Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to Charles Stansfeld Jones

 

     

 

Sanctuary of the Gnosis.

 

 

Jan 11th. 1916. E.V.

 

 

Very Illustrious Sir Knight and very dear Brother,

 

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

 

I am in receipt of yours of Jan 2., and hasten to reply.

     

Your good news of the New Year is gladdening.

     

Soror H.[ilarion] [Jeanne Foster] desires me to convey greeting to you and all. There has been much obstacle to Work of Late, owing to the pressure of other matters. Please the Lord, all will now be well for a little.

     

Your notes etc.

     

Yes: strange as it may seem, wine and music mean wine and music.

     

Your mantra idea has been tried out by some heretics. The record is very remarkable; unfortunately, it is far, far beyond your exalted grade. However, what about "Vesta"?

     

Your condition (I) is orthodoxy, and the most reputed authorities insist on it. I do not agree.

     

Yes; J.......n.

     

Any convenient position.

     

I have so settled view on the pregnancy question. But see Liber 333, CapKA.

     

You are right about blood. There is a doctrine. IXth.

     

66. Star of ruby here means Yoni. This is no so in any other passage.

     

verse 37. I forget what this means; nothing much.

     

verse 39. You tell the priestess to go and find another candidate. This makes a chain system. By the way, this 66 seems a quite different plan to the rest of the books. I may remark that this book antedates all other technical treatises. Apep is the phallus. I make no physical distinction between IAO and OAI. It's a matter of the Magick formula.

     

Supreme Ritual. I cannot enlighten further. The signs, etc., are secrets of grades not yours. Your Baphomet conjecture is very ingenious, and new to me.

     

IX. Many mysteries in this sigil.

     

333. Have you had the MS. comment on this?

     

Most of your suggestions are good, but the mulberry tops cap. refers to Virgo, I think.

     

Trans. of KE. I. "From every evil spirit." i.e., depart, all evil. II. "To Thee, O Phallus, (be) Might (and) Grace, IAO.

     

III. sqq. Chaos, Babalon, Eros, Psyche, hail Pan.

     

IV. Before me the Iynges, behind me the Teletarchs, on my right hand the Synoches, on my left hand the Daemons; for about me flames the Star of the Five, and in the Pillar stands the Star of the Six.

     

Cap. 36. I too rather think.

     

Cap. 69. Yes, but not to be taken too seriously.

     

Gold Bricks. Nothing special, so far as I know.

     

CCXX. I. 51. I only meant the last bit. The first part is obscure to me too. Your suggestion seems most brilliant, and I thank you for making it.

     

Alchemy. Can't help you much here.

     

Your suggestion as to the O.T.O. symbol is very good. Try to send me a ream or so of that paper.

     

XVII. is not in my hands yet. C. is a IXth affair.

     

They certainly would clear up some points.
I notice with sardonic pleasure that you are utterly at a loss still about the second half of the secret. Have another shot. There is constant reference to a certain matter which you have not noted anywhere. However, you are doing pretty well.

     

I really don't see why I should prolong this letter after one A.M., considering the labour of the day.

 

Love is the Law, Love under Will.

 

Yours in the Bonds of the Order.

 

[eleven-fold Cross] Baphomet O.T.O.

 

 

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