Notes
on the Initiatory Process
by
Frater Zephyros
"
The Khabs is in the Khu, not the Khu in the Khabs.
Worship then the Khabs, and behold my light shed over you!"
AL I.8-9
Notice
the emphatic nature of the ninth verse of Liber AL vel Legis.
The two verses also suggest the formula of the Great White Brotherhood.
And the exclamation point provides the emphasis to indicate that this is
a particularly important instruction from Aiwass. These two lines may also be
adequately expressed with the following two phrases: 'Khabs Am Pekt' and 'Konx Om Pax'. But does the radiance of this Light come from Kether?
Or does it come from Daath and the home of the demon Choronzon?
It
was the Sumerian god Shaitan, that was the Bringer of Light...that was
considered a barbarian devil by the Roman Christists; who would call him Satan.
Pagan Rome called Shaitan, Lucifer or Bringer of Light; who was of
course, eschewed by the Hebrews as a barbarian devil.
In the Egyptian pantheon, he was known as Set... the Radiant Light that
appears as a shadow to the unseeing...or blind. As for Isis, is she not the
Priestess of the Silver Star? Would this not associate her with the Sigil of the
Great Order? Again 451= Konx Om Pax;
The Neophyte can only see Pan as the
Goat; in its lower manifestation. As
Liber LXV represents the Voice of the Khabs within the Probationer, so does
Liber VII for the Neophyte. But it
is painted with the 'sorrow' of the Great Mother and not with the beaming glory
of the Sun in Tiphareth as it was for the Probationer.
Consider the Petty Tyrant as an evolution of the Vampire confronted in
the Probationer Grade.
The Sign of the Neophyte is the Sign
of Earth; Set Fighting. The Word of
the Neophyte is given privately as it is held privately by Our Lineage.
From
Magick in Theory and Practice
The first step of the Aspirant toward the Gate of Initiation tells him that purity --- unity of purpose --- is essential above all else. "Do what thou Wilt" strikes on him, a ray of fierce white flame consuming all that is not utterly God. Very soon he is aware that he cannot consciously contradict himself. He develops a subtle sense which warns him that two trains of thought which he had never conceived as connected are incompatible. Yet deeper drives "Do what thou wilt"; subconscious oppositions are evoked to visible appearance. The secret sanctuaries of the soul are cleansed. "Do What thou Wilt" purges his every part. He has become One, one only. His Will is consequently released from the interference of internal opposition, and he is a Master of Magick. But for that very reason he is now utterly impotent to achieve anything that is not in absolute accordance with his Original Oath, with his True Will, by virtue whereof he incarnated as a man.
There
is something about the Initiatic Process that must be understood.
Initiations are not necessarily complete on all planes at any one time,
and need to be passed again and again until all planes are covered.
This is not a rule; there is no rule in initiation, it is the most
personal thing possible, and it must vary with the Movement of the Universe
itself. And Universe can be interpreted as the inner, subjective
universe, or the Human Universe, or the External Universe, or the Solar
Universe, or the Cosmic Universe, and so on.
Some Initiations may be complete on all planes, but the same individual
might have to pass through his next Initiation several times, each time on a
different plane.
The
Initiation of the Neophyte reflects the Initiation of the Minor Adept;
The
Initiation of the Zelator reflects the Initiation of the Magister Templi;
The
Initiation of the Practicus reflects the Initiation of the Magus;
The
Initiation of the Philosophus reflects the Initiation of the Ipsissimus.
The
process starts again with the Dominus Liminis, whose circumstances and ordeals
are analogous to those of the Probationer.
Again,
the Initiation of the Adeptus Minor is analogous to that of the Neophyte, though
on a higher plane.
And
the Initiation of the Adeptus Major is analogous to that of the Practicus.
And
the Initiation of the Adeptus Exemptus is analogous to that of the Philosophus.
(The
Initiation of the Zelator is analogous, here, to the point of view of the
Adeptus Minor Within.)
The
Crossing of the Abyss is again analogous to Probation and to the position and
progress of the Dominus Liminis.
A denial of the tendencies of the mind gives them the power to blind the Aspirant as they escape the reigns of conscious control. Each and every tendency is a living spirit to be evoked, examined and constrained to suit the general plan of the mind. To ignore and repress even one of them, will drive the Aspirant from his or her True Nature and on a collision course with all of manifestation.
The Earth is a fertile Sea of Possibilities, and the mind is the arbiter of choice. The Ego is the result of those choices. An healthy Ego functions by virtue of correct choice. And correct choice is the result of conscious awareness of the mental tendencies of the mind. To begin mapping these tendencies, the Neophyte should understand the dual-nature of the Elemental Spirits as follows:
Salamanders Energetic & Strong vs. Irritability & Ferocity
Undines Flexibility & Attentive to Images vs. Changeability & Idleness
Gnomes Laborious & Patient vs. Grossness & Avarice