College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

Lastly, at one time (same day, different event) he records:

"It would be easy enough to form a magical Image of Adonai: and He would doubtless inform it. But it would only be an Image."

"
Is he talking about forming an image of "Adonai" in the same manner as he did while practicing Dharana by imagining Eckenstein?"

Look for Telesmatic images.

Often in western systems, a great deal of emphasis is placed on mystically interpreting and even receiving unique keywords; magical words or phrases, sometimes names. Using telesmatic images is a common practice used to transform random letter strings / names into anthropomorphic beings, for use in devotional visualization similar in concept to personalized Tibetan Yiddams.

www.golden-dawn.org/gd_fr12.htm

Ave Amicus de Lux!,

Thanks for the coffee break chat. Great fun and a super-available topic.

It seems my use of English befuddles you, allow me to clarify;IMO the use of the word "pure" is not specifically used within the duality of pure/impure but is essentially for emphasis, that is, it is used to distinguish "Will" from all other phenomena, such that it only bears relation to itself, and not relation to an object, or anything else for that matter, in other words, a self contained concept. Such that the sentence; "I am doing my "Pure Will"" does not make much sense, whereas "I am doing my "True Will" does".

Rather I simply disagree with your stated concept of Will in its apparent permutations. No big whoop. Just as a caveat, given your line of reasoning, you wouldnt be able to even discuss Will without an object to compare it to, so it is always in relation to an object in this case. All objectification is bathed in duality.

If you can "Do your True Will" it would of course follow that you can conceivably "Do your False Will" by mistake or in diametrical opposition which is IMHO a patently absurd notion. I believe the point is fairly clear, but thats my take. "Pure Will" of course also implies partial or impure Will can exist, but this is the very definition of beating the horse.

To reiterate and not unduly; you wrote:

"True Will = The Unique Natural Motion(orbit) of a specific Individual Object differentiated from all other objects, but generally harmonious"

If this holds true, perhaps you can give a single (1) example of specifically (as opposed to generally) in-harmonious, Partial or False Will? The permutations or states of Will (True, False, Pure, Partial, etc) seems to be the topic we are discussing.

I certainly appreciate the clarity and discussion.

"once again you misconstrue the terminology, what one "thinks" is irrelevant, "generally" in this context may be exchanged for the word "usually""

As to the above what is "generally usual" for you may be "specifically unusual" for everyone/anyone else and the usage of generalizations, especially around the topic of Thelema/Will, is at the heart of our discussion.

While it is certainly possible I'm misunderstanding your word usage, syntax, etc, I am more focusing on what you actually wrote, my friend. This is a typical pro/con conversation with points, replies, counterpoints all respectfully expressed. Thats beauty value of open conversation - it goes both ways. Lets hold on to the premise that "what one "thinks" is irrelevant" in context of Will.

"An analogy might be the difference between "an universal blueprint" for "A House" and any number of actual "Houses" which would differ from each other in specifics, though they have the same general structure."

In this line of reason your concept of True & Pure Will lays in direct relation to objects (what you think of or believe in, as in structures like houses). Can you comment on "Impure Will" (within the context of Thelema) manifesting in any permutation, weather relating to a specific object, time, instance or even a base generalization? I'd love to hear more about this if you have the bandwidth. Its a difficult premise, I would submit.

"this all depends on your definition of harmonious, i would probably use the phrase "no less beautiful"

I was commenting on your original usage of the word harmonious "generally or usually" equating with True. Hope that was clearly in quotes.

"Debates on the semantics of language do not necessarily translate to spiritual enlightenment"
Wasn't aware that we were competing to appear spiritually enlightened. That was rather out of left field. (Get it? Left field? (chuckle))

"Not thee do we adore, for that which adoreth is also thou. Thou art that and That am I"

• Liber XV

93 93/93

If we split the 'modes of being' based on QBL leading from Ain (the veil of non-existence) to Keter-Crown, we see that Ain can reasonably exist as a vacuum without any object-subject phenomenon. Its clearly stated that there is no effectual reality matrix in the sense of viewer and viewed, or even a God in his Domain. Even in Keter, there is a sense of placement of the unity of God within a living sphere which includes permutations of that sphere which are intelligable seperate from God.

Keter, on the other hand, is the Crown of a kingdom, its part of a schema which includes duality below its feet, or throne, the abyss or what have you. This duality (or triplicity in the case of Supernals) appears at first as a non-dual and yet presupposes a separation between the vacuum (indeterminate) and active (living-determinate) principle.

(Vacuum (Ain, non-existence) = Object/Subject (living Keter)) | 0=2

To comment on Scapegoats analogy:
Pure Will =The Essence of Motion.

If being 'pure' made it the essential motion principle (the dynamis, Mars) then it is also the 'true' motion principle, and here we get bogged by attempting to imply that, even in collision, there is somehow an un-truth. In fact stars collide all the time, as do microscopic particles, each truthfully, fruitfully and purely following their orbits. This is an observable phenomenon which more or less displays the idea that no matter your attachment to expectation (ie lust of result) things collide naturally and harmoniously.

In this sense there is simply motion and stillness, without the misplaced moral deterministic factor of true & untrue, pure and impure. In the Judeo-Christian bible it is said "God works in mysterious ways" which implies that ones concepts of justice or Truth (True, Untrue, Pure and Impure, Right, wrong, good & bad) are simply humanistic labels based on preconceived patterns or preconditioned expectations.

More:
"True Will = The Unique Natural Motion(orbit) of a specific Individual Object differentiated from all other objects, but generally harmonious within context."

This implies that if one thinks they are witnessing a generally in-harmonious action or motion (conceivably collision) that there can somehow be an un-truth, which is simply not the case.

As I mentioned before, there is motion and the dynamic "Will-to-Be" in both the micro and macrocosmic sense, essentially the exact same principle in both singular and sum-total applications.

What makes Will true or un-true, pure or impure, is simply ones ability to deflect or reject the natural dynamic of the Will itself. In this sense, as AC certainly did use the terms 'True' and 'Pure', he was utilizing duality (forgive me for this) 'Below the Abyss' to speak to people in dualistic terms which satisfy their moral goggles of right & wrong, where particles and stars can have un-true or impure orbits.

Will is simply Will. And motion is simply motion. Collision is no less harmonious, or in effect rain drops would not collide with the lake surface. In nature, collision is at the heart of beauty, as is perfect stillness.

A vacuum is no less true or pure than a duality, etc. All of these are moralistic interpretations of fundamentally unchangeable, immutable forces which do not bend to ones moralistic, dualistic interpretations.

We can only come to a consensus agreement as far as our minds can collectively fix on definitions, but this is really only important in a textual or literary context which certainly changes once you change languages.

Crowley sternly warned against considering the HGA as a figment of the mind or some anthropomorphic aspect of the "higher self". He certainly, at least toward the end of his life, made it very clear that he believed the HGA is an independent being in its own reality, as are planets, stars and other lofty orders of being.

The only real answers to your questions must be experiential and must be subjectively lived through to fully experience the soak-effect in a feedback returning reality. So you, like Parsifal, must ride around on your poor donkey overcoming the monsters of your own awareness in the very precarious environment you find yourself set in.

On the case of objective angels; We can see that the minds ability to create neuro-toxin is very real. We know that concentrating on negativity tends to create a negative effect in the organism by bathing the neurology in juices the brain secretes as a result of these thoughts - and vice versa. The great thing is, that we can control, to varying degrees, the creation and manipulation of neurological states, which certainly have a very real corresponding effects in the neurology and organism (brain, body, breath, etc).

Weather you personally believe something is real or not, much like in medieval "Glamour" you can think yourself into physiological changes by the power of mind alone. In this way, the auto-hypnosis of invoking an Angel (or demon) can have very measurable results in objective reality which can be verified by other people. This does not prove the existence of exterior orders of Being, perhaps not, but it does prove that the objective existence of these beings is secondary to our "divine" power to cause changes at the organic level using these forms as channels or fulcrums to achieve measurable changes. In that case, the fantasy, subjective Angel is perhaps just as helpful as the objective. In the end, if it creates positive organic changes, it hardly even matters as the method overcomes the message.

@Ave de Prata said

"Actually at some point in past the name of the city was changed from " Behedeti " to " Edfu ".

Horus of Behedeti or Horus of Edfu is the same God, but the old one is the correct name, since it is the original name, and it is how he is called in the Book of the Law ( Hadit )."

Thanks for the feedback.

Its well known that "Hadit" was a simply mistranslation and not a willful modification. I think we would be making too much of AC, as adept as he was, to expect him to read and translate hieroglyphs. It is also known that he had the stele translated for him, hence his being unaware of the mistake.

Behdet was a district, rendered as Throne or Crown which included as its chief city Edfu, as well as other townships. Also, Ive gleaned that Behdet and Edfu are respectively different words, not different names for Edfu changed over time. Unfortunately, wikipedia doesn't always follow the historical etymology very far back.

As for the value in tracing the etymology of these names & places, each to their own. Outside of a purely historical context, "Hadit", as has been mentioned is Egyptoid (love the turn) but not really Egyptian.

The concept of True Will and Pure Will are both more or less hampered by the dualism it takes to believe that there can be an "Un-true" or "Im-Pure" Will. This is a simple and unfortunate byproduct of linguistic conventionality which utilizes duality as a form of representation in a field of non-dual.

If Thelema means "Will", and Ill go out on a limb here - this Will is the vehicle of the HGA as pouring through ones psyche at a conscious and unconscious level of continual reception as an outpouring of the primordial spark. The misapprehension is that, when a person makes an incorrect judgment or misapprehends conditions, or actions, one has manifested or witnessed untrue or impure Will, but that cant be, IMHO because the Will does not partake of duality in an intellectual or moralist sense.

Perceptions pivot not on the singularity of total unity (of which the Will is the unbroken vehicle & messenger) but on the intellectual grounds of object-subject relation in a moral universe where somehow this Will can be manifestly imperfect. As soon as one experiences un-truth and impurity, it is an indication that one is* moving away* from ones natural axis, or Will, which generally rests in the center, not on opposing sides.

In many systems, including AC's Thelema, the vast scope of experiences (liberation, unity but also pleasure, pain, disgust, morbid self-interest) are part & parcel of divine manifestation in reflecting, in some part, the correlating aspects of godhead itself.

Many cultures believe that the gods themselves feel anger, joy, fear, jealously, insult, but also pleasure, happiness, etc. If God is "pleased" or "offended" it would indicate a remaining distance between the subject and the object in running ones self-awareness through the artifice of moral/intellectual constructs. This is another way of pointing out that the dichotomy between good & bad is an artifice defined only by the specific vehicles (the respective mind or body) ability to endure the through-put of energies and resulting organic decomposition of ones actions in ones environment.

Not many would recommend a meditation which irreparably damages the vehicle, but the simple truth is that existence in a carbon form is inescapably mortal, somewhat destructive and limited. All of our actions, including breathing and blood flow cause degeneration by throughput. An important theory in overcoming pre-formatted limitations of mind & morality is to bring oneself wholly into the moment without these fetters of dualistic and environmental conditioning forever filtering ones experience.

In some A.'.A.'. instruction, there are points where the student is advised to use pain as an effective deterrent to letting the mind or thoughts wander back to habitual patterns. It brings to mind the very real value of a spanking when dealing with an incourageble child. In this way, utilizing pain, organic injury (forget about lofty Siddhis) and self-interest just for this example, the vehicle cancels-out and renegotiates the neural causeways of the mind, body & spirit to allow for greater and greater spectrum of experience and the realization of truth. One could say that eating ice cream is bad for ones health if one isn't hungry or if one dosen't absolutely need the calories to stave off death, but then this devolves into baseless nihilism at its extreme and misses the the "divine" joy of the ice cream itself. If distraction, pleasure and the manifestation of needless powers are all evil, then so is ones very existence in the capacity to cause huge amounts of wastage and disorganization by the very act of living day-to-day as an otherwise detached center in the midst of this hypothetical all-positive singularity. We don't need to follow this trail too far to see that the ledge is itself artificially conceptual.

In Thelema we also find the transcendence of the illusion of the sacrifice of Self, better known as the paradigm of the suffering, Sacrificed Slave god upon the cross of elements, which is still a very valuable meditation. I am in agreement with the perspective that once that cross is hefted, the experience endured, the elements become compatriots and the scene shifts indubitably. The conditions and effects of time on matter are necessary to allow for our total sum experience. Truly, God(s) are in the material. Instead, we are cautioned to observe and overcome our inhibitions through courageous engagement, confounding our childhood preconditions and the malarkey of environmental programming in order to fully and spiritually allow the root self to seed, activate and rest in the moment.

"Know that the Cult of the Slave-Gods is a Device of those Black Brothers. All that stagnateth is thereof, and thence cometh not Stability, but Putrefaction. Endure not thou the static Standards either in Thought or in Action Resist not even the Change that is the Rottenness of Choronzon, but rather speed it, so that the elements may combine by Love under Will"

DE VIRTUTE CHIRURGICA.

@Tamara_Tornad said

"When you say hr is Arabic for falcon, are you talking about Egyptian Arabic, or Classical Arabic? Egyptian Arabic does have some words originating in Coptic and ancient Egyptian."

Weather the word "hr" can be located specifically in ancient Arabic as a etymological root is uncertain, as early various middle eastern dialects mix and transform fluidly and are far, far beyond my lexicon.

The term Horus itself may refer to the families or aristocracy of the Hurrians, which people emanated from various parts of the middle-east (Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Messopitamia, Syria -our phonetic link to Arabic rendering/translation Bahgdad for Bedhet) who moved into early Egypt possibly before the Dynastic periods and whom may have inculcated the idea of Horus. Many people make the connection between the historical Hurrians and the biblical Horites but it is always in speculation. The Hor-Shesu, or followers of Horus, may also refer to the original Hurrian invader-kings and the title of "Horus" stuck with all preceding Pharaohs.

The Hitties called the chief Hurrian city, Mitanni, Hurri. The designation "Hurrian" is certainly not Egyptian, from what I've read, but even the Egyptians called Mitanni "nhrn" which is strangely inclusive of the word "hr" or falcon. One look at the earliest Egyptian pantheons, and Horus isn't yet present, which indicates a later addition and which could suggest that Horus was indeed a foreign invader. The Egyptians themselves, in some mythology, still record the invasion of Egypt by Horus. Of course, all of this is a sort of speculative stew. Just found it all interesting in context.

@Tamara_Tornad said

"
@Fr. Vox Cor said
"Heru, Her or Har-Behdet (mistranslated from the stele as 'Hadit') is literally 'Horus of Baghdad', referring to an ancient temple of Horus in northern Egypt."

No, not Baghdad, that's in Iraq!"

An easy conflation -

Behdet in Arabic became "Baghdad" corresponding to the same northern-most town in Egypt, sharing the same name with the modern Iraqi city. Behdet in Egyptian is the city of Edfu. One could more appropriately say "Horus of Edfu", but Edfu sounds nothing like Behdet.

Interestingly, the Arabic word for falcon is also hr, or "hor" (ala Ra-hoor), just as in Egyptian. I've read some sources which argue that Horus actually originated in Arabia.

Heru, Her or Har-Bedhet (mistranslated from the stele as 'Hadit') is literally 'Horus of Baghdad', referring to an ancient temple of Horus in northern Egypt.

Avete' Sorores et Fratres,

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

A bit about myself; aspirant of the Western Mystery traditions, mainly O.T.O. & A.'.A.'., also strongly attracted to ogdoadic traditions.

Initiation in O.T.O., Baptized E.G.C., student of A.'.A.'., love the Mass, ceremonial ritual, group ritual, eucharistic ritual, initiation, alchemy, yoga, tantra and so much more.

I do want to point out that while I do have many close friends within its pale, I am not a an initiate of T.O.T., specifically. I am, however, a huge and long time admirer of G.H. Sr. Meral & 418 Lodge and its Work, as well as G.H. Fr. Eshelman and his notable book, which I have owned and perused for years.

Very glad to have found this interesting board. Look forward to reading and contributing if and when time permits.

In the Bonds of Service.

Love is the law, love under will.

In L.L.L.L.,
Fr. V.C.