English as Martial, author of twelve satirical books of Epigrams. Why is he important?
[Rabelais] Rabelais was a French Renaissance writer. His first published book, Les Grandes Chroniques du Grand et Enorme Géant Gargantua, introduced the Abbey of Thèléme. Why is he important?
[Swinburne] Swinburne was an English Victorian poet, highly regarded by Crowley, author of a wide variety of sado-masochistic, lesbian, and anti-Christian poetry. Why is he important?
[Apollonius Tyanaeus] Apollonius Tyanaeus is Apollonius of Tyana, teacher and miracle worker of the first century CE, frequently compared to Jesus of Nazareth. This name is the first of eight ancient Gnostics. Why is he important?
[Simon Magus] Simon Magus, Simon the Sorceror, was a Samaritan proto-Gnostic, regarded by many early Christian authors as the first heretic. Why is he important?
[Manes] Manes was the founder of Manicheanism, an ancient (but no longer practised) gnostic philosophy. Why is he important?
[Pythagoras] Pythagoras was a Greek mathematician and philosopher, founder of the Pythagorean school of natural philosophy, which professed transmigration of the soul (reincarnation). Why is he important?
[Basilides] Basilides was an early Alexandrian Christian religious teacher whose followers, the Basilideans, formed a Gnostic sect. Why is he important?
[Valentinus] Valentinus, also called Valentinius, was a Christian Gnostic theologian who attempted to align Christianity with neo-Platonism. His was probably the most widespread of all the forms of Gnosticism. Why is he important?
[Bardesanes] Bardesanes , Bar Daisan, was a Syriac disciple of Valentinius. His gnosticism influenced Manichaeism. Why is he important?
[Hippolytus] Hippolytus Why is he important? was the first elected Antipope. He is the author of commentaries on Biblical texts and of polemical works against Jews, pagans and heretics, the best known of which is his Refutatio Omnium Haeresium (Refutation of All Heresies). Curiously, he was anti-Gnostic; but his Refutatio contains a lot of direct quotes from the gnostic systems it refutes. Without it, we would know almost nothing of those systems. Why is he important?
[Merlin] Merlin is the wizard associated with King Arthur, introduced into those stories by Geoffrey of Monmouth (1100 - 1154). This name is the first of four Grail figures. Why is he important?
[Arthur] Arthur was a fifth-century CE Welsh war leader, the ideal of kingship. He is connected to legends of the Holy Grail. Why is he important?
[Kamuret] Kamuret, also "Gahmuret" or "Gamuret", is the father of Parzival in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival (cir. 1210), adapted by Wagner for his operas. Wolfram's story was itself likely adapted from Chrétien de Troye's Perceval, le Conte du Graal. We don't have a good online reference for this. The link we provided is to Amazon, where you can buy a copy of Wolfram's Parzival, which chronicles Gamuret's adventures. Why is he important?
[Parzival] Parzival, also called "Percival" or "Perceval", is a Knight of the Round Table, the primary figure in legends of the search for the Holy Grail. Why is he important?
[Carolus Magnus] Carolus Magnus, "Charlemagne", Charles the Great, is considered to be the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. His paladins
come from romances that tell of his court. Why is he important?
[William of Schyren] William of Schyren: this name is obscure enough that we don't really know who he is. Who might he have been?
[Frederick of Hohenstaufen] Frederick of Hohenstaufen: this saint is unclear, but likely the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250); excommunicated twice, and called the Anti-Christ by Pope Gregory IX. Why is he important?
[Roger Bacon] Roger Bacon was a Thirteenth century English philosopher and alchemist, a strong proponent of empiricism, one of the earliest proponents of the scientific method. Why is he important?
[Jacobus Burgundus Molensis the Martyr] Jacobus Burgundus Molensis was Jacques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Burned at the stake in 1314 on charges of heresy, he is rumored to have told Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V that they would meet him before God's throne within the year. (Both died later that year.) Why is he important?
[Christian Rosencreutz] Christian Rosencreutz was the (possibly legendary) founder of the Rosicrucian Order. If real, he is very conveniently named: Rosencreuz means "Rose Cross", symbols of the female and male principles (and of their genitalia). Why is he important?
[Ulrich von Hutten] Ulrich von Hutten was a Christian reformer and critic of the Roman Catholic Church, a contemporary of Martin Luther, who sought to enforce reformation by political and military means. (There's rather more information in the German language article at de.wikipedia.org — just replace "en." with "de." in the link URL.) Why is he important?
[Paracelsus] Paracelsus was a Sixteenth century Swiss/Austrian alchemist, astrologer, and physician. He rejected Gnostic philosophy, but embraced Hermetics. Why is he important?
[Michael Maier] Michael Maier was a Seventeenth century German physician and alchemist. Why is he important?
[Roderic Borgia Pope Alexander the Sixth] Roderic Borgia was an extremely controversial Renaissance Pope, (in)famous for his lax morals and expensive habits, father of ten children including Lucrezia and Cesare (yes, those Borgias). Why is he important?
[Jacob Boehme] Jacob Boehme was a German Christian mystic who wrote primarily on the nature of sin and redemption. He held that free will was the most important gift God gave mankind. Why is he important?
[Francis Bacon Lord Verulam] Francis Bacon was a Sixteenth/Seventeenth century (1561-1626) English philosopher and Freemason, a strong proponent of empiricism and of inductive reasoning. Why is he important?
[Andrea] Andrea, or Johann Valentin Andreae, was a Seventeenth Century German theologian and author. He wrote The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, one of the seminal Rosicrucian works. Why is he important?
[Robertus de Fluctibus] Robertus de Fluctibus was Robert Fludd, Seventeenth Century astrologer and mystic, best known for his researches in occult philosophy. Why is he important?
[Johannes Dee] Johannes Dee was a Sixteenth Century English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, and geographer; also a consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. Why is he important?
[Sir Edward Kelly] Edward Kelly was a Sixteenth Century English spirit medium, John Dee's scryer and assistant. Together, they received a collection of magickal communications from Angels
. Modern opinions differ as to whether Kelley was a cynic, a charlatan, or delusional, but he greatly impressed Dr Dee. Why is he important?
[Thomas Vaughan] Thomas Vaughan Why is he important? was a Seventeenth Century Welsh alchemist, mystic, and poet; the twin brother of poet Henry Vaughan, he wrote several alchemical treatises. Why is he important?
[Elias Ashmole] Elias Ashmole was a Seventeenth Century English student of astronomy and astrology, and a prominent Freemason. He wrote several alchemical works. Why is he important?
[Molinos] Molinos was Miguel de Molinos, a Seventeenth Century Spanish priest later denounced as a heretic. He propounded Quietism
, a doctrine that specified intellectual stillness and interior passivity as the path to perfection. Why is he important?
[Adam Weishaupt] Adam Weishaupt was a Eighteenth Century German professor and freethinker who founded (some say, refounded) the Order of Illuminati, devoted to the abolition of monarchical governments and religions. Why is he important?
[Wolfgang von Goethe] Wolfgang von Goethe was an Eighteenth Century German poet, philosopher, and painter; the author of Faust; and one of the major voices in the development of Eighteenth Century philosophy Why is he important?
[Ludovicus Rex Bavariae] Ludwig of Bavariae was a Nineteenth Century Bavarian king sometimes called Mad King Ludwig
. He was a major patron of composer Richard Wagner. Why is he important?
[Richard Wagner] Richard Wagner was a Nineteenth Century German composer and conductor, author of Der Ring des Nibelungen, Parsifal, and other operas. Why is he important?
[Alphonse Louis Constant] Alphonse Louis Constant was a Nineteenth Century French author and magician, better known as Eliphas Lévi
, his attempt to translate his name into Hebrew. Why is he important?
[Friedrich Nietzsche] Friedrich Nietzsche was a Nineteenth Century German philosopher and philologer, author of Beyond Good and Evil and Also Sprach Zarathustra. Why is he important?
[Hargrave Jennings] Hargrave Jennings was a Nineteenth Century English author on occultism and esotericism. He developed a theory he called phallism
, the idea that the origin of religion is in the phallic worship of fire and the sun. Why is he important?
[Carl Kellner] Carl Kellner was a Nineteenth century student of Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and Eastern mysticism, widely regarded as the spiritual father of OTO. Why is he important?
[Forlong dux] Forlong was Nineteenth century General (dux — Latin, leader — was a title Crowley bestowed on him) James George Roche Forlong, author of Faiths of Man: A Cyclopædia of Religions, a (perhaps the first) scholarly treatise on comparative religions. Why is he important?
[Sir Richard Payne Knight] Richard Payne Knight was an early 19th Centur author, whose most notorious book was The Worship of Priapus. Richard Payne Knight was never knighted. "Sir" Knight appears to be an old, stale joke of Crowley's, carried on long after it stopped being funny. Why is he important?
[Sir Richard Burton] Richard Burton was a Nineteenth Century British explorer, soldier, writer, ethnologist, and general Man of Many Talents, Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton was, among his many accomplishments, the translator of The Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra. He was also the only Saint whom Crowley styled Sir
actually to have been knighted by the British Crown. Why is he important?
[Paul Gauguin] Paul Gauguin was a Nineteenth Century French painter, one of the leaders of the Post-Impressionists. Why is he important?
[Docteur Gérard Encausse] Gerard Encausse was a late Nineteenth Century French physician, hypnotist, and occultist who called himself Papus (physician
). Dr Encausse was also a member of the Golden Dawn and the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light. Why is he important?
[Doctor Theodor Reuss] Theodor Reuss was an early Twentieth Century Anglo-German occultist and utopian socialist, who succeeded Carl Kellner as head of the OTO, and who in 1910 conferred on Crowley the VII° of OTO. Why is he important?
[Sir Aleister Crowley] Aleister Crowley makes a second appearance on the list. Earlier, as To Mega Therion, he was the last of the great prophets. Here he is among the modern Gnostics. Why is he important?
[131] Note 1, p. 430:
This list, slightly extended, was first published in The Equinox, volume III, number I. It contains the names of the 'saints' and Chiefs of the Great White Brotherhood, not all of whom, like Krishna, Tahuti, Pan, were incarnated. From a mundane point of view the list reveals Crowley's wide reading. The names in italics: those are (1) Crowley's previous incarnations, (2) historical or mythical characters with whom he had a magical affinity. He thought highly of Swinburne, whom he could have met, and felt that they were one in spirit. He should, perhaps, have italicized the name of Gauguin.
[italicized] The italicized "short list" of 22 saints reads:
Lao-tzu and Siddhartha and Tahuti, Dionysus, Mohammed and To Mega Therion, with these also, Pan and Mentu, Heracles, Catullus, Rabelais, Swinburne, and many an holy bard; Apollonius Tyanaeus, Pythagoras, Bardesanes and Hippolytus, that transmitted the Light of the Gnosis to us their successors and their heirs; and these also, Jacobus Burgundus Molensis the Martyr, Christian Rosencreutz, Roderic Borgia Pope Alexander the Sixth, Sir Edward Kelly, Alphonse Louis Constant, and Sir Aleister Crowley.
[triform] The three Supernals, the Sephiroth above the Abyss. These correspond to the three Hebrew "mother" letters and three Hebrew elements: Alef=Kether, air; Shin=Chokmah, fire; Mem=Binah, water. These are the spheres of inspiration in the Air triad. There are any number of other threes — the alchemical principles, for example — but we hold that the Supernals best express "energy".
[fourfold] The four Qabalistic "worlds": Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, Assiah. If you like, for an expression of "matter" you can also think of these as the four elements you're used to.
[sevenfold] The seven Sephiroth below the Abyss. These include the Fire (Chesed, Geburah, Tiphareth) and Water (Netzach, Hod, Yesod) triads, both in Yetzirah, and Malkuth (the created universe, us) in Assiah. There are other sevens, of course: the seven planets, for example, for which there is justification in chapter VI of Sepher Yetzirah: "He has distributed them among the seven stars" — i.e. the "wandering stars", the planets. However, we suggest that the Sephiroth below the Abyss best express "matter".
[All stand] The people are already standing, having stood up at the beginning of the Collects. At this instruction, they stand to attention: arms at the sides, hands loosely cupped, heels together with the feet at a 45-degree angle to each other. Standing thus with eyes open shows that we will face death squarely, unafraid.
At the end of this Collect, they resume the Dieu Garde.
[137] Note 1, p. 432:
With these five air-traced crosses, the Priest indicates the first five Sephiroth of the Tree of Life, that is from Kether (1) to Geburah (5). He himself is standing in the position of Tiphareth (6), which is that of the Priest or Adeptus Minor. He is by this action bringing down the Power of the Supernals and infusing the elements with its current, thus consecrating them. See diagram.
[ΣΟΜΑ] TOUTO ESTI TO SOMA MOU
[139] Note 2, p. 432:
This is my body.
[ΑΙΜΑΤΟΣ] "TOUTO ESTI TO POTERION TOU HAIMATOS MOU"
[141] Note 3, p. 432:
This is the cup of my blood.
[142] Note 4, p. 432:br/>He brings down from beyond the veil of the Abyss the Power of the Supernals and thus consecrates the Priestess to the Great Work. In this case, the meeting of the 5 (the Supernals) and the 6 (the Priestess in Tiphereth), makes the 11-fold Seal of the Great Work, which is that of uniting the Macrocosm with the Microcosm. This is the work of the 5° = 6□ Grade.
[touches her] He touches her with the Lance. In this, the Priest seals the Priestess as earlier she did him. "Upon the body" is a polite euphemism for what actually occurs with the Lance at that moment.
[ON] ON is the name of an Egyptian sun deity. Considered as ען, it is also the paths leading from Tiphereth to Netzach and to Hod. ען = סמך, Samekh, whose associated card is Art. This establishes the Mass as an alchemical working.
[145] Note 1, p. 433:
An affirmation of the Supernal Triad.
[Paten] Chokmah; the right Pillar (Mercy); Shin (fire); the active principle.
[Cup] Binah; the left Pillar (Severity); Mem (water); the passive principle.
[himself] Kether; the middle Pillar (Balance); Alef (air); the balancing principle.
[Bell strikes] This calls down Spirit into the host. Spirit is the fifth element, the "quintessence". In Christian masses, this is the moment when the divine Power enters the host and wine.
[ΑΓΙΟΣ] "HAGIOS, HAGIOS, HAGIOS IAO"
[151] Note 2, p. 433:
Holy, Holy, Holy IAO!
[in thy child] Some folios have "to thy child" instead of "in thy child". They're wrong. The Father is the Son, just as the Priest says not very long after this point.
[Male-female] Notice the hyphen: not male, not female, but a balance between them.
[Thee] "Thee" here is not the Priest, but the Lance, which is the channel for the Light being brought down from the Supernals.
[155] Note 1, p. 434:
These verses are from Crowley's verse play, 'The Ship,' published in The Equinox, volume I, number 10. It was dedicated to Theodore Reuss, the then Grand Master of the O.T.O.
[ΤΟΥΤΟ ΕΣΤΙ ΤΟ ΣΠΕΡΜΑ ΜΟΥ] "TOUTO ESTI TO SPERMA MOU"
This is my seed.
[’Ο ΠΑΤΕΡ ΕΣΤΙΝ ’Ο ’ΥΙΟΣ ΔΙΑ ΤΟ ΠΝΕΥΜΑ ’ΑΓΙΟΝ]
"HO PATER ESTIN HO HUIOS DIA TO PNEUMA HAGION"
The Father is the Son through the Holy Spirit.
(Here, we have amended the original script: where we wrote "DIA", "through", that script has "OION", "quasi".)
[ΑΥΜΙ'Ν] "OM" (more or less)
[159] Note 1, p. 435:
This is my seed. The father is the son as the Holy Ghost. Augmn, Augmn, Augmn.
[receive the particle] Missing from this version:
"The priest clasps the Cup in his left hand. Together they depress the lance point in the Cup."
What happens here is that the Priest places the particle on the lance point, then grasps the lance. Together, the Priest and Priestess drop the particle from the lance point into the cup.
This act is the moment of fertilization in which the universe is created — that is, the Father manifests in the Son. This mimics the beginning of Creation in which Ain pours through Ain Soph, bursting forth as Ain Soph Aur to manifest Kether. On a lower plane, Kether (as Chokmah) works through Binah to manifest the Child in Tiphereth. The Dying God is reborn at this moment of conception.
[ΗΡΙΛΙΥ] "HRILIU". This word is Enochian. Why this script presents it in Greek characters, we don't know. This is the moment at which the Universe begins to manifest as an act of Lust.
[162] Note 2, p. 435:
The shrill scream of Orgasm. Not a Greek word. As this rite is a purely ceremonial one, the orgasm here must be considered as a sign of that metaphysical ecstasy resulting from the union of the 5 and the 6.
[takes the Lance] There is a missing instruction after this: the Priest doesn't give the lance back to the Priestess before taking it again. That should be done after the Priestess covers the Cup.
[destroy the destroyer] Entropy, the increase of disorganization, is the Destroyer. Life appears to increase organization, counteracting entropy. We leave it to your own fertile imaginations to decide what else "O pussy and O snake" might represent.
[drains it] With this, the priest receives the particle that was previously placed in the cup. This is the beginning of the Father manifesting in the Son.
[returns it] Here, a thing may happen that isn't in the script: the priest kisses the priestess. While doing that, he puts the particle from the cup, which he has been holding in his mouth, into her mouth. She receives it from him and then gives it back. Ritually, this lets the particle pass from the Father to the Son through the Mother. As it is said, "All must dissolve in the Cup of Babalon."
[of the Gods] The Priest affirms that he has achieved union. Hadit is reunited with Nuit. (For some additional information on this phrase, see this.)
[168] Note 3, p. 435:
This line is taken from the Ritual of the Rose Cross Grade (5° = 6□) of the Golden Dawn.
[puberty] Confirmation at puberty: this is the "feast for fire" or "feast for water" noted in CCXX.II.41, which the Deacon repeated above.
[170] Note 1, p. 436:
Sexual magick.
