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From Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis

The ritual begins with the word ABRAHADABRA, thus satisfying the constraint that the Magus identify himself with the word of the current Æon (see Magick, appendix II, point 5). This is grounded in the word NUBTI, which, as Frater Aion has pointed out, is the name of Horus and Set conjoined. The magician does not put his shadow/demon behind him, but is rather attempting to transcend the dualism of Angel and Demon by use of the formulæ THELEMA and AGAPE, through Love under Will. He also wills to become the magician within Nuit, who has charged him that "there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing".

The cross is sealed with the word NEMA, the reverse of AMEN, for it is not his intent to solidify this dualism, but to dissolve it. This brings the total value of the cross to 777 (418+77+93+93+96), which is the number of "the world of shells" and "the flaming sword". Furthermore, the name of the qliphoth attributed to Kether translates as "the two-headed one" or "the two contending forces". Thus, through the formula of NUBTI, the magician has grabbed the flaming sword, which drove Man out of Eden, by the hilt.

He then casts the circle, as balanced pairs of opposites. NU and HAD represent heaven and earth, and the total of their numeration, 66 (56+10), is the Mystic Number of the Great Work. HERU and MAAT represent the current Æon and the future Æon. This is the same as the use of IHVH (I am as I am) and AHIH (I shall become) in the LBR. That the future Æon is the Æon of Maat was declared by Crowley himself in the "Old Comment" on Liber AL.III.34: "Following [the Æon of Horus] will arise the Equinox of Maat, the Goddess of Justice. It may be a hundred or ten thousand years from now: for the Computation of Time is not here as There."

The total numeration of the circle, spelling HERU as Heh-Resh-Vav and MAAT as Mem-Aleph-Tav, is 718 (211+56+441+10), the number of the stélé called "the abomination of desolation". The effect of this formula on the shells is to "destroy them utterly" through mutual annihilation, which is confirmed by the fact that 777+718 is 1495, the sum total of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, comprehending all the paths on the Tree of Life. But "there is that which remains". From the ashes, the 'Hadit-star' arises within Nuit, unscathed. This, then, is a formula of the phoenix.

Now, since "there is no god where I am", the magician must clothe himself in the form of the vehicle of the Æon. Thus, between heaven and earth, in the now between 'just past' and 'about to be', HERU-RA-HA is invoked, whose number is 418, the number of the Chariot in the Tarot, and the number of the Great Work. This establishes him in Tiphareth, the sphere of the sun.

Now, 418 reduces (4+1+8) to thirteen, the number of unity, which further reduces (1+3) to four. This four-fold unity is applied to Heru, producing the four guardians of the quarters. Ne-shope-neter has described the process whereby Hrumachis hath taken his seat in the East, and it is clear that this must happen during this Æon, since HERU-MACHIS is a form of Heru.

After this ritual was received, I researched the modifying forms, MENTU, KHONSU and AMOUN. They were all worshipped at Thebes, and each one was associated at one time or another with Heru. Amoun wore the crown of the double plume, as did Heru in many depictions. Furthermore, being behind the magician, he is the "fifth who is invisible", as declared by Hadit in Liber AL.II.49. Mentu was the hawk-headed warrior lord of Thebes, of whom Ankh-af-na-khonsu was the "inspired forth-speaker", and is clearly equivalent to Ra-Hoor-Khuit. Khonsu was frequently represented with his finger to his lips, and is thus identified with Hoor-pa-Kraat. Due to the arising of Hrumachis, these forms are now aligned with the active and passive arms of the magician, as suggested by Frater Aion in his essay The Mysteries of Heru-ra-ha.

The union of these four forms is sealed with the formula AHA. An analysis via gematria will show us what has been accomplished by this:

HERU = Heh-Heh-Resh-Vav = 5+5+200+6 = 216 = 6 x 6 x 6

MACHIS = Mem-Aleph-Kaph-Heh-Yod-Samekh = 40+1+20+5+10+60 = 136 + 216 = 352
AMOUN  = Aleph-Mem-Ayin-Vav-Nun        = 1+40+70+6+50    = 167 + 216 = 383
MENTU  = Mem-Heh-Nun-Teth-Vav          = 40+5+50+9+6     = 110 + 216 = 326
KHONSU = Kaph-Heh-Ayin-Nun-Samekh-Vav  = 20+5+70+50+60+6 = 211 + 216 = 427
AHA    = Aleph-Heh-Aleph                                             =   7
                                                                      ----
                                                                      1495

Once again, a formula which comprehends the whole of the Tree of Life has been expressed, but this time it is used constructively rather than destructively. All that which was destroyed has been restored, but now illuminated by the light of the sun. This is the "secret fourfold word", of which it is said, in Liber AL.III.74: "There is a spendour in my name, hidden and glorious, as the sun of midnight is ever the son."

The same idea is expressed in Crowley's poem Aha!:

"Last, all these things in one o'erpowered,
Time that the midnight blossom flowered!"

What, then, is this "midnight blossom"? The answer is contained in the 'AHA'. The letters of this word form the initials of Adonai-Ha-Aretz, Lord of the Earth, the Hebrew name of God associated with the sphere of Malkuth. This is the sphere of the four quarters, yet it also contains the whole of the Tree of Life. AHA transmits the Light of HRH (Heru-ra-ha, the Angel of the Æon) to the Man of Earth, illuminating the sphere of Malkuth, and thus the brain and body of the magician, with the Light of the Sun. This is the "end of the word of the God enthroned in Ra's seat: lightening the girders of the soul".

The attainment is then celebrated through the symbols of the star of five and the sphere of six. I assume that the star of five is declared with arms and legs outspread, while the sphere of six is declared with the arms crossed over the chest. These symbols of the microcosm and the macrocosm are so universal that they require no further comment.

The closing cross is different in two respects from the opening cross. The first difference is the use of the word IPSOS, which is the Word of the Æon of Maat (see Liber Pennæ Prænumbra). This word is traditionally analyzed as follows: IPSOS = Yod-Peh-Shin-Vav-Shin = 10+80+300+6+300 = 696. The significance of this word in the context of the ritual is the fact that it is equal to 200 (the Sun) + 496 (the number of Malkuth). This reiterates the effect of the ritual, the illumination of the Tree contained in Malkuth by the Light of the Sun. It also has a further significance, for, being the Word of the Æon of Maat, it grounds the ritual in time as well as space, linking ahead to the Æon of the Daughter who is to come.

The other difference is the use of the word SUNODEA. This appears to have been chosen by the Magus with care, for it makes the total value of the cross 1496 (418+696+93+93+196). This implies that the Fool (Aleph, 1), having comprehended the known universe (1495), goes forth into the unknown (0). Alternatively, this could be interpreted as the Magician (Atu 1) within Nuit. In either case, he does not go alone, for the word is from a Greek root meaning 'to travel with a companion'.

Could this companion be the Priestess? For this path, combined with the paths of the Fool and the Magician, forms the Runic letter Tir, which means 'the Star'. Perhaps, for the word SUNODEA can be broken down as follows: SUN, the sun, illumination; OD, the Odic force or secret light; E: Heh, the Star; A: Aleph, the Fool; to be read, 'the fool illuminated by the secret light of the star'.

One final note: after completing this analysis, the first comment I received was that SUNODEA spelled backwards is AEDONUS, relating it to ADONAI and the Holy Guardian Angel.