Star Sapphire Question
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@Miles said
"How exactly does one trace the Holy Hexagram?
My only idea is that you start at the top, going down-right, and trace the unicursal one for each direction. Am I right?"I know that Lon (and perhaps others) have made a big deal out of the fact that "holy hexagram" is the exact language Crowley used in The Book of Lies, and therefore (in the Star Sapphire, which also was first published in The Book of Lies) it must be referring to this specifically.
I don't think this is so "jargony" a "code phrase." There is room for a lot of user interpretation and variation in 36, but here is a brief excerpt from a chapter on The Star Sapphire that I'm working on for my next book. (BTW, if your interpretation is that it's the unicursal hexagram, then the answer is simple: To invoke the Sun, start at the top point and move first to the lower right clockwise - to banish, start at the top and move to the lower left, counterclockwise. The solar point of the unicursal hexagram top point. By going in this sequence, the invoking hits all the masculine octaves, then balances them with the feminine: You hit the points in the sequence Sun, Fire, Air, then Moon, Water, Earth - before returning to close the loop at the top.)
Anyway, here's the short excerpt.
First, a footnote where "Holy Hexagram" is first given in the ritual text:
"Some writers have sought a distinctive meaning for the words “Holy Hexagram,” and believe it was an intentional reference to Crowley’s usage in Chapter 69 of The Book of Lies (the book in which The Star Sapphire also was first published). That chapter does have valuable symbolism concerning the hexagram in general; but the phrase “Holy Hexagram” is, itself, a standard phrase from traditional Golden Dawn usage. There is nothing unusual here to distinguish."
The text continues:
"Moving from the center out to the circumference, advance to the eastern point of your circle. Trace, directly before you, the invoking hexagram of Earth in golden light. The Unicursal Hexagram, or “Hexagram of the Beast,” is not used in this ritual; that is, it is not what the ritual itself calls for.* Simple inspection of The Star Sapphire shows that at each quarter two principles – two elements – are so combined that their alchemical glyphs form the classic two-triangle Earth hexagram, [shown]. In the east, these are Father and Mother (Fire and Water); in the south, Mother and Son (Water and Air); and so forth. In this first quarter, therefore, the [Earth hexagram] is formed by fusion of the triangles [Fire triangle] and [Water triangle].
- FOOTNOTE: On the other hand, usage can evolve (or at least vary) over time with a particular magician. For example, during my own use of The Star Sapphire as part of my Adeptus Minor work, the hexagrams (after a few weeks) transformed unbidden into golden unicursal hexagrams with five-petaled ruby roses at their centers. When this occurred, the entire adytum typically was bathed with sun-light, as if it were streaming through four windows. This likely was a consequence of the specific operation, and of the stage it had reached (where the linkage to the Holy Guardian Angel was more a sinuous intertwining, rather than the coming together of two distinctive parts). "
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Aha! The mystery of the hexagram is solved, then. My next question involves the complications of the movements after returning to the center. It says to make the Rosy Cross. This was my idea: Facing East, from the center, trace a line top to bottom, then left to right (to form a cross), then trace (from the middle of the right arm of the cross) a circle, then point through the center and pronounce Jehoschua. Please correct me if I'm wrong; I'm this ritual to be as perfect as possible. Then, I'm guessing, while making the signs of Earth (Set fighting) and X (Attitude of Baphomet), to pronounce Ararita 3 times. Now, two things: 1. What is the Sacrament? And do I eat it, or does Set eat it? and 2. How likely is Set to appear? I'm too excited to wait ^_^
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@Miles said
"My next question involves the complications of the movements after returning to the center. It says to make the Rosy Cross. This was my idea..."
It says (going from memory) "as he may know how." Though recommendations could be given, it is ultimately a personal mystery. - In any case, the action isn't as important as the inner work: Link to the HGA.
PS - FWIW, AC did not have Yeheshua in mind.
"Then, I'm guessing, while making the signs of Earth (Set fighting) and X (Attitude of Baphomet)"
"Set Fighting" is not the sign intended. But yes, you got the next part right: ARARITA thrice with the three gestures (of making the RC, Set, and Baphomet).
"What is the Sacrament?"
The intimacy of the union.
"And do I eat it, or does Set eat it?"
What does the ritual say? (It's very explicit.)
"How likely is Set to appear?"
I suppose that depends on your readiness. Anyone that is, say, A.'. A.'. 2=9 or better stands an excellent chance.
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@Miles said
"What is the sign intended, then?
And what's the Sacrament??"I'm not going to tell you what you can find from doing the ritual. (What I say would make no sense.) - Oh, if you're thinking that it's a physical thing you need to prepare for the ritual, it's not.
The sign is the same as the Sign of Typhon & Apophis.
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@Miles said
"It's not?? Damnit, again.
Come on, try me. If I don't understand at first, at least I'll have something to study until I do (LXV, for example)"No. It's something you have to discover in doing the ritual. It's the specific RESULT.
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@Miles said
"BTW, lemme get this straight; trace invoking Hexagram of Earth in all directions?"
Yes.
Here is an excerpt from the chapter I mentioned previously (following several pages discussing the nature of Set per se):
"Also shall Set appear in the Circle. Let him drink of the Sacrament and let him communicate the same.)”
...Primarily, this simply refers to the successful invocation. The “Sacrament” mentioned is that Elixir (not of any earthly substance) that is the exquisite essence of the magician’s union with this invoked Presence: a fermentation of the magician’s soul that is both “drunk” and “communicated,” i.e., shared between the magician and the God. -
@Miles said
"One more thing: Which is preferable in the beginning, the LVX signs or the NOX signs?"
“In the centre, let him give the L.V.X. signs or if he know them, if he will and dare do them, and can keep silent about them, the signs of N.O.X. being the signs of Puer, Vir, Puella, Mulier. Omit the sign I.R.”
The criteria for this decision are given in the text.
I personally recommend people who haven't even the K&C of the HGA use the L.V.X. signs; but I stand by the criteria sdtated in the ritual itself.
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I never understood the meaning and then one day, poof! It came to me, the little helpful voice. Read the ritual as if you were not trying to follow it step-by-step but as if you were reading poetry andthen approach it. There are more in these words, than you would think at first glance. BTW you seem like you get your hands dirty so to speak alot, that's good. Laziness can be a problem, you seem like a go getter. I think that's a virtue, but it can be a bane as well. Finding the balance between reading the ritual and saying to yourself "Step one, ok I'll do this motion and then.." sometimes can cause problems, ONLY in my opinion one should while practicing just take time to read it as if it were veiled in symbolism, then try it again.
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@Miles said
"It might help if, rather than giving mysterious cues and suggesting ways of looking at it, how about just give a pretty detailed, literal way of performing it so there's less confusion and more progress."
It's not about being "mysterious" than being the guy that ruins the end of a good film for everyone else.
It's an AHA! moment, that we all develop naturally as we grow. I like leaving clues, because being more
direct ruins it. That's my opinion, I'm sure there are those who disagree. -
@Miles said
"It might help if, rather than giving mysterious cues and suggesting ways of looking at it, how about just give a pretty detailed, literal way of performing it so there's less confusion and more progress."
Because you can teach someone how to select the best espresso machine, which beans to blend, how to judge the grind, but there's no judging for them their preference of crema and exactly how to tamp in order to get that desired result - even if the desired result is to duplicate someone else, there's just no direct way to teach the tamp. Only practice.
