The grade of Philosophus 4=7 is here discussed. We look at the subject of building an Astral Temple. The magical temple is conceived as a pyramid in the grade of Neophyte, but it does not stop there. The ‘Z’ formula by which the Probationer passes to Neophyte is used for talismans, evocation and all manner of magical work. We therefore take a look at the whole matter of Initiation in the Outer Order or Golden Dawn. We examine the role played by the Qliphoth in the Great Work, the use of traditional visionary material such as the book of Daniel and the Revelation or Apocalypse, and how these themes are resumed in the (Egyptian) Book of the Law, Liber AL vel Legis. © Oliver St. John 2017 © Prelude in B Minor by Fernando Sor performed and recorded by Oliver St. John; ‘Transition (improvisation)’ by Oliver St. John. Visit Ordo Astri, Thelemic Magical Collegium: www.ordoastri.org

Building an Astral Temple and Thelemic Initiation

Welcome to the Temple of Babalon Podcast. Oliver St. John is a founder member of Ordo Astri, an Independent Thelemic magical Order based in the UK. Our audio podcasts are for those with a serious interest in Thelema, Hermetic and magical philosophy, practical magick, mysticism, and the occult.

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Series 2 Episode 7: We open with the first part of ‘Liber 930’ from Phoenix–and other Stellar Rites of Initiation, the Neophyte ritual. Our discussion begins with ‘The Way to Bubastis or Way of Knowledge’. The Left-hand path is frequently identified with heterodox practices that are sometimes condemned as ‘immoral’ by the profane. We begin, therefore, with the Egyptian festival of the goddess Bastet, which outsiders deemed lewd. We continue with ‘Star and Snake of Egypt’, where we ride the cosmic serpent to the innermost regions of the Temple of Hathoor, working our way through the labyrinth until we emerge to ‘open the doors of heaven’, as did the priest Ankh-af-na-khonsu. We conclude the episode with the ‘Oracle of Babalon’ as received by the Elizabethan mage John Dee, with a commentary that we hope shall throw a light on this remarkable but little understood received text. © Oliver St. John 2021. The Spanish classical guitar music is ‘Prelude in E major’, composed by Francisco Tàrrega, performed and recorded by Oliver St. John.Visit Ordo Astri, Thelemic Magical Collegium: www.ordoastri.org

Babalon Unveiled Episode 7 Oracle of Babalon

Series 2 Episode 6: We open with a reading and comment on Thunder Perfect Mind. The Gnostic scripture has proved baffling to scholars, yet the enigmatic text resonates with the voice of Babalon as heard through the ages. We present here a new translation of the text that may inspire those sensitive to the Call of Isis. Part Two resumes with ‘Love is the law of the Scarlet Woman’, an in-depth look at magical polarity. The episode concludes with ‘The Scarlet Woman or Soul in the Underworld’. The Egyptian Ka, with all its desires and appetites, strongly moved by lunar magnetism, is the Scarlet Woman or soul in the underworld. She must overcome the hostile forces of the underworld if she is to survive physical mortality. © Oliver St. John 2020. The Spanish classical guitar music is ‘Prelude in E major’, composed by Francisco Tàrrega, performed and recorded by Oliver St. John. Visit Ordo Astri, Thelemic Magical Collegium: www.ordoastri.org

Babalon Unveiled Episode 6 Thunder Perfect Mind

Series 2 Episode 5: We have arrived at the heart of Babalon Unveiled! Thelemic Monographs. In the Scarlet Woman “is all power given”. The Serpent Power animates the life of the Scarlet Woman, radiating from the ‘star’ contained within her. Above the Abyss, the Scarlet Woman is the body of Nuit, the company of heaven. Down the ages, the feminine creatrix has been demonised and reviled. We have to travel back aeons in time to find that the so-called harlots were priestesses, temple virgins or pythonesses dedicated to the sacred oracle. As we move forward into classical times, women were thrown out of the temples and forced into prostitution. To the religious zealots down the ages, Babylon the Great symbolises the pride and arrogance of materialism. We shall lift the veil woven from the confusion of the scriptural scribes. The mythical ‘fall’ of Babylon has its origin in literal fact. She may have ‘fallen’ in so far as her material image was destroyed along with all memory of her knowledge and power, but she is fully resurrected for all those that follow the love of Nuit. © Oliver St. John 2020. The Spanish classical guitar music is ‘Mazurka Chôro’, composed by Heitor Villa-Lobos, performed and recorded by Oliver St. John. Visit Ordo Astri, Thelemic Magical Collegium: www.ordoastri.org

Babalon Unveiled Episode 5—Scarlet Woman, Babylon the Great

Series 2 Episode 4: We open the programme with the Ultimate Tarot Journey. This is not a pathworking but an investigation into the ingenious placement of the 22 trumps on the paths of the Tree of Life. We here place the Tarot in a context never previously discussed or written about. The second part of the broadcast resumes the readings from Babalon Unveiled—Thelemic Monographs. What is the meaning of ‘lineage’ in regard to magical Orders? How did such a notion come about? The truth of such matters can come as quite a surprise. All will be revealed in ‘Lineage of the Magi’, an-depth look at apostolic succession in the light of Esoteric Thelema. This includes asides that do not appear in the book. © Oliver St. John 2020. The Spanish classical guitar music is ‘Mazurka Chôro’, composed by Heitor Villa-Lobos, performed and recorded by Oliver St. John. Visit Ordo Astri, Thelemic Magical Collegium: www.ordoastri.org

Babalon Unveiled Episode 4—Ultimate Tarot Journey, Lineage of the Magi

Series 2 Episode 3: Previously, we have discussed the Thelemic Gnosis independently of the mainstream or orthodoxy. Esoteric Thelema returns the Gnosis to its ancient Egyptian source. There is no need to appeal to the writings of Crowley or his epigones. We have begun an enquiry into magical polarity and the role of Babalon or the Scarlet Woman in cosmology and initiation. We now move on to some of the key texts in Babalon Unveiled that deal directly with the matter of the (Egyptian) Book of the Law and the import of the teachings of Aiwass. We shall cover diverse topics along the way, including Witches, Vampires, the Afterlife and Divine Imagining. There is also a dramatised rendition of the Song of the Stele of Revealing, which many use for ritual purposes. © Oliver St. John 2020. The  Spanish classical guitar music was ‘Valsa Chôro’, composed by Heitor Villa-Lobos, performed and recorded by Oliver St. John. Visit Ordo Astri, Thelemic Magical Collegium: www.ordoastri.org

Building an Astral Temple and Thelemic Initiation

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