Read Magick Cap. XII. Note that the “male child” (p. 95) equals the Serpent.[1]
The “initiated interpretation” in footnote 4[2] on that page is nonsense — dust in the eyes of the profane. See also Liber Astarte (CLXXV) pp. 390-404[3] for hints as to how to acquire the mental state necessary to prepare for the work. Also, for the same reason, Liber A’ash vel Capricorni Pneumatici (CCCLXX) pp. 432-434 and Liber Cheth vel Vallum Abiegni (CLVI) pp. 430-431. But it all adds up to “inflame thyself in praying.”[4]
Emblem I: The Egg
This is said to be laid by the White Eagle,[5] whose number is (in this case, I suppose) 156.[6] Its vehicle or menstruum is what the Alchemists call the Gluten. It may be fertilized by any kind of “Serpent.”[7] The hatching and subsequent career will depend on the original energy, the right ordering of the surrounding circumstances, and so on. But you get nothing at all, or something you don't want at all (because the Egg, ill cared for, can collect a poisonous “Serpent” from hostile and malignant elements) unless you are extremely careful to get the “Magical Link” properly formed and guarded. See Magick Cap. XIV pp 106-122.
Emblem II: The Serpent
This is the principle of immortality, the self-renewal through incarnation, of persistent will, inherent in the “Red Lion” who is, of course, the operator. It is said to swim in the “Blood of the Red Lion.” The lion must determine what kind of serpent he needs as a vehicle of the particular Will demanded by the proposed operation. It must, of course, be a necessary element of his total “True Will”; and otherwise, there would be an eternal conflict between the part and the whole; the operation would be a failure or worse (e.g. if you did an operation to harm Smith,[8] it would fail and reflect on yourself; because deeper than any personal antagonism, you are sworn brothers in the O.T.O.).
The properly trained and vitalized serpent is found in the acts of Concentration upon the Object of the Operation preliminary to starting; that is, to impose the image of your particular Will upon the actually existing physical serpents which you possess, eager to reproduce and manifest the image of your Will. Their “natural” Will is of course to continue their “lion” through the “floods”, (i.e. the fertilization of a suitable “egg” will appear as the original Lion modified by that particular Eagle, or as an Eagle similarly constituted.) But the technique of the Operation prevents (or should prevent) this issue;[9] so, as the Will to Create and Transmit cannot be baulked — Law of the Conservation of Energy — the material bases of the Operation are prepared to produce the Image of the Will impressed upon them by the preliminary studies and practices by bringing to pass the Object of the Operation.
Conditions of the operation
Both Lion and Eagle must be robust, in good health (as a rule; but a sick lion can often heal himself); overflowing with energy, magnetically attracted to one another, and in absolute understanding harmony about the object of the operation. (It is possible, and unfortunately often necessary, to employ an Eagle altogether ignorant of the theory, or even what is being done.[10] I have found this works perfectly; indeed, when the Eagle is aware, a thousand difficulties crop up. It is horrifyingly rare to find an Eagle genuinely capable of initiated co-operation. The late O.H.O.[11] told me he had found perfection twice in his whole life! Even so, the result was bad, causing violent reaction of antipathy. I have been more fortunate.) There should be no worries or distractions; the current of thought should flow freely and forcibly towards attainment of the object. And then: “Inflame thyself in praying.”
The Operation Proper
As the actual work proceeds, the mind-will must be directed more and more intensely towards the object of the operation. Physical phenomena, obviously with constantly increasing insistence, will do their utmost to attract the attention of the operators themselves. It is of absolute necessity for the success of the work that at the last moment — which may be prolonged to several minutes! — when the intensity of the conflict between physical stress produces (as it should, of course, when there is no question of conscious achievement) a complete “Black-Out,” when the Ego-consciousness itself is abolished — the Will should still continue to create, stopping only when “The blood of the Red Lion is one with the Gluten of the White Eagle,” and the Serpent and the Egg have fused completely. The result of this fusion is called the Elixir — and numerous other names, for example, the Stone of the Philosophers, the Medicine of Metals, etc., especially the Quintessence.
Perfect simultaneity between the Lion and the Eagle is important. To assist this very difficult work the use of a mantra, either universal (like A Ka Dua[12] or Aum Mani Padme Hum) or suited to the objects of the working, is often valuable. For example, in the Paris Working,[13] the verses were composed specifically in invoking Mercury. Jungiter in vati vates: rex inclyte Hermes to venius, verba nefanda ferens. In English: “Behold! the Priest is joined to the Priest: illustriuous king of the Staff (Wand, Caduceus) mayest thou come, Hermes, bearing unutterable[14] words!”
There is one further point. The Lion must be enraged before he can cope with the Eagle, and during this process it is quite impossible to think of the ceremony. To do so would be to stop the whole process, whose beginning may be announced by the prayer Accendat in nobis, Dominus ignem sui amoris et flamman aeternae caritatis. (In English: “May the Lord kindle in us the fire of his love and the flame of eternal charity!” This last word has a special technical meaning. See Magick [Grimoirum Sanctissimum] pp 325-326.[15]) This sentence is the signal to forget altogether the purpose of the whole operation. But immediately that all things are ready, the apparatus in the proper position, the Mantra and the contest between the Creative Will and the physical phenomena should begin. Success depends largely on the smartness and completeness of this control.
The Elixir
This being duly prepared, it must be administered as follows: The Lion must collect it —the best method is by suction, so as to avoid waste, and share it with the Eagle.[16] It should be absorbed by the mucous membrane.[17] A portion is reserved and placed in physical contact with the magickal link, or with a talisman specially prepared for the Operation,[18] and consecrated accordingly. At the very least, some suitable symbol, e.g. if you are making an opus for money, smear the Elixir on a gold coin, or ring; if for health, touch the bare earth, or the patient with it. In any case, be careful to consume it by absorbtion; for it restores with interest any virtue that may have been expended in the work itself. The effect of any opus ought to be refreshing; if not, error somewhere.
Read Judges,[19] Samson's riddle: “What is sweeter than honey, and stronger than a Lion?” Here Bees — identical symbolically with the Eagle — swarm in the carcass of the lion slain by Samson. But this lion is our Serpent and Samson our Red Lion. A strange and potent sweetness characterises the Elixir when properly prepared.
See also Liber 333 Cap. 36, “The Star Sapphire”; Magick p. 328;[20] St. John’s Gospel, Chap. 4:13-16, 31-32; Chap. 6:27 and 48-58; First Corinthians 10:1-4, 16-17, 11:23-30. Also Little Essays Towards Truth pp. 70-74.[21] This last is important – this mode of work must never be used except as a sacrament; if you do, all kinds of horrid things can get hold of you through the undetermined, unguarded, wasted menstruum. You must prepare the Quintessence on every occasion. This is the great danger. Hence the universal insistence of all magi upon the virtue which gives its title to this “Little Essay” above mentioned. This should be enough. Some of it sounds hard, but work on it constantly, and there is no limit to your possible success.
Baphomet XI° O.T.O.
“IX° SECRETS”
[The following short paper was given in How to make your own McOTO, along with a description of high-degree insignia. It appears to be relevant to the symbolism of the Ninth. Owing to poor reproduction and Crowley’s generally bad handwriting, a few words (flagged by angle brackets below) were near-illegible, and I cannot be certain that I have transcribed them correctly. My notes are in square brackets — N.S.]
Word: θέλημα – sign of II° <enacted>.
Reply: Aγάπη – Hands to form cup on Φ, raise and drink. [Φ prob. shorthand for “phallus”]
Step: One step backwards.
Age: My youth is renewed as the Eagle’s.
[The reference is to Psalm ciii., 5: “[the LORD] …satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” In the Golden Dawn Portal ritual this verse is referred to the “Alchemical Eagle of distillation” which appears on the Death card along with the scorpion and serpent.]
Grip: 5 points, but with Eagle grip, & kiss.
[5 points of fellowship from the Masonic III°; Eagle grip from the VI°.]
<Retire> with the step, & exchange words and signs.
<Scar> in V° is Vitriol = Visita &c.
[Visita Interiora Terrae, Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem. In Crowley’s notes to The Vision and the Voice the formula of VITRIOL (there interpreted Vir introit tumulum regis, invenit oleum lucis) is referred to the IX°.]
[Following is an MS. note of unknown provenance reproduced in O.T.O. Rituals and Sex Magick.]
For IX° title take the name of some famous brother of old time
“ADDENDUM: A SUMMARY”
[This was appended to the Baphonet copy of Emblems. Said to be “from Baphomet’s private correspondence, Anno XXXVIII” (1942 e.v.)]
Chapter XII. of Magick gives nearly everything. (The note on page 95 — the initiated interpretation — is of course a blind.)
To put the whole thing in a nutshell, you must
(a) never perform the physical act without strict magical intention;
(b) consecrate and charge the vehicle of the creative Will with the utmost caution and energy before you start — begin long ahead;
(c) prolong the working up to the climax as much as possible — 1 to 2 hours is good work, 5 hours is about the limit;
(d) prolong the moment of loss of consciousness to the utmost;
(e) be careful that this is wholly a projection of the Will which you have formulated in your preliminary consecration, avoiding above all the slightest physical feeling or emotion;
(f) ensure the simultaneous appearance of the receiving and transmitting vehicle, see that the two are perfectly combined, and absorb the product through the mucous membrane without swallowing; while doing this, let yourself go at imagining the successful working of the Operation and its results. There should be an equal and opposite Eagle to work with your Lion; but this is in my own experience so difficult to find or even to train that I have usually had to keep my own counsel.
“ABOUT THE IX°”
[From a letter from Crowley to Grady McMurtry postmarked 24.11.1944.]
Now about the IX°. The theory is simple, and I think I told you enough at 93 [Jermyn Street] for you to work on. Just in case:—
Your prepare the Medicine by mixing the two ingredients, with your mind concentrated and exalted on the purpose of the Opus at the moment of mixing. You absorb this, preferably by the mucus membrane (so as to avoid the gross chemical changes which would ensue if it were swallowed); and, when a third person or thing is involved, you apply a small portion of it, either directly or by means of a talisman or some such device. In material opus it may be well to complete the circuit by making contact with earth, e.g. the grass, or a plant, not a floor or any artificial “ground.”
The Art of preparing the Elixir is not easy: (a) you must get a copious eagle, and (b) the eggs ought to be <fertilized>: (c) the Link must be made secure. Remember that the thing works in every case; so, if you miss your target, stray bullets will be flying around, and may do endless mischief. They may even hit you!
Experience the <first> and only Teacher.
I trust that the above will have confirmed rather than instructed. If any point is in doubt, let me know.
I will send you a copy of De Arte Magica under separate cover. (Note that I treat you as a full member of the IX°: only sorry that the grades could not be given in the form originally prescribed.) This book (30pp) give you a lot of extra hints, and is besides a good springboard for your own research. You may discover all sorts of new things for yourself. The one thing that never alters is the basic formula of יהוה (YHVH).
Notes to Emblems and Mode of Use:
[1] This sentence is missing in most of the copies I have seen (all Internet postings bar one, the copy in ORSM and the German translation in OTOA Reader). But since the next sentence refers back to it, it cannot have been a later interpolation. This suggests that most of the copies of Emblems circulating ultimately derive from a single defective transcript. All page citations are for the first edition of Magick in Theory and Practice. The 1994 and 1997 “Blue Brick” editions have these page numbers in the margins.
[2] Chapter XII. of Magick in Theory and Practice is called “Of the Bloody Sacrifice and Matters Cognate.” Crowley is referring to the fourth footnote on page 95 of the original edition (footnote to the notorious line “A male child of perfect innocence and high intelligence is the most suitable victim” – which was quoted by the prosecution in a recent British murder trial) which reads:
It appears from the Magical Records of Frater Perdurabo that he made this particular sacrifice on an average about 150 times every years between 1912 E.V. and 1928 E.V. Contrast J.-K. Huysmans’ Là-Bas, where a perverted form of Magick of an analogous order is described.
“‘It is the sacrifice of oneself spiritually. And the intelligence and innocence of that male child are the perfect understanding of the Magician, his one aim, without lust of result. And male he must be, because what he sacrifices is not the material blood, but his creative power.’ This initiated interpretation of the texts was sent spontaneously by Soror I.W.E., for the sake of the younger Brethren.
Crowley appears to be suggesting that the second paragraph is merely a meaningless blind, rather than a description in symbolic language of the actual “sacrifice” referred to.
[3] Liber Astarte is an instruction in Bhakti-Yoga or union by devotion to a particular deity; Liber Cheth and Liber A’ash appear to hint in heavily veiled language at some kind of sexual rite. Commentaries by Crowley and C.S. Jones on A’ash (Liber CCCLXX) were published in Equinox IV (1).
[4] A phrase adopted by Crowley from The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage (Book II, ch. 13). König erroneously states in OTOA-Reader that this is another example of Crowley’s habit of quoting himself.
[5] i.e. the female operator (or assistant). The “Lion”, as Crowley says, refers here to the male operator (the term is used in a slightly different sense in Agape and De Arte Magica where the word denotes either the “Blood of the Lion” or the “Serpent” – I am not sure which – of Emblems), the “Blood of the Red Lion” to the semen and the “Gluten of the White Eagle” to the vaginal secretions. The “egg” and “serpent” must refer simultaneously to both the physical ova and sperm, and their equivalent on some other plane; otherwise the instruction makes no sense. But of course all the symbols have simultaneous references on multiple planes; this is one reason for using symbols (to clarify: not that one symbol refers to different things at the same time; one symbol refers to one thing, but that one thing exists and operates on multiple planes simultaneously.)
[6] Possibly a reference to the Babalon Working, if this was indeed addressed to Jack Parsons (156 is the number of Babalon).
[7] It has been alleged (posting on Internet discussion group AiwazThelema@egroups.com in August 2000) that at this point the words “… which is congenial, and the nature of the eaglet will depend upon the Will of the Serpent.” appear in some copies.
[8] W.T. Smith, then head of Agape Lodge #2 O.T.O. and Crowley’s X° for the USA. He was later removed by Crowley, in a rather ingenious manner. Crowley claimed that, on studying Smith’s horoscope, he had learnt that Smith was – potentially at least – an incarnate god. He should therefore immediately stop concerning himself with mundane matters like running a lodge and go on a Magical Retirement to realise his divinity, in the meantime letting Parsons take over the lodge. Crowley wrote a full instruction for Smith (Liber CXXXII vel Apotheosis), an excerpt from which is published in Grant, The Magical Revival. Smith followed these instructions but to no avail; his last letter to Crowley (quoted in Grant, op cit) was of utter despondency. Smith briefly attempted to proclaim himself Outer Head of O.T.O. after Crowley’s death (on the basis of Crowley’s 1932 Will, which had since been revoked), but failed to gather any support.
[9] I.e., prevent conception taking place on the physical plane. Personally, I have grave doubts about the efficiency of the O.T.O. IX° as a method of contraception. You can’t be sure you’ve got every last one of the little bastards out…
[10] Compare De Arte Magica, chapters X and XII. Frater PVN, in notes to the Mezla edition of Emblems (cited by Kraig, 1998), took the view that this advice, besides being morally reprehensible, is now largely redundant (whatever validity it may ever have had) as in this day and age it is far easier to “find an Eagle genuinely capable of initiated co-operation.”
[11] Theodor Reuss, who died in 1923. It is by no means certain that Reuss wanted Crowley as his successor – brutally, we only have Crowley’s word for it. Crowley’s assuming the office of O.H.O. was more of the nature of a coup than anything else, done with the support (later withdrawn) of C.S. Jones and Heinrich Tränker, and no real active resistance from the other X° national heads – those who didn’t like Crowley simply went their own way rather than attempt to set up a rival O.H.O. against him.
[12] One of the verses from the “Stele of Revealing.” In full:
A ka dua
Tuf ur biu
Bi a’a chefu
Dudu nur af an nuteru!
(n.b.: modern transliterations of Egyptian differ somewhat)
Translated by Crowley as:
“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!”
A more literal translation (from Equinox III (9)) runs:
“Oh high one, may he be praised; the one great of power; the spirit, great of dignity, who places fear of himself among the gods.”
[13] A series of XI° (homosexual) operations with Neuburg in 1914. See Equinox IV (2).
[14] Perhaps “forbidden” is a better translation (Crowley’s own note, in the Paris Working material).
[15] Refers to the Grimoirum Sanctissimum at the start of Appendix VI. The original version of this was the Grimoire of the Paris Working.
[16] “The sacrament should be passed back and forth from mouth to mouth rhythmically and without permitting contact with the circumambient air” – Kenneth Grant, Hecate’s Fountain (quoted in a footnote in Der OTOA-Reader; in context this remark appears to refer to an entirely different and specific rite, but it may be of more general application).
[17] I.e., rather than swallowed (Grant, loc cit, also makes this point, in his usual obscure way). This point is not mentioned in any of the other published IX° papers; the idea is probably that its effect will be reduced or lost if the ‘Elixir’ is broken down in the digestive system. I have heard it alleged that one of the high-degree O.T.O. signs involves placing one hand on the throat to prevent swallowing.
[18] Crowley used Abramelin letter squares in such operations. A talisman consecrated this way, “for a great treasure”, came into the possession of Gerald Yorke, who used it with some success in building up his collection of Crowleyana (now in the collection of the Warburg Institute at the University of London).
[19] ch xiv, 12-18.
[20] Also refers to Liber XXXVI
[21] Essay titled “Chastity”. Pages 69-73 in the 1996 New Falcon edition. Well worth studying if only to get a slightly clearer idea of Crowley’s unconventional use of the word.
