The Temple of Set II

by Michael A Aquino

  breakthroughs in the magical and philosophical principles of the Left-Hand Path.

  Something, however, went very badly wrong. What and why? And what are the resultant implications for the

  Temple?

  For the first two years of Barrett’s High Priesthood (mid-1979 to mid-1981), his Utterance of the Word Xem was

  in keeping with the traditional climate of magical and philosophical freedom that had characterized the Temple of

  Set since Xeper: that is, the Word was expected to stand on its own merits, and no one was forced to concentrate on

  it. Barrett was a strict High Priest, but only insofar as Temple protocol and administration were concerned.

  This happy state of affairs began to deteriorate, as far as I can determine, at the Set-3 Conclave a year ago. On

  that occasion Lynn Norton was Recognized to the V°, and Barrett’s attitude towards Xem underwent a change. Now

  it was important that those who had not paid what he felt to be sufficient attention to Xem do so forthwith. This was

  to be done by (1) the introduction of a written II° test and (2) the redefinition of the Temple’s degree system to make

  the degrees correspond simply to the progression of Magus-Words from Crowley forward. [Barrett announced these

  two policies in Scroll #VI-6.]

  At the time there seemed no particular reason for concern. Barrett’s record was a good one, and he was the first

  to assure Setians that the test was not to be used punitively, nor would it be centrally graded, nor would there be a

  specific passing score. It would be used as an aid to evaluation only.

  During the ensuing year, Barrett altered all three positions. He and he alone decided passing grades and correct

  answers to the often-ambiguous questions on the test. II°s not passing were demoted to I°. All III°s were forced to

  take the test with a short time limit when few did so on their own. III°s not passing the test, said Barrett, should be

  inactivated until they did. By April 1982 all II°s in the Temple had been demoted to I° [if they had not resigned by

  then], and action against the III°s was halted only by Magistra Sinclair, who as Chairman of the Council of Nine

  informed Barrett that she would not tolerate punitive actions against Councillors merely because of their

  performance on the test.

  Absorbed with the massive project of The Church of Satan history, I was not immediately alarmed by the test or

  by the comments concerning the degree system. I trusted Barrett’s integrity, and I assumed that the test problems

  were “growing pains” that would be solved constructively. As for the degree-system, I did not perceive Barrett’s

  intent as being a change to its underlying structure - a structure so strong and time-tested that it has endured

  formally for a century [since the founding of the Golden Dawn].

  In a letter to the III°+ on 7/15/81, Barrett commented on the Recognition of Norton at Set-III:

  First and foremost is the Coming Into Being of a new Magus V°. I’m not going to say much about it at

  this time until the Recognition has become official, except that I’m delighted and magically elated beyond

  Words.

  I will say this however: Xem is no longer only conceptual, for the Coming Into Being of Magus Norton

  (Ptah) has validated one of the Principles of Xem, for the idea has become in first Manifestation. Xem’s first

  truth is, and through that Xem is!

  Now the Gates which are open have been passed through, and it is the time of the new Magi, of whom

  Ptah and I are but the first. Now comes the Great Work. What is more and very important is that the Curse

  of the Magus is broken; it is no more.

  More on all of this will be explained later, but in the meantime Magus Norton needs time to get a grip

  on what is happening and on a Per-t; I need time to get the reality of all this into my brain; and he and I

  need time to put our Words together for the first phase in the construction of the new realm. Sound

  exciting? You might say that.

  I was concerned about this odd notion of the Curse of the Magus being ended, and further about what I had

  heard - but not read as policy - that “now everyone could attain a personal V°”. I decided that I had best remind both

  Barrett and Norton of the seriousness of the concept of Magus. To Norton [with a copy to Barrett] I wrote on

  7/25/81:

  - 352 -

  From many of the Masters I have heard accounts of your Utterance of the Word of a Magus. While I was

  not fortunate enough to be present at the Set-3 Conclave, I respect their Understanding and your own sense

  of Coming Into Being as expressed both at the Conclave and in your 7/13/81 letter.

  As was also the case at the time of my own and Anubis’ V° initiations, I do not think that

  congratulations would be magically appropriate. While the path from I° to IV° is one of increasing exaltation

  and satisfaction, the V° is, like Satan’s fabled fall from Heaven, a plunge into an entirely new environment.

  The Magister Templi can be an explorer, a teacher, a philosopher. All these pleasant pursuits are shattered

  for the Magus, as he must be a creator. That is his Task, and therein also lies his Curse:

  And this is the horror that was shown by the lake that was nigh unto the City of the Seven Hills,

  and this is the Mystery of the great prophets that have come unto mankind, Moses, and Buddha,

  and Lao Tan, and Krishna, and Jesus, and Osiris, and Mohammed; for all these attained unto the

  grade of Magus, and therefore were they bound with the curse of Thoth. But, being guardians of the

  truth, they have taught nothing but falsehood, except unto such as understood; for the truth may

  not pass the Gate of the Abyss. - 666, 6th Æthyr, The Vision and The Voice

  I know that there is a good deal of excitement and interest in the Temple at the prospect of witnessing

  the Coming Into Being of a new Magus. It is a rare and sublime occasion, and it is all the more stimulating

  because of its mystery. A Magus presents the magical universe with a new unknown factor which necessarily

  alters many, if not all preconceptions about the initiatory process. Witness the environmental changes from

  Crowley to LaVey to myself to Anubis.

  You must recognize, however, that this initial excitement and interest on the part of onlookers is in

  ignorance of what your Word will actually imply for them. If this were not the case - if you fitted neatly into

  the existing magical universe, “making it perfect” - then you would not be a true Magus but rather a

  Magister Templi who had succeeded, perhaps, in making a major breakthrough in Understanding of the

  existing environment Then you would not be Uttering Per-t but rather fulfilling Xem.

  I have read carefully Anubis’ #OS-93 comments to the Priesthood on the ending of the Curse of the

  Magus, and a few evenings ago he and I were able to discuss this at some length. I have reflected on what he

  said and the reasoning behind it, and yet I still feel I should counsel caution and care on this point.

  If Anubis’ magical universe does not encompass what is meant by Per-t - and again that is necessarily

  the case if Per-t is a true V° Word - then Anubis’ apprehension of Per-t is that of a Magister Templi [just as

  my apprehension and subsequent Understanding of Xem has been that of a Magister Templi].

  At this moment, if you are in truth a Magus, no one Understands you but you. That is why a Magus

  is characterized as Uttering a “falsehood”, and that is why the Curse: He encounters skepticism and then

  disbelief,
and then even annoyance and rejection as he insists upon proclaiming the Word. Yet if he is a

  Magus, then he cannot help himself; he must continue to proclaim the Word, and that is the Task of the

  Magus.

  Remember that it took our Initiates a long, slow, and often difficult process to make the magical switch

  from Indulgence to Xeper. Some fell by the wayside. Then it took a similar process to make the switch from

  Xeper to Xem. The word of Nuit - “inertia” - works for the Magister Templi (who streamlines and fulfills the

  existing magical universe) and against the Magus (who expands it and thus alters all preexisting formulæ

  concerning it).

  It is most important that you are aware of this inertia distinction. Otherwise you might tend to interpret

  resistance and ignorance concerning your statements as petty, interpersonal antagonism.

  That was a mistake made by Robert Ethel, who grasped after the V° and found that he was totally

  unable to stand the shock of the cold water after the comforting magical sauna of the IV°. He tried to save

  himself by “enforcing” belief in and understanding of the Word he endeavored to Utter; he tried to wrench

  the V° environment into a IV° semblance.

  The only result was that he made it clear that he was not a true Magus, for a Magus is compelled to see

  the distance and distinction between his Word and the preexisting universe. He stresses it; he does not try

  to hide it or disguise it. And then he carries on despite the Curse, for a true Magus is also identified by his

  willingness to fulfill his Task. As it is written in Liber B vel Magi:

  And woe, woe, woe, yea woe, and again woe, woe, woe unto seven times be His that preacheth

  not His law to men! And woe also be unto Him that refuseth the curse of the grade of a Magus, and

  the burden of the Attainment thereof.

  Only you are in a position to know if you are in truth a Magus V°. All others, Anubis and myself

  included, can only offer you a “best possible” environment to undertake your Task - which is what the V°

  Recognition is in actuality.

  I°-IV° Recognitions are decisions of certainty and validation. The V°, of course, is outside both of these

  concepts. So what the Temple actually does by a V° Recognition is to proclaim to the entire membership:

  “This is an Initiate who believes he is a Magus. The High Priest and the Nine see no apparent reason to

  - 353 -

  disallow that claim and, from his statements to date to them, they are of the opinion that the claim has a

  reasonable probability of being true. Therefore they formally agree to Recognize him as a Magus, that his

  Task may be made easier and his Curse lighter for all Initiates will attempt to interpret him in a unique way

  once they are alerted to the purple medallion.”

  All these things I say to you now, as I said them less clearly years ago to Anubis, and as I learned them

  even more crudely myself years earlier. If you know that you are in truth a Magus, then consider them well,

  for this is the state of being that you now assume - a state of being attained by only eleven other beings. This

  is a distinction beyond perfection, for attainment of perfection is a characteristic of the Magister Templi. It

  is a distinction beyond all honor, beyond reward, beyond compensation. Others may honor you or they may

  not, but you will be a Magus just the same.

  If on the other hand you know that you are not a Magus that the phenomena of Set-III and thereafter

  are IV° and not V°, then I warn you most emphatically not to accept the purple medallion, for to do so would

  destroy you.

  The decision is yours, and as you decide, and as the Temple of Set Recognizes that decision, so I send

  you my encouragement, endorsement, and confidence.

  Norton answered that he felt himself legitimately a Magus by these criteria. Hence I decided I had no reason to

  be concerned for the definition of the V°.

  Norton’s few communiques to the IV°+ concerning Per-t were vague concerning its definition, but he said that

  he was preparing a major presentation and explanation for Set-IV. Probably the most coherent statement

  concerning Per-t was written by Magister James Lewis in a 7/28/81 letter to III°s C. Moffatt, Cole, and Folkler:

  ... Our closest meaning will be “manifestation”, because it is higher man who will be seen in

  Manifestation through man!

  Per-t is a refinement of Indulging the Will to Come Into Being as one of the eternally evolving gods. Per-

  t is an occult (hidden) thing, for it must be an individual work first and foremost before it’s done in concert.

  The question which comes immediately to mind is: “What will Manifest?” And here it can get a bit

  ominous, for which of us is 100% free of some flaw, insecurity, or weakness? I’ll be the first to admit that I

  have a few here and there, but I can also state with the voice of experience that initiation in Maat purifies.

  [”Is initiation so horrible?” Yes and no.]

  At this point I would refer you to Key #1, 7th paragraph: I surmise it is possible to manifest an anomaly.

  Read that last again, and then go back to Key #1. Is it a sure thing that a mutant would horribly bloom? Not

  if initiation is used along with an awareness of the self and Maat. And not if one is constantly, actively

  reaching for the higher goals. But it seems it can happen though even a minor flaw is permitted to take root.

  If this leaves you with a feeling of being at unknown and unmarked crossroads, let me suggest this: Be

  neither overly optimistic nor pessimistic. Utilize balance. Magister Seago once said: “For years I have been

  harping on the necessity of keeping one’s balance.” I personally feel there cannot be too much emphasis

  placed on the “balance factor”. It is a basic necessity to living and one of the safeguards against mutation.

  Upon Barrett’s surprise resignation from the Temple in May 1982 and my consequent reappointment as High

  Priest, I decided that the II° test and the “Order Without Law” policies as enforced, mandatory systems in the

  Temple should go immediately. “I do not consider that the intent of these systems was bad, or even that the

  systems as implemented were total failures,” I said in my first official letter to the III°+ on 6/2. They could be

  retained as voluntary devices, in whole or part, for intelligent initiatory usage. I continued:

  The immediate impact of my policy changes in these areas is to return the Temple to a “maximum

  freedom of action and expression” mode as it was in its earliest years. In general, anything not explicitly

  prohibited by the By-Laws is O.K. This presupposes that each and every member of the Priesthood will use

  his or her powers with intelligence, maturity, kindness, discretion, consideration, openness, courtesy,

  common sense, and an ever-present regard for the sacred nature of the office he or she holds. As High Priest

  I intend to seek the greatest possible latitude for you to continue your own initiation and encourage that of

  others within the Temple’s enhancing systems.

  Only then were I and the entire Temple of Set to begin to see what an iron claw of dogma Barrett and Norton

  had been designing for the Temple during the past year. Norton and his two Order of Ptah III°s Folkler and A. Seago

  objected immediately and obstinately to the removal of that claw; and Norton, Barrett, and Magister L.D. Seago

  commenced an operation designed to defame me and to obtain the High Priesthood for Norton so that the claw

  cou
ld reassert its grip.

  No one was more astonished or dismayed to see this than myself. At first I could hardly believe it was taking

  place at all. Then the amount of poison “under the surface” of the situation proved another shock. For the first time

  in 13 years, I found myself actually having to argue on behalf of my own integrity in the Temple. Some III°s behaved

  with unprecedented impudence and arrogance - not that Magus Norton and Magister Seago set a better example for

  them. When the poison was finally cut out after two months of agony for the Temple, everyone was badly shaken.

  - 354 -

  What was it that made Barrett and Norton create the iron claw and resist its removal by every means in their

  power, fair and foul? It was, I conclude, their ultimate failure to accept the Task of a Magus, which never ceases, and

  their decision to redefine Xem and to initially define Per-t not as magical terms, but as mystical dogma. In The

  Dangers of Mysticism ( Equinox #I-6), Aleister Crowley wrote:

  The mystic is solitary and shut up, lacks wholesome combat. We are all schoolboys, and the football

  field is a perfect prophylactic of swelled head.

  When the mystic meets an obstacle, he “makes believe” about it. He says it is “only illusion”. He has the

  morphine-maniac’s feeling of bien-etre, the delusions of the general paralytic. He loses the power of looking

  any fact in the face; he feeds himself on his own imagination; he persuades himself of his own attainment.

  If contradicted on the subject, he is cross and cattish. If I criticise Mr. X, he screams and tries to injure

  me behind my back; if I say that Madame Y is not exactly St. Teresa, she writes a book to prove that she is.

  Such persons “swollen with wind, and the rank mist they draw, Rot inwardly, and foul contagion

  spread”, as Milton wrote of a less dangerous set of spiritual guides ...

  Corollary to this attitude is the lack of all human virtue. The greatest magician, when he acts in his

  human capacity, acts as a man should. In particular he has learnt kind-heartedness and sympathy.

  Unselfishness is very often his long suit. Just this the mystic lacks. Trying to absorb the lower planes into

  the higher, he neglects the lower, a mistake no magician could make.

  The fulcrum of the degree system in the Church of Satan and Temple of Set has always been the III° - the