"The Order of the S. S." (Silver Star,
Argon Astron, A:.A:.) is composed of those who have crossed the
Abyss; the implications of this expression may be studied in Liber
418, the 14th, 13th, 12th, 11th, 10th, and 9th Aethyrs in particular.
All members of the Order are in full possession of the Formulae
of Attainment, both mystical or inwardly-directed and Magical or
outwardly- directed.
[...]
Every
active Member of the Order has destroyed all that He is and all
that he has on crossing the Abyss; but a star is cast forth in the
Heavens to enlighten the Earth, so that he may possess a vehicle
wherein he may communicate with mankind. The quality and position
of this star, and its functions, are determined by the nature of
the incarnations transcended by him.
To attain
the grade of Magus he must accomplish Three Tasks; the renunciation
of His enjoyment of the Infinite so that he may formulate Himself
as the Finite; the acquisition of the practical secrets alike of
initiating and governing His proposed new Universe and the identification
of himself with the impersonal idea of Love. Any neophyte of the
Order (or, as some say, any person soever) possesses the right to
claim the Grade of Master of the Temple by taking the Oath of the
Grade. It is hardly necessary to observe that to do so is the most
sublime and awful responsibility which it is possible to assume,
and an unworthy person who does so incurs the most terrific penalties
by his presumption.
[...]
"The
Order of the R. C." The Grade of the Babe of the Abyss is not
a Grade in the proper sense, being rather a passage between the
two Orders. Its characteristics are wholly negative, as it is attained
by the resolve of the Adeptus Exemptus to surrender all that he
has and is for ever. It is an annihilation of all the bonds that
compose the self or constitute the Cosmos, a resolution of all complexities
into their elements, and these thereby cease to manifest, since
things are only knowable in respect of their relation to, and reaction
on, other things.
[...]
To attain
the Grade of Magister Templi, he must perform two tasks; the emancipation
from thought by putting each idea against its opposite, and refusing
to prefer either; and the consecration of himself as a pure vehicle
for the influence of the order to which he aspires.
He must
then decide upon the critical adventure of our Order; the absolute
abandonmnt of himself and his attainments. He cannot remain indefinitely
an Exempt Adept; he is pushed onward by the irresistible momentum
that he has generated.
Should
he fail, by will or weakness, to make his self- annihilation absolute,
he is none the less thrust forth into the Abyss; but instead of
being received and reconstructed in the Third Order, as a Babe in
the womb of our Lady BABALON, under the Night of Pan, to grow up
to be Himself wholly and truly as He was not previously, he remains
in the Abyss, secreting his elements round his Ego as if isolated
from the Universe, and becomes what is called a "Black Brother."
Such a being is gradually disintegrated from lack of nourishment
and the slow but certain action of the attraction of the rest of
the Universe, despite efforts to insulate and protect himself, and
to aggrandise himself by predatory practices. He may indeed prosper
for a while, but in the end he must perish, especially when with
a new Aeon a new word is proclaimed which he cannot and will not
hear, so that he is handicapped by trying to use an obsolete method
of Magick, like a man with a boomerang in a battle where every one
else has a rifle.
[...]
...he
must employ to this end the formula called "The Beast conjoined
with the Woman" which establishes a new incarnation of deity;
as in the legends of Leda, Semele, Miriam, Pasiphae, and others.
[...]
From
the Abyss comes No Man forth, but a Star startles the Earth, and
our Order rejoices above that Abyss that the Beast hath begotten
one more Babe in the Womb of Our Lady, His concubine, the Scarlet
Woman, BABALON.
There
is not need to instruct a Babe thus born, for in the Abyss it was
purified of every poison of personality; its ascent to the highest
is assured, in its season, and it hath no need of seasons for it
is conscious that all conditions are no more than forms of its fancy.
Excerpts from Alt.Magick FAQ #7: "A Glimpse
of the Structure and System of the Great White Brotherhood."