Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
It has become apparent to me in my relationships and dealings with women who aspire to the Higher Initiations of our Holy Order to elaborate somewhat on the complexities of proceeding to the Higher Mysteries connected with High Priestess .
"Let the woman be girt with a sword before me" is direct quote of the Book of the Law, Chapter III, verse 11. As interpretations go, many are quite satisfactory on this or that plane, but in the case point to follow I will now give information for those who are especially interested in the School of Thought that has been predominate with my peculiar version of the Garden of the Master.
(One only need to confer Liber 418 and the 13th Aethyr which is called Zim to see how the Master tends His Garden.)
A pragmatic example of a recent ordeal with a Sister of the Order would greatly emphasize and concisely elaborate on the stand I have taken in direct regards to the proper spirit of the matter of the "woman girth with a sword".
Yet before I give this example lets looks very closely at these words, "woman girt with a sword". Certainly, a scenario will clarify the matter in the eyes of aspiring Priestesses to have a clear perception on how to approach this arcane formula. Now, lets say we have two women who are to walk through a park at twilight and we give them a sword to wear in case of robbery or rape, a common misfortune in the large parks of large cities. Now the first woman is walking through the park and two rapists see her as easy prey for a night of kidnap and mayhap. We'll say that the first woman is raped and beaten by the scoundrels who know, that she as a woman is weaker and too stupid to pull out her sword and behead them, continuing her stroll through the park unharmed. Obviously, this woman was "wearing a sword" but NOT "girt with a sword". She did not take a stand and actually arise to fight against her aggressors and emerge triumph from a very difficult situation. She failed the preliminary ordeal for attaining that Thelemic spirit which sings and shouts throughout the Book of the Law.
Now the second woman is also "girt with a sword". Instead of bursting out in tears, and throwing her legs in the air in old aeon surrender, she pulls the sword and kills both the rapists, and as they die she ceremonially sacrifices them to Ra-Hoor-Khuit. She then cleans her sword with the garments of her slain enemies and returns home to express her delightful adventure to her Priest. Certainly, the second woman was not just "wearing a sword", she was a Thelemite Woman "girt with a sword". She has passed the preliminary ordeal for attaining that Thelemic Spirit in the Book of the Law, and is a worthy Priestess and Woman. Obviously, this woman is candidate for the Higher Mysteries of the position of High Priestess and is to honored as a real woman fit for the Higher Grades of the Order.
Now for a recent example of the same Ordeal. A sister of the Order found herself
pregnant by a brother of the Order. Now, this Brother had expressed his aspiration
to the Great Work and his private initiations to the entire body of our Holy Order
both in word and deed. He especially was a Thelemite of the Grade of lover, and had
his tendency toward "store of woman" rather than monogamy. Let it be observed that the
"man
of earth"
who will take one Priestess for a Path has an entire different path and formula, and I
will not elaborate in this particular essay the ordeals corresponding to the Priestess.
The man of earth and the Path thereof is ordinarily contrary to the Grade of lover. One
can only warn the novice not to mix the planes of the paths of the three types of
Thelemites.
Now this Sister who found herself pregnant felt cheated and troubled by
the situation that
she was in. She knew that any child that was born by his sperm would not
necessarily be cared for like a man of earth would. Her realization of this made
her
act with emotional turmoil where she went to this Sister or that Brother to express
her dismay that this Brother would not act in a manner consistent with the
preconceived satisfaction of her perceptions of the future with the new child and herself.
She went to one Sister and said, "I'm in trouble". She went to another Brother and
said, "He's acting like he's not going to be responsible". She went to another Sister
and said,
"I may die if I have this child", and so on until the Brothers and Sisters of her
immediate Circle were beginning to become fed up with her immature convulsions.
Obviously, as a Thelemite Woman she should of been "girt with a sword", not
attempting to be consoled with an Ordeal by Brothers and Sisters that had nothing to do
with the situation at all. Instead of keeping the Ordeal the private business of the
Priest, the Priestess and the Superior the situation began to degenerate into false
accusations.
It was up to the Priestess to take a stand, and to find the Superior to learn
how the relationship with the Priest was to end or continue.
It should
be noted that the Superior in the Hierarchy was informed of the problem last who would
of advised both the Priest and the Priestess. Instead, the Priestess ran around to
everyone but the Superior and the situation was permitted to result in real
emotional
frustrations.
Certainly, it would of been a great more
inspiring to all concerned if she had
withdrew her sword to the universe and stated:
"I am a star going upon my course, I
have the courage to make a decision and to take a stand."
Certainly, it would of been a greater respect to the will of her Priest to state that she respected his will as one who had this natural tendency toward lover and proceeded to stand upright with the Banner of Θελημα as he went upon his way to work his will on the Path of Lover. Let it be noted that the above example is identical in equation to the example of the park. She had allowed herself to be raped and beaten by her emotions, she allowed fear to enter the formula of her fate, and was left raped and beaten by the duality of not taking that stand that is so conspicuously obvious in the words, "let the woman be girt with a sword". It was only AFTER relations were ragged with dirty exchange that the Superior was finally approached and gave advice to the Priestess. By this time, her aura was in such a digusting state that all the pearls went in one ear and out the other.
Let it be noted that an Ordeal, if not passed through properly the first time, must be done again and again until the Initiation is perfect in the aura of the magician. I already explained elsewhere that some who have such severe Ordeals give up in frustration and dismay and tell you they are going to "live there own life", in an attempt to run away from the most crucial ordeal in the career toward the High Priestess. Such woman who give up are usually "not of us" and are better off away from those who aspire to the powers of Initiation which make us all, after all in union and yet at the same time the center of our circle. No doubt, if you cannot be the "magician & exorcist" you are going to be divided against yourself on some plane or another and end up as a weak slave hoping that someone will come to your rescue.
Let this be frank warning to all aspiring Priestesses that they are expected to be girt with a sword, every ready to "take the stand" in times of extreme danger or transition.
We will not console you, we will not do a Tarot Reading for you to appease your pain and relieve your worry. You will be treated like an initiate who has to pass through a real ordeal which will awaken the true Initiation. Remember, that the true Initiation means for those who are entering the Hallways of Our Temples, a real learning experience that results in a true spiritual awakening on a higher plane of existence. Your tears, low emotions, ravings or screams of frustration are wasted with Us, for we sincerely aspire to see the truth of Initiation being integrated in the aura of our initiates.
Love is the law, love under will