by David R. Jones

The Thirty Aethyrs or Aires are the concentric regions of the Enochian magical universe, recorded by John Dee and Edward Kelly in the 1580s and explored in depth by Aleister Crowley in his work "The Vision and the Voice" (1909). Crowley's account of the Aires became a foundational document of the Thelemic tradition, influencing generations of practitioners who continued the work of skrying — that is, of entering a visionary or trance state and journeying through each Aire in turn.

This record was posted to alt.magick in July 2004 by David R. Jones, a practitioner trained in the Golden Dawn and Thelemic traditions. The vision addresses the 18th Aire, ZEN, and explores its correspondences to the Thoth Tarot, the Tablet of Union, and the Enochian cosmological system. Jones annotates the vision with fourteen scholarly notes drawing on sources including Robert Turner's "Elizabethan Magic," the Zohar, the Gospels, and the Golden Dawn curriculum.

The document is preserved here as a primary source of mid-2000s Western magical practice — one practitioner's first-hand account of Enochian work, with both the raw visionary experience and the scholarly reflection that followed. The voice is that of someone deeply inside the tradition, writing for peers who share the same symbolic vocabulary.

Preface

There was a request for information on Enochian in relationship to the Tarot and traditional Qabala. This is a vision from some number of years ago that addresses the former issue. I admit that a certain amount of Golden Dawn bias permeates the vision, not quite sure why other than the training of the scryer. In these earlier visions of mine the influence of Crowley's Vision and the Voice on my technique is rather obvious. It was done through fairly typical methods the details of which I am not going to cover here.

The Vision

ZEN

I see the planet Jupiter in the night sky brighter than any star through a four pane window suspended in space. And a silent voice in my head: "Pisces was the fish of christos but the Southern fishes are the fishes of the antichristos." [1]

And I hear a voice. "Did not the Romans sow the fields of Tunis with Salt?" and another "Tomorrow we shall be in Paradise." And another "are not the kings of Edom the princes of Hell." [2]

All before me is smoke and fire and a stench of burning garbage. The voice again: "this is the ever burning fire the torment of the damned." And the voice laughs as if there is some joke that no one gets but him. And now the smoke clears and I see that it is a garbage fire and there are burning tires and people sifting through the piles that feed the flames. And in the distance I can see the Dome of the Rock far away upon a hill and behind a great wall. But the flames still glint of the gold of the Dome. And a voice deep and manly in my right ear: "St. Joan and Bruno were burnt for their truth, but cried not in agony for the truth can only be spoken with silence" and again: "by the crushing of stones were the demons displaced;" and again "who has been slain by the sword of the executioner is martyred for God;" and yet again "only the innocent drown in the watery grave." Now another voice clear by fey and faint in my left ear: "The immolation of the flame is the fire of Pentecost and the weight of the stone is the joy of the work and the edge of the blade is the truth of the argument but the baptism of water is the cleansing of the soul." [3]

Beyond the city is a hill and upon the hill many crosses. [4] But all the crosses are empty save for a serpent coiled upon one of them. The voice: "I.N.R.I. Iota Nu Rho Iota" (by this I understand that the first Iota is a skull and Nu is death and Rho is the Sun rising and the Iota is a seed that though buried as dead is heated by the Sun and sends forth shoots into a new life to capture the rays of the Sun). [5] Again there is a whisper: "The Tablet of Union is the garment of Christ and the Black Cross of Union is the cross upon which all who are called adepts have been crucified." [6]

A scroll is unfurled upon which is written: "Multiplicity = Unity And Unity = Multiplicity." [7]

Now I see 4 men clothed as the 4 Knights of the Tarot and they seem to be playing a strange game with 3 dice. The first voice: "You cannot work without the 1st and the 2nd." The second voice: "But by casting the three may the 3rd to the 18th be chosen." [8]

Now they rip the cloak into 4 pieces [9] and first piece turns red and bloodied and is cast into the East: "Thou shalt not live by blood alone." And the second part turns white and brilliant and is cast to the South: "Thus were they blinded and could not see." And the third part turns green and scaly and is cast toward the West: "the wisdom of the serpent is the curse of God." And the fourth part turns black as midnight and is thrown into the North: "And in the darkness of the night is the truth of the stars revealed." [10]

Now a thick fog covers all and the stars disappear one by one, until none are left but the pole star. And it becomes brighter and brighter. And now I see that it is a candle flame in a cave or tomb. In the midst of the tomb is a great sarcophagus; upon the lid of which is graven the Tablet of Union in Enochian characters. And upon each letter is a weapon or an idol.

A spear: "This is the spear that pierced his side."

A cup: "This is the cup he could not pass."

A coin: "This is the coin that hung his brother."

A club: "This is the phallus that mocks us all." [11]

And the idols are like Roman household gods and each one is painted like one of the court cards in the Thoth deck.

The Tablet is laid over as follows:

[12]

A wind passes through the midst. "The Spirit is the breath that God breathed into Adam." [13]

Now all is animate and the idols cavort and converse, but I can hear nothing but scraping and chatter.

The Prince of Swords spins about and now he is the Green Man, the Fool but covered with a suit of leaves and horned with the rack of an elk. He takes up the spear and as he spins his horns turn into wings and then into a top hat. And the shaft, he took up, he puts down a sword. And the Queen next to him takes up the sword and he seats her upon an altar stone, and she removes her garment for they are Lovers and this is the true sacrament of marriage. Now her daughter takes up her blue and starry cloak and disappears as it were into the body of the milky way. But the Knight kneels in reverence before that mystery then takes up his sword in one hand and a pair of balances in the other and stands erect.

Now I see the cup and in it is the blood of Judas the Hanged Man, the brother of Jesus. Who sold him that he might be crucified for the eagle of Rome. And in this cup is a bitter poison, the vehicle of death, for now I see that the wings of the eagle upon which the Prince of Swords rides are the wings of Azrael, the angel of Death. For the Moon is to Death as the Sun is to life. Thus are the sorceries done in the graveyard at midnight under a full moon. And the Queen of Cups is the Priestess of the Moon as the Queen of Swords is the Priestess of the Sun: "The Priestess is the crone who playeth the virgin and the Moon is the virgin who acteth the crone." Now her daughter is mother as she comes to term, fertile Empress of all she surveys, Goddess ever fruitful. Hers is the true Graal, guarded and carried by the true Knight, dank with the scent of urchins and crabs. She is the Chariot that he rides and within that cup is fate, called fortuna: the roulette wheel spun by the hand of the demiurge.

Now that Wheel becomes the Coin and the coin changes from gold to silver to lead. And upon the face of the lead circle is a sun dial. And there is a nymph or fairy who dances with the rays of the Sun upon the sundial. And she sings: "Thy father time is a great serpent, but I his daughter is also his wife." I see now that the heavens are a great clock and this is why the Prince of Disks worshipped the bull. For Taurus was the season for ploughing and sowing. Now he stands on great rock and bows before the bull of heaven. He is clothed in garments of gold and scarlet and horsecloth and cries: "Cursed was Copernicus and cursed was Bruno and cursed was Galileo, for they revealed the mystery of the heavens unto men. And the Sabbath is black that the initiated may worship the stars." Now I see the Queen and she is seducing the goat. And the goat bleats: "This is the blasphemy of which the Mass is but a mockery." And the daughter of their union is horned and monstrous but from her virgin womb bursts forth the Sun into a new life. And the fields of Eleusis are fertile again, though the grain be tainted with black. The Knight goes into the field and with his club he threshes the grain; and is happy and fat on bread and beer. So that he lays his club aside.

Now the club is the phallus and the phallus is the wand, the rod of judgement when the Final Trump is blown. For the Prince of Wands rides the lion and the lion is the great beast and the Emperor and tyrant who rules with the rod of iron. He that is the sun of the Queen, she who tempers all things by the art, her cup a cauldron wherein all dross is burnt away. But her daughter is the bride of her own brother. Babalon who rides upon the Beast, in love taboo. And they go forth as a Knight and his lady, toward the dark tower which cannot stand.

A voice: "And they said let us go build us a Tower."

And there is an earthquake and a spewing forth of flame and smoke and lava. And all comes crumbling down and is darkness.

And the voice again: "Therefore is the name of it called Babel."

There is no more vision and no more voice.

Analysis

ZEN

[1] Z here shows Zain as Jupiter but reflects Jove as ruler, i.e. Emperor (Tzar, Kaiser, Caesar etc.) therefore Tzaddi as star and not star. The Widow is E as Heh. Pisces, Christ and the disciples as fishers of men — cf. the typical graven image that graces many Christian automobiles. The Southern Fishes is probably an allusion to Fomalhaut as the ayanamsa for the age of Aquarius.

[2] These are the voices of the three governors of the aire apparently. The first rules over Carthage, the second over Paradise and the Edom (Turner, Elizabethan Magic, 168). There is probably more here as the first is a reference to the Punic wars where Rome defeated Carthage which would ultimately lead to their hegemony over the Levant. The first is a play on Christ's words on the cross (Luke 23) which like the Romans plays so large a part in this vision. The last is a traditional cabalistic explanation for early biblical history in the Zohar and elsewhere.

[3] Here are the elements as both curses and blessing. The place is the valley of Hinon, Gehenna in traditional readings of the scriptures.

[4] Golgotha, Calvary.

[5] The analysis of INRI would seem to substitute the meaning of the Hebrew letters for the values of the Greek. There are several mysteries here that it is not appropriate to reveal to the profane. Those of certain grades in A.'.A.'. and degrees in O.T.O. will easily discern them though.

[6] This shows how the Tablet of Union binds and rules the watchtowers. More anon. See also Liber 860: The Prologue regarding the Great Obligation.

[7] Liber 777, CLXXXVII: 0.

[8] This is an allusion to Matt. 27:35, Luke 23:34. There is a method implied by which one can explore the keys without recourse to the Watchtowers. For with three dice the total value can only be between 3 and 18. For instance 1+1+1 = 3, 1+1+2 = 4, 1+1+3 & 1+2+2 = 5 and so forth to 6+6+6 = 18.

[9] John 19:23.

[10] Cf. Kelly's visions of the Watchtowers for this color scheme (T&FR 168–173; James, Enochian Magic, xi, 187–8).

[11] Spades = Swords; Hearts = Cups; Diamonds = Disks; Wands = Clubs.

[12] This is simply the Thoth deck court attributions correlated to the Golden Spirit Tablet attributions.

[13] Spirit is of course air and breath in their purest forms. To aspirate, etc.

[14] By careful reading here a direct correlation of the Aces and Court cards (and thus the squares of the Tablet of Union) with the Trumps can be established. As there are 22 Trumps and only 20 squares on the Tablet of Union there are two overlaps (at least) but as will be seen these are rather obvious in practice.

Aces and Court Cards to Tarot Trumps:

Trump sequence: I — 0 — VI — XVII — VIII — XII — XIII — II/XVIII — III — VII/X — XXI — V — XV — XIX — IX — XX — IV — XIV — XI — XVI

Colophon

Originally posted to alt.magick, July 2004. Author: David R. Jones. Message-ID: [email protected]

This document is a first-hand skrying record of the 18th Aire (ZEN) in the Enochian magical system, composed as a response to queries about Enochian correspondences to the Thoth Tarot and Qabala. The vision draws on the Golden Dawn and Thelemic traditions, with scholarly annotations referencing Robert Turner, the Zohar, Crowley's Liber 777 and Liber 860, and the canonical Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion. Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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