College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

I'm very grateful to you both Jim and Gnosomai, for both your very thoughtful and kind help in previous posts. I find the pursuit of such knowledge so very enjoyable. Honestly I could live for a thousand years and there would still be books on magick that I would still want to have read, or reread and again reflect upon. Such a lovely task.

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

Dear brothers and sisters, I've been looking for a long time to find out who HRU actually is, (that is aside from the Angel who is set over the secret wisdom). That is, when you do the invocation before reading tarot, exactly who you are invoking when you call upon HRU. I unfortunately couldn't find that answer here despite asking it many times in many different ways. I also wanted to find information on the four Kerubic signs and how they relate to the tarot and magick. It turns out that these answers aren't actually hidden or secret information, the answers are indeed available.

I therefore suggest that if you are asking the people who teach Magick, basic questions like these, and they won't give you straight answers, that there are two possibilities:

One - they simply don't know.
Two - they simply won't tell you.

There are many people who write on magick and are just misguided or guessing at best. People like Nick Farell, and Pat Zalewski, have both made guesses as to who HRU is and the relationship with HUA, and have written many books on tarot and magick.

There may be very good and valid reasons why those that do indeed know these answers won't tell you, but as for me, I'd just rather get the answers since I feel that doing so is my true will. I suggest that if you find that you aren't been guided with straight answers, that your teacher may indeed be a teacher... they just aren't necessarily your teacher. In finding answers to questions such as these, I would hope for you that you do indeed find your teacher. Such has been my experience in any case. Oh and I should add that I don't intend to criticise or be negative towards anyone covertly by my saying this, I just wanted to share this experience with you all.

Discussing this, it seems to clarify for me at least, that there really is another being concerning tarot. It doesn't seem to me to simply be a case of seeking the answers within. I don't feel that I have the answers. I don't feel that my power extends to see the true face of things past, present and future.

To me, this other is cryptically named HRU, or at least it is sometimes HRU. At other times the voice is unreliable and wishes to lead me astray. At other times it's clear or other times it refuses to answer. My point is, that it isnt me. It's not my inner voice, it's an external voice that I receive.

It doesn't feel like the Kingdom of heaven is within at all so to speak.

"I must say he does only say the name HRU and Heru are the same, he does not say it is the same being.....either he didn't mean it that way, or I am just over-thinking the fact that Crowley chose his words very carefully."

My thinking exactly too Mark. AC is always very careful with his words. There's a suggestion, but only a suggestion. I try to never assume or infer.

"Well, there's this concept interwoven into the fabric of giving letter-associations to energies. Ultimately, it is system of correspondences which enables the speaker to "enflame" their entire being with their speech. It's got a sound, a color, an emotional energy, a visual symbol.

So when you speak that name "Ah Doh Nah Ee," ideally, you're "there" fully with each letter, speaking a formula that you've flashed through your entire being."

Being reminded of this has been very helpful to me Aion. I tend to think that I must know about HRU etc rather than use the name to know. Thank you!

"Personally, I have always used HRU as a stand in for the name of my HGA, like Adonai. Of course, I could be wrong in doing so!"

Hi Greg, I am heading along the same lines but I'm full of doubt about it.

"Crowley says the following in the Book of Thoth in the Aeon card chapter-
Quote:
It should, by the way, be noted that the name Heru is identical with Hru, who is the great Angel set over the Tarot. This new Tarot may therefore be regarded as a series of illustrations to the Book of the Law; the doctrine of that Book is everywhere implicit.

I personally don't like his explanation, I think it is mentioned very flippantly, for lack of a better word. Just thought it would be useful to share though!
"

I've read this too, and I find it quite frustrating because it is so flippant, but of course AC does that with the questions that torment me in the middle of the night.

Is it really therefore simply that HRU is Heru? What do you say of this Jim? How would you suggest we interpret AC's comment on this?

"IMHO, the source of the lack of clarity is not the cards. The source of the lack clarity is something within you. Sounds like there's too much internal interference between your conscious mind and subconscious mind. THIS you can do something about. Relating to the cards themselves as confusing or negative etc. leaves you no access to correcting this."

Hi Al-Shariyf, I agree with what you say, but there is also something that does happen with the cards in an external way, at least in so far as how I relate to it. If I invoke correctly and strongly, the cards themselves are clear. They cards fall in such a way as to be clearly understood and they speak of what I ask. If I for instance then shuffle them are then do another spread, when the connection is strong, they invariably are the exact same cards again, and I understand them. The forces act on the cards and how they fall in an external way, as well as what happens inside my mind and conscious/subconscious, through the energies that the cards invoke.

When I am in this state, the cards and myself connect harmoniously, but I've noticed that I'm not yet able to ask about any and all things. Often the cards will speak of only what they want to speak of. HRU won't reveal all that I ask, particularly when it comes to magic and other spiritual subjects. They resist certain subjects and make it plain that they won't discuss it. They don't mind speaking of mundane things but their is a resistance in other things. When I am asking of something that HRU doesn't want to answer, the subject gets changed and HRU instead speaks of the same major currents that are going on in my life. The topic gets changed so to speak. I don't feel like I'm reading the cards when this happens, but instead I feel that HRU is acting through me and we are communing.

I find that employing a signifier by selecting it by astrological degrees helps a great deal, but then it often is just that the cards will speak of that person. They won't always speak of what I ask of that person.

When the connection is not good, it seems like their are weaker forces that act on the cards. The cards are inconsistent and mercurial. They contradict themselves or they fall to extremes by telling me something is wonderful or terrible. Accompanying this is also a lack of certainty within myself. I can feel external forces that are acting upon the cards as well as myself, and they are unhelpful and deceitful. When this is the case, divination is a waste of time and I find it draining and frustrating.

I feel like I want to connect with HRU more deeply, and the traditional invocation lacks the deeper intimacy that it once had for me. I also find the lack of information on HRU frustrating, but Jim has given me some good fresh pointers that I haven't considered. It all seems to me to hinge on the invocation at least for me.

"Not sure why you think Water on left, Fire on right is wrong - it's exactly right! That suggest that this is not an emblem to be worn, but rather a picture to be looked at. "

I agree but because of the lunar and solar pentacles it means that cups are solar and wands are lunar.

Hi Jim. I'm not convinced that it's just artistic stylisation for a couple of reasons but I'm likely to be wrong. The ankh seems to divide the major arcana into two categories, and had it remained as the Rose cross assignment, the Emperor would be a solar and lunar card which wouldn't seem correct. As is, only the Fool and Empress are both solar and lunar cards, and that seems correct. I've wondered if this is the real reason for the change since it doesn't gain anything artistically by being different from the Rose cross.

The other repercussion by using this layout is that the astrological symbols for the four elements are in a NW, NE, SE, SW pattern, if the rose cross assignment were used, they wouldn't align correctly as equally opposing forces. The kerubs seem that they should be placed in this way, and so it makes sense beyond just being an artistic expression, at least to me anyhow.

What seems incorrect in the symbol however is the placement of cups to the left and wands to the right. it just arbitrarily changes the regular placement, and in doing so, makes cups solar and wands lunar. The wand is a lotus wand, and it should of course be a fire wand instead.

The other very noticeable thing (to me at least), that is different about the ankh of the tarot compared to the rose cross, is that the alignment of the outer ring on the rose is totally different.

I've marked the difference on this graphic with a red asterisk.

"You seem to think that you need the information before you can succeed. Actually, you only get the information after you succeed. If you don't know how to "prepare a space for sacred work," then you haven't even mastered preliminaries of a Neophyte, let alone readied yourself for the mysteries of an Adept."

Perhaps I'll be a fool to the end of time. It's highly likely.

"Partly stylization. Partly not"

I suspected as much. Gods help your students!

"A psychiatrist likely could prescribe something for your obsessiveness."

hahaha, no fear of that. I avoid them so I don't get committed anyhow.

"Remember: HRU never appears anywhere in the Mysteries until the moment of the obligation of a new Adept. Want to know more? It's all in the letters of the name."

Thanks for the reply Jim. I'm deeply grateful.

"You asked me this before, and I said no: Thoth is Thoth, and HRU is HRU."

Hi Jim, I asked you if HRU was Metatron previously but what I'm really asking is if there is any more information on HRU other than his name spelt in Theban on the ankh of the tarot? Am I correct for instance that the Hebrew spelling of his name is something that has been deduced?

I find that the invocation of HRU frustrates me because I am looking for a deeper intimacy and knowledge with this so called "HRU".

Is there anything more you can tell me about HRU?

"Liber Theta was intended to meet that exact need, i.e., providing those core structural elements on which Tarot is based and show how they're built up from scratch. Have you worked through its 78-week program?"

Not methodically, but I have been using it very often. I printed out a copy and had it bound and I use it religiously. I'll start the 78 week program.

"Liber Theta, page 81, last paragraph. It's all there."

It's all there but it's also not all there. I could "prepare the space as I would for any sacred work", but how?
I could "establish and strengthen your relationship to the Divine - in the form of your Holy Guardian Angel" - but how?
Neither in the cross or the rose, but in the union - so what of the union Jim?
The invocation to HRU appears to be written incorrectly in Liber Theta. It says ".. that thereby WE may obtain..." - and who is "WE"?

I'm in agony because I want to be able to connect to this voice properly, but I can't find any information on how. The mechanics of tarot don't interest me so much as HRU and knowing more about her and how to deepen my connection to her. I'm completely miserable and in agony from the lack of it. It's all I can think about and there's no relief from it!

"You don't just call a name when you invoke. You point your soul in that direction. You attune your mind to that direction. In my opinion, learning that "direction" is more important than any agreed-upon label for it. "

That makes a lot of sense to me. The problem is what direction do I point my soul in? To know the name is to know the thing. If you don't know the true name of the thing, you don't know what you're speaking to. In the case of HRU, nobody seems to have any information on who HRU actually is, what he is and isn't prepared to do. In fact, aside from a cryptic spelling of the name in Theban, that's as far as it seems to go.

"You don't just do readings with tarot. You make it a part of yourself. You study it until it is never far from your mind, until you can break down the symbolic construction of each card from memory."

Personally I've found that employing the cards meaning and relying on memory is counter productive. I put that aside when I look at the cards. However, I do find that memorising the symbolism of the cards etc is very helpful but when it comes to actually employing the cards, that at least for me, I put all of that aside. I try to look at the cards like a child would who had never seen them before. It helps me to do this anyhow.

"Your study of it, your meditations upon each card, are magical operations in themselves, each calling into your life the energies and meanings of the card. You gain personal experiences of each card and its energies. It changes you."

I've noticed this. It seems that each card changes me. It's really quite amazing.

"Maybe find and watch the old movie "The Ninth Gate" with Johnny Depp. Watch that, and then subtract all of the sexy/wicked/scary that you're not personally up for."

hehehe I love this film. I'll have to watch it again thanks. Thanks for your good advice Aion

cicadas chirping

Does anyone know how Thoth is actually connected to the "Book of Thoth"?
Is Thoth in fact HRU? Did Thoth create the Tarot in the first place? Do people think that invocation is important for tarot?

Personally, the more I study the tarot, the more I see that many basic answers just aren't available, and instead there are a plethora of advanced materials but without any basic firm foundation. (Unless I happen to be particularly dense which is a distinct possibility).

I find that when I read the tarot, if I feel a good connection when I do the invocation to HRU, that the cards are always very clear.. however if I omit it, or if I don't feel an good connection - the cards are confused and often negative... or the divination just lacks any potency. I can gain impressions to a degree when this happens, and yet the momentum doesn't really move into receiving wisdom and it's more like just having a few cold facts without any deeper insight. The feeling is very much mercurial and it feels that I am connecting to the advice of lesser and unreliable forces. So how does one go about invoking correctly and consistently for tarot?

In order to be a developed magician, I would expect to competent and educated enough to have accurate information about what kinds of invocations etc I should do for tarot, so that I can correctly connect to the correct force, god (or Angel if you will), in order to get a clear divination, and yet nobody seems really interested in this and there isn't any decent books on these matters. Does anyone else relate to this or is this just me? It seems to me that using the tarot willy nilly is much what AC was discussing when he talked about spiritual seekers calling up any old spirit that happens to be around, and then taking heart felt advice from this total stranger who just happens to wander into their home.

Should all tarot divinations be some sort of invocation of Tiferet? What about instead an invocation of Mercury on Binah? .. Or is it sufficient to just invoke some higher power in a vague kind of way and simply hope for the best? I've found that meditating on the cards themselves helps to increase my sensitivity, especially the Priestess and the back of the card with the Rose Cross.

I've read some GD papers where they suggest that having the elemental weapons nearby enhances the tarot. Say for instance, one can touch the water cup for example, to increase that element where needed.. or instead employ a lotus wand and touch the relevant colour band that will assist. Is there anyone here that has an opinion on my questions?

Personally, I've learnt a great deal from my frustration. I could have just assumed that I was in fact a great and powerful mage that could do whatever the hell I wanted, but in actual fact I've been humbled by the experience and seen that I was quite arrogant to assume that I could invoke these forces without first tipping my hat to them. I think my arrogance could have been my undoing in this.

The actual ankh is clearly much more than just a copy of the Rose Cross. At the very least, it distinguishes between solar and lunar cards by the pentagrams on the bottom left and right of the ankh and this is a very important and unique piece of information that isn't found in any other teaching.

It also assigns astrological forces to the suits, and this isn't something that is just an ordinary thing. The astrological designations are often connected to the 4 kerubs, and from my limited understanding they play a much greater role in the second order teachings.

This is also clearly where "HRU" comes from by the script written in Theban on the pentacle, and yet there is no discussion of this in any of the flying scrolls and knowledge lectures. There are deeper aspects to this symbol too, but for my part would be just mere speculation.

So all in all, I would say that this symbol provokes a great many unanswered questions.

Hi Hermes, personally I have found that there is a huge difference because I wasn't allowed to connect with the sephirots until Jim gave me the right advice.

Thanks for posting the picture of it Jim.

Thanks for the references Ankh. I was more after information on the ankh found in Liber Theta. It has a rose on it like the rose cross but it differs from it in many ways. I appreciate your kind reply nonetheless, thanks.