Basis of Aeons
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Does anyone know when Crowley first proposed the 3-Aeon model of Isis, Osiris, Horus? I assumed that it came from the Liber L. However, while it certainly indicates a change in Aeon with a shift from Osiris as hierophant to Horus, it does not say anything of an Aeon of Isis. Moreover, if you follow the logic of the Equinox of the Gods in comparison with the Golden Dawn Equinox Ceremony from which it derives, then Horus the Elder would have served as Hierophant during the Aeon of Isis. I lay this out below.
The only two references to the mechanics of aeonic change in Liber L:
I:49. Abrogate are all rituals, all ordeals, all words and signs. Ra-Hoor-Khuit hath taken his seat in the East at the Equinox of the Gods; and let Asar be with Isa, who also are one. But they are not of me. Let Asar be the adorant, Isa the sufferer; Hoor in his secret name and splendour is the Lord initiating.
- This relates the change to the Equinox Ceremony and sets up the logic for its procession.
III:34. But your holy place shall be untouched throughout the centuries: though with fire and sword it be burnt down & shattered, yet an invisible house there standeth, and shall stand until the fall of the Great Equinox; when Hrumachis shall arise and the double-wanded one assume my throne and place. Another prophet shall arise, and bring fresh fever from the skies; another woman shall awake the lust & worship of the Snake; another soul of God and beast shall mingle in the globed priest; another sacrifice shall stain the tomb; another king shall reign; and blessing no longer be poured To the Hawk-headed mystical Lord!
- This indicates that the procession mentioned in Chapter I serves as more than just a cool image, but actually should be extrapolated, at least, into the future. The Equinox Ceremony would indeed indicate that Maat will become hierophant during the next aeon. However, I wonder if Crowley didn't confuse double-wanded one, which I haven't seen in association with Maat, with double-feathered one, which I have. Does anyone know of a reference to Maat as the double-wanded one? If not, did Crowley make a mistake or simply assume, based on the Golden Dawn model, that Maat should become Hierophant? And what of Hrumachis?
Following the godforms laid out for the officers used in the Equinox Ceremony of the Golden Dawn, you get the following:
Hierophant: Osiris
Hiereus: Horus (Hoor)
Hegemon: Maat (Thme)If you follow the logic for the rotation of officers given in Liber L, the following should hold for the Aeon of Horus:
Past-Hierophant: Osiris
Hierophant: Horus
Hiereus: Maat
Hegemon: AnubisGreat, that works out just fine. But...
The following should hold for the Aeon of Isis:
Hierophant: Horus the Elder (Hoor Ouer)
Hiereus: Osiris
Hegemon: Horus (Hoor)That doesn't work. Even if you skip the past-hierophant position, then you'd get Thoth, but you don't get Isis. You have to go back 2 more aeons to when she would have served as Hierophant.
As far as I can tell, the aeonic system as used by everyone doesn't have a basis in Liber L. So where does it come from? And does it even matter?
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One of the keys to this, I think, is to recognize that the Past Hierophant doesn't follow the normal pattern. For example, in the present Aeon, Osiris isn't the Past Hierophant because (both by something AC wrote and a lot of work we did almost 20 years ago) Osiris, in the present Aeon, is the symbol of the candidate in the First Order. (The Formula of the Elements is the Formula of the Cross.)
So, if you drop the Past Hierophant from the calculations entirely, the whole thing becomes much easier to process.
Isis, who was Hierophant two Aeons ago, is the current archetype of the Praemonstrator.
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No, I don't know when Crowley first proposed the 3-Aeon model of Isis, Osiris, Horus. That is, I'd have to go back to the first decade or so after the reception of Liber L. and see where I could find it first mentioned. If anyone else finds early references, I'd be interested in seeing them, and it might be as early as one of the essays in his Collected Works. (Regrettably, I don't have the time free to research this, but I'd start with Collected Works, Vol. III.)
"I assumed that it came from the Liber L."
At least after a fashion. The idea of the evolution of the Aeons and the assumption of the Throne of the Hierophant by Ra-Hoor-Khuit came from there and clearly referenced the Golden Dawn equinox ritual. In Chapter 3 there is then the reference to the last Aeon's Hegemon as the next Aeon's Hierophant. Though this "progression of the stations" isn't the same as the unfolding of the Aeons, it's closely tied in with it. - You identified this quite well in your original post.
"However, while it certainly indicates a change in Aeon with a shift from Osiris as hierophant to Horus, it does not say anything of an Aeon of Isis."
True. There was, however, already very present in late 19th and early 20th Century anthropology a body of scholarly writings concerning a matriarchal religious cycle preceding the patriarchal one - it was a subject discussed by quite a few writers. I've always thought this was well established in Crowley's mind before before Liber L. was dictated so that the Next Step took the form of a Child to follow the Mother Cycle and the Father Cycle.
"Moreover, if you follow the logic of the Equinox of the Gods in comparison with the Golden Dawn Equinox Ceremony from which it derives, then Horus the Elder would have served as Hierophant during the Aeon of Isis."
For no reason that I will try to explain rationally, and as mentioned in my last post, the Past Hierophant doesn't fit any of these patterns.
"The Equinox Ceremony would indeed indicate that Maat will become hierophant during the next aeon. However, I wonder if Crowley didn't confuse double-wanded one, which I haven't seen in association with Maat, with double-feathered one, which I have. Does anyone know of a reference to Maat as the double-wanded one?"
Yes - but not in Egyptology. The reference is to the scepter the Hegemon carried in the old Golden Dawn, which was a mitre-headed wand, a "split head" - whether anyone else would have articulated the symbols this way, they are the ideas that were in Crowley's mind at the time. (And she is only single-feathered.)
"And what of Hrumachis?"
As A.C. stated in his commentary, Hrumachis isn't used there as an actual name but, rather, as an overall agency of change and transformation. Essentially it is a symbol of "the next rising dawn." It's a generic, expressed in language appropriate to the present Aeon.
"The following should hold for the Aeon of Isis:
Hierophant: Horus the Elder (Hoor Ouer)
Hiereus: Osiris
Hegemon: Horus (Hoor)"See remarks earlier on Past Hierophant. I believe the layout would be Isis in the East, Osiris in the West, and Horus in the Center - which has some absolutely marvelous patterns.
I said before that I wouldn't give a rational basis for excluding the Past Hierophant. As I continue to type on this, the basis emerges nonetheless. It is that the office is really an adaptation of a Masonic pattern that really doesn't apply to the symbolic pattern of the Temple, and only the six officers and the Chiefs are part of the progressive pattern. When Isis sat in the East, her instructor Thoth sat behind her to whisper in her ear as the sole Chief. When she had fulfilled her term, she and her sister Nepthys joined Thoth as the other two Chiefs and the Hiereus Osiris ascended to the East. (There is no direct ascent from Hierophant to Chief -this isn't a necessary progression, it just shows the fleshing out of symbolism in this particular pattern.)
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@Jim Eshelman said
"For example, in the present Aeon, Osiris isn't the Past Hierophant because (both by something AC wrote and a lot of work we did almost 20 years ago) Osiris, in the present Aeon, is the symbol of the candidate in the First Order. (The Formula of the Elements is the Formula of the Cross.)"
Hmmm... I wondered how the ToT dealt with that Osirian aspect with the elements and ripping apart the candidate during the GD Neophyte ritual. I wondered if y'all felt that reflected old aeon ideas too much and ditched it. So thanks for the hint that y'all still use it, at least in some way.
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@Jim Eshelman said
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True. There was, however, already very present in late 19th and early 20th Century anthropology a body of scholarly writings concerning a matriarchal religious cycle preceding the patriarchal one - it was a subject discussed by quite a few writers. I've always thought this was well established in Crowley's mind before before Liber L. was dictated so that the Next Step took the form of a Child to follow the Mother Cycle and the Father Cycle."Moreover, Crowley would have had great familiarity with "aeonic" approaches to history in general. Although they had largely fell into disuse by the time of Liber L, many people crafted these sorts of histories of eras characterized by unique political and economic organization and drivin by some objective and singluar impulse towards some pre-determined goal. Adam Smith, Condorcet, Marx, etc. And then Blavatsky also had her racialized aeonic history, which surely Crowley knew inside and out.
@Jim Eshelman said
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For no reason that I will try to explain rationally, and as mentioned in my last post, the Past Hierophant doesn't fit any of these patterns.See remarks earlier on Past Hierophant. I believe the layout would be Isis in the East, Osiris in the West, and Horus in the Center - which has some absolutely marvelous patterns.
(There is no direct ascent from Hierophant to Chief -this isn't a necessary progression, it just shows the fleshing out of symbolism in this particular pattern.)"
Does this come from the Cipher Manuscripts or some other source that Mathers and Westcott would have used in developing the Equinox Ceremony or the hierarchy of the order? You already mentioned the employment of a Masonic tradition for the distincitiveness of the Past-Hierophant in the rotation. I wonder, because for the purposes of this thread, I have a greater interest in what people intended back when, rather than how do we make sense of all of this now.
@Jim Eshelman said
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When Isis sat in the East, her instructor Thoth sat behind her to whisper in her ear as the sole Chief. When she had fulfilled her term, she and her sister Nepthys joined Thoth as the other two Chiefs and the Hiereus Osiris ascended to the East."Again, does this come from a pre-Liber L source or did y'all develop this as a post-Liber L understanding of this formula?
I wonder because Thelemites often seem to accept Crowley's aeonic system as something as fundamental as Liber L itself. Moreover, as we see in most of the relevant discussions on this board, we/they/whoever seem to accept it as something external and objective. So the source of the particular articulation of the Isis/Osiris/Horus system appears important to me. To take it to a practical level, certain Thelemic orders require that the candidate accept Liber L. The candidate appears free to interpret "accept" however ze sees fit. However, based on my thoughts in this thread, it seems that accepting Liber L does not, however, requiring acceptance of the aeonic system, except in indicating a single major transformation. But, of course, one could still just accept that as an internal transformation, rather than an external/objective aeonic change.
So much for "argue not, convert not, talk not overmuch" (III. 42).
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"Recognize it" is probably better than "use it" - most specifically, it isn't employed as an image.
Osiris is the Formula of the Cross - so is the Element cycle. Adding the Quintessence to that turns the Cross into the Pentagram - Osiris into Horus.
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@sasha said
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@Jim Eshelman said
"For no reason that I will try to explain rationally, and as mentioned in my last post, the Past Hierophant doesn't fit any of these patterns.See remarks earlier on Past Hierophant. I believe the layout would be Isis in the East, Osiris in the West, and Horus in the Center - which has some absolutely marvelous patterns.
(There is no direct ascent from Hierophant to Chief -this isn't a necessary progression, it just shows the fleshing out of symbolism in this particular pattern.)"
Does this come from the Cipher Manuscripts or some other source that Mathers and Westcott would have used in developing the Equinox Ceremony or the hierarchy of the order?"
I'm not sure what the antecedent is of your "this." If you mean the last sentence - in the G.D. tradition, Chief selection is unrelated to whether someone has been Hierophant etc., and there is no "progressing" to it formally - Chiefs are appointed for life (i.e., until resignation or removal), not for the standard 6-month term.
"You already mentioned the employment of a Masonic tradition for the distincitiveness of the Past-Hierophant in the rotation. I wonder, because ofor the purposes of this thread, I have a greater interest in what people intended back when, rather than how do we make sense of all of this now."
Agreed.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"When Isis sat in the East, her instructor Thoth sat behind her to whisper in her ear as the sole Chief. When she had fulfilled her term, she and her sister Nepthys joined Thoth as the other two Chiefs and the Hiereus Osiris ascended to the East."Again, does this come from a pre-Liber L source or did y'all develop this as a post-Liber L understanding of this formula?"
Neither. It's my reading of the pattern.
"I wonder because Thelemites often seem to accept Crowley's aeonic system as something as fundamental as Liber L itself."
Yes.
"Moreover, as we see in most of the relevant discussions on this board, we/they/whoever seem to accept it as something external and objective."
I certainly do. I see it measured in the evolutionary advancement of consciousness of baseline humanity, and that's an objective reality.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"I'm not sure what the antecedent is of your "this.""
I meant the deal with the past-hierophant, which you mentioned in the three quotes I compiled. So you answered it.
@Jim Eshelman said
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If you mean the last sentence - in the G.D. tradition, Chief selection is unrelated to whether someone has been Hierophant etc., and there is no "progressing" to it formally - Chiefs are appointed for life (i.e., until resignation or removal), not for the standard 6-month term."Good point. I never really thought about the actual officer adoption. I thought about the chiefs in terms of the relation to the Tree, assuming a rotation from Thoth (Tiphareth) to Nephthys (Geburah) to Isis (Chesed).
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@Mysteria said
"If the formula of Horus is ABRAHADABRA and the formula of Osiris is IAO.... What was the formula of Isis?"
Excellent question. I don't know that anyone has ever professed to know.
I have occasionally toyed with the idea that it was ALHIM. I think this is not the case; but I do know that it was the feminine, pre-patristic formula of Divinity among the Hebrews. It at least has the right sort of idea.
But since words per se pertain to the development of Ruach (i.e., Osiris Aeon development), word-formulae may not exist surviving from the Nepheshic Isis Aeon.
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With the ideas of Aeons and whatnot, someone explained to me that each consecutive Aeon fits around the last one like a set of Russian dolls, one inside another, so that each system is valid but contained within the present formula.
My thinking on that is that I find it somewhat funny that these Aeons are all represented by some of the oldest religious ideas available to us which come from ancient Egypt. The "New Aeon" is supposedly the Aeon of Horus, an old God, even older than YHVH. By the way, where was "YHVH" in ancient Egypt, if Moses learned his magic from them? YHVH / Jehovah represented the Aeon of Osiris, apparently, so I guess the Egyptian motif is just a template to work with. I'm not sure it fits perfectly, but I'm not saying it is wrong.
"The return of Jesus at Armageddon" could conceivably correspond with the "Crowned and Conquering Child" of Horus, since this obviously refers to the elevation of the personality to a higher level (Crown = Kether, Jesus = Tiphareth, which reflects Kether and is the Sephira representing the HGA).
One thing I found interesting about [typical occult person's] summary of history was the idea of a Matriarchal society (Aeon of Isis) followed by a Patriarchal society (Aeon of Osiris) followed by Individual Freedom (Aeon of Horus)... some people say that after Horus comes the Aeon of Ma'at. Some people claim we are already entering the Aeon of Ma'at, but I find that hard to believe if we just barely entered the Aeon of Horus. The problem with this idea is, while it is something I have always taken for granted, having recently looked into it, it appears there are many people who say this idea of a Matriarchal society of the past is 100% pure myth. There are several books written about it and many online articles. Just Google "myth of the matriarch" and you'll see what I mean.
So, if Aeon #1 is a myth, does the rest of the theory tumble like a house of cards?
But, I think of the Universe as Mental and, ultimately, the One force behind Everything as Mental. This idea/process is laid out in amazing detail in the book "Quantum Gods" by Jeff Love. It's one of those books that radically changed my understanding of Qabalah. And the more I learn, it still seems to fit quite nicely. Basically, the idea is that to fundamentally simplify a "point of creation," it starts out with a pre-verbal thought that is Self-Realization. This is the Will to simply Be. Throughout infinity, all these points of realization came into being at once and came to know themselves and each other in relation to other points of beingness. This sets up a hologram kind of situation not unlike Holographic Universe Theory; everything reflects everything else. I guess it's pretty abstract, but it is much less abstract in the book "Quantum Gods" by Jeff Love, where the author describes it logically bit by bit, Sephirah by Sephirah.
I was thinking about this today over lunch when suddenly the phrase popped into my head: "stare into the abyss long enough and the abyss stares back into you." Suddenly this phrase revealed a new meaning to me. It is like looking into a mirror. The Abyss stares back into you; a reflection. Essentially, we are all nothing! This is why we co-created everything-- to be SOMETHING. 0=2?
I think underlying physical reality are principles essentially described as Male and Female, which is probably why the specifics of the God representing the Aeon don't matter so much. Jehovah's Aeon was Osiris's Aeon; now we're supposedly in Horus's Aeon. I don't even know what the idea of an Aeon really means other than an overall mental outlook that is predominant at any specific moment in time expressed in Malkuth. I also suspect any Gods are a shade of the ultimate nature of the energy they express. Shiva and Shakti are not the same exact things as Western corresponding ideas and formulas.
The commandment "Put no gods before me" I believe is essentially saying to understand the Mental formula YHVH that is within you/without you, the Christ that is born of Virgin birth (in your bloodstream), is the center of your physical universe: YOU are that God, (the Crowned and Conquering Child?), listen to your own Higher Self above all other tempting spirits. This seems why Paul Foster Case makes it so clear that the Voice always acts in your favor and never flatters you, never commands you, cajoles or threatens you. Seems a good way to test "the spirits." The Higher Self/HGA/Superconscious has your best interests at heart-- put no other gods before it!
I think getting too tied up in the idea of Aeonics is probably not a good idea. I mean, it seems that each individual person is responsible for his own Aeon. Think of it, we have all kinds of civilizations believing all different things here on Earth right now... and always have. And what of the idea of multiple worlds? Perhaps there are different grounds of being for different levels of spiritual maturity. In your 70-90-some years in this life, how will knowledge of a 2,000 year Aeon benefit you?
Just some random thoughts. Any responses welcomed.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"The idea of the evolution of the Aeons and the assumption of the Throne of the Hierophant by Ra-Hoor-Khuit came from there and clearly referenced the Golden Dawn equinox ritual. In Chapter 3 there is then the reference to the last Aeon's Hegemon as the next Aeon's Hierophant. Though this "progression of the stations" isn't the same as the unfolding of the Aeons, it's closely tied in with it."
Lots of good stuff in this thread; sorry to come late to the game.
Bringing in the 12 astrological ages helps with some of this. (Via the precession of the equinoxes.) Didn't Benjamin Rowe write about the vernal/autumnal "axis" of each age as having a lot to do with its character? The new "active" age of Horus being Aquarius/Leo; the last one being Pisces/Virgo (the Jesus fish born of a virgin) and so on.
(To me, these are primarily useful and poetic metaphors. No literal belief in predictive astrology is required!)
I have some trouble thinking about the one before Osiris, though. The astrological age of Aries (approx 2000 BC to 1 BC/AD) covers much of the Iron Age. Much of the anthropological writing about a past age of matriarchy (Isis?) seems to cover the Bronze Age, which would be mostly aligned with Taurus (4000 to 2000 BC). Much of that writing is pretty dated, though...
Regarding the procession of officers in the "outer temple," I can't help but refer to the Z-1 paper and count up TWELVE people in the room during a proper Neophyte ceremony:
7 officers on the floor (Hierophant, Hiereus, Hegemon, Kerux, Stolistes, Dadouchos, Sentinel), 4 officers on the dais (Imperator, Cancellarius, Praemonstrator, and [at least one] Past Hierophant), plus 1 candidate!
Could the precession/procession of god-forms hinted at by Liber Legis (and pondered muchly here) be mapped onto both the 12 zodiacal signs and the 12 participants in the Outer Order?
@Redd Fezz said
" In your 70-90-some years in **this **life, how will knowledge of a 2,000 year Aeon benefit you?"
For me, it gives some sense of purpose to the present chaotic time period. I'm hopeful that Thelema and the age of Horus will continue being useful paradigms well into an upcoming technological "Singularity!"
Steve
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@Steven Cranmer said
"Bringing in the 12 astrological ages helps with some of this."
I think we need to very clearly differentiate the Aeons from the astrological ages. Example in point: The Aeon of Horus began March 20, 1904, still very deeply within the Pisces Age which runs from 221-2376 AD.
More broadly: The Aeon of Osiris easily ran across at least two astrological ages (all of Aries, most of Pisces, and probably included much of an earlier one (Taurus).
"The new "active" age of Horus being Aquarius/Leo; the last one being Pisces/Virgo (the Jesus fish born of a virgin) and so on."
Except we're still 370 years from the commencement of the Age of Aquarius (or, as you very correctly call it, the Age of Aquarius-Leo).
"7 officers on the floor (Hierophant, Hiereus, Hegemon, Kerux, Stolistes, Dadouchos, Sentinel), 4 officers on the dais (Imperator, Cancellarius, Praemonstrator, and [at least one] Past Hierophant), plus 1 candidate!"
Not counting the Past Hierophant (for reasons discussed earlier in the thread - seems more of an adoption from Freemasonry than something core to the deeper tradition), only six of these rotate. The Chiefs are "permanent" (so far as human variability goes, of course), and the Sentinel doesn't move in the progression - is simply appointed.
"Could the precession/procession of god-forms hinted at by Liber Legis (and pondered muchly here) be mapped onto both the 12 zodiacal signs and the 12 participants in the Outer Order?"
I always love the word "could" and would be interested in seeing where this develops.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"The Aeon of Horus began March 20, 1904, still very deeply within the Pisces Age which runs from 221-2376 AD."
Can I ask your source for these specific dates? There's a lot of "empty" space in the zodiac between the standard forms of the constellations. The modern astronomical borders between the constellations might not necessarily be the best to use for these purposes.
Has anyone computed the dates of equinox precession past the 12 "signs" as defined from Regulus = 0 degrees Leo? Was S.R.M.D. on to something, or might that be a dead end?
But I certainly see your general point. Did Aiwass have a reason to "jump the gun?"
"Not counting the Past Hierophant (for reasons discussed earlier in the thread - seems more of an adoption from Freemasonry than something core to the deeper tradition), only six of these rotate. The Chiefs are "permanent" (so far as human variability goes, of course), and the Sentinel doesn't move in the progression - is simply appointed."
Thanks for clarification. I guess this blows away my alternate theory of just FOUR processing entities (Hierophant, Hiereus, Hegemon, plus one other) that could have done a neat job of corresponding to the convoluted revolution of the Aces around the pole.
"I always love the word "could" and would be interested in seeing where this develops."
Always covering my bases!
Steve
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@Steven Cranmer said
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@Jim Eshelman said
"The Aeon of Horus began March 20, 1904, still very deeply within the Pisces Age which runs from 221-2376 AD."Can I ask your source for these specific dates? There's a lot of "empty" space in the zodiac between the standard forms of the constellations. The modern astronomical borders between the constellations might not necessarily be the best to use for these purposes."
Long answer for which I have no time to answer - but, simply put, the boundaries of the astrological zodiac haven't been in doubt for at least half a century, so it's a simple mathematical calculation. At the moment I am writing this, the Sidereal longitude of the Northern hemisphere vernal point is 5°10'08" Pisces.
PS - I gave the basic details in an article in Black Pearl Vol. II, No. 1 which, however, is not presently in print.
"But I certainly see your general point. Did Aiwass have a reason to "jump the gun?""
I don't think it's jumping the gun. I just don't think the Aeons have the slightest thing to do with the Astrological Ages.
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As above, so below. How could the aeons have nothing to do with the astrological significators? Just asking, not challenging.
In L.V.X.,
chrys333 -
I had an epiphany that now seems so obvious. When in BOTA they talk about purifying the desire nature, so the red rose turns to white, etc., then Desire=Will. So that that is what learning the True Will is, and that is why Do What Thou Wilt means, and Love under Will. The True Will is the Purified Desire.
I get it.
In L.V.X.,
chrys333 -
@Chris Hanlon said
"As above, so below. How could the aeons have nothing to do with the astrological significators? Just asking, not challenging."
I'd have to turn that around and ask: Why would they? They refer to substantially different kinds of phenomena.
Might as well ask how the stock market could have no effect on the rotation of the earth.
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@Chris Hanlon said
"I had an epiphany that now seems so obvious. When in BOTA they talk about purifying the desire nature, so the red rose turns to white, etc., then Desire=Will. So that that is what learning the True Will is, and that is why Do What Thou Wilt means, and Love under Will. The True Will is the Purified Desire.
I get it.
In L.V.X.,
chrys333"That's wha t I've been thinking, too. Did you get me recent email about Key 13? (to your gmail account)
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Nate.
I got the posting, and I believe I answered back. The twisting of the spine of the skeleton one, correct? Kundalini rising/desire nature, choices, etc.?
JAE,
Does astrology have significance, then? And what about the butterfly effect in chaos theory?
I understand what you mean - everything influcences everything, but there is not necessarily a 1 to 1 connection between phenomena (or even a 1 to 1 million).
Currrent astrology and the new Aeon may not coincide at all, but I guess I am set up to think there is a link, due to the story of the 3 Kings.
Thanks,
chrys333