Links to the right of the text
are to pages of Liber XXXI (the manuscript of Liber AL). The first
complete verse appearing on a manuscript page is associated with each
such link.
Above, the gemmèd azure is
The naked splendour of Nuit;
She bends in ecstasy to kiss
The secret ardours of Hadit.
The wingèd globe,the starry blue,
Are mine, O Ankh-af-na-khonsu!
I,15: Now ye shall know that the
chosen priest & apostle of infinite space is the prince-priest the
Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman is all power given.
They shall gather my children into their fold: they shall bring the
glory of the stars into the hearts of men.
I,21: 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.
I,22: Now, therefore, I am known
to ye by my name Nuit, and to him by a secret name which I will give
him when at last he knoweth me. 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
there cometh hurt.
I,26: 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 omnipresence of my body.
I,27: 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, continuous 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 continuous!
I,32: Obey my prophet! follow out
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.
I,33: 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!
I,34: But she said: the ordeals I
write not: the rituals shall be half known and half concealed: the Law
is for all.
I,35: This that thou writest is the
threefold book of Law.
I,36: My scribe Ankh-af-na-khonsu,
the priest of the princes, shall not in one letter change this book;
but lest there be folly, he shall comment thereupon by the wisdom of
Ra-Hoor-Khu-it.
I,40: Who calls us Thelemites will
do no wrong, if he look but 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.
I,41: 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. Accurséd! Accurséd be it to the aeons! Hell.
I,42: Let it be that state of manyhood
bound and loathing. So with thy all; thou hast no right but to do thy
will.
I,49: 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 and splendour is the Lord initiating.
I,50: 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 chosen ones in the highest.
Thus ye have star & star, system & system; let not one know
well the other!
I,51: There are four gates to one
palace; the floor of that palace is of silver and gold; lapis lazuli
& jasper are there; and all rare scents; jasmine & 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! Also, take your fill and will of love as
ye will, when, where and with whom ye will! But always unto me.
15
I,52: If this be not aright; 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 judgments
of Ra Hoor Khuit!
I,53: This shall regenerate the world,
the little world my sister, my heart & my tongue, unto whom 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!
16
I,54: Change not as much as the style
of a letter; for behold! thou, o prophet, shalt not behold all these
mysteries hidden therein.
I,55: The child of thy bowels, he
shall behold them.
I,56: 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.
17
I,57: Invoke me under my stars! Love
is the law, love under will. Nor let the fools mistake love; for there
are love and love. 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.
All these old letters of my Book are aright;
but צ is not the Star. This also
is secret: my prophet shall reveal it to the wise.
18
I,58: 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.
I,59: My incense is of resinous woods
& gums; and there is no blood therein: because of my hair the trees
of Eternity.
19
I,60: My number is 11, as all their
numbers who are of us. 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.
I,61: 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 heart, and the Serpent
flame therein, thou shalt come a little to lie in my bosom. For one
kiss wilt thou then 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 with a rich headdress. I love
you! I yearn to you! Pale or purple, veiled or voluptuous, I who am
all pleasure and purple, and drunkenness of the innermost sense, desire
you. Put on the wings, and arouse the coiled splendour within you: come
unto me!
21
I,62: 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 flame of the hearts of all in her love-chant.
I,63: 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!
22
I,64: I am the blue-lidded daughter
of Sunset; I am the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night-sky.
II,2: Come! all ye, and learn the
secret that hath not yet been revealed. I, Hadit, am the complement
of Nu, my bride. I am not extended, and Khabs is the name of my House.
II,3: In the sphere I am everywhere
the centre, as she, the circumference, is nowhere found.
II,5: Behold! the rituals of the
old time are black. Let the evil ones be cast away; let the good ones
be purged by the prophet! Then shall this Knowledge go aright.
II,6: I am the flame that burns in
every heart of man, and in the core of every star. I am Life, and the
giver of Life, yet therefore is the knowledge of me the knowledge of
death.
24
II,7: I am the Magician and the Exorcist.
I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. "Come unto me"
is a foolish word: for it is I that go.
II,8: Who worshipped Heru-pa-kraath
have worshipped me; ill, for I am the worshipper.
II,9: Remember all ye that existence
is pure joy; that all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass &
are done; but there is that which remains.
II,10: O prophet! thou hast ill
will to learn this writing.
II,11: I see thee hate the hand
& the pen; but I am stronger.
25
II,12: Because of me in Thee which
thou knewest not.
II,13: for why? Because thou wast
the knower, and me.
II,14: Now let there be a veiling
of this shrine: now let the light devour men and eat them up with blindness!
II,15: For I am perfect, being Not;
and my number is nine by the fools; but with the just I am eight, and
one in eight: Which is vital, for I am none indeed. The Empress and
the King are not of me; for there is a further secret.
II,16: I am The Empress & the
Hierophant. Thus eleven, as my bride is eleven.
Hear me, ye people of sighing!
The sorrows of pain and regret
Are left to the dead and the dying,
The folk that not know me as yet.
II,18: These are dead, these fellows;
they feel not. We are not for the poor and sad: the lords of the earth
are our kinsfolk.
II,19: Is a God to live in a dog?
No! but the highest are of us. They shall rejoice, our chosen: who sorroweth
is not of us.
II,20: Beauty and strength, leaping
laughter and delicious languor, force and fire, are of us.
27
II,21: We have nothing with the
outcast and the unfit: let them die in their misery. For they feel not.
Compassion is the vice of kings: stamp down the wretched & the weak:
this is the law of the strong: this is our law and the joy of the world.
Think not, o king, upon that lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt
not die, but live. Now let it be understood: If the body of the King
dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstasy for ever. Nuit! Hadit! Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
The Sun, Strength & Sight, Light; these are for the servants of
the Star & the Snake.
28
II,22: I am the Snake that giveth
Knowledge & Delight and bright glory, and stir the hearts of men
with drunkenness. To worship me take wine and strange drugs whereof
I will tell my prophet, & be drunk thereof! They shall not harm
ye at all. It is a lie, this folly against self. The exposure of innocence
is a lie. Be strong, o man! lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture:
fear not that any God shall deny thee for this.
II,24: Behold! these be grave mysteries;
for there are also of my friends who be hermits. Now think not to find
them in the forest or on the mountain; but in beds of purple, caressed
by magnificent beasts of women with large limbs, and fire and light
in their eyes, and masses of flaming hair about them; there shall ye
find them. Ye shall see them at rule, at victorious armies, at all the
joy; and there shall be in them a joy a million times greater than this.
Beware lest any force another, King against King! Love one another with
burning hearts; on the low men trample in the fierce lust of your pride,
in the day of your wrath.
II,26: I am the secret Serpent coiled
about to spring: in my coiling there is joy. If I lift up my head, I
and my Nuit are one. If I droop down mine head, and shoot forth venom,
then is rapture of the earth, and I and the earth are one.
II,27: There is great danger in
me; for who doth not understand these runes shall make a great miss.
He shall fall down into the pit called Because, and there he shall perish
with the dogs of Reason.
II,48: Pity not the fallen! I never
knew them. I am not for them. I console not: I hate the consoled &
the consoler.
II,49: I am unique & conqueror.
I am not of the slaves that perish. Be they damned & dead! Amen.
(This is of the 4: there is a fifth who is invisible, & therein
am I as a babe in an egg.)
II,50: Blue am I and gold in the
light of my bride: but the red gleam is in my eyes; & my spangles
are purple & green.
II,51: Purple beyond purple: it
is the light higher than eyesight.
II,52: There is a veil: that veil
is black. It is the veil of the modest woman; it is the veil of sorrow,
& the pall of death: this is none of me. Tear down that lying spectre
of the centuries: veil not your vices in virtuous words: these vices
are my service; ye do well, & I will reward you here and hereafter.
II,53: Fear not, o prophet, when
these words are said, thou shalt not be sorry. Thou art emphatically
my chosen; and blessed are the eyes that thou shalt look upon with gladness.
But I will hide thee in a mask of sorrow: they that see thee shall fear
thou art fallen: but I lift thee up.
II,54: Nor shall they who cry aloud
their folly that thou meanest nought avail; thou shall reveal it: thou
availest: they are the slaves of because: They are not of me. The stops
as thou wilt; the letters? change them not in style or value!
II,55: Thou shalt obtain the order
& value of the English Alphabet; thou shalt find new symbols to
attribute them unto.
II,56: Begone! ye mockers; even
though ye laugh in my honour ye shall laugh not long: then when ye are
sad know that I have forsaken you.
II,57: He that is righteous shall
be righteous still; he that is filthy shall be filthy still.
II,58: Yea! deem not of change:
ye shall be as ye are, & not other. Therefore the kings of the earth
shall be Kings for ever: the slaves shall serve. There is none that
shall be cast down or lifted up: all is ever as it was. Yet there are
masked ones my servants: it may be that yonder beggar is a King. A King
may choose his garment as he will: there is no certain test: but a beggar
cannot hide his poverty.
II,63: Thou art exhaust in the voluptuous
fullness of the inspiration; the expiration is sweeter than death, more
rapid and laughterful than a caress of Hell's own worm.
II,64: Oh! thou art overcome: we
are upon thee; our delight is all over thee: hail! hail: prophet of
Nu! prophet of Had! prophet of Ra-Hoor-Khu! Now rejoice! now come in
our splendour & rapture! Come in our passionate peace, & write
sweet words for the Kings!
II,65: I am the Master: thou art
the Holy Chosen One.
II,66: Write, & find ecstasy
in writing! Work, & be our bed in working! Thrill with the joy of
life & death! Ah! thy death shall be lovely: whoso seeth it shall
be glad. Thy death shall be the seal of the promise of our agelong love.
Come! lift up thine heart & rejoice! We are one; we are none.
II,67: Hold! Hold! Bear up in thy
rapture; fall not in swoon of the excellent kisses!
II,68: Harder! Hold up thyself!
Lift thine head! breathe not so deep—die!
II,69: Ah! Ah! What do I feel? Is
the word exhausted?
II,70: There is help & hope
in other spells. Wisdom says: be strong! Then canst thou bear more joy.
Be not animal; refine thy rapture! If thou drink, drink by the eight
and ninety rules of art: if thou love, exceed by delicacy; and if thou
do aught joyous, let there be subtlety therein!
II,76: 4 6 3 8 A B K 2 4 A L G M
O R 3 Y X 24 89 R P S T O V A L. What meaneth this, o prophet? Thou
knowest not; nor shalt thou know ever. There cometh one to follow thee:
he shall expound it. But remember, o chosen one, to be me; to follow
the love of Nu in the star-lit heaven; to look forth upon men, to tell
them this glad word.
II,78: Lift up thyself! for there
is none like unto thee among men or among Gods! Lift up thyself, o my
prophet, thy stature shall surpass the stars. They shall worship thy
name, foursquare, mystic, wonderful, the number of the man; and the
name of thy house 418.
III,2: There is division hither
homeward; there is a word not known. Spelling is defunct; all is not
aught. Beware! Hold! Raise the spell of Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
III,3: Now let it be first understood
that I am a god of War and of Vengeance. I shall deal hardly with them.
III,9: Lurk! Withdraw! Upon them!
this is the Law of the Battle of Conquest: thus shall my worship be
about my secret house.
III,10: Get the stélé
of revealing itself; set it in thy secret temple—and that temple
is already aright disposed—& it shall be your Kiblah for ever.
It shall not fade, but miraculous colour shall come back to it day after
day. Close it in locked glass for a proof to the world.
III,11: This shall be your only
proof. I forbid argument. Conquer! That is enough. I will make easy
to you the abstruction from the ill-ordered house in the Victorious
City. Thou shalt thyself convey it with worship, o prophet, though thou
likest it not. Thou shalt have danger & trouble. Ra-Hoor-Khu is
with thee. Worship me with fire & blood; worship me with swords
& with spears. Let the woman be girt with a sword before me: let
blood flow to my name. Trample down the Heathen; be upon them, o warrior,
I will give you of their flesh to eat!
III,16: Deem not too eagerly to
catch the promises; fear not to undergo the curses. Ye, even ye, know
not this meaning all.
III,17: Fear not at all; fear neither
men nor Fates, nor gods, nor anything. Money fear not, nor laughter
of the folk folly, nor any other power in heaven or upon the earth or
under the earth. Nu is your refuge as Hadit your light; and I am the
strength, force, vigour, of your arms.
III,18: Mercy let be off: damn
them who pity! Kill and torture; spare not; be upon them!
III,19: That stélé
they shall call the Abomination of Desolation; count well its name,
& it shall be to you as 718.
III,20: Why? Because of the fall
of Because, that he is not there again.
III,21: Set up my image in the
East: thou shalt buy thee an image which I will show thee, especial,
not unlike the one thou knowest. And it shall be suddenly easy for thee
to do this.
III,22: The other images group
around me to support me: let all be worshipped, for they shall cluster
to exalt me. I am the visible object of worship; the others are secret;
for the Beast & his Bride are they: and for the winners of the Ordeal
x. What is this? Thou shalt know.
III,23: For perfume mix meal &
honey & thick leavings of red wine: then oil of Abramelin and olive
oil, and afterward soften & smooth down with rich fresh blood.
III,24: The best blood is of the
moon, monthly: then the fresh blood of a child, or dropping from the
host of heaven: then of enemies; then of the priest or of the worshippers:
last of some beast, no matter what.
III,25: This burn: of this make
cakes & eat unto me. This hath also another use; let it be laid
before me, and kept thick with perfumes of your orison: it shall become
full of beetles as it were and creeping things sacred unto me.
III,26: These slay, naming your
enemies; & they shall fall before you.
III,27: Also these shall breed
lust & power of lust in you at the eating thereof.
III,34: But your holy place shall
be untouched throughout the centuries: though with fire and sword it
be burnt down & shattered, yet an invisible house there standeth,
and shall stand until the fall of the Great Equinox; when Hrumachis
shall arise and the double-wanded one assume my throne and place. Another
prophet shall arise, and bring fresh fever from the skies; another woman
shall awake the lust & worship of the Snake; another soul of God
and beast shall mingle in the globèd priest; another sacrifice
shall stain the tomb; another king shall reign; and blessing no longer
be poured To the Hawk-headed mystical Lord!
I am the Lord of Thebes, and I
The inspired forth-speaker of Mentu;
For me unveils the veilèd sky,
The self-slain Ankh-af-na-khonsu
Whose words are truth. I invoke, I greet
Thy presence, O Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
Unity uttermost showed!
I adore the might of Thy breath,
Supreme and terrible God,
Who makest the gods and death
To tremble before Thee—
I, I adore thee!
Appear on the throne of Ra!
Open the ways of the Khu!
Lighten the ways of the Ka!
The ways of the Khabs run through
To stir me or still me!
Aum! let it fill me!
III,38: So that thy light is in
me; & its red flame is as a sword in my hand to push thy order.
There is a secret door that I shall make to establish thy way in all
the quarters, (these are the adorations, as thou hast written), as it
is said:
The light is mine; its rays consume
Me: I have made a secret door
Into the House of Ra and Tum,
Of Khephra and of Ahathoor.
I am thy Theban, O Mentu,
The prophet Ankh-af-na-khonsu!
By Bes-na-Maut my breast I beat;
By wise Ta-Nech I weave my spell.
Show thy star-splendour, O Nuit!
Bid me within thine House to dwell,
O wingèd snake of light, Hadit!
Abide with me, Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
III,39: All this and a book to
say how thou didst come hither and a reproduction of this ink and paper
for ever — for in it is the word secret & not only in the
English — and thy comment upon this the Book of the Law shall
be printed beautifully in red ink and black upon beautiful paper made
by hand; and to each man and woman that thou meetest, were it but to
dine or to drink at them, it is the Law to give. Then they shall chance
to abide in this bliss or no; it is no odds. Do this quickly!
III,40: But the work of the comment?
That is easy; and Hadit burning in thy heart shall make swift and secure
thy pen.
III,41: Establish at thy Kaaba
a clerk-house: all must be done well and with business way.
III,42: The ordeals thou shalt
oversee thyself, save only the blind ones. Refuse none, but thou shalt
know & destroy the traitors. I am Ra-Hoor-Khuit; and I am powerful
to protect my servant. Success is thy proof: argue not; convert not;
talk not overmuch! Them that seek to entrap thee, to overthrow thee,
them attack without pity or quarter; & destroy them utterly. Swift
as a trodden serpent turn and strike! Be thou yet deadlier than he!
Drag down their souls to awful torment: laugh at their fear: spit upon
them!
III,43: Let the Scarlet Woman beware!
If pity and compassion and tenderness visit her heart; if she leave
my work to toy with old sweetnesses; then shall my vengeance be known.
I will slay me her child: I will alienate her heart: I will cast her
out from men: as a shrinking and despised harlot shall she crawl through
dusk wet streets, and die cold and an-hungered.
III,44: But let her raise herself
in pride! Let her follow me in my way! Let her work the work of wickedness!
Let her kill her heart! Let her be loud and adulterous! Let her be covered
with jewels, and rich garments, and let her be shameless before all
men!
III,45: Then will I lift her to
pinnacles of power: then will I breed from her a child mightier than
all the kings of the earth. I will fill her with joy: with my force
shall she see & strike at the worship of Nu: she shall achieve Hadit.
III,46: I am the warrior Lord of
the Forties: the Eighties cower before me, & are abased. I will
bring you to victory & joy: I will be at your arms in battle &
ye shall delight to slay. Success is your proof; courage is your armour;
go on, go on, in my strength; & ye shall turn not back for any!
III,47: This book shall be translated
into all tongues: but always with the original in the writing of the
Beast; for in the chance shape of the letters and their position to
one another: in these are mysteries that no Beast shall divine. Let
him not seek to try: but one cometh after him, whence I say not, who
shall discover the Key of it all. Then this line drawn is a key: then
this circle squared in its failure is a key also. And Abrahadabra. It
shall be his child & that strangely. Let him not seek after this;
for thereby alone can he fall from it.
III,70: I am the Hawk-Headed Lord
of Silence & of Strength; my nemyss shrouds the night-blue sky.
III,71: Hail! ye twin warriors
about the pillars of the world! for your time is nigh at hand.
III,72: I am the Lord of the Double
Wand of Power; the wand of the Force of Coph Nia—but my left hand
is empty, for I have crushed an Universe; & nought remains.
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