THE RUBY ROSE & GOLDEN CROSS

al Tinnin Vault - finished!

2011-06-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

AL TINNIN VAULT

The Colour Citrine

2010-12-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

REAL CITRINE

The stone citrine is actually amethyst which formed in a warm or hot environment over many years. What is often sold as citrine is actually baked amethyst, very nice, but it is most likely not the right colour.

So the stone is actually a light grayish-yellow, and quite pale.

The orange we are used to seeing with a slightly caramel colour is the baked amethyst, which is essentially an artificially heat-treated stone.

BAKED AMETHYST (CITRINE)

Moon Wall

2010-01-31T02:59:00.001-08:00

New Al Tinnin Vault Moon Wall
By Frater YShY

Original is 5' x 8'
Media is a Photoshop file and True Type Fonts

January 31st, 2010 ev.

The only real innovation I have made that I feel obligated to take note of is that I have changed the squares of the Supernal Triad from the directions in The Book of the Tomb, as depicted in my original Study using the M.'.M.'. colours, to make them flash properly. It is interesting that I hit a few of the same colours as Moina Mathers does with the Luna Wall, but she doesn't carry the pattern of the Supernals through in the same manner. Opposing white and black does make the image jump, but as soon as you add any colour to white or black, it now has the capacity to flash if the opposite charge is coloured at the right contrast. I also like how the light descends from white in the spirit square through the slightly pastel white Kether, into the tint of coloured gray in Chokmah, and finally the dark Mother, or Binah.

Mercury Wall

2010-01-31T00:59:00.000-08:00

New Al Tinnin Vault Mercury Wall
By Frater YShY

Original is 5' x 8'
Media is a Photoshop file and True Type Fonts

January 31st, 2010 ev.

I invite you to continue to follow along in this experiment with a new media. While all Inner Order Vaults are hand-painted and therefore naturally are different, to my knowledge this will be the only Vault of its kind that uses the new philosophy and methods behind colour blending, and has been made in Photoshop.

So, I have been meaning to mention that this method I am using is a fusion of the Brodie Innes flashing colours that was supposedly in his Vault, and the juxtaposition method of Whare Ra. To those unfamiliar, the first method is of the M.'.M.'. that the ZAM uses to paint his or her Elemental Weapons. The second is the full 50:50 juxtaposition method as described in the Book of the Tomb.

As I have already mentioned elsewhere, how this works is that I use a 20:80 ratio of Wall colour to Square colour, and the same for the complimentary symbols. This utilization of the two methods is intentional, and while I may try other methods in the future for other Vaults in the Order, I am going to follow this one through consistently on all seven walls for now. My plan is to create a juxtaposition-coloured wall that really flashes, and so far, these three walls flash just as well as the Study using the basic twelve colours which are commonly termed the primary, secondary and the tertiary colours.

As I continue on in this project, I actually find I prefer to eyeball a few of the colours, as the number values sometimes need to be tweaked a little. Some may notice I re-posted the images a few times as revision caught a few minor mistakes. For those of us who like to arcive things of interest we find on the net, I recommend you check back here periodically for adjustments and new versions of the Vault. This is a work in progress, and I will continue revising as I see fit, removing old versions that are not quite right. I will eventually post when I am finished revising, and that is when I suggest you re-save the images and erase any incorrect archived posts of the images that may have been made.

I also will make available the larger files and printing instruction to make your own Vault to anyone who: a) sends me an email request; and b) can handle waiting for me for as long as it takes to finish the other 4 walls, ceiling and floor.

Whatever the case may be for the differing methods of painting, the varying levels of correctness and the virtues this supposedly brings to the Vault; there is something valuable and to be cherished about the effort we put into these pursuits, for regardless of the differences in the end results, the quality of the effort and the care in the finishing work speaks for itself.

Mars Wall

2010-01-30T22:13:00.000-08:00

New Al Tinnin Vault Mars Wall
By Frater YShY

Original is 5' x 8'
Media is a Photoshop file and True Type Fonts

January 30th, 2010 ev.

As I am putting this together, I am having little mini-revelations about the R.R. et A.C.'s various uses of colour. The painting instructions in Book of the Tomb are not wrong, per-se, but they could be improved with 20th century techniques that many artists do with paint, which I may get into later in a future post. All of the experiences I have had over the last 19 years with paint pigments are irrelevant with computers, end of story, full stop.

Even without computers, there are new advancements with colour theory that artists have known about for 70 years, but the GD magical community has yet to catch on to. I have had to learn Photoshop for this project, and I have a few advanced colour artists to guide me. I would also like to thank Samuel Scarborough, whose impetuous and tenacious nature has suited this project well when he jumped on-board as a volunteer colour editor.

Colours behave differently in computers, it is more like mixing light. Computers can make colours flash where paint would look like mud. Another way to describe this using mathematical terms is to say they take a colour "mean" between the wall and square colour values as expressed by number, and not doing a paint blend of all the pigments which creates a visual cacophony of different shades of brown. This is not a mix, so there is no murk. Next I do the opposite for the symbol colour, and shift it towards its complimentary colour.

There is only one colour wheel, and for this project we are staying on it. Call it an experiment, but my ethic is to try and flash with a bright and nearly exact complementarity colour on almost every square that isn't gray or black.

The tomb is supposed to be prismatic, with seven walls. Most painting methods I have seen and read being discussed online create some very effective, but murky rainbow variant of brown. This happens whenever you mix all three primaries together, whatever the actual colour or proportion you use. I see brown as representing Malkuth in the QCCS, based on the M.'.M.'.

All this talk is perhaps too much for what amounts to a subtle difference in the end result. Of course when I repeat brown over and over, I run the risk of being misunderstood or labeled an exaggerator! Because we are talking about the rainbow colour scales, when I use the term brown, it is only to describe a quality that could be present in any square or symbol, and I mean that the colour is only slightly unclear or muddied; to a non-artist it would be just a peculiar red or green, not even rustic enough to be relegated to an earth tone. Nonetheless, for those that are interested in the little details of construction, this was the full explanation.

I believe I am being more faithful to the original intention of the tomb as a multiplicity of the seven prismatic colours with this slightly different approach.

Venus Wall

2010-01-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

New Al Tinnin Vault Venus Wall
By Frater YShY

Original is 5' x 8'
Media is a Photoshop file and True Type Fonts

January 30th, 2010 ev.

This is the Venus wall of the Vault, which seemed like a logical place to start. To construct this, I have taken my instructions faithfully from The Book of the Tomb by Brodie Innes, as recently published by Nick Farrell.

I have generated the colours using a computer, using the previous Study of the square and symbols colours only, which was posted on January 28th and 29th. For each of the seven walls, one of the seven prismatic colours are used as the basic tint or wall colour.

The colours of each square or field on this wall are tinted with the emerald green of Venus, while each symbol or letter is tinted with an equal proportion of green's complimentary colour, which is red. This makes most of the symbols flash with their fields, and of course the wall and complimentary colour will always flash the best in its own squares, an effect that is characteristic of the Tomb. Primary and secondary colours will always flash the best, in paint, but the computer produces more accuracy. The exception of course being the squares which incorporate black, white and gray, which do jump out when mixed, but will never truly flash.

The green border is simply a frame, and is not replicated when the wall is printed.

There are two slight differences of note to The Book of the Tomb.

The first being that I have elected to mix exactly 20% wall colour, in this case green, to 80% square colour. The symbols are done the same way, so the complimentary red is blended in the same ratio. There are no clear instructions on proportion of colour mixing in the Book, but even with the faded nature of an old document, it looks like it was done somewhere between 20:80 and 50:50. This is no fault of the artist in The Book of the Tomb, for pigments are difficult to mix, and it would take a lifetime of working with colour to create the consistency produced in a few hours with the computer. I have chosen the lower end of the ratio to create some continuity, and while paints need to be done by eye, computers are happily consistent.

The second difference, is that when you mix with a computer, you can easily get most of these strange tints to flash. This is something I have ensured occurs by going with the lower end of the acceptable ratio between wall and square colour. Paints get muddy as you mix multiple colours into them, as they are particles of suspended pigment. Meanwhile the computer can add and remove colour values as need be to get the correct proportions, without leaving unwanted miniscule amounts of blended pigments on the canvas to go muddy in the tint, thus making Photoshop my first choice in the 21st century for such a project.

New Al Tinnin Vault Wall

2010-01-28T22:30:00.000-08:00

New Al Tinnin Vault Wall
Study by Frater YShY

Original is 5' x 8'
Media is a Photoshop file and True Type Fonts

This version posted
January 29th, 2010 ev.

Many thanks to all the assistance I have received with the fonts from the Yahoo "Golden Dawn Group" and its members. Those who wish the clean and large original 5' x 8' file are encouraged to email me for a copy, as it is too large to post here.

Sepherotic Attributions to the Neophyte Hall

2010-01-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

AL TINNIN VAULT

SEPHEROTIC ATTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEOPHYTE HALL

THE Z-1 ADDENDUM FOR THE ADVANCED ZAM

INTRODUCTION

Many paradigms are present in the 0 = 0 ceremony, and most importantly we find the Sephirotic Tree of Life. In the preliminary Z-1 document, the ten officers are attributed to the ten spheres on the tree, but it is not entirely clear that this is the case. In this paper, the relationship is analyzed in an attempt to clarify it from the original Z-1, which I contend has a few minor omissions in it. Throughout the course of this paper, we will find that in the Neophyte Hall there are not one, but three completely different and distinct models of the Tree of Life which may be considered to be working simultaneously.

They are all Sepherotic, but cover different areas of influence.

The first model is of the emblems and regalia of the Officers as attributed to the full ten Sepheroth of the Tree of Life, this is an ideal model.

The second model is based around the temple's furnishings, and is a vertical or upright model.

The third model is based on the energies of the Officers auras in the astral world, and it is a horizontal model.

The most important point of this section is that the interaction between the latter two models is much like the elemental cross. This chiefly bound by the interaction of the Hierophant, when he is east of the altar (with the aid of the Officers through the ritual), and the Candidate when he stands just west of the altar in Malkuth. As the Magician in the Outer Order repeats the Qabalistic Cross, he actually ties these models together into a central point. These three paradigms creates a theoretical X, Y, and Z axis as described in mathematics, and as is meditated upon in the official practices by the Initiates of our Outer Order.

MODEL ONE

THE EMBLEMATIC TREE OF LIFE IN THE OUTER ORDER

The first model of the Tree of Life seems obvious when listed, but it does not appear in print anywhere as of yet. This is the most important, and hitherto-fore most neglected model places the emblems and regalia of the Officers as attributed to the full ten Sepheroth of the Tree of Life. We shall term it the 'Emblematic Tree of Life in the Outer Order.'

TABLE I

THE EMBLEMATIC TREE OF LIFE IN THE OUTER ORDER

#	Officers	Sephera	Sepherotic Regalia	Other Regalia
1	Hierophant	Kether	Crown Sceptre	Banner of the East, Lamen, Red Mantle
2	Hegemon	Chokmah	Mitre Sceptre, Lamen	White Mantle
3	Hierus	Binah	Lamen	Banner of the West, Sword, Black Mantle
4	Praemonstrator	Chesed	Maltese Cross Sceptre	Lamen, Blue Mantle
5	Imperator	Geburah	Sword	Lamen, Red Mantle
6	Cancellarius	Tiphareth	Hexagram Sceptre	Lamen, Yellow Mantle
7	Dadouchos	Netzach	Lamen of Hermetic Cross	Censer
8	Stolistes	Hod	Lamen of Cup	Water Cup
9	Kerux	Yesod	Lamen of Caduceus	Wand and Lamp
10	Sentinel	Malkuth	Outer Door to the Hall	Sword, Lamen

DESCRIPTION OF TABLE I

Here follows a descriptive list of how the attributions line up in table 1. This list is not to be considered to replace the full descriptions of the Officers in Z-1, it is merely a supportive summary of the sepherotic model, as summarised above.

1. The Very Honoured Hierophant bears the Crown Sceptre, which is a symbol of Kether. He also wears the Red Mantle which represents the rising light of the eastern sun, the Middle Pillar and the fiery spirit in all of the Outer Order imagery. In the ritual he portrays the Yechidah or higher self of the Candidate.

2. The Honoured Hegemon bears the split Mitre Sceptre which is dual; and the Calvary Cross Lamen, which in its simplest form is the linear figure for Chokmah. He also wears the White Mantle, which represents the blinding light of the noon-day sun, and the White Pillar in the Outer Order, particularly in the Zelator ritual. He represents the Chiah, or higher will of the Candidate.

3. The Honoured Hierus bears a Lamen of a Triangle, which is the linear figure for Binah. He also wears the Black Mantle, which represents the setting sun and the darkness of night, and the Black Pillar in the Outer Order as described in the Zelator ritual. He represents the Neshamah and the highest aspirations of the soul of the Candidate.

Before we continue, a word must be said to clarify the parts of the Cabbalistic Soul as given to the last two Officers, for it is the Hegemon is classically said to represent the Neschamah in Z-1, not the Heirus. However, if we take a good look at the Sepherotic attributions, this is slightly askew at first glance, as it seems they have switched. The Neschamah, as should be well known to the Adepts of the Order, is attributed to all three spheres of the supernal triad, and is most especially attributed to the Hegemon. This is fitting, as the Hegemon is the guide to the Candidate through the Outer Order rituals. However, a very deep concept is intimated by the fact that it is really the Hierus who has the Neschamah fully centred upon, and this is the gift of crisis, “by which means a pathway shall be opened onto that light” as it was set down in On the General Guidance and Purification of the Soul, as given to the Practicus of the Outer.

4. The Praemonstrator bears the Sceptre topped with the Maltese Cross, the four triangular flanges of which mark the numeral four, which is the linear number of Chesed, and he bears the Blue Mantle of that sphere.

5. The Imperator bears the Sword of Severity, which is the emblem of Mars and Geburah, and he bears the Red Mantle of that sphere.

6. The Cancellarius bears the Sceptre topped with the Hexagram, the points of which mark the numeral six, which is the linear number of Tiphareth, and he bears the Yellow Mantle of that sphere.

7. The Dadouchos is attributed to Netzach. He is allied to the White Pillar whose base is is Netzach as per Z-1. This is attested to by the fact that his Lamen of Hermetic Cross is a fiery symbol like that sphere, and his censer is the emblem of the Lake of Fire and the Burning Bush.

8. The Stolistes is attributed to Hod. He is allied to the Black Pillar whose base is in Hod, as per Z-1. This is attested to by the fact that his Lamen of the Cup is the Admission Badge to that sphere, and his Water Cup is the emblem of the Holy Graal and the Well of Water.

9. The Kerux is attributed to Yesod. His Lamp and Wand is a symbol of light, and refer to the Psychopomp or Hermes, who guided the soul after death in Greek Myth, a meaning which is reinforced by the ritual, and well as being summarised by his Lamen. This is confirmed by the fact that his Lamen of the Caduceus is the Admission Badge to that sphere.

Items 4 to 9 are the Ruach or mental body of the Candidate.

10. The Sentinel is without the temple, so he represents the door or gate of troaa, which is another title of Malkuth as given in the Zelator Ritual. He is the Nephesh and G'uph of the Candidate, and is thus always on guard against the shadows of the self and of the world, just as the autonomic nervous system is always awake and vigilant.

ILLUSTRATION I

THE EMBLEMATIC TREE OF LIFE IN THE OUTER ORDER

MODEL TWO

THE CUBICAL TREE OF LIFE IN THE 0 = 0 HALL

This second model of the Tree of Life is based around the temple furnishings, and is only compared to the tree below Paroketh. We shall call it ‘The Cubical Tree of Life in the 0 = 0 Hall’. Termed the physical or Cubical Tree for short, it is attached to the furnishings of the Masonic four stone blocks or "cubes" used as the altar and the pillar bases. This model of the Cubical Tree explores the dimension of height, and is an upright model. The double cubical altar has for its bottom cube Malkuth, and the second cube forming the top of the pedestal altar or small column is Yesod. The pillar bases are of course Hod and Netzach, as shown in the traditional Z-1. The shafts of the pillars rise up the paths of Mem and Kaph, respectively, but find themselves terminating at Paroketh with these two triangles, which are none-other than the divided hexagram of Tiphareth. These triangles are split apart and placed onto the two pillars as the tetrahedrons to represent the demarcation of the Veil of Paroketh on each pillar. Standing west of the altar and viewing this vertical tree, our depth perception reinforces the image of a vertical tree.

In the 0 = 0 Hall and the Outer Order, the paths are marked by the Officer's wands and swords. This is not to be confused with the Admission Badges of the other Outer Order grades.

TABLE II

THE CUBICAL TREE OF LIFE IN THE 0 = 0 HALL

1. Path #	2. Path Name	3. Furnishing in the Temple	4. Officers Wands and Swords
1	Kether	Far east of the Veil of Paroketh	Crown on Hierophant's Sceptre
2	Chokmah		Split Mitre on Hegemon's Sceptre
3	Binah		Tip of Hierus' Sword
	Daath	N/A	Upper ring on Hierophant's Crown Sceptre
4	Chesed	Just east of the Veil of Paroketh	Upper ring on Hegemon's Split-Mitre Sceptre, Maltese Cross on Praemonstrator's Scepter
5	Geburah	Just east of the Veil of Paroketh	Point of slashing impact on Hierus' Sword of Severity, Tip of Imperator's Sword
6	Tiphareth	Tetrahedronal Capitols on the Pillars	Lower ring on Hierophant's Crown Sceptre, Hexagram on Cancellarius' Sceptre
7	Netzach	Base of White Pillar	Upper ring on Hegemon's Split-Mitre Sceptre, Ring on Praemonstrator's Scepter
8	Hod	Base of Black Pillar	Hilt of the Hierus' Sword of Severity, Hilt of Imperator's Sword
9	Yesod	Top of Double-Cube Altar	Lower ring on Hierophant's Crown Sceptre, Ring on Cancellarius' Sceptre
10	Malkuth	Bottom of Double-Cube Altar	Spherical pommels of all the listed wands and swords
11	Aleph
12	Beth
13	Gimel		Upper and upper centre shaft or grip of Hierophant's Crown Sceptre
14	Daleth
15	Heh
16	Vav		Upper shaft or grip of the Hegmon's Split-Mitre Sceptre
17	Zain
18	Cheth		Upper blade of the Hierus' Sword of Severity
19	Teth
20	Yod
21	Kaph	Lower half of the White Pillar or Column	Upper ring on Hegemon's Split-Mitre Sceptre, Main shaft on Praemonstrator's Scepter
22	Mem	Lower half of the Black Pillar or Column	Lower blade of the Hierus' Sword of Severity, Blade of Imperator's Sword
23	Lamed
24	Nun
25	Samech		Lower central shaft of Hierophant's Crown Sceptre, Shaft on Cancellarius' Sceptre
26	Ayin
27	Peh
28	Tzaddi
29	Qoph		Upper ring on Hegemon's Split-Mitre Sceptre, Grip of Praemonstrator's Scepter
30	Resh
31	Shin		Handle of the Hierus' Sword of Severity, Handle of Imperator's Sword
32	Tav		Bottom shaft or grip of Hierophant's Crown Sceptre, Grip of Cancellarius' Sceptre

DESCRIPTION OF TABLE II

This arrangement shows how the columns of the Pillars are formed of the same sections of the Tree of Life that some of the Sceptres and Swords symbolise, thus affirming their relationship with the pillars.

The Hierophant's Crown Sceptre is gripped by Tav, as is the Cancellarius' Sceptre.

The Hegemon's and Praemonstrator's Sceptres are gripped by Qoph, and rise through the White Pillar.

The Hierus' and Imperator's Swords are gripped by Shin, and rise through the Black Pillar.

It is important that all the Chief's Weapons terminate not at the Veil of Paroketh, but in the second triad of the Second Order.

If the Candidate is the Middle Pillar, then he is being gripped by the Hierophant during the ritual, and it is THE NEW CANDIDATE'S CROWN AND PERSONAL SPHERES ON THE TREE OF LIFE that are being activated by the Hierophant, the Three Chiefs, and the team of Officers.

Meanwhile the Hermetic nature of the Order is also being transmitted by the Cancellarius through his Sceptre by the Tav grip as Hermes and Thoth creating the Universe.

The heads of the Sceptres and points or tips of the Swords of the Three Principal Officers and the Three Chiefs mark the influence of the first six spheres in both the Auric and Cubical models. This is very important, and is further entered into in the paper entitled Planetary Attributions to the Neophyte Hall, which is also for the advanced ZAM.

The pommels of all the weapons are equated with the altar, therefore showing the relationship between the rap on the altar or side-altar and the masonic step and stomp on the floor when the Candidate is brought to the light. This stomp connects the Auric horizontal and the Cubic vertical Trees with the third tree of the ideal symbolism as represented by the Officer's regalia, and particularly thier Sceptres. These three models operate together much like an X, Y and Z axis.

One also immediately notices that there are missing paths in the third column of table 2. These are neatly marked by certain pair of Inner Order weapons on the altar at the 5 = 6: the Crook and the Scourge of the Chief Adept.

ILLUSTRATION II

THE CUBICAL TREE OF LIFE IN THE OUTER ORDER

MODEL THREE

THE AURIC TREE OF LIFE IN THE 0 = 0 HALL

The third model is based on the energies of the Officers auras in the astral world, and it too is only below the Veil of Paroketh. This shall be termed ‘The Auric Tree of Life in the 0 = 0 Hall’. Called the astral or Auric Tree for short, is nearly identical to the familiar Z-1 document, and here we may term it an energetic tree, and theorise that it is made on an energetic level of the Officer's auric fields.

The Auric Tree explores the dimension of length, and is a horizontal model along on the temple floor, i.e. one looks down on it with a bird's eye view. It is made of the God-Forms and
the energies of the Auras of the Officers. This Auric model is nearly identical to the Z-1 Document, save in the following point. The one exception is that this Auric model includes the Stolistes and Dadouchos on the tree as Hod and Netzach, while Z-1 does not. They are easily included in the spheres as they are already allied to the pillars, along with the corresponding Chiefs on the Dais. This is preferred to leaving them off the tree, as now all the officers are part of the same model. Z-1 clearly states that they are allied to the pillars. To support this, we may merely ponder that as a pair they are already the elements of water and fire of the four directions in the Equinox ritual, and any beginner to our system can recall that the four elements are also attributed to the four lowest spheres on the Tree of Life. So, this new arrangement puts the four elemental Officers Lamens on the tree, though of course in a different order than the Admission Badges.

When looking at table 3 and the corresponding illustration 2, it is best to keep in mind that in any temple hall, from the most opulent to the most humble, there will be physical features that need not be considered limitations that will inevitable cause variations in the ideal format which these diagrams represent.

TABLE III

THE AURIC TREE OF LIFE IN THE 0 = 0 HALL

#	Officer	Auric Tree Location
1	Hierophant	Upper Samech below the veil
2	Hegemon	At the intersection of Peh and Samech
3	Hierus	Earth of Earth in Malkuth
4	Praemonstrator	Upper Kaph below the veil
5	Imperator	Upper Mem below the veil
6	Cancellarius	Left of Samech below the veil
7	Dadouchos	Netzach
8	Stolistes	Hod
9	Kerux	South West, at the Inner Door
10	Sentinel	Outside the Door

DESCRIPTION OF TABLE III

1. The V.H. Hierophant's throne is before the Veil on the path of Samech leading to Tiphareth.

2. The H. Hegemon's throne is at the intersection of Peh and Samech.

3. The H. Hierus' throne is at Earth of Earth in Malkuth.

4. The V.H. Praemonstrator's throne is before the Veil, on the path of Kaph leading to Chesed.

5. The V.H. Imperator's throne is before the Veil on the path of Mem leading to Geburah.

6. The V.H. Cancelarius' throne is before the Veil, to the left of the path of Samech leading to Tiphareth.

7. The Dadouchos' throne is in Netzach.

8. The Stolistes' throne is in Hod.

9. The Kerux's throne is in the south-west, guarding the inner door.

10. The Sentinel's throne is in the west, outside the hall guarding the outer door.

ILLUSTRATION III

THE AURIC TREE OF LIFE IN THE 0 = 0 HALL

CONTRASTING TABLES I & II

THE OFFICERS REGALIA AND AURIC PLACEMENTS

Let us keep distinct the difference between tables 1 and 2, which we shall again summarise here. Table one is The Emblematic Tree of Life, and it is a ranking of the Officers symbolic regalia. Table 2 is the actual Auric energies the Chiefs, Officers, and Members create, mainly based on the Z-1 Document, with very slight corrections.

The following is very important in understanding this section of the paper: we must stress the difference between the actual spheres that the Officer's represent as shown by their regalia and shown in table 1, and the placement or throne Locations on the lower portion of the Tree of Life which are located in the Auric tree or revised Z-1, and shown in table 2. Without a good understanding of this, the following summary of our train of thought thus far will be most unhelpful to the ZAM.

1. The Very Honoured Hierophant sits on the path of Samech at Paroketh leading to Tiphareth, but as he bears the Crown Sceptre, he is really a representation of Kether and the Yechidah of the Candidate.

The shaft of his sceptre represents the middle pillar, and marks the path he walks to greet the candidate at the altar, as each of the following sections reiterates on the various planes. He grips the shaft by the path of Tav, just as he grips the Candidate during the Obligation, and when first exchanging the token.

2. The Honoured Hegemon sits at the intersection of Peh and Samech, but as he bears the split Mitre Headed Sceptre that bears the cross of Chokmah, as does his Lamen, among other things. He therefore represents Chokmah and the Chiah or true will of the Candidate.

3. The Honoured Hierus sits in the west of the temple, in Earth of Earth of Malkuth, but he bears the Sword of the pillar of severity he is really representing Binah. The triangular Lamen, apart from many other meanings, is the symbol of Binah and the Neschamah, which is summarised in that sphere.

4. The Greatly Honoured Praemonstrator sits at the Veil of Paroketh, but as his Maltese Cross sceptre and the blue colour of his mantle suggest, he represents the memory and higher learning of the sphere of Chesed.

5. The Very Honoured Imperator sits at the Veil of Paroketh, but as his Sword and the red colour of his mantle suggest, he represents the impetus and leadership of the sphere of Geburah.

6. The Very Honoured Cancellarius also sits at the Veil of Paroketh, but as his Hexagram sceptre and the yellow colour of his mantle suggest, he is the only officer on the dais that truly represents the sphere of Tiphareth, all of the others are just the refracted light of the higher spheres through the crystalline veil of Paroketh. He represents the harmonious conjunction and cessation of opposites in the communion and balance of Tiphareth.

7. The Dadouchos sits and is attributed to Netzach, the lowest sphere of fire, and he is the fire-bearer. His Lamen suggests the stellar or solar whirl of the creation of the elements and spiritual fire.

8. The Stolistes sits and is attributed to Hod, the lowest sphere of water, and is the water bearer. His Lamen is the admission badge to Hod. The Cup of water, the final home of the spirit in communion with the elements at the Eucharist.

9. The Kerux sits at the south-west, and makes the announcements in the north-east, but he is is really representative of Yesod, as his Lamen is the admission badge thereof. This Officer bears the herald staff and the Lamen design is the caduceus. He is representative of the lowest sphere of air.

10. The Sentinel is without the west of the hall, guarding the outer portal. As the last Officer in the scheme, he fittingly represents Malkuth. His Lamen is the eye of Ayin and Capricornus, the earthy goat god.

CONTRASTING TABLES II & III

THE CUBICAL TREE AND THE OFFICERS AURIC PLACEMENTS

Furthermore, the two models of the Cubical and Auric Trees interact as follows.

The incorporation of these new Cubical and Auric paradigms also has the virtue of straightening the Auric model of the Tree of Life from Z-1 into the more traditional geometrical form we are familiar with in the Golden Dawn tradition.

The altar in the cubical model sits in the Air of Earth position of Malkuth in the energetic model. The pillar bases in the cubical model are still allied energetically to the Stolistes and Dadouchos.

This also makes the triangle of manifestation attributed to Yesod be placed on the cubical Altar in one model, and on the floor east of the altar in the other model.

On the altar the higher self manifests in the triangle of the Order when the candidate places his or her hand upon it during the Obligation and Prayer, for here it behaves much like the Triangle of Art. This link is sealed when the Very Honoured Hierophant touches the Candidates hand during these two occasions, as the prayer and obligation aid in manifesting the Candidate’s higher self.

The Evil Persona is tied to both to the Yesod of the Auric Tree, and the Yesod of the Altar, but then, so is the manifestation of the Yechidah or higher self, represented by the Very Honoured Hierophant coming to that same place. That is why the Hierophant touches the Candidates hand over the triangle during the prayer and Obligation. This action of the higher self holds the Evil Persona in place from above and below. On the floor, the Very Honoured Hierophant also manifests the higher self, which steps down on the evil persona, holding it in check. This is a precursor to the same symbolism of the floor of the Vault.

In classical evocation, two older authorities, Aleister Crowley and Dr. Thomas Rudd, support this application of what we now term the Z-2 formula.

In Crowley’s description of the Magic Circle in MTP, he places the three tiny diamond symbols just inside the circle to mark the corners of a second, larger triangle that the magician stands inside during the evocation. The intimation is that “(as the spirit is in the triangle to the magician, so is the magician in the circle or triangle to god.)” Always seemingly unconventional and brilliant on his own, when this insight is placed into its true context, one can see that it is clearly gleaned from Z-2 and this portion of the Neophyte Ritual.

In Rudd’s Goetic work, the Triangle of Art as a large fixture outside the circle is often forgone for placing a crystal upon the altar, often over a small triangle. The magician is seated on a throne, and scrys the spirit through the show-stone. Thus in Z-2 terms, the triangle is either east of the circle in the energetic or Auric Yesod, or the crystal is placed on the altar in the Cubical Yesod.

These two well-respected and innovative magicians provide excellent examples of the method of manifestation that is echoed in the later Z-2 Formula of the R.R. et A.C.

SUMMARY

In summary, the use of these three distinct models instead of just the single traditional plan of Z-1 better illustrates the symbolism of the 0 = 0 Hall. Possibly this was the original intention of Z-1, which may have been obscured and muddied in the original author’s execution of that important foundational document.

We have discussed the three Tree of Life paradigms. The first was the regalia andSceptre tops on all ten spheres of the tree; the second was the vertical or Cubical model of the furniture of the temple on the lower half of the tree; and the third was a slight variation of the classic Z-1 document where the lower half of the tree is projected on the temple, from the Very Honoured Hierophant's throne before the Veil of Paroketh at Tiphareth in the east, all the way to the Honoured Hierus and Earth of Earth in Malkuth in the west, like a birds-eye view or map of the entire Outer Order. It is this paradigm that is repeated in the Portal Grade as a summary of the territory covered in the Outer Order, and it is Portal where we learn that the entire Outer Order “quitteth not Malkuth.”

These three models interact like an X, Y, and Z axis in the 0 = 0 Ceremony, and this is confirmed in the Zelator Ceremony when the Neophyte becomes a full Initiate. The Zelator opening ceremony incorporates the Qabalistic Cross, and over the fourth dimention of time, the Initiate binds these models to his own auric sphere by constant repetition of the QC and the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram during his sojourn in the Outer Order.

The Jewel of a Theoricus Adeptus Minor

2009-09-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

The Ring
Jewel of a Theoricus Adeptus Minor

Multi-Media cardboard, paper and pen & ink.
Created by VH Frater YShY, Fall 2009

The Jewel of a Theoricus Adeptus Minor is the Ring, from the Ring and Disk of a ThAM. As the ThAM studies the 1 = 10 grade, so too is the Jewel is hung by a ribbon of white, or the four colors of Malkuth. The colors of the ring are attributed to the elements, and are the three primaries and black (or alternately the three primaries and instead of black, the four colors of Malkuth). This use of primary colour is to show that to the ThAM the elements are not as intermingled as they were to the ZAM, who (apart from white charges) uses the earth tones in the creation of the earth disk of that sub-grade.

A cross between a pendulum and the Ouija board, I have never been a tremendous supporter of the Ring and Disk as it smacks of the table turning and spirit seances popular in the Fin du siecle. Not that this means it should be excluded, it has its place. In my opinion, and speaking only from my own experiences, I have had equal but different successes with the Enochian system. Enochian seems better suited for full conversations, while The Ring and Disk is best to receive certain formula by way of specific words and quotes, information some magicians have less success gathering through scrying. For some reason, Enochian magicians have not all learned the trick of automatic writing while scrying, a technique already touched upon in a post below, and therefore the Ring and Disk are more useful for very specific words to be received. It is for this reason I do recommend both types of working.

The divine name upon it in white is Eheieh, meaning "I AM", and which among other things, is attributed to Kether, the first sphere and the numeral one in 1 = 10.

Complete Rose Cross

2009-09-09T21:05:00.001-07:00

The Complete Rose Cross of the R.R. et A.C.
Jewel of a Zelator Adeptus Minor

Multi-Media cardboard and acrylic.
Created by VH Frater YShY, March 2001ev.

The Jewel of a Zelator Adeptus Minor is the Complete Rose Cross, which is a key to all the solitary R.R. et A.C. rituals.

The cardboard used is actually book-board, and about 1/8" thick. It is five layers of card, built up to make the petals of the rose three-dimensional, which also makes the overall depth 5/8" thick. You can see this by clicking on the high resolution photo, where the camera angle shows the petal of lamed slightly blocking the glyph of Saturn at the top point of the hexagram. If I was ever to undertake the creation of this Jewel again, I would use MDF or wood for the cross, and finish the rose the same way with the book-board. This would make a slightly sturdier device, as it is beginning to show slight signs of wear from use.

This is the latest CRC I have constructed, the first one was completed in 1993, and the first paint version in 1994. I may scan and post these later to show some artistic progression. In my opinion, this is by far the best. These jewels do wear down a bit over the years, and the colors fade a lot over time. While I believe that it is good to hone ones skills at the art, I have taken a bit of a break from re-making this item for the time being.

The Universe Card

2009-08-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Axis Mundi I: Savior Self

Here is an interesting image of the Axis Mundi, painted by Gerry Bannan. I would love to tell you more about him and his work, but he is a man of very few words. His work can be viewed at http://www.gerrybannan.com

Arrakis, Mu Draconis

2009-08-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

While researching the various heavenly bodies, I put together this work on Arrakis. Because of some of the references, it most correctly belongs to this Second Order blog.

The star traditionally known by the name Arrakis is Mu Draconis, a binary star in Draco. The name Arrakis is commonly derived from the Arabic term الراقص ar-rāqiṣ, "the dancer". Possibly it was given this name because in the night sky this star in particular twinkles and dances more than others, possibly from its binary nature.

The nature of the Greek letter Mu and the Hebrew Mem is that of stability, for Mem is indeed the stable intelligence. While the path of Mem leads to Adeptus Major, it mirrors the path of Tav that leads to the portal in Yesod (in the more occult understanding of that sphere and grade.) Interestingly enough, it is in the 6 = 5 grade that the portal is studied, as the pentagram or microcosmic man that was first revealed at Theoricus can attest to.

The tarot attribution to Mem is of course the Hanged Man, and when that card itself is inverted, it shows a dancer in motion. The hanged one himself is pictured in the trump as Odin spying the runes, and is a representation of sulphur. The numeral 21 is actually 12 with the decimals reversed, and thus the Hanged man is linked to Key 21, the Universe. For in the activity of life, the only true stability is found in motion.

The microcosmic god of the self known as the Christos, Odin, and the Hanged One shows this as the dance of reversal and inversion, for what is at first the truth is later a terrible lie, and the most unlikely answer is often the one that holds the fleeting potential for today's temporary truths.

The macrocosmic ideal is the Spiritus Mundi as evidenced by the Universe Card, she is the Isis of Nature, the Great Mother as the most ancient illustration of the Tao. As she dances keeping the Axis Mundi, she shows the natural and spiritual ideal of social balance through the discipline of continuous motion as illustrated by the exultation of Saturn in Libra, and of which R.R. et A.C. magicians strive to emulate.

Photo is from omphalos.org.uk, and bears this description:

Orryelle Defenestrate-Bascule as the Hanged Man and Bird-Masks of Maat on the Tree of Life in Pentagrammaton (photo by Ben Last)

Who invented the R.R. et A.C. color scales?

2009-06-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

MOINA MATHERS

Did Moina Mathers invent our system of colors? Some modern Adepts speculate that it was actually her who did the ground work, saying that the knowledge of color theory required for such an undertaking must have come from an artist. It is possible or even probable that she did create them, for as the saying goes, behind every good magical Order or best-selling tarot deck is a woman artist who didn't get paid very well for her efforts. Even so, it doesn't take an expert artist to figure these colors out. I mean we were all able to learn these scales, and after the ZAM training is finished, every Adept is a color expert, but not every Adept is an artist! The first thing I noticed (when when I was in grade 10 art class and studying GD instead of doing my math homework), was that the twelve colors stem from the six primaries and secondaries, and how well that fits with Astrology and Hebrew on the Complete Symbol of the Rose Cross. In the ideal world of color theory the angles of the astrological aspects work together exactly the same way as paint is mixed. Of course most of our paint pigments don't behave perfectly, and in the execution of our magical work is really where artistic ability in mixing comes in.

I think Mr. Mathers, with his possibly near-schizophrenic level of synthetic genius could have easily picked up a color wheel his wife left laying around and holding it up to an astrological chart put two and two together. At any rate, we all know she was a huge contibutor, and whether she invented it the system of color or not, there is no doubt in my mind that she did most of the hard work painting everything just right.

The artist of this painting of Moina Mathers is Linda Macfarlane. A prolific artist, her specialty is painting portraits of magical women. She did a beautiful rendition of Levi's Baphomet, who by his or her hermaphroditic nature slipped under her female-only criteria. For years it hung in our local downtown temple at the turn of the millennium.

Linda and her ex husband Peter were the people behind the original 93 Publishing in Montreal, Quebec, printing the first new editions of many of Crowley`s works for North America. Undoubtedly a knowledgeable and powerful woman in her own right, I have had great conversations with her about her time in Kenneth Grant's OTO, which she had the privilege of being excommunicated from back in the days before it was even called Typhonian. She also has a keen interest in Voodoo, Tantric Hinduism and of course the history and practice of Thelema. Linda has also had the dubious and distinguished honor of being the first magician to introduce H.B. to the Book of the Law. Apparently she picked him up hitch-hiking when he was but a backpacking teenager. Friendly and relatively solitary, I first heard this story not from the relatively ego-less Linda, but from our mutual friends who love to brag about her at parties.

More of her excellent work can be found at: http://www.aiwass.com

Reverse of the Complete Symbol of the Rose Cross

2009-06-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has taken the time to create a Complete Symbol of the Rose Cross knows how very time consuming, difficult, and how very rewarding such an endeavor can be. For a new Adept, working alone to make this device can be very frustrating, and that's just painting the front of it! Some Inner Orders only give the E Document instructions and it is often quite difficult for the ZAM to figure out the reverse inscriptions. The original Order description requires the new ZAM to reverse-translate it back into Latin, a daunting task unless one has a working knowledge of Latin, or knows others who do. The ZAM is often hard pressed to finish the Jewel by himself and unassisted by others. Some of us belong to Orders who offer additional internal documents with the correct translation, while others are solitary or belong to an Order who takes the above injunction to finish the 5 = 6 Jewel alone literally, as if it were a test.

Perhaps he is lucky, or fortuitous, and the new ZAM happily stumbles upon the above old pre-R.R. et A.C. Rosicrucian ink drawing in an old folio book and ran it through an online Latin translator, ahem, like I did a few years ago.

Here are the instructions from the E Document, complete with the old Orders characteristically archaic forms of capitalization:

"At the top is written in Latin: 'The Master Jesus Christ, God and Man,' between four Maltese crosses, which represent the four pyramids of the Elements opened out. This is placed at the uppermost part because here is affirmed the descent of the Divine Force into Tiphareth, which is the central point between Supernals and Inferiors. But at the lowest part is written the Motto of the Zelator Adeptus Minor, because therein is the affirmation of the elevation of the Human into the Divine. But this is impossible without the assistance of the Divine Spirit from Kether, whence the space above Malkuth is white upon the front aspect of the Cross -white being the Symbol of the Spiritual rescuing from the material. In the centre, between the symbols of the Alchemical Principles of which the outermost is Sulphur, the purgational fire of suffering and self-sacrifice is written in Latin: 'Blessed be the Lord our God who hath given us the Symbol SIGNUM and this is a word of six letters, thus representing the six periods (creative) in the Universe. And the Regimen of the Planets necessary ere the Glory of the Sun can be obtained."

The correct Latin is as follows:

MAGISTER

IESUS
CHRISTUS
DEUS ET HOMO

BENEDICTUS DOMINUS
DEUS NOSTER QUI
DEDIT NOBIS SIGNUM

VERY
HONORED
FRATER
YECHIDAH
SHEMESH
YETZIRAH
R.R. ET A.C.

Why ``YShY``

2009-06-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

My Second Order motto is Yechidah Shemesh Yetzirah, which is rough Hebrew meaning "the true self's solar form".

Enochian Experiences

2009-06-22T15:28:00.001-07:00

Ten years ago, I would not have made a post on this subject for fear of giving others a false direction based on my unique experiences. Say a new student might not have similar results if left to a more personal, experiential, experimental and scientific approach. With a new person doing Enochian, we would just call the spirit up and let the new seer scry away. We would ask them prepared questions about what they are seeing, and troubleshooting the ceremony as we went. Sometimes it took two or three sessions to get things rolling with an inexperienced magician, but most of our colleagues were already Adept at magic before we even began scrying, so we had a lot of success. This care and discretion with new people is something I picked up from my A.`.A.`. experiences with different friends over the years, the old 'don't lead your witness' with respect to magic. Now with experience training 30 or more people with this work, I have seen the same phenomenon happen so many times, I no longer feel the need for such a ponderous and slow approach training people, and am pleased to jot some notes down if they will help anyone else on the matter. Here's a few things that I would have liked to have heard when I was just getting started that aren't in any book.

Practice from the beginning repeating your visions aloud while they are happening, if working alone, learn to record as you go. A little practice makes it easy, and you can learn to let the vision continue on without loosing it. There is nothing more pointless and boring in Enochian group work than working with a single seer who is silent the whole time as they scry and later who can't remember what they saw, or loose trance because they haven't cultivated the skill of writing or repeating aloud for a scribe to record what they have seen. Magic is very serious business, but it can be fun for a group too. No gawking or party tricks, but I doubt anyone would get involved if they weren't at least interested in it! It is like learning to type, it is best to practice the good habits of repeating visions as they come or learning to write as it happens, right from the beginning of the ZAM work. A magician's better speed and accuracy will come as a result. A Canadian, I also liken this to tapping a tree for sap, it is a renewable resource. I have found these simple practices that follow have halped many, including myself, improve in the art.

At the trance-inducing point, after the key is read, I often repeat the hierarchies again, and definitely test using the spirit name (as well as the banners, the seven double letters, all the basic stuff). I like to repeat vibrating the spirit or senior's name the most at this point, it helps me tune in quicker. I vibrate it, but I noticed if people belt it out with too much gusto, it can break the trance, so we often try to not do it theatrically like in an LRP, but let the seer vibrate it quieter, but still properly. Here is the key: do it as taught, but visualize it having a tremendous force in the vision. That way we stay in our trance.

After each bout of vibration, slowly the picture comes clearer, and in stages audio and visual clarity take place. We test it with the traditional order methods, then when I hit the place where full audio and detailed visual contact occurs, like you said, they definitely want you to get to the point! They are very impulsive without being impatient or reckless. There is simply a raw 'get to business' that I have rarely experienced with other entities, and especially not with Goetic or planetary spirits. It is almost as if they are waiting patiently for us to get it together while we take our requisite few moments to go under trance, or 'tune in' and they are already good to go with their first sentence. "Why have you called?" or some such. It feels like a jolt where this imperative impulse to reply quickly is communicated to me. When training a new seer, they are often frightened at this moment, regardless of the preparation before. It really sinks home that these entities behave as if they are independent beings, regardless of one's preconceived personal philosophy on the matter. Let us take the psychological concept of projection into account here. It works for any relationship, spirit or human. For example, the spirit of my wife is only a psychological projection of mine when I mistake her for my mother, and endeavour to set sundry menial tasks for her, otherwise the universe still behaves as if she was an independent being =).

There is also a high level of empathy possible with these communications that some of us don't notice at first, I imagine I can actually feel what they are feeling. Really they are supremely genuine and severe beings.

I prepared a generic list of questions for my first working, mainly because it was what you were supposed to do, but right away they seemed shallow and inappropriate because they were not tailor made for the entity. To choose an entity, I use the astrological attributions of element, sub-element, and possibly planet, etc. For example, the Mercury Senior on the Earth Tablet is Ahmlicu. Then using this as a basis, one can ask specific articulate and relevant questions of them, and at best work with them for a specific personal need, instead of calling them up one after another to create a nice book or grimoire of attributes as was my previous compulsion! With a specific personal concern, they are much more helpful. Regardless of the system of attributes one subscribes to, or how well we know ourselves, starting somewhere with care is better than beginning from a place of no genuine effort towards making a new contact with another being. it is literally the first meeting at the beginning of a relationship.

Finally, I never ask an Enochian Senior to do anything menial for me on the physical plane, that task seems reserved for other ranks of Subservient angle Angels and other spirits. I actually prefer the seven planetary spirits (i.e. Bartzabel, Quedemial, etc) from the Qamea system of evocation for those sundry tasks.

This post originally appeared on the Golden Dawn Forum, and after I received a few replies, I slightly reworded it for purposes of clarity.