The Order of the S. S.

[Frater Pramudita]

In the Ciceros' "Self-Initiation to the Golden Dawn" they write that,

"The Third Order consists of the grades from Magister Templi to Ipsissimus. These grades are not attained by living initiates; therefore we need not discuss them here."

Obviously these are Golden Dawn standards, but can I get clarification on the AA perspective on the topic of achievability of these posts during one's physical incarnation on this plane?

[Jim Eshelman]

The A.'.A.'. regards them as attainable.

See One Star in Sight for a discussion of this:
ordoaa.org/onestar.htm

Crowley attained each of these grades in turn. He wrote extensively about eight individuals known to have attained 9=2 over the course of history. There were several people who attained 8=3 in the early decades of the A.'.A.'..

[Ophion280]

But still not attained by living initiates!

Liber Cheth

"1. This is the secret of the Holy Graal, that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother of Abominations, the bride of Chaos, that rideth upon our Lord the Beast.

2. Thou shalt drain out thy blood that is thy life into the golden cup of her fornication.

3. Thou shalt mingle thy life with the universal life. Thou shalt keep not back one drop.

4. Then shall thy brain be dumb, and thy heart beat no more, and all thy life shall go from thee; and thou shalt be cast out upon the midden, and the birds of the air shall feast upon thy flesh, and thy bones shall whiten in the sun.

5. Then shall the winds gather themselves together, and bear thee up as it were a little heap of dust in a sheet that hath four corners, and they shall give it unto the guardians of the abyss.

6.** And because there is no life therein**, the guardians of the abyss shall bid the angels of the winds pass by. And the angels shall lay thy dust in the City of the Pyramids, and the name thereof shall be no more
"

[Jim Eshelman]

That's an application of symantics that would be misleading in the context of the original question IMHO.

[sethur]

Agreed, Liber Cheth needs an initiated understanding, literal interpretation will get you nowhere, especially if you don't have a midden handy (for those who don't know, it's an outdoor rubbish heap/trashpile.