My motto, its letters and Magical Progress
Dear Earnest Reader,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
The "L" in Lateralus is represestative of lamed, the balance. By combining a force with its opposite, balancing it against it we create the movement of force, as with the union of a man and woman, the war that results from opposing viewpoints, and our conscious, architectural manipulation of those forces. This is aleph, the whirling swastika, the creative force of nature, the life of the world. We use this to build beth, the house of the magician. "L" is also one arm of the swastika, which by paring it with its opposite initiates the process of creation that creates the four, then the sixteen and on to the 10,000 things. The swastika is also "der reine thor", the pure fool of Parsifal. It is myself choosing to live the life I want to live, to do whatever I desire, without regard for an end, and by that redeeming that which must be redeemed and becoming wise.
As an artist and a magician that idea of life without end or not being held to a particular standard is very important to keep me free and open. All to often people desire to become something in particular. They desire an identity. They must have a label for themselves. Artists do this by taking on big projects or careers early on and trying to force their nature to fit them. Your work in the A.'.A.'. is to gain a scientific knowledge of the nature and powers of your own being. This cannot be done without experimentation. You must wander. You must get lost. It is my opinion that the A.'.A.'. and magicians generally, forsake this necessary self-exploration for a forced tank building project. This is a recipe for building robots, not men and women. True, our work IS a very long ritual ultimately culminating in knowledge and conversation. But you will be of no use to your angel and of little use to your students if when you get there your pantacle looks like someone took a bite out of it. And how do you expect to instruct your students in knowing themselves if you have not done so yourself?
Altogether they are "33" which is significant as the year in life that Jesus was crucified. The new aeon is not disconnected from the ways of the past. You might say it is like the result of the chemical transformation of the last age. L.A.B. than symbolizes the movement from the last aeon into the new one. And those that study the song and the transformation that it describes will see that is what the song describes, by being completely receptive to the will of God (from a place of suffering and disconnection) as christ is described as being, one is capable of unifying with it. The water of receptivity, christ vigilantly adhering to the cross, becomes the fire of the new age.
I have been told the probationer degree is technically not on the tree. It is also considered to be a very difficult journey. While there is no expressed requirement to endure any kind of suffering, moving out of darkness and into the light, for many of us is very painful. We are instructed to drive on, in service to mankind as to ourselves, as Jesus did on his way to Golgotha.
I realize this association with the religion of the old aeon makes a lot of thelemites uncomfortable. There is actually a movement in our community to distance ourselves from it, and in the most absurd ways. Crowley may have been critical of Christianity but he acknowledged its importance and even used its metaphors to describe the functions of the various weapons in Book 4.
Perhaps on a more personal level it is significant as my own religious history is Catholic, and that of the people whose lives are generally connected with mine also Christian. L.A.B. is a banner to them in a language they understand, to take up their own cross, as I have done, and to make that journey to their own hell, the center of their being, through the gates of Hades, to find liberation.
You descend into that hell, the dark fire of your determined existence, by knowing yourself, and gaining power of the deep recesses of your being through magick, yoga and whatever other methods you derive.
Love is the law, Love under will.
Sincerely Yours,
L.A.B. 0=0 A.'.A.'.
2nd Degree OTO
Frater Progradior