The connection between Qabalah and Yoga is well documented in, for example, Ponce (Pt. II, Ch. 1).
On the transformation of the Shaman to the Macranthropos
(Giant), see Butterworth (Tree, 178) and Eliade (Yoga, 235-6).
The Corpus Hermeticum (XI.20b) says:
At the World's Navel the Sun and the Moon always stand
stationary (Butterworth, Tree, 1, 93).
An appropriate altar is, of course, an Omphalos (in the form
of a dome or a truncated cone), which is always on a square
base representing the four corners of the Earth. It would
also be appropriate to have this surmounted by a symbol of the
Cosmic Tree or Pillar (such as a Caduceus). Since at least
the Fourth Millennium BCE, two or more concentric rings or
dots are a standard symbol for the Omphalos, and for the magic
power of the Enlightened, who work at the World Navel. Often
this symbol is shown with a truncated cone, a representation
of the Omphalos from the side. For fanfares, use a keras (a
goat or ram horn trumpet, Hebrew shofar), representing the
Cornucopia or Horn of Amaltheia (the goat who nursed Zeus); it
dispenses the Sacred Sound (see below). An appropriate ritual
chalice is an Omphalos Patera [phialê omphalotê], a shallow
dish with a nipple in the center; it may be filled from the
keras. (Butterworth, Tree, Ch. II)
Butterworth (Tree, 113-114) argues that the Horn above the
Cosmic Tree produces the Sacred Sound, the Om or Aum of
Eastern Traditions, which is the mystic nourishment produced
continually by the Sun. This sound can be produced by the Horn of
Amaltheia.
Higgins (I.106-8) traces the connection between Sanscrit Om,
Greek Omphê (the Voice of God), and Omphalos
(the Navel), where oracles were delivered. Further, Donnegan (s.v.
omphalos) records that some etymologists connect Omphalos with
Ompê (Fruit of the Earth). Thus we have the navel as the
place of mystical communion, in both sound and substance.
On Gnostic gems is found the sacred
name IAO [)Iaw] of the Sun, which the Greeks took to be the
name of the Jewish God, since the Tetragrammaton YHUH (using U
for the semivowel wau) was often pronounced IAO. The
Tetragrammaton has several other interesting connections with
Greek religion. For example, it has been claimed that YHUH,
pronounced YAUO or YAOU, is just IAO with a definite article.
This in turn is Jove, which is pronounced YOUE (Jupiter is a
contraction for Jove Piter = Jove the Father). The connection
with Zeus (pronounced DZEUS) is harder to see, due to the
retention of the initial consonant, but it is apparent from
the hard pronunciation of J (as in Jehova), which is
phonetically equivalent to DZH. Thus DZEU (Zeu, voc.) = DZHEU
(Jeu) = DZHEUO (Jeuo) = DZHOUE (Jove), etc. Finally, consider
the ecstatic cry of the Bacchantes, Io Euhoi [i)o\ eu)oi(/],
which is phonetically YO EUHOI. Dropping the vowels yields
YUH, which is three fourths of the Tetragrammaton. The
Tetragrammaton YHWH could be vocalized Yohewhoi (YO HEU HOI),
which is nearly identical to the Bacchantic yell. These
similarities may reveal a Sacred Sound (a "Secret God-Name")
common to many cultures. (See also Godwin, Vowels, Ch. 8.)
The Snake entwined around the Middle Pillar (of three) is seen
in Babylonian/Assyrian art. The Serpent is a symbol of Life,
Sexuality and Sensuality (as anyone will understand who has
ever allowed a Snake to explore them); it is associated with
both sexes (with males by phallic association, with females by
earth/water associations). The Snake also represents Wisdom,
Power and Eternity, and was associated with Athena,
Aesculapius, Hygeia and Hippocrates. (Goldsmith VI)
Typhon, the son of Gaia and Tartaros, is obviously a Chthonic
figure; he is a Giant, taller than the mountains and able to
reach from sunrise to sunset, who has snakes for legs and a
hundred serpent heads on his shoulders. He was defeated by
Celestial Zeus, with the complicity of the Chthonic Aigipan
(Pan the Goat). Similarly, Python was a son of Gaia, who
lived in a Cave by a Spring, or wrapped around a Laurel Tree
(N.B), and was later the Oracular Serpent at Delphi and coiled
around the Omphalos there. Celestial Apollo slew, not Python,
but Delphyne, a female womb-serpent (delphus = womb)
also at Delphi. (The
Kundalini Serpent is also female.) Another Chthonic figure
with serpent connections is Erichthonios, son of Gaia and
Hephaistos, and foster-son of Athena; he stands beside Her
shield in Phideas' statue. (Kerenyi, Gods, 26-28, 125-126,
135-137)
Other Goddesses, besides Helen, associated with the Middle
Pillar include Artemis, Hecate, Cybele, Demeter, Tyche and
Athena (Butterworth, Tree, 102-107).
The image of Three Pillars is common to many cultures,
including the Egyptians, Jews, Hindus, Druids, Mayans and
Incas. Frequently they are associated with a Triad of Gods,
and with a Trio of Qualities such as Wisdom / Strength /
Beauty, or Wisdom / Power / Goodness; recall the Three Pillars
of the Qabalistic Tree of Life: Might (Geburah or Boaz),
Mildness (Shekhinah) and Mercy (Hesed or Yachin).
Mycenaean art frequently features Sacred Pillars and Trees, often in
threes (see Evans, Myc. Tree & Pillar Cult). (Goldsmith IV,
XIX)
The "Black Shaman" and "White Shaman," which correspond to the
Chthonic (Telluric) and Celestial (Uranian) Paths, are known
from many cultures; see Eliade (Sham., 184-189) for a
discussion. There is in general no implication that the Black
Shaman is evil and the White Shaman is good.
(However we do have the Myth of Er in Plato's Republic,
614b & seq., wherein we have two Celestial Openings and Two Chasms in
the Earth, but the Bad Souls go down to the left and the Good Souls go
up to the right.)
Recall also
Raphael's School of Athens, where we see Plato, on the
observer's left, pointing to the Heavens and Aristotle, on the
observer's right, indicating the Earth. Although there is no
evidence either engaged in ecstatic practices, we still have
the distinction between the Celestial and Chthonic Ways.
Pairs of figures, with one pointing up and the other pointing
down, are found in Egypt as early as the Sixth Dynasty
(Butterworth, Tree, 46-47)
For the Dioskouroi and Helen see Butterworth (Tree III, V).
The Dioskouroi were represented by the dokona [do/kona], two
pillars connected by two cross-beams (Burkert 213), which
could easily symbolize the Two Ways on the Tree of Life.
Burkert thinks it may have been used as a Gate of Initiation.
Sometimes the Heavenly Twins are Herakles (Black) and Apollo
(White).
It is interesting to note that in the ancient tradition there
is no fixed association between the two sexes and the Two
Ways. For example, we do not find that Celestial Gods
associated with Priests and Chthonic Gods with Priestesses;
there are numerous exceptions to both. Nor do we find that
only women tread the Way of the Earth, or only men the Way of
the Air. Often the Two Ways are associated with two males
(the Dioskouroi) or two females (Ashtar and Ashtart = Ishtar).
Finally there is an absence of association of positive
qualities with one Way and negative qualities with the other.
This is all in marked contrast to the Qabalistic Tree of Life,
with its strong gender associations. Of course, we may choose
to consider the Sun's side male and the Moon's side female,
but there seems to be little ancient evidence for this in
Graeco-Roman antiquity, and it may lead us toward unwarranted
gender assumptions.
Prometheus is befriended by Black Shamans: Oceanus and His
Daughters and Herakles. Herakles is a Black Shaman, as shown
by the animal form he adopts: the Lion. We recall also that
He replaced Atlas (who is a Black Shaman, like His daughter
Calypso, who lives at the Navel of the Sea) in His station at
the Axis Mundi. Herakles' club is a dead limb from the Tree
of Life, which grows on the cliff over Charybdis, the Way
Down. He uses his bow and arrow -- common symbols for ascetic
discipline -- to slay the Eagle that torments Prometheus.
Further, when Herakles went to get the Oxen of Geryon, he
raised his internal heat by his ascetic practices (tapas), and
then took his bow (Mind) and shot his arrow (Self) at the Sun
(Celestial Illumination). During this same Labor he raised
the Twin Pillars (N.B.) of Herakles. (Butterworth, Tree, 9-
10, 133-134, 201-207)
Similarly, Tantalus was a Black Shaman stuck in the Underworld
(unable to return from trance?) and unable to reach the Tree
of Life (Butterworth, Traces, Ch. IV).
The Kuklopes (Cyclopes), who are known as Sons of Poseidon,
seem to be like Zen Masters. They see from their brow (the
Ajna-Chakra) and visit the Underworld. Note that "Cyclops"
derives from kukl-ops = wheel-eyed = chakra-eyed; they are
Giants (Macranthopoi), like all Shamans. Recall that Odysseus
visits the Cyclopes after his stop at the Land of the Lotus-
Eaters. Odysseus and his comrades are unwilling to put up
with the "soul-devouring" discipline of the Polyphemus, so
they close his brow-eye with wine, and extinguish his
illumination. When Odysseus called himself "Nobody" (Outis)
he may have been mocking the Cyclopes practice of uniting
their Ego with the World. They made the Keraunos
(Thunderbolt), which they later turned over to Zeus; it
represents the (originally Chthonic) powers symbolized by the
"Blazing Blossom" (the Lotus) and perhaps Lightning issuing
from the Earth. The Cyclopes were later the assistants of
Hephaistos, the Master of the Fiery Discipline (cf., tapas).
(Butterworth, Tree, 130-133, 172-178)
When he visits Prometheus, Odysseus takes the Twelve Best of
his companions, and Butterworth (Traces, 130; Tree, 167, 174-
175) observes that a Master with Twelve Disciples is a
traditional size for covens and other mystical groups.
Interestingly, Pausanias (II.xxiv.3-4) describes an ancient
wooden statue of Zeus at Argos, said to have been brought from
Priam's Troy, which shows Zeus with a Third Eye in His
forehead. Although we normally associate Zeus with the
Celestial rather than the Chthonic Path, Butterworth (Tree,
170-171, 177) observes that this figure represents Zeus
Chrysaoreus, who rules both the Heavens and the Abyss (and so
corresponds to both the Olympic Zeus and Poseidon); this deity
is equivalent to the mysterious Chrysaor, who emerged with
Pegasus from the severed neck of Medusa, a shamanic figure.
(Pausanias suggests that the Three Eyes correspond to the
Three Worlds, which we may call Heaven, Earth and Abyss.)
It is interesting that the Bull, Lion and Eagle were all
associated with the Serpent Power (Butterworth, Tree, 152-
153). This association recalls the Four Sacred Animals (Bull,
Lion, Eagle, Man) of the later esoteric tradition. Perhaps
originally the Four Sacred Animals were the Chthonic Bull and
Lion, and the Celestial Eagle and Winged Horse.
After 1000 BCE Babylonian amulets are found with a cross
indicating the four directions (see below); a symbol is in
each of the angles (De Vogel, 294).
Shaman staffs, such as Hermes' caduceus, often have a cross
bar. The staff probably symbolizes the Tree of Life, and the
crossbar its branches (Butterworth, Traces, 150). Hermes is,
of course, the Psychopompos, the Spirit Guide, and is found in
the vicinity of both Calypso's and Circe's caves at the Navel
(Butterworth, Tree, 118). He visits with equal ease the
Heavens and Hades.
Orphic grave tablets tell the "Child of Earth and Heaven" that
to the left and right are both a cypress-tree and a well. On
the supplicant's left is a white-cypress, associated with day
and the Sun; to the right, a dark cypress, associated with the
Moon. (Butterworth, Tree, 215-216)
The order of the Tau Cross is: Fiery Pillar (top-bottom,
center), Moon (left), Sun (right), back to center. Similarly,
in meditating on the triangle in the pericarp of the Sahasrara
Chakra, the Yogi begins with the Fire Bindu in the center,
follows the Line of Fire to the Moon Bindu (left), follows
the Line of the Moon to the Sun Bindu (right), and follows the
line of the Sun back to the Fire Bindu (Avalon 490-491). This
structure is also preserved in the Crucifixion on the back of
the Lotharkreuz in Aachen. See Butterworth (Tree, pp. 175,
215-223, pll. xxix-xxxi).
There are similar problems with Qabalah depending on whether
the Tree is faced externally or visualized internally.
Regardie (III.1) says that to the observer, the Pillar of
Mercy is on the Right and the Pillar of Strength on the Left,
but that when you internalize the Tree, your Right side
becomes Strength and your Left Mercy. On the other hand,
Ponce (137-141) argues that the Tree is properly applied to
the Primal Man facing away from the observer, so that on the
Left is the Pillar of Strength (Dark, Passive) and on the
Right the Pillar of Mercy (Light, Active).
In the foregoing I have placed Left and Right so that the
system of correspondences is consistent with Yoga as
interpreted by Butterworth and with the Qabalah as interpreted
by Ponce. So in the Tau Cross the Moon/Earth Path is on the
practitioner's Left and the Sun/Air Path is on the Right. In
this way the order of the Tau Cross (Heaven, Abyss, Moon/L,
Sun/R) agrees with the triangle in the pericarp of the
Sahasrara-chakra (Fire Bindu, Moon Bindu, Sun Bindu).
Fortunately, this orientation also preserves the order of the
Qabalistic Cross in the Golden Dawn Tradition (Kether,
Malkuth, Gedulah/L, Geburah/R), since it's from the
perspective of an observer facing an altar (Regardie III.94);
though Regardie (III.2), inconsistently, and other sources
gives Geburah/R, Gedulah/L, and still others have Gedulah/R,
Geburah/L.
Observe that, for most people, the Right is the Active Hand
and the Left the Passive Hand, that is, the Initiating Sun and
the Responding Moon. Further, if we face North, the Ascending
Path is in the East and the Descending in the West, or if we
face East, the Celestial Path is in the (warm, sunny) South
and the Chthonic Path in the (cold, earthy) North. (On the
other hand, the Paduka-Pancaka (v. 4, Avalon 490-491) puts the
Fire Bindu in the South, the Moon Bindu in the Northeast and
the Sun Bindu in the Northwest.) Finally, this orientation
agrees with a Greek tradition that distinguished Left and
Right Gods; the Left Gods are the Di Inferi (Lower Gods) and
the Right Gods the Di Superi (Upper Gods), though apparently
the Romans followed the Etruscans in reversing the
associations (Weinstock 1946). In any case, I don't consider
the issue settled, and readers should conduct their own
experiments; all the correspondences stay the same, just
switch Left and Right.
The Trivium represents the three Ways we may go at any given
time: the Celestial Way, the Mundane Way and the Chthonic
Way, which correspond to the Three Planes on which we may
move: Heaven, Earth and Hades (Overworld, Midworld,
Underworld). The Three Ways correspond to the Three
Principles of Alchemy: Sulphur (Anima), Salt (Corpus) and
Mercury (Spiritus), respectively. (In other contexts, Mercury
is the Active Mediator between Sun and Moon.)
Each Plane is divided into Four Quarters: the Four Quarters
of Heaven, the Four Quarters of Earth, the Four Quarters of
Hades. A crossroads or fourfold meeting of Paths is called a
Quadrivium, and one Path leads to each Quarter. So the
Trivium and Quadrivium together determine the possible Paths
we can follow (Seven Ways total giving Twelve Paths in
combination).
Interestingly, the traditional Pagan Curriculum (continued
through the Renaissance) comprised the Trivium (Grammar,
Dialectic, Rhetoric) and the Quadrivium (Arithmetic, Harmony,
Geometry, Astronomy), yielding the Seven Liberal Arts. Their
Planetary Patrons were as follows: Luna: Grammar, Mercury:
Dialectic, Venus: Rhetoric; Sol: Arithmetic, Mars: Harmony,
Jupiter: Geometry, Saturn: Astronomy. I will leave it as an
exercise for the reader to establish the correspondences to
the Worlds and Quarters.
Qabalah divides the Hebrew alphabet into three groups (Ponce I.2):
Three Mothers, Seven Doubles (Dyads) and Twelve Singles (Monads).
The Three Mothers are Aleph, Mem and Sin. These are traditionally
associated with the elements Air, Water and Fire, respectively.
Therefore we have the three Cosmic Planes: Fiery Heavens
(Sin/Fire), Watery Abyss (Mem/Water) and the Upward Path between
them (Aleph/Air), though the Downward Path (Earth) is either missing
or assimilated with the Upward (as the single Axis). Alternately,
since Aleph is the Mother of the Aspirates, Mem is the Mother of the
Mutes, and Sin is the Mother of the Sibilants, we might expect Earth
to be associated with a vowel that is the Mother of the other Vowels
(which the Hebrew alphabet didn't write).
The shamanic cosmology is better represented by the Seven Dyads,
which are: Beth/Gimel = Above/Below, Daleth/Koph = East/West,
Pe/Resh = North/South, and Tau = Center. Thus we have Three Planes
(Above, Center, Below) and Four Quarters (NSEW), which correspond to
the Seven Ways of the Trivium + Quadrivium. Interestingly, Tau is
the center, as in the Tau Cross. The remaining letters comprise the
Twelve Monads, which traditionally correspond with Zodiacal Signs,
though we may also expect them to correspond to the Twelve Paths
generated by the Seven Ways. Certainly, more research is needed,
especially to see how well these associations transfer to the
Graeco-Roman Tradition.
Downward Motion follows the sequence Fire, Air, Water, Earth,
that is to say, the Practitioner's Head, Right Hand, Feet,
Left Hand. This is exactly the opposite direction used in
the first part of the Circulation exercise, which flows from
the Head, down the Left Side, around the Feet, and up the
Right Side. However, it agrees with Plato's Cycle: Fire
condenses into Air, Air liquifies into Water, Water solidifies
into Earth, and Earth sublimates into Fire. In this exercise
we are drawing Power from both Extramundane Worlds. The
circulation draws the Celestial Fire down the Sun Channel into
the Way of Air, and it draws the Abyssal Water up the Moon
Channel into the Way of Earth. Exhalation corresponds to
drawing down, inhalation to drawing up. It will be helpful to
see the Elements going through the transformations of Plato's
Cycle, with the rotation driven by the streams of Heavenly
Fire and Abyssal Water. This part of the exercise helps
establish the Sun and Moon Channels.
Upward Motion follows the sequence Earth, Water, Air, Fire,
which in Plato's Cycle is: Earth dissolves into Water, Water
vaporizes into Air, Air rarefies into Fire, and Fire condenses
into Earth, known in Alchemy as the Rotation of the Elements
(Burckhardt, Ch. 6; see also my
"Rotation of the Elements").
We can make this correspond to the
second part of the exercise, if we turn to our Left (North),
so that the Moon Pillar is in front of us, and the Sun Pillar
behind, then the order of circulation is: Chest, Feet, Back,
Head. Exhalation corresponds to descent, inhalation to
ascent. Again, it is helpful to visualize the transformations
of Plato's Cycle, driven from Above and Below, as before.
This further strengthens the Sun and Moon Channels, but
facilitates the Journey on them (up for Sun, down for Moon),
whereas the preceding circulation facilitated the Return (down
for Sun, up for Moon).
In the last part of the exercise, the Energy spirals upward
around the Body, beginning in front of the Right Foot,
spiraling to the upper left, until it bursts from the Head to
flow down all sides to the Feet. This obviously corresponds
to Circular Motion and to the Fifth Element (Spirit,
Quintessence, Aether). Some versions do not have the Energy
spiral, but simply rise vertically up the Spine, until it
bursts from the Head, like Athena from Zeus's head. The basic
pattern is still Circular (or Spherical), however, since the
Energy flows back to the Feet on all sides. In both case you
draw Sustenance from the Abyss and raise the Serpent Power to
the Top of the Cosmic Tree, where its Abundance pours down
again upon the World Navel.
According to Regardie (III.59-60), the purpose of the
Circulation is to build up a three-dimensional Tree of Life
with Five Pillars. However, as we've seen, the traditional
Tree, in Qabalah and elsewhere, has three Pillars. Thus I've
used the second part of the Circulation to open the opposite
directions in the Moon and Sun Channels.
Pythagoras may have become acquainted with the Pentagram
during his sojourns in Egypt and Babylon (perhaps 554-533
BCE); in any case the Pythagorean Brothers used it as a sign
of recognition (Iambl., Vita Pyth. XXXIII). They called the
Pentagram "Hugieia" [(Ugi/eia], which is usually translated
"Health," but has more the sense of Soundness or Wholeness.
The Pentagram was still used with this meaning in Paracelsus'
time (c.1493-1541). The Pythagoreans also used "Be
sound/whole!" as their greeting (Scholia in Aristoph., Nubes
609; Lucian, Pro lapsu 5). In fact Bonner (p. 177) notes
that Hugieia is a fairly common inscription on amulets, and
that Perdrizet thinks it and similar inscriptions are Oriental
in origin (the word, of course, is Greek).
The Pythagoreans apparently labeled the points or angles of
the Pentagram with the Greek letters UGIEIA.
Budge (Amul. & Superst., 232-233), in an exhibition of
remarkably sloppy scholarship, says that the "shield of
Solomon" (i.e. the Hugieia Pentagram) is inscribed with the
Greek letters IGIRA "meaning something like 'wholesome,' 'good
for health,'" though there is no such Greek word. Looking at
the figure in his book we see an upright pentagram surrounded
by two rings; between the rings and aligned with the angles
between the pentagram's points are Greek letters reading
clockwise: UGI?A. The mysterious fourth letter is
unidentifiable, but the figure is from Agrippa's De occulta
philosophia (Lib. III, cap. xxi). The letter is still not
entirely clear in my edition of Agrippa (Brill, 1992), but its
appearance is consistent with a common medieval abbreviation
for EI (which looks vaguely like a theta, but more like a
dollar sign made without lifting the pen). (Francis Barrett
translates the relevant part of Agrippa in The Magus, Bk. II,
Ch. XVII, but does not include the figure.)
So we can conclude that the Pythagoreans labeled the Pentagram
with the letters U, G, I, EI, A, reading clockwise (or perhaps
counterclockwise), placing them on the points starting at the
top (Alstedius, Kircher), or in the angles starting at the top
right (Agrippa).
Now, of course, when one draws a Banishing or Invoking
Pentagram of any kind, one does not visit the points in either
a clockwise or counterclockwise order. One might suppose that
some Great Secret is revealed when the Pentagram is labeled as
above, but the letters visited in an invoking or banishing
order. But if that is the case, I have not been able to
penetrate the Mystery. The resulting sequences of letters do
not seem to spell anything, let alone anything interesting.
Therefore, I've decided that it's more meaningful, in a
Banishing or Invoking Pentagram, to call off the sounds in
their natural order, but other approaches might be worth some
experimentation.
The singing of the sounds, especially the vowel sounds,
creates compact entities in the Spectral Realm. The longer
they are continued, the denser (more compact) their Spectres.
Their Power is collocated in the Spectral Realm with that of
all similar sounds, no matter when they were made, or where.
Thus connections and causal relations are established across
Space and Time. This is a consequence of the Mathematics of
Harmony (Fourier Analysis).
When it comes to intoning the name of the Pentagram, HUGIEIA
is especially appropriate, since it is almost entirely vowels,
and the G is easily extended as a velar fricative. The Latin
version, SALUS, is not as good, but the sibilant S and liquid
L are easily prolonged. For the English version, though SOUND
and WHOLE both have five letters, they do not have five
sounds. But WHOLENESS does (vowels: O, E; liquid: L; nasal:
N; sibilant S), and corresponds better with HUGIEIA and SALUS,
being a noun rather than an adjective.
I've kept the usual Earth Banishing Pentagram (lower-left to
top) for this "Lesser" ritual, though I know of no ancient
warrant for the usual association of the Five Elements with
the points of the Pentagram.
The Growth and Destruction symbolized by the Keraunos is the
Law (Logos) of the universe, governed by Zeus. As Heraclitus
says, "Keraunos steers all things," and Hippolytus explains,
"by Keraunos he means the Eternal Fire, ... and he calls it
Need and Glut" (DK 22B 64, 65). Heraclitus also says (DK 22B
20), "The World Order -- the same for all -- no one of Gods or
people made, but it ever was and is and shall be: Fire
Everliving, being kindled in measures and in measures being
extinguished." He says it is the basis of the Cosmos: "All
things from Fire arise and into Fire resolve; all things come
to be in accord with Destiny, and through opposing currents
existing things are made a harmonia (structure)" (Diog.
Laert. ix.7)
Similarly Empedocles, in a passage previously quoted, makes
Strife (Neikos) and Love (Philotes), that is, Destruction and
Growth, the two great motive forces of the Universe. He also
says (DK 31B 17),
In form and nature the Keraunos is a "Blazing Blossom" or
"Fiery Flower," again representing Growth and Destruction. In
the Second Olympian Ode, Pindar says (Houghton tr.):
Hera's Cuckoo-bearing Sceptre, which represents the Celestial
Spirit nesting on the top of the World Tree. (Zeus first came
to Hera in the form of a Cuckoo.)
Hades' name may mean "the
Unseen" ["(/Aidhs" < "a) idh/s"].
When projecting the Four Weapons through the Pentagrams, the
practitioner might find it helpful to make an appropriate
gesture: as though throwing a dart for Zeus's Keraunos, as
though throwing a frisbee for Hestia's Burning Ring, as though
throwing a javelin for Poseidon's Trident, as though throwing
a knife for Demeter's Torch.
Pan may seem an unlikely Ward, but when Athens honored
Him and asked Him to help defend them from the Persians, he
did so (Herodt. VI.105.2-3).
The Gods suggested above correspond approximately to the
Archangels usually invoked in the LBRP. East: Raphael (air,
eagle), who presides over human spirit (cf. Apollo, Hermes).
West: Gabriel (water, man), who presides over Paradise &
Cherubim (cf. Aphrodite, Artemis). South: Michael (fire,
lion), who is militant, and presides over human virtue (cf.
Athena, Mars). North: Uriel (earth, calf), who presides over
clamor and terror (cf. Pan, Dionysos). See also Spence (Enc.
Occult., s.v. Angels), and Barrett (Magus, IV.i.112, ii.135).
The Hexagram shining within the Body (Salt) signifies the
Perfect Union of Spirit (Sulphur) and Soul (Mercury), which is
the "Living Gold," the goal of Spiritual Alchemy. That is,
the Celestial and Chthonic Worlds meet in the Mundane World.
"If then thou dost not make thyself equal to the God, thou
canst not know the God; for by like is like known. Leap thou
clear of everything corporeal, and make thyself grow to a
magnitude like that magnitude which is beyond measure; rise
above all time, and become eternal; then wilt thou know the
God."
The Four Elements
You shall learn all the potions [pharmaka] that there are
for ills and defense against old age, since for you alone will
I accomplish all this. And you shall stay the force of the
unwearied winds which sweep over the Earth and lay waste the
fields with their blasts; and then, if you wish, you will
bring back breezes in requital. After black rain you shall
cause drought for men in due season, and then after summer
drought cause air-inhibiting tree-nourishing streams. And you
shall bring from Hades the strength of a dead man.
On the Elements, he says (DK 31B 6):
Now hear the fourfold roots of everything:
Theophrastus (372-287 BCE) explained (DK 31A 33) that Zeus is
Fire, Hera is Air, Hades (Aidoneus) is Earth and Nestis is
Water (although even in antiquity there was disagreement over
which was which). Thus, Zeus corresponds to the Heavens,
Nestis to the Abyss, Hera to the Way of Air, and Hades to the
Way of Earth. Elsewhere (DK 31B 17) Empedocles says,
Enlivening Hera, Hades, shining Zeus
And Nestis, moistening mortal springs with tears.
I shall tell a twofold tale: at one time they grew to be One
alone out of Many, at another again they grew apart to be Many
out of One --
Fire [Pur] and Water [Hudor] and Earth [Gaia]
and the immense height of Air [Eer], and cursed Strife
[Neikos] apart from them, equal in every direction, and Love
[Philotes] among them, equal in length and breadth.
(Strife and Love are discussed below.) The Two Oppositions of
the Four Qualities (Hot/Cold, Moist/Dry) also appear in
Empedocles (DK 31B 23), and before him in Heraclitus (533-475
BCE), who said (DK 22B 126),
Cold warms up, warm cools off, moist parches, dry dampens.
There are also allusions to the Four elements in other
fragments of Heraclitus (DK 22B 31, 76). In the De Gen. &
Cor. (Bk. II) of Aristotle (384-322 BCE) we have the Canonical
Doctrine of the Four Elements and the Two Oppositions, which
persists in the Magical Tradition. So the Doctrine was
established by the Fourth Century BCE and probably at least as
early as the Sixth. (See Kirk, Raven & Schofield, Chh. VI,
X.)
(More on the fundamental potencies of the Elements can be found in my
"Rotation of the Elemenets".)
Right & Left
Trivium & Quadrivium
Circulation Through the Tree of Life
II. Pentagrams of the Quarters
xiv(a). In Greek the Pentagram hath the Name HUGIEIA...
xiv(b). In Latin the Pentagram hath the Name SALUS...
xiv(c). Though in English we label the Pentagram WHOLE or SOUND...
Allman (p. 26)
shows them on the points arranged counterclockwise from the
top thus: U, G, I, EI, A. The fact that UGIEIA has six
letters is an inconvenience, and Allman observes that the
Pythagoreans wrote upsilon, gamma, iota, theta, alpha at the
points, perhaps because an adjacent epsilon and iota look
something like a theta. Chasles (1875, p. 478-479) likewise
lists these five letters, quoting Alstedius (Encyc. univ.,
1620) and Kircher (Arithmologia, 1665).
And these things never cease their continual interchange, now
through Love all coming together into One, now again each
carried apart by the hatred of Strife.
Compare also: Horus the Creator, Set the Destroyer and Shu
the Mediator; Brahma the Creator, Shiva the Destroyer, Vishnu
the Preserver.
And such as thrice have dared,
See Butterworth (Tree, 205, 224-225) on the Keraunos as an
"efflorescence of flame." As such it is an androgynous
symbol, for the Flame (or Jewel) is masculine and the Water
(or Lotus) is feminine (Goldsmith 8-9).
abiding either side of death,
To keep their souls aloof from evil doing,
Proceed the road of Zeus to Kronos' tower,
Where 'round the islands of the blest,
the Ocean breezes blow,
And the Blossoms blaze with gold ...
III. Wards of the Quarters
IV. The Macrocosm in the Microcosm
V. The Closing Tau Cross
Return to Biblioteca Arcana page
Send comments about this page
Last updated:
Tue Jul 7 19:33:07 EDT 1998