THE STAR RUBY

Notes:

{Unofficial notes and comments in brackets by Sabazius X°}

[1] This is one of the official rituals of the A:.A:. It was first published by Frater Perdurabo in 1913 e.v., in a somewhat different form, as Chapter XXV of Liber CCCXXXIII, The Book of Lies. It was published in revised form in 1929 e.v. in Appendix VI of Book 4, Part III: Magick in Theory and Practice. In his commentary to Chapter XXV of The Book of Lies, Crowley described this ritual as "a new and more elaborate version of the Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram." My notes and comments are unofficial and informal. They represent my personal opinions based on my own studies.

[2] APO PANTOS KAKODAIMONOS ["Away, every evil spirit"]

[3] [The secret sense of these words is to be sought in the numeration thereof.] The term "Phallus" may be interpreted, in Crowley's words, as the "immortal principle" of either a man or a woman. It is the Principle of Life, continuously renewing itself through the cycle of death and generation.

[4] SOI ["Thine"], Ô PhALLE ["O Phallus"], ISChUROS ["the mighty"], EUChARISTOS ["the beneficient"]

[5] IAO is the Gnostic form of the Tetragrammaton, IHVH. The individual letters Iota, Alpha, and Omega represent the Essence, the Beginning, and the End, respectively. Thus, IAO is the equivalent of the Hebrew phrase, le-Olahm, Amen in the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. It is also a Divine Name of the sphere of Tiphareth, corresponding to the heart.

[6] Therion, Nuit, Babalon and Hadit are divine names from the Holy Books of Thelema. The Sign of Horus and The Sign of Hoor-paar-Kraat (Harpocrates) are shown in Figure 33A,B on page 606 of Magick: Liber ABA, Book Four, Parts I-IV by Aleister Crowley, Samuel Weiser 1994.

[7] In classical terminology, a "paian" was a song of praise, especially to Apollo. In this case, the paian is to the Great God Pan, where PAN may be translated as "All." Also, the five letters I.O.P.A.N. correspond to the five N.O.X. signs, which are shown in Figure 33L-P on page 607 of Magick.

[8] Extend the arms in the form of a Tau and say low but clear:

PRO MOU YUNGES ["Before me the Iynges,"] 
OPISÔ MOU TELETARChAI ["Behind me the Teletarches,"] 
EPI DEXIA SUNOChEIS ["on my right hand the Synoches,"] 
EPARISTERA DAIMONES ["on my left hand the Daemones,"] 
PhLEGEI GAR PERI MOU hO ASTÊR TÔN PENTE ["for about me flames the Star of Five,"]
KAI EN TÊI STÊLÊI hO ASTÊR TÔN hEX hESTÊKE. ["and in the Pillar stands the Star of Six."]

The Iynges (singular "Iynx"), Synoches, Teletarches and Daemones are divine principles from the Second Order of the emanationist hierarchy of late Neoplatonism, based on the Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster. Their position in the Neoplatonist hierarchy is intermediate between the "intelligible" world, or world of ideation, and the "sensible" world, or world of perception. Their functions are, respectively, as "initiators," "maintainers," "perfectors," and "executors" of the Divine Creative Impulse which originates in the intelligible world and ultimately manifests in the sensible world. Further information on them may be found in the published editions of the Chaldean Oracles edited by W. Wynn Wescott and G.R.S. Mead, and in the works of Proclus, Damascius, Michael Psellus, George Gemistos Plethon, and other late Neoplatonist philosophers.

Attributing the Elements to the Four Directions in Liber XXV, the Star Ruby

There are at least three ways to attribute the elements to the four directions in the Star Ruby:

1. Use the directions for vocalizing the God Names:

   
   

   East =	Roar =	Lion =	Leo =	Fire
   North =	Scream =	Eagle =	Scorpio =	Water
   West =	Say =	Man =	Aquarius =	Air
   South =	Bellow =	Bull =	Taurus =	Earth

   
   

   This corresponds to the orientation of the fixed signs of the Zodiac and one of the ways of looking at the four Sephiroth around the intersection of the paths of Samech and Pe -- Tiphereth = Light = Fire in the East, Yesod = Air in the West, Hod = Water in the North, Netzach = Green = Earth in the South.

2. Same as above, but attribute the Eagle to Air and the Man to Water, in accordance with the method of Levi and most earlier writers. This corresponds to the attributions used in the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram, and another way of looking at the four Sephiroth around the intersection of the paths of Samech and Pe -- Hod = Intellect = Air, Yesod = Luna = Water.
3. Use the attributions specified in Liber V vel Reguli, on the basis that the God Names used in Reguli are the same Names as in the Equinox version of the Star Ruby, and are used in the same quarters (East = Earth, South = Fire, West = Water, North = Air). This corresponds to yet another way of looking at the four Sephiroth around the intersection of the paths of Samech and Pe -- note Crowley's discussion of the Ace of Discs card in The Book of Thoth, where he states,

   "...the entire symbol is not only a glyph of Earth as understood in this New Aeon of Horus, but of the number 6, the number of the Sun. This card is thus an affirmation of the identity of Sol and Terra"

   therefore Tiphereth = Sol = Earth.