One of the most interesting parts of Magick in Theory and Practice is chapter 20, “Of The Eucharist and the Art of Alchemy.” This chapter—particularly what Crowley says here about art production—was the subject of a talk I gave last summer for Horizon Lodge in Seattle.
In chapter 20 Crowley says that alchemy, initiation, talisman creation, art production (specifically painting, but the claim could be extended to other media), and eucharistic magick all share the same structure. There aren’t actually so many other types of magick besides those, so he’s presenting something like a unified theory of magick in general.
But even if that doesn’t cover every magical art, it still covers two areas that were of essential concern to Crowley: initiation and the production of the eucharist (which is a type of alchemy). The first is the primary subject matter of A∴A∴; the second is connected with the secret contained within the Sanctuary of the Gnosis of O.T.O.
My assumption was that if Crowley was talking about a structure essential to the essential work of both A∴A∴ and of O.T.O., he was describing something lying at the core of his spiritual project generally. What I claimed in my talk was that the magical formula which describes both of these processes is IAO.
IAO is the Golden Dawn formula of resurrection: Isis (Nature) is ruined by Apophis (the Destroyer) which is then redeemed by/as Osiris.
What I said in my talk, however, is that there is a shift in emphasis in Crowley’s version, because Apophis is no longer the ruiner of anything other than the false, initial appearance of nature. Through its destructive power, it frees or liberates what was latent, concealed, or in a sense trapped in the initial matter. It allows the “true self” latent within the first matter to transcend itself—to transcend its initial appearance—and to become part of a larger, vitalizing whole.
It doesn’t do this by discarding the matter necessarily but rather by turning it from resistance to persistence. Thus fire becomes the power of willing, water the power of daring, air the power of knowing, and earth the power of keeping silence. When they are in balance, thus arises the fifth power, going, attributed to Hadit.
In the process, change becomes expressive of will, thereby satisfying the postulate of magick. At the same time, because will is fully expressed in change—because matter no longer stands opposed to will but is its vehicle or “artistic medium”— it no longer has an existence independent of the universe. Hadit has become mystically enraptured with Nuit.
Thus there is a link between the work of Apophis in the IAO formula with love under will. Apophis represents destruction of separateness by love: the power of rebirth by voluntarily submitting to transformation.
Apophis is the spirit of erotic transcendence.