Sacred texts Thelema
[The title is Latin and means Book 5 or Book of the Prince. Regulus is also the name of the star which marks the beginning or 0 degree of the constellation Leo.]
1. Let the Magician, robed and armed as he may deem to be fit, turn his face towards Boleskine, that is the House of The Beast 666. {Note 1: Boleskine House is on Loch Ness, 17 miles from Inverness, Latitude 57.14 N. Longitude 4.28 W.}
[Note that this implies that the direction of Boleskine should be taken as "East" in the temple, as is specified in Liber XV, the Gnostic Mass. However it does not necessarily have to be so.
Since later the text specifies that the Magician must grasp his Wand, the "robed and armed as he may deem to be fit" is not as wide-ranging as it may sound.]
2. Let him strike the battery 1-3-3-3-1.
[Eleven knocks, eleven being the number of magical energy - see Liber AL I, 60. Note that there are four sets of eleven knocks during the complete ritual, making 44 in total, representing the materialisation of magical energy, and also being a number of Ra-Hoor-Khuit. See Liber XLIV, The Mass of the Phoenix.]
3. Let him put the Thumb of his right hand between its index and medius, and make the gestures hereafter following.
[The thumb being the finger attributed to Spirit, and also containing an important centre of cakkric energy. Again see also Liber XV.]
1. Let him describe a circle about his head, crying NUIT!
[The Sahashara Cakkra, above the head, attributed to Ain Soph on the Tree of Life.]
2. Let him draw the Thumb vertically downward and touch the Muladhara Cakkra, crying, HADIT!
[The Muladhara (Earth centre, attributed to Malkuth on the Tree of Life) is found at the base of the spine, or at the perineum just behind the genital region, opinions differ. I'd suggest the latter in practice, since touching the base of the spine during the rite is somewhat awkward.]
3. Let him, retracing the line, touch the centre of his breast and cry RA-HOOR-KHUIT!
[The Anahata Cakkra - the solar centre, attributed to Tiphareth, or perhaps more accurately to the triangle Chesed, Geburah, Tiphareth. This will especially make sense to initiates of the Second Degree of OTO. Note that the symbol of Ra-Hoor-Khuit is a downward pointing red triangle of fire.]
1. Let him touch the Centre of his Forehead, his mouth, and his larynx, crying AIWAZ!
[The centre of the forehead is the location of the Ajna Cakkra, the larynx the location of the Vishuddha Cakkra, attributed to Saturn and Da'ath. The mouth is the only one of these which is not a primary Cakkra - perhaps because Aiwaz is the voice of the Gods - see Liber AL. Interestingly the mouth is a minor Cakkra - the Kala Cakkra.]
2. Let him draw his thumb from right to left across his face at the level of the nostrils.
[This forms the cross-path on the Tree of Life from Binah to Chokmah , the path of The Empress]
3. Let him touch the centre of his breast, and his solar plexus, crying, THERION!
[The Anahata again and the Manipura. Both of these together are attributed to the Chesed, Geburah, Tiphareth triangle; I know this is odd, but that's just one of the problems of trying to relate two widely varying systems. The Tree of Life has only five Sephiroth on the Middle Pillar, whereas the yoga system used here has seven primary Cakkras.]
4. Let him draw his thumb from left to right across his breast, at the level of the sternum.
[The cross-path linking Chesed to Geburah, the path of Lust]
5. Let him touch the Svadistthana, and the Muladhara Cakkra, crying, BABALON!
[The Svadistthana is located in the genital region, attributed to Yesod and the Moon.]
6. Let him draw his thumb from right to left across his abdomen, at the level of the hips.
[The cross-path linking Hod and Netzach on the Tree, the path of The Tower. Note that the numerological value of the three cross-paths added together is 93. I don't know why the crossbars go in these directions. They do not follow the path of the Lightning Flash as it shoots downward from Kether to Malkuth - perhaps there may be a reference to the direction of spin of the cakkras.]
(Thus shall he formulate the Sigil of the Grand Hierophant, but dependent from the Circle.)
[The Sigil of the Grand Hierophant being the triple cross.]
1. Let the Magician clasp his hands upon his Wand, his fingers and thumbs interlaced,
crying LAShTAL! THELEMA! FIAOF!
AGAPE! AUMGN!
(Thus shall be declared the Words of Power whereby the Energies of the Aeon
of Horus work his will in the World.)
[Each of these Words has the numerical value of 93. Since there are five of them and they are repeated once, plus an extra THELEMA in the middle, there are a total of 11 "93" Words in the rite. Note that the F's in FIAOF are silent, as is the GN in AUMGN. For more on these words see Book 4 Part III, Magick in Theory & Practice.
Furthermore, in this First Gesture there are six god names mentioned: Nuit, Hadit, Ra-Hoor-Khuit, Aiwaz, Therion, Babalon; and five "93" words. Eleven invocations in total, thus is it named The Elevenfold Seal. The combination of the six and five is a very important facet of the rite - see section 23, lines h & i.]
1. Let the Magician strike the Battery: 3-5-3, crying ABRAHADABRA.
1. Let the Magician, still facing Boleskine, advance to the circumference of
his circle.
2. Let him turn himself towards the left, and pace with the stealth and swiftness
of a tiger the precincts of his circle, until he complete one revolution thereof.
3. Let him give the Sign of Horus (or The Enterer) as he passeth, so to project
the force that radiateth from Boleskine before him.
[This sign is made by leaning forward, advancing the left foot and throwing the arms out horizontally before you, pointing with the index fingers as if to fire energy out of them.]
4. Let him pace his path until he comes to the North; there let him halt, and turn his face to the North.
[That is you go round one and a quarter times]
5. Let him trace with his wand the Averse Pentagram proper to invoke Air (Aquarius).
[An averse pentagram is one with the single point down, two points up. The Averse Air pentagram is drawn by starting at the bottom left point and going horizontally across to the right, then up left, down middle, up right, down left. i.e. go widdershins (anti-clockwise). In other words it is like an upright Air Pentagram rotated through 180 degrees.]
6. Let him bring the wand to the centre of the Pentagram and call upon NUIT!
[You should visualise the particular God or Goddess called in each quarter. If in doubt use the Tarot imagery. For Nuit, see Atu XVII, The Star; Atu XX, The Aeon; or Atu XXI, The Universe.]
7. Let him make the sign called Puella, standing with his feet together, head bowed, his left hand shielding the Muladhara Cakkra, and his right hand shielding his breast (attitude of the Venus de Medici).
[And where do you hold the wand while you're doing this? One solution is to grip it between your knees when you're making these signs. Yes, I know it doesn't sound too elegant, but it works.]
8. Let him turn again to the left, and pursue his Path as before, projecting the force from Boleskine as he passeth; let him halt when he next cometh to the South and face outward.
[i.e. go round one half circle]
9. Let him trace the Averse Pentagram that invoketh Fire (Leo).
[Start bottom middle and go deosil (clockwise) i.e. go up left and then round until you've completed the entire pentagram.]
10. Let him point his wand to the centre of the Pentagram, and cry, HADIT!
[See Atu XX, The Aeon - Hadit is the winged disk.]
11. Let him give the sign Puer, standing with feet together, and head erect. Let his right hand (the thumb extended at right angles to the fingers) be raised, the forearm vertical at a right angle with the upper arm, which is horizontally extended in the line joining the shoulders. Let his left hand, the thumb extended forwards and the fingers clenched, rest at the junction of the thighs (Attitude of the gods Mentu, Khem, etc.).
12. Let him proceed as before; then in the East, let him make the Averse Pentagram that invoketh Earth (Taurus).
[This time go round a quarter circle. The pentagram is drawn from bottom middle widdershins towards the upper right point and so on.]
13. Let him point his wand to the centre of the pentagram, and cry, THERION!
[See Atu XI, Lust - Therion is the Beast pictured.]
14. Let him give the sign called Vir, the feet being together. The hands, with clenched finger and thumbs thrust out forwards, are held to the temples; the head is then bowed and pushed out, as if to symbolize the butting of an horned beast (attitude of Pan, Bacchus, etc.). (Frontispiece, Equinox I, III).
15. Proceeding as before, let him make in the West the Averse Pentagram whereby Water is invoked.
[The Averse pentagram of Water: start at the bottom right and go across to the bottom left and thus round deosil. Note that the pentagrams change direction each time - first widdershins, then deosil, then widdershins again, then deosil.]
16. Pointing the wand to the centre of the Pentagram, let him call upon BABALON!
[See Atu XI again - Babalon is the Goddess riding on the Beast. Note that you "call upon" Nuit & Babalon but "cry" the other names. This may be significant in that the LA (feminine) forces are perceived as lying outside the direct sphere of your influence, and are requested in a softer manner than the masculine forces.]
17. Let him give the sign Mulier. The feet are widely separated, and the arms raised so as to suggest a crescent. The head is thrown back (attitude of Baphomet, Isis in Welcome, the Microcosm of Vitruvius). (See Book 4, Part II).
[You can't grip your wand between your knees here! So hold it in your hand...]
18. Let him break into the dance, tracing a centripetal spiral widdershins, enriched by revolutions upon his axis as he passeth each quarter, until he come to the centre of the circle. There let him halt, facing Boleskine.
[You go round the circle one complete revolution here. You've now done three and a half circles, the number of coils of the Kundalini, amongst other things. Compare the Priestess's dance in Liber XV, the Gnostic Mass, and note that 15 is 3x5. Also note that you have gone from Earth through Air, Water, and Fire, and thus to Spirit in the centre. You have raised yourself from the realm of the material to the world beyond.]
19. Let him raise the wand, trace the Mark of the Beast, and cry AIWAZ!
[The Mark of the Beast is a sign in the form of a solar circle with a dot in the middle, and below it a lunar crescent with two small crescents below that. You can draw it in one motion by going round the circle once, then making a wider arc to draw the crescent, then going back in two loops under the crescent. Yes, I know this still sounds pretty vague, but it's the best I can think of right now. As the pentagrams are symbols of the four material elements, so is the Mark of the Beast the symbol of Spirit. Aiwaz should be visualised as "a tall dark man in his thirties, well-knit, active and strong, with the face of a savage king, and eyes veiled lest their gaze destroy what they saw."]
20. Let him trace the invoking Hexagram of The Beast.
[This is the Unicursal Hexagram, drawn from the top middle point deosil towards the bottom right, top left, bottom middle, top right, bottom left, top middle.]
21. Let him lower the wand, striking the Earth therewith.
[The conception here is that you are bringing the Thelemic current from above down to the Earth. You are standing in both worlds and can act as a bridge between them.]
22. Let him give the sign of Mater Triumphans (The feet are together; the left arm is curved as if it supported a child; the thumb and index finger of the right hand pinch the nipple of the left breast, as if offering it to that child). Let him utter the word THELEMA!
[The child being the Thelemic magical current that you have set in motion, that you have birthed upon the Earth.]
23. Perform the spiral dance, moving deosil and whirling widdershins.
[As you have moved widdershins before to banish, so now you move deosil to invoke.]
Each time on passing the West extend the wand to the Quarter in question, and bow:
[Note that you extend the wand to the quarter, not bow to the quarter. Each time you bow to the West I assume, since bowing upwards, for example, is rather difficult.]
a. "Before me the powers of LA!" (to West.)
b. "Behind me the powers of AL!" (to East.)
c. "On my right hand the powers of LA!" (to North.)
d. "On my left hand the powers of AL!" (to South.)
e. "Above me the powers of ShT!" (leaping in the air.)
f. "Beneath me the powers of ShT!" (striking the ground.)
[LA means Nothing, and is directed to the West & North, since these are the negative, feminine quarters. AL means God, and is directed to the positive, masculine quarters. Note that we do not assume that positive is "better" then negative - it is simply a different polarity, as in an electrical current. ShT is the child of negative and positive energies, and the force that reconciles them. LA= 31, AL=31, ShT=31; thus 3x31=93]
g. "Within me the Powers!" (in the attitude of Phthah erect, the feet together, the hands clasped upon the vertical wand.)
[Phthah is the Creator God of Egypt. The conception is that you have built your own universe. I always find that this rite increases my creative powers greatly. For this reason it is to be particularly recommended to all those engaged in artistic pursuits.
Note that you've now done seven more circles, which is twice three and a half. So altogether in the rite you've gone round three and a half widdershins, then twice three and a half deosil, making a total of three times three and a half; or only once, depending on whether you count the widdershins circumnambulations as a positive or negative amount.]
h. "About me flames my Father's face, the Star of Force and Fire."
[My Father is this case is Baphomet, the All-Father of the Knights Templars. The Averse pentagram is occasionally drawn with Baphomet's face within its points, the two upward points being the horns, the lowest point his beard. See the well-known logo of the Church of Satan.]
i. "And in the Column stands His six-rayed Splendour!"
[Note: flames, father's, face, force, fire. Five F's. Qabalistically, F is Vau = 6, thus we have the 5 and 6 combined. 5x6=30.
Stands, six-rayed, splendour. Three S's. Qabalistically, S is Samekh = 60. 3x60=180. Plus the 30 from the previous line gives us a total of 210 = NOX.]
(This dance may be omitted, and the whole utterance chanted in the attitude of Phthah.)
This is identical with the First Gesture.