Hermetic.com | Crowley | Equinox | Vol I No x
REPRINTED FROM EQUINOX IV
PRICE 5/-
"Much vigorous imagination." --- Times.
"...his genius, be its origin celestial or infernal, is
considerably to our liking; he can write angelic poetry and devilish good prose, a cloud
of exotic scholarship trailing over the whole, and suffused now and then by lightning-
like gleams of mirth and snappiness." --- English Review.
"The poet's impassioned imagination and fancy move untrammelled
throughout this metrical romance." --- Publishers' Circular.
Price 5/-
WIELAND & CO. Telephone: 2632 Kensington.
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GOETIA vel Clavicula
The best, simplest, most intelligible and most effective treatise extant on
CEREMONIAL MAGIC
Careful and complete instruction; ample illustration; beautiful production. This book is very much easier both to understand and to operate than the so- called "Greater" Key of Solomon.
ONLY A FEW COPIES REMAIN FOR SALE.
HAIL MARY! BY ALEISTER CROWLEY
The "Daily Mall" says --- "This is a garland of some fifty or sixty devotional hymns to the Virgin, in which the author, while not exceeding the bounds of Catholic orthodoxy, fills his verses with quaint and charming conceits, very much in the style of the 'metaphysical' poets of the seventeenth century. Indeed, in turning over the pages of 'Amphora,' as the little volume was entitled when published anonymously two years ago, by Burns & Oates, we feel them to be the work of a recipient of the tradition of Vaughan the Silurist, George Herbert, and Crashaw, although Mr. Crowley is smooth where they are rugged, plain where they are perplexing.
"These poems indicate a mind full of earnest aspiration towards his spiritual Queen, a mind of an engaging naivete, untroubled by the religious and philosophical problems which weary more complex intelligences. This little work can be cordially recommended to Catholic readers."
Father Kent writes in "The Tablet" --- "Among the many books which benevolent publishers are preparing as appropriate Christmas presents we notice many new editions of favourite poetic classics. But few, we fancy, can be more appropriate for the purpose than a little volume of original verses, entitled 'Amphora,' which Messrs. Burns & Oates are on the point of publishing. The following stanzas from a poem on the Nativity will surely be a better recommendation of the book than any words of critical appreciation:
| "The Virgin lies at Bethlehem. | "She lies alone amid the kine. |
| (Bring gold and frankincense and myrrh!) | (Bring gold and frankincense and myrrh!) |
| The root of David shoots a stem. | The straw is fragrant as with wine. |
| (O Holy Spirit, shadow her!) | (O Holy Spirit, shadow her!)" |
Lieut.-Col. Gormley writes --- "The hymns ordinarily used in churches for devotional purposes are no doubt excellent in their way, but it can scarcely be said, in the case of many of them, that they are of much literary merit, and some of them indeed are little above the familiar nursery rhymes of our childhood; it is therefore somewhat of a relief and a pleasure to read the volume of hymns to the Virgin Mary which has just been published by Messrs. Burns & Oates. These hymns to the Virgin Mary are in the best style, they are devotional in the highest degree, and to Roman Catholics, for whom devotion to the Virgin Mary forms so important a part of their religious belief, these poems should indeed be welcome; personally I have found them just what I desired, and I have no doubt other Catholics will be equally pleased with them."
"Vanity Fair" says --- "To the ordinary mind passion has no relation to penitence, and carnal desire is the very antithesis of spiritual fervour. But close observers of human nature are accustomed to discover an intimate connection between the forces of the body and the soul; and the student of psychology is continually being reminded of the kinship between saint and sinner. Now and then we find the extremes of self and selflessness in the same soul. Dante tells us how the lover kissed the trembling mouth, and with the same thrill describes his own passionate abandonment before the mystic Rose. In our own day, the greatest of French lyric poets, Verlaine, has given us volumes of the most passionate love songs, and side by side with them a book of religious poetry more sublimely credulous and ecstatic than anything that has come down to us from the Ages of faith. We are all, as Sainte-Beuve said, 'children of a sensual literature,' and perhaps for that reason we should expect from our singers fervent religious hymns.
"There is one of London's favourites almost unrivalled to express by her art the delights of the body with a pagan simplicity and directness. Now she sends us a book, 'Amphora,' a volume of religious verse: it contains song after song in praise of Mary," etc. etc. etc.
The "Scotsman" says --- "Outside the Latin Church conflicting views are held about the worship of the Virgin, but there can be no doubt that this motive of religion has given birth to many beautiful pieces of literature, and the poets have never tired of singing variations on the theme of 'Hail Mary.' This little book is best described here as a collection of such variations. They are written with an engaging simplicity and fervour of feeling, and with a graceful, refined literary art that cannot but interest and attract many readers beyond the circles of such as must feel it religiously impossible not to admire them."
The "Daily Telegraph" says --- In this slight volume we have the utterances of a devout anonymous Roman Catholic singer, in a number of songs or hymns addressed to the Virgin Mary. The author, who has evidently a decided gift for sacred verse and has mastered varied metres suitable to her high themes, divides her poems into four series of thirteen each --- thus providing a song for each week of the year. The songs are all of praise or prayer addressed to the Virgin, and though many have a touch of mysticism, most have a simplicity of expression and earnestness of devotion that will commend them to the author's co-religionists."
The "Catholic Herald" says --- "This anonymous volume of religious verse reaches a very high level of poetic imagery. It is a series of hymns in honour of Our Lady, invariably expressed in melodious verse. The pitfalls of religious verse are bathos and platitude, but these the sincerity of the writer and a certain mastery over poetic expression have enabled him --- or her --- to avoid. The writer of such verse as the following may be complimented on a very high standard of poetic expression:
"The shadows fall about the way;
Strange faces glimmer in the gloom;
The soul clings feebly to the clay,
For that the void; for this the tomb!
"But Mary sheds a blessed light;
Her perfect face dispels the fears.
She charms Her melancholy knight
Up to the glad and gracious spheres.
"O Mary, like a pure perfume
Do thou receive this failing breath,
And with Thy starry lamp illume
The darkling corridors of death!"
The "Catholic Times" says --- "The 'Amphora' is a collection of poems in honour of our Blessed Lady. They are arranged in four books, each of which contains thirteen pieces. Thus with the prologue there are fifty-three poems in all. Needless to say they breathe a spirit of deep piety and filial love towards our Heavenly Mother. Many beautiful and touching thoughts are embodied in the various verses, which cannot but do good to the pious soul."
The "Staffordshire Chronicle" says --- "Under this title there has appeared an anonymous volume of verses breathing the same exotic fragrance of Rossetti's poem on Our Lady that begins 'Mother of the fair delight.' There is the same intense pre-Raphaelite atmosphere, the same aesthetic revelling in Catholic mysticism, the same rich imagery and gorgeous word-colouring that pervade the poetic works of that nineteenth-century artist. A valuable addition to the poetic literature on the Mother of our Lord."
The "Guardian" says --- "The devotional fervour of 'Amphora' will make them acceptable to those who address their worship to the Blessed Mother of the Christ. The meaning of the title of the book is not very obvious. It cannot surely have anything to do with the lines in Horace, 'Amphora coepit,'" etc.
The "Catholic Times" says --- "As far as we can gather from his other works, the author is not a Catholic, perhaps not even, strictly speaking, a Christian; but here we have page after page of most exquisite praise of Her, whom Wordsworth greeted as 'our tainted nature's solitary boast,' until one marvels at the fecundity of concept, imagery, and fit expression."
WEILAND & CO., 33 Avenue Studies, {sic} South Kensington, London, S.W. TELEPHONE: 2632 Kensington.
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CONTENTS IN EIGHT VIEWS. --- Clearing the Approach. The Vision. Mysticism and Symbolism. Love in Action. The Physical Film. Space. Time. Creation.
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The author brings forward many stories and instances in support of the contention that animals may reasonably be considered as participating in a future existence.
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CAMBRIDGE POETS 1900-1913
AN ANTHOLOGY
Chosen by AELFRIDA TILLYARD
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"The Volume will contain selections from the works of" ---
ALEISTER CROWLEY
John Alford :Hugh Owen Meredith
E. N. da C. Andrade :Constantine Michaelides (C. Graham)
Martin D. Armstrong :Victor Neuburg
Rupert Brooke :Gerald H. S. Pinset
"Richard Buxton" (E.Buxton Shanks):"John Presland" (Mrs. Skelton)
Archibald Young Campbell :A. V. Ratcliffe
Amy K. Clarke :Eric M. Silvanus
Frances Cornford (nee Darwin) :Jean Isabel Smith
Norman Davey :J. C. Squire
Dermot Freyer :Frank W. Stokoe
J. Elroy Flecker :Aelfrida Tillyard (Mrs. Constantine Graham)
Arthur Grimble :Edmund Vale
H. L. Hubbard :Olwen Ward (Mrs. Archibald Campbell)
G. Leathem :Iolo Aneurism Williams
Marjorie Mines (nee Rolfe) :Enid Welsford
Harold Monro :Esme C. Wingfield-Stratford
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"Cambridge: W. HEFFER & SONS, Lts."
A. CROWLEY'S WORKS
The volumes here listed are all of definite occult and mystical interest and importance.
"The Trade may obtain them from"
"The Equinox," 33 Avenue Studios, South Kensington, S. W. (Tel.: 2632
Kensington) and
Messrs. Simpklin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 23 Paternoster Row, E.C.
"The Public may obtain them from"
"The Equinox," 33 Avenue Studios, South Kensington, S.W.
Mr. Elkin Matthews, Vigo Street, W.
The Walter Scott Publishing Co., Paternoster Square, E.C.
Mr. F. Hollings, Great Turnstile, Holborn.
And through all Booksellers.
ACELDAMA. Crown 8vo, 29 pp., " Pounds"2 2"s." net.
Of this rare pamplet less than ten copies remain. It is Mr. Crowley's earliest and in some ways most striking mystical work.
JEPHTHAH AND OTHER MYSTERIES, LYRICAL AND DRAMATIC. Demy 8vo, boards, pp.
xxii. + 223, 7"s." 6"d." net.
SONGS OF THE SPIRIT. Pp. x. + 109. A new edition. 3"s." 6"d." net.
These two volumes breathe the pure semi-conscious aspiration of the soul, and express the first glimmerings of the light.
THE SOUL OF OSIRIS. Medium 8vo, pp. ix. + 129, 5"s." net.
A collection of lyrics, illustrating the progress of the soul from corporeal to celestial beatitude.
TANNHAUSER. Demy 4to, pp. 142, 15"s." net.
The progress of the soul in dramatic form.
BERASHITH. 4to, china paper, pp. 24, 5"s." net.
Only a few copies remain. An illuminating essay on the Universe, reconciling the conflicting systems of religion.
THE GOD-EATER. Crown 4to, pp. 32, 2"s." 6"d." net.
A striking dramatic study of the origin of religions.
THE SWORD OF SONG. Post 4to, pp. ix + 194, printed in red and black,
decorative wrapper, 20"s." net.
This is the author's first most brilliant attempt to base the truths of mysticism on the truths of scepticism. It contains also an enlarged amended edition of "Berashith," and an Essay showing the striking parallels and identities between the doctrines of Modern Science and those of Buddhism.
GARGOYLES. Pott 8vo, pp. vi. + 113, 5"s." net.
ORACLES. Demy 8vo, pp. viii. + 176, 5"s." net.
Some of Mr. Crowley's finest mystical lyrics are in these collections.
KNOX OM PAX. See Advertisement.
Collected Works (Travellers' Edition). Extra crown 8vo, India paper, 3 vols.
in one, pp. 808 + Appendices. Vellum, green ties, with protraits, 3 Pounds
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This edition contains "Qabalistic Dogma," "Time," "The Excluded Middle," "Eleusis," and other matters of the highest occult importance which are not printed elsewhere.
AMBERGRIS. Medium 8vo, pp. 200, 3"s." 6"d." (Elkin Mathews.)
A selection of lyrics, containing some of great mystical beauty.
POETRY AND DRAMA
No. 1 March 1913
CONTENTS
A LIST OF RECENT BOOKS ANNOUNCEMENTS
ARTICLES
Personal Explanation "Harold Monro" A Note on John Webster
The National Anthem "Algar Thorold" "Rupert Brooke"
The Greek Genius "A. Romney Green" Ella Wheeler Wilcox " Edward Thomas"
Shakespeare and Mr. Granville Barker The Theatre in Whitechapel "J. Rodker"
"Leonard Inkster"
CRITICISM
Georgian Poetry 1911-12 Anthologies: Good and Bad
" Henry Newbolt" " Richard Buxton"
Reviews Dramatic Chronicle " Gilbert Cannan"
French Chronicle "F. S. Flint"
POETRY
Maurice Hewlett James Elroy Flecker Lascelles Abercrombie Michael Mecredy
CONTENTS
No. 2 June 1913
VARIA
Poetry and the Public --- The Imagistes --- A Censorship on Poetasters --- A National Theatre --- Moliere as Antidote --- Experiments with Puppets --- Sumurun --- Mermaid Nights --- Literary Dishonesty --- A Futurist Number of POETRY AND DRAMA --- The Death of the Poet Laureate --- Particulars of POETRY AND DRAMA.
POETRY
Emile Verhaeren Rabindranath Tagore Harold Monro John Helston
Victor Plarr John Drinkwater Henry Simpson
STUDIES AND APPRECIATIONS
Emile Verhaeren: An Appreciation John Donne "Rupert Brooke"
"Michael T. H. Sadler" The Greek Genius (II)
Thomas Hardy of Dorchester "A. Romney Green"
"Edward Thomas" A Model Anthology "J. C. Squire"
CHRONICLES
Current English Poetry "The Editor" French Chronicle "F. S. Flint"
Dramatic Chronicle "Gilbert Cannan" Italian Chronicle "Arundel del Re"
REVIEWS
The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse --- The Poetical Works of George Meredith --- Poems New and Old: Henry Newbolt --- Love-Poems and Others: D. H. Lawrence --- The Venturers: Vivian Locke Ellis --- Lyrics: Lady Margaret Sackville --- A Boy's Will: Robert Frost --- Death and the Princess: Frances Cornford --- Songs of Alban: E. S. Lorimer --- Narcissus: Edward Storer --- The Book of Lies: Frater Perdurabo --- The Agate Lamp: Eva Gore-Booth --- Agnus Dei: Nancy Campbell.
A LIST OF RECENT BOOKS [Annotated]
(Paragraph symbol) "Poetry and Drama is published at the Poetry Bookshop, 35 Devonshire Street, Theobald's Road, London, W.C."
THE WHIRLPOOL
BY
ETHEL ARCHER
With a Cover specially designed by E. J. WIELAND;
a Dedicatory Sonnet by VICTOR B. NEUBURG; and an
Introduction by ALEISTER CROWLEY.
Price One Shilling net
"This is a whirlpool, and no mistake; a witches' cauldron wherein suns and stars and souls, and Lilith and Sappho, and 'whispering hair,' and corpses and poppies, jostle one another in a heaving brew of iridescent, quasi-putrescent, ultra-modernity. Quite good reading all the same. Take p. 44: --- .... And we must thank the mysterious V. B. N. for a really inspired line ---
'Thou lyric laughter of the enfranchised male.'
.... The naughty new 'male' smashing our windows with his inverted commas ... unless, indeed, as Mr. Aleister Crowley authoritatively hints in his sacerdotal preface, ... But the time, we think, is hardly ripe for such disclosures, although the more intelligent among us may have seen a certain Writing upon the Wall, setting forth, in clearest language, that 1 + 1 = 3." --- "The English Review."
"Poems by a new writer who possesses imaginative gifts of unusual quality. Miss Archer's poems are both mystical and realistic, and they bear traces of having been to some extent influenced by the work of Mr. Aleister Crowley, but without losing an originality which is entirely their own." --- "T. P.'s Weekly."
"This book has all the defects and none of the qualities of Mr. Crowley's work. ... Miss Ethel Archer misses everything. There is no "elan" in the work. She has none of the happy fluency of her master, and it requires much to carry off the cumbrous apparatus of esoteric epithets with which she is burdened. Miss Archer's mechanical abnormalities are ridiculous; she has mistaken jingle for music and incomprehensibility for passion. ... The world will not willingly let it die." --- "Vanity Fair."
"On the cover a naked woman is riding a bat over a whirlpool; craggy white mountains are behind her and a red sky behind all. There is a fine fierceness of movement in the design; it is certainly good. Mr. Aleister Crowley introduces Miss Archer briefly but splendidly, with phrases of this sort: 'We find such rime-webs as abaaab-babbba ..., more exquisite than all the arabesques of the Alhambra." ... It is all very splendid. ... We feel drearily sensible of our outer darkness. Coming to Miss Archer's poetry we are obliged to notice her debt to Swinburne, yet we find it, on the whole, good. ... The colour is very strong; the shades of thought are clear, and often subtle. ... The uninitiated may certainly recognise great strength of conviction in Miss Archer, even if they cannot or do not wish to appreciate it." --- "The Poetry Review."
"Several of these unpleasant phantasies are reprinted from the "Equinox," and there is an introduction by Aleister Crowley, in which he says this book is the hell of sterile passion glowing in the heart of the hell of desolation." --- "Times Literary Supplement."
"There is a resemblance in much of Miss Archer's verse to the sensuous school of English poetry, and it has the same lyrical power. Love in its various forms is the theme of her songs, and she expresses her thoughts in vivid words. The portrayal of the intensity of personal feeling with an unguarded freedom, is that which a student of pre-Raphaelite poetry would naturally acquire. (Our reviewer's guarded remarks lead us to suppose he means that The Whirlpool' is rather 'hot water.' --- ED.) --- "Publishers' Circular."
"Moralists with no pretensions to severity will frown at the sentiments conveyed in the poem 'To Lilith. ...' 'Reverie,' 'Midsummer Morn,' and 'Sleep,' are really beautiful poems. ..." --- "Westminster Review."
"Full, at any rate, of high artistic endeavour is Miss Ethel Archer's 'The Whirlpool.' There is a strong sense of classical beauty and of form in these passionate and exotic verses. 'The Felon Flower' is an extraordinary rhapsody, and the 'Song to Leila' is delicate and highly wrought." --- "The Commentator."
"The verse is musical and the ideas profound. ..." --- "Light."
MR. NEUBURG'S NEW VOLUME OF POEMS.
"Imperial" 16mo, pp. 200
----------------
"Now ready. Order through" The Equinox, "or of
any Bookseller."
THE TRIUMPH OF PAN.
POEMS BY VICTOR B. NEUBURG.
This volume, containing many poems, --- nearly all of them hitherto unpublished --- besides THE TRIUMPH OF PAN, includes THE ROMANCE OF OLIVIA VANE.
The First Edition is limited to Two Hundred and Fifty copies: Two Hundred and Twenty on ordinary paper, whereof less than Two Hundred are for sale; and Thirty on Japanese vellum, of which Twenty-five are for sale. These latter copies are numbered, and signed by the Author. The binding is half-parchment with crimson sides; the ordinary copies are bound in crimson boards, half holland.
The price of ordinary copies is Five Shillings net; of the special copies, One Guinea net.
EXTRACTS FROM FIRST NOTICES.
"Not everyone will care for Mr. Neuburg's tone in all the pieces, but he is undoubtedly a poet to be reckoned with, and a volume so original as this is should create no small stir. It is superbly produced by the publishers." --- "Sussex Daily News."
"When one comes to the poems ... it is evident that they are written in English.... In a certain oblique and sub-sensible sense, eloquent and musical....Distinctly Wagnerian in their effects...." --- "Scotsman."
"It is full of 'the murmurous monotones of whispering lust,' 'the song of young desire,' and that kind of poppycock." --- "London Opinion."
"A competent master of words and rhythms. ... His esoteric style is unreasonably obscure from an intelligent plain poetry-lover's standpoint." --- "Morning Leader."
"A charming volume of poems... Pagan glamour ... passion and vigour. ... 'Sigurd's Songs' are commendable for dealing with the all too largely neglected Scandinavian theology. ... A scholarly disciple. ... The entire volume is eminently recommendable." --- "Jewish Chronicle."
"A gorgeous rhapsody. ... Fortunately, there are the police. ... On the whole, we cannot help regretting that such splendid powers of imagination and expression are flung away in such literary rioting." --- "Light."
"Sometimes of much beauty of rhythm and phrase. ..." ---"Times."
"Poets who have any originality deserve to be judged by their own standard. ... A Neo-mystic or semi-astrological pantheist. ..." --- "Liverpool Echo."
"Love-making appears to have an added halo in his eyes if it is associated with delirium or bloodshed. ... Mr. Neuburg has a 'careless rapture' all his own; the carelessness, indeed, is just the trouble. His versification is remarkable, and there is something impressive in its mere fluency. ... So luxurious, so rampant, a decadence quickly palls. ... On the whole, this book must be pronounced a quite grievous exhibition of recklessness and folly." --- "Manchester Guardian."
"...We began to be suspicious of him. ... Hardly the sort of person we should care to meet on a dark night with a knobby stick in his hand. ... This clever book." --- "Academy."
"A vivid imagination fostered by a keen and loving insight of nature, and this allied to a command of richly adorned language ... have already assured for the author a prominent place amongst present-day poets. ... An enthusiastic devotion to classic song ... sustained metrical charm. From first to last the poet's work is an important contribution to the century's literature." --- "Publishers' Circular."
"This [book] contains the answer to a very well-known riddle propounded by the late Elizabeth Barrett Browning. You remember she asked in one of her poems, 'What was he doing to Great God Pan: Down in the reeds by the River?' Well, Mr. Victor Neuburg has discovered the answer, for he was obviously wandering near the river if he was not hidden in the reeds. ..." --- "ROBERT ROSS in "The Bystander."
"There is no question about the poetic quality of much of Mr. Neuburg's verse. ... We are given visions of love which open new amorous possibilities." --- "Daily Chronicle."
"Sheer ennui is apt to say 'morbid,' and have done with it. ... But here is Mr. Neuburg, with real literary and temperamental gifts ... but it is not honest to deny that he is actually straying here and there upon the borders of a definite region of consciousness; that the evil and power he acclaims and fears have a phantom existence. ..." --- "Westminster Gazette."
EXTRACTS FROM PRESS NOTICES --- "Continued"
"A volume of no ordinary ability ... real beauty." --- "Advocate of India."
"... His poems are a mystery beyond the comprehension of the uninitiate. But we can appreciate the beauty of their sound, and envy those lovers in distant countries who will apparently enjoy the meaning. ..." ---"English Review."
"By a big Pot, no doubt." --- "John Bull."
"'The Triumph of Pan' contains poems alive with music and rich in thought. Mr. Neubrug writes with distinction, and the book, from first to last, is one which lovers of poetry will appreciate." --- "Standard."
"... full of the throbbing fever of life which one cannot confine into measure on all occasions.
"'The Triumph of Pan' is full of sonorous lines, with wonderful word pictures and poetic imagery which has seldom been excelled. ..." --- "American Register."
"... Many beautiful passages in the volume ... strange allusions to unpleasant gods, and the imagery is occasionally repellent.
"The tremendous conception of that 'world so wide' ... at his best in some of the shorter poems ... stirring rhythm.
... we linger with delight over the splendid line ---
"'The murmurous song of the morning star, aflame o'er the birth of day.'
"... Melodious and plaintive with a haunting rhythm ... vivid and pictorial ... a painter's vision as well as a poet's ear ... a fine simile in 'Osiris' is all his own." --- "Co-Mason."
"... a delirious music ... the majority of them [the poems] trouble the reader by giving the impression that a deep meaning lies behind the embroidered veil of words to which he is unable to penetrate; others again seem to suggest events of too intimate and personal a nature to have a general application or interest ... mixed metaphors --- erratic visualisation. ..." --- "Theosophy in Scotland."
"Passion and pain, 'red desire' and 'red roses' are frequent "motifs" in Mr. V. B. Neuburg's 'Triumph of Pan' ('The Equinox' Office), much of which merits the ambiguous distinction of being unusual. Though by no means deficient in originality, vigour or imaginative power, his verse is too often cumbered with the fantastic symbols of a species of erotic mysticism, into which we feel no desire to probe; while the lack of reticence consistently displayed constitutes an artistic blemish not lightly to be excused. The author's serene confidence in the immortality of his lays would be better justified were he to make some attempt to discriminate between the gold and the rubbish, and, incidentally, refraining from penning such grotesqueness as is contained, for example, in 'The Sunflower,' where we are informed how, among other portents ---
"'a greater god arose,
And stole the earth by standing on his toes
And blowing through the air.'
"It is difficult to believe that the persons to whom certain poems are inscribed will experience any very lively gratification at the compliment." --- "Athenaeum."
"... really notable fluency and fecundity of expression. ... He gives us little of that boring stuff that is usually termed 'strong meat.' ... his dedicatory poem is the one that fascinates me most. It is a tender little lyric, delicate, iridescent, fragrant as a summer dawn. I take the liberty of quoting it in full. ..." --- "New Age."
"Fie, Mr. Neuburg! ... a most regrettable collection of songs that deal with unrestrained affection. ... There's no denying they are first-rate verse." --- PERCY FLAGE in "The Equinox."
"... We are dizzied and dazzled by a foaming rainbow-hued torrent of impassioned words. We are struck by the wealth and boldness of the imagery, and the facility of mechanical execution. ... It is brilliant work ... one is bound to admire the cleverness of it all." --- "Literary Guide."
"... In the author of the present collection of poems ... we have a veritable twentieth-century mystic and apostle of ecstasy who, according to his dedication, gives his songs ---
"'By the sign that is black and forbidden,
By the word that is uttered no more.'
"'The Triumph of Pan,' from which the book borrows its title, is a remarkable sequence of some forty 'philosophic and ecstatic' stanzas ... He would also seem to 'hold opinion with Pythagoras' although we question if even Nietzsche himself could quite fathom the undercurrent of the lay. ... Despite occasional extravagances in thought and in diction his work is that of a cultured scholar, his verbal artistry undeniably inspired with the true spirit of poetry. Whether he sings of 'Violet skies all rimmed in tune,' of red ravens, of purple kisses, of silver stars 'crested with amber melody,' or of the 'rhythmic sway of the idle moon,' he is always musical albeit, like Wagner, whose effects he now and then distinctly recalls, often utterly unintelligible. ... In striking contrast to the chaste and serenely beautiful 'Diana Rides; ... are no less that twenty-two audaciously passionate love- lyrics inscribed not only to one Olivia Vane, but also, curiously enough to her 'other' lover." ---"The Gambolier."
"He has arrived. ...
"Mr. Neuburg's work is partly mystical and partly of the flesh. ... Quite frankly, some of his work we do not at all understand. This applies notably to his 'Music-Pictures,' which 'were obtained under the direct influence of music.' 'This,' the poet naively tells us, 'may explain their apparent inconsequence.' ... he is much more than a minor poet. He can and will yet accomplish great work. ... His ingenious rhyming capacity sometimes almost startles one. In the choice of some of this subjects he is daring --- greatly daring. ... His genius is undoubted; and the world has a lot yet to hear of and from this gifted singer." --- "Greater London Illustrated."
"If he rejects this mask, Mr. Neuburg may become a poet." --- "Rhythm."
The Star in the West
BY
CAPTAIN J. F. C. FULLER
"FOURTH LARGE EDITION NOW READY"
THROUGH THE EQUINOX AND ALL BOOKSELLERS
SIX SHILLINGS NET
=====================================
A highly original study of morals and
religion by a new writer, who is as
entertaining as the average novelist is
dull. Nowadays human thought has
taken a brighter place in the creation:
our emotions are weary of bad baronets
and stolen wills; they are now only
excited by spiritual crises, catastrophes of
the reason, triumphs of the intelligence.
In these fields Captain Fuller is a master
dramatist.
=====================================
KONX OM PAX
THE MOST REMARKABLE TREATISE ON THE MYSTIC PATH EVER WRITTEN
Contains an Introduction and Four Essays; the first an account of the progress of the soul to perfect illumination, under the guise of a charming fairy tale;
The second, an Essay on Truth, under the guise of a Christmas pantomime;
The third, an Essay on Magical Ethics, under the guise of the story of a Chinese philosopher;
The fourth, a Treatise on many Magical Subjects of the profoundest importance, under the guise of a symposium, interspersed with beautiful lyrics.
No serious student can afford to be without this delightful volume. The second edition is printed on hand-made paper, and bound in white buckram, with cover-design in gold.
PRICE TEN SHILLINGS
WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO. LTD., and through "THE EQUINOX"
--------------
Some Press Opinions
Dr. M. D. EDER in "The New Age"
"Yours also is the Reincarnation and the Life, O laughing lion that is to be!
"Here you have distilled for our delight the inner spirit of the Tulip's form, the sweet secret mystery of the Rose's perfume: you have set them free from all that is material whilst preserving all that is sensual. 'So also the old mystics were right who saw in every phenomenon a dog-faced demon apt only to seduce the soul from the sacred mystery.' Yes, but the phenomenon shall it not be as another sacred mystery; the force of attraction still to be interpreted in terms of God and the Psyche? We shall reward you by befoulment, by cant, by misunderstanding, and by understanding. This to you who wear the Phrygian cap, not as symbol of Liberty, O ribald ones, but of sacrifice and victory, of Inmost Enlightenment, of the soul's deliverance from the fetters of the very soul itself --- fear not; you are not 'replacing truth of thought by mere expertness of mechanical skill.'
"You who hold more skill and more power than your great English predecessor, Robertus de Fluctibus, you have not feared to reveal 'the Arcana which are in the Adytum of God-nourished Silence' to those who, abandoning nothing, will sail in the company of the Brethren of the Rosy Cross towards the Limbus, that outer, unknown world encircling so many a universe."
"John Bull," in the course of a long review by Mr. HERBERT VIVIAN
"The author is evidently that rare combination of genius, a humorist and a philosopher. For pages he will bewilder the mind with abstruse esoteric pronouncements, and then, all of a sudden, he will reduce his readers to hysterics with some surprisingly quaint conceit. I was unlucky to begin reading him at breakfast, and I was moved to so much laughter that I watered my bread with my tears and barely escaped a convulsion."
"The Times"
"The Light wherein he writes is the L.V.X., of that which, first mastering and then transcending the reason, illumines all the darkness cause by the interference of the opposite waves of thought. ... It is one of the most suggestive definitions of KONX --- the LVX of the Brethren of the Rosy Cross --- that it transcends all the possible pairs of opposites. Nor does this sound nonsensical to those who are acquainted with that LVX. But to those who do not it must remain as obscure and ridiculous as spherical trigonometry to the inhabitants of Flatland."
"The Literary Guide"
"He is a lofty idealist. He sings like a lark at the gates of heaven. 'Konx Om Pax' is the apotheosis of extravagance, the last word in eccentricity. A prettily told fairy-story 'for babes and sucklings' has 'explanatory notes in Hebrew and Latin for the wise and prudent' --- which notes, as far as we can see, explain nothing --- together with a weird preface in scraps of twelve or fifteen languages. The best poetry in the book is contained in the last section --- 'The Stone of the Philosophers.' Here is some fine work."
Household Gods
A COMEDY
By ALEISTER CROWLEY
Privately Printed by the Chiswick Press
and bound in White Buckram with Gold Lettering
----------------
PRICE HALF A GUINEA
----------------
Copies may be obtained on application to the Author
at the offices of "The Equinox"
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Thirty copies of the Sketch of
ALEISTER CROWLEY by AUGUS-
TUS JOHN have been pulled on
Special Paper, and are for sale,
framed, at the Price of One Guinea
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"To be obtained of"
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TELEPHONE: 2632 KENSINGTON.
=======================
"Crown 8vo, Scarlet Buckram, pp. 64."
PRICE 10s. net
Less than 100 copies remain. The price will shortly be raised to
one guinea net.
A ∴ A ∴ PUBLICATION IN CLASS B.
=======================
BOOK
777
THIS book contains in concise tabulated form a comparative view of all the symbols of the great religions of the world; the perfect attributions of the Taro, so long kept secret by the Rosicrucians, are now for the first time published; also the complete secret magical correspondences of the G.'. D.'. and R. R. et A. C. It forms, in short, a complete magical and philosophical dictionary; a key to all religions and to all practical occult working.
For the first time Western and Qabalistic symbols have been harmonized with those of Hinduism, Buddhism, Mohammedanism, Taoism, etc. By a glance at Tables, anybody conversant with any one system can understand perfectly all others.
The "Occult Review" says:
"Despite its cumbrous sub-title and high price per page, this work has only to come under the notice of the right people to be sure of a ready sale. In its author's words, it represents 'an attempt to systematise alike the data of mysticism and the results of comparative religion,' and so far as any book can succeed in such an attempt, this book does succeed; that is to say, it condenses in some sixty pages as much information as many an intelligent reader at the Museum has been able to collect in years. The book proper consists of a Table of 'Correspondences,' and is, in fact, an attempt to reduce to a common denominator the symbolism of as many religious and magical systems as the author is acquainted with. The denominator chosen is necessarily a large one, as the author's object is to reconcile systems which divide all things into 3, 7, 10, 12, as the case may be. Since our expression 'common denominator' is used in a figurative and not in a strictly mathematical sense, the task is less complex than appears at first sight, and the 32 Paths of the Sepher Yetzirah, or Book of Formation of the Qabalah, provide a convenient scale. These 32 Paths are attributed by the Qabalists to the 10 Sephiroth, or Emanations of Deity, and to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which are again subdivided into 3 mother letters, 7 double letters, and 12 simple letters. On this basis, that of the Qabalistic 'Tree of Life,' as a certain arrangement of the Sephiroth and 22 remaining Paths connecting them is termed, the author has constructed no less than 183 tables.
"The Qabalistic information is very full, and there are tables of Egyptian and Hindu deities, as well as of colours, perfumes, plants, stones, and animals. The information concerning the tarot and geomancy exceeds that to be found in some treatises devoted exclusively to those subjects. The author appears to be acquainted with Chinese, Arabic, and other classic texts. Here your reviewer is unable to follow him, but his Hebrew does credit alike to him and to his printer. Among several hundred words, mostly proper names, we found and marked a few misprints, but subsequently discovered each one of them in a printed table of errata, which we had overlooked. When one remembers the misprints in 'Agrippa' and the fact that the ordinary Hebrew compositor and reader is no more fitted for this task than a boy cognisant of no more than the shapes of the Hebrew letters, one wonders how many proofs there were and what the printer's bill was. A knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet and the Qabalistic Tree of Life is all that is needed to lay open to the reader the enormous mass of information contained in this book. The 'Alphabet of Mysticism,' as the author says --- several alphabets we should prefer to say --- is here. Much that has been jealously and foolishly kept secret in the past is here, but though our author has secured for his work the "imprimatur" of some body with the mysterious title of the A ∴ A ∴, and though he remains himself anonymous, he appears to be no mystery-monger. Obviously he is widely read, but he makes no pretence that he has secrets to reveal. On the contrary, he says, 'an indicible arcanum is an arcanum which "cannot" be revealed.' The writer of that sentence has learned at least one fact not to be learned from books.
"G.C.J."
WILLIAM NORTHAM,
"ROBEMAKER,"
9 Henrietta Street, Southampton Street, Strand
TELEPHONE -- 5400 Central
=======================
MR. NORTHAM begs to announce that he has been entrusted with the manufacture
of all robes and other ceremonial apparel of members of the A ∴ A ∴ and its
adepts and aspirants.
No. 0. PROBATIONER'S ROBE . . . . Pounds5 0 0
1. " " superior quality . . 7 0 0
2. NEOPHYTE'S . . . . . . . 6 0 0
3. ZELATOR Symbol added to No. 2 . . 1 0 0
4. PRACTICUS " " 3 . . 1 0 0
5. PHILOSOPHUS " " 4 . . 1 0 0
6. DOMINUS LIMINIS " " 5 . . 1 0 0
7. ADEPTUS (without) " " 0 or 1 . . 3 0 0
8. " (Within) . . . . . . 10 0 0
9. ADEPTUS MAJOR . . . . . . 10 0 0
10. ADEPTUS EXEMPTUS . . . . . . 10 0 0
11. MAGISTER TEMPLI . . . . . . 50 0 0
The Probationer's robe is fitted for performance of all general invocations and especially for the I. of the H. G. A.; a white and gold nemmes may be worn. These robes may also be worn by Assistant Magi in all composite rituals of the White.
The Neophyte's robe is fitted for all elemental operations. A black and gold nemmes may be worn. Assistant Magi may wear these in all composite rituals of the Black.
The Zelator's robe is fitted for all rituals involving I O, and for the infernal rites of Luna. In the former case an Uraeus crown and purple nemmes, in the latter a silver nemmes should be worn.
The Practicus' robe is fitted for all rituals involving I I, and for the rites of Mercury. In the former case an Uraeus crown and green nemmes, in the latter a nemyss of shot silk, should be worn.
The Philosophus' robe is fitted for all rituals involving O O, and for the rites of Venus. In the former case an Uraeus crown and azure nemmes, in the latter a green nemmes, should be worn.
The Dominus Liminis' robe is fitted for the infernal rites of Sol, which must never be celebrated.
The Adeptus Minor's robe is fitted for the rituals of Sol. A golden nemmes may be worn.
The Adeptus' robe is fitted for the particular workings of the Adeptus, and for the Postulant at the First Gate of the City of the Pyramids.
The Adeptus Major's Robe is fitted for the Chief Magus in all Rituals and Evocations of the Inferiors, for the performance of the rites of Mars, and for the Postulant at the Second Gate of the City of the Pyramids.
The Adeptus Exemptus' robe is fitted for the Chief Magus in all Rituals and Invocations of the Superiors, for the performance of the rites of Jupiter, and for the Postulant at the Third Gate of the City of the Pyramids.
The Babe of the Abyss has no robe.
For the performance of the rites of Saturn, the Magician may wear a black robe, close-cut, with narrow sleeves, trimmed with white, and the Seal and Square of Saturn marked on breast and back. A conical black cap embroidered with the Sigils of Saturn should be worn.
The Magister Templi Robe is fitted for the great Meditations, for the supernal rites of Luna, and for those rites of Babylon and the Graal. But this robe should be worn by no man, because of that which is written: "Ecclesia abhorret a sanguine."
----------------------
"Any of these robes may be worn by a person of whatever grade on"
"appropriate occasions."
A GREEN GARLAND
BY
V. B. NEUBURG
-------------
Green Paper Cover . . 2s. 6d. net
-------------
"As far as the verse is concerned there is in this volume something more than mere promise; the performance is at times remarkable; there is beauty not only of thought and invention --- and the invention is of a positive kind --- but also of expression and rhythm. There is a lilt in Mr Neuburg's poems; he has the impulse to sing, and makes his readers feel that impulse" --- "The Morning Post."
"There is a certain grim power in some of the imaginings concerning death, as 'The Dream' and 'The Recall,' and any reader with a liking for verse of an unconventional character will find several pieces after his taste." --- "The Daily Telegraph."
"Here is a poet of promise." --- "The Daily Chronicle."
"It is not often that energy and poetic feeling are united so happily as in this little book." --- "The Morning Leader."
"There is promise and some fine lines in these verses." --- "The Times."
-------------
To be obtained of
PROBSTHAIN & CO.
41 GREAT RUSSELL STREET, LONDON, W.C.
And all Booksellers
WIELAND & CO.
SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF
PRIMORDIAL MAN
BY
ALBERT CHURCHWARD
"The Book is in every sense a great book." --- "Equinox."
PRICE 13/6 NET
A. COLIN LUNN,
Cigar Importer and Cigarette Merchant.
3 Bridge Street; 19 King's Parade
and 31 Trinity St., Cambridge
Sole Agent for Loewe & Co.'s Celebrated Straight Grain Briar Pipes.
YENIDYEH CIGARETTES, No. 1A. --- "A Connoisseur's Cigarette." These are manufactured from the finest selected growths of 1908 crop, and are of exceptional quality. They can be inhaled without causing any irritation of the throat.
Sole Manufacturer: A. COLIN LUNN, Cambridge.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEILAND & CO.
Beg to announce hat they can now supply the various OILS, PERFUMES, UNGUENTS, ESSENCES, INCENSES, etc., and other products useful to members of the lower grades of the A ∴ A ∴
"ALEISTER CROWLEY'S SPECIAL PREPARATIONS"
OIL OF ABRAMELIN . . . . . . 2/6 per oz.
ABRAMELIN INCENSE . . . . . . 10/- per lb.
SALEM INCENSE. . . . . . . 8/- "
VENUS INCENSE. . . . . . . 18/- "
DITTANY INCENSE . . . . . . 7/- "
OPOPONAX INCENSE . . . . . . 16/- "
UNGUENTVM SABBATI . . . . . 17/6 per oz.
----------------------
RUTHAH, the Perfume of Immortality, 2/6 & 4/6 per bottle
----------------------
The special Incense always used by H. P. Blavatsky. Prepared from the receipt
given by an intimate friend and colleague. 11/- per lb.
Cash in all Cases must accompany Order
"ALL GOODS POST FREE"
MR. NEUBURG'S NEW WORKS
"IN PREPARATION"
----------------------
SONNETS FROM THE SPANISH
A Contribution to the Personal Note in Literature
----------------------
THE NEW DIANA
A History. With other Poems, and some Translations
----------------------
THE CHANGELING
A Fairy Play
----------------------
ROSA IGNOTA
An Essay in Mysticism
----------------------
HEINE'S LYRISCHES INTERMEZZO
A Complete Translation, with a Prose Preface
----------------------
SONGS OF THE DECADENCE
New Lyrics
LIBER CCCXXXIII "NOW READY"
THE BOOK OF LIES
WHICH IS ALSO FALSELY CALLED
BREAKS
THE WANDERINGS OR FALSIFICATIONS OF THE ONE THOUGHT OF
FRATER PERDURABO
WHICH THOUGHT IS ITSELF UNTRUE
"Break, break, break
At the foot of thy stones, O Sea!
And I would that I could utter
The thoughts that arise in me!"
CONTENTS
o : 49. WARATAH-BLOSSOMS
1. The Sabbath of the Goat : 50. The Vigil of St. Hubert
2. The Cry of the Hawk : 51. Terrier Work
3. The Oyster : 52. The Bull-Baiting
4. Peaches : 53. The Dowser
5. The Battle of the Ants : 54. Eaves-Droppings
6. Caviar : 55. The Drooping Sunflower
7. The Dinosaurs : 56. Trouble with Twins
8. Steeped Horsehair : 57. The Duck-Billed Platypus
9. The Branks : 58. Haggai-Howlings
10. Windlestraws : 59. The Tailless Monkey
11. The Glow-Worm : 60. The Wound of Amfortas
12. The Dragon-Flies : 61. The Fool's Knot
13. Pilgrim-Talk : 62. Twig?
14. Onion-peelings : 63. Margery Daw
15. The Gun-Barrel : 64. Constancy
16. The Stag-Beetle : 65. Sic Transeat ---
17. The Swan : 66. The Praying Mantis
18. Dewdrops : 67. Sodom-Apples
19. The Leopard and the Deer : 68. Manna
20. Samson : 69. The Way to Succeed --- and the
21. The Blind Webster : Way to Suck Eggs!
22. The Despot : 70. Broomstick-Babblings
23. Skidoo! : 71. King's College Chapel
24. The Hawk and the Blindworm : 72. Hashed Pheasant
25. THE STAR RUBY : 73. The Devil, the Ostrich, and the
: Orphan Child
26. The Elephant and the Tortoise : 74. Carey Street
27. The Sorcerer : 75. Plover's Eggs
28. The Pole-Star : 76. Phaeton
29. The Southern Cross : 77. THE SUBLIME AND SUPREME SEP-
30. John-a-Dreams : TENARY IN ITS MATURE MAGICAL
31. The Garotte : MANIFESTATION THROUGH
32. The Mountaineer : MATTER: AS IT IS WRITTEN: AN
33. BAPHOMET : HE-GOAT ALSO
34. The Smoking Dog : 78. Wheel and --- Woa!
35. Venus of Milo : 79. The Bal Bullier
36. THE STAR SAPPHIRE : 80. Blackthorn
37. Dragons : 81. Louis Lingg
38. Lambskin : 82. Bortsch: also Imperial Purple
39. The Looby : (and A PUNIC WAR)
40. The HIMOG : 83. The Blind Pig
41. Corn Beef Hash : 84. The Avalanche
42. Dust-Devils : 85. Borborygmi
43. Mulberry Tops : 86. TAT
44. THE MASS OF THE PHOENIX : 87. Mandarin Meals
45. Chinese Music : 88. Gold Bricks
46. Buttons and Rosettes : 89. Unprofessional Conduct
47. Windmill-Words : 90. Starlight
48. Mome Raths : 91. The Heikle
PRICE ONE GUINEA
WEILAND & CO., 33 Avenue Studios, South Kensington, London, S.W.
THE BOOK OF LIES. WHICH IS ALSO FALSELY CALLED BREAKS
By Frater Perdurabo. (Wieland & Co., 21s.)
"Poetry and Drama" says: Creation and destruction of Gods has been for centuries mankind's favourite religious mania and philosophical exercise. "The Book of Lies" is a witty, instructive, and wholly admirable collection of paradoxes, in themselves contradictory, summing up and illustrating various experiments in God-making. Frater Perdurabo, however, has not written a philosophical or mystical treatise; on the contrary, his book leaves one with a feeling of intense exhilaration and clearheadedness. The book cannot be judged by the mere reading of excerpts; nor can it be read straight through. Indeed, if one is really desirous to appreciate its subtleties, this should not be attempted before 12 p.m. To be carried about and discussed at leisure, to annoy, repel, stimulate, puzzle and interest, are evidently some few of its functions. Stupendously idiotic and amazingly clever, it is at the same time the quintessence of paradox and simplicity itself; yet when all this is said one is still far from the core, for just when one thinks to have discovered it, one finds that many obvious beauties of thought and expression have been over-looked, others misinterpreted. Sometimes one is even doubtful if the author himself could translate into definite terms the exact meaning of his aphorisms and paradoxes without detracting from the value of the book as artistic expression of the personality. This is, however, an individual appreciation. "The Book of Lies" will be interpreted differently by each reader and judged accordingly. --- A. d. R.
"The New Witness" says: I have read with great care two very extraordinary books for which one Frater Perdurabo is partly or wholly responsible, "The Book of Lies," and "Book Four," both published by Messrs. Wieland & Co., Avenue Studios, South Kensington. "Book Four" is sold for a shilling, but "The Book of Lies" is evidently far more precious, for though its wisdom fills only 116 small black-edged pages, it is not obtainable for less than a guinea. Allow me to reproduce its name and description in full ("done")
Now that, I thought, was rather pleasant, but looking on I perceived that these breaks could not be profitable to me without a severe intellectual preparation. I turned to "Book Four," and there I read: "this book is intentionally "not" the work of Frater Perdurabo. Experience shows that his writing is too concentrated, too abstruse, too occult for ordinary minds to apprehend." "Book Four" seems intended as a kind of introduction to the "Book of Lies." It has also other objects. It tells one, for example, how to procure certain of the very interesting works of Mr. Aleister Crowley for the insignificant sum of 6 guineas, 31 dollars, or 156 francs. It tells one, also, how to approach the throne of the Brother, how to gain a spiritual power not unlike his, although he is anxious, being "the most honest of all the great religious teachers," that nobody shall believe him. Hoping some day to be able to write little books that should sell for a guinea apiece, and also to understand "The Book of Lies," I set myself vehemently to the study of "Book Four." I experimented with "the seven keys to the great gate," though I admit my ambition led me to concentrate my energies chiefly on "Meditation," as Soror Virakam says that this, as described in "Book Four," is "The Way of Attainment of Genius or Godhead considered as a development of the human Brain." Genius or Godhead; either would suit me well. I will not describe my experiments in detail but rather their results, which were a very bad cold in the head, and a few words of poetry which I am informed are worthy of Shakespeare and were indeed used by him in his noblest tragedy.
Facing page 25 of "Book Four" is a photograph of a man naked sitting on the floor hugging his shins and hiding his face in his knees. I observed it with reverence, for it might perhaps represent Frater Perdurabo himself, whom I have not the honour of knowing by sight. Opposite the picture I read: "The Student must now set his teeth and go through with it."
I set my teeth. I went through with it, and, perhaps because February is a rather wintry month, there resulted first the Shakespearean words and secondly a very bad catarrh. The words were these: ---
"Poor Tom. ... Tom's a-cold."
If any should doubt the Shakespearean nature of this inspiration, my informant, who knows the works of that great master, refers to the Tragedy of Lear, Act iii. Scene 4.
Frater Perdurabo has not been so fortunate. Indeed, I fear that though his method lifted me to Shakespeare's level in "Genius or Godhead" it played its inventor false. Perhaps two or three or even more "ways of attainment" clashed with each other. Or --- and with reverence must we contemplate this possibility --- Frater Perdurabo attained too much. He put himself so vigorously in motion towards his goal that he overshot it and was carried past the common godhead or genius and hurled into something far beyond it, a region of super-divinity or super-genius so far above us that language will not bridge the gap --- the gulf that divides its perfect wisdom from our feeble grouping expression. Let me give an example of the poetry of Frater Perdurabo. A few of the names of his poems will no doubt sharpen our appetite, so I copy them out from the list which Frater Perdurabo calls "Pro and Con Tents": "The Sabbath of the Goat," "The HIMOG" (a note explains that this means "Holy Illuminated Man of God"), "Corn Beef Hash," "Trouble with Twins," "Skidoo," "Haggai-Howlings," "The Blind Pig" (a mote explains that
GR:pi GR:gamma = PG = Pig without an I = Blind Pig). Many of the other titles are no less promising. Here, however, is the chapter called "Skidoo."
"SKIDOO."
"What man is at ease in his Inn?" --- "Get out." --- "Wide is the world and cold." --- "Get out." --- "Thou hast become an in-itiate." --- "Get out" --- "But thou canst not get out by the way thou camest in. The way out is THE WAY." --- "Get out." --- "For OUT is Love and Wisdom and Power." --- "Get out." --- "If thou hast T already, first get UT." --- "Then get O." --- "And so at last get out."
There are two notes to this chapter which do not, to my mind, much elucidate it. "O," he were told. "=VS, The Devil of the Sabbath; U = 8, the Hierophant or Redeemer; T = Strength, the Lion." "T," on the other hand, is "manhood, the sign of the cross or phallus; UT, the Holy Guardian Angel; UT, the first syllable of Udgita, see the Upanishads; O, Nothing, or Nuit."
Here is something far beyond Shakespearean simplicity. Perhaps I should have attained to it if I had persisted in my naked meditation on the floor, beyond the very bad cold that brought it to an end.
Let me take another example: ---
"PHAETON."
"No." --- "Yes" --- "Perhaps." --- "O!" --- "Eye." --- "Hi!" --- "Y?" --- "No." --- "Hail! all ye spavined, gelded, hamstrung horses!" --- "Ye shall surpass the planets in their courses." --- "How? Not by speed, nor strength, nor power to stay, but by the Silence that succeeds the Neigh!"
There are no notes to this chapter.
"This book," another chapter tells us, "would translate Beyond-Reason into the words of Reason." The difficulty the author encountered was like that of explaining snow to the inhabitants of the Tropics. The result is quite unintelligible to a simple brother like myself, whose only effort so far has been to keep on the hither side of reason, who is also hampered by the cold in the head given him by the position pictured in "Book Four." Yet through these Haggai-Howlings, I admit, there does appear a personality, perhaps a philosophy, a doubt of a doubt of a doubt (I offer this phrase to Frater Perdurabo for his next book), a certain vehemence of passion, a sense of humour rare in philosophers, and a determination not to be too easily understood. "Adepts," we learn, "have praised silence; at least it does not mislead as speech does." Frater Perdurabo howls aloud. That, I suggest, is a mistake. Page 5 of his book is occupied only by a mark of interrogation: a mark of exclamation is alone in the middle of page 6. Perhaps we may take these pages as promises of an improved method. A more silent and so, in the view of "adepts," a less misleading guinea's worth might well be made by a development of the hitherto neglected occult meanings of spaces of blank paper, and the wonderful signs constrained usually by "the slaves of reason" to the servile punctuation of common speech. --- FRATER PERDITUS.
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"THE HISTORY OF MAGIC." Including a clear and precise Exposition of its
Processes, Rites and Mysteries. By ELIPHAS LEVI. Translated, Annotated
and Introduced by Arthur Edward Waite. With Twenty Plates. Large Demy
8vo, 9 in. by 6 in., 572 pp. "Handsomely bound, Cloth Gilt extra, Gilt
Tops." 15"s." net. EDITION DE LUXE. Printed on fine quality Rag Paper.
"Bound in White Vellum, Gilt Tops." 21"s." net.
An English translation of this celebrated work of the well-known French Occultist is now for the first time offered to the British Public.
"THE BOOK OF CEREMONIAL MAGIC." Including the Rites and Mysteries of Goetic
Theurgy, Sorcery, and Infernal Necromancy. By A. E. WAITE. Crown 4to,
gilt tops, 376 pp., illustrated with about 180 engravings, beautifully
bound in art canvas, with design in gold, price 15"s." net.
In Two Parts. I. Analytical and Critical Account of the Chief Magical Rituals extant. II. A complete Grimoire of Black Magic. The two chief sections are subdivided as follows: --- ("a") Studies on the Antiquity of Magical Rituals; ("b") The Rituals of Transcendental Magic, so-called; ("c") Composite Rituals; ("d") The Rituals of Black Magic; ("e") The Descending Hierarchy of Saints; ("f") The Lesser Key of Solomon the king; ("g") The Mystery of the "Sanctum Regnum;" ("h") The Rite of "Lucifuge;" ("i") The Method of Honorius; etc., etc.
"TRANSCENDENTAL MAGIC." By ELIPHAS LEVI. Translated by A. E. WAITE, "with
the original engravings." 10"s." 6"d." Postage 5"d;" abroad 10"d."
"Contents:" --- Doctrine of Transcendental Magic: The Candidate, The Pillars of the Temple, The Triangle of Solomon, The Tetragram, The Pentagram, Magical Equilibrium, The Fiery Sword, Realization, Initiation, The Kabbalah, The Magic Chain, The Great Work, Necromancy, Transmutations, Black Magic, Bewitchments, Astrology, Charms and Philtres, The Universal Medicine, Divination, Summary and General Key of the Four Secret Sciences, Ritual of Transcendental Magic. Medium and the Mediator, The Septenary of Talismans, A Warning to the Imprudent, the Ceremonial of Initiates, The Key of Occultism, the Triple Chain, The Great Work, Necromancy, Transmutations, The Sabbath of the Sorcerers, Witchcraft and Spells, The Writing of the Stars, Philtres and Magnetism, The Mastery of the Sun, The Thaumaturge, The Science of the Prophets, The Book of Hermes.
"WAITE" (A. E.) The Mysteries of Magic, a Digest of the Writings of Eliphas
Levi, with Biographical and Critical Essay. Second edition, revised and
enlarged, cr. 8vo, "cloth extra, uncut," 1897. 8"s." 6"d."
Constitutes a valuable introductory work for those desirous of studying the writings of the great French Magus.
"BIBLIA CABALISTICA," or the Cabalistic Bible, showing how the various
Numerical Cabalas have been curiously applied to the Holy Scriptures,
with numerous Textual Examples, collected from Books of the Greatest
Rarity, with Introduction, Appendix of Curios, and Bibliography. By the
Rev. WALTER BEGLEY. 4to, "cloth extra, uncut," 1903, 7"s." 6"d."
"BOOK OF THE SACRED MAGIC" (The) of Abra-Melin the Mage, as delivered by
Abraham the Jew unto his Son Lamech, A.D. 1458. Translated from the
Original Hebrew into French, and now rendered into English from a unique
and valuable MS. in the Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal at Paris; with copious
Notes and Magical Squares of Letters. By L. S. MACGREGOR-MATHERS. 4to,
"black cloth, Magical Square on side in gold." 1900. 10"s." 6"d."
SPECIAL OFFER OF THE KEY OF SOLOMON
"S. LIDDELL MACGREGOR-MATHERS, Author of "The Kabbalah Unveiled," "The
Tarot," etc."
"THE KEY OF SOLOMON THE KING (Clavicula Salomonis)," the true fountain-head
and storehouse of Cabbalistical Magic and the origin of much of the
Ceremonial Magic of mediaeval times; hitherto a closed book to all but
the most learned Hebrew scholars, now made accessible to all in this "the
first translation."<<WEH NOTE: Some translation! The MSS Mathers used
were in English.>> Carefully edited and collated from various ancient
MSS. in the British Museum. Illustrated by 15 full-page plates
containing "the Mystical Alphabets, the Knife, Sword, and Other
Instruments, and the Holy Pentacles or Medals." Quarto, buckram back,
cloth sides, pp + 126 (pub. " Pounds"1 1"s. net"). London, 1909, 10"s."
Inland postage, 6"d."; Abroad, 1"s."
An important feature of this work is that the Editor, who is well known as a skilled Kabbalist, has corrected as far as possible the many errors in the Hebrew names, etc., which have crept into the various MS. recensions, due to careless copyists.<<WEH NOTE: That care didn't extend to exposition of the fact that the inscription shown on the magical wand is Hebrew for "Cut the young Almond branch" --- an omission that has led several practitioners to believe that the inscription is an arcanum of great power!>> This renders the work of the greatest value to Students of Ceremonial and Talismanic Magic, as the use of correct formulae in magical operations is an absolute necessity.
"MAGICAL MANUSCRIPT." --- THE CLAVIS OR KEY TO UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES OF MAGIC
OF RABBI SOLOMON; THE BOOK OF MAGIC SCIENCE, and several other Magical
Treatises, clearly and neatly written on more than 200 leaves, thick 4to,
"very many cleverly executed drawings (several in colours) of pentacles,
sigils, talismans, etc., old hf. calf, gilt." N.D. ("circa" 1830). 3
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The "Clavis" is of exceptional interest. It has apparently been transcribed from an UNPUBLISHED ENGLISH VERSION, translated from the French by EBENEZER SIBLEY, M.D., the famous astrologer, as it bears his name on the Title-page, and at the end of a long preface. The first edition of the Key of Solomon "published" in English, is that edited by Mr. S. L. M. Mathers.
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By ALEISTER CROWLEY
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CONTENTS
ROSA Coeli --- Abjad-i-al'ain --- The Hermit --- The Wizard Way --- The Wings --- The Garden of Janus --- The Two Secrets --- The Priestess of Panormita --- The Hawk and the Babe --- The Duellists --- Athor and Asar --- After Judgment --- The Five Adorations -- Telepathy --- The Swimmer --- The Muse --- The God and the Girl --- Rosemary --- Au Bal --- Disappointment --- The Octopus --- The Eyes of Dorothy --- Bathyllus --- The Mantra-Yogi --- The Poet and his Muse --- Lilith --- Sport and Marriage --- The Twins --- The Convert --- The Sorceress --- The Child --- Clytie --- A Slim Gilt Soul --- The Silence of Columbine --- The Archaeologist --- The Ladder --- Belladonna --- The Poet at Bay --- Ut --- Rosa Decidua --- The Circle and the Point --- In Memoriam --- Ad Fidelem Infidelem --- The Sphinx --- The Jew of Fez --- The Pentagram --- Song --- An Hymn --- Prologue to Rodin in Rime --- The Camp Fire --- Ave Adonai --- The Wild Ass --- The Opium-Smoker --- In Manu Dominae.
Mr. Todd: a Morality.
TRANSLATIONS: L'Amour et le Crane --- L'Alchimie de Douleur --- Le Vampire --- Le Balcon --- Le Gout de L'Infini --- L'Heautontimoroumenos --- Le vin de L'Assassin --- Woman --- Tout Entiere --- Le vin des Amants --- Le Revenant --- Lola de Valence --- Le Beau Navire --- L'Invitation au Voyage --- Epilogue to "Petits Poems en Prose" --- Colloque Sentimental --- En Sourdine --- The Magician.