Thelemic Qabalah Volume I Publication in Class C by Frater Apollonius 4°=7□ ATAT Fable Once upon a time there was a Great Wild Beast whose mighty roar could be heard all over a sleepy kingdom. In this kingdom there were many lovely maidens. Each Maiden lived in a wonderful cottage by a lake or a stream or by the ocean or by an echoing valley. The Children of this kingdom knew no mother or father but rather sought sustenance and comfort in the house of one of the many Maidens. Each Maiden gathered about herself all of the beautiful Children that she came in contact with and taught them by the L.V.X. of Her Soul. Each Maiden could hear the roar of the Great Wild Beast and knew that with each roar, new Children would come seeking sustenance and shelter and knowledge. The maidens would leave on porch lights to guide the children to them for the Kingdom was enveloped in eternal darkness save in the presence of a Maiden. If a Child learned well, they became a Maiden and left the cottage, with a light of their own to build and light a cottage of their own. At intervals, a Great Wild Beast would be born and roar for a time. Each Great Wild Beast, nearing the time of His passing, would teach a Maiden how to roar like them and instruct them to pass the roar on until they heard another Great Wild Beast. One day, the Great Wild Beast died and his roar was not heard in the Kingdom for many a year. The faithful Maidens kept the porch lights on for the Children, but some of the Maidens could not themselves remember what they should teach the Children when they came. For these had taught only by the sound of the voice of the Great Wild Beast and had never learned to teach by the L.V.X. of Her Soul. So when the voice of the Great Wild Beast could be heard no more in the kingdom these Maidens gradually began to age and wither until they became Hags full of venom and hate (which is love after another manner). Still, the Children came and still the Maidens and the Hags taught. If the Maidens taught self reliance, the Hags taught submission. If the Maidens taught courage the Hags taught deceit. Thy was the way in the kingdom for many a year until darkness was once again on the face of the deep and even this story was forgotten. Dedication These four volumes are dedicated to all those who are dedicated to resurgence once again, of the Goddess in the name of Our Lady Babalon. Such people are stars in that cosmic fabric that builds a greater human egregore for love’s sake. May this work inspire you all to the creative pursuit of life, light, love and liberty that our descendants shall know an even greater love than we will dare to dream. Further, this book is dedicated to all those who find creativity an act of exultation; the moving of soul that is as entertaining as it is enlightening. With this rare breed, we seek community and offer our proud wit. Acknowledgments One can only acknowledge the divine that is the source of all inspiration and that has motivated all the great heralds to wonderous speech and beauteous dreaming. For it is the faculty in us that has its correspondence with all substance and motion and with all souls of the great spirit and makes them to orbit each other in one grand Universe of mutual attraction; called the dance of life. Table of Contents Volume I Preface Introduction The Wake World Commented Theoretical Qabalah Magickal Theory Schools of Magick Congealing the Soul A Brief Note on Physical Symbolism An Introduction to Thelemic Symbols Introduction to Thelemic Qabalah I, II & III The Enneagram Words of Power Numbers In 2-fold Extension The Fifty Gates of Wisdom The Origin of IAO The Origen of 666 Preface All of a sudden…one day, you realize you know something…hmmm…the gradual processes of getting to this point are seen clearly and remembered vividly; though at the time, you couldn’t see what was happening at all…some transcendent tipping point or critical mass of knowledge accumulation has been reached and all of sudden, you’re functioning at a higher level of knowledge in some certain discipline. In the field of Qabalah and especially for those pursuing study of a Thelemic-oriented Qabalah, the first problem is to get one’s hands on the aggregate factors that make for the accumulated volumes of Qabalah. For the Jews, there are many books and generations of deep foraging in the rivers and forests of the work that provides certain experience and resourse for the youngling that is Thelema. And Thelema has responded appropriately by building its knowledge base; the Holy Books of Thelema and the generated volumes of the Equinox have eloquently served this end. But for the entrant into the Thelemic paradigm, we are first told that the Qabalah is nothing more than a convenient file system of correspondences between objects and events; alphabets, numbers, signs and processes. And hopefully, most are acculturated into next, the Holy Books of Thelema and the volumes of the Equinox; maybe then next to discover the tradition (a synonym for Qabalah) of volumes—through alternating periods of Speech and Silence that hints at a greater importance for the work—than that it is just some ‘official’ magazine. And for those that have known this; whether through the websites operated by Yours Truly, or the volumes of the Equinox published by the Typhonians (Kenneth Grant) or even Motta and one of his line. All of these and the Holy Books themselves (often commented within these volumes) and other magickal records extant add to this collective wisdom-base. The conversion is such that no longer are we lost in the various parts and branches of knowledge, practice and contemplation—but that they all become a whole wherein all the parts function collectively as ‘one thing’ (a certain alchemical reference) and not as separate things. In other words, no longer are there branches, leaves, a trunk and roots…but there stands a tree—no longer are there colors and shapes, shadows and light, but there hangs an artistic masterpiece that inspires awe from one who gazes at the painting on the wall. And the lost chord is found, the forgotten word is remembered and the ‘riddle of the Sphinx’ is solved. This is the penultimate ‘Aha!’ experience and we all can cry ‘Eureka!—by George, you’ve got it.’ But don’t hunt for this as per 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. To hunt for the totality is to miss the trees for the forest and the mind will still be without understanding. But take passion into your study of each and every branch, leave, flower and fruit for without such passion, no totality can present itself as the “Aha!’ is an emotional as well as an intellectual response…the two always in a certain balance; not unlike the relationship between Hod and Netzach or even Yesod and Da’ath (for those who know). It is fascinating to observe how many of those first coming to the art and science of Magick and gaining a general, intellectual understanding with some practical experience in temple work, spend a lot of time and energy; preoccupied with the construction of initiatory structures. Magickal lodges and orders form and disappear like lightening bugs hovering in a valley of evergreens on a summer’s evening. All sorts of approaches to the Lesser and Greater Mysteries in human culture are explored by all types of people. And what this really reveals to us that in those who do become attracted to the art and science of Magick there’s a normally occurring intuition about the nature of qabalistic practice; though they don’t necessarily know consciously what they’re doing in this regard. In a magickal lineage of any sort (i.e. the lodge, order, coven, church), authority confers itself downwards while laying claim to a higher source (i.e. the Secret Chiefs or apostolic succession in shakti-pat by the laying on of hands). This is the qabalistic movement of light from the original, divine source of light downwards (sotospeak) in an involutionary current. It flows through each authoritive layer to its subordinate; harvesting new recruits in an organic manner. At each level, one learns to practice the bestowing of light to their inferiors as a means to one’s own personal growth. What we see in this is the qabalistic mechanism in praxis. The Holy Qabalah is not studied in isolation but requires a hierarchy to manufacture an energetic current of psychic force; known to some as an egregore. The Lesser & Greater Mysteries are the two major factors in human culture.