LIBER RESH VEL HELIOS
SUB FIGURA CC
By Aleister
Crowley
[Notes by David Cherubim]
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
[Liber
Resh vel Helios means, "The Book of Resh or the Sun." Sub Figura means "Under
the Figure Of." CC or 200 is the numerical value of the Hebrew letter Resh,
which is the letter that corresponds with the Atu of Thoth in Tarot called "The
Sun." Resh means the Head or Face. Helios was a name for the God of the Sun in
Greek Mythology. He is the equivalent of Sol, the Roman God of the Sun. Liber
Resh is a Ritual of Heliolatry or Sun Worship in the form of four Solar
Adorations to be conducted four times daily. Aleister Crowley wrote: "The
object of this practice is firstly to remind the aspirant at regular intervals
of the Great Work; secondly, to bring him into conscious personal relation with
the centre of our system; and thirdly, for advanced students, to make actual
magical contact with the spiritual energy of the Sun and thus to draw actual
force from him."]
0. These are the adorations to be performed by all aspirants to the
A.·. A.·..
[The four adorations of Liber Resh are a means of invoking, uniting with, and
identifying with the Sun God in his four primary forms. To adore is to worship
or honor a Deity. To invoke is to call in and to raise oneself to the Godhead.
Aspirants are those who aspire, who seek to attain, to ascend or soar. Also, to
aspire is to breathe.]
1. Let him greet the Sun at dawn, facing East, giving the Sign of his
grade. [The L.V.X. Signs, or the Sign of the Cross, which is the Sign
of the Qabalistic Sephira called Tiphareth, may be used.] And let him
say in a loud voice:
Hail unto Thee who art Ra in Thy rising, even unto Thee who art Ra in Thy strength, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Uprising of the Sun.
[Ra was the
Ancient Egyptian Sun God and Chief Deity. He is a Hawk-Headed Divinity. The
Bark is a small sailing Ship.]
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the
helm.
[Tahuti or
Thoth is the Egyptian Ibis-Headed God. The Prow is the bow or stem of a ship.
Ra-Hoor is the Solar Horus, the Divine Helmsman. The Helm is the position of
control, the apparatus for steering the ship.]
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Night!
[Give the Sign
of Silence.]
2. Also at Noon, let him greet the Sun, facing South, giving the sign of
his grade. [The Sign of Fire, which is the Element pertaining to the
Qabalistic Sephira called Netzach, may be used.] And let him say in a
loud voice:
Hail unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy triumphing, even unto Thee who
art Ahathoor in Thy beauty, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the
Mid-course of the Sun.
[Ahathoor or
Hathor is the Egyptian Cow Goddess, their own form of Venus, and Mother Nature
Herself.]
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the
helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Morning!
[Give the Sign
of Silence.]
3. Also, at Sunset, let him greet the Sun, facing West, giving the sign
of his grade. [The Sign of Air, which is the Element pertaining to the
Qabalistic Sephira called Yesod, may be used.] And let him say in a loud
voice:
Hail unto Thee, who art Tum in Thy setting, even unto Thee who art Tum
in Thy joy, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Down-going of the
Sun.
[Tum is the
Lord of the City of the Sun, that is Heliopolis, and He is the Egyptian God of
the West and Setting Sun.]
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the
helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Day!
[Give the Sign
of Silence.]
4. Lastly, at Midnight, let him greet the Sun, facing North, giving the
sign of his grade. [The Sign of Water, which is the Element pertaining
to the Qabalistic Sephira called Hod, may be used.] And let him say in a
loud voice:
Hail unto Thee who art Khephra in Thy hiding, even unto Thee who art
Khephra in Thy silence, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the
Midnight Hour of the Sun.
[Khephra or
Keph-Ra is the Egyptian Scarab or Beetle God, the Secret Sun, the Self-Created
One born of His own Substance, and a God of Resurrection.]
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the
helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Evening!
[Give the Sign
of Silence.]
5. And after each of these invocations thou shalt give the sign of
silence, and afterwards thou shalt perform the adoration that is taught thee by
thy Superior. And then do thou compose Thyself to holy meditation.
[Perform the Adoration that is written in Liber Legis, Ch. III, vs. 37-38. The Adoration should be performed in the Sign
of the Pentagram or Blazing Star, also called the Sign of Osiris Risen. Compose
the Sign of Silence after the Adoration.]
6. Also it is better if in these adorations thou assume the God-form of
Whom thou adorest, as if thou didst unite with Him in the adoration of That
which is beyond Him.
[A God-form is a representation on the Astral of a Force of Nature. It is with
the Astral Body that we assume the God-form. The Astral Body is transformed into
the Body of the God or God-form. To properly assume a God-form, you must first
study and meditate on its image and mythological characteristics to assimilate
its essence into your consciousness.]
7. Thus shalt thou ever be mindful of the Great Work which thou hast
undertaken to perform, and thus shalt thou be strengthened to pursue it unto the
attainment of the Stone of the Wise, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom & Perfect
Happiness.
[Liber Resh is performed standing at the intersection of the Paths of Samekh and
Peh on the Qabalistic Tree of Life, in the same magical position of balanced
power that we perform the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. When giving the
Adoration of Ra, we are facing the Solar Sephira called Tiphareth in the East.
Thus we give the Sign of the Cross, which is the Sign of Tiphareth and the Solar
Child Orus (Horus or Heru-Ra-Ha). This sign was called the Sign of Osiris Slain
in the Old Aeon. During the Adoration of Ahathoor we are facing Netzach in the
South. Netzach is the Sephira of Fire and thus we give the Sign of Fire, which
is also called the Sign of the Goddess Thoum-aesh-Neith. During the Adoration of
Tum we are facing Yesod in the West. Yesod is the Sephira of Air and thus we
give the Sign of Air, which is also called the Sign of the God Shu supporting
the Sky. During the Adoration of Khephra we are facing Hod in the North. Hod is
the Sephira of Water and thus we give the Sign of Water, which is also called
the Sign of the Goddess Auramoth.]
THE ADORATION
(From Liber Legis, Ch. III, vs. 37-38)
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!
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!
Love is the law, love under will.
