Michael Osiris Snuffin的短文两篇（英文）

Delilah

最近短消息向小生要这个文的很多，干脆直接贴到这里吧~
实在太忙没时间翻译了，主要是讲克劳利的透特体系，一篇是Pasiphae的传说，一篇是关于命运那张牌。小生对透特体系研究不多，就妄不做评论了。欢迎研究透特的同志们来讨论一下~

Aleister Crowley and the Legend of Pasiphae

By MichaelOsiris Snuffin (2001)

                               In his commentary on The Hierophant in The Book of Thoth,Crowley states:

“There is adistinctly sadistic aspect to this card; not unnaturally, since it derives fromthe Legend of Pasiphae, the prototype of all the legends of Bull-Gods. Thesepersist in such religions as Shaivism, and (after multiple degradations) inChristianity itself.”1

As per his usualstyle, Crowley mentions nothing more on this subject, leaving the investigationof this almost casual remark to the curious reader. So what is the significanceof the Legend of Pasiphae, and what is its relevance to the Hierophant and theNew Aeon? The answer lies scattered among Crowley’s writings; but first let usrecount the Legend of Pasiphae itself.

The Legend isset in ancient Crete, where Poseidon sends King Minos a beautiful white bull upfrom the sea to offer as a sacrifice to the god. King Minos is so struck withthe beauty of this bull that he keeps it, sacrificing one of his own herd inits place. His actions anger and offend Poseidon, who punishes Minos by causinghis wife Pasiphae to fall madly in love with the white bull. With the help ofDaedalus, who constructs for her a wooden cow covered with real hide, shecopulates with the bull and conceives the monstrous Minotaur.

There is littlemention of Pasiphae in Crowley’s works, but what commentary and analysis we canfind is very enlightening. In The Paris Working, Crowleyestablishes the general concept behind the Legend as he interprets it:

“This is thegreat idea of magicians in all times:--

To obtain aMessiah by some adaptation of the sexual process.

In Assyria theytried incest; also in Egypt; the Egyptians tried brothers and sisters, theAssyrians mothers and sons. Phoenicians tried fathers and daughters; Greeks andSyrians mostly bestiality. This idea came from India. The Jews sought to dothis by invocation methods. The Mohammedans tried homosexuality; mediaevalphilosophers tried to produce homunculi by making chemical experiments withsemen.

But the rootidea is that any form of procreation other than normal is likely to produceresults of a magical character.

Either thefather of the child should be a symbol of the sun, or the mother a symbol ofthe moon.”2

Crowley goes onto link this concept with the Legend of Pasiphae:

“SPRINGCEREMONIES IN CRETE

There was alabyrinth there; they had the worship of Apis from Egypt.

There was asacred bull in this labyrinth, quite white. At the spring festival theysacrificed twelve virgins to him.

‘Here thebrutish act appeared: Pasiphae

being covered bythe bull in the cow’s place’

Aeneid VI

They wanted toget a Minotaur, an incarnation of the sun, a Messiah. They said they had one,but they hadn’t.”3

Here the Legendof Pasiphae is given by Crowley as a historical example of “procreation otherthan normal.” There is reference to the sacred white bull, as well as the Apisbull that was worshipped in Egypt, another “legend of the Bull gods.” Thevirginity of twelve women was sacrificed each Spring in hope that one wouldbear a Minotaur, an offspring of “magical character.”

The idea that“either the father of the child should be a symbol of the sun, or the mother asymbol of the moon” is also supported by the Legend of Pasiphae. The Minotaur’sactual Greek name was Asterius, meaning “of the Sun,” and Pasiphae, “she whoshines for all,” was originally a Cretan Moon goddess.4 Thevirgins are twelve in number to represent the twelve signs of the zodiacthrough which the Sun travels on his yearly journey, suggested here as startingin the spring with Taurus.

This symbolismof the Legend of Pasiphae is also found in the Hierophant trump. The Hierophantis Osiris, or, taken in context with the bull that supports him, Serapis. Thebull is focused on the loins of the Woman, who is Isis, holding the lunarcrescent that identifies her with the Moon. It is this relationship between thebull and the Woman that constitutes the “distinctly sadistic aspect to thiscard.”

The Legend ofPasiphae is also interpreted at the beginning of the 16th Aethyr of TheVision and the Voice, where we begin to understand its relevance:

“There are faintand flickering images in a misty landscape, all very transient. But the generalimpression is of a moonrise at midnight, and a crowned virgin riding upon abull.

And they come upinto the surface of the stone. And she is singing a chant of praise: Glory untohim that hath taken upon himself the image of toil. For by his labour is mylabour accomplished. For I, being a woman, lust ever to mate myself with somebeast. And this is the salvation of the world, that always I am deceived bysome god, and that my child is the guardian of the labyrinth that hathtwo-and-seventy paths.”5

The womanspeaking is Pasiphae, who wears a crown as the Queen of Crete. The symbol of theBull itself was originally identified with the Sun and was sacred to Apollo.Her child is the Minotaur Asterius, who is “of the sun.” The labyrinth shespeaks of is the sky, which is divided into the 72 quinances of the zodiacthrough which the Sun passes in a year.

The commentaryon this passage of the 16th Aethyr points to a modern representation of theLegend of Pasiphae, to be found in Crowley’s tarot:

“This referenceis to Pasiphae and the Minotaur. All mythologies contain this Mystery of theWoman and Beast as the Heart of the Cult. Notably certain tribes in the Terai,at this day, send their women annually into the jungle; and any half-monkeysthat result are worshipped in their temples. Atu XI exhibits this mystery; andit is the subject of constant reference in the higher Aires.”6

Atu XI shows awoman riding on a lion-beast, an image almost identical to that in the 16thAethyr. The elucidation of this card in The Book of Thoth explainsthe Legend of Pasiphae in terms of the new Aeon:

“The central mysteryin that past Aeon was that of Incarnation; all the legends of god-men werefounded upon some symbolic story of that kind. The essential of all suchstories was to deny human fatherhood to the hero or god-man. In most cases, thefather is stated to be a god in some animal form, the animal being chosen inaccordance with the qualities that the authors of the cult wished to seereproduced in the child.

“Thus, Romulusand Remus were twins begotten upon a virgin by the god Mars, and they weresuckled by a wolf. On this the whole magical formula of the city Rome wasfounded.

“Reference hasalready been made in this essay to the legends of Hermes and Dionysus.

“The father ofGautama Buddha was said to be an elephant with six tusks, appearing to hismother in a dream.

“There is alsothe legend of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove, impregnating the VirginMary. There is here a reference to the dove of Noah’s Ark, bringing gladtidings of the salvation of the world from the waters. (The dwellers in the Arkare the foetus, the waters the amniotic fluid.)

“Similar fablesare to be found in every religion of the Aeon of Osiris: it is the typicalformula of the Dying God.

“In this card,therefore, appears the legend of the woman and the lion, or rather lion-serpent.(This card is attributed to the letter Teth, which means a serpent.)

“The seers inthe early days of the Aeon of Osiris foresaw the Manifestation of this comingAeon in which we now live, and they regarded it with intense horror and fear,not understanding the procession of the Aeons, and regarding every change ascatastrophe. This is the real interpretation of, and the reason for, thediatribes against the Beast and the Scarlet Woman in the XIII, XVII andXVIII-th chapters of the Apocalypse; but on the Tree of Life, that path ofGimel, the Moon, descending from the highest, cuts the path of Teth, Leo, thehouse of the Sun, so that the Woman in the card may be regarded as a form ofthe Moon, very fully illuminated by the Sun, and intimately united with him insuch wise as to produce, incarnate in human form, the representative orrepresentatives of the Lord of the Aeon.”7

Here the Beastand the Scarlet Woman are given as modern manifestations of the elements of theLegend of Pasiphae. They are identified with the Sun and the Moon in TheBook of the Law:

“Now ye shallknow that the chosen priest & apostle of infinite space is theprince-priest the Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman all power isgiven. They shall gather my children into their fold; they shall bring theglory of the stars into the hearts of men.

“For he is evera sun, and she a moon. But to him is the winged secret flame, and to her thestooping starlight.”8

The last versealso identifies the Beast with Hadit (the winged secret flame) and the ScarletWoman with Nuit (the stooping starlight.) They are likewise described in LiberReguli as “the earthly emissaries of those Gods.”9 Such is alsothe role of the Priest and Priestess of the Gnostic Mass.

It is noteworthythat all of the masculine entities of Thelema are given animal forms, eachsolar in character: Hadit as the “winged snake of light”10, Horus asthe “Hawk-Headed Lord of Silence & of Strength”11, and the Beastas the Lion-Serpent. Each is a symbol of the Sun, the essential father in eachof Crowley’s interpretations of the Legend of Pasiphae.

Thus does theLegend of Pasiphae manifest in our New Aeon of Horus as expressed through thewritings of Aleister Crowley. Blessing & worship to the prophet of thelovely Star!

Footnotes:

1 The Book of Thoth, page 79.
2 The Equinox,Vol, 4, No. 2, pages 386-387.
3 Ibid. Note thatthe quote from the Aeneid originally appeared in Greek in Crowley's text; forconvenience I have given the Robert Fitzgerald translation included in thenotes of the Equinox 4:2 version.
4 See RobertGraves The Greek Myths for more on the historial basis for the Legends of Pasiphae and theMinotaur.
5 Equinox Vol. 4,No. 2, page 125.
6 Ibid, footnote3.
7 The Book ofThoth, pages 93-94.
8 AL 1L15-16.
9 Liber ABA, page566.
10 AL 3:38.
11 AL 3:70.

Copyright (c)2010 Michael Osiris Snuffin

Delilah

The Wheel of Jupiter

by Michael Osiris Snuffin (2002)

                              

One ofthe main doctrines of the Fortune trump is to reach the center of the wheel.“The axle moveth not: attain thou that.” [1 A dynamic interpretation of the nature of the three principlesof the Wheel and their relationship to the axle is presented in AleisterCrowley’s Rite of Jupiter. Crowley incorporated the major symbolism of thetrump into the Rite, turning the principles into officers and arranging thetemple according to the basic design of the card:

The Temple represents the Wheel of Fortune of the Tarot. At itsaxle is the Altar on which sits C[entrum].I[n].C[entri].T[rigono]. On the rim,S[phinx] at East spoke, H[ermanubis] at North-West, T[yphon] at South-West. Tothe West of the Wheel is a veil.

Theofficers on the rim of the Wheel represent the triune energies of the HinduGunas and the Alchemical elements. Hermanubis is Rajas and Mercury, Typhon isTamas and Salt, and the Sphinx is Sattvas and Sulphur. Crowley describes thesetriune principles as “the three forms of energy which govern the movement ofphenomena” and “the three forms of being.” [2
The axleof the Wheel is represented by Centrum In Centri Trigono, Latin for “the pointin the center of the triangle,” an allusion to the Eye in the Triangle.C.I.C.T. is Jupiter, the source of the triune principles hidden at the centerof the Wheel.
TheRite of Jupiter begins by summoning the guests to the banquet of the Father ofthe Gods. After the stage is set, Typhon and Hermanubis identify each other bytheir respective relationships with Jupiter:

TYPHON: Hail unto thee, thou great god Hermanubis!

Art thou not the messenger of Jupiter?

HERMANUBIS: Hail unto thee, thou great god Typhon!

Art thou not the executor of his vengeance?

The twogods decide to seek the center of the wheel, and with the Sphinx they runaround the rim of the wheel until all three are exhausted. No closer to thecenter of the wheel, Typhon and Hermanubis agree to “seek an oracle of theGods.” They prostrate themselves before the Sphinx, asking her to declare “themystery whereby we may approach the centre of the wheel.” She responds:

SPHINX: Neither by sloth nor by activity may even my secret beattained. Neither by emotion nor by reason may I even be understood. How thenshould ye come to the centre of the wheel?

TheSphinx identifies Typhon with sloth and emotion, and Hermanubis with activityand reason, qualities associated with the Gunas they represent.
Hermanubisanswers the Sphinx with a question:

HERMANUBIS: Mother of mystery, what is thy position on Olympus?

SPHINX: Upon the rim of the wheel.

Hermanubisand Typhon realize that the Sphinx is also stuck on the rim of the wheel. Atthis point C.I.C.T. speaks up with the requested oracle:

Feeling, and thought, and ecstasy

Are but the cerements of Me.

Thrown off like planets from the Sun

Ye are but satellites of the One.

But should your revolution stop

Ye would inevitably drop

Headlong within the central Soul,

And all the parts become the Whole.

Sloth and activity and peace,

When will ye learn that ye must cease?

Notethat the Sphinx is identified with ecstasy and peace, qualities of the GunaSattvas. The Officers on the rim are confused by the oracle:

TYPHON: How should I cease from lethargy?

HERMANUBIS: How should I quench activity?

SPHINX: How should I give up ecstasy?

C.I.C.T.: What shines upon your foreheads?

S,H,T (together): The Eye within the Triangle.

C.I.C.T.: What burns upon your breasts?

S,H,T (together): The Rosy Cross.

C.I.C.T.: Brethren of the Rosy Cross! Aspirants to the SilverStar! Not until these are ended can ye come to the centre of the wheel.

Thenext scene opens with Typhon, Hermanubis and the Sphinx each expressing theirintentions to start the banquet in accordance with their particularattributions. Typhon says “I desire to begin the banquet,” thus expressingemotion. Hermanubis reasons that the banquet should begin, “as it is certainlynecessary that this should be done.” The Sphinx makes a “mute appeal” toC.I.C.T., who responds with a knock and says:

I heed not the passion, or the reason, or the soul of man.

C.I.C.T.then declares three attributes of himself, each expressed through the music ofthe Sphinx. Through his positive reaction, each of the Officers on the rimidentifies himself with one of these attributes of C.I.C.T.: the Sphinx withhis will, Hermanubis with his mind, and Typhon with his heart. Each Officer hasno reaction or a negative reaction to the music favored by the others, and soC.I.C.T. repeats the oracle given earlier in more basic terms:

Irreconcilable, my children, how shall ye partake of the Banquetof Jupiter, or come to the centre of the wheel? For this is the secret ofJupiter, that He who created you is in each of you, yet apart from all; beforeHim ye are equal, revolving in time and in Space; but he is unmoved and within.

After apause, Typhon recites poetry proclaiming the flow and ebb of life as the Earthpasses from Spring to Winter, effectively cooling his passion. He moves to theEast, crouches before the Sphinx, and faces C.I.C.T. Hermanubis recites poetrythat celebrates the awakening of the Kundalini serpent, inflaming him withpassion, and then joins Typhon, crouching before the Sphinx. Thus we have allthree principles combined into one, oriented upon the center of the wheel.C.I.C.T. gives a speech, and then allows the banquet of Jupiter to begin.
Thethree Officers move to the center to attend to C.I.C.T., and then the nature ofthe rite changes and departs from the realm of the Fortune trump. C.I.C.T. isveiled, and when the veil is drawn he is revealed as Jupiter. It is thusdemonstrated that only when these three principles combine and cease to movethat they will come to the center of the wheel and the godhead shall be known.


Footnotes:
1 Crowley, Aleister. The Book of Thoth, page 257. Originally published as partof "The Two and Twenty Secret Instructions of the Master" in The Heart of the Master.
2 Crowley, Aleister. The Book of Thoth, page 90.

Copyright (c) 2010 MichaelOsiris Snuffin

Delilah

透特里的Fortune，对应韦特体系里的Wheel of Fortune命运之轮。虽然都是轮子，但这个有10根辐条，上面也不是四圣物，而是斯芬克斯、阿努比斯、泰丰。

Delilah

关于这个作者，还有一篇有意思的自述，可以看出他对于其他流派的态度。

Things I Don’t Believe Anymore now that I’m All Grown Up

by MichaelOsiris Snuffin (2002)

1. God. Thereis no god but man. Period.

2. AncestorWorship. My ancestors are dead. When people die, it is time to get onwith this life and not worry about the dead. What happens after death does notconcern me because I am still living.
I find it interesting how many people believe that the soul reincarnates into adifferent body after death yet at the same time believe that they cancommunicate with their ancestors from beyond the grave. Are they splittingsouls?

3. Helland Heaven. Crude constructs used by the Christians to control peoplethrough fear and reward. Hell is for bad Christians!

4. Karma. AleisterCrowley said it best:

“Karma is the Law of Cause and Effect.There is no proportion in its operations. Once an accident occurs it isimpossible to say what may happen; and the Universe is a stupendous accident.”

Also:

“There is a sort of sense in which everyimpression that is made upon our minds is the resultant of all the forces ofthe past; no incident is so trifling that it has not in some way shaped one’sdisposition. But there is none of this crude retribution about it. One may killa hundred thousand lice in one brief hour at the foot of the Baltoro Glacier,as Frater P. once did. It would be stupid to suppose, as the Theosophistinclines to suppose, that this action involves one in the doom of being killedby a louse a hundred thousand times.”

Thanks forsetting me straight, Uncle Al.

5. TheThreefold Law. The idea that the magical energy you send out will comeback to you three times over contradicts the law of cause and effect. However,if you truly believe in the Threefold Law, then your mind will validate yourbelief, which is why this law seems to hold for those who have subjugatedthemselves to this superstition.

6. SacredGround. Christians, Jews and Moslems would rather kill each other overholy dirt instead of recognizing and building on the sacred foundation withinthemselves. I don’t worship dirt. This includes the Kiblah of Thelema--I willnot pray to a bed and breakfast in Boleskine!

Copyright (c)2010 Michael Osiris Snuffin