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Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to Anne Macky
September 4, 1943 e.v.
Cara Soror Fiat Yod.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
"Shall be" (instead of "Do what thou wilt is ...") not "is." See Liber AL, I, 36, 54, and II, 54. Not "Master Perdurabo": see Magick [Magick in Theory and Practice] p. XXIX. "Care Frater" is enough.
777 is practically unpurchaseable: copies fetch £10 or so. Nearly all important correspondences are in Book 4 Part III Table I. The other 2 books are being sent at once. "Working out games with numbers." I am sorry you should see no more than this. When you are better equipped, you will see that the Qabalah is the best (and almost the only) means by which an intelligence can identify itself. And Gematria methods serve to discover spiritual truths. Numbers are the network of the structure of the Universe, and their relations the form of expression of our Understanding of it. In Greek and Hebrew there is no other way of writing numbers; our 1, 2, 3 etc. comes from the Phoenicians through the Arabs. You need no more of Greek and Hebrew than these values, some sacred words—knowledge grows by use—and books of reference.
One cannot set a pupil definite tasks beyond the groundwork I am giving you, and we should find this correspondence taking clear shape of its own accord. You have really more than you can do already. And I can only tell you what the right tasks—out of hundreds—are by your own reactions to your own study and practice.
"Osiris in Amennti"—see the Book of the Dead. I meant you might try to trace a parallelism between his journeyings and the Path of Initiation.
Astral travel—development of the Astral Body is essential to research; and, above all, to the attainment of "the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel."
You ought to demonstrate your performance of the Pentagram Ritual to me; you are probably making any number of mistakes. I will, of course, take you carefully through the O.T.O. rituals to III° as soon as you are fairly familiar with them. The plan of the grades is this:—
0° Attraction to the Solar System I° Birth II° Life III° Death IV° "Exaltation" P.I. "Annihilation" V° – IX° Progressive comment on II° with very special reference to the central secret of practical Magick.
There is thus no connection with the A∴A∴ system and the Tree of Life. Of course, there are certain analogies.
Your suggested method of study: you have got my idea quite well. But nobody can "take you through" the Grades of A∴A∴. The Grades confirm your attainments as you make them; then, the new tasks appear. See "One Star in Sight".
I will send you a contract-letter as soon as my mind feels equal to drafting it. The other point I cleared up in my note of yesterday.
Love is the law, love under will.
Fraternally,
666
P.S. Please be careful of this as I have no copy.
A.C.
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