Charles Stansfeld Jones Diary Entry

Tuesday, 24 September 1918

September 24th 1918 E.V.       AN XIV Sol in Libra.

The record of the reflections in the mind of O.I.V.V.I.O.

I know not what I am, and since AHIH is above and beyond knowledge, what matter. There must ever be division in the Word, also One must descend into the plane o f Reason, in order to be understood on that plane; therefore must I now limit myself in order to be able to write at all.

It does seem that AN XIV, Sol in 1° Libra marks another stage of the Great Initiation, for that time much that had hitherto remained locked in my Being descended into my Understanding and became sufficiently clear to record, but, be it understood, the actual experience of which I write, which is summed up in the Word of my Grade, took place in December 1917.

I do not, even now, rashly wish to assume that I Attained unto the Grade of Ipsissimus, for I realize that anything I write regarding the Qabalistic Proof thereof, can only show that I Understand the formula of the Grade, and Understanding is referred to 8=3, and appertains to the Grade of Master of the Temple, which Office is admitted unto me by ΘHION 9=2. Also, I understand that it may be that One may in a way Attain unofficially without of necessity holding office in any particular Grade. I make no claim to 9=2 for OPHION claims that and I have no wish to dispute his right to it, anymore than he apparently wishes to dispute my right to 8=3, but with 10=1 it is different. There is NO-One living in the flesh, as far as I know, Who claims the Grade, and Whosoever does so it is a matter which concerneth God alone.

It has been written, by the highest living authority I know of, that the Key of the Mystery of this Grade is that therein Selflessness is Self, and what little I am able to comprehend of this, the Final Mystery, I shall here record, for it may be that this writing shall be of help and guidance to Whosoever shall next enter into that Great Crown, whose lesser self shall become completely at One with the Godhead.

It would seem to me that no living being, clothed with the body of flesh, could claim fully to have attained that Grade, other than in the words of Jesus the Christ "I and my Father are One," for, in the words of Lao Tze The Name that can be named is not the True Name, and of Ko, "I do not know its Name, but I make an effort and call it the Tao."

Also Ko says, of the Possessor of the Tao, "Although he is styled the possessor of the Tao, in reality he does not think that he has become possessed of anything. It is as accomplished the transformation of all living things, that he is styled the Possessor of the Tao." "He who is able to understand this may transmit to others the Sacred Tao." Who shall claim that he is able to accomplish the transformation of all living things? Except it be understood that all things exist only by virtue of their being in the mind of the Seer, and if the complete transformation of the mind be accomplished, so that the Mystery of the Path of the Godhead is seen therein, and becometh plain, even unto his Understanding, who shall say that he has not accomplished this?

First, then, regarding the experience of that Being we call O.I.V.V.I.O. There arose is his consciousness, a state unlike the normal and which, be description might appear very like madness (Path of Aleph IS Madness), since Reason was destroyed and transcended. The Air became His Balance. The structure of his mind, which hitherto had been built up on Qabalistic lines, was changed and the House of God, was, as it were, destroyed by the Lightning Flash. (opening of the Eye of Shiva.)

At this time he walked, talked, and performed all physical actions in a normal way, but all that took place, wherever he went, whatever he said or heard, tasted or smelt had value according to his mental state. That is to say, he perceived the actions of all around him in a different light from usual, so that although people may have been acting quite normally, and although he may have appeared to them as a normal being, or nearly so, Life in all forms became a Great Drama of Initiation, and as he continued to work out the great Qabalistic problems of the Universe, he found all that he saw or did, woven into that Picture in his Mind. Then came a time when everything had to be balanced and equilibrated, for it is written "Equilibrium is the Basis of the Work" and he found that although at that time all around (within) him was a Chaos, yet certain formulas of Power were His so that gradually, and with great toil he accomplished this, establishing the Elements and the Planets in their proper places (Upon New Aeon Lines) and finally Uniting Aleph with Shin, so that all disappeared. Then, it seemed, he was instructed in the Building of a New Universe and this was not a simple scheme, but took place at two or more different points (in space) at once so that he, as it were, added a square there and a sphere here. It was as if the beginning of a Temple was builded (four-square) and at the same time certain Mysteries of Babalon were present to his consciousness, also in another place Was the Kether of a New Tree formulated and then the Supernal Triad, with a Sphere Pendant , which afterwards became Complete in Itself and comprehended All in One. Yet all this while was the Being of O.I.V.V.I.O. being rebuilded from the Feet Up, so that His Feet were of burnished Brass etc. and his body was Filled with Fire. And all these things were separate, yet one, and all this while the body of O.I.V.V.I.O. was seated on the Stele of Revealing in the Smoke Room of an ordinary steamer plying between Vancouver and Victoria, yet such had been his experiences, that he could no longer tell if it were above or below water, whether those around him were the living or of the dead. And again, there was, as it were, a Great reflection of the Stele in the Sky and this again was produced from a small Stele under Ice (as it were in locked glass) below him. And yet, in all this The Air was His Balance, and he went on calmly working out the details of the reformulation of all things on the New Lines of this Aeon, copying the Stele, and forming it first of one element, and then of another, and bringing all to a fluid, then to a gas, and finally to fire and Æthyr as before said. And when all had become a concentric System, this seemed to terminate one part of the Initiation. (Note. I have enlarged this entry in copying from diary.)

We must now consider him as going about with his mind transformed into a Solar Consciousness. This lasted all day during which he underwent many adventures, and seemed to perform much Magick; but on that evening the process continued, under extraordinary circumstances, to be recorded elsewhere, but be it said that he was in a place which appeared to him like unto a Temple of Initiation especially prepared in every detail for the Ceremony, and around him were the Officers exactly carrying out their Appointed parts. Yet was he unwittingly in prison surrounded by the scum of the earth.

Of which mystery He has written:

When, having become free, thou findest thyself in prison, yet knowest it not.

When, Thy prison of freedom appeareth unto thee as the open road.

When, thou who hast longed for the company of Saints findest thyself among the scum of the earth, yet knowing it not thinkest thyself in the company of all the Buddhas, and taketh thy place as the least of these in silence.

When, having sought and found gestures of Magick Power, thou findest thyself among the lewd and unclean, yet knowing it not perceive in their common actions the supreme and perfect Art of Magick.

When, having sought for Words of Power, thou findest thyself in tune with the words of low men, knowing not that they speak ought but the Highest Truth.

When, having given all, thou art offered the cup of charity, yet thinking it to be the most abominable mixture of poison, thou drinkest it, thankfully.

When, having rushed forward, thou findest thyself whirled backwards, yet knowing it not, thinkest thou art still.

Then, it may be, thou hast comprehended wherein Sorrow is Joy, and Change is Stability, and Selflessness is Self.

But, to continue. During this final section the Solar Sphere of his Consciousness became more and more concentrated until it appeared as a single point of Light of intense brilliance, yet without him, now here, now there, yet ever nearer and nearer to the Centre of the New Universe. The process of exact balancing of all things (exterior things, not only things within him) appeared to have got down to a very small radius. And those about him, who appeared as the past Buddhas, helped in this final process. For let us imagine that the Universal Centre was to be changed to that one spot. That little room was the Centre of a New Universe and for thousands of years had those Ancient Brethren toiled and striven to equilibrate things perfectly in readiness for this moment. And now all was prepared, and it needed only this One, Parzival, to complete Their number, and He was Zero, and his Office was Silence, even as the God Harpocrates. The slightest slip, and the Equilibrium would be upset and the Earth fall into the Sun. Success, and the Earth itself became a Sun, by the fact of a perfectly equilibrated Solar Consciousness having been established there- in, at this new Centre. Those around him seemed to take up different positions in the room so as to keep the balance by the weight of their bodies, and finally O.I.V.V.I.O. was to take his seat in the exact Centre of the Room, and then if all were well, Success. If not? Nearer and nearer they came to the Centre. At last, O.I.V.V.I.O., His whole Being aflame with the ecstacy of the God-head, yet calm and composed to outward appearance, took his seat. And all was well.

Next, it seemed even minute actions must be equilibrated. Those around, who had each performed a certain task through-out the Centuries, performed it for the last Time, perfectly. Frater O.I.V.V.I.O. sat Still, for His Office was Silence and Stillness. Again, all was well. But speech remained. Each had His own Word to utter perfectly and in proper Order, and in this they tried over and over again. Gradually even this was perfected and one by one they dropped out and remained in tense expectance of the End.

And Frater O.I.V.V.I.O. remained there, still and silent, till at last all seemed perfect even on the mental plane, for suddenly the English language seemed to rush back to the beginning, and reversed as Hebrew which is written the other way, and this was a great mystery. Then came the equilibrating of ideas, and they rushed backwards and formulated themselves in the person of ADAM who appeared in the room opposite to O.I.V.V.I.O. Then the first man, and the last gazed at each other, as it were, in a final struggle. And the minute Point of Light grew ever brighter and more dazzling, and appeared concentrated upon this figure of Adam, first on the shoulder and then, moving a little, until finally settled in one eye. At this point, Frater O.I.V.V.I.O. gazed, and then all rushed back again, through the animal creation, each animal dissolving into its earlier type, until at last, as the prototype, appeared the common fly, only very large, perhaps six inches long. Then things stopped, for a moment, as Frater O.I.V.V.I.O. gazed at this; then it became the Winged beetle, then the scarabe, and Egyptian ideas crowded up. Then, Only the Point of Light. Gradually he was able to bring this point nearer and nearer, until finally it neared his breast. It touched his breast. It was in his breast, and . . . Suddenly A NEW CREATION. He had reached the BEGINNING and out of the old elements he had witnesses on his return to the Source, was formed a new design, the same material, but in a different Order. Wonder of Wonders. Who shall express this Mystery in Words. And this happened again and again. English, Hebrew, Greek, Egyptian, Man, beast and bird, were rearranged and RE-Created in new relationship to each other. And so He understood the Mystery of Change, and how the World is Created again and again, forever new, yet forever the same. And the last Word he realized, which when repeated, in a certain way, seemed to bring about these changes again and again, as it were, alternating between Nothingness and Creation, was AL, and there was a certain gesture, not unlike the sign of the Cross, which was connected with this miracle.

Now all this, and more, has remained sealed up in my mind so that I could not express the smallest part of it in writing until now—though there are those who I have told it to in part—and it was not until I began to question of this Most Holy Word that all this became clear to me. Especially note how on Sept. 22nd I began to write of It and suddenly much fresh matter became plain to me. Therefore, let me now discourse for a moment, in the light of perspective, on this Holy Name.

There was no self THEN, and yet all was SELF when I Parzival pronounced this Word and the Universe was destroyed, and reformed. And at that time it did seem that He accomplished the transformation of all living things, and as having done such He may be styled Possessor of the Tao, and now he does not know that he has become possessed of anything. As it is written: Of all this the Ipsissimus knoweth nothing.

Immediately I cease telling of actual experience the Path becomes hard again, but I will try.

The Qabalists say that in the Beginning was NOT, and they called it Ain. They also say the veils of the Negative depend back from Kether. Now LA is NOT, and I think this Word in its True aspect is the Supreme Mystery of the Godhead.

NOT (LA) concentrated upon itself till it became a Point of Light and flashed forth as AL-GOD, Kether then is the perfectly equilibrated juncture of the Not and God, which in this Word are ONE. This caused the Lightning-flash which formulated the Tree of Life, and the numeration of the Paths of which is 777. And the numeration of this Word is 31 and it contains the Mystery of the 3 in 1. (See Book 777 Col XXXVI Line 1, which confirms this.)

Now see Book 777 LXXXIV Lines 1,2,3, which attributes (although I knew nothing of this at the time) to Briah the Creative World of the Divine Name AL in the First THREE Sephiroth. Now consider how 31 by 3 is 93. The numeration of Thelema etc. also of 1=10 Grade, as before mentioned.

Now it seems (and here I shall repeat parts of what I have previously said in order to express the matter more fully) that Kether in Its aspect as Not and God, is reflected into Chochmah, and this passes along the Path of Aleph or Folly. And the Fool hath said in his heart There is NO-GOD (LA-AL) so that the Magus becometh the Word, and as it were, the creator of the Universe for in Him is Folly reflected as Wisdom.

And Kether is reflected into Binah as LA, so that NEMO sitteth in Darkness in the City of the Pyramids by the Great Sea. And this is transmitted to Binah by the Path of the Great Magician—Beth—who is the Father of Lies. Notice that the Flaming Sword does not touch that Path, for the Wisdom of the Magus became at the lowest depth, the cunning of the Serpent, and He crawled up the Tree again by the paths, and being Dual he created opposite paths, thus producing Balance, and at the same time fixing the Tree and Creation, therefore it is that the Light appears NOT to NEMO. Whereas there is a real current from Kether to the Magus and from the Magus to Nemo. And the Word reflecteth from Chochmah into Binah as AL, which is partly false and partly True. Then the Light of the Supernal reflecteth, or rather crosses the Abyss as a spark, into Chesed Jupiter, the Father, and here again see 777 Col V Line 4 which attributes the God name of this sphere in Assiah as AL. Therefore is it written that this is the Sphere all manner of men call The First (See Konx OM Pax). Note also that this Word is attributed to the Path of Mem, which is the Hanged Man, or Redeemer, who shall re-establish the true order of things, and in this symbol he is shown with his head downwards, or reversed. And Mem = Water, suggests the Great Sea, and the reflection of the True Name therein.

Note also how simple all this is, and how the highest Word is also one of the most common, for it is tacked on to every Angel and Archangel, to imply their connection with the true God. Also note St. John, how he says "In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was GOD" (AL).

Note also how the 31st Path is called Perpetual Intelligence and how this Path has always been pointed to as having to do with the ultimate mystery. It may be that the numeration was intended to point the way from the beginning of the Journey.

Another thing which strikes me, is that Aleph is the OX and the only letter which seems to have a meaning definitely connected with it is Lamed the OX-goad. Here again seems to be a hint of the secret to the discerning one.

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