After all, a cat left outside on its own will cross any border it wants.
Takashi Hiraide, The Guest Cat
After all, a cat left outside on its own will cross any border it wants.
Takashi Hiraide, The Guest Cat
The Hieroglyphic Monad by Dr John Dee, the 2000 paperback from Weiser Books, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.
“This book, written in thirteen days in 1564 by the renowned Elizabethan magus, Dr. John Dee, explains his discovery of the unity underlying the universe, as expressed in a hieroglyph, or symbol. His monad represents the alchemical process and goal of the Magus who, in partaking of the divine, achieves that gnostic regenerative experience of becoming God, and thus furthers the redemption and transmutation of worlds.
Everything, Dee states, is dependent upon the circle and the straight line, which, in turn, are formed from the point. From this point revolve Sun and Moon, intersected to suggest their conjunction and generative faculty. These rest upon a cross, the ternary and quaternary, and all are mounted upon two connected half circles, the original fire of creation. The key to the glyph is in the meditation and study of it, and all it suggests to the ‘creative memory.’ It is not surprising that Dee’s contemporaries in the universities chose to ignore this valuable treatise on a key to the universe, thus causing him to have engraved upon the frontispiece, ‘Who does not understand should either learn or be silent.’—an admonition as true today as it was then.”
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.
The Hermetic Library visual pool is a visual scavenger hunt for images of a living Western Esoteric Tradition.
Images of your ritual or ritual space, images of sigils or tools, showing off your own library or special volume from the restricted stacks, sacred spaces and places, esoteric artefacts and installations, inspired paintings and people — these and much more are part of the culture and practice of magick.
XXIII
The stillness of water, a lullaby sung;
The truth is inverted and motionless hung
On the cross of the dying god’s crucifixion!
I raise up the cup and adore Babalon!
— In Nomine Babalon: 156 Adorations to the Scarlet Goddess
The Hermetic Library arts and letters pool is a project to publish poetry, prose and art that is inspired by or manifests the Western Esoteric Tradition.
Commentary (ΜΓ) on ΚΕΦΑΛΗ ΜΓ Mulberry Tops in Liber CCCXXXIII, The Book of Lies by Aleister Crowley.
“In the last paragraph, the reason of this is explained; it is because such sacrifices come under the Great Law of the Rosy Cross, the giving-up of the individuality, as has been explained as nauseam in previous chapters. We shall frequently recur to this subject.” [via]
ΚΕΦΑΛΗ ΜΒ Dust-Devils in Liber CCCXXXIII, The Book of Lies by Aleister Crowley.
“Now and again Travellers cross the desert; they come from the Great Sea, and to the Great Sea they go.” [via]
The Deeper Symbolism of Freemasonry from The Meaning of Masonry by Walter Leslie Wilmshurst.
“The perfect cube must pass through the metamorphosis of the Cross.” [via]
The Deeper Symbolism of Freemasonry from The Meaning of Masonry by Walter Leslie Wilmshurst.
“By perfecting his conduct, by struggles against his own natural propensities, the candidate is working the rough ashlar of his own nature into the perfect cube, and I would ask you to observe also that the cube itself contains a secret, for unfolded, it itself denotes and takes the form of the cross.” [via]
The Deeper Symbolism of Freemasonry from The Meaning of Masonry by Walter Leslie Wilmshurst.
“Here again the symbolism of our work becomes extremely profound and interesting. He who desires to rise to the heights of his own being must first crush and crucify his own lower nature and inclinations; he must perforce tread what elsewhere is described as the way of the Cross; and that Cross is indicated by the conjunction of those working tools (which when united form a cross); and that ‘way’ is involved in the scrupulous performance of all that we know those working tools signify.” [via]
Synthesis in The Gate of the Sanctuary from The Temple of the Holy Ghost (Collected Works, Vol I) by Aleister Crowley.
“So, even as you helped me, blindly, against your will,
So shall the angel faces watch for your own souls still.
A little pain and pleasure, a little touch of time,
And you shall blindly reach to the subtle and sublime;
You shall gather up your girdles to make ready for the way,
And by the Cross of Suffering climb seeing to the Day.
Then we shall meet again in the Presence of the Throne,
Not knowing; yet in Him! O Thou! knowing as we are known.” [via]