What is the spiritual purpose of therion and babalon?
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Maybe start with reading the Class A Liber Cheth, which might also be helpful in connecting some related terms like Babalon/The Scarlet Woman and The Beast (Therion)/Chaos. Liber CDXVIII, "The Vision and the Voice" might be the most in depth discussion of these matters, but isn't exactly an easy read. Some of the material inThe book of Thoth is also helpful--the commentaries on the Lust Trump and the Ace of Discs come to mind.
For first hand experience you might try Liber V vel Reguli to start off with. Worked well for me.
Parts of Liber XV, "The Gnostic Mass" might shed some light here, too. Here's an excerpt from the Creed:
" I believe in one secret and ineffable LORD; and in one Star in the Company of Stars of whose fire we are created, and to which we shall return; and in one Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, in His name CHAOS, the sole viceregent of the Sun upon the Earth; and in one Air the nourisher of all that breathes.
And I believe in one Earth, the Mother of us all, and in one Womb wherein all men are begotten, and wherein they shall rest, Mystery of Mystery, in Her name BABALON."
I assume you've already read the Book of the Law, but that has some important things to say on this topic as well.
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@Vadox said
"Qestion is that. Also how to start working with both of them?"
They are slightly lower octaves of Nuit and Hadit, respectively. Nuit and Hadit are such abstract extremes (e.g., the infinite and infinitessimal) that they are inaccessible for most people. (Liber Legis, as I read it, implies they are inaccessible except to those who have attained to the Knowledge & Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, and I wouldn't argue with that.) But Babalon (= Scarlet Woman) and Therion are more within reach.
They are, then, the root Thelemic archetypes of Binah and Chokmah, the Thelemic interpretations of the Great Mother and Great Father archetypes, the cosmic Moon and Sun, and all other such polarities.
How to begin working with them? Well, there are a few rituals where their names appear. I think, though, the best way to let them start seeping into your soul so that you know them more from the inside out is to study (long and deeply) The Vision & the Voice which is the set of visions wherein Babalon made herself progressively known to Crowley. In a sense, the entire set of visions is an unfolding of Babalon - both by their tone and their content. You may find that my own book, Visions & Voices, helps with this, both because of the extensive analysis and explanation, and because it recommends a specific technique for using the book as a specie of initiation into these subjects.
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IMHO May i suggest Nuit and Hadit can be seen as macrocosmic- Therion and Babylon as micocosmic. Objective and Subjective.
Therion to me is that part of me that craves Knowledge, that part of me that eats knowledge- it never ceases to absorb experiences, magickal as well as practical.
Babylon is that part of me that is open to the universe and nurters that which is within me. Feeds, grows, protects. When Therion eats- Babylon holds knowledge within her womb. (To keep silence?). When have knowledge- I keep in close to me.
Obviously both work together.
Q
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"What is the spiritual purpose of therion and babalon?"
In my opinion, their purpose is to speak symbolically to your deep self about the most primitive aspects of the Life Power.
That which we tend to reject in the universe as too "beastly" (Therion) or as too "whorish" (Babylon) must be understood in terms of their pre-moral, universal functions in creating and maintaining the Divine manifestation of the universe.
I have responded in psychological terms to the spiritual aspect of your question. However, please don't assume that you won't experience these two in very spiritually real ways.
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@Bereshith said
"That which we tend to reject in the universe as too "beastly" (Therion) or as too "whorish" (Babylon) must be understood in terms of their pre-moral, universal functions in creating and maintaining the Divine manifestation of the universe.
I have responded in psychological terms to the spiritual aspect of your question. However, please don't assume that you won't experience these two in very spiritually real ways."
I like that last paragraph a lot: Yes, this would be a (lower, outer, preliminary) psychological use for them, purely at the personality level.
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@Jim Eshelman said
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@Q789 said
"IMHO May i suggest Nuit and Hadit can be seen as macrocosmic- Therion and Babylon as micocosmic. Objective and Subjective.""Microcosm" would mean "inherent in the human constitution." Is that what you meant?"
Wouldn't that imply that Nuit and Hadit aren't inherent in the human constitution? Isn't Hadit the "flame that burns in every heart of man"? Crowley talks about Hadit as the "ubiquitous point of view", which sounds to me like he's claiming that Hadit is subjectivity qua subjectivity. It makes sense to me to say that Therion and Babalon are closer to the human, since they're lower down on the tree and thus more accessible as Jim already mentioned, but I don't think that's the microcosm/macrocosm distinction, especially because Chockmah and Binah are above Zeir Anpin. And Nuit is even above Arich Anpin...
@Q789 said"Therion to me is that part of me that craves Knowledge, that part of me that eats knowledge- it never ceases to absorb experiences, magical as well as practical.
Babylon is that part of me that is open to the universe and nurters that which is within me. Feeds, grows, protects. When Therion eats- Babylon holds knowledge within her womb. (To keep silence?). When have knowledge- I keep in close to me. "
Therion and Babalon as Chockmah and Binah are beyond knowledge (Da'ath). -
On knowledge vs. Desire - That's understandably a PERSONALITY expression. The root end of the pillars in the sense of God reflected from Chokhmah, and Netzach reflected from Binah.
It plays to the simplistic (i.e. personality-defending) idea that Crowley was all about intellect and his partners were all about lust.
Decades ago, a two friends sent a Christmas card playing to sitcom stereotypes of the genders: They signed themselves Theory-on and Babble-on.
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Yes, Microcosm would mean in the human condition.
In regards to Zeir Anpin and Arich Anpin- insin't Micro and Macro prosopous basically the same as Micro and Macro cosmos?
After reading your comments i think i should expand my understanding of Babylon/Therion in terms of the sexual drive and its role in magick.
I think you will find that one experiences the Supernal triad through the lens of Daath. I have had this experience several times. I think also you can see them in two ways.
Does anyone, keep that inner light close to your heart- keep that inner self secret, feeding it like a mother does a child, letting it grow- well that is the act of Babylon. I do belief the Hermit does this.Q