PART THE SECOND
The Book of the Mysteries of God
Anciently Called
~ The Greater Mysteries ~as containing knowledges which for their interiorness were reserved for initiates of high degree.
No. 11
EPSILON, OR THE FIRST OF THE GODS[2][E]
Proem
MANY are the thrones which the Holy Spirit of Elohim hath vivified.
2. They are centres of systems, bonds of graces, trees of life, suns of many worlds.
3. And the colour of them is the colour of the ruby and of the fire; and their name is, in the Hebrew, Uriel, and in the Greek, Phoibos, the Bright One of God.
4. To whom are committed the dominion of the highest sphere, and the demonstration of the reason of all things which are manifest.
5. The Spirit of whose being is the Spirit of Wisdom, which is the first of the holy Seven.
6. Now, He--the angel of the sun--is not the Spirit of Wisdom, but the brightness of the glory thereof, and the express image of the selfsame spirit.
7. He is the first of the Gods, and his praise is great, and his works are wonderful, and his throne is in the midst of heaven.
8. He is that light which Adonai created on the first day.
9. And before his face Python the mighty serpent fell from heaven, to make his dwelling in the caverns and in the secret places of earth.
[1. "Election is by no arbitrary appointment. The elect are all who make love their rule, conscience their guide, and a pure ideal their aim. Thus are they seekers after the perfection which is God" (Lecture by E. M. on "The Nature and History of the Ego ").
2. Referred to in Life of Anna Kingsford, Vol. i, pp. 290-292.]
Hymn to Phoibos1. Strong art thou and adorable, Phoibos Apollo, who bearest life and healing on thy wings, who crownest the year with thy bounty, and givest the spirit of thy divinity to the fruits and precious things of all the worlds.
2. Where were the bread of the initiation of the Sons of God, except thou bring the corn to ear; or the wine of their mystical chalice, except thou bless the vintage?
3. Many are the angels who serve in the courts of the spheres of heaven: but thou, Master of Light and of Life, art followed by the Christs of God.
4. And thy sign is the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and of the just made perfect.
5. Whose path is as a shining light, shining more and more unto the innermost glory of the day of the Lord God.
6. Thy banner is blood-red, and thy symbol is a milk-white lamb, and thy crown is of pure gold.
7. They who reign with thee are the Hierophants of the celestial mysteries; for their will is the will of God, and they know as they are known.
8. These are the sons of the innermost sphere; the Saviours of men, the Anointed of God.
9. And their name is Christ Jesus, in the day of their initiation.
10. And before them every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and of things on earth.
11. They are come out of great tribulation, and are set down for ever at the right hand of God.
12. And the Lamb, which is in the midst of the seven spheres, shall give them to drink of the river of living water.
13. And they shall cat of the tree of life, which is in the centre of the garden of the kingdom of God.
14. These are thine, O Mighty Master of Light; and this is the dominion which the Word of God appointed thee in the beginning:
15. In the day when God created the light of all the worlds, and divided the light from the darkness.
16. And God called the light Phoibos, and the darkness God called Python.
17. Now the darkness was before the light, as the night forerunneth the dawn.
18. These are the evening and the morning of the first cycle of the Mysteries.
19. And the glory of that cycle is as the glory of seven days; and they who dwell therein are seven times refined;
20. Who have purged the garment of the flesh in the living waters;
21. And have transmuted both body and soul into spirit, and are become pure virgins.
22. For they were constrained by love to abandon the outer elements, and to seek the innermost which is undivided, even the Wisdom of God.
23. And Wisdom and Love are One.
No. 12
ZETA, OR THE SECOND OF THE GODS
PART I
Proem
AND the Spirit of Wisdom gave counsel, whose is the angel of the innermost sphere, the brightest of the sons of heaven.
2. Lord Adonai, who createst, remember the souls beneath Thine altar.[1]
3. And put a firmament between them and Thee, to divide the upper from the nether, and the inner from the without.
4. And whereas there hath been but one, let there henceforth be twain, the form and the substance, the apparent and the real;
5. That they who are bound may remain in the outer element.
6. But to me Thou committest thine only begotten, who shall enter within the veil.
7. And God made a firmament in the midst of all being, and divided the spirit from the body.
8. And the firmament is the gate of the kingdom of heaven.
9. And God gave the keys thereof to the angel of the second sphere, whose spirit is the Spirit of Understanding.
10. He is Hermes, the mediator, for he mediates between the outer and the inner.
[1. "Souls in so early a stage of their evolution as to have not yet attained the consciousness of their Spiritual nature, and to be, therefore, still in bondage to the lower elements." E. M.]
11. He is the transmuter and the healer, Raphael the physician of souls.
12. There is no riddle he shall not solve for thee, nor any solid he shall not melt, nor any wall he shall not pass through.
13. Many are his states and his aspects; his weight is as lead, he runneth like water, he is light as the mist of dawn.
14. Yet he is as a rock between earth and heaven, and the Lord God shall build his Church thereon;[F]
15. As a city upon a mountain of stone, whose windows look forth on either side.
16. And upon the left are the kingdoms of the world and the shapes of illusion; and upon the right are the heights of heaven and the kingdom of spirit.
17. And to him are committed the keys of the invisible, and of the Holy of Holies within the veil.
18. Whatsoever soul he shall bind, shall be bound in the outer and the nether.
19. And whatsoever soul he shall loose, shall be loosed in the inner and the upper.
20. He shutteth and no man openeth; he setteth free and none shall bind again.
21. And his number is the number of twain; he is the angel of the twofold states.[1]
22. And the waters below and above the firmament, are the evening and the morning of the second day.[G]
Hymn to Hermes[2]
1. As a moving light between heaven and earth; as a white cloud assuming many shapes;
2. He descends and rises, he guides and illumines, he transmutes himself from small to great, from bright to shadowy, from the opaque image to the diaphanous mist.
3. Star of the East conducting the Magi: cloud from whose midst the holy voice speaketh: by day a pillar of vapour, by night a shining flame.
[1. The state, that is, wherein the spirit and soul are all, and there is no admixture of matter (Lecture by E. M. on "The Creative Week and Its Four Generations "). S. H. H.
2. Received under Illumination occuring in sleep, in the night of September 25, 1878, at Paris, and written down on waking (see Life of Anna Kingsford, vol. i, pp. 277, 278; vol. ii, p. 291).]
4. I behold thee, Hermes, Son of God, slayer of Argus,[H] archangel, who bearest the rod of knowledge, by which all things in heaven or on earth are measured.
5. Double serpents entwine it, because as serpents they must be wise who desire God.'
6. And upon thy feet are living wings, bearing thee fearless through space and over the abyss of darkness; because they must be without dread to dare the void and. the deep, who desire to attain and to achieve.
7. Upon thy side thou wearest a sword of a single stone, two-edged, whose temper resisteth all things.
8. For they who would slay or save must be armed with a strong and perfect will, defying and penetrating with no uncertain force.
9. This is Herpe, the sword which destroyeth demons; by whose aid the hero overcometh, and the saviour is able to deliver.
10. Except thou bind it upon thy thigh thou shalt be overborne, and blades of mortal making shall prevail against thee.
11. Nor is this all thine equipment, Son of God; the covering of darkness is upon thine head, and none is able to strike thee.
12. This is the magic hat, brought from Hades, the region of silence, where they are who speak not.
13. He who bears the world on his shoulders shall give it to thee, lest the world fall on thee, and thou be ground into powder.[J]
14. For he who has perfect wisdom and knowledge, he whose steps are without fear, and whose will is single and all-pervading;
15. Even he must also know how to keep the divine secret, and not to expose the holy mysteries of God to the senses of the wicked.
16. Keep a bridle upon thy lips, and, cover thy head in the day of battle.
17. These are the four excellent things,--the rod, the wings, the sword, and the hat.
18. Knowledge, which thou must gain with labour: the spirit of holy boldness, which cometh by faith in God; a mighty will, and a complete discretion.
19. He who discovers[1] the holy mysteries is lost.
20. Go thy way in silence, and see thou tell no man.
[1. I.e. uncovers, or discloses, to profane eyes. E. M.]
PART 2
An Exhortation of Hermes to his Neophytes[1]
I. He whose adversaries fight with weapons of steel, must himself be armed in like manner, if he would not be ignominiously slain or save himself by flight.
2. And not only so, but forasmuch as his adversaries may be many, while he is only one; it is even necessary that the steel he carries be of purer temper and of more subtle point and contrivance than theirs.
3. 1, Hermes, would arm you with such, that bearing a blade with a double edge, ye may be able to withstand in the evil hour.
4. For it is written that the tree of life is guarded by a sword which turneth every way.
5. Therefore I would have you armed both with a perfect philosophy and with the power of the divine life.
6. And first the knowledge; that you and they who hear you may know the reason of the faith which is in you.
7. But knowledge cannot prevail alone, and ye are not yet perfected.
8. When the fulness of the time shall come, I will add unto you the power of the divine life.
9. It is the life of contemplation, of fasting, of obedience, and of resistance.
10. And afterwards the chrism, the power, and the glory. But these are not yet.
11. Meanwhile remain together and perfect your philosophy.
12. Boast not, and be not lifted up; for all things are God's, and ye are in God, and God in you.
13. But when the word shall come to you, be ready to obey.
14. There is but one way to power, and it is the way of obedience.
15. Call no man your master or king upon the earth, lest ye forsake the spirit for the form and become idolaters.[2]
[1. Received, September 1878 (see Life of Anna Kingsford, vol. i, pp. 273, 274 and See p. 280).
2. At this point the seeress was shown a garland of fig-leaves, the symbol of Hermes. For its meaning see pp. 25-27 and 155. E. M.]
16. He who is indeed spiritual, and transformed into the divine image, desires a spiritual king.
17. Purify your bodies, and eat no dead thing that has looked with living eyes upon the light of Heaven.
18. For the eye is the symbol of brotherhood among you. Sight is the mystical sense.
19. Let no man take the life of his brother to feed withal his own.
20. But slay only such as are evil; in the name of the Lord.
21. They are miserably deceived who expect eternal life, and restrain not their hands from blood and death.
22. They are miserably deceived who look for wives from on high, and have not yet attained their manhood.
23. Despise not the gift of knowledge; and make not spiritual eunuchs of yourselves.
24. For Adam -was first formed, then Eve.
25. Ye are twain, the man with the woman,[1] and she with him, neither man nor woman, but one creature.
26. And the kingdom of God is within you.[K]
No. 13
ETA, OR (MYSTICALLY) THE THIRD OF THE GODS[L]
PART I
Proem
THE mystery of thine orbit, O Earth, and the secret of the work of the third day;
2. Which the wise of old knew not, for the Lord God withheld them.
3. The light is as wisdom, the water as understanding, and the dry earth as the force and power of things.
4. Phoibos first, and Hermes next, and last the kingdom of Dionysos.
[1. I.e. The intellect and the intuition.]
Hymn to the Planet-God[1](1)
1. O Father Iacchos; thou art Lord of the Body, God manifest in the flesh;
2. Twice born, baptized with fire, quickened by the spirit, instructed in secret things beneath the earth:
3. Who wearest the horns of the ram, who ridest upon an ass, whose symbol is the vine, and the new wine thy blood;
4. Whose Father is the Lord God of Hosts; whose Mother is the daughter of the King.[M]
5. Evoi, Iacchos, Lord of initiation; for by means of the body is the soul initiated:
6. By birth, by marriage, by virginity, by sleep, by waking, and by death:
7. By fasting and vigil, by dreams and penance, by joy, and by weariness of the flesh.
8. The body is the chamber of ordeal: therein is the soul of man tried.
9. Thine initiates, O Master, are they who come out of great tribulation, whose robes are washed in the blood of the vine.
10. Give me to drink of the wine of thy cup, that I may live for evermore:
11. And to eat of the bread whose grain cometh up from the earth, as the corn in the ear.
12. Yea; for the body in which man is redeemed, is of the earth; it is broken upon the cross; cut down by the sickle; crushed between grindstones.
13. For by the suffering of the outer, is the inner set free.
14. Therefore the body which thou givest is meat indeed, and the word of thy blood is drink indeed.
15. For man shall live by the word of God.
[1. The theme of this hymn, which was recollected, in sleep, early in March 1881, is the Mystic Exodus, or flight of the Soul from the power of the body, wherein Egypt stands for the body; Israel for the soul; the corn in Egypt for the nourishment, experiences, discipline, and so forth requisite for the soul's sustenance and education; Hermes is the understanding of divine things; and Iacchos, whose other name, Dionysos, identifies him with the Jehovah Nissi of the Hebrews, is the Divine Spirit of the planet, and "Father" of the man regenerate (see Life of Anna Kingsford, vol. i, pp. 438-441; vol. ii, 1, 132). S. H. H.]
16. Evoi, Father Iacchos: bind thy Church to the vine, and her elect to the choice vine.
17. And let them wash their garments in wine, and their vesture in the blood of grapes.
(2)
18. Evoi, Iacchos: Lord of the body, and of the house whose symbol is the fig;
19. Whereof the image is the figure of the matrix, and the leaf as a man's hand: whose stems bring forth milk.
20. For the Woman is the mother of the living; and the crown and perfection of humanity.
21. Her body is the highest step in the ladder of incarnation,
22. Which leadeth from earth to Heaven; upon which the spirits of God ascend and descend.
23. Thou art not perfected, O soul, that hast not known womanhood.
24. Evoi, Iacchos: for the day cometh wherein thy sons shall eat of the fruit of the fig: yea, the vine shall yield new grapes; and the fig-tree shall be no more barren.
25. For the interpretation of hidden things is at hand; and men shall eat of the precious fruits of God.
26. They shall eat manna from heaven; and shall drink of the river of Salem.
27. The Lord maketh all things new: He taketh away the letter to establish the spirit.
28. Then speakest thou with veiled face, in parable and dark saying: for the time of figs was not yet.
29. And they who came unto the tree of life sought fruit thereon and found it not.
30. And from thenceforth until now hath no man eaten of the fruit of that tree.
31. But now is the gospel of interpretation come, and the kingdom of the Mother of God.
32. Evoi, Iacchos, Lord of the body; who art crowned with the vine and with the fig.
33. For as the fig containeth many perfect fruits in itself, so the house of man containeth many spirits.
34. Within thee, O man, is the universe; the thrones of all the Gods are in thy temple.
35. I have said unto men, Ye are Gods; ye are all in the image of the Most High.
36. No man can know God unless he first understand himself.
37. God is nothing that man is not.
38. What man is, that God is likewise.
39. As God is at the heart of the outer world, so also is God at the heart of the world within thee.
40. When the God within thee shall be wholly united to the God without, then shalt thou be one with the Most High.
41. Thy will shall be God's will, and the Son shall be as the Father.
42. Thou art ruler of a world, O man; thy name is legion; thou hast many under thee.
43. Thou sayest to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to another, Do this, and he doeth it.
44. What thou knowest is told thee from within; what thou workest is worked from within.
45. When thou prayest thou invokest the God within thee; and from the God within thee thou receivest thy good things.
46. Thy manifestations are inward; and the spirits which speak unto thee are of thine own kingdom.
47. And the spirit which is greatest in thy kingdom, the same is thy Master and thy Lord.
48. Let thy Master be the Christ of God, whose Father is the Lord Iacchos.[N]
49. And Christ shall be thy lover and the saviour of thy body;[O] O yea, He shall be thy Lord God, and thou shalt adore Him.
50. But if thou wilt not, then a stronger than thou art shall bind thee, and spoil thine house and thy goods.
51. An uncleanly temple shalt thou be; the hold of all manner of strife and evil beasts.
52. For a man's foes are of his own household.
53. But scourge thou thence the money-changers and the merchants, lest the house of thy prayer become unto thee a den of thieves.
(3)
54. Evoi, Father Iacchos: Lord of the thyrsos and of the pinecone.
55. As are the involutions of the leaves of the cone, so is the spiral of generation,--the progress and passing-through of the soul,
56. From the lower to the higher; from the coarse to the fine; from the base to the apex;
57. From the outer to the inner; yea, from the dust of the ground to the throne of the Most High.
(4)
58. Evoi, Io Nysĉe: God of the garden and of the tree bearing fruit.
59. The dry land is thine, and all the beauty of earth; the vineyard, the garland, and the valleys of corn.
60. The forests, the secrets of the springs; the hidden wells, and the treasures of the caverns.
6:c. The harvest, the dance, and the festival; the snows of winter, and the icy winds of death.
62 . Yea, Lord Iacchos; who girdest destruction with promise and graftest comeliness upon ruin.
63. As the green ivy covereth the blasted tree, and the waste places of earth where no grass groweth;
64. So thy touch giveth life and hope and meaning to decay.
65. Whoso understandeth thy mysteries, O Lord of the Ivy, hath overcome Death and the fear thereof.
(5)
66. Evoi, Father Iacchos, Lord God of Egypt: initiate thy servants in the halls of thy Temple;
67. Upon whose walls, are the forms of every creature: of every beast of the earth, and of every fowl of the air;
68. The lynx, and the lion, and the bull: the ibis and the serpent: the scorpion and every flying thing.
69. And the columns thereof are human shapes; having the heads of eagles and the hoofs of the ox.
70. All these are of thy kingdom: they are the chambers of ordeal, and the houses of the initiation of the soul.
71. For the soul passeth from form to form; and the mansions of her pilgrimage are manifold.
72. Thou callest her from the deep, and from the secret places of the earth; from the dust of the ground, and from the herb of the field.
73. Thou coverest her nakedness with an apron of fig-leaves; thou clothest her with the skins of beasts.[1]
[1. For implication of "coats of skin," see Part I, No. VI.]
74. Thou art from of old, O soul of man; yea, thou art from the everlasting.[1]
75. Thou puttest off thy bodies as raiment; and as vesture dost thou fold them up.
76. They perish, but thou remainest: the wind rendeth and scattereth them; and the place of them shall no more be known.
77. For the wind is the Spirit of God in man, which bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it shall go.
78. Even so is the spirit of man, which cometh from afar off and tarrieth not, but passeth away to a place thou knowest not.
(6)
79. Evoi, Iacchos, Lord of the Sphinx: who linkest the lowest to the highest; the loins of the wild beast to the head and breast of the woman.
80. Thou holdest the chalice of divination: all the forms of nature are reflected therein.
81. Thou turnest man to destruction: then thou sayest, Come again, ye children of my hand.
82. Yea, blessed and holy art thou, O Master of Earth: Lord of the cross and the tree of salvation.
83. Vine of God, whose blood redeemeth; bread of heaven, broken on the altar of death.
84. There is corn in Egypt; go thou down into her, O my soul, with joy.
85. For in the kingdom of the body thou shalt eat the bread of thine initiation.
86. But beware lest thou become subject to the flesh, and a bond-slave in the land of thy sojourn.
87. Serve not the idols of Egypt; and let not the senses be thy taskmasters.
88. For they will bow thy neck to their yoke; they will bitterly oppress the Israel of God.
89. An evil time shall come upon thee; and the Lord shall smite Egypt with plagues for thy sake.
90. Thy body shall be broken on the wheel of God; thy flesh shall see trouble and the worm.
[1. Meaning that her substance is everlasting, being that of God, which is not the case with matter, which is but a temporary condition and specialised mode of substance. E. M.]
91. Thy house shall be smitten with grievous plagues, blood, and pestilence, and great darkness; fire shall devour thy goods; and thou shalt be a prey to the locust and creeping thing.
92. Thy glory shall be brought known to the dust; hail and storm shall smite thine harvest; yea, thy beloved and thy firstborn shall the hand of the Lord destroy;
93. Until the body let the soul go free; that she may serve the Lord God.
94. Arise in the night, O soul, and fly, lest thou be consumed in Egypt.
95. The angel of the understanding shall know thee for his elect, if thou offer unto God a reasonable faith.
96. Savour thy reason with learning, with labour, and with obedience.
97. Let the rod of thy desire be in thy right hand; put the sandals of Hermes on thy feet; and gird thy loins with strength.
98. Then shalt thou pass through the waters of cleansing, which is the first death in the body.
99. The waters shall be a wall unto thee on thy right hand and on thy left.
100. And Hermes the redeemer shall go before thee; for he is thy cloud of darkness by day, and thy pillar of fire by night.
101. All the horsemen of Egypt and the chariots thereof; her princes, her counsellors, and her mighty men:
102. These shall pursue thee, O soul, that fliest; and shall seek to bring thee back into bondage.
103. Fly for thy life; fear not the deep; stretch out thy rod over the sea; and lift thy desire unto God.
104. Thou hast learnt wisdom in Egypt; thou hast spoiled the Egyptians; thou hast carried away their fine gold and their precious things.
105. Thou hast enriched thyself in the body; but the body shall not hold thee; neither shall the waters of the deep swallow thee up.
106. Thou shalt wash thy robes in the sea of regeneration; the blood of atonement shall redeem thee to God.
107. This is thy chrism and anointing, O soul; this is the first death; thou art the Israel of the Lord,
108. Who hath redeemed thee from the dominion of the body, and hath called thee from the grave, and from the house of bondage,
109. Unto the way of the Cross, and to the path in the midst of the wilderness;
110. Where are the adder and the serpent, the mirage and the burning sand.
111. For the feet of the saint are set in the way of the desert.
112. But be thou of good courage, and fail thou not; then shall thy raiment endure, and thy sandals shall not wax old upon thee.
113. And thy desire shall heal thy diseases; it shall bring streams for thee out of the stony rock; it shall lead thee to Paradise.
114. Evoi, Father Iacchos, Jehovah-Nissi; Lord of the garden and of the vineyard;
115. Initiator and lawgiver; God of the cloud and of the mount.
116. Evoi, Father Iacchos; out of Egypt hast thou called thy Son.
PART 2
Hymns to the Elemental Divinities[1]
({alpha})
To Hephaistos
1. The spirits of the elements bear thee company, Lord Iacchos, whose wheels encompass thy planet, who hold the four corners thereof.
2. Hephaistos the Fire-King, whose symbol is the red lion, Lord of the serpent, the flame, and of the secret parts of the earth;
3. Whose veins are full of fire, whose breath is destruction and burning, whose finger maketh the hills to smoke.
4. Ah! beware how thou invoke him; as a lion he devoureth; he rendeth and swalloweth as a furious beast of prey.
5. He purifieth and layeth waste; the land is as the Garden of Eden before him, and behind him a desolate wilderness.
6. He commandeth the inmost zone of things; his hammer is the lightning, and his anvil the loadstone.
7. He maketh all bodies therewith, he fuseth and deviseth; whether in the small or in the great, whether in the outer or in the inner, before Demeter is Hephaistos.
[1. Received early in March 1881 (Life of Anna Kingsford, vol. i, p. 438).]
8. He endoweth all metals with power, and fashioneth all manner of precious amulets.
9. The gold of the womb of earth is his, the mercury, and the iron of the mine, the sulphur, the onyx, and the crystal.
10. All his galleries are luminous with mirrors of fire, wherein are manifold and wondrous images: the glory of princes, the wealth of nations, yea, the splendour of all the kingdoms of the world.
11. He blindeth and deludeth the eyes of men; he encompasseth the foolish with illusions, and smiteth the feeble with madness.
12. Even Lucifer, Lord of the Crystal, which hath power to bind the children of earth, for therein are imprisoned the spirits of the fire.
13. Serve not the fire nor the crystal, and be not undone by their sorcery.
14. For the spirits of lust and illusion obey the crystal, and they who love the light of it shall fall under the dominion of Lucifer.
15. Be thou master of the fire, and command it; let not the cloven tongue of the serpent beguile thee; neither barter thy liberty for the fruit of enchantment.
16. For the fire shall be quenched by the water, and the water shall be resolved into spirit.
17. But if the fire consume thy soul, it shall be scattered abroad as ashes, and return to the dust of the earth.
18. For it is fire that tries every man's work, and purifies the substance of all souls.
19. By fire is the initiate baptized, by fire the oblation is salted; and the flame shall devour the dross of the crucible.
20. That which endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved.
21. Therefore be praised, Hephaistos, thou and thy wheel; be praised, O searching and purgatorial Fire!
({beta})
Hymn to Demeter
1. And thou, Demeter, fair Earth-Mother, whose bosom the patient ox treadeth, whose hands are full of plenty and blessing.
2. Angel of the crucible, guardian of the dead, who makest and unmakest, who combinest and dissolvest, who bringest forth life out of death, and transformest all bodies.
3. They are sown as seed in thy furrows; they are buried therein, as the droppings of the ripened ear; from thy womb they came forth, and to thee they return, O Mother of birth and of sleep!
4. Who makest the volatile to be fixed, and the real to be apparent, whether in the great or the small, whether in the outer or the inner.
5. Who yokest the cattle of the field to thy plough, for thy dominion is of the field, O daughter of Time; thou bindest not the sons of the air and the sea.
6. But to the gross thou art gross, and to the subtle thou art subtle.
7. Be praised, Demeter, cunning and multiform alchemist; be praised,--thou and thy wheel, O fruitful Spirit of Earth!
({gamma})
Hymn to Poseidon
1. And Poseidon, Lord of the Deep, Master of the substance of all creatures, who weareth the face of an angel, for he is the Father of Souls.[P]
2. His brow is dark with storms, his voice is as the thunder of cataracts in the mountains; he is subtle, and swift, and strong; he is mightier than all the children of earth.
3. All things are of the sea-salt, for without salt matter is not, whether of the outer or of the inner, whether of the small or of the great.
4. Behold the manifold waves of the sea, which rise and sink, which break and are lost, and follow each other continually; even as these are the transmutations of the soul.
5. For the soul is one substance, as is the water of the deep, whose waves thou canst not number, neither tell their shapes, for the form of them passeth away; even as these are the incarnations of the soul.
6. And the secret of Thetis is the mystery of the Metamorphosis.
7. Out of the sea the horse ariseth; strength and intelligence are begotten of the deep.
8. She is the mother of Avatârs, and her cup is the chalice of bitterness: whoso drinketh thereof shall taste of power and knowledge, and of tears of salt.
9. Be thou praised, O Poseidon, thou and thy wheel; be praised, O chrism of the soul, mighty and variable Spirit of the Sea!
({delta})
Hymn to Pallas Athena
1. And thou, Athena, blue-eyed virgin, Mistress of the Air, eagle-headed, who givest to all bodies the breath of life:
2. Immaculate mother of the word of prophecy, symbol of the holy essence, goddess of the ĉgis and of the spear:
3. Spirit of the whirlwind, secret breather of wisdom, fortifier of the soul, inspirer of armies:
4. Shining maid, by whose spear we vanquish, for interior wisdom thrusteth all things through; by whose shield we are covered, for interior purity preserveth from all contagion.
5. By thine aid, O Athena, strong and undefiled, by thine aid the hero overcometh in the battle.
6. By thine aid, O armed and winged wisdom, thy servant shall smite the lust of the world.
7. Upon whose beauty, whoso looketh, is changed into stone; who feedeth upon the souls of men.[Q]
S. Be praised, O Athena, thou and thy wheel; be praised in the great and the small, in the outer and the inner, invisible and immaculate Spirit of Life!
({epsilon})
Epode
These are the four great Genii, which are the angels of the Earth, the spirits of the elements of the macrocosm and the microcosm.
These are the fourfold Sphinx of the four states,--of the flesh, of the intermediary, of the human, and of the divine.
Of the house of bondage in the land of Egypt;
Of the ark of the covenant in the wilderness;
Of the gate and the tree of Eden,
Of the celestial chariot and the throne of Adonai.
And the wheels of their fourfold kingdom encircle the whole earth; and are full within and without of the eyes of life.[B]
No. 14
THETA, OR (MYSTICALLY) THE FOURTH OF THE GODS[L]
PART I
The Hymn of Aphrodite[1]
I AM the dawn, daughter of heaven and of the deep: the sea-mist covers my beauty with a veil of tremulous light.
2. I am Aphrodite, the sister of Phoibos, opener of heaven's gates, the beginning of wisdom, the herald of the perfect day.
3. Long had darkness covered the deep: the soul of all things slumbered: the valleys were filled with shadows: only the mountains and the stars held commune together.
4. There was no light on the ways of the earth: the rolling world moved outward on her axe[2]: gloom and mystery shrouded the faces of the Gods.
5. Then from out the deep I arose, dispeller of night: the firmament of heaven kindled with joy beholding me.
6. The secrets of the waters were revealed: the eyes of Zeus looked down into the heart thereof.
7. Ruddy as wine were the depths: the raiment of earth was transfigured; as one arising from the dead She arose, full of favour and grace.
(2)
8. Of God and the soul is love born: in the silence of twilight; in the mystery of sleep.
9. In the fourth dimension of space; in the womb of the heavenly principle; in the heart of the man of God,--there is love enshrined.
10. Yea, I am before all things: desire is born of me: I impel the springs of life inward unto God: by me the earth and heavens are drawn together.
11. But I am hidden until the time of the day's appearing: I lie beneath the waters of the sea, in the deeps of the soul: the bird of night seeth me not, the herds in the valleys, nor the wild goat in the cleft of the hill.
[1. Home, September 19, 1884. Received in sleep. Referred to in Life of Anna Kingsford, vol. ii, pp. 213-216.
2. An obsolete word for axis.]
12. As the fishes of the sea am I covered: I am secret and veiled from sight as the children of the deep.
13. That which is occult hath the fish for a symbol; for the fish is hidden in darkness and silence: he knoweth the secret places of the earth, and the springs of the hollow sea.
14. Even so love reacheth to the uttermost: so find I the secrets of all things; having my beginning and my end in the Wisdom of God.
15. The Spirit of Counsel is begotten in the soul; even as the fish in the bosom of the waters.
16. From the sanctuary of the deep love ariseth: salvation is of the sea.
(3)
17. I am the crown of manifold births and deaths: I am the interpreter of mysteries and the enlightener of souls.
18. In the elements of the body is love imprisoned: lying asleep in the caves of Iacchos; in the crib of the oxen of Demeter.[S]
19. But when the day-star of the soul ariseth over the earth, then is the epiphany of love.
20. Therefore until the labour of the third day be fulfilled, the light of love is unmanifest.
21. Then shall I unlock the gates of dawn; and the glory of God shall ascend before the eyes of men.
(4)
22. The secret of the angel Anael is at the heart of the world: the "Song of God" is the sound of the stars in their courses.
23. O love, thou art the latent heat of the earth; the strength of the wine; the joy of the orchard and the cornfield: thou art the spirit of song and laughter, and of the desire of life.
24. By thee, O goddess, pure-eyed and golden, the sun and the moon are revealed: love is the counsellor of heaven.
25. Cloud and vapour melt before thee: thou unveilest to earth the rulers of the immeasurable skies.
26. Thou makest all things luminous: thou discoverest all deeps;
27. From the womb of the sea to the heights of heaven; from the shadowy abyss to the throne of the Lord.
28. Thy beloved is as a ring-dove, wearing the ensign of the spirit, and knowing the secrets thereof.
29. Fly, fly, O Dove; the time of spring cometh; in the far east the dawn ariseth; she hath a message for thee to bear from earth to heaven![T]
PART 2
A Discourse of the Communion of Soules, and of the Uses of Love between Creature and Creature: being Part of the Goldene Booke of Venus.[1]
1. Herein is Love's Secret, and the Mysterie of the Communion of Saintes.
2. Love redeemeth, Love lifteth up, Love enlighteneth, Love advanceth Soules.
3. Love dissolveth not, neither forgetteth; for she is of the Soule and hath everlasting Remembrance.
4. Verilie Love is doubly blessed; for She enricheth both Giver and Receiver.
5. Thou who lovest givest of thyself to thy Beloved, and he is dowered withal.
6. And if any Creature whom thou lovest suffereth Death and departeth from thee;
7. Fain wouldst thou give of thine Heartes Blood to have him live always; to sweeten the Changes before him, or to lift him to some happie Place.
S. Thou droppest teares on the broken Body of thy Beloved; thy Desire goeth after him, and thou criest unto his Ghoste,--
9. "O Dearest! would God that I might be with thee where now thou art, and know what now thou doest!
10. "Would God that I might still guard and protect thee; that I might defend thee from all Pain, and Wrong, and Affliction!
[1. Printed as read [in sleep, on the night of March 15, 1881] in a book in German text, found in a chamber purporting to be the laboratory of William Lilly, the astrologer (17th century), to which the seeress had been introduced by her genius in sleep for the purpose of having her horoscope told. Failing to recover the whole of the poem on the first attempt to write it down, she sought and obtained access to the book again on the following night. E. M.
Referred to in Life of Anna Kingsford, vol. ii, pp. 1-3.]
11. "But what Manner of Change is before thee I know not; neither can mine Eyes follow thy Steppes.
12. "Many are the Lives set before thee, and the Yeares, O Beloved, are long and weary that shall part us!
13. "Shall I knowe thee again when I see thee, and will the Spirit of God say to thee in that day, 'This is thy Beloved'?
14. "O Soule of my Soule! would God I were one with thee, even though it were in death!
15. "Thou hast all of my Love, my Desire, and my Sorrowe; yea, my Life is mingled with thine, and is gone forth with thee!
16. "Visit me in Dreames; comfort me in the Night-watches; let my Ghoste meet thine in the Land of Shadows and of Sleep!
17. "Every nighte with fervent Longing will I seek thee; Persephone and Slumber shall give me back the Past.
18. "Yea, Death shall not take thee wholly from me; for Part of me is in thee, and where thou goest, Dearest, there my Hearte followeth!"
19. So weepest thou and lamentest, because the Soul thou lovest is taken from thy Sight.
20. And Life seemeth to thee a Bitter Thing; yea, thou cursest the Destiny of all living Creatures.
21. And thou deemest thy Love of no Avail, and thy Teares as idle Droppes.
22. Behold, Love is a Ransome, and the Teares thereof are Prayeres.
23. And if thou have lived purely, thy fervent Desire shall be counted Grace to the Soule of thy Dead.
24. For the burning and continual Prayere of the juste availeth much.
25. Yea, thy Love shall enfold the Soule which thou lovest; it shall be unto him a wedding Garment and a Vesture of Blessing.
26. The Baptisme of thy Sorrowe shall baptize thy Dead, and he shall rise because of it.
27. Thy Prayeres shall lift him up, and thy Teares shall encompasse his Steppes; thy Love shall be to him a Light shining upon the upward Waye.
28. And the Angels of God shall say unto him, "O happie Soule, that art so well beloved; that art made so strong with all these Teares and Sighs.
29. "Praise the Father of Spirits therefor, for this great Love shall save thee many Incarnations.
30. "Thou art advanced thereby; thou art drawn aloft and carried upward by Cordes of Grace."
31. For in such wise do Soules profit one another and have Communion, and receive and give Blessing, the Departed of the Living, and the Living of the Departed.
32. And so much the more as the Hearte within them is clean, and the Waye of their Intention is innocent in the Sight of God.
33. Yea, the Saint is a strong Redeemer; the Spirit of God striveth within him.
34. And God withstandeth not God; for Love and God are One.
35. As the Love of Christ hath Power with the Elect, so hath Power in its degree the Love of a Man for his Friend.
36. Yea, though the Soule beloved be little and mean, a Creature not made in the Likenesse of Men.
37. For in the eyes of Love there is nothing little nor poor, nor unworthy of Prayere.
38. O little Soule, thou art mighty if a Child of God love thee; yea, poor and simple Soule, thou art possessed of great Riches.
39. Better is thy Portion than the Portion of Kings whom the Curse of the Oppressed pursueth.
40. For as Love is strong to redeem and to advance a Soule, so is Hatred strong to torment and to detain.
41. Blessed is the Soule whom the Juste commemorate before God; for whom the Poor and the Orphan and the dumb Creature weep.
42. And thou, O Righteous Man, that with burning Love bewailest the Death of the Innocent, whom thou canst not save from the Hands of the Unjuste;
43. Thou who wouldst freely give of thine own Blood to redeem thy Brother and to loosen the Bonds of his Paine;
44. Know that in the Hour of thy supreme Desire, God accepteth thine Oblation.
45. And thy Love shall not return unto thee! empty; according to the Greatnesse of her Degree, she shall accomplish thy Will.
46. And thy Sorrowe and Teares, and the Travaile of thy Spirit, shall be Grace and Blessing to the Soule thou wouldst redeem.
47. Count not as lost thy Suffering on behalf of other Soules; for every Cry is a Prayere, and all Prayere is Power.
48. That thou willest to do is done; thine Intention is united to the Will of Divine Love.
49. Nothing is lost of that which thou layest out for God and for thy Brother.
50. And it is Love alone who redeemeth, and Love hath nothing of her own.
No. 15
LAMBDA, OR THE LAST OF THE GODS[U]; BEING THE SECRET OF SATAN[1]
AND on the seventh day there went forth from the presence of God a mighty angel, full of wrath and consuming, and God gave unto him the dominion of the outermost sphere.
2. Eternity brought forth time; the boundless gave birth to limit; being descended into generation.
3. As lightning I beheld Satan fall from heaven, splendid in strength and fury.
4. Among the Gods is none like unto Him, into whose hand are committed the kingdoms, the power and the glory of the worlds:
5. Thrones and empires, the dynasties of kings, the fall of nations, the birth of churches, the triumphs of time.
6. They arise and pass, they were and are not; the sea and the dust and the immense mystery of space devour them.
7. The tramp of armies, the voices of joy and of pain, the cry of the new-born babe, the shout of the warrior mortally smitten.
8. Marriage, divorce, division, violent deaths, martyrdoms, tyrannous ignorances, the impotence of passionate protest, and the mad longing for oblivion:
9. The eyes of the tiger in the jungle, the fang of the snake, the ftor of slaughter-houses, the wail of innocent beasts in pain:
10. The innumerable incarnations of spirit, the strife towards manhood, the ceaseless pulse and current of desire:--
11. These are his who beareth all the Gods on his shoulders;[V] who establisheth the pillars of necessity and fate.
12. Many names hath God given him, names of mystery, secret and terrible.
[1. A portion of this illumination, viz. 28 verses of the first part (but not the 28 first verses as they stand), were received at Paris, on November 12, 1878. The "redelivery and completion" of this Illumination was received, "without quitting the waking state," at Paris, on October 21, 1886 (Life of Anna Kingsford, vol. i, pp. 289, 290: vol. ii, pp. 282, 283). S. H. H.]
13. God called him Satan the Adversary, because matter opposeth spirit, and time accuseth even the saints of the Lord.
14. And the Destroyer, for his arm breaketh and grindeth to pieces; wherefore the fear and the dread of him are upon all flesh.
15. And the Avenger, for he is the anger of God; his breath shall burn up all the souls of the wicked.
16. And the Sifter, for he straineth all things through his sieve, dividing the husk from the grain; discovering the thoughts of the heart; proving and purifying the spirit of man.
17. And the Deceiver, for he maketh the false appear true, and concealeth the real under the mask of illusion.
18. And the Tempter, for he setteth snares before the feet of the elect: he beguileth with vain shows, and seduceth with enchantments.
19. Blessed are they who withstand his subtlety: they shall be called the Sons of God, and shall enter in at the beautiful gates.
20. For Satan is the doorkeeper of the temple of the King: he standeth in Solomon's porch; he holdeth. the keys of the sanctuary;
21. That no man may enter therein save the Anointed, having the arcanum of Hermes.
22. For Satan is the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom.
23. He is the devourer of the unwise and the evil: they shall all be meat and drink to him.
24. Whatsoever he devoureth, that shall never more return into being.
25. Fear him, for after he hath killed, he hath power to cast into hell.
26. But he is the servant of the Sons of God, and of the children of light.
27. They shall go before him, and he shall follow the steps of the wise.
28. Stand in awe of him and sin not: speak his name with trembling; and beseech God daily to deliver thee.
29. For Satan is the magistrate of the justice of God: he beareth the balance and the sword,
30. To execute judgment and vengeance upon all who come short of the commandments of God; to weigh their works, to measure their desire, and to number their days,
31. For to him are committed weight and measure and number.
32. And all things must pass under the rod and through the balance, and be fathomed by the sounding-lead.
33. Therefore Satan is the minister of God, Lord of the seven mansions of Hades, the angel of the manifest worlds.
34. And God hath put a girdle about his loins, and the name of the girdle is Death.
35. Threefold are its coils, for threefold is the power of Death, dissolving the body, the ghost, and the soul.
36. And that girdle is black within, but where Phoibos strikes it is silver.
37. None of the Gods is girt save Satan, for upon him only is the shame of generation.
38. He hath lost his virginal estate: uncovering heavenly secrets, he hath entered into bondage.
39. He encompasseth with bonds and limits all things which are made: he putteth chains round about the worlds, and determineth their orbits.
40. By him are creation and appearance; by him birth and transformation; the day of begetting and the night of death.
41. The glory of Satan is the shadow of the Lord: the throne of Satan is the footstool of Adonai.
42. Twain are the armies of God: in heaven the hosts of Michael; in the abyss the legions of Satan.
43. These are the unmanifest and the manifest; the free and the bound; the virginal and the fallen.
44. And both are the ministers of the Father, fulfilling the word divine.
45. The legions of Satan are the creative emanations, having the shapes of dragons, of Titans, and of elemental gods;
46. Forsaking the intelligible world,[1] seeking manifestation, renouncing their first estate;
47. Which were cast out into chaos, neither was their place found any more in heaven.
(2)
48. Evil is the result of limitation, and Satan is the Lord of limit.
49. He is the father of lies, because matter is the cause of illusion.
[1. Of which the sensible world is the antithesis. E. M.]
50. To understand the secret of the kingdom of God, and to read the riddle of Maya, this is to have Satan under foot.
51. He only can put Satan under foot who is released by thought from the bonds of desire.
52. Nature is the allegory of spirit: all that appeareth to the sense is deceit: to know the truth,--this alone shall make men free.
53. For the kingdom of Satan is the house of matter: yea, his mansion is the sepulchre of Golgotha, wherein on the seventh day the Lord lay sleeping, keeping the Sabbath of the unmanifest.
54. For the day of Satan is the night of spirit: the manifestation of the worlds of form is the rest of the worlds informulate.
55. Holy and venerable is the Sabbath of God: blessed and sanctified is the name of the angel of Hades;
56. Whom the Anointed shall overcome, rising again from the dead on the first day of the week.
57. For the place of Satan is the bourne of divine impulsion: there is the arrest of the outgoing force; Luza, the station of pause and slumber:
58. Where Jacob lay down and dreamed, beholding the ladder which reached from earth to heaven.
59. For Jacob is the planetary angel Iacchos, the Lord of the body;
60. Who hath left his father's house, and is gone out into a far country.
61. Yet is Luza none other than Bethel; the kingdom of Satan is become the kingdom of God and of His Christ.
62. For there the Anointed awakeneth, arising from sleep, and goeth his way rejoicing;
63. Having seen the vision of God, and beheld the secret of Satan;
64. Even as the Lord arose from the dead and brake the seal of the sepulchre;[V]
65. Which is the portal of heaven, Luza, the house of separation, the place of stony sleep;
66. Where is born the centripetal force, drawing the soul upward and inward to God;
67. Recalling Existence into Being, resuming the kingdoms of matter in spirit;[W]
68. Until Satan return unto his first estate, and enter again into the heavenly obedience;
69. Having fulfilled the will of the Father, and accomplished his holy ministry,
70. Which was ordained of God before the worlds, for the splendour of the manifest, and for the generation of Christ our Lord;[X]
71. Who shall judge the quick and the dead, putting all things under his feet; whose are the dominion, the power, the glory, and the Amen.[A]
No. 16
THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD AND THEIR CORRESPONDENCES
Elohim or Archangels
Signification.
Gods.
Office.
1. Uriel
=Fire of God.
Phoibos Apollo.
Angel of the Sun.
2. Raphael
=Physician of God.
Hermes.
Angel of Mercury.
3. Anael
=Sweet Song of God.
Aphrodite,
Angel of Venus.
4. Salamiel
=Acquired of God.
Dionysos.
Angel of the Earth.
5. Zacchariel
=Man of God.
Ares.
Angel of Mars.
6. Michael
=Like unto God.
Zeus and Hera.
Angel of Jupiter.
7. Orifiel (or Satan)
=Hour of God.
Kronos.
Angel of Saturn.
Gabriel
=Strength of God.
Artemis or Isis.
Angel of the Moon.
Tincture of Ray.
The Spirit of
Tincture of Ray.
The Spirit of
1. Red.
Wisdom.
6. Purple.
Righteousness.
2. Orange.
Understanding.
7. Violet.
Divine Awe.
3. Yellow.
Counsel.
(Hence Reverence and Humility.)
4. Green.
Power.
5 . Blue.
Knowledge.
White, being the combination of all the rays, implies full illumination and intuition of God, the symbol of which is the full moon, and is the symbol of initiation. Attaining to this state, the soul is the mystical "Woman clothed with the Sun," of Apoc. xii, 1. Gabriel, the angel of this state, represents the reflective principle of the soul. He is not one of the seven Elohim, but is the complement of them all, being the spirit of all the moons.
No. 17
THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOMS OF THE SEVEN SPHERES
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
Whose seven spirits are as the seven rays of light;
= The Nous, or Sun, of the microcosm, the Spirit of Wisdom, the ray of whose angel, Phoibos, is the red of the innermost sphere.
[1. Home, Received September 18, 1884. Referred to in Life of Anna Kingsford, vol. ii, p. 213.]
The Holy Catholic Church,
Or, kingdom of heaven within, man;
= Hermes, or Peter, the Spirit of Understanding, and rock whereon the true Church is built, the guardian and interpreter of the holy mysteries.
The Communion of Saints,
Or, the elect;
= Aphrodite, Venus, love, the Spirit of Counsel, or principle of sympathy, harmony, and light, whereby heaven and earth are revealed to each other and drawn together.
The Forgiveness of Sins,
Or, passing-through of souls;
= Iacchos, the initiator, Lord of transmigration, whereby alone Karma is satisfied and sins wiped out by expiation and repentance. As the Spirit of Power, he represents the force whereby creation and redemption alike are accomplished, the direction only being reversed.
The Resurrection (which is the redemption) of the Body,
From material limitations;
=Ares, or Mars, the war-god, and Spirit of Knowledge, of whom comes contention, at the cost of suffering and death, for the divine knowledge whereby man learns the secret of transmutation, which is the crowning conquest of matter by spirit.
The Life Everlasting;
= Zeus and Hera, rulers of heaven, the dual Spirit of Righteousness or godliness, which is justice, or the perfect balance, and the secret of eternal generation.
And the Amen,[A]
Or, final consummation.
= Saturn, or Satan, the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord, being the angel--unfallen--of the outermost sphere, and keeper of the boundary of the divine kingdom, within which is the perfection, and without which, the negation of being.
[The man fully regenerate needs no "moon" to reflect to him the "sun." Wherefore Gabriel, having, no function to fulfil in the perfected kosmos, is indrawn, and does not appear in these mysteries. See Part 1, No, XIV, part 2, "Concerning the Genius."]
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