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Aleister Crowley Diary Entry Sunday, 26 August 1923
Die Sol
Wrote beginning of Leah [Leah Hirsig] poem—3 sonnets. Rotten all day! In bed till 4 p.m. Yet dictated over 3 hours to Alostrael [Leah Hirsig] ‘An open letter to the Undergraduates of the University of Oxford’.
11.22 p.m.
Question. How shall we use this letter?
Earth/Fire I [I Ching Hexagram] XXVII
Fixation in matter of the Will. (Formulation of Magical Link.)
[In O.P.V.’s [Norman Mudd] writing.] Make sure that the tone of the letter is exactly suited to Oxford.
Line 1. Trust the Law to produce its own proper effect. Do not put on Saul’s armour. This means do not be anxious about the efficiency of the means taken to put over the message. [Line] 2. — [Line] 3. Comply with the conventions of the University with regard to circulation etc. Don’t force it down their throats. Do not exhibit undue haste. [Line] 4. Let the person in charge of the circulation take an oath of absolute devotion to the work. Courage & energy, passion & concentration are essential. He should look for resources to such people as naturally look up to him for leadership. [Line] 5. The person in charge of the general circulation may make errors in tactics. He is naturally unequal to such a task, but if he exhibits absolute firmness & remains unshaken fortune will smile on him. Let him however refrain from ambitious attempts to exceed his mission. He must abide strictly by the instructions given him, & not be led away by the temptation to go one better. [Line] 6. The person charged with the circulation must look to the Beast for Magical support. The Beast is definitely charged by the Gods with the task of nourishing the University. This mission involves peril, but fortune will be favourable. The work of circulating the letter being accomplished it should be used as a stepping-stone to the next advance, which should be of a decisive character.
Give a Tarot card to describe my emissary to Oxford with any special instructions as to what to tell him to do & to him as to how to carry out the task.
In Middle: Ace of Cups.
On his left: Atu 16 [The Tower]
On his right: Ace of Coins
Far on right: to Atu 11 [Lust or Strength] Far on left: to 3 of Cups, Mercury & Cancer.
He should be a spiritually minded but easily influenced person, fond of pleasure, thirsty for knowledge etc. This describes Eddie [Eddie Saayman] better than any Oxford man known to me at present.
Ace of Coins signifies that he should supply himself with material sources.
Atu 16 bids him be courageous, energetic etc as indicated by the Yi.
The two cards together show the letter a the Ace of Pantacles i.e. the supreme talisman, & Atu 16 symbolizes Oxford which is to be attacked by the lightning of the word, its stubbornness smashed, & from it men symbolized by the Devil brought forth. Atu 11 shows the Beast on whom Eddie should rely, whom he should invoke, & the 3 of Cups gives instructions as to the actual method.
Cancer refers to the Sangraal; Mercury to the Word. The letter should be circulated abundantly in an attractive form. Eddie should get two or three other men to form a committee for sending it out, & they should use social means of putting it over, such as having it discussed at College Debating Societies, & generally using hospitality as a means of establishing its influence. The letter should be printed, if possible, in a University newspaper separately. Good fortune will attend the work, but care must be taken to treat the matter very seriously. The spirit of Love should be invoked; it should be used as a means of harmonizing the antagonistic elements in the University.
He must work very hard to obtain the necessary funds. He should write to his friends about this. There are special indications that he should write to some woman who is fond of him (2 of Cups) & also to some man eminent in Mathematics or Science (Atu I [The Magus]). The woman need not be interested in serious matters. She seems more a silly, voluptuous, but affectionate person.
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