Thelemic Names of Power
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Have been wrestling with this for quite some time; Babalon & Therion: Are they titles/functions that the aspirant strives to become or fulfill, or are they considered bonafide names of power? I realize that Babalon and Therion are representative of Nuit and Hadit on a different arc, but something just does not seem right about using those names in the same way as other names that are mentioned in Class A documents. It is almost like the way to Hadit should be to fufill the office of Therion, and the way to Nuit is to fulfill the office of Babalon. Any thoughts?
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@Fr.211 said
"Babalon & Therion: Are they titles/functions that the aspirant strives to become or fulfill, or are they considered bonafide names of power?"
Excellent question, since there are references that could suggest either p.o.v.
The Beast (Greek: Therion) and the Scarlet Woman are sublime beings / forces / archetypes (one might say "demi-gods," etc. - to me, they seem clearly Briatic / archetypal, on the same plane as archangels). There are clear examples of human beings being avatars or incarnations of them, e.g., Crowley being an avatar of The Beast. This makes it seem like a title attained, but I think that's misleading - it's more like a god subsumed into a human incarnation.
Babalon, in contrast, is always represented as a goddess.
PS - Great number!
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@Jim Eshelman said
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@Fr.211 said
"Babalon & Therion: Are they titles/functions that the aspirant strives to become or fulfill, or are they considered bonafide names of power?"Excellent question, since there are references that could suggest either p.o.v.
The Beast (Greek: Therion) and the Scarlet Woman are sublime beings / forces / archetypes (one might say "demi-gods," etc. - to me, they seem clearly Briatic / archetypal, on the same plane as archangels). There are clear examples of human beings being avatars or incarnations of them, e.g., Crowley being an avatar of The Beast. This makes it seem like a title attained, but I think that's misleading - it's more like a god subsumed into a human incarnation.
Babalon, in contrast, is always represented as a goddess.
PS - Great number!"
I think we should redo that old saying about a hammer & nails into: To a person with a Tree of Life in hand, every problem looks like a Sephirah (or Plane, in this case).
IAO131
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@Jim Eshelman said
"Babalon, in contrast, is always represented as a goddess."
Does this imply that Parsons Babalon working and the subsequent behavior, activities and revelations of Marjorie Cameron were not incarnating Babalon in human form? (Obviously, this question addresses your personal views, as I doubt if there is any empirical evidence one way or the other.)
If you're unfamiliar with the details regarding Ms. Cameron, last I looked Wikipedia had a fairly in depth article on her, and the piece on her in Disinfo's Book of Lies is decent, if a little overstated.
I'm not asking to start an argument, but only to offer a different perspective. Varying perspectives hold different forms of truth, each a falsehood on one plane, a truth on another, yet a facet of the total question.
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@MaKher said
"Does this imply that Parsons Babalon working and the subsequent behavior, activities and revelations of Marjorie Cameron were not incarnating Babalon in human form? (Obviously, this question addresses your personal views, as I doubt if there is any empirical evidence one way or the other.)"
I had no specific intention in that regard either way.
But, the closest one could come to "yes" would be that she (or anyone else) was an avatar of the goddess. That is, she was not Babalon, regardless of how much Babalon was in her.
"If you're unfamiliar with the details regarding Ms. Cameron"
FWIW I knew Cameron and was extremely fond of her, and had the chance to hear many of her stories and explanations in person.
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I thought you might have known her, or at least have been well-acquainted. I posted the reference to other sources of data largely for the benefit of others who may not have such a wide retinue of first hand experience with Thelemic history.
That said, and my prior post raising this issue, I'd put forward the following as my thoughts on the God or Office issue. I agree entirely with Mr. Eshelman, as I understand his remarks. First and foremost, the names of Therion and Babalon are Divine Names in Thelema. By invocation of corresponding energies, men and women may incarnate these energies in life, becoming avatars, though that is a great deal more involved than my simplification of the process would suggest.
Therion and Babalon, however, are not bound up with the karma, mortality, or any other aspect of any one human being. They exist both outside and within all of us.
There may be some hint regarding this in Crowley's description of the 9=2, wherein one will proclaim the Law of his Aeon, and others may attain to 9=2, within that Aeon, but their Words will support and reflect his.
(Having no claim on 9=2, nor knowing anyone who does, I make no pretense that this is anything beyond idle speculation.) -
To me, Therion and Babalon are ideal states for men and women of the New Aeon. Nuit and Hadit are expressions of an eternal truth, expressed the way that they are in Liber Al to make this eternal truth Aeon specific, but nevertheless eternal truths. The basic relationship between the point and the circle did not come into being in 1904, it was always there, but Therion and Babalon have replaced the Martyr and the Virgin as the ideal human states of being. Invoking them by name brings to us that new energy, invoking Nuit and Hadit places ourselves within whatever working we are doing in relationship to the macrocosm.