There are many revealing passages that have a lot to do with Tool's symbolism in this Book. I've read it, though I have yet to completely understand it. The passage that jumped out at me the most reminded me of Maynards Picture.

"But to love me is better than all things: if under the night stars in the desert thou presently burnest mine incense before me, invoking me with a pure heart, and the serpent flame therein, thour shalt come a little to lie in my bosom"

Notice the reflection of Maynard in the Mirror, of his head on the Bosom...

Is the woman in the picture represented as Nuit, the female duality of the universe?

Here is a link from a personal (well educated) reflection of the book of law.

http://perdurabo10.tripod.com/themin...hue/id347.html

I'm starting to think this entire album is about Nuit. After all, her number is 11...

Crowley, in his comments in The Law Is For All, notes that: "Nuit is matter, Hadit is motion . . . They are the Tao and Teh of Chinese philosophy. . . Our central truth--beyond other philosophies--is that these two infinities cannot exist apart."

Contemporary author Robert Anton Wilson notes in his remarkable work, The Cosmic Trigger, that the verses seem to support Timothy Leary's theory that higher intelligence is "divided." He wrote that Leary believed this intelligence sends "DNA seed to fertilize every womb-planet in the galaxy, 'for the sake of union,'" and return of the children after they have evolved into higher states of consciousness.



http://perdurabo10.tripod.com/themin...hue/id342.html

He he

"Philosophers and religious scholars have concluded that our creation was an attempt by the universe to see itself through our eyes, and become aware of itself through our eventual evolution to a state of godliness."

I think Maynards picture is entirely revolved around Nuit. According to the Book of law, Nuit, the Female counterpart of the sexual duality of the universe, WANTS us to indulge ourselves in all the earthly pleasures that she has provided us, just to remember where they came from...

He holds up the wine glass, "Dress ye all in fine apparel, eat rich foods and drink sweet wines.... but always unto me"

In case you haven't noticed...you're talking to yourself

not at all, there's a lot here to wrap one's head around.

Yeah maybe, but no one gives a fuck what he's saying.

lol....and I was trying to be subtle for once.

I think its beautiful. He has changed the way I look at myself in the mirror after getting a hot shower...I cant wait to get up tomorrow to go jogging while the cool refreshing air injects into my lungs. Im so happy ive stumbled into this thread...Pure genius. Thanks OP.

I'm not talking to myself if people read it.

If I am beating a dead horse, someone needs to send me a link to a better thread.

If you had thought it all out before you'd post it and made just one statement of it, it would have been a little less chaotic (8 posts of 14 above are yours).

But go on, it's interesting.

Its not that I didn't have it all thought out... but rather, I discovered more sycronicities (spelling?) between what I was reading and the album.

If you compare any two things hard enough, you're bound to find similarities. but you're on to a little somethin somethin with the Book of Law.

i tnhik mynarad and the rset of the bnad may hvae raed the book and flet isnpreid and taht's all... i dno't tihnk tehre is atnynhig esle tehre... of cursoe if you look hrad eugonh you can mkae all kndis of rdanom cnonceintos... hvae fun...

hehe, i could read that! thats this "first and last letter, everything else scrambled"-thingy, amirite? :D

I read about 2 minutes of this site and was laughing at how incredibly retarded it is. If we are going to start a discussion about a book, let's pick a half decent one. I nominate The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. It brings the fun of paradoxes and time travel into a novel that reads not much easier than a science textbook! Curdle up in bed and get involved in this story that will make you laugh, cry, evolve and reflect. It's a real page turner.

yes you are... i was surprised at how easy it was to type like that... i only had to really think about it for the longer words... i thought it was cool...

the lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding. a half decent one? have you read any crowley before, i'm guessing not. You pretty much have to be a student of the kabbalah to understand most of what he's hinting at, and I'm definitely not that familar with the kabbalah, but there are a few universal truths to pick up on as you read deeper and deeper into it. nothing crowley says is ever going to be right in your face to understand, kinda like what tool does. I don't think crowley was much concerned about "bringing the fun of paradoxes and time travel into a novel that reads not much easier than a science textbook! Curdle up in bed and get involved in this story that will make you laugh, cry, evolve and reflect. It's a real page turner" haha.

I haven't actually read anything of Crowley's. Where would I find reprints of his books? And which are the best in your opinion Kody?

good thing to mention kody!

and a little advise to you yast3r. if you are going to read crowley, first check the qabalah (the esoteric one that is) and decide if such stuff is your thing..
i would recommend this site for starters:
http://www.byzant.com/Mystical/Kabbalah/Default.aspx
its a nice first step. :)
and then, after you (maybe) hooked, because this is quite inspiring material, always try to maintain a good sense of humor (that is most important!) and a good "distance"/ dont take it tooo seriously, or it might swallow you (and you end up kinda like iamthema! ;) )
so there you go :D

Thanks Sicbanana, I've bookmarked that site and I'll check it out when I've got some spare time.

its 156, not 11

http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/

much better website than that other one

i suggest starting with Magick Without Tears, it breaks it down for the simple minded

now that isn't true... it seems this site bombards you with these cryptic texts of crowley, full of symbolism you dont understand at first, so you leave before you might even get interested, because it's simply TOO much!
and who the hell would want to read through all this crap? there are maybe 2-3 good books, the rest are ramblings of a drug fiend...
the point is that you wont understand the beauty behind all this by reading such texts, because your missing the basics, which is the quabalah...
you dont even HAVE to read these texts...
so, how should this site give you a glimpse of what lies behind?

and i think its also not about some freaky rituals, like wandering around in a cloak mumbling hebrew chants, trying to manifest ancient gods and such queer things ( i mean, wtf! )... these are for, well, freaks/maniacs who have forgotten that there's a world out there...

i think its all about acquiring a deeper understanding of polarity / duality and union.
and plz dont forget your good sense of sarcasm: its all bullshit in the end :D

stay crispy! :)

im sorry crowley didnt dumb it down for you

I found an amazing book called Ascension Magick. It has stuff about sacred geometry, Merkaba meditation, and then of course magick and the like. Impressive book and very interesting.

thanks for not dumbing yourself down for crowley. great post.

gee! thanks! :)
it's always best to take things not too seriously, amirite? ;)

im not saying take it all serious and go get you a sweet ritual robe and a parker bros. talisman, and do the whole charade. there is purpose for what they do, its not for the look of being on the "inside" of an occult, those "goofy" rituals are symbolic and full of meaning and i personally find them quite beautiful, much like a play. going through motions that will ultimately lead to a desired goal. i was just saying that youll find a lot of useful information in all those "freaky rituals, like wandering around in a cloak mumbling hebrew chants, trying to manifest ancient gods and such queer things" but its not my job to make you look into it, just offering reliable information to share that isnt coming from some retarded new age hippie

don't feel like you have to defend your beliefs/opinions. you are more than entitled. thank you for sparing us from the retarded new age hippie.

it's funny to me that, outside of this board, the people i meet who are into crowley typically misrepresent and exaggerate his works and speak of him as some sort of demi-god because, like, he did heroin and stuff, whereas the ones who could spread some of this useful knowledge won't. it seems to me like the hallmark of any marketing scam.

i'm sure if he would have dumbed it down, maybe i could get it, but when i read the book of law i swear he is making fun of me for reading it. as if it is condescending somehow. these are just my flaws.

to get back on track, hows about sharing a nugget of this useful information with us?

if your not willing to find it yourself id rather not. the reason maybe some of yall have a hard time reading his material is probably because it was written mostly in the early 1900s when there wasnt TV and reading is all everyone did, so they had awesome grammar. also he has admitted that people tell him its hard to understand and hes wrote numerous books "dumbing it down" for your average joe (ex. Magick Without Tears). it just takes some getting use to. also crowley isnt necessarily original (besides The Book of The Law), he was just obsessive compulsive with his writing and he brought all of this material that was spread everywhere and compressed it into his library, he did a favor for anyone that is interested, but he made sure that if you werent interested that he would write in such a way that you wouldnt continue reading. he will always try and turn you off from starting a book if he can, because its all about your will and what you define yours as, and if your will is to read and learn the material then you will no matter what crowley says, and youll over come those boundaries that he has set, if your will is not to read and understand then dont and crowley and his writings are none of your concern. but as for those nuggets of information, youll only get those if you read and learn. even though this is the 21st century you cant just go find spark notes on 777, sorry

I love this thread. Brings alot of you truly into the light. Great posts.

now, solidabyss, i quite dont understand your arrogant behavior here...
what seperates "you", who reads crowley and does ritual magick, which i dont completly dismiss because i know that it supportes putting your consciousness in a mode where you can access your subconscious, from someone who read, and knows the quabalah, and also has interests in various other world religions, which can be altogether described "through" the tree of life glyph (crowley himself did this in the observations on the i-ching or hinduism... for example in the trinity therein: brahman, vishnu and shiva or with the nadis)

the point why i post a "baby-easy-introducer" link to the quabalah is because i think that not everyone is likely to get into ritualism, simply because it requires so many utilities and knowledge. so there is the much higher possibility that someone "uninitiated" is trying attain the same goals through real (maybe chakra) meditation (not this fucking new-age-hippy-hey-we-are-so-nice-people-and-therefore-do-yoga attitude, to get that clear! i hate those pussy tree-huggers!)
dont get me wrong: both ways (or any other) are GREAT!! :)

i mean, what the hell, crowleys basis IS the quabalah! say what you want, i know this!
and therefore, what is wrong with "paving the way" towards crowley, through learning the quabalah? the rest comes after that... but i guess it's a much better way through something like this beautiful glyph than through some kind of cheesy wannabe satanism that crowley is attributed with, which is complety wrong information...it's like getting to the light through digging through the earth (hmmm, thats not so bad after all i guess)

in the end the goal should be the same for all people who care about such themes:
be yourself, embrace the light sides of life, as well the night sides and throughoutly experience the NOW. just LIVE complety aware of being conscious! isnt it? :)

peace :)

I'd recommend that instead of reading the Quabalah, that instead you just find an introductory book on magick/collective unconsciousness/meditation as a whole. "Ascension Magick" by Cristopher Penzak is a really great book as there is a little bit of everything. It goes through the Tree of Life, Merkaba Meditation, Magick Rituals and so much more. Definitely worth a glance if you want to get involved in this whole topic. This way you can select what you like, dabble with everything and then choose which direction to take your new occult obsession! :)

Well, obviously Tool doesn't think so... but thats your perogative.