Stele of Revealing..how vital is it?

ravenest

A couple of years ago a friend went to see the Stele when in Egypt. he couldnt find it and when he asked they knew exactly what he was refering to, it had been moved to a more prominant place, cleaned up, the original catlouge number retained because , as the museum said, many people had ben asking about it.

To get to the original thread questions ... and as a purely personal reply the Stele has been invaluible to me, particularly the invokations on it (and I know they exist in v.similar type on other sources and stele) particuarly when invoked during Liber Resh in Egyptian and using both sides - dont know why so many people seem to ignore the 'reverse' side.

It has also served as a great source material for constructing a Gnostic requium mass.
 

Grigori

ravenest said:
A couple of years ago a friend went to see the Stele when in Egypt. he couldnt find it and when he asked they knew exactly what he was refering to, it had been moved to a more prominant place, cleaned up, the original catlouge number retained because , as the museum said, many people had ben asking about it.

I'd wondered about that. Perhaps it should be moved from the ancient history section, where its one of many items, to the modern history section, it could have its own theme there :thumbsup:

Ravenest said:
...the Stele has been invaluible to me, particularly the invokations on it

The Front:

Osiris (i.e. the deceased) said:
O High One, may He be praised, the Great One of power, the spirit of great dignity, who brings fear of himself to the gods, who shines forth upon his throne—

Make open the way for my soul, my spirit, and my shadow, for I am equipped so that I might shine forth as an equipped one, make open the way for me to the place where Ra, Atum, Kheperi, and Hathor are."

The deceased, priest of Monthu, Lord of Thebes, the justified Ankh-f-n-Khonsu, the son of the man with the same titles, Bes-en-mut, and the son of the musician of Amun-Re, the mistress of the house Taneshi.

The Reverse
Osiris said:
O my heart of my mother (two times), O my heart while I am upon earth, do not rise up against me—as my witness, do not oppose me in the tribunal, do not be hostile against me in the presence of the Great God, Lord of the West.

Although I have joined myself to the earth in the great western side of the sky, may I endure upon earth.

Osiris said:
O Unique One, who shines as the moon, may the deceased, Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu, go forth among your multitide (this to the outside)—O deliverer of those who are in the sunshine, open for him the Netherworld (the Duaut)—indeed the Osiris, Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu, shall go forth by day to do that which he wills upon the earth and among the living.

http://www.thelemapedia.org/index.php/Stele_of_Revealing#The_Reverse_Side

I've read that Crowley incorporated some of the text from the Stele, into the book of Law, after the reception of the BoL. Does anyone know which parts and when that happened?
 

Aeon418

similia said:
I've read that Crowley incorporated some of the text from the Stele, into the book of Law, after the reception of the BoL. Does anyone know which parts and when that happened?
It's not the text from the stele itself that he incorporated into Liber Legis, it's parts of his own poetic paraphrase of the stele. Crowley was originally given a French translation of the stele by someone at the Boulak museum. He took that translation and, with a degree of artistic licence, translated it into versified English.

The actual verses in the book are: 1:14, 3:37-38.

The passages from the poem were inserted after the bulk of the text was written. If you check the original holograph manuscript you will see where Crowley begins to write out the verses but stops with a note that says "etc from vellum book".
A Paraphrase of the Stèle of Revealing:

Above, the gemmèd azure is
The naked splendour of Nuit:
She bends in ecstasy to kiss
The secret ardours of Hadit.
The wingèd globe, the starry blue
Are mine, o Ankh-f-n-Khonsu.

I am the Lord of Thebes, and I
The inspired forth-speaker of Mentu;
For me unveils the veilèd sky,
The self-slain Ankh-f-n-Khonsu
Whose words are truth. I invoke, I greet
Thy presence, o Ra-Hoor-Khuit!

Unity uttermost showed!
I adore the might of Thy breath,
Supreme and terrible God,
Who makest the gods and death
To tremble before Thee: -
I, I adore thee!

Appear on the throne of Ra!
Open the ways of the Khu!
Lighten the ways of the Ka!
The ways of the Khabs run through
To stir me or still me!
Aum! let it fill me!

The Light is mine; its rays consume
Me: I have made a secret door
Into the House of Ra and Tum,
Of Khepra, and of Ahathoor.
I am thy Theban, o Mentu,
The prophet Ankh-f-n-Khonsu!

By Bes-na-Maut my breast I beat;
By wise Ta-Nech I weave my spell.
Show thy star-splendour, O Nuith!
Bid me within thine House to dwell,
O wingèd snake of light, Hadith!
Abide with me, Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
 

Yygdrasilian

They are waiting for you

similia said:
The BoL is not a manual on how to use the Stele. The BoL is a manual on how to understand and practice Thelema. The Stele is a part of the story of how Crowley came to receive the BoL, and was woven into the mythology by Crowley. Not the other way around as you seem to be suggesting Abrac.

A connection between Thelema and the gods of ancient Egypt is not there, and should not be, apart from some shared symbolism.

You seem to be implying that Aiwass should be regarded as a literary device of Crowley’s invention. For any symbolism shared between Thelema and ancient Egypt would be an interweaving of his own design, correct?

Of course, if Aiwass really were a priest of Horus (Re-Horakhty / Ra-Hoor-Khuit), then the synchronicity of object 666 takes on a relevance difficult to characterize without perplexing ramifications.
In allowing for the “existence” of such a being, one gives a lineage to Liber Legis & Thelema, connecting them directly to the ancient Egyptian mystery tradition. Whether one chooses this belief or not for themselves, one must consider Crowley’s belief in it when interpreting his work.
He certainly considered The Book of the Law to be a thorough explanation of the Stele’s symbolism. And it was relevant enough for him to adapt its imagery to 20/AEON. One might even argue that this Stele of Revealing embodies the “solution” to Thoth's Tarot, but that would be a question for Ankh-f-n-khonsu.

The ontological validity one gives Crowley’s Holy Guardian Angel colors any reading of his work. And if he did, indeed, speak with that being in the ‘deep blue light’ it would've been Aiwass weaving ancient mythology into the modern occult, eh?
 

Grigori

Yygdrasilian said:
You seem to be implying that Aiwass should be regarded as a literary device of Crowley’s invention. For any symbolism shared between Thelema and ancient Egypt would be an interweaving of his own design, correct?

No, I actually didn't intend to comment on Aiwass at all. What I mean to say, is that I view the Stele and the depictions on it as a device. I don't consider its originally intended properties or context as important, except for how they may be interpreted within the construct of Aiwass/Crowley's use of them.

Assuming the validity of Aiwass as an independant entity (at least as much as a HGA may be considered independant), I guess its my opinion that Aiwass would use any symbolism sufficiently resonant with his message, that would get through Crowley's thick skull :laugh: So Nuit is used because that mythology was attractive to Crowley at that time, not because the gods of egypt play any special role in the lineage of Thelema.

Crowley writings may appear to disagree with that idea when interpreted literally, but that doesn't dissuade me. I've also read what Crowley has to say about people who interpret mythology literally ;)
 

Yygdrasilian

They are waiting for you, II

similia said:
Assuming the validity of Aiwass as an independant entity (at least as much as a HGA may be considered independant), I guess its my opinion that Aiwass would use any symbolism sufficiently resonant with his message, that would get through Crowley's thick skull :laugh: So Nuit is used because that mythology was attractive to Crowley at that time, not because the gods of egypt play any special role in the lineage of Thelema.

Crowley writings may appear to disagree with that idea when interpreted literally, but that doesn't dissuade me. I've also read what Crowley has to say about people who interpret mythology literally ;)

Yet, if we assume the validity of such an entity operating ‘outside’ the physical constraints of space-time, what is to prevent this intelligence from influencing the development of both ancient and modern mystic traditions simultaneously? This is what I mean by perplexing ramifications.
Aiwass wouldn’t need just any symbolism sufficiently resonant with “his” message to get past Crowley's "thick skull". Such a being could pop up at any time in (pre)history and work through any “medium” suitable to the design of the Great Work.

[ This is by no means an endorsement for the literal interpretation of Thelemic, Egyptian or {pestilence} any mythology - fundamentalism is a system of control that diminishes intellect and robs the soul ]

Having seen The Book of Thoth as an alchemical formula, a map of inner & outer space, and as the calendar for the Real Time, I can definitely appreciate the enigmas presented by Crowley’s opus.
I do not recommend anyone use it to follow a paath other than that of the arrow.
If anything, at the heart of Thoth’s Tarot and Aiwass’ Liber Legis lies a rosetta stone for understanding the symbolism and allegory of every mythos.
VITRIOL is, after all, the Universal Solvent.

I agree that the Stele of Revealing is a device, like a Key (or is it the Lock?).
But, in accepting the validity of this Being from the ‘deep, blue light,’ we are opening ourselves to the distinct possibility that object 666’s originally intended properties and context may be as "relevant" as its’ intended contemporary function.
Which is to say, we might gain a better understanding of the spirit, if not the letter, of the Law by not being so quick to dismiss Nut, B_hadet, or Re-Horakhty from our discussion.
 

Grigori

Yygdrasilian said:
Aiwass wouldn’t need just any symbolism sufficiently resonant with “his” message to get past Crowley's "thick skull". Such a being could pop up at any time in (pre)history and work through any “medium” suitable to the design of the Great Work.

Sure, except that in this case the subject is time specific. Aiwass didn't choose another medium in another time, he choose Crowley in 1904 (or you could say he was Crowley, in any of his "incarnations"). The Stele and the BoL became important at that time, because it was the birth of the new Aeon, part of the evolution of time. So I don't think its justified to completely divorce the message from time, nor to completely confine it by time either.

Yygdrasilian said:
But, in accepting the validity of this Being from the ‘deep, blue light,’ we are opening ourselves to the distinct possibility that object 666’s originally intended properties and context may be as "relevant" as its’ intended contemporary function.

The Stele is not unique, its a common motif. So to assume that Aiwass or anything else created an entire Osirian mythos in preparation for a later development to replace that aeon seems far fetched to me. It easier for me to think of the Stele as a relic of an old religion that can be reinterpreted in light of a new formula that evolved from that. But thats a decision made on ease of function, and I'm not suggesting its the only way to look at it.

Your right that there might be wide ranging things to think about here. Perhaps its relevant to contemplate what Aiwass was doing before the birth of Crowley. This comes down to what conception of reincarnation you subscribe to, and what role the HGA can be seen as playing within that. Were Aiwass seen purely as a spiritual being, independant from the material world I think I would feel differently, but in my understanding the role of Aiwass is very much tied to his material conterpart, who is a part of time. So I consider Aiwass would have a different point of view than other "messengers" not so intimately involved with us lowly creatures.

Yygdrasilian said:
Which is to say, we might gain a better understanding of the spirit, if not the letter, of the Law by not being so quick to dismiss Nut, B_hadet, or Re-Horakhty from our discussion.

I hope so, though no one has presented anything yet that would suggest that.
 

Aeon418

Yygdrasilian said:
If anything, at the heart of Thoth’s Tarot and Aiwass’ Liber Legis lies a rosetta stone for understanding the symbolism and allegory of every mythos.
Exactly!
22. The other images group around me to support me: let all be worshipped, for they shall cluster to exalt me. I am the visible object of worship; the others are secret; for the Beast & his Bride are they: and for the winners of the Ordeal x. What is this? Thou shalt know.
You can work with any gods form any pantheon you like. Hell, you can even work with Jesus Christ, Buddha, or Vishnu if that takes your fancy. All gods are representations of, or partial aspects, of THAT which is represented by the Thelemic Ra Hoor Khuit. Liber Resh vel Helios is a graphic example. You're not literally praying to Ra, Hathor, Tum, and Kephra. You're praying to THAT which which is beyond them - the HGA.
Also it is better if in these adorations thou assume the God-form of Whom thou adorest, as if thou didst unite with Him in the adoration of That which is beyond Him.

If you want to work with the Egyptian Nut, Behdet, or Re-Horakhty, fine. There's nothing within Thelelma that's says you can't. But it's a mistake confuse them with the Thelemic deities. They are a vastly higher conception.
There are to be no regular temples of Nuith and Hadit, for They are incommensurables and absolutes. Our religion therefore, for the People, is the Cult of the Sun, who is our particular star of the Body of Nuit, from whom, in the strictest scientific sense, come this earth, a chilled spark of Him, and all our Light and Life.
What is the sun a symbol of? The HGA. An interesting comment on that is served by the way in which Sol was invoked or banished using the hexagram ritual in the Golden Dawn. You had to draw all of the planetary hexagrams. In other words, the HGA is all historical gods.
 

Aeon418

In Crowley's A.'.A.'. system the candidate for initiation was required to listen to Liber LXI vel Causae before they even signed the oath of a Probationer. Essentially, hearing the history lection is the very first step in that system, and with good reason. It contains one or two gems of wisdom, without which Crowley's thought is a little hard to grasp and is liable to mislead.
23. Deliberately, therefore, did he take refuge in vagueness. Not to veil the truth to the Neophyte, but to warn him against valuing non-essentials. Should therefore the candidate hear the name of any God, let him not rashly assume that it refers to any known God, save only the God known to himself. Or should the ritual speak in terms (however vague) which seem to imply Egyptian, Taoist, Buddhist, Indian, Persian, Greek, Judaic, Christian, or Moslem philosophy, let him reflect that this is a defect of language; the literary limitation and not the spiritual prejudice of the man P.

24. Especially let him guard against the finding of definite sectarian symbols in the teaching of his master, and the reasoning from the known to the unknown which assuredly will tempt him.

We labour earnestly, dear brother, that you may never be led away to perish upon this point; for thereon have many holy and just men been wrecked. By this have all the visible systems lost the essence of wisdom.

We have sought to reveal the Arcanum; we have only profaned it.
The "God known to himself" is the HGA.