College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

Thank you for answering Jim. That is very interesting! I have been learning a lot from all kinds of information related to what you answered.

What interests me is that the Sepher Yetziyrah seems to imply that language was the creation of the divine through which everything else was created, but it seems that numbers (and certain mathematical laws) are integral to the divine. (I don't know how to express this very well, I hope you understand what I am saying.)
Yet at the same time, the language that has been created is very mathematical in nature and seems more of an entropic falling apart/detailing and restructuring of the numbers (to give them even more potential for expression and multiple layers etc.) than a completely new creation.

And also, looking at it from the other side, it almost seems as if the decimal numeral system was already engrained in the Hebrew language.

"it is interesting to note that you mentioned the infantile stage as being equally subconscious and synonymous with the Aeon of the Mother; using that comparison it would seem reasonable to assume that the onset of consciousness coincides with the onset of "memory" since most of us do not remember anything in our first years of existence(my first memory is the birth of my younger brother when i was 2yrs old) likewise non-domestic animals memory also seems instinctive. Memory to me then seems somewhat synonymous with an awareness of the linear passage of time, or one event being consecutive to another. "

aLL_seEIng_eYe, the way I learnt this (but I learnt it as a matter of fact and not really as a theory, so I don't know where these facts come from and how well-researched they are) is that children under the age of 2.5 to 3 have not yet developed a sense of self. As babies they consider themselves as part of the whole of existence and only slowly begin to differentiate between themselves and the world. Only after a few months will they understand they are not the same entity as their mother and will get seperation anxiety, for example. Kids up to the age of 2.5/3 also refer to themselves in the third person. "Mike wants milk" not "I want milk". Only at the age of 2.5/3 do they start to see themselves as real selves and from then on they will start to collect self-related memories. It is also the age at which kids start to understand their gender-identity.
It's not that kids younger than that don't remember things - they do. And it is even likely that those baby memories are stored somewhere. For example - abused kids do sometimes have mental scars from the abuse of the time before 2.5/3 but will not be able to tell a coherent story about it. We can't relate to these 'memories' in the way we can relate to our other memories, so it is difficult and different to 'remember' them.

It's very interesting to relate this to the aeons!

Noted I'm most intrigued by the 231 gates and why they are in a circular wall. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

"There isn't a "regarding astrology" part, but, rather, a "regarding astronomy part." Is that what you meant? "

Yes, my bad!

"Would it be better without the parenthetical? "

Yes, I think so. I already accept at the start of the chapter that this is a very broad overview of the aeons, so it's okay to not read all the details. It's just that it felt (to me) that something crucial to understanding all following concepts was missing.

And perhaps you can even do without the first part of the next line, and make it:
"At some point around the start of the 20th Century humanity entered a third developmental phase. It is comfortable to me to accept that this is the Æon of Horus that Crowley said began in 1904, because that label and approximate timing match what I can observe from other channels."

Now that I know that I wasn't missing important information, it was easy to read and understand the rest of the chapter.

Ah, OK! I thought we could also discuss the meaning of the translation here, but I see now you meant for us to discuss the translation itself. As I have only read two other versions and have no knowledge of Hebrew, I'll step out of this discussion

Can someone help to explain this part from chapter two for me?

"4. Twenty-two Foundation Letters: He placed them in a circle like a wall with 231 gates. The circle rotates forward and back. A sign for this thing: There is nothing good higher than Delight (ONG), and nothing evil lower than Plague (NGO).

5. How? He refined, weighed, and transformed them each: Alef with all, and all with Alef; Beyth with all, and all with Beyth. They repeat cyclically and exist in 231 gates. Thus, all that is formed and all that is spoken emanates from the One Name. "

There's hardly anything of these parts that I understand. I don't get the 231 gates, nor the circle (or its rotating), nor Delight (ONG), or Plague (NGO) or how that leads to the conclusion that all emanates from the One Name. I hope someone can help!

That was very interesting to read!

"On the other hand, another way to identify these stars was a lunar way: the occurrence, within a particular star field, of the Full Moon."

I had no idea! Were birthsigns assigned according to the full moon (and not the sun) in those days?

As for feedback; in the part about astrology you also talk about science. It would be clearer to me if you perhaps you treat those subjects seperately and add a "Regarding science" part too.

"21st Century physics may have found this in string theory."

You don't give a Thelemic counterpart for this. (Perhaps on purpose?) I would have liked some guidance on this point in the text. I now interpreted it myself (based on the following paragraphs on the three different aeons) as Heru-ra-ha. Is that a correct assumption?

"I need to save that for another time.)

I accept, based on evidence persuasive to me, "

Those two statements, following each other immediately, make me feel lost. I accept that you know what you are talking about, but there is no way for me to make the thought-jump with you to the following concepts. I feel as if I have no stepping stone to follow you to the next ideas. It feels like the stepping stone is either in the story you are not telling me yet, or in the evidence that persuaded you, but that you don't share with the reader.
From that moment in the text I lost grip on the story and I am not too sure what is being said afterwards and how to integrate that with what I learnt previously.

I hope the feedback may be helpful. Thank you so much for sharing these chapters. You have a very clear and pleasant writing style, which makes it easy for me to pick up on new concepts.

I recognise a few of my colleagues (scientists) in this Knight, brilliance & pitfalls.

"One of these days, I hope to get my book on Tarot - Liber Theta - back in print (or possibly just give it away as a PDF). It does almost nothing for the Trumps (there's enough material on that around), but it is the strongst thing I know on the Court Cards."

Like Dhakhair I have the most trouble with understanding the court cards properly. This book sounds most interesting.

Hello Izzy,

Welcome to the forums. I hope you will find what you are looking for!

Welcome Tzarkanthugyel!
You have an unusual name! Is it Swedish? Or a combination of names?

That's a very interesting question!
If somebody already has written such a document, I would be very interested too!

In the meantime, as far as I understand, Islam has the same angels and archangels as Judeism or Chrisianity, but i'm not entirely sure. (If that is true their place in 777 would be the same.)
The only thing that I myself haven't been able to connect to the Jewish faith or to the Christian faith are the Djinn - a type of elementals. Here is an overview of angels in Islam: www.themeaningofislam.org/beliefs/angels/archangels.html

And here is an overview of the 99 most beautiful names of God according to the Islam: www.sufism.org/society/asma/index.html
They are the 99 names that have been stated in the Quran itself, and according to Islamic belief are therefore the 99 names by which God calls himself. There is a belief that there's a 100th name as well that is the actual proper name, but it has not been written in the Quran.
Perhaps a connection to the sepiroth is plausible?

Hi Beauty++,

You define yourself in interesting ways

Welcome to the forum!

Hi Wykedsyren,

Welcome! I also recently joined. If you want to learn more about the Tree of Life, the Qabala tool that is mentioned in the Tools & Toys thread is a very powerful method to learn the basic associations. It's kept me busy for the last week or so

I hope you will enjoy your time here!

~ Orione

Thank you, aLL_seEIng_eYe! That is very kind of you.

I tend to think that only the ego can experience Love, because it is the only one that can seperate itself (with a lot of help of all kinds of trouble) from the jigsaw pieces - in your terms.
If the Puzzler realizes that they are indeed seperate from their jigsaw puzzles and from anybody else's, and that they are in control of which piece of the jigsaw to connect to which other piece, then they are free to consciously connect the pieces according to their will.
In my humble opinion, that would be Love. The actual free and conscious choice to connect and unite.

Interesting to read about the health benefits of this practice.

A certain subset of Muslims also do this as part of their 'Wudu' (ritual cleansing) before every ritual prayer or before touching the Quran.

Hi Pixie,

That's an interesting road to this website!
It always amazes me how many perspectives can lead to similar interests.
I only just became a member myself, but welcome! I hope you'll find what you are looking for here.

Orione

PS: Just now there's a Dr. Pixie on tv. Interesting synchronicity!

As a beginner I can say it's very clear. I did just read Lon Milo Duquette's explanation of these worlds a few weeks ago, and that clarify things to some extent already, but there was too much humour going on for me to really get the point
I think it's very clear. And I finally 'get' why we're said to have a divine spark (instead of a divine drop, breath or bit of dust ).

Thank you for your answers Jim and AvshalomBinyamin. It is much clearer now.

I see in Liber 777 that the orders of Qliphoth that correspond to Ruach are the Elements. Is that saying the same thing, or am I making connections that don't exist?

What you are both saying about being in control over the elements instead of them being in control of you, makes me think of what I learned from studying Steiner's antroposophy. He seems to suggest that people have to be in control over the Luciferian powers and the Ahrimanic powers, or else they will control you. Whereas if you are in control of them - they can help you become independent of the Divine to ultimately reunite with the Divine through love - whereby the Divine gets to know itself.
The Luciferian powers being fiery and they can be used to create a creative spark and force things into being, but then the intellect has to be in control and stop the flame before it also devours what has been created and more. The Ahrimanic powers can make things disappear/become invisible and work faster in the background etc. but the intellect has to make sure that the Ahrimanic powers are not hidden from it (or force them back out of hiding in due time) or else they devour also.
Is this a similar kind of thing?

Also, I looked up if Crowley mentioned Ahriman anywhere, and it seems that he only did in Liber 777 as Arimanus - but it is as an Egyptian god (whereas I thought he was a Persian fallen angel type of character) and in relation to astrology - something I don't know much about yet. Do you know if he's mentioned anywhere else? Or what sort of forces he would correspond to in Thelemic literature?

(Sorry for the many questions - my mind is trying to connect everything I've learned so far from other systems of thought to the new language of Thelema, and I guess it's a bit messy.)

A lot of strength can come from there!

Thank you for the laugh and the welcome!