Although I have no doubt that as I get deeper into Thelema, the veil will be rent and I will gain greater insight; but as it is now, I see that Crowley was simply well-educated on other spiritual systems, and developed a syncretic system that acknowledged the parallels between others. To me, this attempt at unification gives credence to underlying, original entities or energies that have been differently interpreted according to the worshiping culture.
However, you CAN go into pattern recognition overdrive.
QUOTE
Babalon for me feels like Kali Or Chamundi, strong and feminine.
Babalon is the Universal Divine Feminine, Binah, named after the mysterious woman riding the beast in revelation. The symbolism of the whore suggests one who accepts all, as one might expect of the ideal conceptual embodiment of feminine energy.
QUOTE
Hadit (Chaos) i've equated with various entities, as he represents the Slayer (Set/Shaitan) and the slain (Osiris/Jesus), he can be seen as Lucifer, the core of the Star, Shiva, the destroyer, as well as the creator, the Most Worshipful Grand Master Hiram Abiff. He is the hanging God, Odin, and the Trickster, Loki. He is also the Un-Holy Guardian Angel, called Aiwaz or Aivas by Crowley, that is the higher concioucness, the soul.
QUOTE
"I now incline to believe that Aiwass is not only the God or Demon or Devil once held holy in Sumer, and mine own Guradian Angel, but also a man as I am, insofar as He uses a human body to make His magical link with Mankind, whom He loves, and that He is thus an Ipsissimus, the Head of the A.'.A.'."
- Equinox of hte Gods
Tiphareth is the sephiroth most often conflated with Jesus, in my literary travels; I've seen it described as the "Christ center" in several books. Of course, since the Christian holy trinity places Jesus in the supernal triad, you get the impression that you can't harmonize every system perfectly, especially if they have arbitrarily changed a correspondence altogether. However, it does make sense to view Jesus - in his mythological role as the dying god - as a member of the supernal triad, and the duality this gives the Universal Divine Masculine does syncretize Judeo-Christian and Pagan interpretations.
By "the God or Demon or Devil once held holy in Sumer", I assume Crowley means the supreme God of Heaven, which would be Anu. Or, if we're talking about the God that created man, that would be Ea. Jumping from here to Gnosticism, Ea's correspondences connect to IAO, which is Ialdabaoth, the Demiurge / Abrasax / Set / Satan. Is this where you connect Hadit and Aiwass?
Also, how is Aiwass "unholy"? The message he delivered was the seed of the Holy Books of Thelema, not the UN-Holy Books of Thelema. If Satan is an actuating principle and part of the Supernal Triad, perhaps the term "unholy" is a bit inaccurate.
This "Devil" is called Satan or Shaitan, and regarded with horror by people who are ignorant of his formula, and, imagining themselves to be evil, accuse Nature herself of their own phantasmal crime. (Liber ABA)
This post has been edited by th0th: Apr 26 2010, 10:02 AM