on the powers of the sphinx part2

bethata418

THELEMA

recently i have been looking in to the powers of the sphinx and over i guess the last few weeks i have been working on there meaning. and here is a little essay i wrote explaining them, i hope you all dont mind me posting it here, because i would love for people to tell me what they think, especially things they disagree with.

AGAPE

418

ON THE POWERS OF THE SPHINX

there has been little wrote about a obscure magickal formula known as "the powers of the sphinx."  it was 1st publicly published by the french magickal adept eliphas levi, he though either did not fully understand the formula or purposely kept it secret to try protect the formula.  a well known english magus who sometimes wrote under his magickal motto TO MEGA THERION, but know to the world as aleister crowley, wrote much more upon the subject than levi did before him.  crowley spent his whole life practicing and writing about magick and was not afraid to give to the world the magickal formulas and rituals that had been hidden in the past.  he was well known and well hated in some magickal circles for publishing the golden dawns rituals, though he felt he had the authority through a magickal book he received call liber AL, in how he is the prophet of the new aeon of horus.
it is generally seen that there are 4 different powers of the sphinx, "to will", "to know",  "to dare" and "to be slient", though crowley also wrote a little of a 5th power, which is "to go." it seems as if the powers would once mastered would become this 5th power, or some form of transmutation from the 4 powers to only 1.  it is stressed that the only way to understand the 4 powers of the sphinx was though balence, when working on the 4 powers of the sphinx the magician must be very carefully to devlop the powers equal, so to keep balence and not to build one power to high. the 4 powers of the sphinx build a pyrimad, and if the magician focuses on only 1 side of his pyrimad more than the other 3 powers that 1 wall yes will be tall, but without the support of the other 3 walls around it that 1 wall will just fall to the ground and crash.  that is why with the 4 powers of the sphinx there must be perfectly balence, or if not the walls will not form a pyrimid, and come together to a point at its crown to form our 5th power, "to go".  here is a  brakedown of each power to hopefully help you understand the mystical &amp; magickal powers of the sphinx, helping the magician to see them from a qabalist veiw,  seeing them in thelemic terms, through the TARO cards, and the mystical animals of the cherbuim.

"TO WILL"- which is also known as just "will" or even "duty", the word duty closely relates to the thelemic word for ones will which in qabalah equals 29 as does hadit, as does the eastern word "TAO" in the magick of the east. in the thelema formula of LLLL this 1st power would correspond to the word LIFE in that how you decide to live your life is basically your will. it is the cherbium beast the bull that most relates to this power of the sphinx, in that the bull is a symbol of energy and energy corresponds to fire, which is the element of this power also, therefore also putting "TO WILL" as the Yod in the formula YHVH or YHShVH. in this formula yod is the father and lies on the tree of life in the sephiroth CHOKMAH. the bull identifies with the TARO card the Heirophant which is the 5th trump card VAV which corresponds to this power of the sphinx, but also you can see its close link of this power in YOD the father to VAV the son which is the power "TO DARE". also the latin word of WILL is VELLE, and both words in qabalah gematria add to the number 76 as does the word male and OV the greek word for semen which also associates with the sephiroth CHOKMAH. the 1st power of the sphinx associates with the highest QABALAH world of atziluth, this is the level where the spark of an idea happens, the reason why the idea is formed.
"TO KNOW"- the 2nd power of the sphinx is "TO KNOW" which is also known as knowledge, or the greek word for it is scire which equals 295 as can the words SOPHIA and SPHINX. in the thelemic formula LLLL this power corresponds to liberty, in that liberty is found in the mind, and no where else can it be won but in the mind, even if we are talking about overcoming a horrible government through a physical means the 1st step of physical liberty can not be found till the mind is 1st at liberty to think as it will. the cherbium beast of this 2nd power of the beast is the MAN or also called the ANGEL, this beast doesnt use its physical energy nor physical strength nor its stealth & speed to win, instead it uses its mind to fight and win the battle. the hebrew letter corresponds Tzaddi whos value is 90, but when it comes to its corresponding taro card there possibly for some people maybe 2 different cards, or 1 for some people and a different card for others. this is all due to a verse in the book estblishing the aeon ov horus LIBER AL, according to it this power use to would have assosciated to the card :THE STAR but that has switched now to THE EMPORER the 4th trump, who is now tzaddi. in the qabalah thiss power of the sphinx would correspond to BINAH or the 1st HEH in YHVH and is the mother in that scale. the power of the sphinx of knowledge correspondes to the QABALAH world of briah, this is where an idea is first formed.
"TO DARE"- the 3rd power of the sphinx is "to dare" or courage, "to dare" adds up to 289 as well as the words VIRGO,HEART, and TRINC, and the word for courage in latin is audire. this power correspondes to the LLLL word LIGHT, and therefore also corresponding with the sun the source of all light & life which is in tiphareth. in the YHVH formula it is the 3rd letter vav, which is the SON of the father and mother, and it the element of AIR. tiphareth is the level of a adepts career when the adept experiences knowledge and conversation with their holy guardian angel, this is union with what some people consider as god, others as there personal angel. either way it represents union with there opposite, the adept is a human and unites with its opposite, which is something not human, something higher. for some tiphareth is also about sexual union between opposites, male & female, which correspondes very much to the sexual lion-headed serpent which looks like a sperm, which correspondes to the hebrew letter YOD. YOD is the letter that is seen to correspond to sperm, also corresponds to the 1st power ov the sphinx, "to will", and as has been explained both powers YOD & VAV relate to each other very very closely. this should be remembered the cherium beast that assocites with the 3rd power of the sphinx is the lion, who is in 777 is one of the animals of tiphareth. the hebrew letter of this power is teth, with means serpent or sometimes the lion-headed serpent, which correspondes to the astrological sign leo the lion. the power of courage best correspondes to the qabalistic world of yetzirah, the world of formation, where and idea is designed to be able to be put in use. it takes courage to test ideas and fail time after time until you are able to succeed and create what is needed.
"TO BE SILENT"- the 4th power of the sphinx is "to be silent" or silence, in latin it is the word tacere. in hebrew gematria "to be silent" equals 250 as the words kundalini, manifest, harlot. these 3 words relate to a female, manifest in that it is only the female who can manifest human life, though not with out the help of a mans yod/sperm. kundalini is a term used for a very high form of meditation that sometimes has to do with sex, harlot is a derogatory word for a sexual woman. the word silence adds up to 180 as the words "the mass" and malkuth, the 4th power of the sphinx relates to the high priestess in the gnostic mass. malkuth is the sephiroth this power assosiates with, also they both correspond to the final HEH in the YHVH qabalah formula, which is the daughter, of the MOTHER/HEH with the SON/VAV. the element associated here is earth, the cherbium beast is the eagle,serpent or dragon, which each of these have been alternated as the 4th cherbium. the TARO card corresponding here is the death card which is also the hebrew letter NUN for fish, the death card in the thoth deck the cherbium of this power can be seen. the last of the LLLLs in the thelemic formula is LOVE which corresponds to the power of silence, love is experienced in silence, the feeling that transends all words. in the levels of qabalah the power of silence relates to the level of assiah, which is the material level.

if looking at the powers of the sphinx through these correspondances you will see there is much wrote on the meaning of these different powers, though it is not always wrote about in the form of the sphinx. no matter if the powers of the sphinx is a ancient and very well guarded formula taught to only the high mystics and magicians, or a fairly new formula, it is a very powerful formula that much mystical &amp; magical power can come from if used and worked on in the correct way.  the adept should try to encorperate each of the 4 powers equally and correctly in his life, in order to gain and use the 5th power which is "TO GO", that is to go forth with his life and will. balence is the nature of the work with the sphinx, and all 4 powers must be used and balenced, if 1 power is forgot all is lost.  
the main current the powers of the sphinx works with is the current of this aeon, the aeon of horus, the current 93. this current 93 is the THELEMA-AGAPE current of WILL-LOVE , both of the greek words equal 93, and WILL is the 1st power of the sphinx and love is a variation of the 4th power of the sphinx "to be silent". the 1st letter of each of the powers of the sphinx, Will, Know, Dare, Silence, Go 6+20+4+60+3=93 when added up equal 93.  also 93 can be found if you add up each of the cherbium names first letter that correspond to the powers of the sphinx, that is Bull, Lion, Angel, Serpent 2+30+1+60=93 equal 93.  you can add up another variation of the cherbuim beasts names to lock into the current 93 by adding the 1st letters of each names: Bull, Lion, Man, Eagle 2+30+40+5=77 equal 77, which is 7x11. 7 is the number of venus which is the goddess of love, also there are 7 words in "love is the law love under will" which simplified is AGAPE, 11 is the number of magick and will through the 5(microcosm)+6(macrocosm)=11, also there are 11 words in the phrase "do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" which simplified is the word THELEMA. therefore 77 is the union of WILL with LOVE or THELEMA &amp; AGAPE. 
this current as said is the current of the new aeon of horus, which links to horus can directly be found in the powers o the sphinx. if you add up the 1st letter of each of the taro card trumps that correspond to each power of the sphinx: Heirophant,Lust,Emporer,Death 5+30+5+4=44 , as said in liber333 44 is a number of horus in that 4 is the number of chesed which is royalty and 11 the number of magick.  also if you multiply both female or Heh and final Heh powers correspondes to the TARO: the emporer by Lust 4x11=44, again the number of rahoorkhuit. the number 76 is the number will adds up to in both english and latin, this number can also be found when adding the first letters of a variation of the cherbium that correspond to the powers of the sphinx: Bull+Lion+Man+Dragon/2+30+40+4=76.  the word love adds up to 90, as does the 1st letter of each powers of the sphinx, Will+Know+Dare+Silence/6+20+4+60=90.  
the powers of the sphinx correspond with the Grand sigil of the Heirophant,  this is a vertical line crossed equally by 3 horizontal lines, on the tree of life the vertical line is made up of gimel and samekh then the horizontal lines are peh, teth, and daleth. the 3 horizontal lines equal 93 80+9+4=93, which the powers of the sphinx have a very soild connection to the 93 current as has been explained above. if you add the 2 vertical paths to the horizontal paths you get 3+60+93=156, the number of BABALON, on the powers of the sphinx if you add up the TARO cards: heirophant and lust (5+11=16) with the hebrew letters that correspond to the other 2 powers of the sphinx, tzaddi &amp; nun 90+50=140+16=156.
 the powers of the sphinx also correspond directly to each path in the grand sigil of the heirophant. the 1st power "to will" corresponds to the path of PEH, in that peh is firey will, also peh corresponds to mars which is the highest male force, the power to will is fire, also yod the highest male correspondance in the YHVH formula. the next power is "to know" which is HEH the mother on the YHVH scale, this corresponds to gimel on the grand sigil of the heirophant. this is due to a few reasons, the taro card gimel corresponds to is the preistess who in the mass is the level of HEH. this path goes from tiphareth to kether and goes through the sephiroth DAATH which is knowledge, which is this power of the sphinx, 'TO KNOW."  the next power is "TO DARE"  which correspondes  to teth which associates to the taro card lust &amp; astro sign of leo. the lion has always been seen as a animal of courage, even in the movie the wizard of oz, there was talk about how the lion was spose to be a couragous animal.  also lust itself can be, to dare and to go past the fear of rejection.  the power "to be silent" corresponds to the path of daleth on the grand sigil of the heirophant, this path is of venus the god of love. the power of silence is the nature of love, it is beyond all words even though we try to put it in words we really can not. as said before silence is LOVE in the LLLL thelemic formula and therefore a directly to daleth.  the last power of the sphinx is "TO GO" this relates to the path of samekh, which corresponds to the taro card ART and the astrological sign sagittarius. art is of the mixing of the 4 elements which is exactly what the power "to go" is, the building up of the 4 powers of the sphinx into a pyrimad, when that is done there is the 5th power TO GO. the astrological sign sagitarrius is of a goat-man or baphomet shooing an arrow into the sky, the baphomet is the union of male and female or opposites the arrow is them shooting up the tree of life.

jmiller

Thanks for posting this. I have just recently taken an interest in this topic. I have a print out of the other thread you started, but haven't taken the time to read it thoroughly yet. So I will definitely come back to this essay after I have done so.

I can't yet comment on the content of what you wrote, but I do have a few general things to point out. I figure I'll do so publicly in case they prompt response from others here.

You kept writing Yod for To Dare. I think you meant Vau.
You start out writing with the assumption that the reader knows very little about magic, including not knowing about Levi or Crowley. But then you assume that reader actually has a bit of knowledge about gematria and Thelema when you discuss the gematria of each of power. You should make this consistent, one way or the other, when you edit this further.
I didn't really follow your attributions of the Kerubs. Perhaps this just indicates various levels of subtelty for each power or my own misunderstanding of the Kerubs, but none of the Kerubs match up with the letter of the Tetragrammaton to which I think we traditionally attribute them. Y=Aryeh/Lion, H=Nesher/Eagle, V=Adam/Man, H=Shor/Bull. I may, however, have inappropriately extended these correspondances. I understand these Kerubs as the representatives or mediators of the 4 elemental powers of the Tetragrammaton within Assiah, which, in some ways, attributes all 4 of them to Malkuth. However, the Kerubim also serve as the angelic choir of Yesod. Hmph... Nothing clear cut there, I suppose.

bethata418

THELEMA

thank you for your reply, i did edit and fix where i wrote yod instead of vav, thanks for telling me.

your also completley right about my little history on the powers of the sphinx, i havent even read over this yet, which is bad i know so i am sure there may be some bad writing in there.

on how i matched up the beast to the powers was from what crowley said they were in liber aleph, so thats how he said they matched up.

agape
418

jmiller

Some thoughts on the Kerubic/Zodiacal attributions.

Crowley, at least in Liber Aleph, uses the same attributions as Levi, at least in History of Magig. But others have attributed them like this (Crowley/Levi in parentheses):

To Know: Aquarius (Aquarius)
To Dare: Scorpio (Leo)
To Will: Leo (Taurus)
To be Silent: Taurus (Scorpio)

It seems that, by drawing on the zodica lore/meaning/whatever, that we might come up with some different understandings of the 4 powers by switching the attributes around.

(Keep in mind that I still have quite far to go in developing my intellectual and intuitive understandings of the zodiac) For example, Will seems more like will in the lower-case sense, in the sense of will power, or in Levi's sense of will with regard to magic when we understand will through Leo. Leo's exert their will in the world to organize others to create the world they want around them. But Will seems more like True Will - the Hiden Will - when understood through Taurus. The Hidden Will, the "Marvelous Seed of the Stars" (Prayer of the Gnomes, Levi) remains hidden within the earth (Taurus). I can't really explain the relationship between Taurus and the True Will better intellectually. I grasp it more intuitively, or, if you prefer, half-assed.

Another quick thought... Perhaps To Dare relates better to the scorpion (the transformer?) of Scorpio, while Silence ("the silence of the end") relates better to the eagle (the transformed?) of Scorpio.

Getting to the point, it seems useful to switch these things around to get other perspectives on them.

[Edit: Never mind, it seems Jim already talked about doing this in another thread on the Powers. heruraha.net/viewtopic.php?t=143]