College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

Sorry I didn't see this before.
Yes. I have immense pressure also in my head, sinuses, temples, upper jaw and neck and have had it since I started to really meditate properly.
The last couple of days I've realised it is without doubt (I had my suspicons) to do with the muscular patterns of armour inhibiting breathing. I've found a Reichian nearbye (wonder of wonders !!) and going to attack this old enemy. My pre- verbal body tightening (ie - first months of life ) seems to the the cause of most of the troubles in my life because I can't take a proper breath and even the attempt to do so is damn painful.The breath is being inhibited all the way up to the top back of the skull in my case which feels like the descriptions of Kundalini but I think it's just immense muscular stiffness and fear as a baby that never eased.
I don't know if that is in anyway helpful!

@milkBoxx said

"If a zelator has hit Chesed (in Yesod) does he swear the oath of the abyss before moving to Hod?"

The Oath of the Abyss is warranted at the Abyss, not a sub-s'fiyrah level in each of the 10 s'fiyroth.

Otherwise... well, it's really the Oath of the Abyss. I can't tell you not to take it, but, in the spirit of your question, the answer would be no, that's not what's expected are generally warranted there.

"Or is it Binah in Yesod that he is hitting?"

These sub-sefs are worth observing IMHO, as part of witnessing one's process and journey, but one shouldn't obsess on them too much. That's more the road to craziness. I was first particularly aware of them near the end of Neophyte when I had nearly everything finished, there was a surge of energy to wrap up the last couple of assigned tasks, a sense of "passing a line" or moving into a stretch, and suddenly finding myself interpreting everything around me in terms of the Buddhist Three Characteristics - which, of course, to the three Supernals one-for-one. I soon put it in perspective that these were the three Supernals in Mal'khooth. The main point, though, is that I didn't get distracted by them and just noticed the scenery while wrapping up the couple of tasks and moving on.

"The movement appears similar, not to mention the 3=8 makes me think of 8=3 or MT."

This is Y'sod's innate associative power fucking with you. Yes, nice pun. Yes, jumps up and catches the mind. However, if it's not part of the formal assigned work of the grade, just notice the scenery, write it down, and move on.

BTW, there are lot of 2=9s across history that suddenly thought they'd crossed the Abyss! This delusion screwed most of them up a fair bit. I advise against buying into the delusion. The magical error here is called "mixing of the planes," which in practice often means losing perspective on exactly where you are and what's going on.

"I may be completely off track, but reading Liber 913 and it's assignment to Zelator (Yet many references to it being the work of an exempt adept) makes me think so."

The better question here is, "For what particular reason is this 7=4 instruction also provided to the 2=9?" I think I probably give one answer for this in M&MAA: There is one part of the instruction that's particularly useful for a key thing that happens in 2=9.

"I also recall that a Zelator cannot move to Hod without swearing it"

That's pure bullshit. Completely wrong. You won't find that in a single A.'.A.'. source document.

@milkBoxx said

"If one were doing a working with Liber 913, what incense blend or resin would be best suited? (Something that corresponds to the Belt of the Zodiac itself?)"

Or something for the particular sign being worked would be much better.

There's a fair bit about they time. Going from memory, Sword of Wisdom is one of the more sympathetic (but a lot of its non-Mathers details are wrong). There probably is a fair bit in Women of the Golden Dawn, but not remembering it precisely. Crowley has more than a little in Confessions.

@milkBoxx said

"I was just curious, I've been researching ritual #1 and I noticed because of the influence of Chokmah which I believe corresponds to Neptune. Which way does one invoke and are there any God names involved?[/quote
I'm going to treat your question as: How does one invoke Chokmah? (I don''t in any sense - not at all! - agree that Chokmah is Neptune. About as far from it as possible. Nonetheless, it's a fair question how to invoke Chokmah with the hexagram.)

All three Supernals correspond to the top point of the hexagram. The way to trace it is the same as for Saturn. The Divine Names and other "words of power" are those of Chokmah.

"I'm also wondering what the sign of the probationer"

The classic GD 0=0 signs: Enterer & Silence.

"...babe of the abyss is mulier."
"

No: It's Puella followed by Mulier. (All the "gateway" pseudo-grades have dual signs.)

It's funny.

When I was under the age of 3, I used to pray for the Devil, that he might too be saved.
I told my parents this and was badly scolded, but continued to pray for the Baphometic one.

Well I thought Abramelin, incense as well or olibanum/frankincense. But
I'm gonna use Abramelin - Crowley Formula. As I have the OG formula as well.

@Jim Eshelman said

"
@Frater 639 said
"Hi! How does one sign up for the meetups?"

Here's the link to the particular ongoing meetup:
www.meetup.com/venice-thelema-study-grou

Go ahead and register, and you'll get notifications of what is happening."

Done. Thanks Jim!

Ahab doesn't drown. We are told it of Pip so we know it of Ahab. Ahab is Ishmael. Maybe.

Oh, and Ahab in Hebrew means love and values 8.

@milkBoxx said

"I read a vague warning about the change from the MP to Practicus as it's a swaying from one polarity to another. What are symptoms or signs of these changes?"

You speak of this line from Liber 185, I assume: "When authority confers the grade, he shall rejoice therein; but beware, for that that is his first departure from the middle pillar of the Tree of Life."

Understand that "beware" doesn't mean, "Oh, shit, be scared!" It means to be wary, alert, attentive, aware of something. One is then counselled, "Let him not venture while a member of the grade of Practicus to attempt to withdraw from his association with the A.'.A.'.." (Same for Philosophus.)

This is because is disequilibrium. Now, every grade has its own distinctive disequilibrium, but at least most of them have the capability of reequilibrating. The means if renewed equilibration in Practicus and Philosophus is, "Move on forward out of the grade."

"Also, moving to Hod it's said that Peh partially opens and a certain diagram describes half of this as "The Black School", does this mean Hod and this school have a connection?"

Can you be more specific? No such diagram comes to mind, but I could be forgetting something obscure. Has someone, perhaps, written something attributing the Black, Yellow, and White schools of magick to the Tree?

"Any recommendations for those going through the ordeals of moving to Hod as far as writings go?"

I'm not sure what you're looking for. Obviously (in the A.'.A.'. sense) one is not "moving to Hod" unless one has perfectly passed all tasks and exams of Probationer, Neophyte, and Zelator. The only real guidance is to do the work of Practicus and move on. - Folks could give individual reports of phenomena in their lives when this happened, but that wouldn't help you much, since it would be their phenomena, not yours - their way of adjusting the particular form of their character and karma to this particular transition.

Interesting BTW that you called this "Path of Resh." In A.'.A.'., the Reysh work has already been mastered as part of completing the Zelator work. This is in contrast to, for example, GD-based systems where an initiation to Hod incorporates the Paths opening to it from earlier spheres, i.e., Shiyn and Reysh. In A.'.A.'., though, all of that is handled while a Zelator, and one formally "moves on to Hod" because one finds one is already there and it merely needs to be formalized. Hmm, what that means is that a true ordeal of the Path of Reysh is not, in A.'.A.'., a Hod ordeal, but an ordeal of one working in Y'sod.

Also, when Hod opens up if Peh is activated does the initiate move left towards Hod on the path of Peh?

I've read about the Black Brothers and being an Exempt Adept refusing the abyss but what about moving from Hod to Netzach?"

By "Samekh," I assume you mean Liber Samekh, yes?

He's referring to the standard A.'.A.'. initiation temple floor plan given in Book 4, Part II, Chapter 2, "The Circle."

Well, there's no such thing as too much study. Knock yourself out. 👿

It's not the availability of the names, those are adequately documented.
I'm just trying to understand when to use which names appropriately if constructing
a ritual. Sometimes I see rituals that include a divine name that while might correspond to
say Yesod, it calls upon a Briatic name rather than a Yetziratic one (Off the cuff example). While I understand the concepts behind most of your outline for ritual construction I'm seeking a general rule of thumb for choosing divine names and how to know which name's to employ. I could probably guess correctly, but I would rather have some compass for using these names in order to grant them the respect they deserve.

Thanks

www.heruraha.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12489

@milkBoxx said

"...what is the best way to handle the circle and to be sure it's safe to wrap it up.
I would love to see it and learn it from someone who has experience."

I suspect you know the general rules but, just in case, I'll repeat them: Give license to depart. Then banish well. Pause a bit and use your astral senses to check for efficacy of the banishing, and be alert for anything unusual in yourself before leaving.

Also, for any significant operation, I tend to do the full journal record before leaving the space. I have better retention of the details and am able to make connections and have better insights while still proximate to the state of the operation. The time it takes to make a thorough record of the operation may serve you (given your question) by giving more time for things to "quiet down," yourself to center and move back into a normal state, etc.

Hera, the Chariot, Sagitarius, Yoga chakras, the Tao, the fan, the fool, the actual peacock(the animal)... 🎂

@milkBoxx said

"Did you sense the Mojave desert environment was a "vault" as you described it
or was it something else you had learned before about the context and symbolism of the "desert"?
When you say "vault" do you mean isolation in of itself or were you referring to the Vault of the Adepti?
Both in sense, is what I read it as, but I could be wrong."

My temple had been consecrated as a Vault of the Adepti. My recollection is that when I was on Pisgah in the Mojave, there were pieces that resembled what next happened in the classic formula while in the vault. The desert had the sense of "withdrawal" and isolation that the formula called for, and had symbols consistent with classic formulae, though I'm not sure I experienced it as a vault per se. (I'm going from memory - haven't reread the record to answer this.)

"Amazing Book and great investment! recommend anyone on here to give it a read (if you haven't already)."

Thanks 😄 Glad Pearls of Wisdom was interesting.

Maybe an answer could be discovered in relation with your peacock interest mentioned.

The correspondences have in common practical mastery of magick, the powerful medicine.

Maybe see how these ordeals time in your personal path and adjust as good as possible what could be adjustable.

"My suggestion would be to check out Voudon Gnostic Workbook by Michael Bertiaux. "

I was going to recommend this book, but didn't because I had not read most of it.

I read the first few sections of this book and was unimpressed, I even went so far as to do the first couple of rituals and didn't feel like they were anything useful.....the back-story of these beings who are basically drowned magicians of Atlantis just seemed silly.

Does the book get better?

If so, I may give it another go.

93, 93/93.

@milkBoxx said

"I suppose if we could set personal preferences aside and look at it from a historical vantage,
which decks would you suppose had the most influence?"

There are histories, influences, worlds, perspectives, and different layers of them.

The most traditionnal in the highest is Thot deck, while in the lowest it is Marseille's. Same could be said concerning influences. An adept of middle age using Marseille's probably had a more Thot-like reading perspective than a probationer today using Thot's... Not to mention in those days, advanced material was kept secret.

Another food for thought is Jean Louis de Biasi Aurum Solis deck. According to him it is historically the oldest and most traditionnal. Though it is completely different in its tree of life correspondances.

The dynamic principle may be more similar to the Yi King in some ways. It may be true it's most traditionnal even though less known. You may gradually come with your own living and ever changing still same tarot. 😄