Magical Philosophy In the year 1904 while in Cairo, Egypt, Aleister and Rose Crowley unwittingly earthed the magical transmission or prophetic utterance named Liber AL vel Legis, the Book of the Law. The contents of the book are rooted in the Egyptian Gnostic Tradition. More particularly, they expand upon the Great Work of the Egyptian priest Ankh-af-na-khonsu, an Initiate who became a Ma-Kheru - one whose "word is made perfect in Maat". The Great Work of Ankh-af-na-khonsu was the magical transmutation of the soul and the proclamation of the spiritual law governing this operation. The formula of his opus was recorded on his funeral stone, the Stélé of Revealing, of which Liber AL vel Legis is a theurgical activation. Over three chapters, the two hundred and twenty verses of Liber AL vel Legis convey to the Thelemic aspirant an undiluted Hermetic discourse. The book transmits key knowledge concerning the union of the soul with that which lies wholly beyond and outside the human personality. Herein are the mysteries of the soul, veiled in Liber AL vel Legis as the "Scarlet Woman", and of her transfiguration by the Law of Thelema. The colour of the soul is that of blood and fire. Her nature is lunar and therefore magical and elemental. In union with the solar fire of the transmitter of the will current called the "Beast" she is able to transcend her own finite nature and attain Hadit - who conveys the knowledge of her True Will. Through the Law of Thelema or love under will she is fully realised as a star in the infinite body of Nuit. To attain Hadit - who is the magical manifester of Nuit - the soul must turn her power inwards, turning time backwards on itself. Such is the work of Initiation and the key to self-knowledge. It is only by this inward turning, which often implies a reversal of conventional attitudes and beliefs, that man is afforded full spiritual realisation through union with what is metaphorically termed as the Holy Guardian Angel. Conjoined with the Beast the Scarlet Woman represents the self-polarisation of the Initiate. Her consciousness is magically directed towards a union of solar fire and lunar magnetism. The child of this union is born of Nuit and Hadit, who communicate through the Beast and the Scarlet Woman, the Prophet and Bride. The child is Ra Hoor Khuit, Horus the Crowned and Conquering Child of the Gods. The Threefold Revelation of the Book of the Law Liber AL vel Legis opens the eye of the soul to the mysteries of immortal life. In so doing, the book brings new meaning and possibilities to the earth life, including the freeing of the soul from all that which confines and enslaves her to sorrow and death. The book speaks of an eternity that rests on relationship: individual existence defining itself by contrast with another by which it can know itself. "One" can only know itself by comparison with "minus one", its opposite, that which it is not. The infinite possibilities begotten by relationship are the key of the doorway to eternity. Ankh-af-na-khonsu, the Theban priest mentioned in the book, assumed the symbol of the Egyptian ankh or key of life as his magical identity, his name. The book has summarised the spiritual path in seven words: "Love is the law, love under will." The three chapters of the book each reveal a level of Initiation. From the point of view of practical magick the book begins with chapter three, not one. Wisdom has to be followed back to her source. The work thus begins in chapter three with Ra Hoor Khuit, the Solar-Hermetic Lucifer whose action upon the soul prepares her for Initiation. His instructions largely concern works of sorcery aimed at overcoming all obstacles encountered on the path. For the soul, such preparations are war. They require an intelligent use of all her resources in order to deal effectively with enemies that are driven by the blind forces of the material universe. The establishment of Ra Hoor Khuit at the heart or centre of the soul leads to her encounter with Hadit, the giver of Life who speaks through chapter two of the book. The encounter confers upon the Initiate the keys of the knowledge of life that can only be known through the knowledge of death. Through her union with Hadit the soul contracts; she withdraws from the volatility of sensory perceptions to be stabilised or Alchemically "fixed" as a star in the body of Nuit. Thus, the way is open for the soul to partake of the joys of Nuit, infinitely expanding in her divine ecstasy and love. Chapter one, the voice of Nuit, reveals to the Adept the secret means of enjoying without restriction the ultimate relationship of opposites: that of individual consciousness and infinity. I invoke, I greet thy presence, O Ra-Hoor-Khuit! Liber AL vel Legis, III: 37 Copyright © Ordo Astri

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