Sol and Luna: Astrology and Psychology

The Hermetic Marriage of Sol and Luna is a common enough theme in occult literature, but the specifics of it are often shrouded in obtuse symbols and strange ritual praxis. I've always felt that there's a much more practical way for us to benefit from the Marriage of Sol and Luna without necessarily having to get lost in archaisms. In this post I'd like to explain to you my experience with this metaphysical alchemical process so that hopefully at least some of you may benefit.

First of all we have to remember that Sol and Luna constitute broad categories. Sol is of course the masculine element and Luna is the counterbalancing feminine. The idea is that these two forces or personas must be wedded together into one overall Entity. I capitalize "entity" because truly that is a state of perfection and attainment, which is godliness. God in Genesis is referred to as Elohim, which in Hebrew has both masculine and feminine connotations. God is not simply one or the other - he is both in perfect union. When Elohim creates man in his own image Adam comes first because God, being the active creative force in the universe, can be predominantly understood and conceptualized as masculine. Eve is second but being made of the same flesh as Adam should be understood to be his equal - at least in the original marital configuration. (It isn't until Eve sins that God declares her to be subservient to Adam.) It is through their marriage, however, that Adam and Eve are made into "one flesh," and are thereby made more perfect "as [their] Father in Heaven is perfect." This is a reference to one of Jesus's more vague commands since the definition of perfection is so ineffable and tenuous, but it certainly is necessary advice. Man is imperfect until he is made unified with his complement. Love being the only force that is capable of uniting the divided, it can be said that perfection is only attainable through the heat of love.

What I mean by "broad categories" is that Sol and Luna represent different things for different people. For the evidence of this we must turn to astrology. Everyone has a sun sign and a moon sign and these represent separate aspects of one's personality. In my case the sun was in Scorpio and the moon was in Leo at the time of my birth. Both of these accurately describe my overall personality. In my experience the moon sign is a weaker, less stable because more fluctuating, personality, and it is more subject to the themes and archetypes represented by the sun sign. The sun sign, however, is consistent though not without its own vices and issues. So everyone's case is different. Even two people who have the same signs in the same configuration will obviously not be the same person by virtue of their different experience, nor will their personal methods of development and growth be the same. Their True Wills are inherently different and must be so, otherwise they would be the same being - a clear fallacy. Put simply, the way a sign expresses itself in the nature of an individual is unique to that individual if only by virtue of the individual's indivisibility and universal centrality ("Every man and every woman is a star.")

In my experience, the worst elements of my sun sign - vengefulness, grudge holding, licentiousness, obsession, and depression - have always been more prominent and out of control in my life when my moon sign has equally been unsupported or misunderstood - in my case at times when I've felt unappreciated, unconfident, weak, too introverted, etc. It wasn't until I discovered more about my moon sign personality (particularly through the help of tarot and meditation, invoking of the HGA) and learned to ground this personality that the less useful and negative aspects of my sun sign started to also evaporate. (This is not to suggest that I've become perfect, by any means.) Sources of lifelong sadness and angst have started to melt away because of the growing strength of my lunar foundation. It's no coincidence that on the Tree of Life Luna is associated with Yesod, which translates to "foundation" in Hebrew. The path of Samekh (XIV Art, Sagittarius, the Arrow) that connects Luna in Yesod to Sol in Tiphareth on the Tree is associated with the Hermetic Marriage, and represents Nature, or Creation, as the union of opposites. We must exalt our personal psychological Eve so that we can also redeem Adam.

It's very much a process, of course - a long and natural one. And balance and moderation are crucial aspects of it. Crowley's commentary on XIV Art are revealing and perceptive into this metaphysical/psychological/natural process of self evolution. The basis for it is understanding of one's nature, particularly those parts of our nature which happen without our consent. There are many aspects of our behavior that simply happen with our without or conscious choosing of them. Represented by the moon in her "lower aspect," in other words in Yesod, it is important to wade through the sometimes nonsensical, phantasmagoric muck of the subconscious. I think the ultimate goal is to use the power of will or consciousness to wed the best aspects of Luna with the best aspects of Sol. "Love is the Law, Love under Will." The Marriage of Self must be a choice. Perhaps it can be suggested that this is one of the most divinely inspired or godlike decisions we can make regarding our own lives, as it was God's will that Self should be divided in the first place, and it is God's will that Self should be reunited and thereby redeemed. To imitate the divine will is to assume the identity of the Divine itself and to essentially become its equivalent. This represents an even higher spiritual marriage, that which exists between the Eternal Self, which is God, and the Temporal Self, which is the incarnated man in living in the body. Thus the highest is reconciled with the lowest and the road to Paradise is made clear.

The importance of this reconciliation is made clear by the traditional medieval text, "Virga Jesse," taken from Isaiah which reads:

Virga Jesse floruit:

Virgo Deum et hominem genuit:

pacem Deus reddidit,

In se reconcilians ima summis.

Alleluia.

The rod of Jesse hath blossomed:

A Virgin hath brought forth God and man:

God hath restored peace,

Reconciling in Himself the lowest with the highest.

Alleluia.

The Virgin is the equivalent of Malkuth, the Kingdom, Malkah the Bride. But the key phrase here is, "God hath restored peace, reconciling in Himself the lowest with the highest." In other words, through the Virgin's acceptance of the Divine Will (which in this case is reconciliation and unification) within herself (both through her statements, "As you say, let it be done to me," and, "Behold, I am the Handmaiden of the Lord," and through her literal physical acceptance of the Word/Will in her womb) the mystery of the Incarnation has been made possible, and it is through Christ's Incarnation that God has united the Divine and Human natures and has thereby established harmony - the basis of Creation and Redemption. The chaos of sin brought about by self ignorance and unwillingness to understand oneself is brought into check, allowing the individual the freedom to grow in the direction they were meant to grow in from the Beginning. This explains the attribution of XIV Art to Sagittarius, the sign of freedom and exploration, spirituality and philosophy. Perhaps it is no surprise that Sagittarius himself is both half man and half beast. It is certainly no surprise that his sign is the arrow, which is a glyph of the will, which is to say "love." 

Not the best interpretation of this piece, but you get the idea.

"Virga Jesse" by Anton Bruckner

Pergolesi's "Fac ut ardeat" and XI Lust

Unfortunately one of my least discussed topics on here is music. That's possibly because I do so much music in life that it's nice to have a space to write stuff in that doesn't necessarily have to do with it. But today I'm going to just direct you on the path of some really amazing stuff I've just found that I think really speaks to arcanum XI Lust.

Admittedly that's sort of an awkward picture to have frozen, but ignore that and listen to at least some of it. This is a performance of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, a lovely Italian Baroque setting of a famous Marian devotional prayer, as performed by Les Talens Lyriques, soprano Sabina Puertolas, and mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux. The whole thing is really quite amazing, but particularly great is about 18:26 minutes in when the "Fac ut ardeat" starts.

The Stabat Mater, by the way, is an old Marian devotional prayer that's actually quite a long poem. It describes various aspects of the Passion from the perspective of the Virgin Mother, and petitions the Virgin to allow the supplicant to feel the same sorrow as she did in her beholding of the Passion. The Virgin's grief is an expression of her ardent love for her Son, and so in asking for grief the supplicant is really asking for greater love of Christ.

The full text of the "Fac ut ardeat" is brief, just a stanza of the whole poem.

Fac, ut ardeat cor meum

in amando Christum Deum

ut sibi complaceam.

Which means essentially, "Make my heart to burn in the love of Christ the Lord as you did." As you'll notice, Pergolesi's setting of this portion is incredibly feisty, contrapuntally intricate, and rhythmically unrelenting. He certainly captures the sense of burning and fire here, as well as the passionate sense of urgency in that feeling of crushing sorrow born out of ecstatic love. The competitive ascent up the scale by the overreaching of one voice over the other also conveys not only virtuosity but that sense of ecstatic, practically orgasmic love. I would argue that the chromatic descents down the scale near the end of the movement also represent death (as descending chromatic 4ths usually did in the Baroque era), and the in the Renaissance Italian poets began using death as a metaphor for orgasm. There are many Italian poems from the 16th and 17th centuries that say something to the effect of, "O, that I would die 1,000 times a day, etc." So the placement of descending chromatic 4ths here really is quite significant. This is a passionate representation of divine love as experienced through sexual energy and release. 

This movement for me is entirely about Arcanum XI Lust. Lust isn't just passion or desire, it's about the kind of ecstatic, transcendent love one can experience for Divinity. Those moments are sort of indescribable. It usually feels like my heart is radiating warmth and joy mixed with reverence. Sometimes I feel transported somewhere else, sometimes I can't stop smiling, it's always beautiful no matter what. And it's that energy that can be channeled in various ways in a magickal sense. When harnessed in the proper way that same sexual love for God can be used for prayer and ritual. 

All that being said, I thought this piece captured XI Lust for me. Maybe you agree? Let me know!

Relearning Jesus

What I am about to say will sound entirely illogical, but one of the best things Christians can do for themselves and for others is to start over again and relearn Jesus. It stands to reason that modern experience and knowledge has greatly toppled over traditional facts about religion and morality that were always assumed to be truisms. It no longer makes sense to say that God is partial only to one particular race of people; most concepts of "sinfulness" seem unnecessary or silly by modern standards; and the historical evidence of an authentic human Jesus is scant. If anything, the primary evidence of Jesus's very existence, the Bible, is riddled with allusions to and borrowings from many other religions and practices that hail from the ancient Mediterranean. To say Christianity is unique is downright preposterous given what we know about these historical ties to previous rituals, myths, and philosophies.

Knowing this, the modern Christian has to finally rid themselves of blind, ignorant faith and accept the fact that almost 2,000 years of Christian apologetics is practically defunct in the present era. Reading material like Thomas Aquinas's mind boggling Summa Theologica no longer convinces us of God's existence with the same force it did for medieval thinkers. In a culture where we demand physical evidence of all things there is no overwhelming proof even for the existence of God's very Incarnation - something that should have left a very real physical imprint on the archaeological record.

It becomes clear that all may not be what it seems regarding the mythology of Christianity. In order to remain sensible beings we must at least quietly entertain the possibility that Christ never existed in the first place, which seemingly throws the entire religion into chaos and sets it on a path toward destruction. But this is not necessarily true.

In my personal approach to faith, I have tried to remain connected to its historical source. I have always wanted to know how early and medieval Christians experienced our shared religion. There is so much one can learn from the texts and documents from these periods, and I consider it a tremendous tragedy that many moderns neglect this aspect of Christianity's rich narrative, yet they still claim to know much about their religion. But the most crucial aspect of what I've learned from this kind of study is that allegory is everything. The traditional historical Christian mystic has no patience for the things of the temporal or material. For them everything in the Bible is primarily transcendental, and things that occur in the physical domain are simply illusive reflections of an allegorical reality original conceived in the spiritual realm. In other words, the events of every day life conceal messages and influences from various other powers. The same is true of all narratives and parables, and we know that Jesus speaks primarily in parables throughout the Bible.

The truth is, the narrative of Jesus's life does not have to have literally happened in order to be deeply relevant in the real world. Truly the Bible is considered to be the direct Word of God, and this has particular connotations. We can recall from the Gospel of St. John that, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God." John is referring to Christ, as the Christ is understood to be the Living Word, or the Word Made Flesh. Philo the Jew (20 B.C.  - 50 A.D.), one of the most influential Neo-Platonic philosophers of the entire period of Antiquity and perhaps the originator of the whole "Logos" concept in the first place, explained that the Logos or Word of God was the person through whom God crafted the Universe. Since God cannot directly come into contact with matter (as in the Platonic approach matter is strictly evil due to its density), He requires an intermediary in order to shape and affect it as according to His Will. (Of course, Word and Will are inextricably synonymous.) The Logos is therefore equivalent to God's "blueprint" for Creation, a kind of ideal design for the world as it should be. Matter being weak, heavy, and mutable is unable to sustain this level of perfection and therefore it allows for evil to exist. In other words, to patch these two points together, Christ has existed since the beginning of time prior to the creation of matter and is also the equivalent to the Bible itself. In this light, then, the Bible represents the "blueprint" for the ideal universe, not necessarily the real universe.

Therefore to say that the Bible depicts literal events as they occur in matter, in extension through space and time, is to miss the point. Theoretically the narrative of the Bible occurs simultaneously, not in extension. We can benefit from conceptualizing the timeline of Jesus's life as conflated with the timeline of the Jewish people as told in the Old Testament. And even more specific events within the two timelines can occur simultaneously, or be understood to be directly connected. The Annunciation takes place at the same time as the Visitation, the Presentation, and the Assumption. The Nativity of Christ occurs simultaneously with His Passion and Resurrection. The Exile of the Jewish people is in synch with the slaying of Goliath, etc.

Obviously this opens a difficult Pandora's Box, if you will. The Bible no longer seems to make sense. And yet, we must at least attempt to see how this is possible if only by recognizing that God is eternally present. God is an never-ending NOW, an eternal circle of all possible pasts, presents, and futures condensed into one pure Moment. To us, the Moment appears to happen in a linear or even cyclical fashion. The events of Christ's life are commemorated throughout the solar year; in doing so we achieve linear comprehension of the narrative as well as cyclical as the years endlessly repeat themselves. But in the eye of God all these events relate to one eternal present that never changes or fades, one that constitues what is supposedly God's ideal "blueprint" for the world.

As if this weren't confusing enough, what do we do when we remember that Christianity teaches us that Christ lives in each of us? That Christ is the literal center of our unique and individual lives, and that therefore we are all unified in some subtle and unexplainable way? This is to say that each individual contains at the center of their lives the same narrative structure as the entire contents of the Bible as told from the Creation of the World in Genesis to its Destruction by Fire in Apocalypse. But we all know instinctively that we don't all lead the exact same lives - the specific contexts of our individual lives pan out differently for each of us. And yet it is undeniably an aspect of Christian teaching that Christ, the Omniscient Logos, resides in each of our hearts. This is to say that over the course of one's life one experiences the same story as that told in the Life of Christ, since He, the universal blueprint, constitutes the center around which each of our lives revolves. The exact details of the way in which this story unfolds for each of us is different. The narrative is the same. This is only possible because the narrative itself does not actually occur within the confines of space and time. The narrative of Jesus Christ is an ideal allegorical representation of what it is to be human, to have the spirit wedded to the tabernacle of the body, for whom the spirit seems to suffer and undergo death out of love.

This further suggests that the Logos is not only the means by which a transcendant God manipulates the universe from afar, but is the tool or hand by which God directly interacts and lives in the world. Through the dense material of the body God's narrative plays out in space and time in an endless circle in as many different forms as He sees fit. No matter what corruption ever befalls the Son through death the original Godhead remains pure and unadulterated. The Source of Life is never tainted no matter what grossness may affect Him through interaction with matter. Knowing this we can affirm that in Christ we are One Body and One Blood; that we are all spotless at heart, and no torment may ever change or affect who we really are; and that God so loved the world that he sent His only Begotten One to redeem it from darkness. Matter in and of itself is useless. It is only through invigoration through the spirit of life that it becomes something of value. But the selfless contribution of Life to matter in order to endow that matter with Consciousness inevitably condemns that Life energy to die and seemingly change. But after the Passion Christ rises again and remains untainted. In dying Christ opens the gates of paradise; in opting for death the spirit blows open the doors of the earthly hell and brings down the fires of the ideal paradise. In Christ we know there is no east nor west, and in Christ we may therefore also say that Heaven and Hell are allowed to coexist to some extent. In Him and through His Death the great possibilities of the ideal world as represented by the Logos are allowed to be brought forth into the darkness of the material world.

John the Baptist and The Chariot

It may be strange to connect John the Baptist to VII The chariot, but there is good reason for doing so. The Nativity of John the Baptist, celebrated each June 24th, roughly coincides with the transition into the sign of Cancer on the 21st. Cancer, of course, is the sign associated with VII The Chariot. Cancer also being the cardinal sign of water represents the initial onrush of that element. Remember that John baptized with water, as opposed to Christ, whose coming John foretold, but who baptized "in the Spirit."

The Chariot is associated with the Holy Grail, the womb of life, the cup of the Goddess, in which is poured blood. In Christian symbolism blood and water are synonymous, which is particularly interesting given Cancer's watery nature.

The transition into Cancer on the 21st, coinciding with the Summer Solstice, represents the pinnacle of the sun's strength throughout the solar year. The solstice is the longest day of the year and all subsequent days steadily shorten. On this day the sun is at the height of its power, and in the scheme of the solar year, is when it seems most indestructible. This is a theme carried out in the Roman celebration of Sol Invictus, though this holiday was celebrated around the time of Christmas (around December 24th when the sun seems to "regenerate" after its steady decline in force through the fall).

Perhaps what remains mysterious is why the Church decided to place John the Baptist's Nativity a the same time as the transition into Cancer and the Summer Solstice. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that John himself "was not the light, but came to testify to the light." Because of this we can see his connection to Cancer (being watery), and a more general connection to the sun (as Cancer is not ruled or associated with the sun directly in any way). Therefore John's association is more aquatic than solar. In some ways we can see John as the Cup Bearer, he who bears the Grail filled with the Blood, which is solar, which is synonymous with Christ. Perhaps we can even vaguely associate John with a form of Binah, the Goddess. Indeed, John the Baptist is often depicted as an effeminate youth in Renaissance art. John conveyed the solar redemptive message, but was not the essence of redemption itself.

Let us also take note of The Chariot's associations with paths and directions. Being the bridge between Binah, the Mother of Form, and Geburah, the Power of God, The Chariot represents the form of power, or rather form being empowered. Really the distinction is irrelevant. Regardless, the energy of Geburah is given form through the Understanding the Soul is capable of. Enlightened by Wisdom, the Understanding first begets Mercy, whose main operation is to generate, but so that all things may be balanced Understanding also begets Power, whose primary function is to energize and destroy. The Chariot therefore destroys all other paths but the One True Path, which is True Will, which is Destiny, which is the cornerstone of personal Salvation, which is the Holy Guardian Angel, which is Christ.

Remember, too, that John the Baptist is always associated with the prophecy of Isaiah that says, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, 'Prepare, ye, the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'" John prepared the way, clearing it for the future sowing and reaping represented in Christ's Life, Death, and Resurrection. John made the path straight, much like the path of the Chariot. In other words, the Chariot represents a direct route for energy to take. It teaches us that the most potent energy, the most triumphant energy, is that which is grounded to only one direction and purpose. Ultimately that purpose must be solar in nature (and therefore connected to Light, Life, Love, and Liberty), must be geared towards Self, and must therefore be self-redeeming. Baptism, as we know, destroys original sin. It washes away our transgression and wipes us clean. Clearly this is a reference to Geburah's destructive and cleansing quality. Sin is the condition of life in which the consciousness is swept side to side by distractions, impulses, and desires. It is the condition of multiplicity, of disorder, and disobedience. It is to have no power over the world because one does not have power over oneself. The only recourse is purification through destruction. Through metaphysical baptism (which the ritual and sacrament of Baptism reflects), one may transcend to the victorious state of the Chariot. This is a state of being in which one becomes a vessel, a conduit for the Living God, and follows His precepts. And to follow His commandment is to Love Him, and truly "there is nothing that can unite the divided but love." The Chariot therefore also represents a condition of intense love in which the individual is lost in the mystery of the Eternal Self, which is the God of the personal Universe - the architect of one's experience over the Aeons. "There are love and love. There is the Dove and the Serpent Choose ye well!" Love, we must remember, must eradicate differentiation. In The Chariot, one is so knit to the Path of God by the power of love that one becomes as the prophets Elijah and Enoch, and "goes to walk with God." To do so is to never be known again and is akin to Nirvana. 


This condition is thus a state of grace and perfection - remember that the Chariot's number is 418, ABRAHADABRA, the cipher of the Great Work, and the word that opens all doors. When one delves deeper, one also draws the connection between ABRAHADABRA and Harpocrates, the god of Silence, the Babe in the Egg of Blue, whose Silence is the secret key to all locks, whose amorphous essence is the answer to all mysteries. Being associated with Kether, Harpocrates is also the Spirit. 


Everything connects. Baptism through water, which is blood, leads to grace, which is victory over the world and the self (an interior version of the exterior projected world); the path of grace leads to baptism in the Spirit, which is Salvation. Salvation is love of the Eternal Self to such a degree that one commits to following the path laid out by the Eternal Self in all things. Their path becomes straight, though surrounded on all sides by the desert. 

The Erotic Art of Living

Oscar Wilde once said, "Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power." There is such overwhelming truth to this statement; its validity is experienced everywhere. Sexuality is the foundation of many of our drives and motivations, and our media culture is inundated with it to the point where it is impossible to escape it. Perhaps we grieve the loss of "childhood innocence" because it represents a time when the sexual impulse doesn't exist (though Freud of course would argue against that), and all the emotional problems that arise from it likewise don't exist. We can all agree that sexuality is complicated for everyone, and that it in turn complicates everything it comes in contact with. It certainly adds a complexity to our relationships with others either for good or ill. The desire that becomes inflamed in us for another person can become consuming, distorting, or enrapturing. But we must remember that the absolute basis for sexuality is undeniably the biological need to procreate. Sex in general has become so cheapened by sentimentalization and capitalism that it has become almost ugly. 

The Platonic Spheres

The esoteric Kabbalists and Hermeticists tell us that the sephira of Yesod is associated with the genitals, animal instinct, and procreation. It is also "the moon on a lower arc," as of course Luna in her highest aspect is represented by the path of Gimel descending from the Highest of Kether to the Son of Tiphareth. The Platonists developed the concept of a geocentric universe in which the planets occupy "spheres," or ring-like metaphysical territories that surround their path of orbit around the earth. The order of the planetary spheres in emanation outward from the earth was Luna, Mercury, Venus, Sol, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and something called the Primum Mobile - the "first mover." I hope you will notice that the order of the Platonic spheres is perfectly in line with the order of the Kabbalistic Sephiroth, where following Malkuth/Earth, we have Yesod/Luna, Hod/Mercury, Netzach/Venus, Tiphareth/Sol, Geburah/Mars, Chesed/Jupiter, Binah/Saturn, Chokhmah/Fixed Stars, and Kether/Primum Mobile. 


In Classical thought, the sphere of the moon was considered the source of fate, that which cruelly ties man to the earth, forces him to labor and die. The goal of all budding mystery cults at the turn of the first century was essentially apotheosis (the process by which man becomes a god), or something much akin to it. The deities worshipped by mystery cults were thought to occupy certain planetary spheres, it was believed that if one offered supplication to them throughout life that deity would then redeem the spirit of the individual after death. Prior to this period, Greco-Romans didn't have much of a conceptualization of the afterlife. One simply became a shade, neither enjoying any benefits nor suffering any punishments. With the development of a Western concept of an afterlife and the popularization of Plato's ideas regarding the soul and spirit of man, people became more concerned with the condition of these metaphysical substances, and thus redeeming gods such as Christ, Dionysus, or Mithras became more prominent. Religion became focused on saving man from his fatalistic attachment to materiality and corporeality that was the result of living under the sway of the ever-changing moon. The alternative was remaining in a cycle of reincarnation, as the heaviness of the spirit, weighed down by attachment, would inevitably be drawn into another body. 


All Savior gods are represented by the Son in Tiphareth, which is also Sol and directly above Yesod, Luna, on the Middle Pillar. Compared to Yesod, which is a sephira of illusion and deception, Tiphareth is truth and reality as it is truly meant to be seen. Still drawing from Plato, Tiphareth is the true sun in his famous cave allegory. We see the light of Yesod, the moon, and believe it to be the only source of light, the only ever-changing reality. But the truth of reality lies in Tiphareth, the sun which is the original source of the lunar light. Tiphareth is eternal, balanced, and the change it represents is more benign. For truly there is nothing on the Sephiroth that does not move or change in some capacity. This is the change and evolution of the spirit throughout all lifetimes, whereas Yesod is the evolution of the body, being associated also with vegetable growth. Put simply, Tiphareth is the light of Reason, which endows all existence with purpose and destiny. 


When we synthesize all of these seemingly disparate ideas, we come to the perhaps startling realization that basis of salvation is, as St. Hildegard von Bingen always said, Virginity and Chastity. And yet not. For salvation always comes at the price of death; the solar divinity must give of his body and blood, his life force, in order to redeem the fallen. What better represents the life force itself than the sexual drive? The innate biological impetus to create life in one's own image? The artists of the Renaissance (literary, visual, and musical) all equated the orgasm with death, and for good reason. Death is the orgasmic release of life energy from the body, which allows it to transmute itself and assume a new form for the next life. The energy sublimates and attempts to rise above the planetary influences, so to speak. If it cannot do so it is eventually dragged down by its material attachments and is reinstated in material existence. 


It is our obsession with base sexuality that leaves us under the sway of Luna and Yesod, ignorant and blind to any greater self-purpose than procreation. We may have some inkling of knowledge about our purpose since the Redeemer lives within us and organizes our universe so that we might know Him. But as St. Paul wrote, we do indeed see Him through a glass darkly until we meet face to face. Our lives remain a seemingly cluttered and confusing cluster of symbols, signs, and mysteries. 

From Hildegard's Ordo Virtutum.
The soul being tempted by carnal
sin. 

Therefore, the Truth and Reason of Tiphareth is the personal "Why" veiled behind our sexual impulse. It is the Divine Mandate that motivates man to create himself through his own hands and works. Every act is a magickal act, a sexual act, in which one brings into manifestation not a copy of their biological self, but their own divine self. Salvation is the recognition of Identity and Destiny, which are synonymous, and the simultaneous harnessing of that Wisdom to create discriminately with purpose. The result is clean, without attachment or obligation to anyone other than one's own self. It is content to operate on its own accord, and it cannot be manipulated by anyone other than yourself. It is the origin of free will, the eternal "yes," the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, and, being erotic in essence, is the essence of pure health and happiness. The spiritual Marriage is the wedding of the procreative passions with self knowledge. To offer oneself as a Virgin to God is to declare oneself chaste to all things that are not of the True Self. It is the adherence and dedication to the reason behind individual destiny. It is to realize and be aware that you are as a field constantly being plowed by the hands of God. To allow yourself to falter and deviate because of the passions and the biological need to procreate is to take the more difficult road. 


This is not to say that sexuality is lacking in morality, for one can remain a Vestal Virgin despite whatever sexual encounters one may have. And it is true that the sexual impulse is holy. To close it up within the body is as much a sin as giving it out indiscriminately. We were made to love and to give that love; apotheosis is to give the world one's unique creative essence constantly, without ceasing, with purpose, direction, and integrity. It is to transform life into art. 

On Hatred

Beloved, the Spirit moves me to write, and so I write.

I have never known such grief as this - to watch the Children of God work such abominations and atrocities in their ignorance of Him. They do crawl upon the earth like locusts, and their words are as the venom of vipers, for they speak of His name yet know Him not. Yea, they do whip Him and spit on Him, though in their eyes they are as holy as the chief priests. Their sin is this: that they have chosen to confine the Lord their God, who is All and Naught, being no made thing. They diminish Him into rigidly fixed laws and precepts of which they themselves do not even understand, but yet these are preferable to them who have no spiritual sight because they are unchanging and simple. The laws that they believe in have become inflexible, and therefore they are not of God. For indeed, I say to you that God is change that is stability. He is constant in His change for He is Life, and Wisdom teaches that the law of life is change. To be alive at all is to undergo evolution, for to be born is to surely die, and to die is surely to be born.

But they do not see such truths. They are as Thomas the Doubter, for they believe not with faith but with their infantile senses. They seek God in the tangible - a clear command that all must follow. And yet, the greatest commandment of all as the Lord taught us is to Love the All with all your heart and soul. These men and their god of order are blasphemers. They mock the glory that is God, and leave Him naked upon a tree. Behold, o man, thy vanity laid before thee: that it is thy wish above all else to fashion God in thy own image! You who are blind to the ever unfolding Universe, you who worship empty idols, who know not the Truth that is God. O presumptuous and petty human! Knowest thou not that thou art dust? And that the Lord your God will one day smite you in the Day of His Wrath? Yea, I tell you that there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth on that day when you shall learn of your own insignificance. Amen, the root of all human fear and spiritual suffering is true. And ye shall be cast out, for ye knew Him not. When He was hungry you gave Him no food. When He was naked you clothed Him not. When He was in captivity you did not visit Him.

The world has been corrupted and Jerusalem has fallen because of man's own iniquity, not because God hates. Behold, in God there is no East nor West, there is no difference. There is only Unity which is Love. God does not hate. Hatred is human, is petty, is rooted in our worthless insistence that all that we know our individual selves to be is the full range and extent of the whole human condition. These are lies and are the beliefs of the Deceiver. Did you not reject him when you were baptized in the name of the Lord? When you committed yourself to Him, did you not take up your own Cross and renounce all evil? And yet these men do evil in our midst. Is there none who shall right them? Shall the just not have their vindication? Indeed, they shall. For the Just are in the Hands of God, and no terror nor torment shall afflict them. They are true to Him having known Him to be within them. And He has shown His great mercy and love to them, and has lifted them up out of their misery and wiped the tears from their eyes. This is thy God that thou hast tried to imprison with the word "hate."

You know Him not. 

On Love

It being Easter this weekend, I feel compelled as I annually do, to write something about it. This year I want to talk about Love, because it is so centrally important to the whole thing, and because it's been on my mind lately. I will keep it brief. For once.

Above all else, we must choose love. Love must not be hoarded but given liberally. For nothing may unite the divided but Love, and truly Love is the Law, Love under Will. There is no greater evil in existence than hatred, which comes from our selfishness. When we selfishly love only ourselves, or those who reflect the seemingly positive qualities in ourselves, we commit a grave error. Do not choose to love only the obvious, but also the subtle, the small, and the hidden. Love all things passionately and courageously, for many things are unknown to you and are therefore terrifying, and yet you must love them regardless. Love is that which liberates us because it frees us from the prison of selfishness. Love is that which gives us Life because Love is the prime motivator of the entire universe, which is one disparate whole trying to attain its original unity. Love is that which gives us Light because it illuminates our true nature, and shows us who we really are by teaching us that which we are not.

For the pain of the world is this: that we are without love. We look for union with passing things and not with that which is real. All this is a snare; love is the only remedy. God is as a mother observing her children, mourning as they die and find no rest. Yet she loves them for she lives through them, though they know her not. All of her children are abominations, for all of them are imperfect being Made. And yet there is great and overwhelming joy in this agony, for this is the necessary repercussion of creation. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son," which is to say that God so loved his creation that he endowed it with his own self, that it might have life and love. Not one of us may say that we have not partaken in Communion with God through bread and wine, for we exist and that is enough. We are of the body of God, and we act with the force of God, who is the origin of all form and force.

Strive to give love daily. Accept love daily. Die through this love daily. Love is a force like any other. Like heat it cannot be contained and must be transcendent. It knows no limitations and no boundaries. It is shameless and condemns not. But do not mistake love as I have already said. Do not love only that which validates yourself, for this is foolishness. Dare to love All, which you are only a part of.

This is the basis of all the Law and teachings of the Prophets. Those who have ears to hear it, may they take it to heart.