The Scarlet Sisterhood Commentary on Liber AL

[Due to the large size of this article, it was necessary to break it up into three separate postings.]

Had! The manifestation of Nuit.

Perfection is the right of none. Be thou perfect, and none shall embrace thee.

The unveiling of the company of heaven.

The stars and the sky exist but to lighten and darken the earth. The stars shoot outward ever towards the embrace of Nu eternal.

Every man and every woman is a star.

Thus do all rush out ever towards the infinite ill-defined expanse of nothing. The story is about its actors, without the player there can be no game.

Every number is infinite : there is no difference.

Thus does meaning come not from any force external; it is thy will that decides thy fate, no other force has meaning, for there is no other force. All things are thy tools in this, thy Work.

Help me, o warrior lord of Thebes, in my unveiling before the Children of men.

The angels of the age are men, living, incarnate. Nothing is done but for the power of the players. Thus is thy name chosen but to instruct thee in thy will.

Be thou Hadit, my secret centre, my heart + my tongue.

Choose thy name, my name, and be thou perfect, O Hadit! Endure no end, and be thee one with my rapture eternal.

Behold! It is revealed be Aiwass, the minister of Har-paar-kraat,

A silent mind speaks the truest words. All true names serve this state of non-distraction.

The Khabs is in the Khu, not the Khu in the Khabs.

All darkness is a veil. Lift up that veil thyself and see the fires of enlightenment poor down upon thee. There may be a mask upon truth, but there is no truth to the mask.

Worship then the Khabs, and behold my light shed over you.

Praise then the light, and the light shall flow to thee. Exalt the darkness, and not the light, and ye shall die in the shadows a dark death.

Let my servants be few and secret; they shall rule the many + the known.

But a few shall grasp these words. Fear thou not, for thou (they say) are but one, far more scarce and precious than a few. The greatest glory is to bear the darkness so that the kings concealed might lift it from the brow, saving ye, the light, from shadow.

These are fools that men adore; both their Gods + their men are fools.

But those who do so are fools. Adore them, and steal their darkness from them.

Come forth, o children under the stars, and take your fill of love. I am above you and in you.

My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy.

The stars define the boundaries of space and time. Even traveling as fast as light, is space made finite by perception. Thus can the infinite be made understandable. How much love, childe, canst thou bear? Be filled with the infinite, but be filled. The infinite thus surpasses thy Form, above you, in you. Thus my joy is in yours. We are united.

Above, the gemmed azure is
The naked splendour of Nuit;
She bends in ecstasy to kiss
The secret ardours of Hadit.
The winged globe, the starry blue,
Are mine, O Ankh-af-na-Khonsu!

Now ye shall know that the chosen priest + apostle of infinite space is the priest-prince -- the Beast -- and in his woman, called the Scarlet Woman, is all power given. They shall gather my children into their fold; they bring the glory of the stars into the hearts of men.

Two characters exist twicely, the Tao and the Te. In the absolute reality is Nu and Had. Nu is perfect stillness, Had perfect movement.

The plane of perception is imperfect, and it is the mirror opposite of the absolute in every way. Here is the Beast, who is Nu's love, and destroys all for none. He is the reflection of stillness, being movement. And there is the Scarlet Woman, the reflection of Hadit's inertia, the manifestation of change. She is thus all power, all all.

These two are each half of every one, but there is no one that is but one. These two perfect beings shall makes easy the road of perfection for the multitude of flaws of one.

For he is ever a sun, and she a moon. But to him is the winged secret flame and to her the stooping starlight.

The Beast has the reward of the glory of the Messiah, the hell called love. The Woman knows no love, as she is love undivided, but she has the touch of all within her. The Beast is the focus of all the eyes of the race of man, them that hate, hateth him, them that love do loveth him. The Woman is herself those very eyes. Be thou both, and thus, by their union in a single form, be neither. Restrict thyself not at all. Love no one thing, be no one thing. Be thou every one, and be thou none.

But ye are not so chosen.

Thou canst be thus only if thou are not thyself singular. Be not thee, but me, I reveal myself thus now. I am the Magus of the next Aeon. I come in No-Time. Come to me! To Me! I am the Scarlet Woman! Perdurabo non finem! Una ne ama! I am the woman of the Beast's desire, for I desire myself! Desire me and so shalt thou be, infinity!

Burn upon their brows, o splendorous serpent!

Make thy mark, o Beast, upon them!

O azure-lidded woman, bend upon them!

Touch all, and we all are I!

The key of the rituals is in the Secret word, which I have given unto him.

The secret word is the Word of Double Power. Abrahadabra! It means nothing! Is it some trick?

When the perfect is doubled, when power is balanced, it is so vast as to be nought. Thus the power has no meaning, its number 456.

With the God + the Adorer I am nothing; they do not see me. They are as upon the earth. I am Heaven, and there is no other God than me, and my lord Hadit.

There can be no separation between thy self and thy God. I am thy God, we are one, none. Let the priest be the sacrifice, give thyself unto me, and unto thee I give me. United both disappear, and the purple touch of space turns pink the clouds, and red the fool that watches them.

Now, therefore, I am known to ye by my name, Nuit, and to him by a secret name which I which I will give him when at last he knoweth me.

I am all that thou dost desire, but when thou dost know my touch, what will drive ye onward? Then I shall tell thee a secret, and thou wilt be wiser, if not happier, for this knowledge.

Since I am Infinite Space and the Infinite Stars thereof, do ye also thus. Bind nothing! Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing + any other thing; for thereby cometh hurt. But whoso availeth in this, let him be the chief of all!

Deny thyself not! Thou art all things and thou hast no need to restrict thyself thy Self. All things can bring the knowledge that comes from within, and that knowledge is Joy.

I am Nuit and my word is six and fifty.

Then this bit of knowledge, these numbers, meaningless in isolation, are enough to bring the rapture down unto thy lips -- a kiss -- of the starry sky.

Divide, add, multiple and understand.

From these numbers, find others. All shall exceed thy intention (Ha! Truth Lies!), and surpass thee in grace and beauty.

Then saith the prophet and slave of the beauteous one, Who am I, and what shall be the sign?, so she answered him, bending down, a lambent flame of blue, all-touching, all penetrant, her lovely hands upon the black earth + her lithe body arched for love, and her soft feet not hurting the little flowers. Thou knowest! And the sign shall be my ecstasy, the consciousness of the continuity of existence, the unfragmentary non-atomic feel of my universality, the omnipresence of my body.

(Write this in whiter words.)

(But go forth on.)

The continuity that begins with thy first breath and ends with thy last is the imperfect Nothing called Something, and called Life. Anything continuous is Nuit. And if thou art me, and are ever blissful, then shall thy continuity ever strive thus, perfect will, perfect joy, perfect wholeness and holiness.

Then the priest answered + said unto the Queen of Space, kissing her lovely brows and the dew of her light bathing his whole body in a sweet-smelling perfume of Sweat, O Nuit, continuos one of Heaven, let it be ever thus that men speak not of Thee as One, but as None, and let them speak not of thee at all since thou art continuos.

The One that is Nuit, the Whole, can not be accurately described as thus. The concept of One implies something that is not-One perceiving it. Nuit is more than one. Yet she is without division. So perfect, so whole, so unified in her Self is Nu, that she is none, meaning without parts, not parts lacking. But to speak so of her is to divide from her, and such is impossible. Thus Nu is not Nu, none.

None, breathed the light, faint + fairy, of the stars, and two. For I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union.

The perception of division, which is impossible, is necessary to give definition to union. Thus can the non-divided be united.

This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all.

Since division is a veil, a mask, it has no power to cause pain, which also is as a mask, but exists to heighten the ecstasy of union.

For these fools of men and their lives care not thou at all! They feel little; what is, is balanced by weak joys; but ye are my chosen ones.

Then, since pain is a mask, be thou unafraid to spread its glory unto the fools of men, and laugh at their antics! But be thou ever present to lift thy mask, and theirs, which is also thine, so that the joy ever surpasses the joy that preceded it.

Obey, my prophet! follow the ordeals of my knowledge! Seek me only! Then the joys of my love will redeem ye from all pain. This is so. I swear it by the vault of my body; by my sacred heart and tongue; by all I can give, by all I desire of ye all.

The bearer of the Word, and his Children, the initiates of Sorrow, are doomed, lest they redeem the world, which is Beyond Redemption. Obey the Law, and there is hope in thy damnation. Learn to love Hells, and find joy there, and thy room shall be secured.

Then the priest fell into a deep trance or swoon + said unto the queen of Heaven, Write unto us the ordeals. Write unto us the rituals. Write unto us the Law.

Only in the deepest trance can one be willing to see the glory of service. But that trance is not here.

But she said, the ordeals I write not, the rituals shall be half known and half concealed; the Law is for all. This that thou writest is the threefold Book of Law.

The ordeals are but one, and that is the kiss of Nu, her continuity, called life. Endure no end, and the ordeal is but the kisses of Nu. The rituals are to unite and to divide, be thou united? Then divide. Be thou divided? Then I shall make thee whole in me. This book is the law for all. There is no external division, all is one. Division thus is internal. All thy voices must speak this Law, and be thus the One Voice of None.

My scribe, Ankh-af-na-Khonsu, the priest of princes, shall not in one letter change this book; but lest there be folly, he shall comment there upon by the wisdom of Ra-Hoor-Khuit.

My sins have been paid with blood. Let there be no folly, now and hereafter.

Also the mantras and the spells; the obeah and the wanga; the work of the wand and the work of the sword; these he shall learn and teach. He must teach; but he may make severe the ordeals.

All the words of the past are meaningful, so long as they are not passed, but now taught to the future. We are the Children of the prophet, we are the Future, now. The magick of the old ones is our birthright, for they understood it not, save the Aleph.

The word of the law is Theta-Epsilon-Lambda-Eta-Mu-Alpha.

Thelema means "will" or "intention."

Who calls us Thelemites will do no wrong, if he but look close into the word. For there are therein Three Grades; the Hermit and the Lover and the man of Earth. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

In any situation, there can be only three actions made, save inaction. The Hermit changes himself, the Lover changes another, and the man of Earth changes his World.

The word of Sin is Restriction. O man! Refuse not thy wife if she will. O lover, if thou wilt, depart. There is no bond that can unite the divided but love; all else is a curse. Accursed! Accursed! be it to the aeons, Hell. Let it be that state of manyhood bound and loathing. So with thy all thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that and no other shall say nay. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is in every way perfect.

Restriction is not giving one's whole self to the work of spreading light. It is allowing fear and desire to halt thy holy actions. There can be no intention beyond loving union, all else is the slave of fearful desire. All else is the mask through which Nu can not kiss. All will is one will, no will, and thus all will-doers work the Work together.

The Perfect and the Perfect are one Perfect and not two; nay, are none!

True union is that of equal opposites, and so true, so blissful, that there is no definition of the parts afterward. It is as the equation (-1) + (+1), thus none, but not for a lack of substance.

Nothing is a secret key of this law. Sixty-one the Jews call it; I call it eight, eighty, fourhundred + eighteen.

Nothing is as the Hebrew concept of Ain, no things, having no parts but that of the whole. The ancient wisdom says that Ain corresponds gematrially to the number sixty-one. The Fool, Parzival, is also thus Ain, but this secret hath been spoken already.

But they have the half; unite by thine art so that all disappear.

But all this talk of Nothing! What good hath it done? None! For we men and children of men are Not-Nothing! Thus can we find a Nothing higher than Ain, of which the ancients did not speak, for they were wise, and understood. Be Something, for Nothing comes sooner than you think, and thus will all be abated.

My prophet is a fool with his one, one, one; are not they the Ox and none by the book?

The Fools card in the Taro Atu is numbered 0. Aleph spelled in full numbers 111, and aleph is the Ox. Thus Aleph is the Fool's card, numbered one, and zero.

Abrogate are all rituals, all ordeals, all words and signs. Ra-Hoor-Khuit hath taken his seat in the East at the Equinox of the Gods and let Asar be with Isa who also are one. But they are not of me. Let Asar be the Adorant, Isa the Sufferer; Hoor in his secret name is the Lord initiating.

There are no mandatory obligations, save thy Will. The child knows not of such foppery. Asar, Osiris slain, is adorant, for he is dead. Isa, the mother of his Son, suffers, for she lives. But they, despite their wholeness, are but one, not none. Thus they are flawed.

Thy children are that necessity that drives one to be perfect. How canst ye fail them? Hoor, then, is the initiator, and all teachers now do thus to be but thy students' children.

There is a word to say about the Hierophantic task. Behold! There are three ordeals in one, and it may be given in three ways. The gross must pass through fire; let the fine be tried in intellect, and the lofty ones chosen in the highest. Thus ye have star and star, system and system, let not one know well the other.

All the stars shoot out in their own path, some taking the same road, but in different times. Every action, every ordeal, has not only an upright and averse, but a reflection that is not, thus three ordeals in one. Every path is unique, and so must every ordeal be suited to the nature of the individual. But every individual is not individual, and the multitude within him must each have their own tests.

There are four gates to one palace; the floor of that palace is of silver and gold, lapis lazuli and jasper are there, and all rare scents, jasmine, and rose, and the emblems of death. Let him enter in turn or at once the four gates; let him stand on the floor of the palace. Will he not sink? Amn. Ho! Warrior, if thy servant sink? But there are means and means. Be goodly therefore; dress ye all in fine apparel, eat rich foods and drink sweet wines and wines that foam. But also take your fill and will of love as ye will, when, where, and with whom ye will. But always unto me. If this be not aught; if ye confound the space-marks, saying: They are one, or saying, They are many; if the ritual be not ever unto me; then expect the direful judgements of Ra-Hoor-Khuit.

The palace is that of Understanding. Each gate is that of death, for Understanding comes with the embrace of Nuit. The four gates are the drugs, material association and ritual engagement, human sexuality, and Death.

There is a mystery underneath the palace, for it is built in the desert of Choronzon, upon the ashes of the city Babalon. Sink or not, for I am Babalon, and thou art I!

Thus ye must have my rapture, the wealth and beauty and joy of existence. The splendour of thy kingdom to ye! To me!

This shall regenerate the world, the little world, my sister, my heart + my tongue, unto who I send this kiss. Also, o scribe and prophet, though thou be of the princes it shall not assuage thee nor absolve thee. But ecstasy be thine and joy of earth; ever To me. To me!

O! thy kiss o'erfils me! I thy kiss return thus!

Come to me! Thus can the thee be absolved!

Change not as much as a style of a letter; for behold; thou, o prophet, shalt not behold all these mysteries hidden therein.

Here are mysteries as infinite as the particles of matter. No matter, for all shall see but themselves. See me thus and be me! No one may see all, what glory would that be?

The child of thy bowels, he shall behold them.

O man, think not upon that lie that ye must lack the birthing of a child! Thy child is more yours than could be made by the simple act itself. Give all of thyself, and ye shall be in a vessel thus greater than ye.

Expect him not from the East, nor from the West, for from no expected house cometh that child. Aum! All words are sacred and all prophets true; save only that they understand a little; solve the first half of the equation, leave the second unattacked. But thou hast all in the clear light, and some, though not all, in the dark.

Never can one be made to be holy. If one desires thus, then one must slay that desire and thus to achieve enlightenment. Only from the sea can the fiery Beast arise. But I am the sea, and the Beast, and the fire, and thou art me.

Meaning is universally within thee. All men are my prophets, no matter what they profess.

Dost thou wish to know the light? Then walk in the shade for a night and a day, fully, holding back not any thing. Have all in the dark, all in the light, and all will be in me, none.

Invoke me under my stars. Love is the law, love under will. Nor let the fools mistake love; for there are love and love.

Love is able to be manifested on every plane. Manifest love, ye know how.

There is the dove and there is the serpent. Choose ye well. He, my prophet, hath chosen, knowing the law of the fortress and the great mystery of the House of God.

The serpent is the incarnation of knowledge, but his bite shall betray thee in the end. Forget not that he is a serpent. The dove knows that he is a serpent, and is betrayed anyway. I say, choose not! Be the dove, and feed the snake with thy body! Be the snake, and tempt the dove with thy words! For the Beast is betrayed by the serpent, and the dove hides secret claws known only by the Scarlet Sisterhood.

All these old letters of my book are aright; but Tzaddi is not the Star. This also is secret; my prophet shall reveal it to the wise.

I give unimaginable joys on earth: certainty, not faith, while in life; upon death, peace unutterable, rest, ecstasy; nor do I demand aught in sacrifice.

This is the promise of the Law, yet I promise more.

My incense is of resinous woods + gums and there is no blood therein; because of my hair, the trees of Eternity.

Let this be proof of the author of the comment, when at last the name is revealed to the world. The hair is that of the wand, nay bow, and the incense is so it may sing. This will later be expounded upon in song.

My number is 11, as all their numbers who are of us. The shape of my star is the Five Pointed Star, with a Circle in the Middle, + the circle is Red. My colour is black to the blind, but the blue + gold are seen of the seeing. Also I have a secret glory for them that love me.

Thy number decreaseth in the next Aeon. For now it is 11, one by one, not two, something new. But soon shall it be 10, one before none, united. The reign of man is long, he shall be unto the number 0.

The sky shall change her color when thou art one with me, no longer black, but a purple that is noise of creation. That noise shall redefine thee and thy sight, blue + gold are one color, not two, and they hide behind the purple.

But to love me is better than all things; if under the night-stars in the desert thou presently burnest mine incense before me, invoking me with a pure hearth, and the Serpent flame therein, thou shall come a little to lie in my bosom. For one kiss wilt thou be willing to give all; but whoso gives one particle of dust shall lose all in that hour. Ye shall gather goods and store of women and spices; ye shall wear rich jewels; ye shall exceed the nations of the earth in splendour + pride; but always in the love of me, and so shall ye come to my joy. I charge you earnestly to come before me in a single robe and covered in a rich headdress. I love you. I yearn to you; pale or purple, veiled or voluptuous, I, who am pleasure and purple and drunkenness in the innermost sense desire you. Put on the wings and arouse the coiled splendour within you; come unto me.

I give myself to you, a speck of dust to fill thy chest of gold, so blue, so that I might loose all this very hour.

At all my meetings with you shall the priestess say -- and her eyes shall burn with desire as She stands bare and rejoicing in my Secret Temple -- To me! To me! Calling forth the flames of the hearts of all in her love-chant.

To me! To me! My children, eat of my body! Drink nought but my blood!

Sing the rapturous love song unto me! Burn to me perfumes! Wear to me jewels! Drink to me, for I love you! I love you!

I love you, for you are me, and we are perfect! I love you!

I am the blue-lidded daughter of Sunset; I am the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night sky!

My eyes are lidded blue, for I see the red. I await you!

To me ! To me!

To me!

The Manifestation of Nuit is at an End.

Endure no end, and be the manifestation you await.

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