Behold The Dragon

This is a piece of applied Qaballa which uses the fusion model of the Tree of Life. It is a bit technical in its references to the Tree and to Liber Al.  It recounts an experience which took place over a period of about 7 days (September 27th to October 3rd, 2003) in which the Dragon appeared in the Tree and the meanings of the astrologically timed rites of Sun/Venus (known as the 107 in EQ) and Sun/Mercury (known as the 151 in EQ) were found and seen to be united in the Dragon who proclaims Thelema.  Of course this is not the only interpretation and those who use the strictly traditional Tree will have slightly different attributes for Binah and Daath but the image and implications are substantially the same.  There is also some variance among the EQists (practitioners of English Qaballa) with this interpretation but I feel they can be reconciled. .    

The Dragon : I had a very interesting experience today. I saw the dragon. I was  discussing the pillars of the Tree of Life and the role of the 107 and 151 as the foundations of the pillars of Mercy and Severity. Here's what I found (on 9/30) :

A view of the fusion version of the Tree of Life will be helpful in following the rest of the presentation.

For details of EQ-11 see English Qaballa and Wakanaba in the Introduction and further under technical details. 

The Initial Consideration of the Pillars

I do think that this line of exploration yields interesting and useful insights into the two conjunction rites and that somehow the dragon symbolizes their union.

Rites Clarify

A terrific gnostic birthday (9/28) present and somehow connected with the work I've been doing on a Spica talisman (begun 9/27).

There's my longish meditation/exploration on the Dragon and what he told me, or was this from Hamaliel, I'm not sure, maybe both; but I do know that it was a very illuminating set of insights and rings true although it is not complete in detail and remains to be tested. The Dragon is still flying in my mind's eye. I may keep getting more of this until he decides to rest, I don't know but it wouldn't surprise me.

Disclaimer and Testing

Note that the connections of the astrological factors to the symbolism allow testing of the  concepts and expected results by the use of timed operations, observations, and actions. There are also  hints for the construction of images and artefacts from the geometric figures and associated images that can  be tested. Note that no occult body officially endorses the views presented here.  They are freely available to any who may find them of use and open to exploration and testing by any who care to go to the trouble. I should also admit that my understanding is not perfect so this view is also open to correction and revision as indicated by the results of experiment and further consideration. The gods and spirits and the star within initiate.  As the Book says 'Success is they proof.'

Star Notes 

 The constellation Draco circles the pole from about 61 to 81 degrees North whose bright stars are like Mars and Saturn according to Ptolemy.  In mythology it has been associated with the dragon that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides, with the dragon of the giants snatched by Minerva and whirled into the sky during their war with the gods, and the serpent Python slain by Apollo after the deluge. It has also been identified as the Old Serpent of Genesis and the Great Dragon worshipped by the Babylonians with Bel.  The name for this constellation appears to be nearly universal. It was the ancient possessor of the pole star and many mythologies reflect its loss of position in tales where it is cast down or displaced. Some see here the dragon Tiamat of the Babylonians  overcome by the kneeling Sun god (our Hercules).  In earlier times it was a much larger constellation and enclosed the Bears.  From it's position near (and at one time at) the pole it is the symbol of eternal vigilance. It's role in guarding the golden fruit implies a role as guardian of the orchard of the stars as a fruit tree was at one time a symbol of the starry heavens.  There are connections in Egyptian star lore with their Crocodile and Hippopotamus constellations. It is also said to have associations with Isis and, in the myth of Horus, it is associated with a people [prehistoric to the Egyptians] known as the Hor-she-shu.   It is said that at one time the Egyptians called the constellation Tanem similar to the Hebrew Tannim and Aramaic Tannin.  Among some Arab astrologers it was known as the poisonous constellation and it was thought that comets here showed poison scattered over the world. A great comet was observed passing through the constellation in China in 1337.     

Excerpts and paraphrase from Robson and Allen.  Draco extends over 12 hours of right ascension (half the sky near the pole) and contains over 130 naked eye stars (as many as 220 according to some sources).  The principal stars are Thuban (alpha), Rastaban (beta which is binary), Eltanin (gamma which is double), and Nodus Secundus (delta) and six or seven other named stars including Giansar (lambda) and Grummium (zeta). Most stars in Draco are yellow or orange in color.

Draco is said to give an artistic but somber and emotional nature with a penetrating analytical mind with much travel and many friends as well as some danger of robbery and accidental poisoning.  Rastaban, the nebulous star in the Dragon's Eye, is generally considered unfortunate in a nativity, including a tendency to suffer kicks from horses when with the Moon. It is the only star of Draco listed by Robson.  Only Eltanin is listed by Ebertin.  The eyes of the Dragon are all that remain in the modern star lists : the left eye in Robson and the right in Ebertin. In light of the above discussion, this seems quite appropriate.    

An implication for the magical use of fixed stars seems to be to invoke the Dragon who is their guardian and to pay particular attention to eclipses and comets. There may also be a link with the invocation known as the Bornless or Headless One.  The Dragon no longer holds the pole star which would be the head though this honor passes among the constellations by precession.  One might surmise that the rite was composed shortly after (in stellar terms) the loss of position. The Dragon's eyes remain but it no longer holds the preeminent position, that now belongs to the Bear.  Evenso, it girdles the pole and guards the orchards of the stars thus giving a connection with Hamaliel and, from the exploration above, with the integration of the powers of the cosmos and the current law of the Aeon.     

Numerical Notes 

Number notes (10/04) : The sums of the sephira on the left hand wing are 8+5+3 = 16, on the right this is 7+4+2 = 13 and for the body in the middle this is 9 + 12 + 6 + 14 + 11 = 52 or 2x26, without the intersections it is 26 : 9+6+11.  The Trumps on the left hand wing are XV + XII + VII + VI = 40, on the right they are XIII + X + V + XVII = 45 and for the body half of II (or I ?)  + XIV so 15 or 16.  The sum of all the points composing the dragon is 81.  The sum of all the trumps composing the dragon is 100 or 101.  One could also consider the Hebrew value of the letters attributed to these paths but by leaving them aside at this point, we have a more direct comparison of Hebrew and EQ.  That is the natures of the trumps and the points are known so the interpretations of Hebrew and EQ and mathematical symbolism can be compared.  A Rosetta Stone of sorts.  And for all that we could throw in Greek, AL does. 

It is of interest that the prime number 13 appears as the sum of the sephira for the rights hand path and as a factor in the body of the dragon. Unity or integration is emphasized by this and is a supporting observation for the dragon and rites associated with it being the integrating factor. 

If each of the wings includes its start/end point (Sol : 6) then we have 22 for the left and 19 for the right.  22 is the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet and 2x11 or magickal expansion in duality.  19 as XIX is the Sun Trump. This could be said to refer to the preoccupation with magic and analysis on the left and to the experiential nature of the right. Similar considerations can be applied to the hemispheres of the brain and the dragon as the body integrating spine and the interface between the hemispheres. 

The points of the two wings sum to 85 which is 5x17 :  the moving or flying star with 17 ( XVII) as the Star. Hadit in his going.  

A Possible Rosetta Stone  

So far the explorations are consistent with the main themes of the conjunction rites and the Dragon from the cosmological scheme and the tarot. The strict EQ values remain to be worked but that can't be done in a racing vision but requires the application of analysis and a lot of number crunching. That's coming, slowly but it's coming.  Along the way, the Rosetta Stone idea can be brought into play. Pure number and it's symbolism, EQ, Hebrew, and Greek are all involved here.  Maybe too much for me but it's there. It will just take time and will probably be frequently interrupted by many other projects and will probably occasion many other opportunities for gnosis.  

As a first step in this direction we note the values of the names of the planets in EQ-11 and Hebrew corresponding to the sephira of interest here

Titles and Planets of the Sephira Evaluated in their own tounges < in process>  .

 Note that the purpose here is not to lay out correspondence for the entire Tree but to investigate the numerical values of the labels in light of the rites, meanings of the sephira, and the symbolism of the Dragon; to compare, clarify, and consider their meanings. The rites are timed by astrological conjunctions and our first cut notion of their meanings comes form the trumps attributed to the connecting paths and from the notions so far developed by EQ practitioners.  Incomplete references to these conjunctions in ancient astronomical lore (circa 2500 BCE) suggests that they were known and studied for their magical importance from an early period, so we can assume that some information will arise from archeology and mythology. So far this information is scant but certainly extant and no serious studies with this particular interest, that I know of, have taken place to date.  This suggests that there is a tradition to build on and perhaps to correct and complete despite our incomplete knowledge at this time. It has been suggested that the superior and inferior conjunctions of Venus and Mercury with the Sun are particularly important in this regard (this insight from Jake Stratton-Kent) and ancient sources discussing them exist. 

This should allow us to consider the ancient (at least from around 700 or 800 BCE when the Bible was written) view on these rites, the moreso and further back as archeological and mythic information is discovered and correlated, with the modern view as given by this exploration and the EQists.  

Thelemic Interpretations and Next Steps     

From this base we can proceed to explore these rites and notions from the viewpoint of mathematical philosophy and further in the EQ and Hebrew reference frames with peaks at Greek and Arabic and launch into specific connections in EQ and AL. I mention these two separately since AL is currently being interpreted on several levels by three different methods..  There is the approach using the EQ-11 cipher and the related 26-point star ciphers, there is a method which uses the literal text and traditional methods, and there is a method that uses a wakanaba transformation. The methods I am using here are somewhere between the ciphers and the literal text methods viewed from an astrological angle. . 

Now I suppose I could well be accused of mixing the planes at this point and maybe I have.  What strikes me is that we have a set of conjunctions for which we have interpretations, a set of mathematical values, and the imagery of the tarot and the constellations as more or less independent reference guides. Then we have the correspondence with magical, spiritual, and linguistic traditions.  Yes, the traditions are complete systems in themselves but they all have a lot of loose ends.  They also all rest on a common cosmological basis which allows us to make them illuminate one another. 

At one time The Golden Dawn presented a scheme for corresponding the constellations to the Tree and the Tarot.  Perhaps that also deserves another look.   

I do realize, at the same time, that my presentation is not at all polished, probably contains errors, needs more detailed explanation in many spots, and sacrifices many sacred cows. I can only say that I will try to make it clearer and more coherent, correct any errors, and that cows, sacred or otherwise, are food for the Dragon.     

To be continued ... <as the page grows and fills out, I'll add page navigation>  

The Dragon has been generous!

 Jonathan Flanery 10/05/03

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