She of the Silver

Star

Soror Syrinx

Copyright January 2015 by Melissa Rovelli

She of the Silver Star traverses the legacy of Aleister Crowley

and Dion Fortune using the symbolism of Atu II, the High
Priestess, exploring their connection to the lunar mysteries from
Crowley's visiting the Temple of Diana in Cefalu to Moonchild,
and Fortune's works, including The Sea Priestess, a copy of
which she gave to Crowley. Ultimately, these two laid the
groundwork for modern paganism through the moon, called the
path of Qoph or "contrary path," all the way to the undertaking
of the Great Work through the path of Gimel, to the High
Priestess who awaits the candidates seeking to part the veil.
Kenneth Grants letter revealed that Dion Fortune was excited
about working with Crowley to "establish more pagan attitudes."
It was at the end of her life, so not much may have come about
on the surface, but their works have had far reaching effects
upon the return of the Goddess in the New Aeon. This book is
just a side note on their work, on the symbolism left behind. It
also includes a personal account of the author on what this
means to her, as well as a workbook for those traversing the
ways of the Priestess of the Silver Star.

Dedicated to Kerstin Voegele for supporting my

work.

Editors Note:
Heres another beautiful book by our beloved
Soror Syrinx.
She shines like the mother of our church because
of her soft kindness, as she opens up to us and
shares a taste of her own magickal journey as the
Sea Priestessencountering extraordinary men
along the way. These chance encounters provide a
sense of mystery and wonder that not only moved
her forward, but in sharing her story, they now
move us forward.
Attempting to put myself in a young womans
shoes, Id have to say that this book is another
token of inspiration from Soror Syrinx. But also,
this time, theres something for the men here, as
well.

Table of Contents

Part I: The Starting Point

Part II: Story of a Priestess

39

Part III: Rites of a Priestess

54

Bibliography

105

Part I:
The Starting Point

This first and most spiritual manifestation of the feminine takes

to itself a masculine correlative, by formulating in itself any
geometrical point from which to contemplate possibility. This
virginal goddess is then potentially the goddess of fertility. She is
the idea behind all form; as soon as the influence of the triad
descends below the Abyss, there is the completion of concrete
idea.-- The Book of Thoth

Introduction

3

THE OYSTER

The Brothers of AA are one with the Mother of the

Child.4
The Many is as adorable to the One as the One is to the
Many, This is the Love of These; creation-parturition is the
Bliss of the One; coition-dissolution is the Bliss of the
Many.
The All, thus interwoven of These, is Bliss.
Naught is beyond Bliss.
The Man delights in uniting with the Woman; the Woman
in parting from the Child.

The Brothers of AA are Women: the Aspirants to AA

are Men.
COMMENTARY ()

Gimel is the High Priestess of the Tarot. This chapter gives the
initiated feminine point of view; it is therefore called the Oyster, a symbol of
the Yoni. In Equinox X, The Temple of Solomon the King, it is explained how
Masters of the Temple, or Brothers of AA have changed the formula of their
progress. These two formulae, Solve et Coagula, are now explained, and the
universe is exhibited as the interplay between these two. This also explains
the statement in Liber Legis I, 28-30.

NOTE

(4) They cause all men to worship it.

Take a look at this symbol, the Sigillum Sanctum

Fraturnitatus A..A.. - The holy seal of the
Brotherhood of the Silver Star. Though this book
is not connected to the A..A.., the intent of this
project is to explore anything connected to the
High Priestess of the Tarot, such as portrayed in
the heptagram, the star shown here in the center.
This is the symbol of Binah, of Babalon; Priestess
of the Silver Star. It is She whom we are here to
meet.

Many in the occult world know Babalon and

Thelema are synonymous to one another, and I
cannot overstate how important this Goddess is to
the healing of my psyche, as well as my personal
understanding of what She means to the New
Aeon. Exuding ferocious strength and holding the
reigns of the Beast in one hand and the Holy Grail
in the other, She is my Goddess. Unfortunately, I
see a large number of occultists thinking simply
posting erotic pictures and endless partying is the
be all and end all of Thelema, as well as thinking
Thelemites and anything associated with Crowley
is terrible or evil. To some dabblers, that may seem
so. To others, those doing the Great Work,
Babalon is so much more. Perhaps what Crowley
inadvertently has come to represent; connected
with certain infamous symbols, such as Baphomet,
Babalon has also come to appear as a monster
meant to scare away those who are not ready to
traverse the sea to the mysteries of the Holy of
Holies. Though consequently, we see the beauty
and awe that her image truly means. Part of the
issue is a lack of understanding of the symbols;
especially those being turned upside down from
one Aeon to the next.
Crowley talks about this in his commentaries to
AL, about the fact in the aeon of Pisces.
The seers in the early days of the Aeon of Osiris
foresaw the Manifestation of this coming Aeon in which
we now live, and they regarded it with intense horror

10
and fear, not understanding the precession of the Aeons,
and regarding every change as catastrophe. This is the
real interpretation of, and the reason for, the diatribes
against the Beast and the Scarlet Woman in the XIII,
XVII and XVIII-th chapters of the Apocalypse; but on
the Tree of Life, the path of Gimel, the Moon,
descending from the highest, cuts the path of Teth, Leo,
the house of the Sun, so that the Woman in the card
may be regarded as a form of the Moon, very fully
illuminated by the Sun, and intimately united with him in
such wise as to produce, incarnate in human form, the
representative or representatives of the Lord of the
Aeon. The Book of Thoth

To those who are critical of Aleister Crowley, I

merely say it is not wise to emulate any author,
whether Victorian or modern, teacher or spiritual
leader as far as their personal lives, they are human
as we all are. Instead, see what is given to those
who have eyes to see, take the puzzle pieces.
Assemble them for the creation of your version of
the universe. I say, keep pushing forward. Reclaim
your potency, reclaim your creative expression. Do
the work. Study. Learn. The depths await those
who seek. Give yourself a voice, a direction in
your doings. This book isnt meant to be an
introduction to Thelema for newcomers, but more
of a very focused pursuit that might interest some
Thelemites and non-Thelemites alike, that of the
High Priestess and her symbols, and their
relevance to seekers today.
This is the Daughter of the King. This is the Virgin of
Eternity. This is she that the Holy One hath wrested from
the Giant Time, and the prize of them that have overcome

11

Space. This is she that is set upon the Throne of

Understanding. Holy, Holy, Holy is her name, not to be
spoken among men. For Kore they have called her, and
Malkah, and Betulah, and Persephone.
And the poets have feigned songs about her, and the
prophets have spoken vain things, and the young men have
dreamed vain dreams: but this is she, that immaculate, the
name of whose name may not be spoken. Thought cannot
pierce the glory that defendeth her, for thought is smitten
dead before her presence. Memory is blank, and in the most
ancient books of Magick are neither words to conjure her,
nor adorations to praise her. Will bends like a reed in the
tempests that sweep the borders of her kingdom, and
imagination cannot figure so much as one petal of the lilies
whereon she standeth in the lake of crystal, in the sea of
glass. -- The Vision and the Voice, 9th Aethyr, quoted in The
Book of Thoth

Each of us must seek to know Babalon on an

authentic level. Through Her, may you quench
your desires, awaken what drives you, and before
you know it, you will be obtaining wisdom
through experience, and through wisdom, the
Great Workall this from your perspective. Only
you can know the road you walk upon, and with
that in mind, the paths others choose to walk may
seem contrary to you. For some, especially
women, I think it is important to embrace the Red
Goddess, but also the White and the Black, the
Triple Goddess, who Crowley even speaks of in
Moonchild. For even as the moon waxes and
wanes, so does a woman. I think that is why many

12

female Thelemites have an interest in witchcraft or

paganism, as even men do too. After all, we are
male and female potencies of varying degrees and
a combination of both. Deep down, we seek
something that speaks to our lunar selves in
addition to the sun on a multifaceted level.
In Book I, I talk about the Scarlet Woman
exploring what the various degrees mean to her,
and they can be powerfully beautiful, exalted,
elevated. She is a temple in which to house the
sun. Yes, it is she who houses the solar, but also
take time to really see her, know her. She is
mysterious, secret, lunar, and there is much to
learn there. Learn what she is trying to teach you.
Woman is the Holy of Holies. What you seek is
behind the Veil. Through Her, you find the heights
you long for. And with that in mind, I ask that you
go on a journey with me using the symbols of this
booktraverse the Great Sea of The Priestessas
if in a boat sitting upon the water besides Dion
Fortune and Aleister Crowley, two of the greats;
whose work I will touch upon in these pages, that
same work which is also a foundation for modern
paganism and witchcraft. Acquaint yourself to the
lunar light. It is here that you must learn of Her
house.
16. For he is ever a sun, and she a moon. But to him is the
winged secret flame, and to her the stooping starlight. AL
I:15-16.

13

In this New Aeon, we need to welcome the

Goddess back to sit side by side, male and female,
but to do so, she must be allowed some of her
ways to return, some connection back to the earth
and to the moon, and its cycles. Crowley was no
stranger to the lure of moon as evidenced by his
writings, some of his poems and works like
Moonchild, and even his visit to the Temple of
Diana in Cefalu and his giving thanks to the gods
when establishing his nearby Abbey. And it was
Dion Fortune who was excited about pursuing
these forgotten ways, even telling Kenneth Grant
in a letter, according to Aleister Crowley and Dion
Fortune: The Logos of the Aeon and the Shakti of
the Age, that she was going to be working with
Crowley to establish more pagan attitudes.
Unfortunately, she was nearing her end and
nothing came of it on the surface, but we can feel
the effects of the legacy left to us.
In the next chapter, we dive into the symbols. See
them, know them, and connect them into a larger
picture. When I see the interconnectedness of
symbols, Im awed by it. I see it as parts of
ourselves that need to be assembled so that we
remember who we are.

14

3. Though none can communicate either the knowledge or

the power to achieve this, which we may call the Great
Work, it is yet possible for initiates to guide others. -Liber LXI vel Causae

She of the Silver Star

Purity is to live only to the Highest; and the

Highest is All; be thou as Artemis to Pan.
Read thou in the Book of the Law, and break
through the veil of the Virgin. The Book of Thoth

Beloved of Us, navigating the desert of your soul,

worn weary and alone, feel the moonlight bathing

15

your flesh, loving you. She has been showing you

the way all along. Stop for a moment and look up
to the source of the lunar rays. When ready, you
may be an aspirant to come before the High
Priestess. See her there in her penetrable silence,
cloaked in shimmery light, see her as an aspect of
yourself or as every woman you ever loved. This
road is for men and woman, for every person must
eventually come to her if they wish to bridge
between the conscious and higher self.
"All the world is a narrow bridge - but the point is to be
fearless." Hasidic proverb

Here you must stand between opposites, balance

them, let them not pull you apart like terrible
winds, nor lose your footing with doubt. Fear not,
Babalon awaits you. She is urging you onward.
In the wind of the mind arises the turbulence called I.
It breaks; down shower the barren thoughts.
All life is choked.
This desert is the abyss wherein the Universe.
The Stars are but thistles in that waste.
Yet this desert is but one spot accursed in a world of bliss
Aleister Crowley, The Book of Lies

Alas, one day we must all face this desert. As Ive

said before, this book is only an examination of
everything pertaining to the High Priestess. I am
no adept. I am presenting the quote below to show
the correspondences of the Priestess card and its
deeper meanings. I am a servant of She of the

16

Silver Star, a messenger for those undertaking this

journey now or in a future life. Ingrain these
symbols in your soul, lay the groundwork. That is
all I can do, the rest I even know not.
The Masters of the Temple are now introduced; they are
inhabitants, not of this desert; their abode is not this
universe. They come from the Great Sea, Binah, the City of
the Pyramids. V.V.V.V.V. is indicated as one of these
travellers; He is described as a camel, not because of the
connotation of the French form of this word, but because
"camel" is in hebrew Gimel, and Gimel is the path leading
from Tiphareth to Kether, uniting Microprosopus and
Macroprosopus, i.e. performing the Great Work. The card
Gimel in the Tarot is the High Priestess, the Lady of
Initiation; one might even say, the Holy Guardian Angel. -From the Book of Lies ("Dust Devils"):

She of the Silver Star is book II in a series

encompassing general and focused areas, this
second workbook seeks to concentrate on coaching
the Scarlet Woman to lead herself and others on a
symbolic journey behind the Veil, across the Great
Sea, while bathed in lunar light, and down to its
rivers, steering even to the yew-groves of Yama.
She is a servant of truth, a protector of the
Mysteries. She is also the Vehicle in which
Mankind may journey upon the lunar light to the
White Star, becoming a channel for Babalon and
all the gods, for you are to be that vessel and a
source of creativity to the world. Within these
pages, we will look at various occult practices,

17

including the concept of being a conduit to the

Mysteries.
Unlike Book 1, this book is more focused, using
many of the same symbols throughout (starting
point, Sothis, lunar, Priestess, jackal, Diana, etc),
but it still requires that primal force withinthat
burning desire which drives one to create
whether a ritual or a poem. First one must blow on
that spark, fuel it. Then take that spark and
manifestas if taking atoms and forming them
into a new element, or more simply, as if taking a
few words and making a sentence, etc. To take
something inside you and project it outwards into
the world, to have a hand in its depiction.
Remember who you are and what you are capable
of.
Take now these gifts which are rightfully yours,
such as the gift of intuition, silence, finding your
inner voice, oracular vision. Here, we will tread
the path of She of the Silver Star. It does not
matter if you are male or female, she is either you
or a part of you, or even your Beloved. Let Her
show you the way, that which is between the 2
pillars of the Temple, Boaz and Jachin, the Pillar
of Mercy and the Pillar of Severity. The High
Priestess is seated between the worlds, she who
represents Equilibrium. Stand before her and be
the Hierophant. It is you that builds the bridge, it is
she you must pass through.

18

Behind is her a veil to Daath, a secret door awaits.

That is where you must pass, dear one. Listen to
her whisper to come closer, to be admitted into an
inner chamber, where the individual consciousness
meets the divine consciousness. Do you wish to
know?
Da'at really is knowledge in the "Biblical Sense-" it is the
focal point of the mystical union that is prescribed for
sanctified couples to perform on Shabbat night,
consummated at the darkest hour.
This joining opens a path for the Shekhina - a Hebrew word
for the immanent aspect of the Creator, seen in Jewish
philosophy as the female aspect of God. The "above"
aspect of Shekhina is Binah, and the "below" aspect is
Malchut. ifdawn.com/esa/mater.htm

The preceding quote makes me think of The Sea

Priestess, where Willard Maxwell and Morgan Le
Fay perform a mystical union. She takes him
behind the veil. What is behind the veil? It is not
for me to tell. Because it is an inner experience, it
cannot be told or shown. It is between the
individual and the higher, thus, different for
everyone. Ones initiation triggers a spiritual
revelation via a symbolic journey, and the wisdom
learned through experience. Thus, it can only be
known, not said. Be as Willard and Morgan.
Instead of traversing the moon on the path of
Qoph, Dion Fortune, as noted in this book, sets her

19

path to Gimel, the symbolism and meaning which

will be discussed as we voyage onward.
In this book, Im suggesting easy, contemplative
lessons to do. When writing this book, I spent
hours, days, weeks, rereading, rewriting until I
dreamed these symbols and had my inner self
speak them back to me. Let these symbols resonate
within you. Learn of the pathway, dear one, to the
Great Work. No secret can come from me. That
would be foolishness. Part that veil to your
awarenessbecause once, long ago, you knew.
When ready, it is time to stir. In that stirring, you
will be agitated, frustrated, confused, and yearning.
You are rousing. Not a gentle process, but like a
shattering quake becoming aware of itself and
cracking from an egg of its own creation and
confinement.

Lesson 1:
Take a moment to contemplate the following. You
may wish to copy it into your journal and add your
own comments. I think this quote sums it all up.
I am the Angel of the moon. I am the veiled one that
sitteth between the pillars veiled with a shining veil, and on
my lap is the open Book of the mysteries of the ineffable
light1. I am the aspiration unto the higher; I am the love of
the unknown. I am the blind ache within the heart of man.
I am the minister of the sacrament of pain. I swing the
censer of worship, and I sprinkle the waters of purification.

20

I am the daughter of the house of the invisible. I am the

Priestess of the Silver Star. -- The Vision and the Voice

This mysterious Priestess of the Star, as mentioned

in the comment above and the one below, is
entrenched in our psyche by past occultists who
have passed along the keys to this door. Even
Crowley was given a copy of Dions book The Sea
Priestess, and who knows how much she had
learned from him when writing this, or how this
touched his own mind? I am indebted to both for
what they inspire in me.
If you havent done so, I recommend The Sea
Priestess by Dion Fortune. Add this to your
reading list, and perhaps read it either while
studying this book or once finished, and add any
thoughts to your journal. Start with contemplating
the quote below.
She is also the priestess of the Silver Star that rises from
the twilight sea. Hers are the magnetic moon-tides ruling
the hearts of men. -- The Sea Priestess Dion Fortune

Lesson 2:
Now, lets put your visualization skills to task.
Stand before her, in your minds eye, or you may
contemplate the High Priestess card. This card is
thus very peculiarly a glyph of the work of the note
A..A.. -- The Book of Thoth

21

Note as stated, this workbook is not A..A.. related nor is meant to instruct you on how to cross
the abyss to become an adept. What it is, is a
symbolic journey using the symbols associated
with the High Priestess to lead you on a descent
into your unique being, the searching of whatever
you are seeking, and once found, the return with
the wisdom you have earned (such as a journey of
Persephone). With that said, this book is offering
tools for individual journeys, to walk where I nor
someone else can walk. It is for you alone.

22

Also known as the Veiled Isis

If you wish, place this on an altar with the four
elements, an ankh or Tau, along with seeds,
pomegranates, whorls, shells, 2 candles, perhaps
blue or silver. Spend time meditating in this
sanctum devoted to her. Use the Thoth version if
you prefer or a variety of decks to resonate with.
Go before her, a seated woman shimmering in the
moonlight, sitting upon a cube of salt, the curtain
linking light and dark. This path connects
Tiphareth and Kether, the bridge spanning the
mysteries, balanced between Geburah and Chesed.
It is expressed by the High Priestess, but the
Hierophant is the bridge builder. Listen now as she
addresses you.
The High Priestess asks you, Who are you?
Who am I? This is one of the most important
questions you can ask yourself. It is you talking
to your whole self, not your higher self, but
higher and lower, balanced.
Look behind the veilperhaps as simple a
gesture as pushing aside the curtains to look out
into the night, witness the lunar light upon the
starry sky.

23

Perhaps you say: I am She of the Silver Star. I

wear the star of Sirius, and the moon is mine
beneath my feet.
How do you serve me? She asks.
Answer: I shall be a channel for the Goddess, to
make her ways manifest, to reveal her to who
would know heras a living representative of
Babalon.
She takes the Tau off her chest and holds it out to
you, as if asking are you one who seeks to wear it?
If so, you may be seeking the Silver Star.
He should rather follow the path of Tau, passing through the
balanced Elements of the astral plane, despite their darkness
and their terror." -- 777

Write the above passage in your journal and any

thoughts that come to you. Reflect upon what you
have learned so far, and then consider the
following.
You are the incarnation of her Priestesses, the
Scarlet Women of Thelema, in charge of the
weaving of Her/Your myth and what it is to
become. See the Goddess as a statue like one
perhaps in a hoary graveyard, forgotten and
neglected, but reclaimed by the gentle caress of the
earth. The sea behind her, hinting of life hidden in
the silence, ready to spring forth again, like waves

24

flinging its foam into the air, if they celebrate her

return. Place roses about her neck, kiss her lips and
tell her to awaken.
Demonized by Christianity, she still retains her
wings. She will fly again. Breathe new life into
Her. Give her somewhere to ascend to. She has
been in the hells, where her feet are rooted. Give
her now the heavens too, though neglect not the
hells and the darkness she knows so well.
My adepts stand upright; their head above the heavens, their
feet below the hells. Liber Tzaddi, line 40

The following offers food for thought and

contemplation into your journal.

Lesson 3:
Take my hand, loved one, enter the fields of
imagination and reflection with me. Im sharing
part of my journey so that you can learn from it.
Then set out on your own. Take of the hand of who
comes after you and repeat the processas if a
chain of lights.
36. This chain reaches from Eternity to Eternity, ever in
trianglesis not my symbol a triangle?ever in circles
is not the symbol of the Beloved a circle? Therein is all
progress base illusion, for every circle is alike and every
triangle alike!

25

37. But the progress is progress, and progress is rapture,

constant, dazzling, showers of light, waves of dew, flames
of the hair of the Great Goddess, flowers of the roses that
are about her neck, Amen! -- Liber A'ash vel Capricorni
Pneumatici

Record in your journal the preceding quote along

with impressions, or if you are an artist, draw what
you feel.
This book will not give you any great secret,
because that cannot be communicated, but Ive
taken seeds from the Holy Books of Thelema,
planted them in these pages to help you along. You
must tend those seeds, cause them to bloom. What
astounding flowers bloom is for your eyes to see
and may different from my garden.
Below is wisdom targeted for this discussion, to
introduce wisdom in a directed fashion. It might be
wise to take this book a few paragraphs or pages at
a time during a scheduled evening of study. Add it
to any other daily spiritual practices you might
perform. Consider this:
3. Though none can communicate either the knowledge or
the power to achieve this, which we may call the Great
Work, it is yet possible for initiates to guide others.
4. Every man must overcome his own obstacles, expose his
own illusions. Yet others may assist him to do both, and
they may enable him altogether to avoid many of the false
paths, leading no whither, which tempt the weary feet of

26

the uninitiated pilgrim. They can further insure that he is

duly tried and tested, for there are many who think
themselves to be Masters who have not even begun to tread
the Way of Service that leads thereto. -- Liber LXI vel
Causae

Heed these words, pilgrim. Too many people

claiming high grades without it showing in their
service or accomplishments.

Lesson 4:
Now consider Prakriti, described as unmanifest,
primordial matter. The High Priestess is Prakriti,
which is the mind stuff of existence, as
symbolized in her blue robe turning into water, into
the unconscious dream realms. It is the undifferented
universal substance, perhaps fractals of creation or
DNA, as it traverses its way through creation.
Mind stuff --the elemental material held to be the basis of
reality and to consist internally of the constituent substance of
mind and to appear externally in the form of matter. -Merriam-Webster Online

Use meditation and yoga to reign in your

mind/body, to hold it still to begin your
exploration of Prakriti and the journey of reverse
attention. See it as taking your emotions, your
thoughts, the world which you are creating and

27

deeply examining it. Seek to traverse to the

beginning points in your life. What led you to
where you are now? Maybe explore a day, a year,
or from one major transition to another. We are not
going all the way to Kether as in the path of Gimel,
as that is a personal journey and not a quick trek,
but we are doing it on a small symbolic scale.
Involution, heading home to a more whole part of
ourselves, even if only on a minute scale. What
holds your reality together, what illusions? Give
this a lot of thought. Look at how political, cultural
or religious ideas shape how you perceive the
world. Expand from there.
Next, perhaps explore your dreams and analyze the
symbols starting to appear. Or explore any of the
above correspondences, such as DNA. What does
the High Priestess have to do with DNA or with
mindstuff and how you perceive the world
coursing within you or in every aspect of creation
you associate with? Consider your own DNA, how
it is creating your physical image in this realm,
how it is holding the illusion of you while you
participate in the grand play. You are more than
this temporary DNA, that one point of existence.

Lesson 5:
The Black Virgin or Black Isis has been identified
with several black goddess figures of the ancient

28

cultures, including the Phrygian Cybele, the

Sumerian Inanna, the Hebrew Lilith, the Indian
Kali, the Ephesian Diana, and the Egyptian Isis.
Black was the color of fertility and abundance, like
the rich soil of the Nile, but also black like
underground dark deities like Hecate or Hel. See
the ritual in the 3rd section of this book to expand
on this more. If you want to wait to do jump ahead,
consider this:
High priestess: Veiled Isis
Empress: Unveiled Isis

As a part of independent study, take what you

learned about the High Priestess and the Veiled
Isis, and examine why the Empress card is the
Unveiled Isis?

Lesson 6:
The Eleusinian Mysteries were envisioned "to
elevate man above the human sphere into the
divine and to assure his redemption by making him
a god and so conferring immortality upon him.
Greek Popular Religion
The above quote goes well with the underlying
theme of the High Priestess and her role in the
Eleusinian Mysteries. The Immortality Rite at the

29

end of this book corresponds to this lesson as well,

if you want to glance at that before proceeding.
47. There was a maiden that strayed among the corn, and
sighed; then grew a new birth, a narcissus, and therein she
forgot her sighing and her loneliness.
48. Even instantly rode Hades heavily upon her, and
ravished her away. -- Liber LXV

Reflect briefly on the Eleusinian mysteries, which

are based on the myths of Demeter and
Persephone. It involved a descent, a search, and an
ascent back to the Mother. Keep this in mind too
as you continue to understand this symbol. It might
be worthwhile to jot down the symbols and see
how they reoccur throughout this book.
Consider this:
19. There is no act or passion that shall not be an hymn in
mine honour.
20. All holy things and all symbolic things shall be my
sacraments. Liber A'ash vel Capricorni Pneumatici

Lesson 7:
Read and comment on the below.
K'Gavna

30
Just as the Sephirot unite above in Oneness without
evil so Sephera Malchut unites below in the secret of
Oneness so She may join those above One receiving
One. The Holy One, Blessed is He, the One above, does
not sit on His Throne of Glory until She below, the
Shabbes Queen, is made over in the secret of Oneness
like His that they may join in a Oneness of Oneness.
Thus have we set forth the secret of G-D's Oneness: His
name is One.
This is the secret of Shabbes: She (Malchut) is called
Shabbes when One, when She is united up in the secret
of One, occurring in the fullness of Shabbes, for then the
Holy Throne of Glory unifies with the secret of Oneness,
and becomes ready for the Holy King to mount it, when
Shabbes arrives, She unifies Herself and divests Herself
of the other side, all harsh judgements are removed
from Her and She unifies with the Holy Light, with
Holiness, and crowns Herself with many crowns in behalf
of the Holy King. All dominions tremble in agitation and
bearers of trials flee from Her together and Her
appointment overwhelms, Her dominion arises, and
then, with completion, Her myriad creations rejoice. Her
face glows with Heavenly Light, and She takes those
below who see Her up as Her Crown, and they crown
themselves with Shabbes Souls.

The acquiring of the Shekina (Bride of God) is that

soul in Qabalah...cf. Paul Joseph Rovellis
commentaries on the Shekinah in his
commentaries on HPBs Zohar:
http://www.archidox.org/Theosophical%20ZoharCap%2056Remarks%20on%20the%20Shekinah.docx

31

http://www.archidox.org/Theosophical%20ZoharCap%207-The%20Shekinah.docx
Interesting note, shabbes soul is the acquiring an
additional soul (an additional part of you that is
only partially connected until ready to obtain) that
enables you to understand its mysteries. To
understand the mysteries, be as the bride. "Let Him
kiss me with the kisses of His mouth", says the
first verse of the Song of Songs. If you wish to
spend more time on this subject, as mentioned
above, peruse the Gnostic texts found at the
Gnostic Church of L.V.X. to better understand the
bride and how this relates to passage above, and
explore the ideas presented below.
On our journey through the moon within these
pages, briefly take note of the path of Qoph, the
path linking Netzach and Malkuth. This is different
to the above, of becoming the Bride. That actually
is more Atu II, the higher aspect of the moon, but
you might first have to experience Qoph, which is
how some of us start our journey into the guidance
of the moon, some through paganism and Wicca.
On that adventure, we eventually discover a divine
spark to carry us from this contrary path onward to
the High Priestess, that moment when we are ready
to undertake the Great Work. But, first, understand
Qoph, the darker part of the moonthe old ways,
old minds. Then continue on your way, seek out
the path when ready to climb, be the Inferior

32

Mother, the Shekinah returning from exile and

becoming the Bride.
The Bride is the way of Gimel. Atu II. This is the
path for those who are ready to take the leap.
Awaken sleeper. The light you seek will be from
of the greatest darkness, but only when you are
ready. Until then, walk a little longer beneath the
moon, perhaps where she is darkest, to get your
feet secure in its depths before testing them on the
higher.
At times, before reaching the balance and
harmony, the journey through the moon is
frightening to some, but if you never face your
own gulf at its darkest depth, you will never yearn
to see the light. In my works, I see the influence of
Qoph, arising from the symbolism that I have been
entrenched in over the years. Symbols such as
Anubis and lunar correspondences in Traversing
the Scarlet Path Book 1 and The Scarlet Grimoire.
It kept me wondering, why do these symbols keep
appearing? It is the influence of the Moon I cannot
escape, from one path and now to the other, yet of
note on Qoph and Gimel, The Menstrual fluids,
however, the medium for the One as for the
Other.777 (Note, menstrual fluid is lunar and
said to be gateway to divine).
By the treacherous light of the waning Moon, the wanderer
stumbles through the swamps upon the edge of the black pool

33
of the Abyss, along the winding path beset by the hell-hounds,
up the barren slopes to where two "squat turrets, blind as the
fool's heart," guard a pass leading he knows not where. His
starting point is the illusion of matter, his goal the sphere of
external splendour and internal corruption., The path leads
away from the middle pillar, to the anarchy of the unbalanced
astral wilderness. It is the essence of error. He would rather
trust himself to the Bark of the Midnight Sun, the Winged
Beetle, to bear him to the Dawn. He should rather follow the
path of Tau, passing through the balanced Elements of the
astral plane, despite their darkness and their terror." - 777
Revised ed. on the path of Qoph vs. the ptah of Gimel

Maybe some on Qoph, the path of witchcraft, learn

what they need to on this path, then shed what they
need to before traversing Gimel. Because in Qoph,
one is not an ecstatic Bride. 777 And Other
Qabalistic Writings

Called the Gateway of Resurrection, Malkuth is

a place of infinite endings and beginnings, of the
moon waning and waxing. Move from here
towards the pure light of the Source where come
the female and male potencies of the Divine,
reunited in balance and harmony, and wholeness
reclaimed.

34

The tarot trump associated with Qoph is The

Moon. Its symbolism includes birth and death,
the cycles of the moon, and the double helix of
DNA. The jackal god Anubis represents in
Egyptian mythology the boundary between the
visible and invisible world. Also associated is
Kephera, god of creation and resurrection.
Artemsis (Diana) with her hounds.
Here is another comparison to ponder:
In her higher aspect, she occupies the place of the Link
between the human and divine, as shown in Atu II. In this Trump,
her lowest avatar, she joins the earthy sphere of Netzach with
Malkuth, the culmination in matter of all superior forms. This is
the waning moon, the moon of witchcraft and abominable deeds.
She is the poisoned darkness which is the condition of the rebirth
of light. The Book of Thoth

35
It represents the last stage of winter. It might be called the
Gateway of Resurrection (the letter Qoph means the back of the
head, and is connected with the potencies of the cerebellum). In
the system of the old Aeon, the resurrection of the Sun was not
only from winter, but from night; and this card represents
midnight. The Book of Thoth

Researching this path has given me an

understanding of what my conscious mind may not
have known at times, yet plugging into the
energies will guide you nonetheless as they have
me. At times, I have started rituals with an appeal
to Anubis, without even knowing why. During the
creative process, we tap into the sphere we are
working on.
To what god shall we appeal for aid? It is Anubis, the watcher
in the twilight, the god that stands upon the threshold, the jackal
god of Khem, who stands in double form between the Ways. At
his feet, on watch, wait the jackals themselves, to devour the
carcasses of those who have not seen Him, or who have not
known His Name. -- The Book of Thoth

A good lesson here might be designing a ritual

where participants don a moon mask near the
midnight hour. Perhaps have a feast, celebrating
the link to our earliest ancestors, or maybe have a
guided meditation to ones shadow self, the
hidden parts of our nature. Then at the
culmination, have anyone strip off their masks,
perhaps revealing a secret about themselves,
(maybe even burn the masks), symbolically
ridding their illusions to discover whatever truth

36

or divine spark remains. That sets up the other

way, the way to the Bride.
When deciding to walk the path of Gimel, it
demands courage, determination, pain and selfsacrifice, such as sacrificing time and energy to
do your work. It is said then you will be ready to
take on the task of your Holy Guardian Angel.
That undertaking takes place in the human heart.
In summary, recently, I have had people contact
me, one as far away as Serbia, after reading my
Scarlet Grimoire, asking about Thelemic
witchcraft. I told them that book is not Thelemic
witchcraft, per se, its more suggesting it,
contemplating that direction. This was my early
work and I hadnt embarked far enough. So, I told
them to write, to create, to explore it for
themselves, and I have seen people gravitating to
this idea on their own the past few years,
wondering if its filling some need, as even
modern witchcraft was founded by Aleister
Crowley and by Gerald Gardner who reworded
Crowley.
My question is why was Crowley crafting modern
witchcraft to some degree, at least with his
limited time with Gardner, and at other times
warning against it? After pondering his quotes on
the matter, two of which I mention in Scarlet
Grimoire, I agree that there is nothing wrong with

37

exploring the ancient, the past, the ancestral, but

also to remember that they are decaying voices
like faint rustling leaves, nice to honor and then
look to the present and future what has yet to be
designed. If you aspire to the Knowledge and
Conversation of your Holy Guardian Angel, Qoph
is the contrary path, and it is perhaps time for you
to attain the higher route. Not everyone is
working the same path. Its not a race. We are all
on our own adventure before heading home, and
some may be finding some need with the learning
of the ancestral past as of yet, maybe learning
ways to prophecy or to balance the elements
within themselves. Each path has its lessons to
learn and there are other branches of the tree to
traverse as well. Listen to your guidance on this
matter.
But, what of the pagan attitudes that Fortune
was excited about pursuing with Crowley? Maybe
as one dives into paganism or to our roots and
starts exploring the archetypes and the symbols,
learning about themselves within and without,
they end up opening the doors that come from
deep searching. It puts them on the path of the
moon, and they will not rest until they eventually
come to the High Priestess, meaning the path of
Gimel. It would have been nice to have known
the motives of Crowley and Fortune, but one can
see by the explosion of paganism, witchcraft and
even to a lesser extent, Thelema, which is still

38

undertaken by the few, that they had their hands

in this, and it is up to us to decide where to take it
to next.
The quote below sums it up. Find new expression
from any of the ancestral, the old ways, or get
caught looking at a reflection that fascinates but is
really what is left of a dying star.
Religion must be re-stated in the new age, not because
truth has changed, but because the manner of its expression
has become atavistic and in consequence is not only
incomprehensible but definitely leads astray a new age with
a new destiny. -- Dion Fortune, War Letter No 67, 30th
March 1941

Some in Thelema are vehemently against

Thelemites pursuing witchcraft and/or paganism,
and I say it is your choice. I am only one
perspective, one speck of dust in the universe, and
cannot speak for a whole system. At least
whatever your doing, give it new expression,
whatever you do. Find a way to add a little of
yourself to the vision. Find new gnosis. You are
here to create with your thoughts, your desires,
your doings. Choose the way that fits with your
aims and discard what doesnt.

39

Part II:
Story of a Priestess

Why include this part in this book? Books are a

part of their creators, yet authors are regular people
and should never be placed on a pedestal. They
arent all knowing nor without flaws, or their
opinions ubiquitous. Disagree. Think for yourself.
Write your own book. This rendering is just part of
my picture, part of what lies beneath these words
that Im painting for you. Maybe just anecdotes,
maybe the lifeblood that spurned this project, Im
offering these tidbits to show where this book
came from, an imperfect person on an imperfect
quest.
My path has been long and varied, starting for this
books sake from an introverted child of 6 when I
first saw Egyptian symbols on a cheap tin jewelry

40

set in a toy store and obsessively had to have it

with a confusing hunger that besieged me. Though
I didnt get the jewelry that day, to my dismay, I
did use my allowance a short time later, trying to
appease this longing in me. As if my treasure, I
fingered the shiny evocative symbols, desperate to
find the worlds they opened to. So familiar, so
haunting, I didnt care much for the real world,
as I did for my trinkets and what they said to me,
not in words, but in feeling. A few years later (this
was the 1970s for perspective), when I learned of
Egypt through age-appropriate stories like King
Tut, I was smitten. Something echoed in my soul,
calling me back, begging me to remember. What is
this lingering world lost to me?
When I was 9, my mother didnt allow me to take
the 2-week long swimming class at school, held at
the YMCA because of my being sickly, so I was
relegated to the library during that time, where I
stumbled across a book of witchcraft. Though
Catholic, I flipped through the pages, reading
chants and spells. Though actually a kids book
and probably only meant for Halloween, it
resonated in me. There had to be more to this; I
just had to find it. Joy welled up inside me. So
forbidden, so secret, this world called to me. But
when I shared what I had found with another girl
my age, she cringed, saying it was wrong to read

41

that, and my heart sank, so I kept my wayward

secret. It was at this about time my teacher told my
mother there might be something wrong with me
because I was a loner, quiet, withdrawn into my
own world of art and writing. My mother scoffed
at the thought and allowed me to go on being
myself; including as a teenager, setting up a
Rosicrucian altar in my bedroom, and even a
Wiccan one as I saw fit. She never stifled my
searching, my spiritual journey.
That led to studying Hinduism one day after my
10th grade history teacher introduced me to the
topic and captivated my mind, and then I soon
branched out to other religions and philosophies. I
wanted to know it all. I even sought out covens,
and found the Coven of the Fertile Earth, a
Gardnerian coven; the priest and priestess who I
met in a local Hardees restaurant through a listing
in a local pagan publication. Soon after, I was
invited to their home, around Beltane, but I didnt
feel it was a good fit. For some time, I kept
running into two of the members, Fred Ludwig,
who later took over the group, and his lovely wife,
over the following years hanging out in the pagan
community, but still, I didnt know what I was
seeking.
During my teenage years, I often hung out with my
older sister, Burning Snow. Wed spend hours in

42

the woods meditating, doing runes, rituals, etc,,

and later, with her and her friends, we formed a
Dianic coven, the Coven of the Silver Serpent. We
had several members, coming and going, but I saw
the ones pictures below as the heart of it. We each
took turns being the High Priestess, invoking the
Goddess in all her forms, but always dedicated to
the Moon, her lunar mysteries. Adding to this, my
discovery of Dion Fortunes books, I found a great
depth in my experience with the Goddess. No
author touched me like she did, and her writing
really lit the way for me to go.

43

(top, 3rd from left me, 4th, my sister Amy; bottom

left Amy, middle is me. The others Kostya and
Amanda).

44

Still, I wasnt satisfied. I continued on my journey.

At the age of 18, I met a pen pal through the
Association of Research and Enlightenment, which
is located at a 3-story building in Virginia Beach
devoted to Edgar Cayce. This was very close to
where I lived and I would spend hours hunched
over a pile of books, my legs going numb sitting
on the rug in the corner of their 2nd floor library;
devouring as many of their 25,000 occult books as
I could. I was on a quest through various religions
from Hinduism to Wicca to Gnosticism, to secret
societies. And the man who answered my ad
stayed in touch with me for the next 20 or so years,
mentoring me in my quest and became an elder
advisor to me, as if sponsoring my initiation in the
Western Mystery Tradition.
Oddly enough, only once did I see him, when he
came into my work at a restaurant. Though it was
busy and we did not speak, I recognized him at
once without ever seeing a picture of him. Tall
with pale skin, a shock of red hair on a severe face
with an aquiline nose and fiery eyes. He looked to
me the typical TV version of an evil wizard, not
that he was unkind, but forceful, certain of his
potent Will and where he was going. Not evil at
all. He later sent me a picture to confirm it was the
person I saw. My spirit recognized him. His name
was Les Rogers, and he kept in touch in letters as I

45

stumbled on my path, sometimes lost and unsure

of my place. Even when I put my occult studies to
the side to raise my children, he called me
Priestess of the Silver Star. Why? I felt a failure,
unsure of my own direction. Sometimes Id get
angry looking at those words, as if I couldnt live
up to them. I was no priestess, except for a short
time in a coven, where my sisters and I took turns
as the high priestess honoring the moon upon the
beach near the crashing waves. Too often, I walked
alone along the bitter sea, taking in the salty air,
sprinkled by the windblown foam, lost in darkness
and depression. What is a Priestess of the Silver
Star?
Always haunted by those words, I couldnt
untangle myself from them as if silver spider
threads that I dangle from. My path is what it is,
and I cant escape it any more than you can. Im a
servant of the Great White Brotherhood, as I used
to call it when I was in a Rosicrucian group, and
did stints in other groups like O.M.C.E., etc. As I
said before, I am no adept nor foolish to think of
myself of anything beyond a messenger, but even
as an idealistic, awkward teen, I made my oath to
serve the Great White Brotherhood, now known as
the A..A.., who I had no contact with. I am a
servant of a particular path therein, The Priestess, I
am here to serve and that is my purpose, and the
core of my joy. Alas, I write this book to those I
serve, for those meant to pass me by.

46

It was at age 20 or 21 when I saw a word I had

never seen beforeThelema. This was before
computers and the internet, at least for me, but I
found a group listed in with pagan contacts, but for
some reason this odd word captivated me. Like my
experience with the Egyptian jewelry, the symbols
which obsessed me, this word Thelema
spellbound me, so I wrote to the address and joined
Ordo Templi Baphe-Metis. When this Thelemic
world unfolded to me like a rose, I found what I
was looking for. This group guided me to the
world of Crowley and to Do, to find my Will. They
let me find my voice, to become Syrinx, to be who
she was meant to be.
Thelema set me on a path to reclaim my sexuality,
to repair parts of myself, to set myself free from
mental shackles, though it was a slow process as
evidenced in some of early writings and my fears
to tread my own darkness and to abhor it instead of
understating it, but it wasnt until I met Paul
Joseph Rovelli that I got a deeper education into
Thelema. Alas, I wanted to shout to the world
about the beauty and liberty and love I found on
this path, and with my consort.
Even when I falter, when I get lost in my own
darkness or the falseness of light, others have
come along on my way, stepped out of the
shadows to confront me. For one such story, I must
return to about the age of 19 or so, when a stranger

47

approached me at a New Age Symposium which

was held at Norfolk State University. Hoping to
seem more studious, I wore a black skirt and formfitting jacket, trying to look more refined than my
usual punk/goth attire, though I kept the combat
boots and my black leggings, and hair cropped and
dyed red.
Though very shy and not used to going anywhere
on my own, I attended several classes; one in
particular on auras. The woman lecturing on the
stage was engaging and interesting, but I became
bored, wanting to know what color my aura was. I
had an endless hunger to understand myself. What
would my aura say about me? Daydreaming, I
imagined my aura transforming into a green
dragon and prancing around the woman, saying,
Look at me, look at me. I imagined it
solidifying, the green becoming so vivid, as it
slithered to and fro, and then absorbing it back into
myself. That is how I amused myself as the lecture
ended. I was told one I have a very twisted sense
of humor.
I then left the class and headed outside into the
afternoon sun, heading down the steps when a tall,
thin man caught my eye and I froze. Elderly, with
thin wisps of hair on his head, again the formidable
eyes I have come to associate with magickians, but
something differentsomething I didnt know
what to do with. He was standing there smiling at

48

me, warm and beaming, with a hint of laughter as

if in on some joke I wasnt privy too. Fascinated, I
stood there, locked onto his smile and returned it
with my own. Who was this man and why was he
staring at me like this?
Your aura is green, he tenderly said, as if
placating a child.
My smile died. Why would he say that? He wasnt
at the lecture, yet he knew that I had been at the
lecture on auras, even though I could have easily
been in one of the others hosted at the same time,
and even scarier, knew what I was thinking at that
moment. I could see in his eyes that this wasnt a
coincidence, he knew that I wanted my aura read.
Maybe he knew I was creating a thought form
around the woman. I lowered my head. Who was
this man? How did he know my secret thoughts? I
hung my head. Could he read the Akasha?
Studying my socially awkward, introverted self,
the man in the gray suit stepped closer, something
about him serpentine, sharpboth in his slicing
eyes and his pointy teeth unveiled by his smirk.
He pressed on. Something happened when you
were 16.
He looked through me as if dissecting my secrets,
but which one? My mind whirled. I searched the

49

recesses of my memory. He kept repeating it,

waiting for me to find it. Did he mean my
horrifying encounter with a black-eyed youth that
Im not sure was even human, a creature I saw in
the woods where I did my workings? Thats a
bizarre story for another day. Still, this strange
man was flustering me. So taken aback. I didnt
respond, so he kept digging, trespassing through
my secrets. And he didnt stop there.
Your father is stepping on your power.
That crossed a line. I hated having a domineering
father, something I am sure even Dion Fortune
could relate to, and perhaps was her downfall
because she wrote about weak men and perhaps
never allowed herself to work with a powerful
consort, but what did he mean stepping on your
power? The fear of my dad kept me timid, afraid
to get out of my shell, though I did enjoy him
talking to me about Greece and the Hellenistic
period, as he was a history buff and I used to steal
his books including the Egyptian Book of the
Dead. Discomfort increased. By now, I wanted to
flee. Sensing that, he changed gears and invited to
me to his lecture on synchronicity, so I took his
card dangling from his long fingers, and as if in a
daze, I walked across the campus of the
University. I wasnt sure if I should attend his
lecture or not, so I wasted some time before
seeking out another lecture. I met a woman sitting

50

on a chair in a hallway who invited me to her

lecture, so I considered heading that way, in a
different building. When I opened the door to the
adjacent structure, I spotted that strange man down
the hall. My heart lurched. Though he was chatting
with another man, my mysterious friend turned his
head slightly, saw me and smiled. Feeling like an
uneasy mouse, I backed away and retreated out the
door. Determined to choose another lecture
without an intimating figure oppressing me, I
walked around the building to find a lecture on
something else, but, again, as I opened the door,
there the man stood, smiling at me already
anticipating my move like a predator; even worse,
a psychic one. I dont know who that man was, but
I wasnt prepared to traverse where knowing him
would have led me, even if it was within my own
memories or some other truth. I should have faced
him, taken him on; seen where the adventure
would have led to.
That night he was in my dreams. I was seated at an
oblong table tended by a dozen or so others, but he
was at the head of the table, and I at the other end.
He chided me for being a white lighter, afraid of
my dark half. They laughed at me when I spoke of
my aversion to Set; just a child I was. I had yet to
see I was unbalanced. Set is Horus, Horus is Set. I
needed to incorporate both halves into one, but it
didnt happen overnight. As this dream showed, I
had residual anchors from my Catholic upbringing

51

that I had to sever. I had to free myself of its

weight, and to reach one hand up to Horus, the
solar body of light, as well as to repair my
unbalanced self by reaching down to Set, the
stellar light in darkness, the dove and the serpent.
Does not one spend half of each day in darkness
and half in light? When I think back on it, why did
that scare me so? I was afraid I wasnt a good
person, when the problem should have been, am I
a whole person, in complete control of my
thoughts and actions, and not eschewing parts of
myself which could come back and destroy me?
Throughout your path, as I have discovered, dont
be surprised when others drop in to give you the
necessary jolt or inspiration. Ive met many
interesting people and other beings I dont have the
tools yet to understand, but it makes this road I
have travelled enthralling to say the least.
Yes, there were other occultists I have met, such as
Robert Blanchard, a translator of grimoires, who
co-authored The Eustaxiani Papyrus with me, by
writing a Gnostic story around the spells I was recreating, as I was curious how a modern mind
might practice them. Many interesting people
came in and out of my lifeincluding the
magickian who did magic tricks for me at a
restaurant called P.F. Changs; the simple cup and
ball trick to my child-like delight. There was also a
magician able to hypnotize, who was a Martinist,

52

an Unknown Philospher, S :. I:., and who told me

of strange things, such as there only being two
worlds; whatever that means. And he told me that
the Freemason ring really a symbol for the
Goddess. But he was like a malevolent or
misunderstood character in a Dion Fortune novel,
with me thinking I loved him. I went away with
him after dinner, my memory is blank for the most
part, and he said something metaphysical
happened that night, but he wouldnt elaborate. I
think I ended up in the oddest circumstances
sometimes.
As you can see, my circle has included those with
abilities far beyond my own, some for reasons still
unclear, but they have all shown me the world is
deeper and more mysterious than what it is on the
surface, whether enlightening or sinister, but
always an adventure.
It was during a transformative, painful time in my
life that I found myself at a crossroads. I had to
make a decision to where to go from here. Thats
when I dug my Dion Fortune and Aleister Crowley
books out of my closet in rural Alabama. I
gathered what I could salvage from my occult life
and I said Im ready. Im ready to do my work. I
packed them up and carried them with me like The
Fool about to walk off a cliff and never look
backor to at least look over the cliffs edge and
see if Im too scared to jump.

53

And now, Im on a new journey, will new

interesting characters, but now with a mission
aligned with mine, and the path still continues, to
where I have yet to dream of. This path has set me
alongside a brilliant occultist erecting his lantern to
the world in the form of the Gnostic Church of
L.V.X., and it is here I have set about to do my
work along with him. What I am from here on out
is because of my association with Paul and those
who are in his circle. May the adventure continue.

54

Part III:
Rites of a Priestess

This section is just to give a sampling of some of

my creations inspired by my interest in both
Crowley and Fortune, and/or what I think
represents the Priestess theme. I have included
most in other books, but I rewrite them as my
vision changes, some minimally, some to a greater
extent. May it inspire you to create your own, and
see it as a process; a constant evolving.

55

Sothic Rite, a Symbolic Journey

I like to use meditations, ritual dramas to play with
ideas. I'm revisiting this one I wrote in the 90's. I
needed to update it, because as I change and grow,
I need my creations to change and grow or they
belong in the past. I liken it to a tree in winter, its
branches bare and lifeless. Let them flower again
with a new expression, a new go around or leave
them where they lie.
The High Priestess is the Initiatrix leading you to
the White Star.
(Sothis, heart of Thelemic current)
Far beyond the moon, the door opens. White
hounds with red ears that howl at the sky, while
humans sleep in their version of reality. Or see
them now as black jackals, Anubis and Ap-uat,
who guide the soul, listen as they howl at the moon
and guard the way to the open skyline.
"By the treacherous light of the waning Moon, the
wanderer stumbles through the swamps upon the edge of
the black pool of the Abyss, along the winding path beset
by the hell-hounds. 777 And Other Qabalistic Writings of
Aleister Crowley

If you want to waken, let the Dog Star challenge

you. Its secrets demand a flicker of recognition.
Come now and quiet those hounds that guard the

56

light and the darkness (Set reaching down, Horus

reaching up). Scratch their ears and tell them to
save their fury for your enemies. May they protect
your circle so that you do not lose your way,
because the secrets of Sothis are liquid silver and
eternally distant. So come now and journey beyond
this realm at least for a moment. Let us reach out
to another place. To do so, beloved child of the
New Aeon, see yourself as the "sun behind the
sun," "Sirius, which shines perpetually in the
darkness of Nuit." The Magical Revival
Find thou thyself in every Star.-The Heart of the
Master
For this ritual, fill a deep silver bowl with water.
Add a little salt and a fragrant oil, maybe jasmine
or myrrh, ginseng, or one preferably for
clairvoyance and visions. Next write your motto on
a floating star candle. Place a piece of new jewelry
(perhaps a pyramid or star) on your altar near the
bowl. Draw an image of a pentagram with a red
circle in the middle and place before the bowl.
Do a banishing and then take your knife and cut an
imaginary door big enough to step through and
enter it. Proclaim:
I have opened the paths of the warders of heaven and the
warders of earth. I have not been driven back by them." -Book of the Dead

57

Light the floating candle upon the water and then

say:
"The stars which have never set have led me on my way." - Book of the Dead

Stare at the bowl of water and breathe in the scent.

Meditate on your journey and envision what would
help you make the most of it. Feel drawn deeper
and deeper into the liquid.
When you are ready say:
I invoke Sothis, goddess of the Dog Star, goddess
of initiation.
"Oh, Sothis, my soul, make my path ready, set up a
stairway to the great plain, for you are my mother (She is
mother of Set as well)." -- Pyramid Text

Dip your fingers in the water and anoint your brow

and your body. Say:
I initiate myself in the name of Sothis. I have
opened a doorway to ancient wisdom and I shall be
a keeper of sacred knowledge.
Contemplate the symbol you drew.
"The Five Pointed Star, with a Circle in the Middle, & the
circle is Red. My colour is black to the blind, but the blue
& gold are seen of the seeing. Also I have a secret glory for
them that love me." -- The Book of the Law

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(See Sothis as the mother of Set, the child in the

circle, in her womb. Become as the "Living One,"
the child of Sothis, as stated above.)
"The sky is clear, Sothis lives, because I am a living one,
the child of Sothis, and the Enneads have cleansed
themselves for me in Ursa Major, the Imperishable. My
house in the sky will not be destroyed...Sothis has caused
me to fly up to the sky into the company of my brethren,
the gods. Nuit, the Great, has uncovered her arms for me." - Pyramid Text
What is the meaning of Initiation? It is the Path to the
realisation of your Self as the sole, the supreme, the
absolute of all Truth, Beauty, Purity, Perfection!-Magick
Without Tears, chapter 71

Raise the jewelry proclaiming it to be a sign to the

worlds that you are reaching a higher state of
consciousness and that you are worthy to
understand the star behind the star and the sun
behind the sun (jewelry just a physical reminder of
your experience here and a trigger for your mind).
Put it on and ask that Sothis visit your dreams with
a message, or mediate and skry. See yourself as a
conduit to the Mysteries.
Picture a light behind your third eye stretching
from your third eye and reaching out to a distant
star in the night sky. Sothis opens one's
consciousness and gives to you "rays of undying
god." Become charged with infinite potential,
possibilities.

59

May the Duat await my spirit as it journeys the

cosmic realm, and may the light of truth urge me
on when it is dark. My eternal soul exits beyond
time, within the arms of Isis and the heart of truth.
Banish after step back through the imaginary
portal.
Record here any impressions and elaborate in your
journal.

Next exercise:
See not Set, but Horus in the womb. Contemplate
the following.
Horus leaps up thrice armed from the womb of his mother.
Harpocrates his twin is hidden within him. Set is his holy
covenant, that he shall display in the great day of
M.A.A.T., that is being interpreted the Master of the
Temple of A A, whose name is Truth. __ Liber A'ash vel
Capricorni Pneumatici
From The Vision and the Voice, I am light, and I am
night, and I am that which is beyond them. I am speech,
and I am silence, and I am that which is beyond them. I am
life, and I am death, and I am that which is beyond them.

Notes:

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Diana of Ephesus
Why is Diana relevant? As one of the goddesses
who was difficult to kill off by Christianity,
perhaps one should revisit what she meant to the
psyche at that time. Return her from being cast off
to maybe a place of understanding. This book
seeks to wind a path from ancient cultures and
religions to know where we come from, to then
seek out new paths from there. There is a lot of
healing that needs to be done within the minds and
hearts of women, and seeing something in these
goddesses that we can see in ourselves can be that

61

salve, that boost of strength to get us to the next

part of the journey, that which we are still creating.
Some may see Babalon in other goddesses, but as
in The Red Goddess, I agree with seeing Diana for
Diana, Babalon for Babalon. All women are Isis.
All women are Babalon, but each Avatar is an
expression that can speak to a specific concern, so
I see the goddesses as the same, yet different.
Perhaps targeted, peeled away layer by layer until
reaching the segment needed at the moment, a
segment still connected to the larger whole, but
compartmentalized for the human mind to be able
to see it.
But isnt Diana a virginal goddess? If Babalon is
all women, she is women in all her aspects.
Women go through stages from virgin to mother to
crone. We go through stages of becoming and unbecoming. This isnt representing a woman who
fails to open her heart and give herself to all.
55. Let Mary inviolate be torn upon wheels: for her sake let all
chaste women be utterly despised among you!

In this case, Mary is blasphemy against Babalon,

for she hath shut herself up. It is said she is
resisting change, resisting Life, and rejects the
Formula of love under will. It is this negative
aspect that needs to be torn upon wheels, this
idea of making virginity the ideal state of women,

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a forced antisexual woman (condemned to be such

by Christianity who makes her think something
normal like sex is evil), hating the creative power
of women is a better way to put it.
"Acts|19:27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set
at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana
should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed,
whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
Acts|19:28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of
wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians." -the King James version of the Bible

This is the veil that needs to be torn away, to

reveal Babalon, in all her beauty and sensuality.
Nature is natural, powerful. This is how to see
Diana, not as resisting change, but as a point to
spring from. A bud with all the potential of
blooming, the beginning of a journey.
This first and most spiritual manifestation of the feminine takes
to itself a masculine correlative, by formulating in itself any
geometrical point from which to contemplate possibility. This
virginal goddess is then potentially the goddess of fertility. She is
the idea behind all form; as soon as the influence of the triad
descends below the Abyss, there is the completion of concrete
idea. -- The Book of Thoth

As in the Book of Thoth, the High Priestess can be

seen as Diana (Artemis), the card is associated
with lunar goddess, huntress, initiatrix.
Thus she is light and the body of light. She is the truth behind
the veil of light. She is the soul of light. Upon her knees is the
bow of Artemis, which is also a musical instrument, for she is
huntress, and hunts by enchantment. -- The Book of Thoth

63

Since the Bible turned the goddess image evil, Id

like to spend a moment welcoming the return of
the goddess to the human psyche. We need new
generations to find new ways to see her as well.
After all, we are a work in progress.
As a side note, it is said Aleister Crowley visited
the Temple of Diana in Cefalu to give thanks to the
gods when building his own nearby Abbey of
Thelema. How appropriate to link the
groundbreaking Abbey to the ruins of Diana,
unearthing the doorway to the veil of the High
Priestess, the Priestess of the Silver Star.

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Temple of Diana

It is said that Crowley wanted to be buried here in

the Temple of Diana, but the town council refused
the request. Imagine his body buried before the
High Priestess, but his soul returning to the higher.
(I found this interesting tidbit about him wanting to
be buried here in the book Sicily: A Literary Guide
for Travellers.)

65

During research, I also learned that that Crowley

and Leah Hirsig signed the lease on the Abbey of
Cefalu as William Ramsey Sir Alastor de Kerval
of the Sacred Lance and Contessa Lea Harcourt
Virgin Priestess of the Sea Graal. -- Prophet of
Evil: Aleister Crowley, 9/11 and the New World
Order by William Ramsey. With names like these
and the ocean waves crashing nearby, I cannot
help but think how this would have pleased The
Sea Priestess herself, Dion Fortune, who had ties
to Crowley, the fact which others have covered up
or failed to see, because they dont want her linked
to the so called Wickedest Man in the World,
though in the urban dictionary, that would translate
in our time to Coolest Man in the World. Words
and symbols sometimes invert and evert. Though
at first, Dion Fortune even fashioned Hugo Astley,
a character from the Winged Bull after Crowley
before she knew him. Perhaps it was her own fear
of strong, potent men that kept her from embracing
Crowley at first, a lesson I too had to learn in my
journeys. Thats why she is important to me. I
relate to her humanness. With Dion, it more had to
deal with the misconceptions surrounding Crowley
and her fear of evil, which had to be peeled
away to see the figure of light he truly is. Im not
saying he was perfect, but its the work that shines.
Leah Hirsig wrote that she saw the god in him, but
at times she had to put up with the man who could

66

infuriate her, like when he was sick in bed with

asthma and complaining. Again, a very human
image. See what Mankind can accomplish and
pursue despite their being like the rest of us,
though perhaps also old souls with a mission as
well.
Of note, Dion Fortune was found on a list from a
letter from Crowley as being in his inner circle of
those who received the Word of the Equinox,
whether making her A..A.. or being a Master of
the Temple is disputed. -- Aleister Crowley and
Dion Fortune: The Logos of the Aeon and the
Shakti of the Age by Alan Richardson. Personally,
I think he conferred the grade upon her after
recognizing her work, though it is only an opinion,
and rightfully deserved.
Read Moonchild and examine the Triple Goddess
theme.
But beyond such minuteness of detail is the grand character of
the Moon, which is threefold. For she is Artemis or Diana, sister
of the Sun, a shining Virgin Goddess; then Isis-initiatrix, who
brings to man all light and purity, and is the link of his animal
soul with his eternal self; and she is Persephone or Proserpine,
a soul of double nature, living half upon earth and half in Hades,
because, having eaten the pomegranate offered her by its lord,
her mother could not bring her wholly back to earth; and
thirdly, she is Hecate, a thing altogether of Hell, barren, hideous

67
and malicious, the queen of death and evil witchcraft. ---

Moonchild

Even this poem paints a relevant picture.

THE ALTAR OF ARTEMIS

by: Aleister Crowley
Where, in the coppice, oak and pine
And mystic yew and elm are found,
Sweeping the skies, that grew divine
With the dark wind's despairing
sound,
The wind that roars from the
profound,
And smites the mountain-tops, and
calls
Mute spirits to black festivals,
And feasts in valleys iron-bound,
Desolate crags, and barren ground;-There in the strong storm-shaken
grove

68

Swings the pale censer-fire for love.

The foursquare altar, roughly hewn,

And overlaid with beaten gold,
Stands in the gloom; the stealthy tune
Of singing maidens overbold
Desires mad mysteries untold,
With strange eyes kindling, as the
fleet
Implacable untiring feet
Weave mystic figures manifold
That draw down angels to behold
The moving music, and the fire
Of their intolerable desire.

For, maddening to fiercer thought,

The fiery limbs requicken, wheel
In formless furies, subtly wrought
Of swifter melodies than steel
That flashes in the fight: the peal

69

Of amorous laughters choking sense,

And madness kissing violence,
Ring like dead horsemen; bodies reel
Drunken with motion; spirits feel
The strange constraint of gods that
clip
From Heaven to mingle lip and lip.

The gods descend to dance; the noise

Of hungry kissings, as a swoon,
Faints for excess of its own joys,
And mystic beams assail the moon,
With flames of their infernal noon;
While the smooth incense, without
breath,
Spreads like some scented flower of
death,
Over the grove; the lover's boon
Of sleep shall steal upon them soon,
And lovers' lips, from lips withdrawn,
Seek dimmer bosoms till the dawn.

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Yet on the central altar lies

The sacrament of kneaded bread,
With blood made one, the sacrifice
To those, the living, who are dead-Strange gods and goddesses that shed
Monstrous desires of secret things
Upon their worshippers, from wings
One lucent web of light, from head
One labyrinthine passion-fed
Palace of love, from breathing rife
With secrets of forbidden life.

But not the sunlight, nor the stars,

Nor any light but theirs alone,
Nor iron masteries of Mars,
Nor Saturn's misconceiving zone,
Nor any planet's may be shown,
Within the circle of the grove,
Where burn the sanctities of love:

71

Nor may the foot of man be known,

Nor evil eyes of mothers thrown
On maidens that desire the kiss
Only of maiden Artemis.

But horned and huntress from the

skies,
She bends her lips upon the breeze,
And pure and perfect in her eyes,
Burn magical virginity's
Sweet intermittent sorceries.
When the slow wind from her sweet
word
In all their conchd ears is heard.
And like the slumber of the seas,
There murmur through the holy trees
The kisses of the goddess keen,
And sighs and laughters caught
between.

For, swooning at the fervid lips

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Of Artemis, the maiden kisses

Sobs and the languid body slips
Down to enamelled wildernesses.
Fallen and loose the shaken tresses;
Fallen the sandal and girdling gold,
Fallen the music manifold
Of moving limbs and strange
caresses,
And deadly passion that possesses
The magic ecstasy of these
Mad maidens, tender as blue seas.

Night spreads her yearning pinions,

The baffled day sinks blind to sleep;
The evening breeze outswoons the
sun's
Dead kisses to the swooning deep.
Upsoars the moon; the flashing steep
Of Heaven is fragrant for her feet;
The perfume of the grove is sweet

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As slumbering women furtive creep

To bosoms where small kisses weep,
And find in fervent dreams the kiss
Most memoried of Artemis.

Impenetrable pleasure dies

Beneath the madness of new dreams;
The slow sweet breath is turned to
sighs
More musical than many streams
Under the moving silver beams,
Fretted with stars, thrice woven
across.
White limbs in amorous slumber toss,
Like sleeping foam, whose silver
gleams
On motionless dark seas; it seems
As if some gentle spirit stirred,
Their lazy brows with some swift
word.

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So, in the secret of the shrine,

Night keeps them nestled, so the
gloom
Laps them in waves as smooth as
wine,
As glowing as the fiery womb
Of some young tigress, dark as doom,
And swift as sunrise. Love's content
Builds its own monument,
And carves above its vaulted tomb
The Phoenix on her fiery plume,
To their own souls to testify
Their kisses' immortality.

When I read the quote below, I cant help but think

that no matter what you think of Crowley or
Fortune, they do speak the same language, after all
they had the same roots, the Golden Dawn. They
know the myths, the symbols, the picture you get
when you put it all together.
All mythology, whether of the folk or of the literati,
reserves the iconography of a spiritual adventure that

75

human beings have been accomplishing repeatedly for

millennia, and which, whenever it occurs, reveals such
constant features that the innumerable mythologies of the
world resemble each other as dialects of a single language.
-- Joseph Campbell

Ephesian Ritual Bath

(from The Scarlet Grimoire,
revisited)

76

The ritual bath is useful in ridding negative

influences, healing illness stemming from
imbalance or purifying oneself. The words used
were originally said over the possessed, and today,
they are very powerful for self-cleansing in
general. The original ritual can be found in The
Scarlet Grimoire. This is an updated version, with
more depth centered on Diana. Im using this as an
example, to show that you can take something
from the past, and create it so that it speaks more
to you. Add, change, even from what is offered
here. Make it your own. Dont see a means to an
end, but a means to a beginning. Pull something
from within your well of imagination.
Items needed: white candle, black candle,
sandalwood or jasmine incense, white wine and
salt.
Do this during the waxing moon.
Add salt to bath. Next, light the black candle to
absorb negativity, and the white candle to send out
positive energy. Then light the incense, and sit
back and relax. Sip white wine or a tea of choice.
After you meditate and ground yourself, begin
with reciting a poem or invocation to Diana such
as the sample below.

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Illustrious dmon, nurse of human kind:

Immortal, earthly, bane of monsters fell,
'Tis thine; blest maid, on woody hills to dwell:
Foe of the stag, whom woods and dogs delight, 15
In endless youth who flourish fair and bright.
O, universal queen, august, divine,
A various form, Cydonian pow'r, is thine:
Dread guardian Goddess, with benignant mind
Auspicious, come to mystic rites inclin'd 20
Give earth a store of beauteous fruits to bear,
Send gentle Peace, and Health with lovely hair,
And to the mountains drive Disease and Care.-From Hymns of Orpheus by Thomas Taylor

Anoint yourself with the bath water as you say the

following several times:

Aski-Kataski
(Darkness and Light)
Haix-tetrax
(Earth)
(or translated as Himself, as I originally had it
when published in an I.G.O.S. magazine in the
90s, referenced from Rosicrucians: Their Rites
and Mysteries, Volume 1, but changed it to "Earth"
in The Scarlet Grimoire).

78

Damnameneus
(the sun)
Aision
(truth)

Another better version by Androcydes,

a Pythagorean

Aski-Kataski
(shadowless and shadowy)
Haix-tetrax
(Earth fourfold, the four seasons)
Damnameneus
(the sun)
Aision
(Logos)

You may want to alternate between the languages.

Repeat. Be still and enjoy the peace.
See the negativity going down the drain.

79

You may wish to inscribe words on a belt (on the

inside) and wear, as was originally done.
Record your impressions
To you who yet wander in the Court of the Profane we
cannot yet reveal all; but you will easily understand that
the religions of the world are but symbols and veils of the
Absolute Truth. So also are the philosophies. To the adept,
seeing all these things from above, there seems nothing to
choose between Buddha and Mohammed, between Atheism
and Theism (Liber X).

Another relook at some of my earlier work,

updated according to how I see it several decades
later. Again, works evolve.

Egyptian Rite of Osiris

For this rite, you will need someone to act as
priestess, and one to be the chosen. Then gather
body paint, an ankh, chalice of water, and a candle
to represent the chosen.
When ready, the chosen one lies down in the
consecrated circle, and the priestess draws the
symbol of the tet or djed (backbone of Osiris) upon
his bare chest. He is to be the foundation awaiting
spiritual transformation.

80

She stands before him. Upon doing so, he says to

her, I see thee, Woman, thou standest alone, High Priestess
art thou unto Love at the Altar of Life. And Man is the Victim
therein. Beneath thee, rejoicing, he lies; he exalts as he dies,
burning up in the breath of thy kiss. Yea, star rushes flaming to
star; the blaze bursts, splashes the skies.Every Woman is a
Star

A couple may wish to conjoin. Afterwards, the

priestess kneels over him and breathes into his
mouth, a symbolic gesture of bringing back to life.
Now the priestess raises the ankh and points the
end at the chosen one. It is symbolic of a sword
cutting through this plane. It cuts through the lies,
such as the lie that the soul dies, the lie that we are
helpless, the lie that we are unknowing. Then the
priestess uses the mirror as a gateway to the other
side, and she banishes the lies to the other realm as
she moves the mirror around his body. She then
replaces the lies with the truth. She tells him that
the soul is eternal, strong and knowing, and she
hands him the ankh.
Next, she retrieves the chalice and offers him a sip.
Afterwards, she anoints his body with the rest,
being careful not to disturb the paint. Prepared for
the higher change, the chosen one recites from the
Book of the Dead.
"May my soul lift itself up before Osiris; having
been found pure when on earth. May I come
before thee, Oh lord of the gods; may I arrive at
the home of Double Rite and Truth; may I be

81

crowned and endowed with life; may I give forth

light."
She says, You have the heart of Osiris, you have
the legs of Osiris, you have the arms of Osiris.
Chosen One says, So too, my heart is my own,
my legs are my own, my arms are my own. A
stairway to the sky is set up for me that I may
ascend on it the sky, and I ascend on the smoke of
the great censor.
She then breathes on the painted djed, offering
renewed life and strength to his spirit. Together,
they light the candle, representing his illumination.
(Instead of body paint, in sex magick, can use their
combined elixir, more appropriate for the Scarlet
Woman.).
Now the priest can say to her this.
But now the Word of Me the Beast is this: not only art thou
Woman, sworn to a purpose not thine own; thou art thyself a
star, and in thyself a purpose to thyself. Not only mother of men
art thou, or whore to men; serf to their need of Life and Love,
not sharing in their Light and Liberty; nay, thou art Mother and
Whore for thine own pleasure; the Word I say to Man I say to
thee no less: Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law!
Every Woman is a Star

The following is influenced by Dion Fortune, who

some say was turning to Thelema in her later
years, as evidenced by The Sea Priestess, which

82

is a powerful portrayal of the Gnostic Mass. I

created this ritual in honor of her. After all, All
women are Isis, Isis is all women. I cant help but
think this next rite belongs in this book too.

Embracing the Black Isis

Draw an ankh on white fabric. Place black bowl in
center and cover with a black cloth. Either
illustrate the sphinx or use 2 small statues on the
arms of the ankh. Beneath them put a shallow dish
to act as a lotus pool. Consecrate water and sea salt
for the dish and scent with lotus oil. Rub lotus oil
on 2 silver candles and on 1 silver floating candle.
Have Isis or moon incense ready to light, and then
prepare yourself according to your tradition.
Once the circle is cast, light the 2 pillar candles
and the incense.
So sweet is this song that no one could resist it. For in it is all
the passionate ache for the moonlight, and the great hunger of
the sea, and the terror of desolate places,all things that lure
men to the unattainable. -- Aleister Crowley, The Vision and
the Voice: With Commentary and Other Papers

Use the invocation from The Sea Priestess by

Dion Fortune or any Isis invocation.
Oh Isis, veiled on earth, but shining clear

83

In the high heaven now the full moon draws near,

Hear the invoking words, hear and appearShaddai el Chai, and Ea, Binah, Ge.

Light the floating candle and place it in the lotus

pool. Meditate on the dark cave, the primordial,
the beginning. Ask the Black Isis to take you there,
to heal, to grow stronger, and to understand the
mysteries.
Read the meditation:
The Black Isis is an ancient link to the primordial.
Hidden in back of a buried temple, she sits tall and
poised upon a block of black marble. Her gentle
features are gracefully carved and serene like the
calm after the rain. As he rigid body guards the
door that leads down the tunnel to the beginning,
she is the illusion of stillness. In one aspect, her
belly was once full and wrought with agonizing
labor pains, desperate to push out the pain of life
through resisting muscles. Bun in this realm, she is
empty. There is silence in need of a word.
(As an alternative to above, as I wrote in early
years, you may want to visualize as the High
Priestess card and parting the veil).
She sees you standing half hidden in the dust. A
delicate arm reaches out to you through the thick
air. You step closer and embrace her. Your breath
softly brushes against her cool cheek. She is like a

84

comforting shadow and yet she warns you that the

depths are frightening. She grips you like a
protective mother, whispering Fear not. It is time
to know who you are.
White noise looms over you and through you.
Chaos rips you apart like Osiris torn asunder. You
are everything and not limited to yourself. Fear
not. You have always been yourself. The loss of it
is an illusion, a test. The abyss lets you go. The lie
was that you were to become everything and not
yourself. The truth is that you are yourself now
made up of everything. Isis rejoices in your
success and cradles your rebuilt body like she had
done with Osiris. This mystery is given to you, so
understand it well, for life is just one journey
across the bitter sea, and there are many voyages.
She is also the priestess of the Silver Star that rises from
the twilight sea. Hers are the magnetic moon-tides ruling
the hearts of men. -- The Sea Priestess Dion Fortune

Now pick up the black bowl. Uncover it. Then

breathe into it as you say what qualities you desire
or what spiritual truths you seek. Afterwards, place
the bowl back in its place and cover it. Leave it
alone to manifest.
I am the soundless, boundless, bitter sea;
All things in the end shall come to me. Dion Fortune

85

Create your own rites or as an alternative, take up a

form of divination. Make a little ceremony each
day before you start your workings. You may want
to drink a tea for divination or light incense. Read
the following.
THEE I invoke, blest pow'r of dreams divine,
Angel of future fates, swift wings are thine:
Great source of oracles to human kind,
When stealing soft, and whisp'ring to the mind,
Thro' sleep's sweet silence and the gloom of night,
Thy pow'r awakes th' intellectual fight;
To silent souls the will of heav'n relates,
And silently reveals their future fates.
For ever friendly to the upright mind
Sacred and pure, to holy rites inclin'd. The Hymns of
Orpheus

Perhaps create a rite to Apollo, identical to Horus.

Use some of the following: bay, laurel, phoenix,
child, lion, devotion to Great Work, yellow, 6, rosy
cross. Know thyself and Nothing to excess.
As a starting point, place laurel upon your head, or
burn frankincense and myrrh. Once in your sacred
space, say the following.
Apollo Whose locks are gold, whose oracles are sure,
Who, omens good reveal'st, and precepts pure:
Hear me entreating for the human kind,
Hear, and be present with benignant mind;

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All Nature's tribes to thee their diff'rence owe,

And changing seasons from thy music flow
Hence, mix'd by thee in equal parts, advance
Summer and Winter in alternate dance;
This claims the highest, that the lowest string,
The Dorian measure tunes the lovely spring .
Hence by mankind, Pan-royal, two-horn'd nam'd,
Emitting whistling winds thro' Syrinx fam'd;
Since to thy care, the figur'd seal's consign'd,
Which stamps the world with forms of ev'ry kind. The
Hymns of Orpheus

The Quest for Immortality

Before the upcoming rite on immortality, I want to
share a story of what happened to me as a young
woman. In the early morning, I was sitting on the
couch, dozing off before heading out to a morning
shift at work. Realizing time must be getting away
from me, I awoke suddenly and rose to my feet,
not wanting to be late, but as I stood there I didnt
feel right. I felt spacy, but I took several steps
until I had to stop to question what was wrong with
my awareness. I turned around to where I had
previously been sitting and froze, immobilized in
confusion. Though I was standing there dressed in
blue, where I formerly sat was me still sitting
there, but dressed in black. Blond and still, sat my
double, though I was standing in another place

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looking at me from about five feet away. Terrified

and uncertain what this meant, I turned away
trying to understand what I was witnessing, but I
stood frozen not knowing what to make of this.
Then I felt like a whirling in my head and then I
felt normal again. I turned around. No one was
sitting there any longer.
The Khaibit or sunshade is ones double, but I
have yet to reach a level where I understand it.
Perhaps as I journey on, I will learn what it means.
Or was it the Ka? The Ka could manifest itself, as
a ghost, to others, whether dead or alive. It is said
there was both a higher, guardian angel-like Ka
and lower Ka that came from knowledge learned
on earth, according to the Encyclopedia of Ancient
Egypt.
Even Abraham Lincoln once saw his double, but
it has been seen as an omen of death. I dont think
that is always the case. Others have seen my
double, including my ex-husband who followed
me into one room until I vanished. He then went
into another room, where I was fast asleep, yet
when I awoke he conveyed the story of what had
happened. We just accepted it as one of those
weird things that sometimes happens. I do think it
gave him an awful fright, but it also challenged his
senses, because surely a sleeping person cannot be

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in several places at once? Until it happens,

witnessed by others, confused and at a loss to
explain it.
Instead of my double, I had another interesting
encounter, this time with author Geoffrey Ashe, I
believe in the early to mid 1990s, when my sister
and I attended a lecture at the Heritage Store in
Virginia Beach. We met upstairs in one of the
sometimes rented rooms, where I once dressed in a
brown robe and did Templar-inspired rituals with a
group called O.M.C.E. On this particular occasion,
my sister wanted to see this author who wrote
books on Avalon, so I tagged along. We settled in
the metal chairs upstairs surrounded by mystical
pictures on the walls, where I was sizing up this
English author, and found him to be aged like a
craggy English country-side with a knowing glint
in his eye. He seemed a gentle spirit, and he told a
good tale, speaking of the magickal English
countryside and of the enchanting myth of Avalon,
but what popped out his mouth next had me almost
falling out of my seat. He said he lived in Dion
Fortunes house, the Chalice Orchard. He asked
who had heard of her and to raise our hands, and
only about four out of the crowd of about twenty
raised their hands. As he spoke about Dion
Fortune, I made comments to my sister, but he was
only about ten feet away and I think he heard me,

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because he wouldnt take his attention off us. What

I said doesnt matter, but he took it serious. His
face changed, became more animated. Then I felt
that weird sensation, like I was being drawn
forward. It scared me. It was as if my
consciousness was being pulled into another plane
of awareness. I resisted and it stopped. Afterwards,
my sister conveyed to me that she had the identical
experience, not quite sure what the incidence
meant. We were shaken and confused. What did
we experience?
When the lecture ended, he went in the back of the
room to sign books, but he paused and stared at me
as I walked to the door, a skinny blond in purple
mini skirt and purple jacket. I know he wanted to
talk to me because of something I said, but got his
attention nonetheless, perhaps recognizing a
kindred soul. Our eyes locked, but I kept going,
heading to the hallway and to the stairs. Again,
running away, instead of seeing what he had to
say. It would have been interesting.
I never had the privilege of knowing Dion Fortune
or being in her former dwelling, but I am a
priestess carrying her work within me as does
anybody who is a servant of She. You see, I told
Geoffrey he was in my house. Yes, I was being a
facetious. What I meant was that he was in the
sanctum of Isis, belonging to the Sea Priestess

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herself, maybe one womans physical home such

as Dions, but also a representative of all who are
of Isis, because like Dion says, Isis is the Allwoman, and all women are Isis, so what I said
wasnt a lie. He knew what I meant, Im not one of
the misguided who think they are actually Fortune
or Crowley reincarnated. Its about letting the
work resonate within you, letting the myths and
stories roll forward. With that in mind, I stroll
away as aloof as Morgan Le Fay herself, in my
mind at least, and in my amusement. Ancient and
modern myths speak to us, invigorate us. Im just a
messenger saying that the Work as done by Dion
Fortune, by Aleister Crowley, and even those
novices like me, is alive and well, and growing and
transforming, and this is what I want you to say to
yourself -- that it is your house. It doesnt belong
to one person. It cannot be owned. It is not in the
physical world. Dont cling to dead masters or
their houses, but visit them as needed, celebrate
them, and continue the work with your
contributions.
I am the daughter of the house of the invisible. I
am the Priestess of the Silver Star. -- The Vision
and the Voice
Some people can recognize others who travel in
similar circles. I would have loved to hear what he
had to say, but sometimes we are only briefly in

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peoples lives because that is all that is needed.

Im only relaying this odd story, because we do
have more than one body, or should I say more
than one part to that complicated body, and
sometimes others learn to control their various
bodies, of which they can control after death as
well. Our awareness can go beyond the normal, if
we wish to trek beyond it.
Sometimes, I wonder if my uncontrolled double
isnt running amok somewhere, and would I even
know it? Too bad I dont have Dion Fortune or Dr.
Taverner, a character in one of her books, here to
help me out. Maybe we all have multidimensional
bodies that exist, but we can only be consciousness
of one them at a time while in this plane. That is
beyond my present understanding.

Lesson:
Go back through the book and do the following.
Record every mention of the following:

House
Circle with dot in middle
Sothis or White Star

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Silver Star
Add other symbols that stand out to you
Record in your journal what they mean to you.
The crowned and conquering child, who dieth
not, nor is reborn, but goeth radiant ever upon His
Way. Even so goeth the Sun: for as it is now
known that night is but the shadow of the Earth, so
Death is but the shadow of the Body, that veileth
his Light from its bearer. -- Heart of the Master

The following is from Tokens of Uraei:

Admire a 5 petaled rose:
Touch texture of elixir
Smell of elixir
Taste of elixir
Visualization of serpent
Vibrational frequency. (See the Gnostic Church
of L.V.X website for more information)
Some say the 5-petaled rose represents Isis and the
child Horus, or being subjected to his True Will, a
symbol of completeness and perfection.

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Meditate on the Lust card and what it means to

you. Describe your observations in your journal.
Take your time, savor the thoughts. Rushing is a
fools quest.
See this also as the perfection of five senses and
four elements to prepare physically, mentally and
emotionally for the knowledge & Conversation of
Holy Guardian Angel.
Now, lets do a practical experiment to work with
some of the ideas being presented. If in a position
to do so, you may make the elixir with your
spouse/magickal partner; whereby, your combined
fluids create the Elixir of Life, considered a
eucharistic talisman of limitless creative potential.
Find a suitable object to be a vessel, perhaps a clay
jar. Upon it, inscribe symbol or symbols of choice,
perhaps Babalon and the Beast. Add elixir. Breathe
into the vessel as with breath of kisses to alight it,
infuse it with life. Store it on altar until ready to
proceed with the following.
Now contemplate the Uraeus. In one myth, it was
the instrument used by Isis to give the throne to
Osiris. Many kings took the name of Horus, to
show that they were the son of Isis. Contemplate
Horus as the Beast of Revelations, now taking the
throne of the New Aeon, getting his power from
Babalon. The Whore of Babylon, the one with

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Mystery written on her forehead, she is the

throne, upon whom one must sit to gain power.
She is the womb, the means by which reality is
manifested. She is the Tree of Life, the throne of
God and the kundalini. The Uraeus symbol thus
passes from the Old Aeon to the New Aeon, to
Babalon and the Beast. It is the rightful crown to
he/she who sits on the throne.
Before making the elixir, see the female as the
womb manifesting reality, the Tree of Life, focus
on that as your climax, seeing her as the Throne of
God. Now mix the fluids, with menstrual blood if
desired.
At this time, have Mystery written on her
forehead. Put the elixir on womans forehead,
perhaps in the shape of eye of Horus. May she be a
vessel to manifest your Will in a working, as in the
office of Scarlet Woman.
In alternative to above, put elixir and/or draw the
eye of Horus on cakes of light. Purpose: To bring
to life, resurrect, the elixir of life. As you eat it,
recall the story of Horus losing his left eye by Set
in their battle for the throne. Thoth (or Hathor in
some myths) heals the eye, and Horus gives it to
Osiris to restore his life. Eat the cake as healing
and restoration.

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If you wish, feed a cake to a loved one, for healing,

restoration, and protection.
Union of fire and waterIX degree. See
Traversing the Scarlet Path: A Thelemic
Workbook I. Light or Fire and Water are key Alchemical
elements to the life of the cell

Before doing the next lesson, you may want to do

the Mass of the Phoenix, also called the Mass of
the Vampire. It is obvious why it might have been
called that? Why is that correct or incorrect? Take
a few moments to read it and/or perform it, and
then jot down your ideas. Remember that a teacher
is supposed to direct you places, but what you see
is for you alone. Look through your own eyes, and
then can reassess through the eyes of others to see
if you wish to reevaluate you understanding.
Also seek to understand the Eucharist, its
significance (See quote below). It was said to have
been shared by Enki to Mankind, whom he loved
and guided. Reclaim this divine gift and partake in
this Immortality rite with its Eucharist to
strengthen your light body, to celebrate an ancient
practice that later was denied, in so far as the
elixir, to the descendants of Noah by Enlil
(Jehovah), because theirs became a religion of
death, even their Eucharist an empty shell and

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robbed of life that was denied, but you, Beloved of

Us, remember to live and die as you will, clinging
to neither.
One of the simplest and most complete of Magick ceremonies
is the Eucharist. It consists in taking common things,
transmuting them into things divine, and consuming them. So
far, it is a type of every magick ceremony, for the reabsorption
of the force is a kind of consumption; but it has a more
restricted application, as follows. Take a substance symbolic of
the whole course of nature, make it God, and consume it.
Magick in Theory and Practice

One day on your magical journey, for those who

aspire to the A..A.. you will face the ordeal of the
Abyss, where Babalon waits, where you pour all of
yourself into her cup and not holding any drop
back. This is the ordeal that brings Immortality as
it is said, a star is cast in the heavens upon
reaching the Grade of Magister Templi and
consciousness is then cast back into the Ruach.
But be careful, Beloved One, though anyone can
claim this grade as even Frater Achad did without
being ready and inevitably failed according to
Crowley, but unlike the false adepts who claim
grades beyond their level and then never produce
or get wrapped in their ego, Frater Achad made a
significant contribution that marked his place, as if
a star hung besides the greats.
So, here, we are not talking about crossing the
Abyss, but recognizing distant stars and our own

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flickering ones in the makingto make sure we

have wings before we jump off that cliff. I myself
refused even the first degree in one group until I
was ready and told I was wise beyond my age of
21, because its not about conflating your
achievements, but mastering them. With that in
mind, the next exercise is to contemplate your
burgeoning immortality, and then to briefly touch
upon the practice of using the Stele for attaining
immortality. And once in your hands, in your
mind, design news feathers and add to your
making of "wings."

The Rite of Immortality

For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise incorruptible
and we shall be changed. For this corruptible body must put on
incorruption, and this mortal body must put on immortality.I
Corinthians XV.52-53

Need chalice, 2 Cakes of Light, Elixir Rubeus.

Perhaps adorn altar with lilies or lotuses.
The Book of Thoth, "she rides astride the Beast; in
her left hand she holds the reins, representing the
passion which unites them. In her right she holds
aloft the cup, the Holy Grail aflame with love and
death. In this cup are mingled the elements of the
sacrament of the Aeon."

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Begin by doing the Star Ruby and then return to

altar, where you placed the cakes of light and
chalice (the womb of Babalon) which holds
several drops of the Elixir Rubeus By the Bread and
the Cup, therefore masculine and feminine powers of the
Universe are symbolically commingled together. This is
then a formula of regeneration or resurrection; immortality.
The idea of death is the surrender of the self to the
belovedHadit to Nuit. PJR

Raise the cup.

"For as thy blood is mingled in the cup of
BABALON, so is thine heart the universal heart.
Now use your own words or that of a poets about
the power of the Elixir of Life, such as sample
below.
O the elixir! He who is restored to life by you,
Is never afraid of death. (Rubais, 192)
Raise Cakes of Light, and say, I name you the
beginning and the end, life and death, the material
basis of the holographic universe of which I am
not bound, but transmuted by life-giving Star-Fire
and Red Lion on my journey towards the City of
the Pyramids.( "However, Babalon is just on the
other side, beckoning. If the adept gives himself
totally to herthe symbol of this act being the
pouring of the adepts blood into her graal he
becomes impregnated in her, then to be reborn as a

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Master of the Temple and a saint that dwells in the

City of the Pyramids." -- Magick Without Tears
Draw with the elixir (also called effluvium of
Babalon) a circle with a dot in the center on each
cake.
6. I am the flame that burns in every heart of man,
and in the core of every star. I am Life, and the
giver of Life, yet therefore is the knowledge of me
the knowledge of death. Liber al vel Legis
Burn one cake.
Vehicle of light and immortality, the blood flows
through my body. I shall not wither and become a
shell as are the vampires in the Old Aeon. In this
blood is the force that sustains me, and so it shall.
Eat the other cake, let it strengthen your Vehicle of
Light. Aum! Let it fill me!
53. This shall regenerate the world, the little world
my sister, my heart & my tongue, unto whom I
send this kiss. Also, o scribe and prophet, though
thou be of the princes, it shall not assuage thee nor
absolve thee. But ecstasy be thine and joy of earth:
ever To me! To me!
Go forth.

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"ABRAHADABRA.
I entered in with woe; with mirth
I now go forth, and with thanksgiving,
To do my pleasure on the earth
Among the legions of the living." Mass of the
Phoenix.

Lesson:
In addition to the above, you may wish to explore
the immortality theme further and visit the
following website and practice the lesson therein.
Three paths are revealed; the path of the Soul, Spirit and Body.
These are the Alchemical Sulphur, Mercury and Salt that have
imbibed of the L.V.X. and are equipped as if energized by this
source of power. As it is said in the Gnostic Mass: Let thy light
crystallize itself in our blood; fulfilling us of resurrection. -http://www.gclvx.org/

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718: The Formula of ResurrectionAL III.19: "That stele

they shall call the Abomination of Desolation; count well
its name, & it shall be to you as 718."

See http://www.gclvx.org/Liber%20Eugenia.htm
May you continue on your journey, finding all that
you desire along the way, and may you continue
with the legacy passed down to you by those such
as Aleister Crowley and Dion Fortune, as each day
the new world continues to unfold in the realm of
the living, awaiting new manifestation, new
visions, new myths.
And so, to return to our opening question: What isor
what is to bethe new mythology?

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"It isand will forever be, as long as our human race

existsthe old, everlasting, perennial mythology, in its
'subjective sense,' poetically renewed in terms neither of a
remembered past nor of a projected future, but of now:
addressed, that is to say, not to the flattery of 'peoples,' but
to the waking of individuals in the knowledge of
themselves, not simply as egos fighting for place on the
surface of this beautiful planet, but equally as centers of
Mind at Largeeach in his own way at one with all, and
with no horizons. -- Joseph Campbell, Myths to Live By

And in these new myths, let us no longer abhor the

moon or the ways of women, but let her return
with a voice, one half of the whole, and She who
you must be allowed to return as the throne of Isis
for those who are of the Priestess of the Silver
Star.
We of Thelema say that Every man and every woman is
a star. We do not fool and flatter women; we do not
despise and abuse them. To us a woman is Herself,
absolute, original, independent, free, self-justified, exactly
as a man is.
We dare not thwart Her Going, Goddess she! We arrogate
no right upon Her will; we claim not to deflect Her
development, to dispose of Her desires, or to determine Her
destiny. She is Her own sole arbitar; we ask no more than
to supply our strength to Her, whose natural weakness else
were prey to the worlds pressure. Nay more, it were too
zealous even to guard Her in Her Going; for She were best
by Her own self-reliance to win Her own way forth!
We do not want Her as a slave; we want Her free and royal,
whether Her love fight death in our arms by night, or Her

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loyalty ride by day beside us in the Charge of the Battle of

Life. -The Commentary to The Book of the Law, III:55

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She of the Silver Star

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Bibliography

Andrew Edwards, Suzanne Edwards, Sicily: A

Literary Guide for Travellers
Budge, E. A. Wallis, The Egyptian Book of the
Dead: The Papyrus of Ani in the British Museum
Campbell, Joseph, Myths to Live By
Crowley, Aleister, 777 and Other Qabalistic
Writings of Aleister Crowley; Liber AL vel Legis
Liber Aleph; The Vision and the Voice; Liber
Stell Rube sub figura LXVI, lines 50-52; Liber
A'ash vel Capricorni Pneumatici; Liber Tzaddi;
Liber X; Moonchild; Magick in Theory and
Practice; The Book of Thoth; The Book of Lies;
Magick Without Tears; Heart of the Master
Faulkner, R.O., The Ancient Egyptian Coffin
Texts

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Faulkner, R.O., The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid

Texts
Fortune, Dion, The Sea Priestess; The Winged
Bull
Grey, Peter, Red Goddess
Grant, Kenneth The Magickal Revival
Hirsig, Leah, The Magical Record of The Scarlet
Woman Alostrael 31-666-31
Jennings, Hargrave, Rosicrucians: Their Rites and
Mysteries, Volume I
Nilsson, Martin P. Greek Popular Religion "The
Religion of Eleusis" New York: Columbia
University Press, 1947. pages 4264
Richardson, Alan, Aleister Crowley and Dion
Fortune: The Logos of the Aeon and the Shakti of
the Age
Taylor, Thomas The Hymns of Orpheus

Websites
ifdawn.com/esa/mater.htm

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http://www.gclvx.org/Liber%20Eugenia.htm
http://www.gclvx.org/

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Books by Soror Syrinx

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