I have composed this work neither for the common people, nor for beginners, nor for those who occupy themselves only with the Law as it is handed down without concerning themselves with its principles.

‘The Guide For The Perplexed’, Maimonides (12th Century)

“Conversations with an Elder”

Philolaus (Φιλόλαος)

(ca. 480 – ca. 385 BCE)

To make the existence and coherent structure of this Universe depend upon automatic activity and upon chance is against all good sense. Such a notion could be entertained only where there is neither intelligence nor even ordinary perception; and reason enough has been urged against it, though none is really necessary. But there is still the question as to the process by which the individual things of this sphere have come into being, how they were made.

Some of them seem so undesirable as to cast doubts upon a Universal Providence; and we find, on the one hand, the denial of any controlling power, on the other the belief that the Kosmos is the work of an evil creator.

This matter must be examined through and through from the very First Principles. We may, however, omit for the present any consideration of the particular providence, that beforehand decision which accomplishes or holds things up in abeyance to some good purpose and gives or witholds in our own regard: when we have established the Universal Providence which we affirm, we can link the secondary with it.

Plotinus, ‘The Enneads’,

Third Ennead, Second Tractate: ‘On Providence ‘[1]

E N T E R

……..~ The Garden Of Forking Paths ~………

??????

I stared at the piece of paper again – “The Message”:

“To follow the Path, you must chase The Rabbit”

I looked back into the package from where it came, reached inside, and carefully removed the contents. They were just a few sheets of paper – weathered and yellow – resembling part of some ancient manuscript, that would crumble at the slightest touch.

The shapes and symbols were certainly from another Time and Place, yet they looked so familiar……”INstRuktIons:“, the letters on the first page read, in thick red ink.

Shaking with nervous anticipation, I placed them down on the large table in front of me, lit the candle so as to be able to read from my books, and set about deciphering the code.

]]> http://spinoza38.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/vol-i-chapter-2-the-rabbit-in-the-garden/feed/ 0 spinoza38 The Rabbit The Symbols http://spinoza38.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/a-good-luck-charm/ http://spinoza38.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/a-good-luck-charm/#comments Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:56:06 +0000 spinoza38 http://spinoza38.wordpress.com/?p=523 ]]> As the Eclipse reached totality, I looked up through the cracks in the fingers of one hand and thrust the other into my pocket, clasping The Stone. Without this the journey would be impossible – my good luck charm. My Guardian Angel. The Holy Grail. And it was what They had come for.

I squinted up as Nature and Destiny conspired to signal their intent, and in that moment the true beauty and mystery of Our World – through the elegance and majesty of The Celestial Spheres – revealed itself,  just as the eerie premature dusk fell like a dark shroud.

Oh, what a sight!….

But there was no time to waste. I had to prepare. WE had to prepare.

There was Great Work to be done.

Preparing The Philosopher's Stone

“Lapis Philosophorum!”, I indignantly proclaimed towards the Heavens.

Then quickly, I turned, headed back inside and slammed the door shut.

“The greatest mystery of the infinite is the existence of Him for whom alone all is without mystery.”

Preface to ‘The Key to the Great Mysteries’

by Eliphas Lévi (1861)

Baphomet

Baphomet is a name of unestablished origin.

It appeared as a term for a pagan idol in trial transcripts of the Inquisition of the Knights Templar in the early 1300s. However, in the 19th century the name came into popular English-speaking consciousness with the publication of various pseudo-history works that tried to link the Knights Templar with conspiracy theories elaborating on their suppression. The name Baphomet then became associated with a “Sabbatic Goat” image drawn by Eliphas Lévi.

Baphomet  has occasionally been portrayed as a synonym of Satan or a demon, a member of the hierarchy of Hell.

Baphomet appears in that guise as a character in James Blish‘s The Day After Judgment. Christian evangelist Jack Chick claims that Baphomet is a demon worshipped by Freemasons, a claim that apparently originated with the Taxil hoax.

Léo Taxil‘s elaborate hoax employed a version of Lévi’s Baphomet on the cover of Les Mystères de la franc-maçonnerie dévoilés, his lurid paperback “exposé” of Freemasonry, which in 1897 he revealed as a hoax satirizing ultra-Catholic anti-Masonic propaganda.

In the 19th century, the name of Baphomet had become associated with the occult. In 1854, Eliphas Levi published Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (“Dogmas and Rituals of High Magic”), in which he included an image he had drawn himself which he described as Baphomet and “The Sabbatic Goat”, showing a winged humanoid goat with a pair of breasts and a torch on its head between its horns (illustration, top). This image has become the best-known representation of Baphomet.

The downward-pointing pentagram on its forehead is enlarged upon by Lévi in his illustration of a goat’s head arranged within such a pentagram, which he contrasts with the microcosmic man arranged within a similar but upright pentagram.

Source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baphomet]

Wikipedia Portal to:  [Occult]

You must first read and understand the instructions left by Our Teachers – these will serve you well; only then will you be fit to face the challenges that lay ahead.

Put aside all that you think you know, for these are no ordinary teachings.  These were given to Our Fathers by ‘The One’ : -

The Source of  All Truth.

The Enemy have  prepared – so must we.

Find your instructions……….

The Nine are waiting.

But now so too are They.

Where does it come from – this Quest?

This need – to solve life’s mysteries from the simplest of questions, can never be answered:

Why are we here ?.. What is the soul ?.. Why do we dream ?

Perhaps we’d be better off not looking at all. Not delving; not yearning. But that’s not human nature – not the human heart. That is not why we are here.

Yet still we struggle to make a difference. To change the world. To dream of hope. Never knowing for certain who we will meet along the way.

Who among the world of strangers, will hold our hand.   Touch our hearts. And share the pain of trying.

H E R (O) E S,  Volume I: Genesis,

Chapter 23: How To Stop An Exploding Man

(2007)

It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.

Sun Tzu (6th Century BCE)

All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

(from Chapter One,  ‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu)

To read or download the e-book of  “The Art of War”:

[click here] format: [.pdf]

WAR is the Father and King of All:

Some He has made Gods, and some Men;

some slaves and some free.

Heraclitus of Ephesus, (c.535 BC – 475 BC)

“A man’s character is his fate”

"The Weeping Philosopher"

There is a moment in every war where everything changes. A moment when the road bends; alliances and battle lines shift, and the rules of engagement are rewritten.

Moments like these can change the nature of the battle, and turn the tide for either side…..

So what can we do to understand them?

To be ready for change, we steady our hearts, curb our fears, muster our forces, and look for signs in the stars.

But these moments, these game changes, remain a mystery. Destiny’s invisible hand, moving pieces on a chessboard.

No matter how much we prepare for them – how much we resist the change, anticipate the moment,  fight the inevitable outcome – in the end, we are never truly ready when it strikes.

‘H E R (O) E S‘,  Volume III: Villains,

Chapter 10: The Eclipse: Part I

(2008)