Copyright (c) Ordo Templi Orientis




    MAGICK
                   IN
  THEORY
             AND
PRACTICE


      Part III of Book Four

                       by

       The Master Therion

           (Aleister Crowley)



[Based on the Castle Books edition of New York.]

   Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
_____________________________________________________________________________________
                                      HYMN TO PAN

ephrix erõti periarchés d' aneptoman
iõ iõ pan pan
õ pan pan aliplankte, kyllanias chionoktypoi
petraias apo deirados phanéth, õ
theõn choropoi anax
SOPH. AJ.

Thrill with lissome lust of the light,
O man! My man!
Come careering out of the night
Of Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan! Come over the sea
From Sicily and from Arcady!
Roaming as Bacchus, with fauns and pards
And nymphs and satyrs for thy guards,
On a milk-white ass, come over the sea
To me, to me,
Come with Apollo in bridal dress
(Shepherdess and pythoness)
Come with Artemis, silken shod,
And wash thy white thigh, beautiful God,
In the moon of the woods, on the marble mount,
The dimpled dawn of the amber fount!
Dip the purple of passionate prayer
In the crimson shrine, the scarlet snare,
The soul that startles in eyes of blue
To watch thy wantonness weeping through
The tangled grove, the gnarled bole
Of the living tree that is spirit and soul
And body and brain -- come over the sea,
(Io Pan! Io Pan!)
Devil or god, to me, to me,
My man! my man!
Come with trumpets sounding shrill
Over the hill!
Come with drums low muttering
From the spring!
Come with flute and come with pipe!
Am I not ripe?
I, who wait and writhe and wrestle
With air that hath no boughs to nestle
My body, weary of empty clasp,
Strong as a lion and sharp as an asp --
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Come, O come!
I am numb
With the lonely lust of devildom.
Thrust the sword through the galling fetter,
All-devourer, all-begetter;
Give me the sign of the Open Eye,
And the token erect of thorny thigh,
And the word of madness and mystery,
O Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan Pan! Pan,
I am a man:
Do as thou wilt, as a great god can,
O Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! I am awake
In the grip of the snake.
The eagle slashes with beak and claw;
The gods withdraw:
The great beasts come, Io Pan! I am borne
To death on the horn
Of the Unicorn.
I am Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan!
I am thy mate, I am thy man,
Goat of thy flock, I am gold, I am god,
Flesh to thy bone, flower to thy rod.
With hoofs of steel I race on the rocks
Through solstice stubborn to equinox.
And I rave; and I rape and I rip and I rend
Everlasting, world without end,
Mannikin, maiden, Maenad, man,
In the might of Pan.
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan! Io Pan!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
                                         INTRODUCTION

Esseai athanatos theos, ambrotos, oyk eti thnétos

Pythagoras.

"Magic is the Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine Knowledge of Natural Philosophy, advanced in its
works and wonderful operations by a right understanding of the inward and occult virtue of things; so that true
Agents being applied to proper Patients, strange and admirable effects will thereby be produced. Whence
magicians are profound and diligent searchers into Nature; they, because of their skill, know how to anticipate
an effect, the which to the vulgar shall seem to be a miracle."

The Goetia of the Lemegeton of King Solomon.

"Wherever sympathetic magic occurs in its pure unadulterated form, it is assumed that in nature one event
follows another necessarily and invariably without the intervention of any spiritual or personal agency.

Thus its fundamental conception is identical with that of modern science; underlying the
whole system is a faith, implicit but real and firm, in the order and uniformity of nature. The
magician does not doubt that the same causes will always produce the same effects, that the performance of
the proper ceremony accompanied by the appropriate spell, will inevitably be attended by the desired results,
unless, indeed, his incantations should chance to be thwarted and foiled by the more potent charms of another
sorcerer. He supplicates no higher power: he sues the favour of no fickle and wayward being: he abases himself
before no awful deity. Yet his power, great as he believes it to be, is by no means arbitrary and unlimited. He
can wield it only so long as he strictly conforms to the rules of his art, or to what may be called the laws of
nature as conceived by him. To neglect these rules, to break these laws in the smallest particular is to incur
failure, and may even expose the unskilful practitioner himself to the utmost peril. If he claims a sovereignty
over nature, it is a constitutional sovereignty rigorously limited in its scope and exercised in exact conformity
with ancient usage. Thus the analogy between the magical and the scientific conceptions of the world is close.
In both of them the succession of events is perfectly regular and certain, being determined by immutable laws,
the operation of which can be foreseen and calculated precisely; the elements of caprice, of chance, and of
accident are banished from the course of nature. Both of them open up a seemingly boundless vista of possibilities
to him who knows the causes of things and can touch the secret springs that set in motion the vast and intricate
mechanism of the world. Hence the strong attraction which magic and science alike have exercised on the
human mind; hence the powerful stimulus that both have given to the pursuit of knowledge. They lure the
weary enquirer, the footsore seeker, on through the wilderness of disappointment in the present by their
endless promises of the future: they take him up to he top of an exceeding high mountain and shew him,
beyond the dark clouds and rolling mists at his feet, a vision of the celestial city, far off, it may be, but radiant
with unearthly splendour, bathed in the light of dreams."

Dr. J. G. FRAZER, "The Golden Bough".

"So far, therefore, as the public profession of magic has been one of the roads by which men have
passed to supreme power, it has contributed to emancipate mankind from the thraldom of
tradition and to elevate them into a larger, freer life, with a broader outlook on the world. This
is no small service rendered to humanity. And when we remember further that in another direction
magic has paved the way for science, we are forced to admit that if the black art has done much evil, it has also
been the source of much good; that if it is the child of error, it has yet been the mother of freedom and
truth."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Ibid.

"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."

St. Paul.

"Also the mantras and spells; the obeah and the wanga; the work of the wand and the work of the sword; these
he shall learn and teach."

"He must teach; but he may make severe the ordeals."

"The word of the Law is [in Greek] Thelema."

LIBER AL vel xxxi: The Book of the Law.



This book is for

                                                     ALL:

for every man, woman, and child.

My former work has been misunderstood, and its scope limited, by my use of technical terms. It has attracted
only too many dilettanti and eccentrics, weaklings seeking in "Magic" an escape from reality. I myself was
first consciously drawn to the subject in this way. And it has repelled only too many scientific and practical
minds, such as I most designed to influence.

But

                                                    MAGICK

is for

                                                     ALL.

I have written this book to help the Banker, the Pugilist, the Biologist, the Poet, the Navvy, the Grocer, the
Factory Girl, the Mathematician, the Stenographer, the Golfer, the Wife, the Consul -- and all the rest -- to
fulfil themselves perfectly, each in his or her own proper function.

Let me explain in a few words how it came about that I blazoned the word

                                                    MAGICK

upon the Banner that I have borne before me all my life.

Before I touched my teens, I was already aware that I was THE BEAST whose number is 666. I did not
understand in the least {XI} what that implied; it was a passionately ecstatic sense of identity.

In my third year at Cambridge, I devoted myself consciously to the Great Work, understanding thereby the
Work of becoming a Spiritual Being, free from the constraints, accidents, and deceptions of material existence.

I found myself at a loss for a name to designate my work, just as H. P. Blavatsky some years earlier. "Theosophy",
"Spiritualism", "Occultism", "Mysticism", all involved undesirable connotations.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I chose therefore the name.

                                                 "MAGICK"

as essentially the most sublime, and actually the most discredited, of all the available terms.

I swore to rehabilitate

                                                   MAGICK,

to identify it with my own career; and to compel mankind to respect, love, and trust that which they scorned,
hated and feared. I have kept my Word.

But the time is now come for me to carry my banner into the thick of the press of human life.

I must make

                                                    MAGICK

the essential factor in the life of

                                                       ALL.

In presenting this book to the world, I must then explain and justify my position by formulating a definition
of

                                                    MAGICK

and setting forth its main principles in such a way that

                                                       ALL

may understand instantly that their souls, their lives, in every relation with every other human being and
every circumstance, depend upon

                                                    MAGICK

and the right comprehension and right application thereof.

I) DEFINITION.

Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.

(Illustration: It is my Will to inform the World of certain facts within my knowledge. I therefore take "magickal
weapons", pen, ink, and paper; I write "incantations"--these sentences--in the "magickal language" ie, that
which is understood by the people I wish to instruct; I call forth "spirits", such as printers, publishers, booksellers
and so forth and constrain them to convey my message to those people. The composition and distribution of
this book is thus an act of Magick by which I cause Changes to take place in conformity with my Will.)

    In one sense Magick may be defined as the name given to Science by the vulgar.

II) POSTULATE.

ANY required change may be effected by the application of the proper kind and degree of
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Force in the proper manner, through the proper medium to the proper object.

(Illustration: I wish to prepare an ounce of Chloride of Gold. I must take the right kind of acid, nitro-hydrochloric
and no other, in a vessel which will not break, leak or corrode, in such a manner as will not produce undesirable
results, with the necessary quantity of Gold: and so forth. Every change has its own conditions.

In the present state of our knowledge and power some changes are not possible in practice; we cannot cause
eclipses, for instance, or transform lead into tin, or create men from mushrooms. But it is theoretically possible
to cause in any object any change of which that object is capable by nature; and the conditions are covered by
the above postulate.)

III) THEOREMS.

1) Every intentional act is a Magickal act.

(Illustration: See "Definition" above.)

     By "intentional" I mean "willed". But even unintentional acts so seeming are not truly so. Thus, breathing is
     an act of the Will to Live.

2) Every successful act has conformed to the postulate.

3) Every failure proves that one or more requirements of the postulate have not been fulfilled.

(Illustrations: There may be failure to understand the case, as when a doctor makes a wrong diagnosis, and his
treatment injures the patient. There may be a failure to apply the right kind of force, as when a rustic tries to
blow out an electric light. There may be failure to apply the right degree of force, as when a wrestler has his
hold broken, There may be failure to apply the force in the right manner, as when one presents a cheque at the
wrong window of the Bank. There may be failure to employ the correct medium, as when Leonardo da Vinci
saw his masterpiece fade away. The force may be applied to an unsuitable object, as when one tries to crack a
stone, thinking it a nut.)

4) The first requisite for causing any change is thorough qualitative and quantitative understanding
of the conditions.

(Illustration: The most common cause of failure in life is ignorance of one's own True Will, or of the means to
fulfill that Will. A man may fancy himself a painter, and waste his life trying to become one; or he may really
be a painter, and yet fail to understand and to measure the difficulties peculiar to that career.)

5) The second requisite of causing any change is the practical ability to set in right motion the
necessary forces.

(Illustration: A banker may have a perfect grasp of a given situation, yet lack the quality of decision, or the
assets, necessary to take advantage of it.)

6) "Every man and every woman is a star". That is to say, every human being is intrinsically an
independent individual with his own proper character and proper motion.

7) Every man and every woman has a course, depending partly on the self, and partly on the
environment which is natural and necessary for each. Anyone who is forced from his own
course, either through not understanding himself, or through external opposition, comes into
conflict with the order of the Universe, and suffers accordingly.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
(Illustration: A man may think it is his duty to act in a certain way, through having made a fancy picture of
himself, instead of investigating his actual nature. For example, a woman may make herself miserable for life
by thinking that she prefers love to social consideration, or vice versa. One woman may stay with an
unsympathetic husband when she would really be happy in an attic with a lover, while another may fool
herself into a romantic elopement when her only pleasures are those of presiding over fashionable functions.
Again, a boy's instinct may tell him to go to sea, while his parents insist on his becoming a doctor. In such a
case he will be both unsuccessful and unhappy in medicine.)

8) A Man whose conscious will is at odds with his True Will is wasting his strength. He cannot
hope to influence his environment efficiently.

(Illustration: When Civil War rages in a nation, it is in no condition to undertake the invasion of other countries.
A man with cancer employs his nourishment alike to his own use and to that of the enemy which is part of
himself. He soon fails to resist the pressure of his environment. In practical life, a man who is doing what his
conscience tells him to be wrong will do it very clumsily. At first!)

9) A Man who is doing his True Will has the inertia of the Universe to assist him.

(Illustration: The first principle of success in evolution is that the individual should be true to his own nature,
and at the same time adapt himself to his environment.)

10) Nature is a continuous phenomenon, though we may not know in all cases how things are
connected.

(Illustration: Human comsciousness depends on the properties of protoplasm, the existence of which depends
on innumerable physical conditions peculiar to this planet; and this planet is determined by the mechanical
balance of the whole universe of matter. We may then say that our consciousness is causally connected with
the remotest galaxies; yet we do not even know how it arises from--or with--the molecular changes in the
brain.)

11) Science enables us to take advantage of the continuity of Nature by the empirical application
of certain principles whose interplay involves different orders of idea connected with each
other in a way beyond our present comprehension.

(Illustration: We are able to light cities by rule-of-thumb methods. We do not know what consciousness is, or
how it is connected with muscular action; what electricity is or how it is connected with the machines that
generate it; and our methods depend on calculations involving mathematical ideas which have no
correspondance in the Universe as we know it.)

    For instance "irrational", "unreal" and "infinite" expressions.

12) Man is ignorant of the nature of his own being and powers. Even his idea of his limitations
is based on experience of the past, and every step in his progress extends his empire. There is
therefore no reason to assign theoretical limits

    note: i.e., except--possibly--in the case of logically absurd questions such as the Schoolmen discussed in connection
    with "God".

to what he may be, or what he may do.

(Illustration: A generation ago it was supposed theoretically impossible that man should ever know the
_____________________________________________________________________________________
composition of the fixed stars. It is known that our senses are adapted to receive only a fraction of the possible
rates of vibration.Modern instruments have enabled us to detect some of these supra-sensibles by indirect
methods, and even to use their peculiar qualities in the service of man, as in the case of the rays of Hertz and
Roentgen. As Tyndall said, man might at any moment learn to percieve and utilize vibrations of all concievable
and inconcievable kinds. The question of Magick is a question of discovering and employing hitherto unknown
forces in nature. We know that they exist, and we cannot doubt the possibility of mental or physical instruments
capable of bringing us into relation with them.)

13) Every man is more or less aware that his individuality comprises several orders of existence,
even when he maintains that his subtler principles are merely symptomatic of the changes in his
gross vehicle. A similar order may be assumed to extend throughout nature.

(Illustration: One does not confuse the pain of a toothache with the decay that causes it. Inanimate objects are
sensitive to certain physical forces, such as electrical and thermal conductivity; but neither in us nor in them--
so far as we know--is there any direct conscious perception of these forces. Imperceptible influences are
therefore associated with all material phenomena; and there is no reason why we should not work upon matter
through these subtle energies as we do through their material bases. In fact, we use magnetic force to move
iron and solar radiation to reproduce images.)

14) Man is capable of being, and using, anything which he perceives, for everything which he
perceives is in a certain sense a part of his being. He may thus subjugate the whole of the
Universe of which he is conscious to his individual Will.

(Illustration: Man has used the idea of God to dictate his personal conduct, to obtain power over his fellows, to
excuse his crimes, and for innumerable other purposes, including that of realizing himself as God. He has used
the irrational and unreal conceptions of mathematics to help him in the construction of mechanical devices.
He has used his moral force to influence the actions even of wild animals. He has employed poetic genius for
political purposes.)

15) Every force in the Universe is capable of being transformed into any other kind of force by
using suitable means. There is thus an inexhaustible supply of any particular kind of force that
we may need.

(Illustration: Heat may be transformed into light and power by using it to drive dynamos. The vibrations of
the air may be used to kill men by so ordering them in speech so as to inflame war-like passions. The
hallucinations connected with the mysterious energies of sex result in the perpetuation of the species.)

16) The application of any given force affects all the orders of being which exist in the object
in the object to which it is applied, whichever of of those orders is directly affected.

(Illustration: If I strike a man with a dagger, his consciousness, not his body only, is affected by my act,
although the dagger, as such, has no direct relation therewith. Similarly, the power of my thought may so
work on the mind of another person as to produce far-reaching physical changes in him, or in others through
him.)

17) A man may learn to use any force so as to serve any purpose, by taking advantage of the
above theorems.

(Illustration: A man may use a razor to make himself vigilant over his speech, by using it to cut himself
whenever he ungaurdedly utters a chosen word. He may serve the same purpose by resolving that every
_____________________________________________________________________________________
incident of his life shall remind him of a particular thing, making every impression the starting point of a
connected series of thoughts ending in that thing. He might also devote his whole energies to some one
particular object, by resolving to do nothing at variance therewith, and to make every act turn to the advantage
of that object.)

18) He may attract to himself any force of the Universe by making himself a fit receptacle for
it, and arranging conditions so that its nature compels it to flow toward him.

(Illustration: If I want pure water to drink, I dig a well in a place where there is underground water; I prevent
it from leaking away; and I arrange to take advantage of water's accordance with the laws of Hydrostatics to fill
it.)

19) Man's sense of himself as seperate from, and opposed to, the Universe is a bar to his
conducting its currents. It insulates him.

(Illustration: A popular leader is most successful when he forgets himself and remembers only "The Cause".
Self-seeking engenders jealousies and schism. When the organs of the body assert their presence other by
silent satisfaction, it is a sign they are diseased. The single exception is the organ of reproduction. Yet even in
this case its self-assertion bears witness to its dissatisfaction with itself, since it cannot fulfil its function until
completed by its counterpart in another organism.)

20) Man can only attract and employ the forces for which he is really fitted.

(Illustration: You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. A true man of science learns from every
phenomeneon. But Nature is dumb to the hypocrite; for in her there is nothing false.)

     It is no objection that the hypocrite is himself part of Nature. He is an "endothermic" product, divided against
     himself, with a tendency to break up. He will see his own qualities everywhere, and thus obtain a radical
     misconception of phenomena. Most religions of the past have failed by expecting nature to conform with their
     ideals of proper conduct.

21) There is no limit to the extent of the relations of any man with the Universe in essence; for
as soon as man makes himself one with any idea the means of measurement cease to exist. But
his power to utilize that force is limited by his mental power and capacity, and by the
circumstances of his human environment.

(Illustration: When a man falls in love, the whole world becomes, to him, nothing but love boundless and
immanent; but his mystical state is not contagious; his fellow-men are either amused or annoyed. He can only
extend to others the effect which his love has had upon himself by means of his mental and physical qualities.
Thus Catullus, Dante and Swinburne made their love a mighty mover of mankind by virtue of their power to
put their thoughts on the subject in musical and eloquent language. Again, Cleopatra and other people in
authority moulded the fortunes of many other people by allowing love to influence their political actions. The
Magician, however well he succeed in making contact with the secret sources of energy in nature, can only
use them to the extent permitted by his intellectual and moral qualities. Mohammed's intercourse with
Gabriel was only effective because of his statesmanship, soldiership, and the sublimity of his command of
Arabic. Hertz's discovery of the rays which we now use for wireless telegraphy was sterile until it reflected
through the minds and wills of the people who could take his truth and transmit it to the world of action by
means of mechanical and economic instruments.)

22) Every individual is essentially sufficient to himself. But he is unsatisfactory to himself until
_____________________________________________________________________________________
he has established himself in his right relation with the universe.

(Illustration: A microscope, however perfect, is useless in the hands of savages. A poet, however sublime,
must impose himself upon his generation if he is to enjoy (and even to understand) himself, as theoretically
should be the case.)

23) Magick is the Science of understanding oneself and one's conditions. It is the Art of applying
that understanding in action.

(Illustration: A golf club is intended to move a special ball in a special way in special circumstances. A Niblick
should rarely be used on the tee or a brassie under the bank of a bunker. But also, the use of any club demands
skill and experience.)

24) Every man has an indefeasible right to be what he is.

(Illustration: To insist that any one else should comply with one's own standards is to outrage, not only him,
but oneself, since both parties are equally born of necessity.)

25) Every man must do Magick each time he acts or even thinks, since a thought is an internal
act whose influence ultimately affects action, though it may not do so at the time.

(Illustration: The least gesture causes a change in a man's own body and in the air around him; it disturbs the
balance of the entire Universe, and its effects continue eternally throughout all space. Every thought, however
swiftly suppressed, has its effect on the mind. It stands as one of the causes of every subsequent thought, and
tends to influence every subsequent action. A golfer may lose a few yards on his drive, a few more with his
second and third, he may lie on the green six bare inches too far from the hole, but the net result of these
trifling mishaps is the difference between halving and losing the hole.)

26) Every man has a right, the right of self preservation, to fulfill himself to the utmost.

     Men of "criminal nature" are simply at issue with their true Wills. The murderer has the Will to Live; and his
     will to murder is a false will at variance with his true Will, since he risks death at the hands of Society by obeying
     his criminal impulse.

(Illustration: A function imperfectly performed injures, not only itself, but everything associated with it. If the
heart is afraid to beat for fear of disturbing the liver, the liver is starved for blood and avenges itself on the heart
by upsetting digestion, which disorders respiration, on which cardiac welfare depends.)

27) Every man should make Magick the keystone of his life. He should learn its laws and live
by them.

(Illustration: The Banker should discover the real meaning of his existence, the real motive which led him to
choose that profession. He should under-stand banking as a necessary factor in the economic existence of
mankind instead of merely a business whose objects are independant of the general welfare. He should learn to
distinguish false values from real, and to act not on accidental fluctuations but on considerations of essential
importance. Such a banker will prove himself superior to others; because he will not be an individual limited
by transitory things, but a force of Nature, as impersonal, impartial and eternal as gravitation, as patient and
irresistable as the tides. His system will not be subject to panic, any more than the law of Inverse Squares is
disturbed by elections. He will not be anxious about his affairs because they will not be his; and for that reason
he will be able to direct them with the calm, clear-headed confidence of an onlooker, with intelligence
unclouded by self-interest, and power unimpaired by passion.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
28) Every man has a right to fulfill his own will without being afraid that it may interfere with
that of others; for if he is in his proper place, it is the fault of others if they interfere with him.

(Illustration: If a man like Napoleon were actually appointed by destiny to control Europe, he should not be
blamed for exercising his rights. To oppose him would be an error. Any one so doing would have made a
mistake as to his own destiny, except insofar as it mught be necessary for him to learn the lessons of defeat. The
sun moves in space without interference. the order of nature provides an orbit for each star. A clash proves that
one or the other has strayed from its course. But as to each man that keeps his true course, the more firmly he
acts, the less likely others are to get in his way. His example will helpthem to find their own paths and pursue
them. Every man that becomes a Magician helps others to do likewise. The more firmly and surely men
move, and the more such action is accepted as the standard of morality, the less will conflict and confusion
hamper humanity.)



I hope that the above principles will demonstrate to

                                                        ALL

that their welfare, their very existence, is bound up in

                                                    MAGICK.

I trust that they will understand, not only the reasonableness, but the necessity of the fundamental truth which
I was the means of giving to mankind:

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." I trust that they will assert themselves as individually
absolute, that they will grasp the fact that it is their right to assert themselves, and to accomplish the task for
which their nature fits them. Yea, more, that this is their duty, and that not only to themselves but to others,
a duty founded upon universal necessity, and not to be shirked on account of any casual circumstances of the
moment which may seem to put such conduct in the light of inconvenience or even of cruelty.

I hope that the principles outlined above will help them to understand this book, and prevent them from
being deterred from its study by the more or less technical language in which it is written.

The essence of

                                                     MAGICK

is simple enough in all conscience. It is not otherwise with the art of government. The Aim is simply prosperity;
but the theory is tangled, and the practice beset with briars.

In the same way

                                                     MAGICK

is merely to be and to do. I should add: "to suffer". For Magick is the verb; and it is part of the Training to use
the passive voice. This is, however, a matter of Initiation rather than of Magick in its ordinary sense. It is not
my fault if being is baffling, and doing desperate!

Yet, once the above principles are firmly fixed in the mind, it is easy enough to sum up the situation very
shortly. One must find out for oneself, and make sure beyond doubt, "who" one is, "what" one is, "why" one
_____________________________________________________________________________________
is. This done, one may put the will which is implicit in the "Why" into words, or rather into One Word.
Being thus conscious of the proper course to pursue, the next thing is to understand the conditions necessary
to following it out. After that, one must eliminate from oneself every element alien or hostile to success, and
develop those parts of oneself which are specially needed to control the aforesaid conditions.

Let us make an analogy. A nation must become aware of its own character before it can be said to exist. From
that knowledge it must divine its destiny. It must then consider the political conditions of the world; how
other countries may help it or hinder it. It must then destroy it itself any elements discordant with its destiny.
Lastly, it must develop in itself those qualities which will enable it to combat successfully the external conditions
which threaten to oppose is purpose. We have had a recent example in the case of the young German Empire,
which, knowing itself and its will, disciplined and trained itself so that it conquered the neighbours which had
oppressed it for so many centuries. But after 1866 and 1870, 1914! It mistook itself for superhuman, it willed
a thing impossible, it failed to eliminate its own internal jealousies, it failed to understand the conditions of
victory,

    At least, it allowed England to discover its intentions, and so to combine the world against it. {WEH NOTE:
    This footnote in Crowley's text belongs to this page, but it is not marked in the text. I have assigned it this
    tentative point, as following the general context.

it did not train itself to hold the sea, and thus, having violated every principle of

                                                        MAGICK,

it was pulled down and broken into pieces by provincialism and democracy, so that neither individual excellence
nor civic virtue has yet availed to raise it again to that majestic unity which made so bold a bid for the mastery
of the race of man.

The sincere student will discover, behind the symbolic technicalities of his book, a practical method of making
himself a Magician. The processes described will enable him to discriminate between what he actually is, and
what he has fondly imagined himself to be.

    Professor Sigmund Freud and his school have, in recent years, discovered a part of this body of Truth, which has
    been taught for many centuries in the Sanctuaries of Initiation. But failure to grasp the fullness of Truth, especially
    that implied in my Sixth Theorem (above) and its corollaries, has led him and his followers into the error of
    admitting that the avowedly suicidal "Censor" is the proper arbiter of conduct. Official psycho-analysis is therefore
    committed to upholding a fraud, although the foundation of the science was the observation of the disastrous effects
    on the individual of being false to his Unconscious Self, whose "writing on the wall" in dream language is the
    record of the sum of the essential tendencies of the true nature of the individual. The result has been that psycho-
    analysts have misinterpreted life, and announced the absurdity that every human being is essentially an anti-
    social, criminal, and insane animal. It is evident that the errors of the Unconscious of which the psycho-analysts
    complain are neither more nor less than the"original sin" of the theologians whom they despise so heartily.

He must behold his soul in all its awful nakedness, he must not fear to look on that appalling actuality. He
must discard the gaudy garments with which his shame has screened him; he must accept the fact that nothing
can make him anything but what he is. He may lie to himself, drug himself, hide himself; but he is always
there. Magick will teach him that his mind is playing him traitor. It is as if a man were told that tailors' fashion-
plates were the canon of human beauty, so that he tried to make himself formless and featureless like them, and
shuddered with horror at the idea of Holbein making a portrait of him. Magick will show him the beauty and
majesty of the self which he has tried to suppress and disguise.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Having discovered his identity, he will soon perceive his purpose. Another process will show him how to
make that purpose pure and powerful. He may then learn how to estimate his environment, learn how to
make allies, how to make himself prevail against all powers whose error has caused them to wander across his
path.

In the course of this Training, he will learn to explore the Hidden Mysteries of Nature, and to develop new
senses and faculties in himself, whereby he may communicate with, and control, Beings and Forces pertaining
to orders of existence which have been hitherto inaccessible to profane research, and available only to that
unscientific and empirical

                                                  MAGICK

(of tradition) which I came to destroy in order that I might fulfil.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
                                                   CHAPTER 0

             THE MAGICAL THEORY OF THE UNIVERSE

There are three main theories of the Universe; Dualism, Monism and Nihilism. It is impossible to enter into
a discussion of their relative merits in a popular manual of this sort. They may be studied in Erdmann's
"History of Philosophy" and similar treatises.

All are reconciled and unified in the theory which we shall now set forth. The basis of this Harmony is given
in Crowley's

"Berashith" -- to which reference should be made.

Infinite space is called the goddess NUIT, while the infinitely small and atomic yet omnipresent point is
called HADIT.

    I present this theory in a very simple form. I cannot even explain (for instance) that an idea may not refer to Being
    at all, but to Going. The Book of the Law demands special study and initiated apprehension.

These are unmanifest. One conjunction of these infinites is called RA-HOOR-KHUIT,

    More correctly, HERU-RA-HA, to include HOOR-PAAR-KRAAT.

a unity which includes and heads all things.

    The basis of this theology is given in Liber CCXX, AL vel Legis which forms Part IV of this Book 4. Hence I can
    only outline the matter in a very crude way; it would require a separate treatise to discuss even the true meaning
    of the terms employed, and to show how The Book of the Law anticipates the recent discoveries of Frege, Cantor,
    Poincare, Russell, Whitehead, Einstein and others.

(There is also a particular Nature of Him, in certain conditions, such as have obtained since the Spring of 1904,
e.v.) This profoundly mystical conception is based upon actual spiritual experience, but the trained reason

    All advance in understanding demands the acquisition of a new point-of-view. Modern conceptions of Mathematics,
    Chemistry, and Physics are sheer paradox to the "plain man" who thinks of Matter as something that one can
    knock up against.

can reach a reflection of this idea by the method of logical contradiction which ends in reason transcending
itself. The reader should consult "The Soldier and the Hunchback" in Equinox I, I, and Konx Om Pax.

"Unity" transcends "consciousness". It is above all division. The Father of thought -- the Word -- is called
Chaos -- the dyad. The number Three, the Mother, is called Babalon. In connection with this the reader
should study "The Temple of Solomon the King" in Equinox I, V, and Liber 418.

This first triad is essentially unity, in a manner transcending reason. The comprehension of this Trinity is a
matter of spiritual experience. All true gods are attributed to this Trinity.

    Considerations of the Christian Trinity are of a nature suited only to Initiates of the IX Degree of O.T.O., as
    they enclose the final secret of all practical Magick.

An immeasurable abyss divides it from all manifestations of Reason or the lower qualities of man. In the
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ultimate analysis of Reason, we find all reason identified with this abyss. Yet this abyss is the crown of the
mind. Purely intellectual faculties all obtain here. This abyss has no number, for in it all is confusion.

Below this abyss we find the moral qualities of Man, of which there are six. The highest is symbolised by the
number Four. Its nature is fatherly

     Each conception is, however, balanced in itself. Four is also Daleth, the letter of Venus; so that the mother-idea
     is included. Again, the Sephira of 4 is Chesed, referred to Water. 4 is ruled by Jupiter, Lord of the Lightning
     (Fire) yet ruler of Air. Each Sephira is complete in its way.

; Mercy and Authority are the attributes of its dignity.

The number Five is balanced against it. The attributes of Five are Energy and Justice. Four and Five are again
combined and harmonized in the number Six, whose nature is beauty and harmony, mortality and immortality.

In the number Seven the feminine nature is again predominant, but it is the masculine type of female, the
Amazon, who is balanced in the number Eight by the feminine type of male.

In the number Nine we reach the last of the purely mental qualities. It identifies change with stability.

Pendant to this sixfold system is the number Ten<<

The balance of the Sephiroth:

Kether (1) "Kether is in Malkuth, and Malkuth is in Kether, but after another manner."

Chokmah (2) is Yod of Tetragrammaton, and therefore also Unity.

Binah (3) is He of Tetragrammaton, and therefore "The

Emperor."

Chesed (4) is Daleth, Venus the female.

Geburah (5) is the Sephira of Mars, the Male.

Tiphereth (6) is the Hexagram, harmonizing, and mediating between

Kether and Malkuth. Also it reflects Kether. "That

which is above, is like that which is below, and

that which is below, is like that which is above."

Netzach (7) and Hod (8) balanced as in text.

Jesod (9) see text.

Malkuth (10) contains all the numbers.>> which includes the whole of Matter as we know it by the senses.

It is impossible here to explain thoroughly the complete conception; for it cannot be too clearly understood
that this is a "classification" of the Universe, that there is nothing which is not comprehended therein.

The Article on the Qabalah in Vol. I, No. V of the Equinox is the best which has been written on the subject.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
It should be deeply studied, in connection with the Qabalistic Diagrams in Nos. II and III: "The Temple of
Solomon the King".

Such is a crude and elementary sketch of this system.

The formula of Tetragrammaton is the most important for the practical magician. Here Yod = 2, He = 3, Vau
= 4 to 9, He final = 10.

The Number Two represents Yod, the Divine or Archetypal World, and the Number One is only attained by
the destruction of the God and the Magician in Samadhi. The world of Angels is under the numbers Four to
Nine, and that of spirits under the number Ten.

    It is not possible to give a full account of the twenty-two "paths" in this condensed sketch. They should be studied
    in view of all their attributes in 777, but more especially that in which they are attributed to the planets, elements
    and signs, as also to the Tarot Trumps, while their position on the Tree itself and their position as links between
    the particular Sephiroth which they join is the final key to their understanding. It will be noticed that each chapter
    of this book is attributed to one of them. This was not intentional. The book was originally but a collection of
    haphazard dialogues between Fra. P. and Soror A.; but on arranging the MSS, they fell naturally and of
    necessity into this division. Conversely, my knowledge of the Schema pointed out to me numerous gaps in my
    original exposition; thanks to this, I have been able to make it a complete and systematic treatise. That is, when
    my laziness had been jogged by the criticisms and suggestions of various colleagues to whom I had submitted the
    early drafts.

All these numbers are of course parts of the magician himself considered as the microcosm. The microcosm is
an exact image of the Macrocosm; the Great Work is the raising of the whole man in perfect balance to the
power of Infinity.

The reader will remark that all criticism directed against the Magical Hierarchy is futile. One cannot call it
incorrect -- the only line to take might be that it was inconvenient. In the same way one cannot say that the
Roman alphabet is better or worse than the Greek, since all required sounds can be more or less satisfactorily
represented by either; yet both these alphabets were found so little satisfactory when it came to an attempt at
phonetic printing of Oriental languages, that the alphabet had to be expanded by the use of italics and other
diacritical marks. In the same way our magical alphabet of the Sephiroth and the Paths (thirty-two letters as it
were) has been expanded into the four worlds corresponding to the four letters of the name Yod-Heh-Vau-
Heh; and each Sephira is supposed to contain a Tree of Life of its own. Thus we obtain four hundred Sephiroth
instead of the original ten, and the Paths being capable of similar multiplications, or rather of subdivision, the
number is still further extended. Of course this process might be indefinitely continued without destroying
the original system.

The Apologia for this System is that our purest conceptions are symbolized in Mathematics. "God is the Great
Arithmetician." "God is the Grand Geometer." It is best therefore to prepare to apprehend Him by formulating
our minds according to these measures.

    By "God" I here mean the Ideal Identity of a man's inmost nature. "Something ourselves (I erase Arnold's
    imbecile and guilty `not') that makes for righteousness;" righteousness being rightly defined as internal coherence.
    (Internal Coherence implies that which is written "Detegitur Yod.")

To return, each letter of this alphabet may have its special magical sigil. The student must not expect to be
given a cut-and-dried definition of what exactly is meant by any of all this. On the contrary, he must work
backwards, putting the whole of his mental and moral outfit into these pigeon-holes. You would not expect
_____________________________________________________________________________________
to be able to buy a filing cabinet with the names of all your past, present and future correspondents ready
indexed: your cabinet has a system of letters and numbers meaningless in themselves, but ready to take on a
meaning to you, as you fill up the files. As your business increased, each letter and number would receive fresh
accessions of meaning for you; and by adopting this orderly arrangement you would be able to have a much
more comprehensive grasp of your affairs than would otherwise be the case. By the use of this system the
magician is able ultimately to unify the whole of his knowledge -- to transmute, even on the Intellectual
Plane, the Many into the One.

The Reader can now understand that the sketch given above of the magical Hierarchy is hardly even an
outline of the real theory of the Universe. This theory may indeed be studied in the article already referred to
in No. V of the Equinox, and, more deeply in the Book of the Law and the Commentaries thereon: but the
true understanding depends entirely upon the work of the Magician himself. Without magical experience it
will be meaningless.

In this there is nothing peculiar. It is so with all scientific knowledge. A blind man might cram up astronomy
for the purpose of passing examinations, but his knowledge would be almost entirely unrelated to his experience,
and it would certainly not give him sight. A similar phenomenon is observed when a gentleman who has
taken an "honours degree" in modern languages at Cambridge arrives in Paris, and is unable to order his
dinner. To exclaim against the Master Therion is to act like a person who, observing this, should attack both
the professors of French and the inhabitants of Paris, and perhaps go on to deny the existence of France.

Let us say, once again, that the magical language is nothing but a convenient system of classification to enable
the magician to docket his experiences as he obtains them.

Yet this is true also, that, once the language is mastered, one can divine the unknown by study of the known,
just as one's knowledge of Latin and Greek enables one to understand some unfamiliar English word derived
from those sources. Also, there is the similar case of the Periodic Law in Chemistry, which enables Science to
prophesy, and so in the end to discover, the existence of certain previously unsuspected elements in nature.
All discussions upon philosophy are necessarily sterile, since truth is beyond language. They are, however,
useful if carried far enough -- if carried to the point when it become apparent that all arguments are arguments
in a circle.

    See "The Soldier and the Hunchback," Equinox I, I. The apparatus of human reason is simply one particular
    system of coordinating impressions; its structure is determined by the course of the evolution of the species. It is no
    more absolute than the evolution of the species. It is no more absolute than the mechanism of our muscles is a
    complete type wherewith all other systems of transmitting Force must conform.

But discussions of the details of purely imaginary qualities are frivolous and may be deadly. For the great
danger of this magical theory is that the student may mistake the alphabet for the things which the words
represent.

An excellent man of great intelligence, a learned Qabalist, once amazed the Master Therion by stating that the
Tree of Life was the framework of the Universe. It was as if some one had seriously maintained that a cat was
a creature constructed by placing the letters C. A. T. in that order. It is no wonder that Magick has excited the
ridicule of the unintelligent, since even its educated students can be guilty of so gross a violation of the first
principles of common sense.< The absurdity of any such disturbance of the arrangement of the Paths is
evident to any sober student from such examples as the following. Binah, the Supernal Understanding, is
connected with Tiphereth, the Human Consciousness, by Zain, Gemini, the Oracles of the Gods, or the
Intuition. That is, the attribution represents a psychological fact: to replace it by The Devil is either humour
_____________________________________________________________________________________
or plain idiocy. Again, the card "Fortitude", Leo, balances Majesty and Mercy with Strength and Severity:
what sense is there in putting "Death", the Scorpion, in its stead? There are twenty other mistakes in the new
wonderful illuminated-from-on-high attribution; the student can therefore be sure of twenty more laughs if
he cares to study it.>> A synopsis of the grades of the A.'. A.'. as illustrative of the Magical Hierarchy in Man
is given in Appendix 2 "One Star in Sight." This should be read before proceeding with the chapter. The
subject is very difficult. To deal with it in full is entirely beyond the limits of this small treatise.

"FURTHER CONCERNING THE MAGICAL UNIVERSE"

All these letters of the magical alphabet -- referred to above -- are like so many names on a map. Man himself
is a complete microcosm. Few other beings have this balanced perfection. Of course every sun, every planet,
may have beings similarly constituted.

     Equally, of course, we have no means of knowing what we really are. We are limited to symbols. And it is certain
     that all our sense-perceptions give only partial aspects of their objects. Sight, for instance, tells us very little about
     solidity, weight, composition, electrical character, thermal conductivity, etc., etc. It says nothing at all about the
     very existence of such vitally important ideas as Heat, Hardness, and so on. The impression which the mind
     combines from the senses can never claim to be accurate or complete. We have indeed learnt that nothing is in itself
     what it seems to be to us.

But when we speak of dealing with the planets in Magick, the reference is usually not to the actual planets, but
to parts of the earth which are of the nature attributed to these planets. Thus, when we say that Nakhiel is the
"Intelligence" of the Sun, we do not mean that he lives in the Sun, but only that he has a certain rank and
character; and although we can invoke him, we do not necessarily mean that he exists in the same sense of the
word in which our butcher exists.

When we "conjure Nakhiel to visible appearance," it may be that our process resembles creation -- or, rather
imagination -- more nearly than it does calling-forth. The aura of a man is called the "magical mirror of the
universe"; and, so far as any one can tell, nothing exists outside of this mirror. It is at least convenient to
represent the whole as if it were subjective. It leads to less confusion. And, as a man is a perfect microcosm,

     He is this only by definition. The universe may contain an infinite variety of worlds inaccessible to human
     apprehension. Yet, for this very reason, they do not exist for the purposes of the argument. Man has, however,
     some instruments of knowledge; we may, therefore, define the Macrocosm as the totality of things possible to his
     perception. As evolution develops those instruments, the Macrocosm and the Microcosm extend; but they always
     maintain their mutual relation. Neither can possess any meaning except in terms of the other. Our "discoveries"
     are exactly as much of ourselves as they are of Nature. America and Electricity did, in a sense, exist before we were
     aware of them; but they are even now no more than incomplete ideas, expressed in symbolic terms of a series of
     relations between two sets of inscrutable phenomena.

it is perfectly easy to re-model one's conception at any moment.

Now there is a traditional correspondence, which modern experiment has shown to be fairly reliable. There is
a certain natural connexion between certain letters, words, numbers, gestures, shapes, perfumes and so on, so
that any idea or (as we might call it) "spirit", may be composed or called forth by the use of those things which
are harmonious with it, and express particular parts of its nature. These correspondences have been elaborately
mapped in the Book 777 in a very convenient and compendious form. It will be necessary for the student to
make a careful study of this book in connexion with some actual rituals of Magick, for example, that of the
evocation of Taphtatharath printed in Equinox I, III, pages 170-190, where he will see exactly why these
_____________________________________________________________________________________
things are to be used. Of course, as the student advances in knowledge by experience he will find a progressive
subtlety in the magical universe corresponding to his own; for let it be said yet again! not only is his aura a
magical mirror of the universe, but the universe is a magical mirror of his aura.

In this chapter we are only able to give a very thin outline of magical theory -- faint pencilling by weak and
wavering fingers -- for this subject may almost be said to be co-extensive with one's whole knowledge.

The knowledge of exoteric science is comically limited by the fact that we have no access, except in the most
indirect way, to any other celestial body than our own. In the last few years, the semi-educated have got an
idea that they know a great deal about the universe, and the principal ground for their fine opinion of themselves
is usually the telephone or the airship. It is pitiful to read the bombastic twaddle about progress, which journalists
and others, who wish to prevent men from thinking, put out for consumption. We know infinitesimally little
of the material universe. Our detailed knowledge is so contemptibly minute, that it is hardly worth reference,
save that our shame may spur us to increased endeavour. Such knowledge

    Knowledge is, moreover, an impossible conception. All propositions come ultimately back to "A is A".

as we have got is of a very general and abstruse, of a philosophical and almost magical character. This consists
principally of the conceptions of pure mathematics. It is, therefore, almost legitimate to say that pure mathematics
is our link with the rest of the universe and with "God".

Now the conceptions of Magick are themselves profoundly mathematical. The whole basis of our theory is
the Qabalah, which corresponds to mathematics and geometry. The method of operation in Magick is based
on this, in very much the same way as the laws of mechanics are based on mathematics. So far, therefore as we
can be said to possess a magical theory of the universe, it must be a matter solely of fundamental law, with a
few simple and comprehensive propositions stated in very general terms.

I might expend a life-time in exploring the details of one plane, just as an explorer might give his life to one
corner of Africa, or a chemist to one subgroup of compounds. Each such detailed piece of work may be very
valuable, but it does not as a rule throw light on the main principles of the universe. Its truth is the truth of one
angle. It might even lead to error, if some inferior person were to generalize from too few facts.

Imagine an inhabitant of Mars who wished to philosophise about the earth, and had nothing to go by but the
diary of some man at the North Pole! But the work of every explorer, on whatever branch of the Tree of Life
the caterpillar he is after may happen to be crawling, is immensely helped by a grasp of general principles.
Every magician, therefore, should study the Holy Qabalah. Once he has mastered the main principles, he will
find his work grow easy.

"Solvitur ambulando" which does not mean: "Call the Ambulance!"
_____________________________________________________________________________________
                                               CHAPTER I

                           THE PRINCIPLES OF RITUAL.

There is a single main definition of the object of all magical Ritual. It is the uniting of the Microcosm with the
Macrocosm. The Supreme and Complete Ritual is therefore the Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel;

    See the "Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage"; and Liber 418, 8th Aethyr, Liber Samekh; see
    Appendix 3.

or, in the language of Mysticism, Union with God.

    The difference between these operations is more of theoretical than of practical importance.

All other magical Rituals are particular cases of this general principle, and the only excuse for doing them is
that it sometimes occurs that one particular portion of the microcosm is so weak that its imperfection of
impurity would vitiate the Macrocosm of which it is the image, Eidolon, or Reflexion. For example, God is
above sex; and therefore neither man nor woman as such can be said fully to understand, much less to represent,
God. It is therefore incumbent on the male magician to cultivate those female virtues in which he is deficient,
and this task he must of course accomplish without in any way impairing his virility. It will then be lawful for
a magician to invoke Isis, and identify himself with her; if he fail to do this, his apprehension of the Universe
when he attains Samadhi will lack the conception of maternity. The result will be a metaphysical and -- by
corollary -- ethical limitation in the Religion which he founds. Judaism and Islam are striking example of this
failure.

To take another example, the ascetic life which devotion to magick so often involves argues a poverty of
nature, a narrowness, a lack of generosity. Nature is infinitely prodigal -- not one in a million seeds ever
comes to fruition. Whoso fails to recognise this, let him invoke Jupiter.

    There are much deeper considerations in which it appears that "Everything that is, is right". They are set forth
    elsewhere; we can only summarise them here by saying that the survival of the fittest is their upshot.

The danger of ceremonial magick -- the sublest and deepest danger -- is this: that the magician will naturally
tend to invoke that partial being which most strongly appeals to him, so that his natural excess in that direction
will be still further exaggerated. Let him, before beginning his Work, endeavour to map out his own being,
and arrange his invocations in such a way as to redress the balance.

    The ideal method of doing this is given in Liber 913 (Equinox VII). See also Liber CXI Aleph.

This, of course, should have been done in a preliminary fashion during the preparation of the weapons and
furniture of the Temple.

To consider in a more particular manner this question of the Nature of Ritual, we may suppose that he finds
himself lacking in that perception of the value of Life and Death, alike of individuals and of races, which is
characteristic of Nature. He has perhaps a tendency to perceive the "first noble truth" uttered by Buddha, that
Everything is sorrow. Nature, it seems, is a tragedy. He has perhaps even experienced the great trance called
Sorrow. He should then consider whether there is not some Deity who expresses this Cycle, and yet whose
nature is joy. He will find what he requires in Dionysus.

There are three main methods of invoking any Deity.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The "First Method" consists of devotion to that Deity, and, being mainly mystical in character, need not be
dealt with in this place, especially as a perfect instruction exists in Liber 175 ("See" Appendix).

The "Second method"is the straight forward ceremonial invocation. It is the method which was usually
employed in the Middle Ages. Its advantage is its directness, its disadvantage its crudity. The "Goetia" gives
clear instruction in this method, and so do many other rituals, white and black. We shall presently devote
some space to a clear exposition of this Art.

In the case of Bacchus, however, we may roughly outline the procedure. We find that the symbolism of
Tiphareth expresses the nature of Bacchus. It is then necessary to construct a Ritual of Tiphareth. Let us open
the Book 777; we shall find in line 6 of each column the various parts of our required apparatus. Having
ordered everything duly, we shall exalt the mind by repeated prayers or conjurations to the highest conception
of the God, until, in one sense or another of the word, He appears to us and floods our consciousness with the
light of His divinity.

The "Third Method is the Dramatic," perhaps the most attractive of all; certainly it is so to the artist's
temperament, for it appeals to his imagination through his aesthetic sense.

Its disadvantage lies principally in the difficulty of its performance by a single person. But it has the sanction of
the highest antiquity, and is probably the most useful for the foundation of a religion. It is the method of
Catholic Christianity, and consists in the dramatization of the legend of the God. The Bacchae of Euripides is
a magnificent example of such a Ritual; so also, through in a less degree, is the Mass. We may also mention
many of the degrees in Freemasonry, particularly the third. The 5'=6' Ritual published in No. III of the
Equinox is another example.

In the case of Bacchus, one commemorates firstly his birth of a mortal mother who has yielded her treasure-
house to the Father of All, of the jealousy and rage excited by this incarnation, and of the heavenly protection
afforded to the infant. Next should be commemorated the journeying westward upon an ass. Now comes the
great scene of the drama: the gentle, exquisite youth with his following (chiefly composed of women) seems
to threaten the established order of things, and that Established Order takes steps to put an end to the upstart.
We find Dionysus confronting the angry King, not with defiance, but with meekness; yet with a subtle
confidence, an underlying laughter. His forehead is wreathed with vine tendrils. He is an effeminate figure
with those broad leaves clustered upon his brow? But those leaves hide horns. King Pentheus, representative
of respectability,

    There is a much deeper interpretation in which Pentheus is himself "The Dying God". See my "Good Hunting!"
    and Dr. J.G.Frazer's "Golden Bough".

is destroyed by his pride. He goes out into the mountains to attack the women who have followed Bacchus,
the youth whom he has mocked, scourged, and put in chains, yet who has only smiled; and by those women,
in their divine madness, he is torn to pieces.

It has already seemed impertinent to say so much when Walter Pater has told the story with such sympathy
and insight. We will not further transgress by dwelling upon the identity of this legend with the course of
Nature, its madness, its prodigality, its intoxication, its joy, and above all its sublime persistence through the
cycles of Life and Death. The pagan reader must labour to understand this in Pater's "Greek Studies", and the
Christian reader will recognise it, incident for incident, in the story of Christ. This legend is but the dramatization
of Spring.

The magician who wishes to invoke Bacchus by this method must therefore arrange a ceremony in which he
_____________________________________________________________________________________
takes the part of Bacchus, undergoes all His trials, and emerges triumphant from beyond death. He must,
however, be warned against mistaking the symbolism. In this case, for example, the doctrine of individual
immortality has been dragged in, to the destruction of truth. It is not that utterly worthless part of man, his
individual consciousness as John Smith, which defies death -- that consciousness which dies and is reborn in
every thought. That which persists (if anything persist) is his real John Smithiness, a quality of which he was
probably never conscious in his life.

    See "The Book of Lies", Liber 333, for several sermons to this effect. Caps. Alpha, Delta, Eta, Iota-Epsilon,
    Iota-Sigma, Iota-Eta, Kappa-Alpha, Kappa-Eta, in particular. The reincarnation of the Khu or magical Self is
    another matter entirely, too abstruse to discuss in this elementary manual. {WEH NOTE: I have made a
    correction in the above list of chapters from Liber 333. The published text cites Iota-Digamma, which does not
    exist. The correct chapter is Iota-Sigma, which does exist and discusses the subject}.

Even that does not persist unchanged. It is always growing. The Cross is a barren stick, and the petals of the
Rose fall and decay; but in the union of the Cross and the Rose is a constant succession of new lives.

    See "The Book of Lies", Liber 333, for several sermons to this effect. The whole theory of Death must be sought
    in Liber CXI Aleph.

Without this union, and without this death of the individual, the cycle would be broken.

A chapter will be consecrated to removing the practical difficulties of this method of Invocation. It will
doubtless have been noted by the acumen of the reader that in the great essentials these three methods are one.
In each case the magician identifies himself with the Deity invoked. To "invoke" is to "call in", just as to
"evoke" is to "call forth". This is the essential difference between the two branches of Magick. In invocation,
the macrocosm floods the consciousness. In evocation, the magician, having become the macrocosm, creates
a microcosm. You "in"voke a God into the Circle. You "e"voke a Spirit into the Triangle. In the first
method identity with the God is attained by love and by surrender, by giving up or suppressing all irrelevant
(and illusionary) parts of yourself. It is the weeding of a garden.

In the second method identity is attained by paying special attention to the desired part of yourself: positive,
as the first method is negative. It is the potting-out and watering of a particular flower in the garden, and the
exposure of it to the sun.

In the third, identity is attained by sympathy. It is very difficult for the ordinary man to lose himself completely
in the subject of a play or of a novel; but for those who can do so, this method is unquestionably the best.

Observe: each element in this cycle is of equal value. It is wrong to say triumphantly "Mors janua vitae",
unless you add, with equal triumph, "Vita janua mortis". To one who understands this chain of the Aeons
from the point of view alike of the sorrowing Isis and of the triumphant Osiris, not forgetting their link in the
destroyer Apophis, there remains no secret veiled in Nature. He cries that name of God which throughout
History has been echoed by one religion to another, the infinite swelling paean I.A.O.!

    This name, I.A.O. is qabalistically identical with that of THE BEAST and with His number 666, so that he
    who invokes the former invokes also the latter. Also with AIWAZ and the Number 93. See Chapter V.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
                                                  CHAPTER II

       THE FORMULAE OF THE ELEMENTAL WEAPONS.

Before discussing magical formulae in detail, one may observe that most rituals are composite, and contain
many formulae which must be harmonized into one.

The first formula is that of the Wand. In the sphere of the principle which the magician wishes to invoke, he
rises from point to point in a perpendicular line, and then descends; or else, beginning at the top, he comes
directly down, "invoking" first the god of that sphere by "devout supplication"

    Beware, O brother, lest thou bend the knee! Liber CCXX teaches the proper attitude. See also Liber CCCLXX.
    Infra, furthermore, there is special instruction: Chapter XV and elsewhere.

that He may deign to send the appropriate Archangel. He then "beseeches" the Archangel to send the Angel
or Angels of that sphere to his aid; he "conjures" this Angel or Angels to send the intelligence in question, and
this intelligence he will "conjure with authority" to compel the obedience of the spirit and his manifestation.
To this spirit he "issues commands".

It will be seen that this is a formula rather of evocation than of invocation, and for the latter the procedure,
though apparently the same, should be conceived of in a different manner, which brings it under another
formula, that of Tetragrammaton. The essence of the force invoked is one, but the "God" represents the germ
or beginning of the force, the "Archangel" its development; and so on, until, with the "Spirit", we have the
completion and perfection of that force.

The formula of the Cup is not so well suited for Evocations, and the magical Hierarchy is not involved in the
same way; for the Cup being passive rather than active, it is not fitting for the magician to use it in respect of
anything but the Highest. In practical working it consequently means little but prayer, and that prayer the
"prayer of silence".

    Considerations which might lead to a contrary conclusion are unsuited to this treatise. See Liber LXXXI.

The formula of the dagger is again unsuitable for either purpose, since the nature of the dagger is to criticise, to
destroy, to disperse; and all true magical ceremonies tend to concentration. The dagger will therefore appear
principally in the banishings, preliminary to the ceremony proper. The formula of the pantacle is again of no
particular use; for the pantacle is inert. In fine, the formula of the wand is the only one with which we need
more particularly concern ourselves.

    Later, these remarks are amplified, and to some extent modified.

Now in order to invoke any being, it is said by Hermes Trismegistus that the magi employ three methods.
The first, for the vulgar, is that of supplication. In this the crude objective theory is assumed as true. There is
a god named A, whom you, B, proceed to petition, in exactly the same sense as a boy might ask his father for
pocket-money.

The second method involves a little more subtlety, inasmuch as the magician endeavours to harmonize himself
with the nature of the god, and to a certain extent exalts himself, in the course of the ceremony; but the third
method is the only one worthy of our consideration.

This consists of a real identification of the magician and the god. Note that to do this in perfection involves the
_____________________________________________________________________________________
attainment of a species of Samadhi: and this fact alone suffices to link irrefragably magick with mysticism.

Let us describe the magical method of identification. The symbolic form of the god is first studied with as
much care as an artist would bestow upon his model, so that a perfectly clear and unshakeable mental picture
of the god is presented to the mind. Similarly, the attributes of the god are enshrined in speech, and such
speeches are committed perfectly to memory. The invocation will then begin with a prayer to the god,
commemorating his physical attributes, always with profound understanding of their real meaning. In the
"second part" of the invocation, the voice of the god is heard, and His characteristic utterance is recited.

In the "third portion" of the invocation the magician asserts the identity of himself with the god. In the
"fourth portion" the god is again invoked, but as if by Himself, as if it were the utterance of the will of the god
that He should manifest in the magician. At the conclusion of this, the original object of the invocation is
stated.

Thus, in the invocation of Thoth which is to be found in the rite of Mercury (Equinox I, VI) and in Liber
LXIV, the first part begins with the words "Majesty of Godhead, wisdom-crowned TAHUTI, Thee, Thee I
invoke. Oh Thou of the Ibis head, Thee, Thee I invoke"; and so on. At the conclusion of this a mental image
of the God, infinitely vast and infinitely splendid, should be perceived, in just the same sense as a man might
see the Sun.

The second part begins with the words:

"Behold! I am yesterday, today, and the brother of tomorrow."

The magician should imagine that he is hearing this voice, and at the same time that he is echoing it, that it is
true also of himself. This thought should so exalt him that he is able at its conclusion to utter the sublime
words which open the third part: "Behold! he is in me, and I am in him." At this moment, he loses consciousness
of his mortal being; he is that mental image which he previously but saw. This consciousness is only complete
as he goes on: "Mine is the radiance wherein Ptah floateth over his firmament. I travel upon high. I tread upon
the firmament of Nu. I raise a flashing flame with the lightnings of mine eye: ever rushing on in the splendour
of the daily glorified Ra -- giving my life to the treaders of Earth!" This thought gives the relation of God and
Man from the divine point of view.

The magician is only recalled to himself at the conclusion of the third part; in which occur, almost as if by
accident, the words: "Therefore do all things obey my word." Yet in the fourth part, which begins: "Therefore
do thou come forth unto me", it is not really the magician who is addressing the God; it is the God who hears
the far-off utterance of the magician. If this invocation has been correctly performed, the words of the fourth
part will sound distant and strange. It is surprising that a dummy (so the magus now appears to Himself) should
be able to speak!

The Egyptian Gods are so complete in their nature, so perfectly spiritual and yet so perfectly material, that this
one invocation is sufficient. The God bethinks him that the spirit of Mercury should now appear to the
magician; and it is so. This Egyptian formula is therefore to be preferred to the Hierarchical formula of the
Hebrews with its tedious prayers, conjurations, and curses.

It will be noted, however, that in this invocation of Thoth which we have summarized, there is another
formula contained, the Reverberating or Reciprocating formula, which may be called the formula of Horus
and Harpocrates. The magician addresses the God with an active projection of his will, and then becomes
passive while the God addresses the Universe. In the fourth part he remains silent, listening, to the prayer
which arises therefrom.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The formula of this invocation of Thoth may also be classed under Tetragrammaton. The first part is fire, the
eager prayer of the magician, the second water, in which the magician listens to, or catches the reflection of,
the god. The third part is air, the marriage of fire and water; the god and the man have become one; while the
fourth part corresponds to earth, the condensation or materialization of those three higher principles.

With regard to the Hebrew formulae, it is doubtful whether most magicians who use them have ever properly
grasped the principles underlying the method of identity. No passage which implies it occurs to mind, and the
extant rituals certainly give no hint of such a conception, or of any but the most personal and material views of
the nature of things. They seem to have thought that there was an Archangel named Ratziel in exactly the
same sense as there was a statesman named Richelieu, an individual being living in a definite place. He had
possibly certain powers of a somewhat metaphysical order -- he might be in two places at once,

    He could do this provided that he can travel with a speed exceeding that of Light, as he does. See A.S.Eddington
    "Space, Time, and Gravitation". Also: what means "at once"?

for example, though even the possibility of so simple a feat (in the case of spirits) seems to be denied by certain
passages in extant conjurations which tell the spirit that if he happens to be in chains in a particular place in
Hell, or if some other magician is conjuring him so that he cannot come, then let him send a spirit of similar
nature, or otherwise avoid the difficultly. But of course so vulgar a conception would not occur to the student
of the Qabalah. It is just possible that the magi wrote their conjurations on this crude hypothesis in order to
avoid the clouding of the mind by doubt and metaphysical speculation.

He who became the Master Therion was once confronted by this very difficulty. Being determined to instruct
mankind, He sought a simple statement of his object. His will was sufficiently informed by common sense to
decide him to teach man "The Next Step", the thing which was immediately above him. He might have
called this "God", or "The Higher Self", or "The Augoeides", or "Adi-Buddha", or 61 other things -- but
He had discovered that these were all one, yet that each one represented some theory of the Universe which
would ultimately be shattered by criticism -- for He had already passed through the realm of Reason, and
knew that every statement contained an absurdity. He therefore said: "Let me declare this Work under this
title: `The obtaining of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel'", because the theory
implied in these words is so patently absurd that only simpletons would waste much time in analysing it. It
would be accepted as a convention, and no one would incur the grave danger of building a philosophical
system upon it.

With this understanding, we may rehabilitate the Hebrew system of invocations. The mind is the great
enemy; so, by invoking enthusiastically a person whom we know not to exist, we are rebuking that mind. Yet
we should not refrain altogether from philosophising in the light of the Holy Qabalah. We should accept the
Magical Hierarchy as a more or less convenient classification of the facts of the Universe as they are known to
us; and as our knowledge and understanding of those facts increase, so should we endeavour to adjust our idea
of what we mean by any symbol.

At the same time let us reflect that there is a certain definite consensus of experience as to the correlation of the
various beings of the hierarchy with the observed facts of Magick. In the simple matter of astral vision, for
example, one striking case may be quoted.

Without telling him what it was, the Master Therion once recited as an invocation Sappho's "Ode to Venus"
before a Probationer of the A.'. A.'. who was ignorant of Greek, the language of the Ode. The disciple then
went on an "astral journey," and everything seen by him was without exception harmonious with Venus.
This was true down to the smallest detail. He even obtained all the four colour-scales of Venus with absolute
_____________________________________________________________________________________
correctness. Considering that he saw something like one hundred symbols in all, the odds against coincidence
are incalculably great. Such an experience (and the records of the A.'. A.'. contain dozens of similar cases)
affords proof as absolute as any proof can be in this world of Illusion that the correspondences in Liber 777
really represent facts in Nature.

It suggests itself that this "straightforward" system of magick was perhaps never really employed at all. One
might maintain that the invocations which have come down to us are but the ruins of the Temple of Magick.
The exorcisms might have been committed to writing for the purpose of memorising them, while it was
forbidden to make any record of the really important parts of the ceremony. Such details of Ritual as we
possess are meagre and unconvincing, and though much success has been attained in the quite conventional
exoteric way both by FRATER PERDURABO and by many of his colleagues, yet ceremonies of this
character have always remained tedious and difficult. It has seemed as if the success were obtained almost in
spite of the ceremony. In any case, they are the more mysterious parts of the Ritual which have evoked the
divine force. Such conjurations as those of the "Goetia" leave one cold, although, notably in the second
conjuration, there is a crude attempt to use that formula of Commemoration of which we spoke in the
preceding Chapter.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
                                              CHAPTER III

                 THE FORMULA OF TETRAGRAMMATON.

    Yod, He, Vau, He, the Ineffable Name (Jehovah) of the Hebrews. The four letters refer respectively to the four
    "elements", Fire, Water, Air, Earth, in the order named.

This formula is of most universal aspect, as all things are necessarily comprehended in it; but its use in a magical
ceremony is little understood.

The climax of the formula is in one sense before even the formulation of the Yod. For the Yod is the most
divine aspect of the Force -- the remaining letters are but a solidification of the same thing. It must be
understood that we are here speaking of the whole ceremony considered as a unity, not merely of that formula
in which "Yod" is the god invoked, "He" the Archangel, and so on. In order to understand the ceremony
under this formula, we must take a more extended view of the functions of the four weapons than we have
hitherto done.

The formation of the "Yod" is the formulation of the first creative force, of that father who is called "self-
begotten", and unto whom it is said: "Thou has formulated thy Father, and made fertile thy Mother". The
adding of the "He" to the "Yod" is the marriage of that Father to the great co-equal Mother, who is a
reflection of Nuit as He is of Hadit. Their union brings forth the son "Vau" who is the heir. Finally the
daughter "He" is produced. She is both the twin sister and the daughter of "Vau".

    There is a further mystery herein, far deeper, for initiates.

His mission is to redeem her by making her his bride; the result of this is to set her upon the throne of her
mother, and it is only she whose youthful embrace can reawaken the eld of the All-Father. In this complex
family relationship

    The formula of Tetragrammaton, as ordinarily understood, ending with the appearance of the daughter, is indeed
    a degradation.

is symbolised the whole course of the Universe. It will be seen that (after all) the Climax is at the end. It is the
second half of the formula which symbolises the Great Work which we are pledged to accomplish. The first
step of this is the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, which constitutes
the Adept of the Inner Order. The re-entry of these twin spouses into the womb of the mother is that
initiation described in Liber 418, which gives admission to the Inmost Order of the A.'. A.'. Of the last step
we cannot speak.

It will now be recognised that to devise a practical magical ceremony to correspond to Tetragrammaton in
this exalted sense might be difficult if not impossible. In such a ceremony the Rituals of purification alone
might occupy many incarnations.

It will be necessary, therefore, to revert to the simpler view of Tetragrammaton, remembering only that the
"He" final is the Throne of the Spirit, of the Shin of Pentagrammaton.

The Yod will represent a swift and violent creative energy; following this will be a calmer and more reflective
but even more powerful flow of will, the irresistible force of a mighty river. This state of mind will be
followed by an expansion of the consciousness; it will penetrate all space, and this will finally undergo a
crystallization resplendent with interior light. Such modifications of the original Will may be observed in the
_____________________________________________________________________________________
course of the invocations when they are properly performed.

The peculiar dangers of each are obvious -- that of the first is a flash in the pan -- a misfire; that of the second,
a falling into dreaminess or reverie; that of the third, loss of concentration. A mistake in any of these points will
prevent, or injure the proper formation of, the fourth.

In the expression which will be used in Chapter XV: "Enflame thyself", etc., only the first stage is specified;
but if that is properly done the other stages will follow as if by necessity. So far is it written concerning the
formula of Tetragrammaton.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
                                               CHAPTER IV.

         THE FORMULA OF ALHIM, AND THAT OF ALIM.

"ALHIM", (Elohim) is the exoteric word for Gods.

     "Gods" are the Forces of Nature; their "Names" are the Laws of Nature. Thus They are eternal, omnipotent,
     omnipresent and so on; and thus their "Wills" are immutable and absolute.

It is the masculine plural of a feminine noun, but its nature is principally feminine.

     It represents Sakti,or Teh; femininity always means form, manifestation. The masculine Siva, or Tao, is always
     a concealed force.

It is a perfect hieroglyph of the number 5. This should be studied in "A Note on Genesis" (Equinox I, II).

The Elements are all represented, as in Tetragrammaton, but there is no development from one into the
others. They are, as it were, thrown together -- untamed, only sympathising by virtue of their wild and
stormy but elastically resistless energy. The Central letter is "He" -- the letter of breath -- and represents
Spirit. The first letter "Aleph" is the natural letter of Air, and the Final "Mem" is the natural letter of Water.
Together, "Aleph" and "Mem" make "Am" -- the mother within whose womb the Cosmos is conceived.
But "Yod" is not the natural letter of Fire. Its juxtaposition with "He" sanctifies that fire to the "Yod" of
Tetragrammaton. Similarly we find "Lamed" for Earth, where we should expect Tau -- in order to emphasize
the influence of Venus, who rules Libra.

"ALHIM", therefore, represents rather the formula of Consecration than that of a complete ceremony. It is
the breath of benediction, yet so potent that it can give life to clay and light to darkness.

In consecrating a weapon, "Aleph" is the whirling force of the thunderbolt, the lightning which flameth out
of the East even into the West. This is the gift of the wielding of the thunderbolt of Zeus or Indra, the god of
Air. "Lamed" is the Ox-goad, the driving force; and it is also the Balance, representing the truth and love of
the Magician. It is the loving care which he bestows upon perfecting his instruments, and the equilibration of
that fierce force which initiates the ceremony.

     The letters Aleph and Lamed are infinitely important in this Aeon of Horus; they are indeed the Key of the Book
     of the Law. No more can be said in this place than that Aleph is Harpocrates, Bacchus Diphues, the Holy Ghost,
     the "Pure Fool" or Innocent Babe who is also the Wandering Singer who impregnates the King's Daughter with
     Himself as Her Child; Lamed is the King's Daughter, satisfied by Him, holding His "Sword and Balances" in
     her lap. These weapons are the Judge, armed with power to execute His Will, and Two Witnesses "in whom
     shall every Truth be established" in accordance with whose testimony he gives judgment.

"Yod" is the creative energy -- the procreative power: and yet "Yod" is the solitude and silence of the
hermitage into which the Magician has shut himself. "Mem" is the letter of water, and it is the Mem final,
whose long flat lines suggest the Sea at Peace HB:Mem-final ; not the ordinary (initial and medial) Mem
whose hieroglyph is a wave HB:Mem.

     In the symbolism above outlined, Yod is the Mercurial "Virgin Word", the Spermatozoon concealing its light
     under a cloke; and Mem is the amniotic fluid, the flood wherein is the Life-bearing Ark. See A. Crowley "The
     Ship", Equinox I, X.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
And then, in the Centre of all, broods Spirit, which combines the mildness of the Lamb with the horns of the
Ram, and is the letter of Bacchus or "Christ".

     The letter He is the formula of Nuith, which makes possible the process described in the previous notes. But it is
     not permissible here to explain fully the exact matter or manner of this adjustment. I have preferred the exoteric
     attributions, which are sufficiently informative for the beginner.

After the magician has created his instrument, and balanced it truly, and filled it with the lightnings of his Will,
then is the weapon laid away to rest; and in this Silence, a true Consecration comes.

                                         THE FORMULA OF ALIM

It is extremely interesting to contrast with the above the formula of the elemental Gods deprived of the
creative spirit. One might suppose that as ALIM, is the masculine plural of the masculine noun AL, its formula
would be more virile than that of ALHIM, which is the masculine plural of the feminine noun ALH. A
moment's investigation is sufficient to dissipate the illusion. The word masculine has no meaning except in
relation to some feminine correlative.

The word ALIM may in fact be considered as neuter. By a rather absurd convention, neuter objects are treated
as feminine on account of their superficial resemblance in passivity and inertness with the unfertilized female.
But the female produces life by the intervention of the male, while the neuter does so only when impregnated
by Spirit. Thus we find the feminine AMA, becoming AIMA,

     AMA is 42, the number of sterility; AIMA, 52, that of fertility, of BN, the SON.

through the operation of the phallic Yod, while ALIM, the congress of dead elements, only fructifies by the
brooding of Spirit.

This being so, how can we describe ALIM as containing a Magical Formula? Inquiry discloses the fact that this
formula is of a very special kind.

The word adds up to 81, which is a number of the moon. It is thus the formula of witchcraft, which is under
Hecate.

     See A. Crowley "Orpheus" for the Invocation of this Goddess.

It is only the romantic mediaeval perversion of science that represents young women as partaking in witchcraft,
which is, properly speaking, restricted to the use of such women as are no longer women in the Magical sense
of the word, because thy are no longer capable of corresponding to the formula of the male, and are therefore
neuter rather than feminine. It is for this reason that their method has always been referred to the moon, in that
sense of the term in which she appears, not as the feminine correlative of the sun, but as the burnt-out, dead,
airless satellite of earth.

No true Magical operation can be performed by the formula of ALIM. All the works of witchcraft are illusory;
and their apparent effects depend on the idea that it is possible to alter things by the mere rearrangement of
them. One must not rely upon the false analogy of the Xylenes to rebut this argument. It is quite true that
geometrical isomers act in different manners towards the substance to which they are brought into relation.
And it is of course necessary sometimes to rearrange the elements of a molecule before that molecule can form
either the masculine or the feminine element in a true Magical combination with some other molecule.

It is therefore occasionally inevitable for a Magician to reorganize the structure of certain elements before
_____________________________________________________________________________________
proceeding to his operation proper. Although such work is technically witchcraft, it must not be regarded as
undesirable on that ground, for all operations which do not transmute matter fall strictly speaking under this
heading.

The real objection to this formula is not inherent in its own nature. Witchcraft consists in treating it as the
exclusive preoccupation of Magick, and especially in denying to the Holy Spirit his right to indwell His
Temple.

   The initiate of the XI Degree of O.T.O. will remark that there is a totally different formula of ALIM,
   complementary with that here discussed. 81 may be regarded as a number of Yesod rather than of Luna. The
   actual meaning of the word may be taken as indicating the formula. Aleph may be referred to Harpocrates, with
   allusion to the well-known poem of Catullus. Lamed may imply the exaltation of Saturn, and suggest the Three
   of Swords in a particular manner. Yod will then recall Hermes, and Mem the Hanged Man. We have thus a
   Tetragrammaton which contains no feminine component. The initial Force is here the Holy Spirit and its vehicle
   or weapon the "Sword and Balances". Justice is then done upon the Mercurial "Virgin", with the result that the
   Man is "Hanged" or extended, and is slain in this manner. Such an operation makes creation impossible -- as
   in the former case; but here there is no question of re-arrangement; the creative force is employed deliberately for
   destruction, and is entirely absorbed in its own sphere (or cylinder, on Einstein's equations) of action. This Work
   is to be regarded as "Holiness to the Lord". The Hebrews, in fact, conferred the title of Qadosh (holy) upon its
   adepts. Its effect is to consecrate the Magicians who perform it in a very special way. We may take note also of the
   correspondence of Nine with Teth, XI, Leo, and the Serpent. The great merits of this formula are that it avoids
   contact with the inferior planes, that it is self-sufficient, that it involves no responsibilities, and that it leaves its
   masters not only stronger in themselves, but wholly free to fulfil their essential Natures. Its abuse is an abomination.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
                                                   CHAPTER V

                                          The Formula of I.A.O.

This formula is the principal and most characteristic formula of Osiris, of the Redemption of Mankind. "I" is
Isis, Nature, ruined by "A", Apophis the Destroyer, and restored to life by the Redeemer Osiris.

     There is a quite different formula in which I is the father, O the Mother, A the child -- and yet another, in which
     I.A.O. are all fathers of different kinds balanced by H.H.H., 3 Mothers, to complete the Universe. In a third,
     the true formula of the Beast 666, I and O are the opposites which form the field for the operation of A. But this
     is a higher matter unsuited for this elementary handbook. See, however, Liber Samekh, Point II, Section J.

The same idea is expressed by the Rosicrucian formula of the Trinity:

"Ex Deo nascimur. In Jesu Morimur

Per Spiritum Sanctum reviviscimus."

This is also identical with the Word Lux, L.V.X., which is formed by the arms of a cross. It is this formula
which is implied in those ancient and modern monuments in which the phallus is worshipped as the Saviour
of the World.

The doctrine of resurrection as vulgarly understood is false and absurd. It is not even "Scriptural". St. Paul
does not identify the glorified body which rises with the mortal body which dies. On the contrary, he repeatedly
insists on the distinction.

The same is true of a magical ceremony. The magician who is destroyed by absorption in the Godhead is
really destroyed. The miserable mortal automaton remains in the Circle. It is of no more consequence to Him
that the dust of the floor.

     It is, for all that, His instrument, acquired by Him as an astronomer buys a telescope. See Liber Aleph, for a full
     explanation of the objects attained by the stratagem of incarnation; also Part IV of this Book 4.

But before entering into the details of "I.A.O." as a magick formula it should be remarked that it is essentially
the formula of Yoga or meditation; in fact, of elementary mysticism in all its branches.

In beginning a meditation practice, there is always

     If not, one is not working properly.

a quiet pleasure, a gentle natural growth; one takes a lively interest in the work; it seems easy; one is quite
pleased to have started. This stage represents Isis. Sooner or later it is succeeded by depression -- the Dark
Night of the Soul, an infinite weariness and detestation of the work. The simplest and easiest acts become
almost impossible to perform. Such impotence fills the mind with apprehension and despair. The intensity of
this loathing can hardly be understood by any person who has not experienced it. This is the period of Apophis.

It is followed by the arising not of Isis, but of Osiris. The ancient condition is not restored, but a new and
superior condition is created, a condition only rendered possible by the process of death.

The Alchemists themselves taught this same truth. The first matter of the work was base and primitive,
though "natural". After passing through various stages the "black dragon" appeared; but from this arose the
_____________________________________________________________________________________
pure and perfect gold.

Even in the legend of Prometheus we find an identical formula concealed; and a similar remark applies to
those of Jesus Christ, and of many other mythical god-men worshipped in different countries.

    See J.G.Frazer, "The Golden Bough:" J.M.Robertson "Pagan Christs;" A. Crowley "Jesus," etc., etc.

A magical ceremony constructed on this formula is thus in close essential harmony with the natural mystic
process. We find it the basis of many important initiations, notably the Third Degree in Masonry, and the 5
Degree = 6Square ceremony of the G.'. D.'. described in Equinox I, III. A ceremonial self-initiation may be
constructed with advantage on this formula. The essence of it consists in robing yourself as a king, then
stripping and slaying yourself, and rising from that death to the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy
Guardian Angel

    This formula, although now superseded by that of HORUS, the Crowned and Conquering Child, remains
    valid for those who have not yet assimilated the point of view of the Law of Thelema. But see Appendix, Liber
    SAMEKH. Compare also "The Book of the Spirit of the Living Gods," -- where there is a ritual given "in
    extenso" on slightly different lines: Equinox I, III, pages 269-272.

. There is an etymological identity between Tetragrammaton and "I A O", but the magical formulae are
entirely different, as the descriptions here given have schewn.

Professor William James, in his "Varieties of Religious Experience," has well classified religion as the "once-
born" and the "twice-born"; but the religion now proclaimed in Liber Legis harmonizes these by transcending
them. There is no attempt to get rid of death by denying it, as among the once-born; nor to accept death as
the gate of a new life, as among the twice-born. With the A.'. A.'. life and death are equally incidents in a
career, very much like day and night in the history of a planet. But, to pursue the simile, we regard this planet
from afar. A Brother of A.'. A.'. looks at (what another person would call) "himself", as one -- or, rather, some
-- among a group of phenomena. He is that "nothing" whose consciousness is in one sense the universe
considered as a single phenomenon in time and space, and in another sense is the negation of that consciousness.
The body and mind of the man are only important (if at all) as the telescope of the astronomer to him. If the
telescope were destroyed it would make no appreciable difference to the Universe which that telescope
reveals.

It will now be understood that this formula of I A O is a formula of Tiphareth. The magician who employs it
is conscious of himself as a man liable to suffering, and anxious to transcend that state by becoming one with
god. It will appear to him as the Supreme Ritual, as the final step; but, as has already been pointed out, it is but
a preliminary. For the normal man today, however, it represents considerable attainment; and there is a much
earlier formula whose investigation will occupy Chapter VI.

THE MASTER THERION, in the Seventeenth year of the Aeon, has reconstructed the Word I A O to
satisfy the new conditions of Magick imposed by progress. The Word of the Law being Thelema, whose
number is 93, this number should be the canon of a corresponding Mass. Accordingly, he has expanded I A O
by treating the O as an Ayin, and then adding Vau as prefix and affix. The full word is then

                                            Vau Yod Aleph Ayin Vau

whose number is 93. We may analyse this new Word in detail and demonstrate that it is a proper hieroglyph
of the Ritual of Self-Initiation in this Aeon of Horus. For the correspondence in the following note, see Liber
777. The principal points are these:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
          Atu             No.      Hebrew          No.     Correspondence                         Other
                          of                       of
     (Tarot Trump)       Atu        letters       letter       in Nature                     Correspondences

 The Hierophant (Osiris   V  Vau (a nail) English   6   Taurus (An earthy sign The Sun. The son in Tetragrammaton.
 throned & crowned,          V, W, or vowel             ruled by Venus; the (See Cap. III). The Pentagram which
 with Wand).                 between O and              Moon exalted therein shows Spirit master & reconciler of the
                             U m a ' a j a b and        but male.) Liberty, i.e. Four Elements.
 Four Worshippers; the       ma'aruf.                   free will.
 four elements.                                                                  The Hexagram which unites God and
                                                                                 Man. The consciousness or Ruach.

                                                                                 Parzival as the Child in his widowed
                                                                                 mother's care: Horus, son of Isis and the
                                                                                 slain Osiris.

                                                                                 Parzival as King & Priest in Montsalvat
                                                                                 performing the miracle of redemption;
                                                                                 Horuscrownedandconquering,taking
                                                                                 the place of his father.

                                                                                Christ-Bacchus in Heaven-Olympus
                                                                                 saving the world.

 The Hermit (Hermes       IX Y o d ( a h a n d )   10   Virgo (an earthy sign The root of the Alphabet. The
 with Lamp, Wings,           English I or Y.            ruled by Mercury Spermatozoon. The youth setting out
 Wand, Cloak, and                                       exalted therein; on his adventures after receiving the
Serpent).                                               sexually ambivalent) Wand. Parzival in the desert. Christ
                                                        Light, i.e. of Wisdom, taking refuge in Egypt, and on the
                                                        the Inmost.              Mount tempted by the Devil.The
                                                                                 Unconscious Will, or Word.

 The Fool (The Babe in    O  A l e p h (an ox)      1   Air (The condition of The free breath. The Svastika. The
 the Egg on the Lotus,       English A, more or         all Life, the impartial Holy Ghost. The Virgin's Womb.
 Bacchus Diphues, etc.)      less.                      vehicle. Sexually Parzivalas"derreineThor"whoknows
                                                        undeveloped). Life; nothing. Horus. Christ-Bacchus as the
                                                        i.e. the organ of innocent babe, pursued by Herod-
                                                        possible expression.     Héré. Hercules strangling the serpents.
                                                                                 The Unconscious Self not yet
                                                                                 determined in any direction.

 The Devil (Baphomet      XV A y i n ( a n e y e ) 70   Capricornus (an earthy Parzival in Black Armour, ready to
 throned & adored by         English A, or O            sign ruled by Saturn; return to Montsalvat as Redeemer-
 Male & Female. See          more or less: the          Mars exalted therein. King: Horus come to full growth.
 Eliphas Levi's design.)     bleat of a goat, A'a.      Sexually male) Love: Christ-Bacchus with Calvary-Cross
                                                        i.e. the instinct to Kithairon-Thyrsus.
                                                        satisfy Godhead by
                                                        uniting it with the
                                                        Universe.


Iota-Alpha-Digamma varies in significance with successive Aeons.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
"Aeon of Isis." Matriarchal Age. The Great Work conceived as a straightforward simple affair. We find the
theory reflected in the customs of Matriarchy. Parthenogenesis is supposed to be true. The Virgin (Yod-
Virgo) contains in herself the Principle of Growth -- the epicene Hermetic seed. It becomes the Babe in the
Egg (A -- Harpocrates) by virtue of the Spirit (A = Air, impregnating the Mother--Vulture) and this becomes
the Sun or Son ( Digamma = the letter of Tiphareth, 6, even when spelt as Omega, in Coptic. See 777).

"Aeon of Osiris." Patriarchal age. Two sexes. I conceived as the Father-Wand. (Yod in Tetragrammaton). A
the Babe is pursued by the Dragon, who casts a flood from his mouth to swallow it. See "Rev." VII. The
Dragon is also the Mother -- the "Evil Mother" of Freud. It is Harpocrates, threatened by the crocodile in the
Nile. We find the symbolism of the Ark, the Coffin of Osiris, etc. The Lotus is the Yoni; the Water the
Amniotic Fluid. In order to live his own life, the child must leave the Mother, and overcome the temptation
to return to her for refuge. Kundry, Armida, Jocasta, Circe, etc., are symbols of this force which tempts the
Hero. He may take her as his servant

     Her sole speech in the last Act is "Dienen: Dienen".

when he has mastered her, so as to heal his father (Amfortas), avenge him (Osiris), or pacify him (Jehovah). But
in order to grow to manhood, he must cease to depend on her, earning the Lance (Parzival), claiming his arms
(Achilles), or making his club (Hercules)

     Note that all these three remain for a time as neuters among woman, prevented from living the male life.

, and wander in the waterless wilderness like Krishna, Jesus, Oedipus, chi. tau. lambda. -- until the hour when,
as the "King's Son" or knight-errant, he must win the Princess, and set himself upon a strange throne. Almost
all the legends of heroes imply this formula in strikingly similar symbols. Digamma. Vau the Sun -- Son. He
is supposed to be mortal; but how is this shewn? It seems an absolute perversion of truth: the sacred symbols
have no hint of it. This lie is the essence of the Great Sorcery. Osirian religion is a Freudian phantasy fashioned
of man's dread of death and ignorance of nature. The parthenogenesis-idea persists, but is now the formula for
incarnating demi-gods, or divine kings; these must be slain and raised from the dead in one way or another.

     All these ideas may be explained by reference to anthropology. But this is not their condemnation, but their
     justification; for the customs and legends of mankind reflect the true nature of the species.

"Aeon of Horus." Two sexes in one person.

Digamma Iota Alpha Omicron Digamma: 93, the full formula, recognizing the Sun as the Son (Star), as the
pre-existent manifested Unit from which all springs and to which all returns. The Great Work is to make the
initial Digamma Digamma of Assiah (The world of material illusion) into the final Digamma Iota Digamma of
Atziluth,

     For these spellings see 777.

the world of pure reality.

Spelling the Name in full, Digamma Digamma + Iota Digamma Delta + Alpha Lambda Pi + Omicron Iota
Nu + Digamma Iota = 309 = Sh T = XX + XI = 31 the secret Key of the Law.

Digamma is the manifested Star. Iota is the secret Life .............. Serpent

-- Light ............. Lamp
_____________________________________________________________________________________
-- Love .............. Wand

-- Liberty ........... Wings

-- Silence ........... Cloak

These symbols are all shewn in the Atu "The Hermit".

They are the powers of the Yod, whose extension is the Vau.

Yod is the Hand wherewith man does his Will. It is also

The Virgin; his essence is inviolate.

Alpha is the Babe "who has formulated his Father, and made fertile

his Mother" -- Harpocrates, etc., as before; but he develops

to

Omicron The exalted "Devil" (also the "other" secret Eye) by the

formula of the Initiation of Horus elsewhere described in

detail. This "Devil" is called Satan or Shaitan, and regarded with horror by people who are ignorant of his
formula, and, imagining themselves to be evil, accuse Nature herself of their own phantasmal crime. Satan is
Saturn, Set, Abrasax, Adad, Adonis, Attis, Adam, Adonai, etc. The most serious charge against him is that he
is the Sun in the South. The Ancient Initiates, dwelling as they did in lands whose blood was the water of the
Nile or the Euphrates, connected the South with life-withering heat, and cursed that quarter where the solar
darts were deadliest. Even in the legend of Hiram, it is at high noon that he is stricken down and slain.
Capricornus is moreover the sign which the sun enterers when he reaches his extreme Southern declination at
the Winter Solstice, the season of the death of vegetation, for the folk of the Northern hemisphere. This gave
them a second cause for cursing the south. A third; the tyranny of hot, dry, poisonous winds; the menace of
deserts or oceans dreadful because mysterious and impassable; these also were connected in their minds with
the South. But to us, aware of astronomical facts, this antagonism to the South is a silly superstition which the
accidents of their local conditions suggested to our animistic ancestors. We see no enmity between Right and
Left, Up and Down, and similar pairs of opposites. These antitheses are real only as a statement of relation;
they are the conventions of an arbitrary device for representing our ideas in a pluralistic symbolism based on
duality. "Good" must be defined in terms of human ideals and instincts. "East" has no meaning except with
reference to the earth's internal affairs; as an absolute direction in space it changes a degree every four minutes.
"Up" is the same for no two men, unless one chance to be in the line joining the other with the centre of the
earth. "Hard" is the private opinion of our muscles. "True" is an utterly unintelligible epithet which has
proved refractory to the analysis of our ablest philosophers.

We have therefore no scruple in restoring the "devil-worship" of such ideas as those which the laws of sound,
and the phenomena of speech and hearing, compel us to connect with the group of "Gods" whose names are
based upon Sht, or D, vocalized by the free breath A. For these Names imply the qualities of courage, frankness,
energy, pride, power and triumph; they are the words which express the creative and paternal will.

Thus "the Devil" is Capricornus, the Goat who leaps upon the loftiest mountains, the Godhead which, if it
become manifest in man, makes him Aegipan, the All.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The Sun enters this sign when he turns to renew the year in the North. He is also the vowel O, proper to roar,
to boom, and to command, being a forcible breath controlled by the firm circle of the mouth.

He is the Open Eye of the exalted Sun, before whom all shadows flee away: also that Secret Eye which makes
an image of its God, the Light, and gives it power to utter oracles, enlightening the mind.

Thus, he is Man made God, exalted, eager; he has come consciously to his full stature, and so is ready to set out
on his journey to redeem the world. But he may not appear in this true form; the Vision of Pan would drive
men mad with fear. He must conceal Himself in his original guise.

He therefore becomes apparently the man that he was at the beginning; he lives the life of a man; indeed, he
is wholly man. But his initiation has made him master of the Event by giving him the understanding that
whatever happens to him is the execution of this true will. Thus the last stage of his initiation is expressed in
our formula as the final:

Digamma -- The series of transformations has not affected his identity; but it has explained him to himself.
Similarly, Copper is still Copper after

Cu+O = CuO:+H SO =CuS O(H O):+K S=CuS(K SO ):

2 4 4 2 2 2 4 + blowpipe and reducing agent = Cu(S).

It is the same copper, but we have learnt some of its properties. We observe especially that it is indestructible,
inviolably itself throughout all its adventures, and in all its disguises. We see moreover that it can only make
use of its powers, fulfill the possibilities of its nature, and satisfy its equations, by thus combining with its
counterparts. Its existence as a separate substance is evidence of its subjection to stress; and this is felt as the
ache of an incomprehensible yearning until it realises that every experience is a relief, an expression of itself;
and that it cannot be injured by aught that may befall it. In the Aeon of Osiris it was indeed realised that Man
must die in order to live. But now in the Aeon of Horus we know that every event is a death; subject and
object slay each other in "love under will"; each such death is itself life, the means by which one realises
oneself in a series of episodes.

The second main point is the completion of the A babe Bacchus by the O Pan (Parzival wins the Lance, etc.).

The first process is to find the I in the V -- initiation, purification, finding the Secret Root of oneself, the
epicene Virgin who is 10 (Malkuth) but spelt in full 20 (Jupiter).

This Yod in the "Virgin" expands to the Babe in the Egg by formulating the Secret Wisdom of Truth of
Hermes in the Silence of the Fool. He acquires the Eye-Wand, beholding the acting and being adored. The
Inverted Pentagram -- Baphomet -- the Hermaphrodite fully grown -- begets himself on himself as V again.

Note that there are now two sexes in one person throughout, so that each individual is self-procreative sexually,
whereas Isis knew only one sex, and Osiris thought the two sexes opposed. Also the formula is now Love in
all cases; and the end is the beginning, on a higher plane.

The I is formed from the V by removing its tail, the A by balancing 4 Yods, the O by making an inverted
triangle of Yods, which suggests the formula of Nuit -- Hadit -- Ra-Hoor-Khuit. A is the elements whirling
as a Svastika -- the creative Energy in equilibrated action.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
                                                CHAPTER VI

                     THE FORMULA OF THE NEOPHYTE.

    See the Neophyte Ceremony, Equinox I,II.

This formula has for its "first matter" the ordinary man entirely ignorant of everything and incapable of
anything. He is therefore represented as blindfolded and bound. His only aid is his aspiration, represented by
the officer who is to lead him into the Temple. Before entering, he must be purified and consecrated. Once
within the Temple, he is required to bind himself by an oath. His aspiration is now formulated as Will. He
makes the mystic circumambulation of the Temple for the reasons to be described in the Chapter on "Gesture".
After further purification and consecration, he is allowed for one moment to see the Lord of the West, and
gains courage

    Fear is the source of all false perception. Even Freud had a glimpse of this fact.

to persist. For the third time he is purified and consecrated, and he sees the Lord of the East, who holds the
balance, keeping him in a straight line. In the West he gains energy. In the East he is prevented from dissipating
the same. So fortified, he may be received into the Order as a neophyte by the three principal officers, thus
uniting the Cross with the Triangle. He may then be placed between the pillars of the Temple, to receive the
fourth and final consecration. In this position the secrets of the grade are communicated to him, and the last of
his fetters is removed. All this is sealed by the sacrament of the Four Elements.

It will be seen that the effect of this whole ceremony is to endow a thing inert and impotent with balanced
motion in a given direction. Numerous example of this formula are given in Equinox I, Nos. II and III. It is the
formula of the Neophyte Ceremony of G.'. D.'. It should be employed in the consecration of the actual
weapons used by the magician, and may also be used as the first formula of initiation.

In the book called Z 2

    Those sections dealing with divination and alchemy are the most grotesque rubbish in the latter case, and in the
    former obscure and unpractical.

(Equinox I, III) are given full details of this formula, which cannot be too carefully studied and practised. It is
unfortunately, the most complex of all of them. But this is the fault of the first matter of the work, which is so
muddled that many operations are required to unify it.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
                                              CHAPTER VII

                   THE FORMULA OF THE HOLY GRAAL:

                                        OF ABRAHADABRA:

                                 "and of certain other Words."

                            Also: THE MAGICAL MEMORY.

The Hieroglyph shewn in the Seventh Key of the Tarot (described in the 12th Aethyr, Liber 418, Equinox I,
V) is the Charioteer of OUR LADY BABALON, whose Cup or Graal he hears.

Now this is an important formula. It is the First of the Formulae, in a sense, for it is the formula of Renunciation.

     There is no moral implication here. But to choose A implies to refuse not-A: at least, that is so, below the Abyss.

It is also the Last!

This Cup is said to be full of the Blood of the Saints; that is, every "saint" or magician must give the last drop
of his life's blood to that cup. It is the original price paid for magick power. And if by magick power we mean
the true power, the assimilation of all force with the Ultimate Light, the true Bridal of the Rosy Cross, then
is that blood the offering of Virginity, the sole sacrifice well-pleasing to the Master, the sacrifice whose only
reward is the pain of child-bearing unto him.

But "to sell one's soul to the devil", to renounce no matter what for an equivalent in personal gain,

     "Supposed" personal gain. There is really no person to gain; so the whole transaction is a swindle on both sides.

is black magic. You are no longer a noble giver of your all, but a mean huckster.

This formula is, however, a little different in symbolism, since it is a Woman whose Cup must be filled. It is
rather the sacrifice of the Man, who transfers life to his descendants. For a woman does not carry in herself the
principle of new life, except temporarily, when it is given her. But here the formula implies much more even
than this. For it is his whole life that the Magus offers to OUR LADY. The Cross is both Death and Generation,
and it is on the Cross that the Rose blooms. The full significance of these symbols is so lofty that it is hardly
fitted for an elementary treatise of this type. One must be an Exempt Adept, and have become ready to pass
on, before one can see the symbols even from the lower plane. Only a Master of the Temple can fully
understand them.

(However, the reader may study Liber CLVI, in Equinox I, VI, the 12th and 2nd Aethyrs in Liber 418 in
Equinox I, V, and the Symbolism of the V Degree and VI Degree in O.T.O.)

Of the preservation of this blood which OUR LADY offers to the ANCIENT ONE, CHAOS

     CHAOS is a general name for the totality of the Units of Existence; it is thus a name feminine in form. Each
     unit of CHAOS is itself All-Father.

the All-Father, to revive him, and of how his divine Essence fills the Daughter (the soul of Man) and places her
upon the Throne of the Mother, fulfilling the Economy of the Universe, and thus ultimately rewarding the
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Magician (the Son) ten thousandfold, it would be still more improper to speak in this place. So holy a mystery
is the Arcanum of the Masters of the Temple, that it is here hinted at in order to blind the presumptuous who
may, unworthy, seek to lift the veil, and at the same time to lighten the darkness of such as may be requiring
only one ray of the Sun in order to spring into life and light.

                                                         II

ABRAHADABRA is a word to be studied in Equinox I, V., "The Temple of Solomon the King". It represents
the Great Work complete, and it is therefore an archetype of all lesser magical operations. It is in a way too
perfect to be applied in advance to any of them. But an example of such an operation may be studied in
Equinox I, VII, "The Temple of Solomon the King", where an invocation of Horus on this formula is given
in full. Note the reverberation of the ideas one against another. The formula of Horus has not yet been so fully
worked out in details as to justify a treatise upon its exoteric theory and practice; but one may say that it is, to
the formula of Osiris, what the turbine is to the reciprocating engine.

                                                         III

There are many other sacred words which enshrine formulae of great efficacity in particular operations.

For example, V.I.T.R.I.O.L. gives a certain Regimen of the Planets useful in Alchemical work. Ararita is a
formula of the macrocosm potent in certain very lofty Operations of the Magick of the Inmost Light. (See
Liber 813.)

The formula of Thelema may be summarized thus: Theta "Babalon and the Beast conjoined" -- epsilon unto
Nuith (CCXX, I, 51) -- lambda The Work accomplished in Justice -- eta The Holy Graal -- mu The Water
therein -- alpha The Babe in the Egg (Harpocrates on the Lotus.)

That of "Agape" is as follows:

Dionysus (Capital Alpha) -- The Virgin Earth gamma -- The Babe in the Egg (small alpha -- the image of
the Father) -- The Massacre of the Innocents, pi (winepress) -- The Draught of Ecstasy, eta.

The student will find it well worth his while to seek out these ideas in detail, and develop the technique of
their application.

There is also the Gnostic Name of the Seven Vowels, which gives a musical formula most puissant in evocations
of the Soul of Nature. There is moreover ABRAXAS; there is XNOUBIS; there is MEITHRAS; and indeed
it may briefly be stated that every true name of God gives the formula of the invocation of that God.

    Members of the IV Degree of the O.T.O. are well aware of a Magick Word whose analysis contains all truth,
    human and Divine, a word indeed potent for any group which dares to use it.

It would therefore be impossible, even were it desirable, to analyse all such names. The general method of
doing so has been given, and the magician must himself work out his own formula for particular cases.

    The Holy Qabalah (see Liber D in Equinox I, VIII, Supplement, and Liber 777) affords the means of analysis
    and application required. See also Equinox I, V, "The Temple of Solomon The King".

                                                        IV.

It should also be remarked that every grade has its peculiar magical formula. Thus, the formula of Abrahadabra
_____________________________________________________________________________________
concerns us, as men, principally because each of us represents the pentagram or microcosm; and our equilibration
must therefore be with the hexagram or macrocosm. In other words, 5 Degree = 6Square is the formula of the
Solar operation; but then 6 Degree = 5Square is the formula of the Martial operation, and this reversal of the
figures implies a very different Work. In the former instance the problem was to dissolve the microcosm in the
macrocosm; but this other problem is to separate a particular force from the macrocosm, just as a savage might
hew out a flint axe from the deposits in a chalk cliff. Similarly, an operation of Jupiter will be of the nature of
the equilibration of him with Venus. Its graphic formula will be 7 Degree = 4Square, and there will be a word
in which the character of this operation is described, just as Abrahadabra describes the Operation of the Great
Work.

It may be stated without unfairness, as a rough general principle, that the farther from original equality are the
two sides of the equation, the more difficult is the operation to perform.

Thus, to take the case of the personal operation symbolized by the grades, it is harder to become a Neophyte,
1'=10', than to pass from that grade to Zelator, 2'=9'.

Initiation is, therefore, progressively easier, in a certain sense, after the first step is taken. But (especially after
the passing of Tiphareth) the distance between grade and grade increases as it were by a geometrical progression
with an enormously high factor, which itself progresses.

    A suggestion has recently been made that the Hierarchy of the Grades should be "destroyed, and replaced by" --
    a ring system of 13 grades all equal. There is, of course, one sense in which every grade is a Thing-in-Itself. But
    the Hierarchy is only a convenient method of classifying observed facts. One is reminded of the Democracy, who,
    on being informed by the Minister of the Interior that the scarcit