Blackness in Liber 65

Debate not of the image, saying Beyond! Beyond! One mounteth unto the Crown by the moon and by the Sun, and by the arrow, and by the Foundation, and by the dark home of the stars from the black earth. (I.9)

So also the light that is absorbed. One absorbs little and is called white and glistening; one absorbs all and is called black. Therefore, O my darling, art thou black. (I.18-19)

Then said Adonai: Thou hast the Head of the Hawk, and thy Phallus is the Phallus of Asar. Thou knowest the white, and thou knowest the black, and thou knowest that these are one. But why seekest thou the knowledge of their equivalence? And he said: That my Work may be right. (I.55-55)

But she stirred not; only by my kisses I defiled her so that she turned to blackness before me. (II.10)

Then came an eagle from the abyss of glory and overshadowed him. So black was the shadow that he was no more visible. (II.31)

I have descended, O my darling, into the black shining waters, and I have plucked Thee forth as a black pearl of infinite preciousness. (III.60)

Thus spake the Magister V.V.V.V.V. unto Adonai his God, as they played together in the starlight over against the deep black pool that is in the Holy Place of the Holy House beneath the Altar of the Holiest One. (IV.15)

For Thou art He! Yea, Thou shalt swallow up Asi and Asar, and the children of Ptah. Thou shalt pour forth a flood of poison to destroy the works of the Magician. Only the Destroyer shall devour Thee; Thou shalt blacken his throat, wherein his spirit abideth. Ah, serpent Apep, but I love Thee! (IV.25)

I felt the red lips of nature and the black lips of perfection. Like sisters they fondled me their little brother; they decked me out as a bride; they mounted me for Thy bridal chamber. (IV.31)

Through the midnight thou art dropt, O my child, my conqueror, my sword-girt captain, O Hoor! and they shall find thee as a black gnarl’d glittering stone, and they shall worship thee. (V.6)

They that drink thereof are smitten of disease; the abomination hath hold upon them, and their torment is like the thick black smoke of the evil abode. (V.62)

Comparing Thelema with other traditions

I don’t think comparing Thelema with Tantra or Jungian psychology is a good way to illuminate or create understanding of Thelema.

For example, I don’t necessarily think it adds to our understanding of Liber V vel Reguli to know that the Muladhara chakra is attributed to Ganesh; nor do I think it necessarily adds to our understanding of crossing the Abyss to say it involves the “reconstellation of the Ego”. This is what I’ve referred to as the “connect-the-dots” approach in my essay on erotic liberation.

Someone who really understood Thelema should be able to explain something from Tantra or depth psychology in Thelemic terms (or at the very least relate it back to Thelema and its methods). It’s not an accident that the interpretation usually goes in the opposite direction.

Imagine if the shoe were on the other foot, and you were seeking to initiate into a Tantric lineage or receive some kind of certification in Jungian analysis. Your instructor in that discipline probably would not accept as proof of your understanding of a concept if you translated it into Thelemic terms.

This is by virtue of the fact that you cannot understand an unknown or obscure concept by connecting it with another concept which is equally or more unknown or obscure. You understand it by connecting it with something simpler, and in the context of a discipline, something more fundamental to that discipline (i.e., a first principle).

But it’s also because disciplines such as Tantra and depth psychology already have an understanding of their first principles (the ultimate purpose served by the tradition and how its methods relate to the fulfillment of that purpose). They also have methods of communicating that knowledge (transmission in Tantra or institutional certification in the case of depth psychology) to ensure that the integrity of the teaching is more or less maintaining. But Thelema’s first principles are usually poorly understood by Thelemites, and its means of maintaining the integrity of its teachings are shaky to say the least. This latter fact is often even applauded as a symbol of how free Thelemites are to “do their will”.

I sometimes wonder if the reason Thelemites are always trying to translate Thelemic terms into Tantric or Jungian terms (or terms from any other tradition) is because they are reacting (consciously or otherwise) to the lack of rigor in their own spiritual tradition by trying to locate themselves in a better defined tradition.