(Cefalù, Sicily)
From Sicily to Arcady
The Cephaloedium Working by Aleister Crowley
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
I ask an Oracle of Thelema for this Working.
`Liber Lapidis Lazuli' the Solar chapter: ``white cat, the
sparks fly from thy fur! Thou dost crackle with splitting
the worlds.'' I ask a Yi King symbol for the whole Working:
XX `Big Earth'. It means Manifestation: i.e. the bringing
forth to birth of the forces hitherto developed by us in
secret.
I ask a Tarot Trump to represent the Prime Pantacle of the
Operation: XVI The House of God.
Now the Oath of the Working is to establish The Book of the
Law; in particular to finish the Comment and to publish the
book as therein commanded. First therefore in this Work is
Hermes to be invoked and next the Sun. I am therefore to
restore the Card `The House of God' as I did when I abode in
the body of Alphonse Louis Constant with the Card `The
Devil'. I will therefore obtain a Vision of this Card, and
paint it upon a panel of mahogany wood, with the proper
colours and forms.
Now on the day of the Sun, in this the Sixteenth Year of the
Aeon, when He stood in the 6th Degree of the Sign
Sagittarius, whose letter hath the value of 60, the Moon
being in the 16th Degree of the Sign Cancer whose letter
hath the value 8, did the Beast 666 TO Mega Therion a Magus
of A.'. A.'. Baphomet 729 the Supreme Holy King of Ireland,
Iona and all the Britains that are in the Sanctuary of the
Gnosis Xth degree O.T.O., Avatar of Bacchus Diphues in the
Place of the XIth degree O.T.O., Logos of the Aeon of Ra
Hoor Khuit, Grand Master of the Knights of the Holy Ghost,
Grand Master of the Knights of the Temple, Eidolon of the
Rosy Cross, Alastor the Destroyer Spirit of Solitude,
Wanderer of the Waste, of the Blood of Kerval Arch-Druids
Hereditary to the Oak, whose Holy Angel his Guardian is
Aiwaz 93, the God first dawning upon Man in the Land of
Sumer, whose breast beareth the token adventure upon
Mountains beyond any man of his fellows, whose body and
blood bear witness of the wounds of Astarte, and the shames
of Priapus, even I in the Abbey of Thelema at Cephaloedium
that am hidden, did convene therein to counsel Alostrael,
31-666-31, the Scarlet Woman Lea my concubine, in whom is
all power given, sworn unto Aiwaz, prostituted in every part
of her body to Pan and to the Beast, mother of Bastards,
aborter, whore to herself, to man, woman, child and brute,
partaker of the Eucharist of the Excrements in the Mass of
the Devil, Sorceress of the Rite of Esau and Jacob, and also
GENESTHAI, 143,{WEH NOTE: C.F.Russell} a Neophyte of
A.'.A.'., a Master Magician of O.T.O. and a Passed Postulant
to the Secret Chamber of the Knights of the Temple, High
Priest unto the Beast before the Altar of Purple and Gold.
First then this Brother GENESTHAI made of Invocation of
Tahuti Lord of Wisdom in the Great Magical Circle of the
Abbey, that He might come upon us in power.
Thus was Tahuti manifest in the mind of The Beast, like
Light therein, clear, icy, wit without heart. And I beheld
the Working afar off, full utterly of desire towards it; and
I was aware of certain things concerning it; as here now to
be writ down.
Firstly: the Working shall establish the Aeon of Ra Hoor
Khuit by obeying the instructions given in "The Book of the
Law".
Secondly: it is a Working of Mercury and Sol, combined even
as they are in the Beast; so that the Word of the Working is
Aleph-Lamed-Dalet-Yod {WEH NOTE: sic, probably should be
Aleph-Lamed-Hay}, 36, the square of 6 and the sum of the
first eight numbers, etc., etc. Now Aleph is the letter of
Hadith as Hay of Nuith, and Lamed is their balanced union.
Thirdly: Alostrael resumeth Nuit and The Beast Hadith; Their
Copulation is therefore by this word 36 well signified.
Fourthly: it is written, `Liber Lapidis Lazuli', Cap. III,
vv. 16-18 that all is vain unless there be ``a man's life
spilt for thy love upon Mine Altars.'' Thus then let His
High Priest do sacrifice to The Beast, thereby to consecrate
Him to the Rite.
Fifthly: that `The Paris Working', the first model for our
present Orgia, is not to be followed pedantically.
Sixthly and lastly: that special names are to be used by us;
for The Beast Ophion 700, for Genesthai 143 Iacchaion, and
for Alostrael a new name not yet given. Also that the vapour
of the Oxide of Ethyl may be used in the Workings.
After this the "Yi King" gave us our First Working as Air of
Air [57], that is, these present writings and considerations
of the Whole Matter.
I now make Qabalistic investigation of the letter Peh.
1. It is `A Mouth' and therefore is the Word therein.
2. Its value 80 is Jesod, the Foundation.
3. It is the Third Letter to Aleph and Lamed in CCXX, and
the final of Aleph-Lamed-Peh. Cf. also ``eight, eighty, four
hundred and eighteen'' ``knowing the law of the fortress, &
the great mystery of the House of God.''
4. It is the third equilibrating Path on the Tree. As
Stability is only perfect as infinite Change (see XIth
Aethyr) so Construction is only solid if based on War.
5. ``I am a God of War'' etc. is Ra Hoor Khuit.
6. The Word in the Mouth is 93: Aiwaz is the Lord of the
Fortress or House of God, which is the Abbey of Thelema.
7. Aiwaz is spelt Ayin, the Eye, i.e. that of Shiva or
Horus, the Meatus Penis and the Anus; Yod, the Phallus,
Spermatozoon; and Hand, Vau, the Fertility of the Testes and
Uterus as well as the Nail of the mentula, being Taurus the
Cow Isis and the Bull Apis or Shiva, the Son in
Tetragrammaton, the Redeemer by Reproduction, the Mithraic
Bull of Resurrection and Initiation in the strength of the
Body. And lastly Zain is the Sword of the Phallus, and
Gemini the double sexual nature, the murder-lust between the
incestuous twins Cain and Abel, Horus and Set or
Harpocrates, Osiris and Typhon, etc. And Gemini is the airy
pulse that gives a basis for the Voice of the Messenger, the
menstruum of the Holy Ghost, the swing of the motion of
Love, the house of the Sun in May, when he impregnates Maia
with Mercurius whose mouth uttereth His Father. And Zain
spelt fully is 67, the number of Binah the All-Mother. Ayin
is moreover the Devil of Lust, the Goat of Mendes, Pan,
Baphomet; and spelt fully Ayin is the Erection and Leaping
and Extension of the Phallus; Yod is the Spermatoon, the
Solitary Boy Hermes, the Virgin; while Nun is the Eagle of
sexual Ecstasy, the Serpent of Life through Death, the
Scorpion or Scarab of Kephra, the Womb which transmutes
through corruption, the Semen or fluid vehicle of the
Spirit, the Elixir of Magick, the Blood, Wine, and Poison in
the Chalice. And Yod repeating that God, and prophesying the
Vau that follows it, ends with Daleth the letter of Venus,
the Door of the Palace of Love. Then Vau reproduceth itself
in its spelling, as it is written ``all is ever as it was''
in "The Book of the Law", and in Aiwaz are found the Three
Star-Clusters of Earth-Nature, the Goat under the God Set or
Saturn for Hadith, the Begetter, and Mars exalted therein
for Force and Fire, the Virgin under Thoth or Mercury, His
Word creating in her the Eidolon of His Nature, and the Bull
under Isis or Venus, the mighty redemption and nourish ment
of Love, for Nuith the Womb of Space wherein Her Lord
worketh His Work.
By this cometh forth the Sign of the Child, the Star-Cluster
of the Twins, under Hermes the Word, airy, elastic,
bisexual, eternally young, the lovers born of one Womb, made
Two that by Love they may make themselves One.
So then in this Name Aiwaz is every rite of the Magick of
the Aeon of Horus declared in detail, and in His number 93
is shewn forth not only the Word of the Law, but the Ways of
the Word and the Mysteries of Truth.
This Name then and this Number shall be the Glyph Hieratic
to unlock the Fortress of the Aeon; Captain is He of all the
hosts of Mars, and Ra Hoor Khuit crowned King in that Palace
of Force and Fire. Set, The Beast, for Ayin; Thoth, Alastor
the Logos, for Yod; Apis, Perdurabo, for Vau; and Hoor
Hoorpakraat, Baphomet, for Zain; foursquare, mystic,
wonderful, as cherubs shall I that am One through these Four
be the builder and warder thereof. And the Scarlet Woman
shall bear Her Cup therein, bestriding Her Beast: &
Iacchaiion shall stand with his Rod, to wige That Beast
therewith.
For he hast the Wand of Death & The Beast the Cup of Death,
but the Beast hath the Wand of Life & the Scarlet Woman the
Chalice of Life. Now Pe joineth & guardeth the Victory & the
Splendor, the frontiers of the Kingdom of Truth: & it is the
Issue, whereby the Bowmen sally forth from the centre
Tiphereth to Yesod the apex of the salient. And Pe is the
girdle of the Loins of the All-Father & the Sword in the
girdle, as Teth is his breast-plate of courage, & Daleth his
Helmet of Live. This Sword is shewn as a lightning-Flash of
Flaming Sword on the Fortress that defends the Kingdom: it
is the Sword or Spear of Ra-Hoor-Khuit. The card is then
thus briefly to be described.
Ra Hoor Khuit sends forth a Ray of Light as a Sword. The
Fortress is his Aeon of 11 towers for abrahadabra. Within is
Aiwaz with 93 or 220. About it is 666 in four-fold form. The
Scarlet Woman bears Cup & Sword, riding The Beast: &
Iacchaion follows with his Rod. Thus far concerning the Card
XVI.
Now then followeth a consideration of the Vestments of the
Artists. Of the Robes & Insignia of the Work.
1. The Scarlet Woman shall wear the Scarlet Abbai: for it is
(a) proper to Her
(b) proper to Mars
(c) proper to Aries, wherein the Sun is exalted. She shall
bear a Golden Cup for Wine, Blood, or Poison; & be girt with
a Sword, as it is written in the "Book of the Law." She
shall wear a girdle of white or of mixed colours. In her
hair she shall wreathe Her Serpent.
2. The Beast shall wear an orange slip & sash as proper to
(a) Hod
(b) the Sun
(c) Gemini: for he is Prophet of the Gods, & he is The Beast
666, of the Sun, & he is innocent, a Child, even, as
Horus-Harpocrates, with the double Function in Love. Over
this shall he wear the Robe of Blue for Nuit lined with
Scarlet for Hadith & the Sun is gold on his breast. He shall
wear the Crimson Cap for Binah, that covereth him, with the
White Cross of John for Kether. He shall wear His ring of a
magus, & his Rosy Cross. He shall bear the Wand of Obeah,
with its Janus-head of Man & Woman, & its Four Snakes for
His weapons.
3. Iacchaion shall wear the Black robe lined with gold, for
he commeth forth from the darkness of the outer, & the Light
but fringeth him. also black is proper to a Neophyte. His
head shall be bare, for shamelessness, & as the symbol of
his function in this Working. he shall bear the style & the
papyrus for Thoth, to write the words of the Work. Also he
shall bear "The Book of the Law."
Of the Furniture of the Temple.
In the East the Altar of Fire, & the Throne of the Beast,
with Incense etc.
In the West the Scarlet Woman, & the Altar of Sacrifice, the
Wine etc.
In the South the Throne of Aiwaz, with the Altar of ?
In the North Iacchaion with the Table of the Scribe.
In the Centre the Hexagonal Altar, with the Pantacle, the
Image of the God -- our Aborted Man-Child, the Bell, & the
Knife, the Oil & the Lamp, or candle.
Of the Ceremony in General.
The Formula of this Magick is this
(1) Banish.
(2) Purify.
(3) Consecrate.
(4) Equilibrate.
(5) Make Oath.
(6) Invoke, by song, dance, &c.
(7) Make Iacchaion God, by Ether.
(8) Sacrifice him to the Beast, who thus becomes God. Use
here the accendat & the right Mantram, the Tu quies & the
Quia Patris.
(9) Sacrifice The Beast to the Scarlet Woman, using Her
mantras F---- S---- etc. Ether at pleasure.
(10) Consume the Elements, as by Amalantrah the Wizard we
are taught, the Pantacle being of "Earth". (In parts 7 to 10
weapons & robes may be laid on the throne of Aiwaz.)
(11) Perform any scrying or utter any prophecies, as may be
given. & at leisure & pleasure resume vestments & insignia.
& close Temple. So far of these matters.
Now we may begin our first Working by the Invocation of
Hermes on His day with the Sun in 9 degrees Sagittarius, the
Moon in 23 degrees Leo & Mercury in 19 degrees Scorpio one
hour before Noon with him in the Zenith, sextile to Venus
Jupiter & Saturn. In furtherance whereof, at eleven of the
night of Monday, did The Beast work under The Scarlet Woman
his Word, to make the Great Operation go aright. Immediately
was The Beast inspired to a writing Mercurial, a satire upon
the Fish: & thus wrote he some 14 or 15 hours.
The Oath of the Cephaloedium Working.
Hear All that we, TO MEGA THERION 9degree = 2square A.'.A.'.
The Beast; Alostrael, The Scarlet Woman; & GENESTHAI odegree
= 0square A.'.A.'. do now in the presence of TAHUTI most
solemnly swear to devote ourselves to the Establishment of
"The Book of the Law" as uttered by Aiwaz 93 to 66, by the
Way of The Cephaloedium Working as in the record thereof it
hath been written.
Witness our Hands:
To Mega Therion 9degree = 2square A.'.A.'. 666
Alostrael - 31-666-31.
Genesthai
The Banquet of Fish & Yellow Wine was consumed & the Oath of
the Working witnessed accordingly with ceremonial proper
thereto, & concluded at 1:18 p.m. of the Day of Mercury
which openeth the month called December.
I ask a symbol for the next Day of the Working.
IV - Earth of Moon: The formulation of the Restrictions &
the dispelling of Ignorance. id est: make careful
arrangements & ask for further Enlightenment. How should we
obtain further Enlightenment?
LII - Earth of Earth: "When one's resting is like that of
the back & he loses all consciousness of self: when he walks
in his own courtyard & Does not see any of the persons in it
- then there will be no error."
die Jovis: Began the Pantacle of XVI, & went on with my Fish
Story; which by the way is the Blasting of the Old Tower of
Jesus-Tyranny.
de Martis: We have all three been sick in various ways, so
that save for beginning the Painting of the Pantacle no work
has been done. I ask a symbol to indicate our proper course
of action:
XX -- Airy part of Kteis. Cf. General symbol, I should
suppose that this means that we can now begin again. What
shall we do tomorrow die Mercuri?
X -- Phallic part of Water. The Tiger. See line 6. Consider
the whole course that is trodden & examine the presage which
that gives. We still therefore invoke Tahuti, & read the
record up to this point, then obtain illuminated Wisdom as
to our course.
This Operation was accordingly taken in hand at one o'clock,
the afternoon on the Day of Jupiter.
The formulation of the Primum Ens Melissae was however
difficult. The Beast receiving a communication of a
climatological character reminding him of his Lost Lustre.
It is therefore incumbent to make a new divination task:
what course is now proper to pursue? LXII: Let the matter
take care of itself: enquire further on the next day of
Mercury.
dei Lunae: Dec. 13: At two o'clock this morning, after
making my Confession. I laid my hand upon the Sacred Lotus
of Alostrael & swore these Oaths: -- I. I ......., the Beast
666 hereby & herein most solemnly promise & swear: to devote
my whole working time exclusively to the completion of my
Comment on "The Book of the Law."
2. I, etc, as before etc. swear: that as soon as the Comment
is ready, I will take the Book & cause it to be printed,
bound & issued in the manner ordained in the Book itself,
though I leave myself without money to buy my next meal
To these oaths, I called Nuith! Hadith! Ra Hoor Khuit! as
witnesses thereof. I then invoked Aiwaz to aid me to keep
them, & in all other ways soever to forward the Work.
2.20 a.m. - I therefore open my MS. of the Comment.
Dec. 15. We seem to have been harassed by minor illnesses,
so much as to be actually crippled; in fact I have been
practically obliged to keep to my bed & Alostrael will take
the divination concerning the working.
How shall we proceed?
LI. Fire of Fire: This seems to mean that a new current may
be expected. This New Current turned up on the morning of
Dec. 16 Die Jovis, in the shape of a letter from the printer
of The Equinox III. The Oracle also means that we need to
formulate the Yod of our Tetragrammaton; which rests with
Frater Genesthai. He is at present the 'Pure Fool' & must
acquire the Sacred Lance.
Die Veneris: Dec. 24. I have been revising the Comment on
"Liber Legis," with the aid of Alostrael, Iacchaion, & Jane
Wolfe. This applies only to Chapter I; Chapter II I have
revised with Iacchaion only, & Chapter III I have read
through alone. I cannot express myself adequately about my
sense of failure in this Comment. More I feel that I have
not conquered my repulsion to Chapter III. I ask myself too:
Have I even tried to carry out the instructions in that
Chapter?
I am utterly wretched about the whole matter. I say: have I
not failed absolutely to obey the "Heavenly Vision"? I am so
miserable that I can only see one course of action: to ask
the Yi to give a General Symbol for my past Work in relation
to "The Book of the Law."
LIV - Kwei Mei: Alas! too true! I have been divided against
myself: I have gone in just deep enough to compromise
myself, not I when the whole hearted plunge would have
brought success.
I have been too irritably active, & not persistent enough.
Give a symbol for my right course of action in regard to it
'at the present time & thence onward. LVIII Tui.: Let there
be an even flow of Love to it, a still & subtle dissolution.
Water, the weakest thing in Nature is stronger than the
strongest. Steady devotion without anxiety or fussiness will
penetrate the Universe. Inward harmony & sincerity: the slow
accumulation of Karma, constant concentration on the Law,
utmost faith even in one's opponents, will gather the whole
world into the fold of the Stars.
Wed. Dec. 29. 1920 e.v. Current for this work going to-day &
oath renewed in public. I spent all night writing on certain
matters proper to the Comment --- 93 pages of MS.
Dec. 30 1920 e.v. dei Jovis: At about ten o'clock of the
forenoon The Beast & The Scarlet Woman performed a Mass of
the Holy Ghost with the intention of establishing the Law.
Jan. 3. 1921 e.v. Frater Iacchaion began a Working which
continued throughout the whole night. The Beast accordingly
was inspired to continue the Comment through the night
following.
Jan. 7. die Veneris: Awake most of the night in meditation.
The Beast decided on a course of action with regard to the
practical matters connected with the Book of the Law.
(1) Consult Yi about recovery of the MS.
(2) Push through Comment. The Yi gives Khwan (47) Watery
part of Luna meaning Bring restriction to bear on the thief.
Jan. 20. die Jovis: The Sun enters the Sign of Aquarius: I
record that Frater Iacchaion, the Primum Mobile of the
Working, having failed to initiate any Rashith Ha-Gilgalim,
has caused the collapse of the whole Working, which I
therefore declare ended. I now myself repair to the City of
Paris, there to inaugurate an alternative course of
procedure. 666 To Mega Therion 9degree = 2square A.'.A.'.
Here endeth the book of
The
Cephaloedium Working.
Iacchaion Altar of Fire
& Table of Scribe Aiwaz Throne & Altar
Altar with Lamp, bell,
Knife, pantacle, & Oil.
Scarlet Woman with
Cup & Sword, Wine.
Water, Ether &c.
© O.T.O.