“Help me, o warrior lord of Thebes, in my unveiling before the Children of men” is but the first of the commands to Crowley to be the prophet, or the mouthpiece, of the Æon of Horus and to spread the words of the gods. Nuit proceeds to say, “Be thou Hadit, my secret centre, my heart & my tongue.” This also relates to the relationship between Nuit and Hadit, but also commands Crowley to carry her words straight from her mind out into the world.
There are many places where Crowley is referred to as Ankh-af-na-khonsu. Here is one such passage: “My scribe Ankh-af-na-khonsu the priest of the princes shall not in one letter change this book; but lest there be folly, he shall comment thereupon by the wisdom of Ra-Hoor-Khu-it.” We see that there are further instructions not to change The Book in any way, and also that Ra-Hoor-Khuit shall aid Crowley (specifically by lending his wisdom) to write a comment on The Book.
One of the other commands to Crowley is to organize magical knowledge and to teach it: “Also the mantras and spells; the obeah and the wanga; the work of the wand and the work of the sword : these he shall learn and teach. He must teach; but he may make severe the ordeals.” This is not the only time he will get this command, for Hadit elucidates: “Behold! the rituals of the old time are black Let the evil ones be cast away let the good ones be purged by the prophet. Then shall this Knowledge go aright.” In the 13th Æthyr of The Vision and the Voice AC is commanded (or told) to give his “wisdom unto their world.”
The instructions to Crowley to correct and improve magical practices is also an instruction to us to follow that system.
There are a lot of passages in The Book where the gods either praise Crowley, or tell him to hold on and be strong while The Book is being dictated through him. One such sample is: “Then the priest fell into a deep trance or swoon & said unto the Queen of Heaven”.
“There is a word to say about the Hierophantic task.” Although I am using this word out of context here, I want to stress that Crowley was commanded to rewrite both Initiations and magical studies, and to teach magick. We will see this time and again throughout the book.
Nuit speaks directly to Crowley again: “Also, o scribe and prophet though thou be of the princes, it shall not assuage thee nor absolve thee. But ecstasy be thine and joy of earth : ever To me To me.” Essentially this says that even Crowley is not immune from following the commands of the goddess.
“[F]or behold thou o prophet shalt not behold all these mysteries hidden therein. The child of thy bowels, he shall behold them. Expect him not from the East nor from the West, for from no expected house cometh that child.” Crowley was not to understand everything written in The Book, even though he was the stenographer who wrote it all down. There are mysteries that shall be explicitly understood and solved by others. At this moment, I don’t know why bowels were specifically mentioned.
“Aum! All words are sacred and all prophets true; save only that they understand a little; solve the first half of the equation, leave the second unattacked. But thou hast all in the clear light, and some though not all in the dark.” We can take Aum as a super-serious pointer, saying that something very serious was to follow. This further iterates that Crowley would not solve all the mysteries in The Book, but that he should work on those he could solve — and more importantly, that he should work on those he is commanded to solve.
“O prophet! thou hast ill will to learn this writing. I see thee hate the hand & the pen but I am stronger. Because of me in Thee which thou knewest not for why? Because thou wast the knower, and me.” This is one of several passages that treats Crowley as an unwilling scribe. He also says that he was unaware of Hadit within him, as this is a concept that is generally new to us. He goes on to say that Crowley was the knower; i.e.: this refers to an intellectual, rather than an instinctual process.<1> Crowley was an outsider, because he knew and did not feel; and because he did not know of the unity with Nuit, he was therefore Hadit.
Words of encouragement to Crowley continue: “Fear not, o prophet, when these words are said, thou shalt not be sorry. Thou art emphatically my chosen; and blessed are the eyes that thou shalt look upon with gladness. But I will hide thee in a mask of sorrow : they that see thee shall fear thou art fallen : but I lift thee up. Nor shall they who cry aloud their folly that thou meanest nought avail; thou shall reveal it : thou availest : they are the slaves of because : They are not of me.”
Here we have a command specific to Crowley: “Thou shalt obtain the order & value of the English Alphabet; thou shalt find new symbols to attribute them unto.” This implies an English Qabalah. That is, each letter (let’s say letter for now, though that is a misnomer) is to have a number so that values can be equated to certain words. Crowley, at one time, thought that "Liber Trigrammaton" fulfilled this command. I disagree. There have been other attempts since Crowley’s time. I think they are failures too. I believe the test of a valid English Qabalah would be that Nu would have to equal 56. I think that also Will and Love would equate to the same number. I don’t think it is excess hyperbole to say that is a most holy combination. In Greek Will and Love both equal 93, and in Hebrew they are 80. I think different values will be awarded to different sounds: ā, ă and ä will all have different values; the same goes for diphthongs and combinations of consonants such as ch. Good luck! (A post-modern aside: perhaps the International Phonetics Alphabet symbols hold a clue!)
Ra-Hoor-Khuit has commands for Crowley too: “Choose ye an island! (England) Fortify it! (magically, one presumes) Dung it about with enginery of war I will give you a war-engine. (did this prophesize the coming of Atomic and Nuclear warheads) With it ye shall smite the peoples and none shall stand before you. Lurk! Withdraw! Upon them! this is the Law of the Battle of Conquest : thus shall my worship be about my secret house (we seriously need to get Boleskine into the hands of True Believers)”
“Get the stélé of revealing itself (Crowley so whimped out on this) ; set it in thy secret temple — and that temple is already aright disposed — & it shall be your Kiblah (primary center of worship) for ever. It shall not fade, but miraculous colour shall come back to it day after day. Close it in locked glass for a proof to the world. This shall be your only proof. I forbid argument. Conquer! That is enough. I will make easy to you the abstruction (check “ab-” and “-struction” – it does not meant to make a copy) from the ill-ordered house in the Victorious City. Thou shalt thyself convey it with worship, o prophet, though thou likest it not. Thou shalt have danger & trouble. Ra-Hoor-Khu is with thee.”
There are many passages offering support to Crowley, that imply the gods are sympathetic to the intense emotions and euphoria their energy is projecting into him — that the intense rapture of personal contact with them is exhausting: “There is a light before thine eyes o prophet a light undesired, most desirable. I am uplifted in thine heart (Crowley’s Kundalini was extended); and the kisses of the stars rain hard upon thy body (Crowley was to be the first, in Thelemic terms, to merge Hadit and Nuit within himself). Thou art exhaust in the voluptuous fullness of the inspiration (the fullness of the task he was undertaking, the ecstasy of the union of the gods, was overwhelming) : the expiration is sweeter than death, more rapid and laughterful than a caress of Hell’s own worm. Oh! thou art overcome (again, the sheer intensity of the spiritual experience was overwhelming) : we are upon thee our delight is all over thee : hail! hail: prophet of Nu prophet of Had prophet of Ra-Hoor-Khu! Now rejoice! now come in our splendour & rapture Come in our passionate peace, & write sweet words for the Kings I am the Master : thou art the Holy Chosen One Write, & find ecstasy in writing! Work, & be our bed in working. Thrill with the joy of life & death. Ah! thy death shall be lovely : whoso seeth it shall be glad. Thy death shall be the seal of the promise of our agelong love. Come! lift up thine heart & rejoice! We are one; we are none Hold! Hold! Bear up in thy rapture fall not in swoon of the excellent kisses Harden! Hold up thyself! Lift thine head breathe not so deep — die! Ah! Ah! What do I feel? Is the word exhausted? There is help & hope in other spells.” This also is an apt description of the whole Hadit-as-aroused-Kundalini/Union-with-Nuit thing that the aspirant is called to. This will be discussed under that chapter.
“Ah! Ah! Death! Death! thou shalt long for death. Death is forbidden, o man, unto thee. The length of thy longing shall be the strength of its glory. He that lives long & desires death much is ever the King among the Kings.” I think this does apply to Crowley, but that it is also true for the total Thelemic experience.
There is the opportunity for confusion here. If one felt one’s work was done here, and it was time to go on, and one was wrong — then one would not die. This harkens to my own definition of the Great Work: the phrase can be used in two contexts. One definition is that we can claw ourselves back up the Tree of Life in our lifetimes, and that we are all called on to do. The other definition is that there is a special task we are to accomplish in our lifetimes, a grand adventure, a major endeavor. If this is truly our calling, if we have taken such a magical obligation, then we will not die until that work is accomplished.
“But remember, o chosen one, to be me (literally to identify with Hadit); to follow the love of Nu in the star-lit heaven; to look forth upon men, to tell them this glad word (in other words, to actually behave like a prophet). O be thou proud and mighty among men! Lift up thyself for there is none like unto thee among men or among Gods! Lift up thyself, o my prophet, thy stature shall surpass the stars. They shall worship thy name, foursquare (a magic square based around “The Beast 666”), mystic, wonderful, the number of the man : and the name of thy house 418 (at least two of Crowley’s residences bore the number 418, plus there are other considerations).”
“Establish at thy Kaaba a clerk-house : all must be done well and with business way.” This is an instruction to go about the business of setting up a formal religion, to meet all the legal requirements. [look up “Kaaba”.]
“There cometh a rich man from the West who shall pour his gold upon thee.” Karl Germer (a German who had migrated to America) supported Crowley later in his life.
“So shall it be until they that wake are asleep, and she that sleepeth be arisen from her sleep. For thou art transparent unto the vision and the voice. And therefore in thee they manifest not. But they shall be manifest unto them unto whom thou dost deliver them, according unto the word which I spoke unto thee in the Victorious City.” – The Equinox, Vol. 4, No. 2, p182
logos [לגס] =
= 93
“blessing & worship to the prophet of the lovely Star.” Indeed.
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