The Book of The Law Study Group 3.37
Grigori
I thought it may be useful for me to go through many of the terms in this section and look at their meaning, as there are a few things I'm unsure of.
Lord of Thebes is Anhk-af-na-khonsu, a priest from the city of Thebes.
Mentu is an Egyptian war god, with a cult based in Thebes.
Nuit?
I often wonder about this line. In particular "self-slain". This can be related to crossing the abyss, though I wonder if this is a paraphrase of the Stele, does this suggest Anhk-af0a-khonsu suicided?
Who is the Supreme and terrible God/ Ra-Hoor-Khuit? I wouldn't have thought he was a contender for the role....
Someone else sitting in Ra's throne? Apart from the solar reference, I'm also reminded of the idea of Horus taking the seat of Osiris, the change of the Aeon, or sitting in someone else's throne.
I still struggle with this terminology. Khabs is the House of Hadit, deeper than Khu, the Radiance of the Khabs. I'm unsure how Ka fits into all of this.
An interesting conflict there.
Lord of Thebes is Anhk-af-na-khonsu, a priest from the city of Thebes.
Mentu is an Egyptian war god, with a cult based in Thebes.
Nuit?
I often wonder about this line. In particular "self-slain". This can be related to crossing the abyss, though I wonder if this is a paraphrase of the Stele, does this suggest Anhk-af0a-khonsu suicided?
Who is the Supreme and terrible God/ Ra-Hoor-Khuit? I wouldn't have thought he was a contender for the role....
Someone else sitting in Ra's throne? Apart from the solar reference, I'm also reminded of the idea of Horus taking the seat of Osiris, the change of the Aeon, or sitting in someone else's throne.
I still struggle with this terminology. Khabs is the House of Hadit, deeper than Khu, the Radiance of the Khabs. I'm unsure how Ka fits into all of this.
An interesting conflict there.
Craxiette
I've been saying the Resh adorations + the part of this verse and the next that begins at "Unity uttermost shown..." for over a month now, so I'm happy that the study group has finally got to this point! 
In my understanding, khabs is the soul and khu the "garment"of the soul -sort of like the interior and the crust; two interconnected parts of one whole. The Ka on the other hand I think is similar to the chi, or life force, what is required for an incarnated soul...more "energy" like than Khabs-Khu which are more "essence" like. I don't know if this is correct, but it makes sense to me atleast...
In my understanding, khabs is the soul and khu the "garment"of the soul -sort of like the interior and the crust; two interconnected parts of one whole. The Ka on the other hand I think is similar to the chi, or life force, what is required for an incarnated soul...more "energy" like than Khabs-Khu which are more "essence" like. I don't know if this is correct, but it makes sense to me atleast...
ravenest
That should be long enough to start some interesting effects for you. I always found a great effect from the line; 'Aum! let it fill me.' ... and the next one. It's a great invocation/adoration. (I did it for a while in 'Egyptian' - whooosh!)
[Hmmm, isnt this a part of the Book that was written previously and inserted later?]
Aeon418
Correct! It was written several days before the dictation of Liber AL. After Rose pointed out the stele 666 to Aleister, he made arrangments for a replica to be made. He also had the hieroglyphs on both sides of the stele translated. The translation was in French. Crowley took this and turned it into versified English.
In his 1936 book, The Equinox of the Gods, Crowley claims that the instruction to insert the verses into the text were "instantaneous thoughts" during the dictation.
Here's a straight English translation of the French that Crowley used. [Front of the stele]
More later...
Aeon418
Observation on the verse number: III x 37 = 111. One of the great solar numbers.
Speculation: 111 x 4 = 444 = RA HVVR KV (Ra-Hoor-Khu).
This whole adoration is obviously Ankh-af-na-Khonsu addressing the god, Ra-Hoor-Khuit and can viewed as a "generic template" for the aspirant and his/her HGA.
The name Ankh-f-n-Khonsu means "He lives for Khonsu", or "His life is in Khonsu". Khonsu was an Egyptian moon god. He was often depicted as a falcon-headed deity with a moon disk on his head. Sometimes he was shown as a mummy with a sidelock of hair, indicating childhood. This latter symbol possibly links him with Harpocrates.
The adoration is here given to the god, Mentu. Mentu was originally a war god of Hermonthis, a city roughly 10 miles south of Thebes. Over time he became increasingly solarized, until he eventually became a form of Ra-Horakhte [Ra-Hoor-Khuit] and was called the 'living spirit/soul of Ra'. This name would seem to make him an excellent generic stand-in for the HGA.
To be continued...
Speculation: 111 x 4 = 444 = RA HVVR KV (Ra-Hoor-Khu).
This whole adoration is obviously Ankh-af-na-Khonsu addressing the god, Ra-Hoor-Khuit and can viewed as a "generic template" for the aspirant and his/her HGA.
The name Ankh-f-n-Khonsu means "He lives for Khonsu", or "His life is in Khonsu". Khonsu was an Egyptian moon god. He was often depicted as a falcon-headed deity with a moon disk on his head. Sometimes he was shown as a mummy with a sidelock of hair, indicating childhood. This latter symbol possibly links him with Harpocrates.
The adoration is here given to the god, Mentu. Mentu was originally a war god of Hermonthis, a city roughly 10 miles south of Thebes. Over time he became increasingly solarized, until he eventually became a form of Ra-Horakhte [Ra-Hoor-Khuit] and was called the 'living spirit/soul of Ra'. This name would seem to make him an excellent generic stand-in for the HGA.
To be continued...
Grigori
I've been saying the Resh adorations + the part of this verse and the next that begins at "Unity uttermost shown..." for over a month now, so I'm happy that the study group has finally got to this point!
I've been saying Resh again for the last few weeks, though haven't done the adoration after as yet. For some reason I struggle with remembering the verses (despite the rather minor changes for each time of the day) and so decided to devote some time to very simply saying the verses and try and batter them into my brain and get used to the schedule. I think now is a good time for me to expand my effort and add in the adoration also.
Thanks for this also, I think I broadly get the idea, but then a new application comes along and I have to go back and look things up again to ground my understanding.
Grigori
I really appreciate this 'line' and the one after. I admit its one of the few examples where Crowley's poetry really reaches me. I quite like also the use of these lines in the song that is used in the 'Speech in the Silence' podcasts. I've not been able to find the song anywhere else, which is a shame as I'd love to hear the full version (if any more exists).
Grigori
A lot of similarities between Khonsu and Horus I guess, apparently though in very different era's of Egypt's history. I can see a template for To Mega Therion's personal seal in Khonsu's crown also.
Aeon418
I think it creates some interesting polarities when you look at the stele. Active/passive - solar/lunar.
On the left there is the solar-martial Ra-Hoor-Khuit. To accentuate the active warrior aspect he is addressed as, Mentu. As has already been pointed out this god was merged with Horus.
On the right hand side there is Anhk-af-na-Khonsu. His name links him to the lunar god of the same name. This god was also a healer. And there is also the link with Harpocrates.
