Again with the Star Ruby (Translation and Notes)

Language is important. Magicians use “barbarous”, “dead” and other strange languages as an aid in bringing about magical consciousness. Some Hebrew, a bit of Enochian, and some Latin force one to enter a state of altered consciousness, if for no other reason, simply because it is something unusual. Still, there is no excuse for not knowing what you are saying. As Abraham von Worms points out, the spirits are not impressed by false erudition. To recite a bunch of syllables is ultimately meaningless, those syllables must have meaning. To this end, I am providing some preliminary notes and translations of the various rituals that I use regularly. The first of these is the Star Ruby, also known as Liber XXV. The primary language of the Star Ruby is Greek.

The first spoken line is “Apo pantos kakadaimonos”. This translates (roughly) to “Flee in terror malevolent (shit) spirits”.

Next is the Qabalistic cross: “Soi” (head), “O phalle” (phallus), “ischuros” (right), and “eukaristos” (left). This can be translated as “Unto thee o phallus, strength and thanksgiving”.

Finally, we have the invocation of the quarters, which goes “Pro mou Junges” (”Before me, Junges”), “Opiso mou Teletarchai” (”Behind me, Teletarchai”), “Epi deksia Synoches” (”On my right hand, Synoches”), and “Eparistera Daimonos”(”On my left hand, Daimonos”). This is wrapped up with “Flegei gar peri mou o aster ton pente. Kai en tee stelle o aster ton hex esteeke” which can be translated as “About me flames the pentagrams. In the column shines the six rayed star”.

The only thing left is to explain what you are calling in the four quarters.

Junges
This class of beings are the children of the Father, the bearers of the primordial fire which gives rise to magick and concepts which give rise to motion. This fire & passion is delivered to the Synoches.

Teletarchai
These beings represent the guiding forces of initiation, of progress. They are the children of Junges and Synoches. They are responsible for shaping our Will so that we progress forward toward accomplishing that Will.

Synoches
These beings are the containers of the fire, the mothers which birth creation. The Will, originating from the Junges, is formed by the Synoches and manifested by the Teletarchai. That which we strive to be determines our experiences which result in our current path, the expression of our Will in the current physio-temporal frame.

Daimonos
These are the saints, those who have achieved their will and whose blood fills the Cup of Babalon. They inspire and motivate us, they are our support and our emancipation.

I’ll admit that I am still working on internalizing and expanding my understanding of the beings evoked by the Star Ruby. These descriptions are meant as a starting point.

I find the basic purposes of the attributions correlative with those of the Standard Pentagram rituals. In the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, we have Sol/Raphiel, Luna/Gabriel, Mercury/Michael, and Venus/Uriel. Sol resides in Tiphareth to which is associated the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Luna resides in Yesod which is commonly equated with prophecy, Magick, and Initiation. Mercury is the manifestation of the Will, and Venus is easily the support and benediction of the community.

Crowley viewed this ritual as a Thelemic equivalent to the Greater Pentagram Ritual. However, there are notable changes to the attributions of the pentagrams (though not so much the symbolism of the archangels, as noted in the previous paragraph). While not mentioned explicitly in the text, the attributions are obvious by virtue of the calling of the god-names. Therion is roared like a lion (Leo), Nuit is spoken as a human (Aquarius), Babalon is hissed like a snake (one of the forms of Scorpio), and finally, Hadit is bellowed like a bull (Taurus). Since this is said to be a replacement for the Greater Pentagram Ritual, the sigil of Scorpio should probably be that of an eagle, though one could easily argue that it should be a snake (an eagle would be “cry”).

The Cross Qabalistic of the Star Ruby [156 Words]

To clarify a few points from yesterday’s post on the Star Ruby. When I stated “I do each line of the cross with one breath,” I meant the following: I raise my right hand above my forehead, inhale. I vibrate “Soi,” while touching my forehead. I bring my hand down to my groin and vibrate “O Phalle” and exhale any remaining breath. I inhale again and touch my right shoulder vibrating “Ischuros.” I touch my left shoulder while vibrating “Eucharistos” and exhale any remaining breath. I then stand in the sign of the cross and bring my hands together while vibrating “IAO.” Typically, I bring my hands together over my heart with palms pressed together.

My inspiration for vibrating words comes from Tibetan Chants. I try to have the sound originate in my stomach/torso such that it resonates with my entire body. I want my entire body to vibrate with the sounds I am making.

The Star Ruby [666 Words]

Earlier, I mentioned that theological argument tends to be a way to avoid engaging the material. Rather than experiencing the divine, one gets bogged down in arguing over how such an engagement should be experienced. In this way, it is much like listening to a virgin discuss the glories of sex. That being said, I do have opinions on these matters. I am just not interested in arguing them per se. I shall devote the next few longer entries on my practices, and how I perform them. You are, of course, free to emulate or ignore them as you will.

Three things I do daily, and are parts of de Cultu, are the Star Ruby, the Thelemic Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, and Resh. Today, I shall discuss the Star Ruby. I use the instructions given in Liber XXV. Since I learned to do this ritual in smaller spaces, I tend to circle in place rather than pace an outer circle. When performing publicly, I try to remember to move around more.

I start in the Sign of Silence, as described in the instruction. When I feel that I have gathered my forces, I dash my hand down so that it is angled to the floor and cry out “APO PANTOS KAKODAIMONOS.” The mental image is an explosive force radiating from my body and instantly cleansing the space. In my mind, the banishing has been accomplished by this singular act. The rest is, so to speak, merely locking the door.

I then do the Cross Qabalistic starting with my hand above my head. I do each line of the cross with one breath.

[Note 20160522: This symbolism is incorrect. The key to understanding the attributions of the quarters for the star ruby can be found in the instructions for calling each god-name: Roar (Lion:Leo) Therion, Say (Man:Aquarius) Nuit, Whisper (Serpent:Scorpio) Babalon, and Bellow (Bull:Taurus) Hadit. This was pointed out to me by DRJ.]

For the pentagrams of the quarters, I add symbolism from Liber V. I stand facing East, and visualize the sign of Taurus. I then visualize a banishing pentagram of Earth in the color of Earth (which for me is a dark green). Once this is stable, I roar “Therion” and visualize a green, bull headed man. This is to represent Therion in his Taurine aspect. Since he is horned, he is already in the “Vir” posture. I then make the sign of silence and turn counter-clockwise to the next quarter. I repeat this for each quarter with the following imagery. North has Aquarius and Air, thus a yellow pentagram around a yellow Aquarius symbol. Nuit is visualized as a young woman standing in the sign of Puella with an earthenware water jug on her back. The jug is large and ties her to the astrological sign of Aquarius. West is for Scorpio and Water, thus the pentagram is visualized as a dark blue Scorpio symbol surrounded by a dark blue pentagram. Babalon is visualized as standing in the sign of Mulier with a large scorpion at her feet and an Eagle flying between her outstretched arms. Finally, in the South we have Leo and Fire. The pentagram and sign are visualized in a dark Red. Hadit is visualized standing in the sign of Puer with a Lion’s head. All vocalizations are done as indicated, roar “Therion,” say “Nuit,” whisper “Babalon,” and cry “Hadit.”

From the center, I then do my “Paian” while performing the Signs of NOX. Most people seem to repeat “IO PAN” three times for each sign. This has always felt cumbersome to me. Instead, I do each sign in rapid succession crying “IO PAN” for each. This is just more comfortable for me. Thus I do Puella, Puer, Mulier, Vir, and Mater Triumphans while crying “IO PAN” for each sign.

I then recite the text, breaking for the quarter parts (”PRO MOU IUNGES” pause, etc) while standing in the LVX sign of Osiris Slain. I make the Sign of Osiris Risen for “ASTÉR TÕN EX ESTÉXE.” I then repeat the Cross Qabalistic and return to the sign of silence and end.

It has always struck me odd to repeat the banishing cry at this point, since the room is cleared. Repeating it won’t harm anything, but it seems pointless.

[More on The Cross Qabalistic of the Star Ruby]