August 15 (Spirit) Liber LXV, Cap. V, v. 8
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8. Thou hast come hither, O my prophet, through grave paths. Thou hast eaten of the dung of the Abominable Ones; thou hast prostrated thyself before the Goat and the Crocodile; the evil men have made thee a plaything; thou hast wandered as a painted harlot, ravishing with sweet scent and Chinese colouring, in the streets; thou hast darkened thine eyepits with Kohl; thou hast tinted thy lips with vermilion; thou hast plastered thy cheeks with ivory enamels. Thou hast played the wanton in every gate and by-way of the great city. The men of the city have lusted after thee to abuse thee and to beat thee. They have mouthed the golden spangles of fine dust wherewith thou didst bedeck thine hair; they have scourged the painted flesh of thee with their whips; thou hast suffered unspeakable things.
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Yeah, a fairly long verse. I imagine this as the story of the Initiate travelling through the paths of the Tree of Life in aspiration of the "higher". For now, they appear grave, possibly due to imbalance, due to lack of knowledge, etc. It is the "outermost" that travels and is forged so that communication with the "innermost" may come to fruition. Ordeals are the trials by fire that confront the hero on the journey. Our relationship to what confronts us is based on the current perspective we hold and many times it appears like being tossed by life as its plaything. This occurs to our personality until the end I'm sure, but there are planes of consciousness reached where an understanding of the necessity of "all things" is held as all things are a part of and inseparable from the One thing.
In some ways I can read this verse and, if shame doesn't spoil it, whip up a frenzy of giving in to Life, accepting all consequences as results of dedication to the path, and take pleasure even in the pain and apparent ugliness of life. Speaks to me a bit too in a slightly sadistic way, which I enjoy with humor.
