Star Ruby
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I've recently begun studying the Star Ruby and have hit a bit of a stumbling block. Namely, IUGGES, TELETARCAI, SYNOCEIS, & DAIMONES. What the hell are they supposed to represent?
I've seen possible explanations that claim they represent the supernals of the Tree of Life, the Alchemical elements or Neo-platonic deities, etc., etc.
I'm really unsure how their placement around the circle relates to the elements and the Thelemic divine names of the quaters, (that's assuming there is a relationship) and how they should be visualised.Any help on this point will be appreciated as I feel that this is the single thing that is holding me back from practice of this ritual.
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Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
From the snippets you've written, I'm pretty sure which articles you've been reading. It looks like the basic historical references are all correct, and the interpretive efforts were sincere. The following is from an article I wrote for Black Pearl I:5 regarding the point in the ritual where they are vibrated:
"The instructions in the ritual seem simple enough. This section parallels the invocation of the four Archangels in the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, as wardens of the Quarters. The only apparent complexity is in understanding exactly who these new guardians are, and what they look like.
But there is a subtlety that would be easy to miss, a detail not existing in the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. The cross shape in which one stands is not only understood to be a shape symbolically related to the 32nd Path, it is also explicitly said in this place to be "in the form of a Tau." The Greek Tau or the Hebrew Tav (also often transliterated "Tau") is attributed to Saturn. In the immediately prior stage of the ritual, the magician raised his or her consciousness unto Binah, the Sephirah of Saturn, and gave the sign of the grade attributed thereto. Therefore, this is not just the earthen lead of the 32nd Path with which the Adept now works, but a much more uplifted and complex representation of the planet Saturn. It is, at once, both Tav and Binah; or, rather, it is the idea of Tav to one who has understood something of Binah, and has opened himself or herself somewhat to the transpersonal consciousness thereof.
The 5° initiate of the Temple of Thelema, on encountering this action, surely will recall the occasion of his or her initiation into the Second Order, and the obligation on that occasion - stripped of the Dying God elements of earlier generations, yet preserving the essential symbol here implied. All of the elements of that moment may be assumed to be present now, in this assumption of the Sign of the Cross. And this Sign, traditionally a sign of Osiris, is also one of the four Signs directly attrib-uted to Tiphereth and the 5=6 Grade of A.'.A.'.. It therefore signifies a further precise transition in this Ritual of the Star Ruby. You, who began this ritual by establishing yourself in Tiphereth, then extended downward to the lower Sephiroth, then recentered in Tiphereth, then reached upward unto the higher Sephiroth, now center again within the Tipheric center from which the operation began and in which it shall be completed.
Regarding the four Guardians: Their names are all Greek plurals deriving from The Chaldean Oracles. Yet, every intuition says that in this ritual they are to be seen as singular beings, not as swarms of spirits. Multiplicity is a distinctive characteristic of Yetzirah, even as unity is of Briah; and it is a Briatic (Archangelic) level of guardianship that is warranted here. It is our view that, in writing The Star Ruby, Crowley did not delve deeply into the ancient meanings of these names but, rather, simply knew that he needed Greek names for this purpose and used what was at hand. Whatever beings are posted here must serve the same function as the Elemental Archangels in the Lesser Banishing Pentagram Ritual.
The names themselves may be studied in The Chaldean Oracles (the edition by G.'.H.'. Frater Sapere Aude is recommended), and also in an article titled "The Star Ruby: An Analysis," written many years ago by a young A.'.A.'. Neophyte and published in In the Continuum, Vol. III, No. 3.
The means of developing magical images (so-called telesmatic images) for these Guardians will be the subject of Part II of this article, in the next issue of Black Pearl."
I have to rush to get out the door in a few minutes, but maybe that will be a start - and, if you remind me, I'll try to give you more on the image-construction route over the weekend.
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Hi Jim,
Looks as if I have missed some copies of the Black Pearl. Do you have records? I would like to purchase the back copies of any that I have missed.
Thanks,
chrys333 -
Thank you Jim. You've been very helpful.
@Jim Eshelman said
"Regarding the four Guardians: Their names are all Greek plurals deriving from The Chaldean Oracles. Yet, every intuition says that in this ritual they are to be seen as singular beings, not as swarms of spirits. Multiplicity is a distinctive characteristic of Yetzirah, even as unity is of Briah; and it is a Briatic (Archangelic) level of guardianship that is warranted here. It is our view that, in writing The Star Ruby, Crowley did not delve deeply into the ancient meanings of these names but, rather, simply knew that he needed Greek names for this purpose and used what was at hand. Whatever beings are posted here must serve the same function as the Elemental Archangels in the Lesser Banishing Pentagram Ritual."
Ok, so we've established that Crowley basically just gave the elemental angels of the LBRP new names. But did he assign them to the same elements? When you compare the Star Ruby with Liber V vel Reguli you have to assume that Air and Earth have been switched.
Until I began looking at other peoples opinions of the Star Ruby I assumed that Iugges/Iynges = Earth and Daimones = Air.
Iynges seems to relate to a whirling force. In the Book of Thoth Crowley describes the element Earth in the same fashion in his discussion of the Ace of Disks. He also makes a connection between Sol and Terra that accounts for the placement of Earth in the East.Daimones, on the other hand, relates to spirits and thus air. Also the Greek gematria of Daimones = 380, the same value as the Greek for "Because". With it's connection to reason in the Book of the Law I figured it was a good Air correspondence.
But this assumes that there is a direct relationship between the Thelemic divine names, the Guardians and the elements. And that's what I'm unsure about. I suppose that the whirling force of Iynges could relate to Air/Aleph and Daimones to Earth but that would contradict the attributions of Liber V vel Reguli. Confused.
@Jim Eshelman said
"I'll try to give you more on the image-construction route over the weekend."
Any help with this ritual will be appreciated. Thank you.
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@Her said
"Ok, so we've established that Crowley basically just gave the elemental angels of the LBRP new names."
I wouldn't say that at all. I'd say that he needed other beings to serve the same function - Briatic guardians of the quarters - but that's not to say that they are the same beings. In fact, their flavor is quite different.
"But did he assign them to the same elements? When you compare the Star Ruby with Liber V vel Reguli you have to assume that Air and Earth have been switched."
First, I'm not at all convinced that they are related to any elements per se. I can argue that they are, but I think they better argument is that they aren't.
One reason is they remain the same in the two versions of The Star Ruby, even though the elemental attributions of the quarter change between the two versions.
The earliest version - from The Book of Lies - is the one I prefer and exclusively use, except when I have a special reason to use the other. It is based on the traditional Second Order or Macrocosmic arrangement, where the elements (corresponding to Chaos, Babalon, Eros, and Psyche) are Fire, Water, Air, Earth, beginning in the East and going counter-clockwise. Same as inside the vault in the G.D. Second Order tradition.
The later version, from MT&P - which I regard as the better choice for work by people at the First Order level - reverses the Elements. They are Earth, Air, Water, Fire couterclockwise from the East.
This variation makes the two versions have different formulae - too lengthy a subject for a forum discussion probably, and the subject of much of the original three-part article.
"But this assumes that there is a direct relationship between the Thelemic divine names, the Guardians and the elements."
Exactly! And I think that's a wrong assumption. Sunoches is in the South whether that is the Earth quarter where Psyche is invoked or the Fire quarter where Hadit is invoked.
Before I raced out the door, I uploaded some images you may want to see - these are paintings by artist Angela Wixtrom based on my descriptions. They originally appeared in Black Pearl, I:6 and are copyright College of Thelema and the artist, all rights reserved.
aumha.org/images/iugges.jpg
aumha.org/images/teletarchai.jpg
aumha.org/images/sunoches.jpg
aumha.org/images/daimonos.jpg -
@Jim Eshelman said
"First, I'm not at all convinced that they are related to any elements per se. I can argue that they are, but I think they better argument is that they aren't.
One reason is they remain the same in the two versions of The Star Ruby, even though the elemental attributions of the quarter change between the two versions."
I think I'm beginning to see what you are getting at.....almost.
I can see the reason behind your placement of the elements in regard to the Book of Lies version of the Star Ruby:
East - Roar - Lion - Fire
North - Scream - Eagle - Water
West - Say - Man - Air
South - Bellow - Bull - EarthThat makes it consistent with the attributions of the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram and thus is macrocosmic and relates to the Second Order. But that leaves me a little confused when I think about the MTP version. How exactly does Earth = East etc., etc., conform to the first order? (and also why the difference between the attributions of the LBRP, East = Air?
)Thanks for posting the images of the Guardians. I'm still no closer to figuring out their individual natures, but I think I can partially see how the images have been constructed from the letters of their names. The biggest clue was that three of the guardians names end with the letter Sigma (Shin) and are therfore shown standing amid flames. I think.
Thanks again.
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@Her said
"That makes it consistent with the attributions of the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram and thus is macrocosmic and relates to the Second Order."
BTW - to correct a common error - that is only the order used for the Hexagram ritual inside the vault. If you are outside the vault (or its equivalent), the Elements are to be deployed exactly the same as for the pentagram issue. - That information is AFAIK unpublished.
"But that leaves me a little confused when I think about the MTP version. How exactly does Earth = East etc., etc., conform to the first order? (and also why the difference between the attributions of the LBRP, East = Air?
)"I was too hasty and sloppy in my answer. It isn't the conventional First Order / Microcosmic pattern. I meant to say that the MT&P version of the Star Ruby appears to me to be a First Order version. The "why" is a long answer, but it has to do with the difference in how the whole flow of the ritual unfolds.
The difference between that and the usual Microcosmic pattern is really that they are simply different patterns. I suspect that the sequence of the Elements matters more than their location.
"Thanks for posting the images of the Guardians. I'm still no closer to figuring out their individual natures, but I think I can partially see how the images have been constructed from the letters of their names. The biggest clue was that three of the guardians names end with the letter Sigma (Shin) and are therfore shown standing amid flames. I think.
"You got it! There's a whole separate instruction for telesmatic images for Greek names, but you got the gist of it, which is to understand the Hebrew analogies.
As for their natures - I suggest building up the image, paying attention in the ritual, and just letting the feel of them sink in. I've leaned, for a decade or two, toward the idea that these are not attributed to any of the conventional categories of attribution - that, for example, they aren't elemental. In The Chaldean Oracles, three of them appear to be placed where we would expect the supernals, and their natures are pretty good for that - but I hesitate to attribute them too strongly for the purposes of this ritual. If I were to do so, it would be Iunges = Chokmah, Sunoches = Binah, Teletarchai = Kether (or Da'ath? I mean the Air in this), and Daimonos as a Malkuthish Earth. But - again - I'm not "sold" on this as the same category of attribution as we usually employ, and think it might be overly interpretive for the present ritual.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"In The Chaldean Oracles, three of them appear to be placed where we would expect the supernals, and their natures are pretty good for that - but I hesitate to attribute them too strongly for the purposes of this ritual. If I were to do so, it would be Iunges = Chokmah, Sunoches = Binah, Teletarchai = Kether (or Da'ath? I mean the Air in this), and Daimonos as a Malkuthish Earth. But - again - I'm not "sold" on this as the same category of attribution as we usually employ, and think it might be overly interpretive for the present ritual."
So would it be fair to say that Iunges, Sunoches, and Teletarchai loosely correspond with the alchemical principles of Sulphur, Salt, and Mercury respectively? And Daimonos is a kind of mixture or expression of the previous three combined?
Just out of interest, why do you use the spelling Daimonos instead of Daimones. I've noticed this difference of spelling in various published versions of the Star Ruby. The Book of Lies and the current version of MAGICK Book 4 (DuQuette also) use Daimones.
The old Symonds & Grant version of MAGICK has Daimonos, as does the different (odd?) version published by Regardie in Gems from the Equinox.
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@Her said
"So would it be fair to say that Iunges, Sunoches, and Teletarchai loosely correspond with the alchemical principles of Sulphur, Salt, and Mercury respectively?"
At like to think so, since that was originally my argument back in the '80s
"And Daimonos is a kind of mixture or expression of the previous three combined?"
It isn't listed in the Oracles as part of the set of three, so it's... something else, perhaps much as you described.
"Just out of interest, why do you use the spelling Daimonos instead of Daimones. I've noticed this difference of spelling in various published versions of the Star Ruby. The Book of Lies and the current version of MAGICK Book 4 (DuQuette also) use Daimones."
I don't have the article at hand (here at work) to examine. I think the one is a typo.
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Hi All,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
I'm really glad someone started this thread as I had no idea I needed it!
Thanks!
Also, Jim could you explain what the Black Pearl was/is? I assume it's a journal for ToT. Is it possible to obtain copies, etc?
Love is the law, love under will.
Thanks,
Y. S.
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I've been studying the images of the Star Ruby guardians that Jim kindly posted.
They seem fairly straight forward in construction, but Teletarchai is proving to be a little stubborn.I'm guessing that the two Tau's are represented by the black robe. And the two Epsilon's relate to the Star. The position of the figure balancing the two globes relates to the letter Lambda. Chi-rho is the labarum worn at the waist.
But I'm having trouble placing the two Alpha's and the final Iota.
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@Her said
"I've been studying the images of the Star Ruby guardians that Jim kindly posted.
They seem fairly straight forward in construction, but Teletarchai is proving to be a little stubborn. I'm guessing that the two Tau's are represented by the black robe."
Yes - black or indigo robe, and overall physique.
"And the two Epsilon's relate to the Star."
The second one does. The firstone applies to the face: human, humane, idealistic expression intended, etc.
"The position of the figure balancing the two globes relates to the letter Lambda."
Very good! Excellent catch. Yes, the figure's arms form the equilibrating shape of the letter Lambda itself.
"Chi-rho is the labarum worn at the waist."
You got half of it. The other half are the two globes equilibrated. Chi Rho are taken as analogous to Cheth (Cancer = Moon) and Resh (Sun), hence the Sun-Moon balance. Also, the belt is supposed to be golden colored, and the disk silver, but these didn't come out so clearly.
"But I'm having trouble placing the two Alpha's and the final Iota.
"The overall slenderness of the figure - main shape of the body etc. - plus the last one conjoins with the Iota to both infer the wings on the feet.
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Thanks Jim!
The image makes a lot more sense now. And it's nice to know that I was on the right track.@Jim Eshelman said
"The second one does. The first one applies to the face: human, humane, idealistic expression intended, etc."
Apart from the youthful, idealistic expression, is the apparent androgyny of the face intentional? I would guess so because of the whole theme of balance present in the image of Teletarchai.
I can also see now how Teletarchai combines the ideas of alchemical Mercury and the entire Middle Pillar. Very neat.
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Hi Everyone,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
I've now been doing the Star Ruby to begin my daily meditation(s) and/or other rituals/exercises since 3/01 and now I've got some questions. First though, I must comment on the fact that I've simply left understanding of the Beings at the Quarters until I got the ritual down such that I can do it smoothly and confidently and not just by rote. Also, since they're outside the circle I figure that's ok for now. The visual I have is of hooded beings, head slightly bowed, garbed in roughly the elemental colors with one up front and many others behind such that the first is an apex of a triangle. It 'feels' like they're waiting patiently. I've been concentrating on the Qabalistic Cross portion and getting the visualization of the white light in the column to be of cosmic proportions (ditto with the horizontal).
The first question needs a little background: Last year I started doing the LBRP on my own and had an interesting visualization. I found myself both standing in the sign of Osiris Slain as an adult male and concurrently, floating, at what would be about chest high, as a baby on my back. The 'space' is nearly completely black and, I guess, infinite, but also curiously enough the 'floor' is possibly obsidian and at the same time 'not existent'. Last week, during meditation (after the Star Ruby) I realized with a start that the Pentagrams and the Circle connecting them are orange (or the color of flames). Seems to me now that this could be 'someplace' like Tiphareth of Yesod in Assiah. I hardly care. However, this is where 'I am' during the Star Ruby. It's the most powerful 'visual' I've had since moving along this path of Magick and Yoga.
My first questions are this: Why orange? And. Is this OK for such a ritual?
Next: IAO. I've read so much material in the last two years and it's all just stuffed in my bodymind, but during the ritual a week or two ago(I'd have to check the exact date--no matter) I had a thought that it equates roughly to I. N. R. I. Now that I've written this I'll be able to remember to check.
Is this the case?
And: N.O.X.--I.O.P.A.N. are these signs being used to call PAN down through the Four Worlds?
That's what I'm feeling; so that's how I'm using them.
And lastly for this long post
: For many weeks I had been doing the Star Ruby at both the beginning and end of each session. For the past two days I said the hell with it, let the energies flow! It feels right. And I sure could use any positive influence right now 'cuz I'm looking some serious challenges straight in the face. Those affected outside of myself have been really quite understanding and have been over-the-top helpful during these critical days; so maybe it's helped.Ok, this is by far the longest post I've made. Thanks in advance. Everyone here has really added 'value' and 'depth' to this forum. Love and Respect to all.
Love is the law, love under will.
In L.V.X.,
Fr. Z. T.
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@Zo Telegraphema said
"My first questions are this: Why orange? And. Is this OK for such a ritual?"
I can't say for sure. Anything is an educated guess. As you say, it's a flame color. Orange, though, is also the color of Resh - that is, of the Sun as a planet (and the main presence of Sol on the Tree for those who haven't attained to Tiphereth). Maybe?
"Next: IAO. I've read so much material in the last two years and it's all just stuffed in my bodymind, but during the ritual a week or two ago(I'd have to check the exact date--no matter) I had a thought that it equates roughly to I. N. R. I. Now that I've written this I'll be able to remember to check.
Is this the case?"
As the "Analysis of the Keyword" section of the Hexagram Ritual shows, IAO is hidden in (and derivable from) the "key" of I.N.R.I.
"And: N.O.X.--I.O.P.A.N. are these signs being used to call PAN down through the Four Worlds? "
"Pan" means "all." This isn't a goat god per se - it's "The All."
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Heru wrote:
"That makes it consistent with the attributions of the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram and thus is macrocosmic and relates to the Second Order."JAE wrote:
"BTW - to correct a common error - that is only the order used for the Hexagram ritual inside the vault. If you are outside the vault (or its equivalent), the Elements are to be deployed exactly the same as for the pentagram issue. - That information is AFAIK unpublished."93,
I have a question about one small piece in this instructive thread.
Is the Macrocosmic elemental scheme mentioned above also applicable to the use of the Pentagram Rituals within the vault or on the astral plane similar to the Hexagram rituals as you mention above?93 93/93,
Howard -
@howardb said
"Is the Macrocosmic elemental scheme mentioned above also applicable to the use of the Pentagram Rituals within the vault or on the astral plane similar to the Hexagram rituals as you mention above?"
One form of the Supreme Ritual of the Pentagram does use the Macrocosmic directions, yes. It isn't commonly used - Pentagrams within the Vault (or Vault-equivalent space) are rare in and of themselves, the elemental forms being usually worked only below Tiphereth - but there are other ways to allocate them, of course.
From my personal work, I wrote a version of the Pentagram Ritual called the Phoenix Ritual of the Pentagram which is part of the T.'.O.'.T.'. 6° curriculum. It's based on a discovery concerning one common allocation of names to the Quarters which turns out to map to the Macrocosmic scheme.
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JAE wrote:
"One form of the Supreme Ritual of the Pentagram does use the Macrocosmic directions, yes. It isn't commonly used - Pentagrams within the Vault (or Vault-equivalent space) are rare in and of themselves, the elemental forms being usually worked only below Tiphereth - but there are other ways to allocate them, of course.Thanks for the feedback, this is quite instructive. In some of my research I have come across an instance where a version of the Watchtower Ceremony was performed in the Vault. In that case, they used the common directions for the elemental pentagrams.
So what of when working in the astral? Would one use the common directions for the elements. An example: I am in my temple space, seated facing east, I enter my body of light and perform a LBRP, would I follow the usual pattern in the LBRP?
93 93/93
Howard -
@howardb said
"So what of when working in the astral? Would one use the common directions for the elements. An example: I am in my temple space, seated facing east, I enter my body of light and perform a LBRP, would I follow the usual pattern in the LBRP?"
"Astral" - in its most common meaning - is Yetziratic. Also, Yetzirah and Assiah are generally intended by "microcosmic" in this type, whereas "macrocosmic" in this sort of conversation generally means Briatic. Yes, the microcosmic directions are those routinely used in classical astral work.
If, however, "astral" is used (as it sometimes is) to mean the entire nonphysical aspect of a being, then there are levels of this "astral" that are Briatic.