[Concerning the invisible god] some say that he is Aapep when he riseth up with a head bearing upon it [the feather of] Maat (Truth). But others say that he is Horus when he riseth up with two heads, whereon one beareth [the feather of] Maat, and the other [the symbol of] wickedness. He bestoweth wickedness on him that worketh wickedness, and right and truth upon him that followeth righteousness and truth.
The Papyrus of Ani (The Egyptian Book of the Dead), translated by E A Wallis Budge
I rise up out of the Egg in the Hidden Land. May my mouth be given unto me that I may speak therewith in the presence of the Great God, the Lord of the Tuat.
The Papyrus of Ani (The Egyptian Book of the Dead), translated by E A Wallis Budge
I open the hidden water-springs for the ablutions of Urt-ab. I unbolt the door of the Shetait Shrine in Ra-stau. I am with Horus as the protector of the left shoulder of Osiris, the dweller in Sekhem. I enter in among and I come forth from the Flame-gods on the day of the destruction of the Sebau fiends in Sekhem. I am with Horus on the day[s] of the festivals of Osiris, at the making of offerings and oblations, namely, on the festival which is celebrated on the sixth day of the month, and on the day of the Tenat festival in Anu. I am the UAB priest (libationer) in Tetu, Rera, the dweller in Per-Asar. I exalt him that is upon the high place of the country. I look upon the hidden things (the mysteries) in Ra-stau.
The Papyrus of Ani (The Egyptian Book of the Dead), translated by E A Wallis Budge
such is the holy gift of the Muses to men. For it is through the Muses and far-shooting Apollo that there are singers and harpers upon the earth; but princes are of Zeus, and happy is he whom the Muses love: sweet flows speech from his mouth. For though a man have sorrow and grief in his newly-troubled soul and live in dread because his heart is distressed, yet, when a singer, the servant of the Muses, chants the glorious deeds of men of old and the blessed gods who inhabit Olympus, at once he forgets his heaviness and remembers not his sorrows at all; but the gifts of the goddesses soon turn him away from these.
Hesiod, Theogony
And how could the Soul lend itself to any admixture? An essential is not mixed. Or of the intrusion of anything alien? If it did, it would be seeking the destruction of its own nature. Pain must be equally far from it. And Grief- how or for what could it grieve? Whatever possesses Existence is supremely free, dwelling, unchangeable, within its own peculiar nature. And can any increase bring joy, where nothing, not even anything good, can accrue? What such an Existent is, it is unchangeably.
Plotinus, The Six Enneads, The First Ennead
Sexual Ambivalence: Androgyny and Hermaphroditism in Graeco-Roman Antiquity by Luc Brisson, translated by Janet Lloyd, a 2002 paperback from University of California Press, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.
“This fascinating book collects and translates most of the extant Graeco-Roman writing on human beings, divinities, animals, and other creatures who were both female and male. Luc Brisson provides a commentary that situates this rich source material within its historical and intellectual contexts. These selections—from mythological, philosophical, historical, and anecdotal sources—describe cases of either simultaneous dual sexuality, as in androgyny and hermaphroditism, or successive dual sexuality, as in the case of Tiresias (the blind Theban prophet), which are found through the whole span of Graeco-Roman antiquity. Sexual Ambivalence is an invaluable sourcebook that gathers this suggestive, yet hard to find, material in one convenient place.
In addition to including such familiar sources as the myth of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Aristophanes’s myth of the origin of the sexes and sexuality in Plato’s Symposium, Brisson also discusses cosmogonic mythology in Hesiodic poetry, the Orphic Rhapsodies, Gnosticism, the Hermetic Corpus, and the so-called Chaldean Oracles. He presents the manifold variants of the myth of Tiresias, as well as many other sources.
These ancient stories deepen our awareness of how strongly the polarity of sexuality colors our entire perception of the world and are profoundly relevant to our thinking today.” — back cover
Divine Pymander of Hermes Trismegistus, or Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus: His Divine Pymander; also, The Asiatic Mystery, The Smaragdine Table and the Song of Brahm, edited by Paschal Beverly Randolph, the Yogi Publication Society hardcover reprint from the 1871 Rosicrucian Publishing Company edition, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.
The Hermetic Library Reading Room is an imaginary and speculative future reification of the library in the physical world, a place to experience a cabinet of curiosities offering a confabulation of curation, context and community that engages, archives and encourages a living Western Esoteric Tradition. If you would like to contribute to the Hermetic Library Reading Room, consider supporting the library or contact the librarian.
If you haven’t already checked out “Hermetic Library Anthology Album call for winter 2012 submissions” you really should gander at this call for submissions to the next anthology album of tracks by artists inspired by or who incorporate ritual and magick in their work. These anthology albums help promote artists to the audience of the Hermetic Library and beyond. These albums raise awareness about the connection between ritual, magick and music. Check out the previous release, help spread the word about the anthology albums and this new opportunity to participate to those you think may be interested, but first and foremost consider contributing to this next anthology!
Also, I’ve had in mind, and I’ve been reminded by posting more of Aleister Crowley’s poetry to the blog this week, that there is so much material, both poetic and dramatic out there, not just by Aleister Crowley, of course, and certainly people have their own work to offer as well, that perhaps people, individually or as a group, would be interested in doing dramatic and poetic readings either for the anthology or for another anthology. Perhaps, if there are submissions enough, an entire anthology album specific to drama, poetry and spoken word?
Do you have a work that you’d like to record as a solo or group reading of some piece, by yourself or by another author? Perhaps you’d like to share a reading of something from Aleister Crowley‘s Collected Works, or any of a number of other books, or perhaps one of the works of another author or playwright who is part of or inspired by the Western Esoteric Tradition. Especially for Aleister Crowley, there is so much in the corpus that no one hears performed, both poetry and plays, that there’s a wealth of material! Or, why not go back even further in time to the Papyri Graecae Magicae, The Sacred Texts, or something else entirely?
So, with that in mind, I am adding, to the call for winter 2012, a specific call for recordings of drama, poetry and spoken word related to the Western Esoteric Tradition. If enough people are interested, this could turn into a dedicated anthology album!
Apparently pre-orders will be open tomorrow for Grimoire of Aleister Crowley: Group Rituals in the Age of Thelema, a new work by Rodney Orpheus with contributions from others; the first publication from Abrahadabra Press.
“The culmination of years of research and study, this new compilation of Thelemic group rituals by Rodney Orpheus is a must-buy for every serious modern magician. Pre-order it directly from Abrahadabra Press from August 1!”
“Group ritual has been a cornerstone of spiritual practice since time immemorial, yet its history and importance have often been overlooked by occultists of the modern age. This book is the first comprehensive presentation of group-oriented rites for modern magicians inspired by the works of Aleister Crowley. It contains rituals written by Crowley for his own magic circles, many of them unpublished during his lifetime; plus rare ancient texts that were Crowley’s own inspiration in turn.
The rituals are newly edited and explained by Rodney Orpheus who brings to this volume decades of experience in performing and teaching Aleister Crowley’s rituals within Crowley’s magical order Ordo Templi Orientis. He introduces each ritual with a clear overview, setting each in its historical context and explaining its function and mode of operation; followed by detailed notes on setting and performance of each one.
Whether absolute beginner or seasoned expert, magicians of all paths will find this volume to be an eminently workable and extremely powerful grimoire spanning centuries from ancient Mithraic and Bacchanalian rites, Goetia, and Gnosticism, right up to present day Crowleyan invocations and sexual magick.”
Update 1aug2011 @ 11:25am:
Pre-ordering has begun. You can check that out over at Abrahadabra:
“We are now taking pre-orders for this book, which is due to be published on August 12, 2011. Please note that orders placed before that date will not be shipped until some time after August 12! The first 100 pre-orders will qualify for a set of small signed art cards featuring illustrations from the book by Cathryn Orchard.”
New In puris naturalibus post at “Out of Egypt” talks about the Johannite church, Hermeticism, the Corpus Hermeticum and more. You can gander through some of the Corpus Hermeticum and other materials at the library’s The Sacred Texts.