^ | _ | ` | a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | |
Aries | Taurus | Gemini | Cancer | Leo | Virgo | Libra | Scorpio | Sagittarius | Capricorn | Aquarius | Pisces | |
‚ | € | ♀ | ♂ | |||||||||
Earth | Water | Air | Fire | Moon | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Caput draconis | Cauda draconis |
[1] To facilitate the reading of the planetary and zodiacal symbols which the Author will employ continually hereafter in his “report,” a complete key to them is given, as well as a key to the symbols for the elements, on p. [*]378.
[2] This geometric Tau, constituted by the assembly of all the diagrams invented by the Author, is a veritable synthetic key to the Art of construction. The form of this key, forged by the Master of the Work, is that of the great sign of salvation, which, coming from Calvary, has traversed all Christian and Gnostic tradition (the cross of Christ in the form of a Tau, the Tau of Saint ANTHONY); it bears in it the protective and purifying virtue of the “mandalas” and the great pantacles constructed geometrically. The origin of this symbol of salvation is the ת. This letter, the last in the Hebrew alphabet, represents the two jambs of unequal nature and the lintel of a door (see p. [*]203), which are sprinkled with the blood of the Pascal lamb with a bunch of hyssop, thus constituting a magical protection for the house against the attacks of the Destroyer (Ex. XII, 21-23). This is the same sign that the prophet sees marked on the brows of those whom IAHVEH wishes to spare (Ez. IX, 4-6), and here one should note the parallel between the door and the position of the third eye, portal of the causal human body (see p. [*]253). But the seal that the apostle found imprinted on the foreheads of the 144,000 chosen ones (Apoc. VII, 2-4) is a T on which the two lateral jambs of unequal shape are simplified to a single post at the middle of the lintel; this is the image of the unification of contraries at the center of the being, the last stage on the way to deliverance.
[3] These alphabetical wheels differ from each other according to the number of circles composing them. This number is transposed, for the roses, into the number of ray divisions, and for the labyrinth, into the number of concentric enclosures (see Plates X, XII, XIV).
[4] On the axis of the figure, the sephirothic influx is indicated descending into the 3 Worlds of the Manifest, whose 7 “Palaces” are represented by 7 circles, twice on the right, once on the left.
[5] 101 “nâdîs,” or luminous and subtle arteries, are associated with the 7 “chakras” (of which 6 represent the nerve plexuses in the subtle form of the human body, the seventh, “Sahasrâra,” belonging to the causal body); thus the opposition of 7 and 108 (= 7 + 101) is indicated. Of these 101 “nâdîs,” only the 3 principal ones are illustrated here. The central artery or “sushumnâ” is rectilinear, and passes through the crown of the head; it serves as a vehicle for “Kundalinî,” being in direct communication with the “Buddhi” who, in Manifestation, links the multiple states of being to each other; it corresponds to , to Fire, to the color red. The tongues of fire, which appeared on the heads of the Apostles on the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, correspond to it. The 2 other “nâdîs,” “idâ” and “pingalâ,” ascend in a caduceus around the central artery: “idâ” relates to the Moon ‚ and to the color white, and “pingalâ” relates to the Sun € and to the color yellow. We are reminded that in Tantrism, the Fire, the Moon, and the Sun correspond to the 3 “bindus” which are the 3 aspects of the supreme principle Shiva.
[6] The Ark is surmounted by a mercy seat, covered by the wings of two “Cherubim” (symbol of the quaternary), and above it resides the “Shekinah.” It is placed in a cubic enclosure, and its volume is a straight parallelepiped of the same proportions that serve as a framework for the dwelling houses constructed according to the rules of the art.
[7] When the numbers of the Pythagorean table, read here line by line, are printed for the first time (unity), they are printed in plain type; when they repeat (multiplicity), they are printed in bold. Among the 81 numbers on the table (square number of rank 9), 36 numbers (triangular number of rank 8) are printed in plain type, and 45 numbers (triangular number of rank 9) are in bold. This typographic presentation therefore represents a mutation of 9 ↔ 8, linked to the complementary opposition of Unity and Multiplicity. The quinary, as with the constitution of ARSENIC●M, is the pivot of this mutation, because the number 25 (= 5 × 5) is in the central square of the table. (Editor’s note.)
[8] We established this plan according to the text of the Master of the Work (see Appendix XII).