(3) Each one her breast was rending with her nails; They beat them with their palms, and cried so loud, That I for dread pressed close unto the Poet. "Medusa come, so we to stone will change him!" All shouted looking down; "in evil hour Avenged we not on Theseus his assault!" "Turn thyself round, and keep thine eyes close shut, For if the Gorgon appear, and thou shouldst see it, No more returning upward would there be." Thus said the Master; and he turned me round Himself, and trusted not unto my hands So far as not to blind me with his own. O ye who have undistempered intellects, Observe the doctrine that conceals itself Beneath the veil of the mysterious verses! And now there came across the turbid waves The clangour of a sound with terror fraught, Because of which both of the margins trembled; Not otherwise it was than of a wind Impetuous on account of adverse heats, That smites the forest, and, without restraint, The branches rends, beats down, and bears away; Right onward, laden with dust, it goes superb, And puts to flight the wild beasts and the shepherds.

(10) Here endeth the part of the Great Thodol concerned with the setting-face-to-face of the Peaceful [Deities] of the Chonyid Bardo and the setting-face-to-face of the Clear Light of the Chikhai Bardo.

(6) "My son," the courteous Master said to me, "All those who perish in the wrath of God Here meet together out of every land; And ready are they to pass o'er the river, Because celestial Justice spurs them on, So that their fear is turned into desire. This way there never passes a good soul; And hence if Charon doth complain of thee, Well mayst thou know now what his speech imports." This being finished, all the dusk champaign Trembled so violently, that of that terror The recollection bathes me still with sweat. The land of tears gave forth a blast of wind, And fulminated a vermilion light, Which overmastered in me every sense, And as a man whom sleep hath seized I fell.

(524) 1233 To say: N. is pure with the purification which Horus did to his eye. 1233 N. is Thot who avenges thee (the eye); N. is not Set who seizes it. 1233 Rejoice, O gods; rejoice, O Two Enneads. 1234 Let Horus approach N. 1234 N. is crowned with the white crown, the eye of Horus wherewith he is powerful. 1234 The gods rejoice for him who ascends. 1235 The face of N. is as that of a jackal; the two arms of N. are as those of a falcon; 1235 the extremities of the wings of N. are as those of Thot. 1235 May Geb let N. fly to heaven, 1235 that this N. may take the eye of Horus, to himself! 1236 N. has penetrated your frontier, ye dead; 1236 N. has overturned your boundary stones, ye who are before and with Osiris; 1236 N. has conjured the paths of Set; 1236 N. has passed by the messengers of Osiris. 1237 No god can hold N.; 1237 no opponent stands in the way of N. 1237 N. is Thot, the strongest of the gods; 1237 Atum calls N. to heaven for life. 1237 N. has taken the eye of Horus to himself! 1238 N. is the son of Khnum; there is nothing evil which N. has done. 1238 Weighty is this word before thee, O R`. 1238 Hear it, bull of the Ennead. 1239 Open the way of N.; enlarge the place of N. before the gods. 1239 N. has taken the eye of Horus to himself; N. has attached to himself that which went forth from his head. 1240 N. has caused him to see with both his eyes complete, 1240 that he may punish his enemies therewith. 1240 Horus has taken his eye and has given it to N. 1241 His odour is the odour of a god; the odour of the eye of Horus appertains to the flesh of N. 1241 N. is in front with it; N. sits upon your great throne, O gods; 1241 N. is side by side with Atum, between the two sceptres. 1242 N. is the wnnw (messenger?) of the gods in search of the eye of Horus; 1242 N. searched for it at Buto; he found it at Heliopolis; 1242 N. snatched it from the head of Set, at the place where they fought. 1243 Horus, give thine arm to N.; Horus take to thyself thine eye; 1243 it mounts up to thee; it ascends to thee; it comes to thee, N., for life; 1243 the eye of Horus comes to thee with N., before N., for ever.

(204) 118 Rejoice, O hoers; let the heart in the breasts of men be lifted up. 118 They have swallowed the 'bright eye of Horus which is in Heliopolis. 118 The little finger of N. draws out that which is in the navel of Osiris. 119 N. thirsts not, he hungers not; the heart of N. faints (?) not, 119 for it is in the hands of : which hold off his hunger. O fill (him), O fillers of hearts.

(138) For the Goddess bringeth forth the Vast Sun, and the lucent Moon.

(28) The twelfth chapter treats of a great wonder appearing in the heavens: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. This woman represents the constellation of Virgo and also the Egyptian Isis, who, about to be delivered of her son Horus, is attacked by Typhon, the latter attempting to destroy the child predestined by the gods to slay the

(2) A king, whose empire stretched to the far horizons, had a daughter as beautiful as the moon. Before her loveliness even the fairies were abashed. Her dimpled chin resembled the well of Joseph, and the locks of her hair wounded a hundred hearts. Her eyebrows were twin bows, and when she loosed their arrows the space between sang her praise. Her eyes, languorous as the narcissus, threw thorns of her eyelashes in the path of the wise. Her face was as the sun when he took the moon's virginity. The Angel Gabriel could not tear his eyes from the pearls and rubies of her mouth. A smile of her

lips dried up the water of life in the beholder, who yet begged alms from these same lips. Whoever glanced at her chin fell headlong into a spring of bubbling water.

The king also had a slave, a youth, so handsome that the sun grew pale and the light of the moon diminished. When he walked in the streets and market-place crowds stopped to gaze at him.

By chance one day the princess saw this slave, and in a moment her heart slipped from her hand. Reason forsook her and love took possession. Her soul, sweet as Shirin, turned bitter. Withdrawing from her companions she mused, and musing and reflecting, began to burn. Then she called her ten young maids of honour. They were excellent musicians and played on the shawms and pipes; their voices wxre those of nightingales, and their singing, which tore the soul, was worthy of David. Gathering them around her she told them about her state, saying that she was ready to sacrifice her name, her honour, and her life for the love of this youth; for when one is deep in love one is good for nothing else. 'But,' she said, 'if I tell him of my love no doubt he will do something rash. If it becomes known that I have been intimate with a slave both he and I will suffer. On the other hand, if he does not possess me, I shall die lamenting behind the curtain of the harem. I have read a hundred books on patience and still I am without it. What can I do! I must find a way to enjoy the love of this slender cypress, so that the desire of my body shall accord with the longing of my soul - and this must be done without his knowing.'

Then the sweet-voiced maids said: 'Do not grieve. Tonight we will bring him here unknown to anyone, and even he will know nothing about it.'

Soon, one of the young girls went in secret to the slave and asked him, as if to play with him, to bring two cups of wine. Into one cup she threw a drug, contriving that he should drink it. He at once fell asleep, so that she was able

to carry out her plan, and the youth of the silver breast remained without news of the two worlds.

When night came the maids of honour went softly to where he lay and put him on a litter and carried him to the princess. Then they sat him on a golden throne and placed a coronet of pearls on his head. At midnight, still a little drugged, he opened his eyes and saw a palace as fair as paradise, and around him were golden seats. The place was lighted by ten great candles perfumed with amber, and sweet aloe wood burned in pans. The maidens began to sing, but in such sweet strains that reason bade farewell to the spirit, and the soul to the body. Then the sun of wine went round to the light of the candles. Bewildered with the joy of his surroundings and dazzled by the beauty of the princess, the youth lost his wits. He was no longer really in this world nor was he in the other. With a heart full of love, and a body possessed with desire, amid these delights he fell into a state of ecstasy. His eyes were fastened on her beauty and his ears to the sound of the reed pipes. His nostrils took in the perfume of amber and the wine in his mouth became like liquid fire. The princess kissed him, and he shed tears of joy while she mingled hers with his. Sometimes she pressed sweet kisses on his mouth, sometimes they were tinged with salt; sometimes she ruffled his long hair, sometimes she lost herself in his eyes. He possessed her; and so they passed the time until the dawn appeared in the East. When morning Zephyr breathed the young slave became sad; but they sent him to sleep again and took him back to his quarters.

When he of the silver breast came to himself, without knowing why, he began to weep. One might say the thing was finished, so what was the good of crying out. He tore his clothes, pulled his hair and put earth on his head. Those about him asked why he was doing this, and what had happened. He said: Ht is impossible to describe what I have

I

seen, no one else can ever see it except in a dream, for what has happened to me can never have happened to anyone before. Never was there a more astonishing mystery.'

Another said: 'Wake up, and tell us at least one of the hundred things that happened.' He replied: 'lam in a tumult because what I have seen has happened to me in another body. While hearing nothing I have heard everything, while seeing nothing I have seen everything.'

Another said: 'Have you lost your wits or have you just been dreaming?' 'Ah,' he said, 'I don't know if I was drunk or sober. What can be more puzzling than something which is neither revealed nor hidden. What I have seen I can never forget, yet I have no idea where it happened. For one whole night I revelled with a beauty who is without equal. Who and what she is I do not know. Only love remains, and that is all. But God knows the truth.'

The FUMIGATION from MYRRH. DARK veil'd Latona, much invoked queen, Twin-bearing Goddess, of a noble mien; Cæantis great, a mighty mind is thine, Offspring prolific, blest of Jove divine: Phœbus proceeds from thee, the God of light, And Dian fair, whom winged darts delight; She in Ortygia's honor'd regions born, In Delos he, which mountains high adorn. Hear me, O Goddess, with propitious mind, And end these holy rites, with aspect kind. Next: XXXV: To Diana Sacred Texts | Classics « Previous: The Initiations of Orpheus: XXXIII: To Apollo Index Next: The Initiations of Orpheus: XXXV: To Diana » Sacred Texts | Classics

(81) 56 Awake thou in peace, (as) Ti.t awakes, in peace, (as) Tit.t (she of Ti.t) awakes in peace, 56 (as) the eye of Horus in Buto (awakes) in peace, (as) the eye of Horus which is in the houses of the Lower Egyptian crown (awakes) in peace, 56 (the eye) which the weavers wove (?), (the eye) which the sedanchairman planned (?). 57 Cause thou (0 Eye) the two lands to bow to N., as they bow to Horus,. 57 Cause the two lands to fear N., as they fear Set. 57 Sit thou before N., as his god; open thou his way before the spirits, 57 that be may stand before the spirits like Anubis, "First of the Westerners." 57 To say four times: Forward, forward to Osiris. Two rolls of linen.

(1) Then they [i.e. the gods] said to the Eye: cSing for us the Udgitha.' cSo be it/ said the Eye, and sang for them. Whatever pleasure there is in the eye, that it sang for the gods; what- ever good one sees, that for itself. They [i.e. the devils] knew: 'Verily, by this singer they will overcome us/ They rushed upon it and pierced it with evil. That evil was the improper thing that one sees. This, truly, was that evil.

(9) The red sap gushing forth from the tree fell in the gourd and with it they made a ball which glistened and took the shape of a heart. The tree gave forth sap similar to blood, with the appearance of real blood. Then the blood, or that is to say the sap of the red tree, clotted, and formed a very bright coating inside the gourd, like clotted blood; meanwhile the tree glowed at the work of the maiden. It was called the "red tree of cochineal," but [since then] it has taken the name of Blood Tree because its sap is called Blood. "There on earth you shall be beloved and you shall have all that belongs to you," said the maiden to the owls. "Very well, girl. We shall go there, we go up to serve you; you, continue on your way, while we go to present the sap, instead of your heart, to the lords," said the messengers. When they arrived in the presence of the lords, all were waiting. "You have finished?" asked Hun-Camé. "All is finished, my lords. Here in the bottom of the gourd is the heart."

(49) And though indeed thou must walk here with thy Body in the dark Night among Thorns and Thistles, (so that the Devil and also this World does rend and tear thee, and not only buffet, despise, deride, and villify thee outwardly, but also many Times stop thy dear Mind, and lead it captive in the Lust of this World into the Bath [or Lake] of S wines,) yet then the noble Virgin will help thee still, and will call upon thee to desist from thy ungodly mWays.

The FUMIGATION from FRANKINCENSE. ILLUSTRIOUS Themis, of celestial birth, Thee I invoke, young blossom of the earth; 2 Beauteous-eyed virgin; first from thee alone, Prophetic oracles to men were known, Giv'n from the deep recesses of the fane In sacred Pytho, where renown'd you reign; From thee, Apollo's oracles arose, And from thy pow'r his inspiration flows. Honour'd by all, of form divinely bright, Majestic virgin, wand'ring in the night: Mankind from thee first learnt initial rites, And Bacchus' nightly choirs thy soul delights; For holy honours to disclose is thine, With all the culture of the pow'rs divine. Be present, Goddess, to my pray'r inclin'd, And bless the mystic rites with fav'ring mind.

(13) While Hermes still walked the earth with men, he entrusted to his chosen successors the sacred Book of Thoth. This work contained the secret processes by which the regeneration of humanity was to be accomplished and also served as the key to his other writings. Nothing definite is known concerning the contents of the Book of Thoth other than that its pages were covered with strange hieroglyphic figures and symbols, which gave to those acquainted with their use unlimited power over the spirits of the air and the subterranean divinities. When certain areas of the brain are stimulated by the secret processes of the Mysteries, the consciousness of man is extended and he is permitted to behold the Immortals and enter into the presence of the superior gods. The Book of Thoth described the method whereby this stimulation was accomplished. In truth, therefore, it was the "Key to Immortality."

(1) "It came to pass then thereafter that she looked below and saw his light-power in the parts below; and she knew not that it is that of the triple-powered Self-willed, but she thought that it came out of the light which she had seen from the beginning in the height, which came out of the veil of the Treasury of the Light. And she thought to herself: I will go into that region without my pair and take the light and thereout fashion for myself light-æons, so that I may go to the Light of lights, which is in the Height of heights.

(67) That is, when the gall overfloweth and runneth to the heart, then it kindleth the element of fire, and the fire kindleth the astral spirits which reign in the blood in the veins and in the element of water; and then the whole body trembleth by reason of the wrath and the poison of the gall.

The FUMIGATION from MANNA. O Powerful Victory, by men desir'd, With adverse breasts to dreadful fury fir'd, Thee I invoke, whose might alone can quell Contending rage, and molestation fell: 'Tis thine in battle to confer the crown, The victor's prize, the mark of sweet renown; For thou rul'st all things, Victory divine! And glorious strife, and joyful shouts are thine. Come, mighty Goddess, and thy suppliant bless, With sparkling eye, elated with success; May deeds illustrious thy protection claim, And find, led on by thee immortal Fame. Next: XXXIII: To Apollo Sacred Texts | Classics « Previous: The Initiations of Orpheus: XXXI. To Pallas Index Next: The Initiations of Orpheus: XXXIII: To Apollo » Sacred Texts | Classics

(82) 84. 58 To say. 82. 58 To say: It is Thot who brings himself (here) with it. He comes forth with the eye of Horus. One table of offerings. To make a mortuary offering.

(1) Already on my Lady's face mine eyes Again were fastened, and with these my mind, And from all other purpose was withdrawn; And she smiled not; but "If I were to smile," She unto me began, "thou wouldst become Like Semele, when she was turned to ashes. Because my beauty, that along the stairs Of the eternal palace more enkindles, As thou hast seen, the farther we ascend, If it were tempered not, is so resplendent That all thy mortal power in its effulgence Would seem a leaflet that the thunder crushes. We are uplifted to the seventh splendour, That underneath the burning Lion's breast Now radiates downward mingled with his power. Fix in direction of thine eyes the mind, And make of them a mirror for the figure That in this mirror shall appear to thee." He who could know what was the pasturage My sight had in that blessed countenance, When I transferred me to another care, Would recognize how grateful was to me Obedience unto my celestial escort, By counterpoising one side with the other.