6 July (Water) Liber LXV, 3:57-59
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57. How shall I answer the foolish man? In no way shall he come to the Identity of Thee!
Opaque—foolish in this context is the opposite of wisdom. So, be wise—here follows a doctrine of the thirty two paths of wisdom— the ladder that one climbs, even to the crown.
58. But I am the Fool that heedeth not the Play of the Magician. Me doth the Woman of the Mysteries instruct in vain; I have burst the bonds of Love and of Power and of Worship.
The speaker identifies himself with the last approach to the crown, the eleventh path. The bonds are the three horizontal paths: Love = Daleth/Venus/Empress/Fourteenth; Power = Teth/Leo/Lust/Nineteenth; Worship = Peh/Mars/The House of God/Twenty-seventh.
Three horizons, or practical steps? The three schools of student, adept, and master...
59. Therefore is the Eagle made one with the Man, and the gallows of infamy dance with the fruit of the just.
Water is identified with Air—the two Kerubs betraying their natural sympathies with the mind—one is passive the other active. By identifying them each is transformed; being middle ground, so to speak, the image in the mind loses its willfulness and is the same as the reflected glory of spiritual truth. Reductio: intuition and thought are simultaneous and identical; or more simply, the ceasing of the transformations of the mind-stuff.
The result of this identification is the transformation of the apparent opposites, life and death, high and low, infamous and just are all just two sides of the same coin—a dance.
Love and Will
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@RobertAllen said
"58. But I am the Fool that heedeth not the Play of the Magician. Me doth the Woman of the Mysteries instruct in vain; I have burst the bonds of Love and of Power and of Worship.
The speaker identifies himself with the last approach to the crown, the eleventh path. The bonds are the three horizontal paths: Love = Daleth/Venus/Empress/Fourteenth; Power = Teth/Leo/Lust/Nineteenth; Worship = Peh/Mars/The House of God/Twenty-seventh."
Interesting hit. To add a technical note (without trying to interfere with "what you got"), I'm pretty sure the intent here is to continue through the Tarot in numerical order: Fool, Magus, Priestess, and then Empress, Emperor, Hierophant.
"59. Therefore is the Eagle made one with the Man, and the gallows of infamy dance with the fruit of the just."
This one has always been more obscure to me. But "gallows of infamy" and "fruit of the just" infer the adjacent paths of Mem and Lamed. (That seems clear enough.) Their mirror reflection on the opposite side would be Kaph (Jupiter, whose bird is the eagle) and The Hermit.
This feels a stretch - that is, lacks a ring of certainty. But I toss it here for what it's worth.
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"59. Therefore is the Eagle made one with the Man, and the gallows of infamy dance with the fruit of the just."
Perhaps:
We saw the Eagle before:
"31. Then came an eagle from the abyss of glory and overshadowed him. So black was the shadow that he was no more visible."
In this case (according to Crowley's comment):
"The Eagle symbolizes the influence of the Father of the Gods, also the highest form of Magical Life, and the Lordship of Air, i.e., power to rule the world of thoughts. This overshadows him so as to conceal his personality from sight."
Instead of overshadowing and remaining separate, here we have a direct identification with the Eagle (as the Man). Based on Crowley's writings - I would assume this to function similar to gaining a Super Phallus - and that's how I interpret the 2nd part of this line: "the gallows of infamy dance with the fruit of the just." (ie. my ballsack is full of Power/Ecstasy/Righteousness - to be a bit crude about the metaphor) - but I see the tarot imagery too:
"The gallows is found in Atu XII (Mem, 40, Water [Cf verse 55]), and on it is suspended, free from earth, the joyously moving ('dance') form of the extended or manifested man (Atu VIII, Lamed, 30, Libra: the positive or expressed form of Atu 0, (Aleph, 0, Air); (Aleph and Lamed the Key of CCXX)."
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This is what I was kicking around...
"the gallows of infamy"
That which is most easily accused of killing capriciously
"dance"
finds the protected and legal pleasure of its purpose
"with the fruit of the just"
in executing the judgments of righteousness.
I guess it's kind of sick sounding, but it strikes of the very agreement of Reality and the elements to me, symbolically speaking, that is.
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alternately, the gallows that infamy itself is/are...,
eh, either way, it's still pretty f'ed up.
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"the gallows of infamy"
Change, feared and loathed and damned and called Death.
"dance"
Dances
"with the fruit of the just"
To the Judgments of Adonai.
That was for all those I probably made vomit with the first one.
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When we get to a certain point (a few meditations ago, for this chapter) I feel like I've been dropped off at the side of the road while the car speeds down the highway into the distance. I can hear the car; I know it's going somewhere that I'm sure is nice. But I'm still on the side of the road, and no longer having the visceral reaction that I have to the earlier verses.
My guess is that it's just starting to get too far beyond my current stage of development.
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There's a new element / chapter starting in a few days. Good time to hop back on the running boards!
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57. How shall I answer the foolish man? In no way shall he come to the Identity of Thee!
What words are sufficient to convey this perspective to the foolish man? Perhaps he shall gain this perspective but it won't be by his actions or by words but instead by the way that is 'no way'? He shall attain Thee at the end of his desire and Thou shall bring him.
58. But I am the Fool that heedeth not the Play of the Magician. Me doth the Woman of the Mysteries instruct in vain; I have burst the bonds of Love and of Power and of Worship.
Perspective of Kether as already pointed out. Gone are my former attachments of love, power and worship and the result of being free from these results in v59.
59. Therefore is the Eagle made one with the Man, and the gallows of infamy dance with the fruit of the just.
From this high perspective (v 58) what difference is there between any persons no matter how opposite they seem? What difference is there between a tax collector and a pharisee or between Hitler and Gandhi -none whatsoever. More rivers of running water have been passed by, no longer do I feel the need to 'resist evil' or praise the lofty for these are a part of Thee and also me.
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" 57. How shall I answer the foolish man? In no way shall he come to the Identity of Thee! "
A foolish man really will not want the answer, if given the answer he will betray it because of his misunderstanding.
" 58. But I am the Fool that heedeth not the Play of the Magician. Me doth the Woman of the Mysteries instruct in vain; I have burst the bonds of Love and of Power and of Worship. "
This sounds like I am in the play not heeding what I am to do in the play. Then the woman of mysteries instructs me at each part because I am not heeding, but I do not understand her so I betray her too.
" 59. Therefore is the Eagle made one with the Man, and the gallows of infamy dance with the fruit of the just. "
Therefore the spirit is made one with man as death dances with life and are one.