Liber 418 study group - 24th Aethyr: NIA

Aeon418

Aleister Crowley said:
24. NIA - The Rose. (The Woman of Atu XIV. Minister of Babalon; The Water-Kerub in the Initiation.) The First Kiss Of the Lady of Initiation. - Now appears his [the Beast] mate, the heavenly Venus, the Scarlet Woman, who by men is thought of as Babalon as he is thought of as Chaos.
The Cry of the 24th Aethyr,
Which is Called NIA

1. An angel comes forward into the stone like a warrior clad in chain- armour. Upon his head are plumes of gray, spread out like the fan of a peacock. About his feet a great army of scorpions and dogs, lions, elephants, and many other wild beasts. He stretches forth his arms to heaven and cries; In the crackling of the lightning, in the rolling of the thunder, in the clashing of the swords and the hurling of the arrows: be thy name exalted!

2. Streams of fire come out of the heavens, a pale brilliant blue, like plumes. And they gather themselves and settle upon his lips. His lips are redder than roses, and the blue plumes gather themselves into a blue rose, and from beneath the petals of the rose come brightly coloured humming-birds, and dew falls from the rose- honey-coloured dew. I stand in the shower of it.

3. And a voice proceeds from the rose: Come away! Our chariot is drawn by doves. Of mother-of-pearl and ivory is our chariot and the reins thereof are the heart-strings of men. Every moment that we fly shall cover an aeon. And every place on which we rest shall be a young universe rejoicing in its strength; the meadows thereof shall be covered with flowers. There shall we rest but a night, and in the morning we shall flee away, comforted.

4. Now, to myself, I have imagined the chariot of which the voice spake, and I looked to see who was with me in the chariot. It was an Angel of golden hair and golden skin, whose eyes were bluer than the sea, whose mouth was redder than the fire, whose breath was ambrosial air. Finer than a spider's web were her robes. And they were of the seven colours.

5. All this I saw; and then the hidden voice went on low and sweet: Come away! The price of the journey is little, though its name be death. Thou shalt die to all that thou fearest and hopest and hatest and lovest and thinkest and art. Yea! thou shalt die, even as thou must die. For all that thou hast, thou hast not; all that thou art, thou art not!

6. NENNI OFEKUFA ANANAEL LAIADA I MAELPEREJI NONUKA AFAFA ADAREPEHETA PEREGI ALADI NIISA NIISA LAPE OL ZODIR IDOIAN.

7. And I said: ODO KIKALE QAA. Why art thou hidden from me, whom I hear?

8. And the voice answered and said unto me: Hearing is of the spirit alone. Thou art a partaker of the five-fold mystery. Thou must roll up the ten divine ones like a scroll, and fashion therefrom a star. Yet must thou blot out the star in the heart of Hadit.

9. For the blood of my heart is like a warm bath of myrrh and ambergris; bathe thyself therein. The blood of my heart is all gathered upon my lips if I kiss thee, burns in my fingertips if I caress thee, burns in my womb when thou art caught up into my bed. Mighty are the stars; mighty is the sun; mighty is the moon; mighty is the voice of the ever-living one, and the echoes of his whisper are the thunders of the dissolution of the worlds. But my silence is mightier than they. Close up the worlds like unto a weary house; close up the book of the recorder, and let the veil swallow up the shrine, for I am arisen, O my fair one, and there is no more need of all these things.

10. If once I put thee apart from me, it was the joy of play. Is not the ebb and flowing of the tide a music of the sea? Come, let us mount unto Nuit our mother and be lost! Let being be emptied in the infinite abyss! For by me only shalt thou mount; thou hast none other wings than mine.

11. All this while the Rose has been shooting out blue flames, coruscating like snakes through the whole Aire. And the snakes have taken shapes of sentences. One of them is: Sub umbra alarum tuarum Adonai quies et felicitas. And another: Summum bonum, vera sapientia, magnanima vita, sub noctis nocte sunt. And another is: Vera medicina est vinum mortis. And another is: Libertas evangelii per jugum legis ob gloriam dei intactam ad vacuum nequaquam tendit. And another is:Sub aqu lex terrarum. And another is: Mens edax rerum, cor umbra rerum; intelligentia via summa. And another is: Summa via lucis: per Hephaestum undas regas. And another is: Vir introit tumulum regis, invenit oleum lucis.

12. And all round the whole of these things are the letters TARO; but the light is so dreadful that I cannot read the words. I am going to try again. All these serpents are collected together very thickly at the edges of the wheel, because there are an innumerable number of sentences. One is:tres annos regimen oraculi. And another is: terribilis ardet rex ןוילע. And another is: Ter amb (amp?) (can't see it) Rosam oleo (?). And another is: Tribus annulis regna olisbon. And the marvel is that with those four letters you can get a complete set of rules for doing everything, both for white magic and black.

13. And now I see the heart of the rose again. I see the face of him that is the heart of the rose, and in the glory of that face I am ended. My eyes are fixed upon his eyes; my being is sucked up through my eyes into those eyes. And I see through those eyes, and lo! the universe, like whirling sparks of gold, blown like a tempest. I seem to swell out again into him. My consciousness fills the whole Aethyr. I hear the cry NIA, ringing again and again from within me. It sounds like infinite music, and behind the sound is the meaning of the Aethyr. Again there are no words.

14. All this time the whirling sparks of gold go on, and they are like blue sky, with a lot of rather thin white clouds in it, outside. And now I see mountains round, far blue mountains, purple mountains. And in the midst is a little green dell of moss, which is all sparkling with dew that drips from the rose. And I am lying on that moss with my face upwards, drinking, drinking, drinking, drinking, drinking of the dew.
15. I cannot describe to you the joy and the exhaustion of everything that was, and the energy of everything that is, for it is only a corpse that is lying on the moss. I am the soul of the Aethyr.

16. Now it reverberates like the swords of archangels, clashing upon the armour of the damned; and there seem to be the blacksmiths of heaven beating the steel of the worlds upon the anvils of hell, to make a roof to the Aethyr.

17. For if the great work were accomplished and all the Aethyrs were caught up into one, then would the vision fail; then would the voice be still.

18. Now all is gone from the stone.

Ain el Hajel. November 26, 1909. 2-3:25 p.m.
Plain text versions of Liber 418 with Crowley's footnotes:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/418/418.htm
http://hermetic.com/crowley/the-vision-and-the-voice/

Liber 418 in PDF format with images:

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/cr...s/Liber418.pdf
 

Always Wondering

I found this Aethyr very beautiful.

From the intro...
24. "The Rose. (The Woman of Atu XIV. Minister of Babalon;
The Water-Kerub in the Initiation.) The First Kiss Of the Lady of Initiation."

14. All this time the whirling sparks of gold go on, and they are like blue sky, with a lot of rather thin white clouds in it, outside. And now I see mountains round, far blue mountains, purple mountains. And in the midst is a little green dell of moss, which is all sparkling with dew that drips from the rose. And I am lying on that moss with my face upwards, drinking, drinking, drinking, drinking, drinking of the dew.
15. I cannot describe to you the joy and the exhaustion of everything that was, and the energy of everything that is, for it is only a corpse that is lying on the moss. I am the soul of the Aethyr.

I don't know what the Water-Kerub is, but verses 14 and 15 surely feel like The First Kiss Of the Lady of Initiation.

Sub umbra alarum tuarum Adonai quies et felicitas.
"Under the shadow of thy wings Adonai, are peace and happiness."

I love this. But I am hardly an Adeptus Minor. Do you think this Eschleman is insinuating that one needs to reach Adeptus Minor before one feels peace and happiness?

I am going to sit with the rest today, before I peek at any more notes. :laugh:

AW
 

Always Wondering

Well, I'll just say it. It screams of sex to me. :laugh:
But on another level it brings maybe a better understanding or conception of Knowledge and Conversation. And how the theme of receptivity and surrender plays into attainment.

I can see all the references to Cheth pretty well. And while "fence" still does not make sense to me I can see womb. And maybe the act of cultivation.


13. And now I see the heart of the rose again. I see the face of him that is the heart of the rose, and in the glory of that face I am ended. My eyes are fixed upon his eyes; my being is sucked up through my eyes into those eyes. And I see through those eyes, and lo! the universe, like whirling sparks of gold, blown like a tempest. I seem to swell out again into him. My consciousness fills the whole Aethyr. I hear the cry NIA, ringing again and again from within me. It sounds like infinite music, and behind the sound is the meaning of the Aethyr. Again there are no words.

I didn't get to T.A.R.O today. I've got a lot to remind myself of that.

AW
 

Aeon418

NIA. Pronounced “Nee-ah” in the Golden Dawn Enochian dialect.

Chesed in Yetzirah.

N = Scorpio, Nun, XIII Death.
I = Sagittarius, Samekh, XIV Art.
A = Taurus, Vau, V The Hierophant.

Nun(50) + Samekh(60) + Vau(6) = 116.

The number 116 does not seem to be all that significant. But, for what it’s worth, here’s a few suggestive words and phrases that match this number.

PhI IHVH – The Mouth of the Lord. This could relate to the speaking rose that settles on the lips of the angel in section 2.

NVS is a primitive root that means to flee or to escape. This suggests the beckoning call in sections 3 & 5, “Come away!” And “flee away” in section 3.
This call may point to the fact that this aethyr corresponds to Chesed. There is no path to Binah from here, so it may mark a boundary point that must be crossed.

IVNIM – Doves. “Our chariot is drawn by doves.”

MKVN – Makhon, Emplacement; the 6th Heaven of Merkabah (Chariot) mysticism corresponding to Chesed. Two characteristics of this heaven are storms and dew.

Section 5 suggests the English-Hebrew transliteration of the name NIA.
NIA (61). I, Myself.
AIN (61). Not, Nothing.

Crowley makes an interesting point in his commentary. NIA is one of the words that Crowley failed to hear during the dictation of the third chapter of The Book of the Law. It was written in by Rose latter on. Compare with section 8: “Hearing is of the spirit alone.”

The vision appears to conform to the name, NIA, in a general way. The angel speaks of Death(N, Scorpio) as the “price of the journey.” The angel’s rainbow robes and the blue rose suggest Art(I, Sagittarius). And the angel also gives instruction and teaching via the Latin phrases consistent with the Hierophant (A, Taurus).
This vision also seems to balance the fiery masculinity of the previous vision.

The vision:

1. The angel’s appearance is martial. Possibly indicating Mar’s rulership of Scorpio. The grey peacock fan on his head could relate to Chokmah (grey) and Binah (peacock, the bird of Juno) and therefore the Path of Daleth? He is an Initiator and acts as such by making the sign of Apohis and Typhon to call down the storm. The animals about his feet may represent the four elements.

2. The streams of fire sound like the lightning of Jupiter. Blue relates to Chesed and Samekh(Sagittarius ruled by Jupiter). The blue rose on the red lips suggests the union of fire and water, and is again symbolic of Samekh and the HGA.

3. “Come away!” The summons of the HGA to the aspirant.
“Our chariot is drawn by doves.” This is seems to be a reference to. Chesed, spelt ChSD.
Ch – Cheth – the Chariot.
S – Samekh – the Angel riding in the chariot.
D – Daleth – the doves that draw the chariot.

4. The opening of this section is interesting.
To myself = Aleph?
Imagined = Nun (the Imaginative Intelligence)?
Chariot = Cheth?
Voice = Vau?

A(1) + N(50) + Ch(8) + V(6) = 65. Adonai!

The angel’s golden hair and golden skin indicate that she is of Tiphareth. Her eyes and mouth equilibrate fire and water. (Sun = Resh = Head). She is clothed is the seven colours of Samekh, the rainbow.

5. The Angel’s message is of Death. On the approach toward Binah all these ‘personal’ aspects of self must be poured into the Cup of Babalon.

6. Two possible translations of this passage:
You have become lifted up! The Secret Wisdom is as fiery darts and you are empty, cast into the fire of gathering. Come away! Come away! For I, myself, am IDIOAN.
Become the Secret Widom and the Secret Truth, and of the Fire of Life you are empty, ineffable with the gathering fire. Come away! Come away! For I am the All-Powerful.

7. More Enochian. This time from the First Key. “Open the mysteries of your creation” Crowley wonders why he cannot see the speaker.

8. On the pentagram hearing is attributed to the Spirit point. Here Crowley is declared to be a partaker of this five-fold mystery – the Pentagram.
The ten divine ones may be the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life. The so-called ‘Lightning Flash’ that shows the path of the descent of the emanations down the Tree is said to be the pentagram unwound. Roll it back up to fashion a star? But even this five-fold star must be blotted out in union with the quintessence – spirit alone.

9. Beautiful words of love from the Holy Guardian Angel for the aspirant.

Ambergris corresponds to Kether, and Myrrh to Binah. In Crowley’s notes to table XLII in 777 he states the Myrrh is traditionally the perfume of sorrow and bitterness, the dark side of Binah. But Ambergris brings out the best in other perfumes.

10. The ‘seeming’ separation between the angel and the aspirant is presented as ‘play’ and the ‘ebb and flow of the tide.’ (Compare with AL I:29-30.) This stands in stark contrast to old aeonic presentations of this same theme that speak of punishment and exile from Eden. The journey back is made possible by union with the ‘winged’ angel.

11. This section seems to relate to the letter A in NIA, which corresponds to Taurus and Atu V, The Hierophant – the HGA as inner teacher providing instruction. (The previous sections speak of the HGA as initiator and lover.)

Sub umbra alarum tuarum Adonai quies et felicitas.”: Under the shadow of the thy wings, Adonai, are peace and happiness.
According to Crowley this refers to the 5=6 Tiphareth initiation.

Summum bonum, vera sapientia, magnanima vita, sub noctis nocte sunt.”: The Highest good, true wisdom, magnanimous life, are within the night of night.
According to Crowley this is reference to the 8=3 Binah initiation.

Vera medicina est vinum mortis.” The True Medicine is the Wine of Death.

Libertas evangelii per jugum legis ob gloriam dei intactam ad vacuum nequaquam tendit.” The liberty of the gospel, through the yoke of the law, before the inviolate glory of God, reaches out toward the Not-at-all-Empty.
Relates the Vault of the Adepts and the signs of Aquarius, Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio the surround it.

Sub aqua lex terrarum.” Beneath the water is the law of earth.
The initials of the Latin spell SALT.

Mens edax rerum, cor umbra rerum; intelligentia via summa.” The mind, devouring things; the heart, the shadow of things; intelligence the higest way.
Initials letters of Latin phrase spell MERCVRIVS. Mercury.

Summa via lucis: per Hephaestum undas regas.” This is the highest way of the light; govern the waters through Hephaetus.
Latin initials: SVLPHVR. Sulphur.

Vir introit tumulum regis, invenit oleum lucis.” The man enters the (burial) mound of the king, [and] discovers the oil of light.
Latin initials: VITRIOL.

12. “Tres annos regimen oraculi.” Three years is the rule of prophecy. Three years is 156 weeks. (156 = Babalon)
In 1906 Crowley attained 5=6. Three years later in 1909 he was about to attain 8=3.

Terribilis ardet rex (Heb) OLIVN.” Terrible burns the king elion.
OLVN = 156. The phallic letter Yod ‘burns’ within.

Ter amb (amp?) rosam oleo.” Three times … the rose with oil. This may mean the influence of the three paths of Gimel, Heh, and Zain, that connect Tiphareth with the Supernals.

Tribus annulis regna olisbon.” Rule the olibos with three rings. An olisbos is a leather dildo. This seems to be a reference to the Middle Pillar and the three reciprocal paths of Peh, Teth, and Daleth.
Compare the ‘dildo’s’ held by the Hierophant on the Thoth and RWS cards.

Each of these phrases spells TARO. This seems to be the end of the lesson.

13. This section resumes the theme of the union between the angel and the aspirant. The latter attains to the angels more expansive point of view. This is possibly a poetic description of a transition from Yetzirah to Briatic consciousness.

14. Crowley sees himself from outside, drinking dew from a rose. Is this the same rose that is anointed three times with oil? If so it may be poetic representation of the union of the angel with the human consciousness, that absorbs the supernal ‘dew’ via the angel.

15. Blissed out Crowley enjoying the union. Far out man. :smoker:

16. Retreat from the vision and a return to normal Yetziratic (Swords) consciousness. Bummer dude. :(
 

Aeon418

"Under the shadow of thy wings Adonai, are peace and happiness."

I love this. But I am hardly an Adeptus Minor. Do you think this Eschleman is insinuating that one needs to reach Adeptus Minor before one feels peace and happiness?
I don't think so. The whole journey is 'under the shadow of the wings.'

That line appears to be an adaptation of part of the 91st Psalm. A different form appears in the Golden Dawn Neophyte initiation. Crowley used it himself in his personal rendition of the Neophyte ritual - Liber Pyramidos.

You can find a version of Pyramidos in Eshelman's, Pearls of Wisdom. The section beginning on p.165 is where the Neophyte confesses to 22 different failings that correspond to the unbalanced and/or negative aspects of each of the 22 Hebrew letters and the 22 Major Arcana. But despite these accusations the defending refrain is always: "I am under the Shadow of the Wings."
 

smw

You can find a version of Pyramidos in Eshelman's, Pearls of Wisdom. The section beginning on p.165 is where the Neophyte confesses to 22 different failings that correspond to the unbalanced and/or negative aspects of each of the 22 Hebrew letters and the 22 Major Arcana. But despite these accusations the defending refrain is always:

"I am under the Shadow of the Wings."

What a beautiful refrain. It is not easy to acknowledge unbalanced and negative aspects of ourselves, which of course are an individual responsibility.
 

Aeon418

What a beautiful refrain. It is not easy to acknowledge unbalanced and negative aspects of ourselves, which of course are an individual responsibility.
Here it is in full.
Aleister Crowley said:
Atu 0 - Aleph: Yea! but I am a fool, a flutterer!
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu I - Beth: I am a liar & a sorcerer.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu II - Gimel: I am so fickle that I scorn the bridle.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu III - Daleth: I am unchaste, voluptuous and idle.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu IV - Tzaddi: I am a bully & a tyrant crass.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu V - Vau: I am as dull & as stubborn as an ass.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu VI - Zain: I am untrusty, cruel & insane.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu VII - Cheth: I am a fool & frivolous & vain.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XI - Teth: I am a weakling & a coward; I cringe.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu IX - Yod: I am a catamite & cunnilinge.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu X - Kaph: I am a glutton, a besotted wight.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu VIII - Lamed: I am a satyr & a sodomite.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XII - Mem: I am as changeful & selfish as the Sea.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XIII - Nun: I am a thing of vice & vanity.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XIV - Samekh: I am most violent & I vacillate.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XV - Ayin: I am a blind man & emasculate.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XVI - Peh: I am a raging fire of wrath – no wiser!
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XVII - Heh: I am a blackguard, spendthrift & a miser.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XVIII - Qoph: I am obscure & devious & null.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XIX - Resh: I am ungenerous & base & dull.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XX - Shin: I am not marked with the white Flame of Breath.
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!

Atu XXI - Tau: I am a Traitor!–die the traitor's death!
I am under the Shadow of the Wings!