LAZDIXI

Lazdixi, Part 13 of 91, first of LIT. Zodiacal King: Olpaged Ministers: 8630 Mundane association: Bactriane (Northern Afghanistan, southeast Turkemenazi)

While memorizing the names and sigil for this Part, I got an image of a large outcropping of rock jutting out from a grassland. The image went into a time-lapse mode. The grasslands dried out under the sun and turned to desert. The wind blew away the sand from around the outcropping, making more of it visible. Finally the wind eroded the outcropping until it took the form of a crouched lion, like the Egyptian Sphinx.

Friday, October 07, 1994 approximately 2:30 p.m.

Invoked Lazdixi according to the revised method.

The circle opened, and through it I could see a region of what would be called “high plains” in America. High plateaus interspersed with rolling hilly country. Sparse grass covered the flatter portions, with clumps of low bushes present, usually on the downhill sides of large boulders. Overall the region appeared arid, though a river could be seen running from west to east at some distance to the north. The sun shone with great intensity, but the air was cold, and a biting wind blew from the east.

A camel caravan appeared from the southwest, moving northeasterly to intersect the river. I could see the point it was aiming for; the river spread out and became shallow over an area of fine gravel. Obviously a well-used ford.

My viewpoint moved around to the north of the ford, looking south. A long line of forbidding mountains could be seen there, tapering off into more plains in the west. The land in between all sloped gradually in my direction.

Now the image of a lion's head appeared, huge and ghostly above the mountains. There was a strong impression that the spirit-lion held all this land as its territory, but that it held itself aloof, not deigning to insert itself into events there. A strong Leonian emanation came from it, and I spent several minutes just attuning myself to it and absorbing it.

[Looking back a week later, my memory gives the impression that the mountains were the body of the lion, so that it was half spiritual and half material. Or half transcendental and half finite. There is a sense of this lion crouched over the trade route like a house cat dozing over a trail of ants; aware of the movement in front of it, but not terribly impressed by it. None of these impressions were present at the time of the vision; they appeared only when I examined my memory of it.]

The caravan reached the ford and began to cross. Suddenly the ground began to shake in an earthquake. The rumbling and roaring seemed to contain the lion's voice hidden within it. The gravel of the ford shifted, and one of the camels became mired in it to the knees, breaking its leg in the process. Several other camels broke away and began a panicked run to the south, directly towards the lion. The remainder were brought under control by their handlers, who held them still and waited out the quake.

The camels who had run eventually fell into fissures opened by the quake, and died. The handlers took what was useable from the camel in the river, then killed it. The loads were rearranged on the remaining beasts, and the caravan continued to the northeast, towards Samarkand.

Now the voice spoke: “The voice of the Lion is the voice of the Sun, ruling over the wastelands of the spirit. Those who seek to cross his territory do so at their peril, for though he does not act or speak of himself, yet the whole world does speak with his voice. Even his own Word is imperiled therein, for the world cares not, but acts according to its nature.

“Oh ye who seek the spirit of God, beware! Oh ye who seek to bring the spirit to Man, beware! For herein are the material and the spirit of God both shattered into a million fragments in the shaking of the Voice. Can you hold your place, O Man, in the quaking of the world? Is your will steady and free of attachment, o Mage? If not, then all your works shall be as naught.

“That which arrives at journey's end is not that which began the journey. A child of that beginning, it may be, if all is done aright. But never is the thing itself brought undisturbed and intact through the travels. Look you:”

The scene changed to a more abstract plane. I seemed to be in some occult space which refined reality into a few essentials, sort of a laboratory miniature. To one side of the space, a diagram of the Tree of Life stood, as if as a key for reference during experiments. My viewpoint was at Chokmah, looking down the path of Sol towards Tiphereth.

What I saw next is difficult to describe meaningfully, though I saw it clearly.

First a concentrated point of Will was ejected downwards along the path of Sol. About a third of the way down, it seemed to hit an invisible wall and shattered. Sparks flew out in all directions along curving paths, like the trails of subatomic particles in a cloud chamber.

Next, a “beam” of Will was directed downwards. It was clear to my senses that the directing entity had the intent of producing a specific effect or form on a lower level, and was trying to control the way in which its will moved so as to produce that effect. Again, it reached about a third of the way down the path. This time the “beam” was split up into many different beams of different colors. These beams passed through the area of dispersion and recombined on the other side. They did seem to produce some effect there, but the effect was clearly not what the will-er had intended. I got the impression that it was distorted or perverted to the point of uselessness.

The third event was the most difficult of all to describe. It seemed that this hypothetical will-er was again sending downwards an intent to create; but this time it reached only so far as the point where the others dispersed. There it spread out into some pattern which did not directly reflect the original intent, but did maintain its cohesiveness.

But at the same time, this creator somehow caused a stimulation in the sphere of Tiphereth, producing a directed energy which rose upwards towards the midpoint. The effect this energy produced was an active willingness to respond to the downward-directed will, and to convert it into a form on the lower levels. This power of responsiveness rose up until it was almost at the same level as the pattern of Will. As they touched, all the finite substance in the area immediately re-configured itself so as to accurately reflect (as far as possible) the Will's pattern. This reconfiguration started at the point of contact and worked its way downward, changing at every level, until it came back to Tiphereth and manifested there as a centralized, cohesive entity. I got the impression that this final entity was exactly what the original intent had wanted produced, even though the intervening levels did not seem to reflect the original intent, but only the pattern it had created.

(I know I am not saying all this right, but it is the best I can do.)

The voice continued: “The meeting place between the finite and the transfinite is a problem not only for those who seek to cross it going upwards, but also for those who, from the higher level, seek to create something in the world. The will alone cannot truly create, for the stuff of the world has its own nature that does not, as yet, fully reflect that will.

“Thus in the first instance, when a creator simply formulated his will in its most compact form, and sent that will into the world, it did shatter and fail. And in the second instance, when he sought to control the manifestation directly across the interface, did it also fail.

“For an act of creation to succeed, it requires not only the [transcendental] Will, but an active readiness in the stuff of the [finite] world to respond to that will, to relate to the intent of that will and bring its various elements into a relationship which reflects that will.

“This directed readiness, this willingness to relate and to shape itself to the Other, is what we call Love. It arises not from the instincts or the emotions, or the intellect, but only from the heart. The Will alone will always fail, as will Love alone; neither by itself can fulfill the needs of Creation. But together, they produce the flowering of all Creation. Thus it is said that “Love is the Law, Love under Will”.

“Now, this combination may be attained in several ways. For those incarnate creators, such as yourself, it is often the case that his own being serves as both poles of the equation. He stands simultaneously in both the finite and the infinite. From the latter, he directs his creative will down into the worlds; from the former, he generates the magnetism of the heart that causes the world-stuff to respond to and reflect that will.

“The great god Heru-Ra-Ha is the symbol of this. For he contains within himself Had, a god of Chokmah as we have previously seen, and Ra, a god of this path of Sol, and Horus, who is the Son, and therefore Tiphereth. He is the archetype of all true creators, who stand in both worlds at once. (There is another, related interpretation of Him, as you know.)

“Other great creators choose not to embody both poles in themselves. Instead, they themselves stand wholly within the transcendental realms, sending their will downwards. And they seek out disciples, cooperating beings of a lower level of initiation, to be the lesser pole. The combined souls of these disciples, seeking to respond to the divine impulse of (as they think it) their deity, bring down and manifest the creative impulse, through their love of the divine.

“Of this second sort, the creation of the Thelemic current of magick is the best recent example. For Crowley, though he claimed to be the Magus of the current, was not truly its creator; he was only the prophet, the fore-speaker, who brought word of this creation into the minds of men, showing them that there was an opportunity available to participate in an act of divine creation. It was not Crowley's work, but the response and the seeking of those who heard his words, that truly established the Thelemic current.

“We have said enough for now, and see that you have business that must be attended. Re-invoke later, if you will, or stop and comment upon what has been said. But think also on this in your meditations, for if you are to become a true creator you must understand it fully within yourself.

“We are done.”

(Continuing about 3:45 p.m….)

“Now there are many and subtle things that might be said about this Part, but we will say only a few.

“First the Tarot Card, which reflect in its own way the principles which we speak of. For at the top of the card is the Sun, the creator shining the light of his will onto the lower worlds. And below him is the ring-pass-not which divides (and unites) the transcendental and the finite realms from each other. This ring is being torn down by such as yourself, and will vanish in future times.

And below the ring, is there not the symbol of human love? Male and female joined together in joy and love, in the delight of play under the Sun. And is not the play of children commonly so, that they take some vision of things as they are in the world of adults, and act it out within the more limited reach of their own realm? They take the will-to-be of the adult, and make it their own will-to-become, exactly as the disciple takes the will of the creator.

“Thus is love under will expressed in this card.

“Another thing to be considered is the reason why creation always stems from the transcendental level. Those who act on lower levels do not truly create, save when they receive an inspiration from the divine, and translate it into the worlds as Art. All else is simply the repetition of patterns and capabilities already present, mere elaboration, however marvelous it seems.

“The substance of the four worlds of matter – that is, of the physical, astral, intellectual and image spheres – is purely responsive. Its responses are marvelously complex, but without the continued insertion of power from some outside source, they quickly devolve into inertness. Thus if the power of the sun were withdrawn from the earth, all would eventually freeze and die. Similarly on the inner levels.

“The substance of the three worlds of relationship, of Love, are more active in their seeking, but their nature is to transfer power from above to below, not to generate it themselves. They create an intermediate vehicle for the divine will, a vehicle which in its turn stimulates the material worlds into activity. ”

(This vehicle is a soul or some other centralized entity in Tiphereth. A soul magnetically influences the stuff of lower worlds, causing it to bring a creation into matter.)

“New things do arise within the lower worlds, for the elements of chance and randomness are intrinsic to their nature, and the interactions of various created beings and things produce many complications and elaborations not inherent in the original impulses of Will that created them. This is the lower nature of Horus, Ra-Hoor-Khuit, in which conflict between beings causes an endless unfolding of unusual aspects of creation. But these must either be in line with one of the existing currents of creative activity, or must be seized by some creator for the potential he perceives in them. Otherwise, they live for a time and dissolve back into the general noise of existence.

“The transcendental Will is the only source of new creative activity within any of the worlds; being transcendent, it is not limited, has no defined characteristics, and therefore can go beyond what is to what may be. The lower worlds are all defined; they are substance containing definite, and therefor limiting, natures. Each can only act in accord with its nature. But the Will modifies that nature, adds to the capabilities of the substance, makes them more than they were.”

At this point I felt the power was waning, and decided to cut things off.

Seer's comments:

According to my atlas, the opening scene is an accurate description of conditions in the Bactrian region, though no doubt the image was somewhat compressed compared to the reality.

Lazdixi is the first Part to be governed by Olpaged, Zodiacal King of Leo in the system being used. But the vision clearly relates to the path of the Sun, which connects Chokmah with Tiphereth. The aspect of that path being considered here is somewhat higher than that seen in the previous Part, Pothnir.

The Bactrian region is used as a metaphor for the Wasteland, an equivalent of the so-called “Abyss” in certain versions of the Grail myth. A portion of the ancient trade route to China becomes the path of Sol. And a ford in a river becomes the functional equivalent of the false sephira Da'ath, where things fall apart. Note the fine gravel, the shattered remains of previous destruction.

A caravan becomes either a creative impulse moving downwards into matter, or a human soul reaching upwards into the spirit; all depends on the viewpoint chosen. Samarkand, central stop of the trade route, is the goal of this caravan, so probably it is an impulse moving down to the central sephira Tiphereth.

A sphinx rules over this wasteland; and like the traditional sphinx, it challenges travelers. Not with riddles; the sound of its voice is apparently a sufficient challenge. But there is a riddle implicit in the situation nonetheless, as shown in the abstract lessons that follow. The riddle is, how to send a creative impulse of divine Will from Chokmah into the lower worlds, in such a way that its intent is not destroyed in the region of the Abyss?

The abstract lessons show that sheer force of Will is not enough, no matter whether that will is sent in a single pulse, or as a continuing flow of will-to-control. A complementary impulse, originating from below, is required for the Will to make itself known in the finite worlds.

Some difficulties in the transit from the divine to the finite levels are discussed, and it is shown how these are overcome through the Thelemic law of “Love under Will”. The phrase is shown to not only be a philosophical principle, but a necessity of the process of divine creation. And that this is true both for the lone Magus, and for beings of higher levels.

(As a practical matter, I believe this vision indicates that the proper mode of creation involves sending energy from the heart chakra and the ajna chakra into the throat chakra, and there combining them, so that the voice of the mage embodies both their powers.)

The part following the interruption is educational but not terribly significant, IMO. There was a lot shown that was not contained within the words, and which I couldn't translate or retain myself. So the potential import was lost.

As an aside, it might be noted that the Bactrian region was historically one where shattered order was the rule. Under the Persians it was chronically rebellious, splitting off from their empire several times. It was one of the last regions conquered by Alexander the Great prior to his death and the dissolution of his empire.

And today, as northern Afghanistan, it is a region where tribal and, even more, family loyalties are given a higher place than any larger community. Towns and cities in the region are really nothing more than collections of family enclaves, walled off from each other and guarded with a zealous paranoia. This fragmentation seems to me to accord with the conditions given in the vision. As one American reporter remarked on returning from the region, “The Russians should have known better than to invade a place where people fight wars for fun.”