Liber XV

Notes:

[Lao-tzu] Lao-tzu was the founder of Taoism and reputed author of the Tao te Ching. This and the next seven names are the eight great prophets. Why is he important?

[Siddhartha] Siddhartha is Gautama Buddha, the Supreme Buddha. Why is he important?

[Krishna] Krishna is a Hindu god, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. Why is he important?

[Tahuti] Tahuti is the Egyptian god Thoth. Why is he important?

[Mosheh] Mosheh, Moses, was a founding prophet of Judaism. Why is he important?

[Dionysus] Dionysus is a Greek god, father of civilization and a lawgiver, and a god of religious mystery rites. Why is he important?

[Mohammed] Mohammed was the founder of Islam. Why is he important?

[To Mega Therion] "To Mega Therion, "The Great Beast", is Aleister Crowley. Here, he is the last of the prophets of the various Aeons. Why is he important?

[Hermes] Hermes is the Greek god of (among other things) liars and thieves. He is conflated with Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom, to become Hermes Trismegistus. This and the next ten names are the list of gods and mythic figures. Why is he important?

[Pan] Pan is a Greek god of herdsmen and flocks. He is sometimes said to be the son of Hermes, but is probably older than the Olympians, having taught prophecy to Apollo. Why is he important?

[Priapus] Priapus is a Greek fertility god said to be the son of Dionysus. Why is he important?

[Osiris] Osiris is an Egyptian god, merciful judge of the dead; also a fertility god who (among other things) caused the Nile to flood and crops to grow. Why is he important?

[Melchizedek] Melchizedek — literally, "My king is righteous"; said by the Zohar to be "the King Who rules with complete sovereignty". The Rabbis say he instructed Abraham in the Torah. Why is he important?

[Khem] Khem … this name is an error. This is a mistranscription of the fertility god Min, brought into the popular literature by E.A. Wallis Budge. Why is he important?

[Amoun] Amoun, "The hidden one", is the Egyptian god of air (and the breath of life, which creates the Ba). He later also became a fertility god. Historically, eventually he becomes an aspect of Horus. Why is he important?

[Mentu] Mentu is the hawk-headed Egyptian god of war, the "Warrior Lord of Thebes". Why is he important?

[Heracles] Heracles is a demigod, son of Zeus and Alcmene, arguably the greatest of the mythical Greek heroes. He is also identified with the Egyptian god Heryshaf ("Hershaphes" in Greek), who is identified with Osiris. Why is he important?

[Orpheus] Orpheus was an augur and seer, inventor of the lyre, said by Pindar to be the "father of songs". He is thought by some to be the founder of the Dionysiac rites. Why is he important?

[Odysseus] Odysseus was a (mythical) king of Ithaca, the guileful and resourceful hero of Homer's Odyssey. Why is he important?

[Vergilius] Vergilius is known in English as Virgil, Latin poet and author of the Eclogues, the Georgics and the Aeneid. This name is the first of a list of five Bards. Why is he important?

[Catullus] Catullus was a Roman poet, author of a wide variety of invectives and erotic poetry, many with homosexual or Lesbian themes. Why is he important?

[Martialis] Martialis was a Latin poet, known in English as Martial, author of twelve satirical books of Epigrams. Why is he important?

[Rabelais] Rabelais was a French Renaissance writer. His first published book, Les Grandes Chroniques du Grand et Enorme Géant Gargantua, introduced the Abbey of Thèléme. Why is he important?

[Swinburne] Swinburne was an English Victorian poet, highly regarded by Crowley, author of a wide variety of sado-masochistic, lesbian, and anti-Christian poetry. Why is he important?

[Apollonius Tyanaeus] Apollonius Tyanaeus is Apollonius of Tyana, teacher and miracle worker of the first century CE, frequently compared to Jesus of Nazareth. This name is the first of eight ancient Gnostics. Why is he important?

[Simon Magus] Simon Magus, Simon the Sorceror, was a Samaritan proto-Gnostic, regarded by many early Christian authors as the first heretic. Why is he important?

[Manes] Manes was the founder of Manicheanism, an ancient (but no longer practised) gnostic philosophy. Why is he important?

[Pythagoras] Pythagoras was a Greek mathematician and philosopher, founder of the Pythagorean school of natural philosophy, which professed transmigration of the soul (reincarnation). Why is he important?

[Basilides] Basilides was an early Alexandrian Christian religious teacher whose followers, the Basilideans, formed a Gnostic sect. Why is he important?

[Valentinus] Valentinus, also called Valentinius, was a Christian Gnostic theologian who attempted to align Christianity with neo-Platonism. His was probably the most widespread of all the forms of Gnosticism. Why is he important?

[Bardesanes] Bardesanes , Bar Daisan, was a Syriac disciple of Valentinius. His gnosticism influenced Manichaeism. Why is he important?

[Hippolytus] Hippolytus Why is he important? was the first elected Antipope. He is the author of commentaries on Biblical texts and of polemical works against Jews, pagans and heretics, the best known of which is his Refutatio Omnium Haeresium (Refutation of All Heresies). Curiously, he was anti-Gnostic; but his Refutatio contains a lot of direct quotes from the gnostic systems it refutes. Without it, we would know almost nothing of those systems. Why is he important?

[Merlin] Merlin is the wizard associated with King Arthur, introduced into those stories by Geoffrey of Monmouth (1100 - 1154). This name is the first of four Grail figures. Why is he important?

[Arthur] Arthur was a fifth-century CE Welsh war leader, the ideal of kingship. He is connected to legends of the Holy Grail. Why is he important?

[Kamuret] Kamuret, also "Gahmuret" or "Gamuret", is the father of Parzival in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival (cir. 1210), adapted by Wagner for his operas. Wolfram's story was itself likely adapted from Chrétien de Troye's Perceval, le Conte du Graal. We don't have a good online reference for this. The link we provided is to Amazon, where you can buy a copy of Wolfram's Parzival, which chronicles Gamuret's adventures. Why is he important?

[Parzival] Parzival, also called "Percival" or "Perceval", is a Knight of the Round Table, the primary figure in legends of the search for the Holy Grail. Why is he important?

[Carolus Magnus] Carolus Magnus, "Charlemagne", Charles the Great, is considered to be the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. His paladins come from romances that tell of his court. Why is he important?

[William of Schyren] William of Schyren: this name is obscure enough that we don't really know who he is. Who might he have been?

[Frederick of Hohenstaufen] Frederick of Hohenstaufen: this saint is unclear, but likely the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250); excommunicated twice, and called the Anti-Christ by Pope Gregory IX. Why is he important?

[Roger Bacon] Roger Bacon was a Thirteenth century English philosopher and alchemist, a strong proponent of empiricism, one of the earliest proponents of the scientific method. Why is he important?

[Jacobus Burgundus Molensis the Martyr] Jacobus Burgundus Molensis was Jacques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Burned at the stake in 1314 on charges of heresy, he is rumored to have told Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V that they would meet him before God's throne within the year. (Both died later that year.) Why is he important?

[Christian Rosencreutz] Christian Rosencreutz was the (possibly legendary) founder of the Rosicrucian Order. If real, he is very conveniently named: Rosencreuz means "Rose Cross", symbols of the female and male principles (and of their genitalia). Why is he important?

[Ulrich von Hutten] Ulrich von Hutten was a Christian reformer and critic of the Roman Catholic Church, a contemporary of Martin Luther, who sought to enforce reformation by political and military means. (There's rather more information in the German language article at de.wikipedia.org — just replace "en." with "de." in the link URL.) Why is he important?

[Paracelsus] Paracelsus was a Sixteenth century Swiss/Austrian alchemist, astrologer, and physician. He rejected Gnostic philosophy, but embraced Hermetics. Why is he important?

[Michael Maier] Michael Maier was a Seventeenth century German physician and alchemist. Why is he important?

[Roderic Borgia Pope Alexander the Sixth] Roderic Borgia was an extremely controversial Renaissance Pope, (in)famous for his lax morals and expensive habits, father of ten children including Lucrezia and Cesare (yes, those Borgias). Why is he important?

[Jacob Boehme] Jacob Boehme was a German Christian mystic who wrote primarily on the nature of sin and redemption. He held that free will was the most important gift God gave mankind. Why is he important?

[Francis Bacon Lord Verulam] Francis Bacon was a Sixteenth/Seventeenth century (1561-1626) English philosopher and Freemason, a strong proponent of empiricism and of inductive reasoning. Why is he important?

[Andrea] Andrea, or Johann Valentin Andreae, was a Seventeenth Century German theologian and author. He wrote The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, one of the seminal Rosicrucian works. Why is he important?

[Robertus de Fluctibus] Robertus de Fluctibus was Robert Fludd, Seventeenth Century astrologer and mystic, best known for his researches in occult philosophy. Why is he important?

[Johannes Dee] Johannes Dee was a Sixteenth Century English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, and geographer; also a consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. Why is he important?

[Sir Edward Kelly] Edward Kelly was a Sixteenth Century English spirit medium, John Dee's scryer and assistant. Together, they received a collection of magickal communications from Angels. Modern opinions differ as to whether Kelley was a cynic, a charlatan, or delusional, but he greatly impressed Dr Dee. Why is he important?

[Thomas Vaughan] Thomas Vaughan Why is he important? was a Seventeenth Century Welsh alchemist, mystic, and poet; the twin brother of poet Henry Vaughan, he wrote several alchemical treatises. Why is he important?

[Elias Ashmole] Elias Ashmole was a Seventeenth Century English student of astronomy and astrology, and a prominent Freemason. He wrote several alchemical works. Why is he important?

[Molinos] Molinos was Miguel de Molinos, a Seventeenth Century Spanish priest later denounced as a heretic. He propounded Quietism, a doctrine that specified intellectual stillness and interior passivity as the path to perfection. Why is he important?

[Adam Weishaupt] Adam Weishaupt was a Eighteenth Century German professor and freethinker who founded (some say, refounded) the Order of Illuminati, devoted to the abolition of monarchical governments and religions. Why is he important?

[Wolfgang von Goethe] Wolfgang von Goethe was an Eighteenth Century German poet, philosopher, and painter; the author of Faust; and one of the major voices in the development of Eighteenth Century philosophy Why is he important?

[Ludovicus Rex Bavariae] Ludwig of Bavariae was a Nineteenth Century Bavarian king sometimes called Mad King Ludwig. He was a major patron of composer Richard Wagner. Why is he important?

[Richard Wagner] Richard Wagner was a Nineteenth Century German composer and conductor, author of Der Ring des Nibelungen, Parsifal, and other operas. Why is he important?

[Alphonse Louis Constant] Alphonse Louis Constant was a Nineteenth Century French author and magician, better known as Eliphas Lévi, his attempt to translate his name into Hebrew. Why is he important?

[Friedrich Nietzsche] Friedrich Nietzsche was a Nineteenth Century German philosopher and philologer, author of Beyond Good and Evil and Also Sprach Zarathustra. Why is he important?

[Hargrave Jennings] Hargrave Jennings was a Nineteenth Century English author on occultism and esotericism. He developed a theory he called phallism, the idea that the origin of religion is in the phallic worship of fire and the sun. Why is he important?

[Carl Kellner] Carl Kellner was a Nineteenth century student of Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and Eastern mysticism, widely regarded as the spiritual father of OTO. Why is he important?

[Forlong dux] Forlong was Nineteenth century General (dux — Latin, leader — was a title Crowley bestowed on him) James George Roche Forlong, author of Faiths of Man: A Cyclopædia of Religions, a (perhaps the first) scholarly treatise on comparative religions. Why is he important?

[Sir Richard Payne Knight] Richard Payne Knight was an early 19th Centur author, whose most notorious book was The Worship of Priapus. Richard Payne Knight was never knighted. "Sir" Knight appears to be an old, stale joke of Crowley's, carried on long after it stopped being funny. Why is he important?

[Sir Richard Burton] Richard Burton was a Nineteenth Century British explorer, soldier, writer, ethnologist, and general Man of Many Talents, Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton was, among his many accomplishments, the translator of The Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra. He was also the only Saint whom Crowley styled Sir actually to have been knighted by the British Crown. Why is he important?

[Paul Gauguin] Paul Gauguin was a Nineteenth Century French painter, one of the leaders of the Post-Impressionists. Why is he important?

[Docteur Gérard Encausse] Gerard Encausse was a late Nineteenth Century French physician, hypnotist, and occultist who called himself Papus (physician). Dr Encausse was also a member of the Golden Dawn and the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light. Why is he important?

[Doctor Theodor Reuss] Theodor Reuss was an early Twentieth Century Anglo-German occultist and utopian socialist, who succeeded Carl Kellner as head of the OTO, and who in 1910 conferred on Crowley the VII° of OTO. Why is he important?

[Sir Aleister Crowley] Aleister Crowley makes a second appearance on the list. Earlier, as To Mega Therion, he was the last of the great prophets. Here he is among the modern Gnostics. Why is he important?

[71] Note 1, p. 430:
This list, slightly extended, was first published in The Equinox, volume III, number I. It contains the names of the 'saints' and Chiefs of the Great White Brotherhood, not all of whom, like Krishna, Tahuti, Pan, were incarnated. From a mundane point of view the list reveals Crowley's wide reading. The names in italics: those are (1) Crowley's previous incarnations, (2) historical or mythical characters with whom he had a magical affinity. He thought highly of Swinburne, whom he could have met, and felt that they were one in spirit. He should, perhaps, have italicized the name of Gauguin.

[italicized] The italicized "short list" of 22 saints reads:
Lao-tzu and Siddhartha and Tahuti, Dionysus, Mohammed and To Mega Therion, with these also, Pan and Mentu, Heracles, Catullus, Rabelais, Swinburne, and many an holy bard; Apollonius Tyanaeus, Pythagoras, Bardesanes and Hippolytus, that transmitted the Light of the Gnosis to us their successors and their heirs; and these also, Jacobus Burgundus Molensis the Martyr, Christian Rosencreutz, Roderic Borgia Pope Alexander the Sixth, Sir Edward Kelly, Alphonse Louis Constant, and Sir Aleister Crowley.

[triform] The three Supernals, the Sephiroth above the Abyss. These correspond to the three Hebrew "mother" letters and three Hebrew elements: Alef=Kether, air; Shin=Chokmah, fire; Mem=Binah, water. These are the spheres of inspiration in the Air triad. There are any number of other threes — the alchemical principles, for example — but we hold that the Supernals best express "energy".

[fourfold] The four Qabalistic "worlds": Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, Assiah. If you like, for an expression of "matter" you can also think of these as the four elements you're used to.

[sevenfold] The seven Sephiroth below the Abyss. These include the Fire (Chesed, Geburah, Tiphareth) and Water (Netzach, Hod, Yesod) triads, both in Yetzirah, and Malkuth (the created universe, us) in Assiah. There are other sevens, of course: the seven planets, for example, for which there is justification in chapter VI of Sepher Yetzirah: "He has distributed them among the seven stars" — i.e. the "wandering stars", the planets. However, we suggest that the Sephiroth below the Abyss best express "matter".

[All stand] The people are already standing, having stood up at the beginning of the Collects. At this instruction, they stand to attention: arms at the sides, hands loosely cupped, heels together with the feet at a 45-degree angle to each other. Standing thus with eyes open shows that we will face death squarely, unafraid.

At the end of this Collect, they resume the Dieu Garde.