@Zalthos said

"Excellent notes on the first passage cited here. Have you any insight to add to I:38? I can't be sure if the teacher has control specifically over the merciful/severe transmission of the ordeals or complete control over the creation of the ordeals themselves."

FWIW my sparse notes on this are here: aumha.org/arcane/ccxx13.htm#38

Generally, no, the individual teacher doesn't provide these at all. That's rather Motta-esque. The teacher (i.e., Order superilor) has the task of delivering the system. But the Prophet was given a mandate to teach (compare Liber Magi) and control over the severity of the ordeals. This severity is still primarily controlled by the Beast - the initiatory-governing authority of the aeon.

Sometimes those in whose charge an initiate is placed will take upon themselves this judgment, leaning toward severity or mildness, but most of the time this results in problems. Chiefs of Temple of Thelema, for example, are instructed to simply "hold the walls in place," deliver the system as given to them, hold people on track to their own integrity and commitments. The best successes come when they do this exact thing, and little "speed bumps" occur if they try to go easy on someone or be overly harsh.

@Jim Eshelman said

"(v. 219) 74. There is a splendour in my name hidden and glorious, as the sun of midnight is ever the son.
(v. 220) 75. The ending of the words is the Word Abrahadabra.
The Book of the Law is Written
and Concealed.
Aum. Ha."

Better than any cup o' coffee to start a new day, lemme tell ya... 😀

I love a good mystery, and this one is tops!
👼

The only problem with the "ain soph" interpretation is that it appears that Crowley began to write "Coph" in his own handwriting before crossing it out.

Some other ideas to add:

The value of Qof is 186 = 93 x 2

Q + Nia = 100+50+10+1 = 161

161 is also the value of "Adam 'Ilaya" (אדמ עילאה "Heavenly Adam") a variation on Adam Qadmon from the Zohar

Qoph + Nia = 186 + 61 = 247

247 is also the value of the Greek word "Therion" (θηριον "beast")

(OR..... just to be crazy...

we could say that Nia is not pronounced "nee-ah" but "nigh-ah" In which case, it could be transliterated Nun-aleph-yod-heh (נאיה)
50+1+10+5=66

Q + 66 = 166
Qoph + 66 = 252

166+252=418

but, regardless of pronunciation, the word is spelled "nia", so I don't take this seriously)

Thanks Jim for posting this!

The meditation you chose is appropriate to a project I am struggling with today.

"wounds all doubts beyond recovery no matter how much they [censored] and moan thereafter."

I like that.... 😀

In LVX

Galzu

Thank you for the clarification.

93, 93/93.

Sometimes, when I am doing some mundane action. My mind slips and I loose the present. I find myself not reflecting about the past, or projecting into the future, but somewhere else. Inbetweenish. With out focus or intention.
Do What Thou Wilt, are the words that catch me, I hear them echo deep inside and they bring me back to the here and now.

When I was a little girl I was gifted with an LP that had just been released. I know that the theme song may be a bit hookey, and it is written for children, but it's message is Thelemic, as so many things geared towards our young are....

Sometimes. This song just pops into my head, reminding me to Do What Thou Wilt...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_26FOHoaC78

" Despise those who will not be themselves, who will not live the life that is theirs to live"

Well said for me today, it was 22 years ago today that I completed my year and a day self imposed probationary period, and dedicated myself, To my heart, myself and my life. While I am not the same person as that young girl, at my core and in my heart it feels like the same passion and will.

I have had some uncomfortable dispatching to do recently, and it amazes me, that no matter how uncomfortable it may be, I always have the heart, the courage to do what needs to be done and said.

These words remind me today that there are others, my kin, who have this strength as well and even if I never se them face to face, my heart resonates with them, and I know they are never far.

@Aiwass said

"(v. 200) 55. Let Mary inviolate be torn upon wheels: for her sake let all chaste women be utterly despised among you!
(v. 201) 56. Also for beauty's sake and love's!"

The ten verses numbered 46-55 correspond, in the model I am using, to the letter Resh, The Sun; and this present set climaxes (at v. 55) with the 200th verse of the entire Book. The interpenetrating force is sunlight, and everything that it symbolically means.

(Note that, within this set of ten verses, the Jesus verse corresponded to Tiphereth; Mohammed to Netzach, where he belongs; multiple Eastern systems plus the mysterious Din, the name of a Mercurial Spirit, to Hod; the intervention of the redemptive sunlight of “Bahlasti! Ompehda!” to Yesod, reflecting the Sun; and Mary-Marah-Malkah to Malkuth. This occurs in verse 55, the Mystic Number of Malkuth. Mary in Malkuth and Jesus in Tiphereth — what better could you want?)

It is the inviolate Mary that is to be torn. Her closed off, antisexual image is an assault, it being but an image of the black veil of restriction and denial. (The exoteric doctrine of the “virgin birth” is one religion’s way of continuing the persecution, controlling, and restriction of women by invoking shame upon unmarried mothers - unless, of course, God did it!) The Book even seems to imply that it is not Mary’s real image; that the implied disgrace (literally, dis-grace) of so-called “chastity” is an error. For its destruction is for the sake of beauty, and of love, as verse 56 (Nuit!) meaningfully tells us.

Beauty and love - two sublime attributions of the Holy Guardian Angel. The reality of the experience of that Angel's beauty and love makes clear exactly what is meant by these six verses.

from Liber Tzaddi
"the religions of the world are but symbols and veils of the Absolute Truth"

Today I'm meditating on letting go of some of my personal symbols, because whether I like it or not, it sounds like Horus is going to rip them away, for my own good. 😆

@gmugmble said

"Mars was exactly conjoined Mercury on the MC (or Zenith, I forget which) during the reception of the Book of the Law."

On April 10, Mars crossed the Zenith at 12:15 PM (25% of the way through the dictation of chapter 3, somewhere around verse 19). It crossed the Midheaven at 12:44 PM, 73% of the way through (somewhere around verse 55).

@Aiwass said

"(v. 192) 47. This book shall be translated into all tongues: but always with the original in the writing of the Beast; for in the chance shape of the letters and their position to one another; in these are mysteries that no Beast shall divine. Let him not seek to try: but one cometh after him, whence I say not, who shall discover the Key of it all. Then this line drawn is a key: then this circle squared in its failure is a key also. And Abrahadabra. It shall be his child & that strangely. Let him not seek after this; for thereby alone can he fall from it."

The translation “into all tongues” means that each person must understand this Book in his or her own words, not those of another; but the original, regardless, is to be preserved undistorted. It is the catalyst that will ignite each person’s own Truth.

Some keys are given to decoding some of the Book’s hidden mysteries, to emphasize what is really important. They all agree in saying “Just do the Great Work. Attain to the K&C of the HGA.”

“Then this line drawn is a key.” The line passes through the letters s t Be t say f a: 300 + 9 + 12 + 9 + 71 + 6 + 1 = 418. The “circle squared in its failure” - the illustration is a slightly imperfect circle-and-cross, a symbol of the Rosy Cross. “And Abrahadabra“ is, of course, both 418 and the Rosy Cross.

93,

I always took 'globéd priest' to refer to the Egyptian practice of having trained priests shave their heads and wear a close-fitting cap. The appearance of the head is then quite spherical. Thus, the village shrines might have used a prominent local farmer to perform the sacrifices, but in the major temples, someone raised up in the tradition - a globéd initiate - took care of things.

93 93/93,
Edward

@Aiwass said

"(v. 191) 46. I am the warrior Lord of the Forties: the Eighties cower before me, & are abased. I will bring you to victory & joy: I will be at your arms in battle & ye shall delight to slay. Success is your proof; courage is your armour; go on, go on, in my strength; & ye shall turn not back for any!"

Heru-Ra-Ha identifies Himself as “I am,” the great Name of Unity and the crown.

The physical prophecies seem unusually acute here. Horus is a solar-martial force; that is, a solar war-force. He corresponds to atomic power. As Nuit and Hadit, the Circumference and the Center, imply subatomic particles, so is their Child the product of their union, the Atom, the Kether of a given World (whether the physical universe or human consciousness; it is all the same). Verse 49 (yet to come) can be understood to refer to the four fundamental forces, and Horus is surely all of these (strong force, weak force, gravitation, and electromagnetism). Therefore, in the physical universe, He is atomic power. As such He was definitely “the warrior Lord of the Forties,” and also that before which “the Eighties” - the Chernobyl-and-Reagan years - did “cower” and were “abased.”

But within each of us, this Atom is the Atman, or Yechidah. Here, again and clearly, is the voice of the Holy Guardian Angel. In this sense, what does the first sentence mean? I don't know; but I have a good guess. 40 is מ, a Path especially associated with Adepthood. 80 is פ, the highest path of the First Order, of those who are not Adepts. Horus, the HGA, to the Adept is “the warrior Lord,” the source of strength and light; but to those outside the Veil of Paroketh, He is the blasting terror of Mars unleashed, before which the psyche cowers and is abased. מ is peace and stillness, Harpocrates, wherein is strength; פ is the severity of the shattered tower, Ra-Hoor-Khuit, of whom it is written:

Mine eyes have seen the Glory
Of the coming of the Lord,
He is trampling out the vintage
Where the grapes of wrath are stored,
He hath loosed the fearful lightning
Of his terrible swift sword,
His truth is marching on.
And,

The Lord is a god of war and vengeance. “Lord of Armies” [יהוה צבאות] is His Name.
Together, Harpocrates and Ra-Hoor-Khuit are Heru-Ra-Ha, even as Mem + Peh = 40 + 80 = that wonderful number 120.

The rest is all clear on its own. This is Horus, the image of the Holy Guardian Angel, speaking at his best and clearest. The promises are the natural consequences of the K&C of the HGA and, before that, of the knowing and doing of the True Will.

Reading the Book of the Law is like riding an emotional roller coaster. Each verse is powerfully charged with emotion, and the transitions from one feeling tone to another are often abrupt and dizzying.

It's impossible to read III:43 aloud without adopting a tone of voice that is -- how shall I say it? -- menacing, domineering, heartless, mocking? None of these words is quite right, but try the experiment and you'll see what I mean. The final words, "die cold and an-hungered," practically come spitting out of your mouth.

Then v. 44 is an abrupt change. You can almost hear an orchestra changing key, the atmosphere grows lighter, your heart lifts.

It is common to abstract away from the feeling tone and focus on the words, with their definitions, etymology, and qabalah, looking for hidden meanings, and rationalizing the more horrific verses by asserting that they don't mean what they seem to mean. But it is worth abstracting away from the words and just feeling the book. Read it aloud, ignore what it says, listen to your tone of voice, and pay attention to how you feel. It's like a session with a spiritual chiropractor, a direct dealing of God with your nephesh.

[I would love to hear a skilled actor read aloud a translation of the book in a language I don't know.]

@Jim Eshelman said

"(v. 186) 41. Establish at thy Kaaba a clerk-house: all must be done well and with business way.
(v. 187) 42. The ordeals thou shalt oversee thyself, save only the blind ones. Refuse none, but thou shalt know & destroy the traitors. I am Ra-Hoor-Khuit; and I am powerful to protect my servant. Success is thy proof: argue not; convert not; talk not overmuch! Them that seek to entrap thee, to overthrow thee, them attack without pity or quarter; & destroy them utterly. Swift as a trodden serpent turn and strike! Be thou yet deadlier than he! Drag down their souls to awful torment: laugh at their fear: spit upon them!"

"The ordeals thou shalt oversee thyself, save only the blind ones."

I always read this as if Crowley were still alive. He's dead now! So what's up with that? Who oversees the ordeals now? Is this possibly a reference to the office of the Beast and not Crowley himself?

"Them that seek to entrap thee, to overthrow thee, them attack without pity or quarter, & destroy them utterly."

On the one hand, I think of the path of Tau, the significance of the "traitor," such as in Crowley's Eulecian (sp) mysteries, that endures a death. On the other hand, I wonder whether this refers to any other actions, such as severe discipline for supposed traitors (Motta style).

"Swift as a trodden serpent turn and strike!"

There's the "Don't tread on me" flag. But it seems that, esoterically, the possibility of violence is left open with this verse. Whether this refers to people under Crowley's wing in the literal sense, or complexes in the magical psychology, is another question. It chillingly seems to be in the context of instructions for running a magical order! Hopefully this means some esoteric restriction of the candidate and not the entire candidate himself!

@Aiwass said

"(v. 183) 38. So that thy light is in me; & its red flame is as a sword in my hand to push thy order. There is a secret door that I shall make to establish thy way in all the quarters, (these are the adorations, as thou hast written), as it is said:
The light is mine; its rays consume/ Me: I have made a secret door/ Into the House of Ra and Tum,/ Of Khephra and of Ahathoor./ I am thy Theban, O Mentu,/The prophet Ankh-af-na-khonsu!
By Bes-na-Maut my breast I beat;/ By wise Ta-Nech I weave my spell./ Show thy star-splendour, O Nuit!/ Bid me within thine House to dwell,/ O wingèd snake of light, Hadit!/ Abide with me, Ra-Hoor-Khuit!"

At this point in Liber Legis there is a bridge between verse 37 and verse 38. This light is to fill the magician so that “thy light” - the Light of the Holy Guardian Angel - “is in me.” The HGA is explicitly represented here as Horus.

This verse 38 is very important to me personally. It invokes the light of Horus to be within one, and the red flame (a Mars attribute) of that light “is as a sword in my hand to push thy order,” i.e., the Order of that one whose identity is veiled by the name Horus. For this reason did I consecrate my magick sword with the name “Light of Horus,“ or AVR HRV; and, years later, was led to the knowledge that this is my own rightful aspiration name unto the Grade of Geburah.

Gematria: AVR HRV = 418. The “light of Horus” is, in this verse, equivalent to “a sword in my hand,” which is zayin be-yadi, ZYN BYDY = 93. Again, 418=93.

The "secret door" which the Prophet made to establish the "way" of Horus "in all the quarters" are the solar adorations of Liber Resh, which appear already to have been written at this point. (The verse makes the most sense if AC is held to be speaking, except for the parenthetical phrase which is an interpolation [or reassertion] by Aiwass.)

The penultimate verse from the stélé is now self-evident in its meaning, but only to be understood fully by longtime use of this adoration as part of Liber Resh.

The final verse combines several formulae, and ends with four lines not in the original Egyptian passage, which make the whole a formula of invocation of the stélé, and thus of the god-forces of The Book of the Law. Bes-na-Maut was Ankh-f-n-Khonsu’s father, and Ta-Nech (“ch” in French = “sh” in English) was his mother. He was a priest of Mentu, and she a musician sanctified to Amon-Ra, these being two of the three chief deities of Thebes (the third being Maut, after whom Bes-na-Maut was named). These names are employed in the A.'.A.'., at the Yetziratic level, as Invisible Officers or “contact points” to the currents of the Order in its formal ceremonials, to channel the sublime natures of Hadit and Nuit, respectively. Thus, he can be considered a channel of the current of Sol, and she of Luna. (And, in fact, T-NYSh = 369, one of the sacred numbers of Luna, and the value of Chasmodai, &c.).

The heartbeat of the breast is sponsored by the Sun, even as the “weaving” of the spell is fostered by the Moon.

This verse has another important significance, a historical one. It makes clear that the exact names Nuit, Hadit, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit were worked out by AC prior to the dictation of Liber Legis, and contrary to the translation he had been provided of the stélé which identified them as Nout, Houdit (or Hudit), and Harmakhis (or Ra Hor Khut).

@Aiwass said

"(v. 180) 35. The half of the word of Heru-ra-ha, called Hoor-pa-kraat and Ra-Hoor-Khut."

What has long intrigued me of this verse is that it is the 180th in the entire Book; and 180 is the number of degrees that marks half a circle.

This is hardly the half-way point of the Book, nor the half-way point of the third chapter. It isn't as though this verse demarcated a line separating a Ra-Hoor-Khuit section from a Hoor-Paar-Kraat section; nothing so simple was done. In fact, while the meaning of the verse seems clear enough on the surface, what is not clear is why it is exactly here. What does it do for the continuity? Why is it in this exact position?

I believe this verse is pointedly here, in the 180th place, to confirm the nature of the internal architecture of the Book, the significance of continuous verse enumeration from 1 through 220.

Also, though it is not the half-way point of the chapter, it does mark a critical thematic turning point, if my working model is correct (as it appears to be). Specifically, I hold that this Book is divided into 22 sets of 10 verses each, which correspond to the Hebrew letters from א to ת within which the sephiroth show from 1 to 10. The first five verses of this chapter were at the tail end of the Samekh set. (Verse 1, announcing “Abrahadabra,” was the Tiphereth verse of the Samekh series, which is about as perfect as things get.) Thereafter, we have encountered 30 consecutive verses composing the series of ע (Capricorn, where Mars is exalted), then פ (Mars itself), then צ; (Aries, where Mars rules by day). These would be, theoretically, the largest collective of patently martial verses in the entire Book, and they have not disappointed me in this regard.

Now this present verse marks the end of that. It is the tenth and last verse (Malkuth) of the Tzaddi series. It draws the line. The very next verse - the first of a new series - clearly begins a new theme and goes off in another direction. The remainder of the chapter contains the 40 verses attributed to Qoph, Resh, Shin, and Tav. (Those four last letters total to exactly 1,000.)

Or such is my understanding.

I consider this an important discovery; and it is the only thing that seems to explain why this present verse is here, now.

"(v. 181) 36. Then said the prophet unto the God:
(v. 182) 37. I adore thee in the song —
I am the Lord of Thebes, and I/ The inspired forth-speaker of Mentu;/ For me unveils the veilèd sky/ The self-slain Ankh-af-na-khonsu/ Whose words are truth. I invoke, I greet/ Thy presence, O Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
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!
Appear on the throne of Ra!/ Open the ways of the Khu!/ Lighten the ways of the Ka!/ The ways of the Khabs run through/ To stir me or still me!/ Aum! let it fill me!"

(We now begin the Qoph section of verses. As I look ahead, I see that this has a clear beginning in the text of the stélé, and a clear ending in the three verses pertaining to the Scarlet Woman.)

Verses 37 and 38 contain five verses from the stélé of revealing. However, what Crowley made of it is something entirely different! Instead of a dead man’s headstone, now it is verse for life, a verse suitable for the foundation of a new Great Work. These lines, as rewritten by him (and then inserted into the Book at Aiwass' explicit instructions), are among the most potent spells in the whole of Liber L.

Any actual meditation on these verses at the present time would be inconsequential compared to 16 years of their reverent repetition: How sublime the recognition of that “Unity” which is “uttermost showed!” The rest flows naturally, provided one gets that initial experience or relationship.

“forth-speaker” is a literal of “prophet.” The “throne of Ra,” or “throne of the Sun,” is the heart, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit, the HGA, is being invoked to “appear” there.

The “Aum” produces a profound silence if one will let it; and then “it” fills one, and there is no question but that, “The light is mine; its rays consume me.”

@Aiwass said

"(v. 175) 30. My altar is of open brass work: burn thereon in silver or gold!"

“Brass” is a familiar alchemical blind for copper. Ra-Hoor-Khuit’s altar is described here, and may, in fact, be physically described; but it is especially an altar sacred to Venus. We can conclude that his worship is an “open work” of Venus, i.e., an open act of love.

And this love is especially sexual. Silver and gold are the metals of Luna and Sol. They represent the natures and functions of the female and male, respectively (including, in my experience, the aspect of the very interior body that is most suitable for sexual congress on the inner planes). The meaning of the whole verse is quite clear, including the “burning” thereon.

There is a special alchemical significance wherein gold, copper, and silver represent, respectively, the heart, throat, and “third eye” chakras, and Visuddha is the translation or transformational center that interfaces the gold and silver. Also, students of the periodic table will know that copper, silver, and gold are intimately related in their atomic structures, being (in one since) nearly the same metal except for minor subatomic variances; and the only known element to share these characteristicsis is the synthetic radioactive element Unununium (literally, No. 111; sometimes now called Roengenium) discovered in 1994.

Note that this is verse 175 of the whole Book; and 175 is one of the four Great Numbers of Venus.

"(v. 176) 31. There cometh a rich man from the West who shall pour his gold upon thee."

At a material level, this sounds like a wish phantasm; but we should also remember that Crowley was fairly well off in 1904, actually wealthy in a modest way.

If someone is waiting for this prophecy to come true physically, they are likely going to have to wait a while longer.

Meral told me once that this is a reference to the HGA. I am inclined to agree with her on an intuitive basis, although it is harder than usual to sort out the logic of it. (Note, though, that this verse 176 is the Tiphereth verse in the present series.)

He is “from the West” - note the capital “W” - thus referring to sunset. He is “from beyond death” as the saying would go, and related to completion, fulfillment, wholeness.

By Anglo-Hebraic transliteration: “rich man” = ריח מאן, which is 218 + 91 = 309. This is pretty amazing, since 309 is שט (Crowley’s idea of Set, Sun and Moon conjoined - στ = [Sun-Moon ligature], cf. the immediately preceding verse - and also ‘Αρης. I do this from memory, and seem to recall that there is more.)

By English Simplex: RICH MAN = 38+28 = 66, Σ(0-11), a Great Number of magick, and an especial reference to Kundalini (see Liber 66, and compare it to the present verse with this in mind!).

"(v. 177) 32. From gold forge steel!"

Gold is the metal attributed to the Sun, as iron is to Mars. This verse appears to reflect the attainment of Geburah, based upon the foundational attainment of Tiphereth.

Or, in any case, it shows that real strength o be wrought from this inner gold. The Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel is the foundation of all real strength - and a tremendous strength it is. Real strength is, at least initially and primarily, inner strength, which then may be expressed (or manifested) as action in life.

There is a subtlety that could be easily missed because it seems self-evident; but it is, in fact, a reciprocal meaning. This verse may be read as, “It is from this gold that you will forge your steel. ” It is, therefore, a direct admonishment to attain to the K&C of the HGA as the source of all strength.

"(v. 178) 33. Be ready to fly or to smite!"

This appears to be a simple reference to the “fight or flight” reflex which is related to the Svadisthana chakra and the planet Mars. (There is usually a third “F” related to this constellation of expressions.) This gives some confirmation of our interpretation of the prior verse, that it refers to an expression of the Mars force.

The advice, then, is to in fact actively manifest this Mars energy, and be prepared to use it.

@Aiwass said

"(v. 168) 23. For perfume mix meal & honey & thick leavings of red wine: then oil of Abramelin and olive oil, and afterward soften & smooth down with rich fresh blood."

The incense of Ra-Hoor-Khuit contrasts markedly with that of Nuit. They share, of course, some similarities - for example, each upholds the Abramelin tradition in one way or the other - but his explicitly contains blood, and hers explicitly does not, at least not animal blood. With Ra-Hoor-Khuit, we explicitly stir up the animal element; for he “hast been let down into the Animal Soul of things,” if I remember my Liber 65 correctly.

These are usually regarded as six ingredients; but if the olive oil is understood to be a component of the Abramelin Oil, we have five ingredients, with blood, the “activating agent,” being Spirit, and the others relating to the four elements via the four lower sephiroth.

Meal, of course, is easy, being of Earth and Malkuth. Honey’s sweetness suggests Venus, and bees are attributed to Venus (by legend, they came to earth from Venus), and honey is in several ways tied into sexual reproduction; so it seems, all ’round, to relate to Netzach, with some Yesod qualities. The “leavings of red wine” are a sedimentation. This resembles Earth again, and especially the “salt” of the wine (as the alcohol is its “mercury,” &c.). Redness is probably here because it takes red wine to have such “leavings;” but its similarity to blood would be appropriate for Horus. The oil of Abramelin is a very exalted substance, combining myrrh and cinnamon and galangal - Binah and Tiphereth and a root of the earth - in a perfume base. Perfume implies Air, and in many ways this compound corresponds well to Yesod. Therefore, I think we have meal as Earth and Malkuth, oil of Abramelin as Air and Yesod, thick leavings of red wine as Water and Hod, and honey as Netzach and Fire. Blood, which is the essence of life, is Spirit, Shin, and the “activating ingredient,” corresponding to Tiphereth.

This is to be used as incense. (Only later does the Book refer to this substance as being useful for cakes.) There is probably also a subtle meaning as well. The real incense - that which inwardly rises up in aspiration to the highest - is composed of the four elements symbolically, to which one adds one’s own lifeblood, one’s passion and fervor.

Notice that the blood is to be “rich” and “fresh.” The vitality is strongest at the time of shedding.

"(v. 169) 24. The best blood is of the moon, monthly: then the fresh blood of a child, or dropping from the host of heaven: then of enemies; then of the priest or of the worshippers: last of some beast, no matter what."

This is a Yesod verse, and commences with an important mystery of the Moon.

What kind of blood to use? They are given in the order of quality.

The first, of course, is menstrual blood. Why is it the best? A partial answer is that there are certain tantric teachings of its virtue, and these seem supportable in at least some instances. But also, this blood is given freely and without loss of existing life.

The colons and semicolons segregate the “blood types” here. Therefore, the second type is, “the fresh blood of a child, or dropping from the host of heaven.” The latter part of the phrase links it unmistakably to manna, the sole food of the Isrælites in their 40-year sojourn under Moses’ leadership. Given obligations I have taken, I can do nothing more (since others will read this) than say that it takes two to make a child. (I can at least say that, no, this is not baby's blood!)

The third type is the blood of enemies. This is interesting! By surface implication it means blood spilled in violent conflict with an enemy. Whether or not it is advised, this is tremendously powerful by tradition (and, a dim and distant memory insists, it is so in practice). Only the former two exceed its virtue. (I’m aware of a quite different level of meaning here, which I have never taken the time to write up properly. It answers the question: What if this blood, like the two before and the first one after, is also taken without injury or loss of life.)

Next is the blood of the priest or worshippers, blood given freely.

Finally, as a last resort, any blood will do.

The blood is the life, Mr. Renfield.