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Aleister Crowley Diary Entry Thursday, 1 January 1914
Opus II
The Second Working
[Thursday, January 1—Friday, January 2, 1914 E.V.]
This next invocation of Mercury was done with a new-made Image of the God in the East, a terminal Phallic figure in yellow wax, very beautiful, made that day by Fra. O.S.V. [Crowley] He also used these invocations “At the Limits of the Night” and this “O Light in Light,” before the “Majesty of Godhead.”
The Temple was opened at 11:20 P.M. on the first day of the vulgar year. The Versicle began at 11:40 and ended at 11:55 circa. Immediately Fra. L.T. [Victor B. Neuburg] completely lost control and although a man of some education, degraded himself and dispersed the holy invoked prāna by defacing this volume with the meaningless scrawls opposite, declaring them to be the inspiration of Thoth, which were unworthy even of His ape. In this way a great part of the virtue of the Rite was lost.
Some results were however obtained, and these were recorded in the esoteric account of this Working.
The Temple was closed at about 2 o’clock of the forenoon of Friday.
Opus II
The Esoteric Record
[Thursday, January 1—Friday, January 2, 1914 E.V.]
In the beginning was the Word, the logos, who is Mercury, and is therefore to be identified with Christ. Both are messengers; their birth-mysteries are similar; the pranks of their childhood are similar. In “The Vision of the Universal Mercury,” Hermes is seen descending upon the sea, which refers to Maria. The Crucifixion represents the Caduceus; the two thieves, the two serpents; the cliff in “The Vision of the Universal Mercury” is Golgotha; Maria is simply Maia with the Solar R in her womb.
The controversy about Christ between the Synoptics and John was really a contention between the priests of Bacchus, Sol and Osiris; also, perhaps, of Adonis and Attis on the one hand, and those of Hermes on the other, at that period when initiates all over the world found it necessary, owing to the growth of the Roman Empire, and the opening up of means of communication, to replace conflicting Polytheisms by a synthetic Faith. (This is absolutely new to me, this conception of Christ as Mercury.) Some difficulty about the ————— [5]
To continue the identification, compare Christ’s descent into Hell with the function of Hermes as guide of the Dead. Also Hermes leading Eurydice, and Christ raising up Jairus’ daughter. Christ is said to have risen on the third day, because it takes three days for the Planet Mercury to become visible after separating from the orb of the Sun. (It may be noted here that Mercury and Venus are the planets between us and the Sun, as if the Mother and the Son were mediators between us and the Father.)
Note Christ as the Healer, and also his own expressions: “The Son of Man cometh as a thief in the night”; and also this scripture: “For as the lightning cometh out of the East and shineth even unto the West, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Note also Christ’s relations with the money-changers, his frequent parables, and the fact that his first disciple was a publican.
Note also Mercury as the deliverer of Prometheus.
One half of the fish symbol is also common to Christ and Mercury; fish are sacred to Mercury (owing presumably to their quality of movement and cold-bloodedness).[6] Many of Christ’s disciples were fishermen, and he was always doing miracles in connection with fish.
Note also Christ as the mediator: “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me,” and Mercury as Chokmah, through whom alone we can approach Kether.
The Caduceus contains a complete symbol of the Gnosis; the winged Sun or phallus represents the joy of life on all planes from the lowest to the highest. The serpents (besides being Active and Passive, Horus and Osiris, and all their other well-known attributions) are those qualities of Eagle and Lion respectively, of which we know, but do not speak. It is the symbol of the Magical Operation which accomplishes this. The Caduceus is Life itself, and is of universal application. It is the universal solvent. It is quite easy to turn quicksilver into gold on the physical plane, and this will soon be done. New life will flow through the world in consequence.
The God now lays his Caduceus upon my lips for silence; bidding me only remember that on the following night he is to come in another form.
The Temple was then closed.
Note:
Written out from 12:45—2:30 P.M. 2.1.14.
2—P.S. Time from Dec. 3 1909 to Oct. 12, 1915 is 6 years less 50 days... [Crowley refers to two principal dates of his 8º=3o and 9º=2o initiations, respectively.] 3—[P.S.] O.S.V. has now forgotten what it was. 5—[P.S.] This sentence now quite unintelligible.
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promises to pay—have quite replaced Gold.