"The Golden Book of Wisdom"

["Rawn Clark" <rawnclark@...>]

Dear Friends,

Since things have been a bit slow around here at the BardonPraxis for
the past day or two, I thought you all might enjoy this reply that I
made to a question posed on the FranzBardonMagi list, yesterday. :)

My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
19 Nov 2003
rawnclark@...
rawn@...
http://www.ABardonCompanion.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BardonPraxis
http://E.webring.com/hub?ring=arionthebardonwe

======================================
>> but I was wondering if anyone could possibly give me a bit if
information on how "Golden Book" is connected to The Emperor and how it
would relate to the Tree in an Initiatory context. <<

The Emperor (or Imperator) is associated with the Hebrew Letter Heh
which, in the Jewish Kabbalistic tradition of the 32 Paths of Wisdom, is
the Second Path connecting Kether to Chokmah. The Torah verse
associated with Heh is:

Genesis 1:2 -- "And the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was
upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of Elohim hovered over the
face of the waters."

And the Path description from the "32 Paths of Wisdom" document reads:

Path #2 -- "The second path is that of the illuminating consciousness.
It is the crown (Kether) of creation (Briah), the splendor of the unity,
like unto that which "exalts itself as the head over all." The masters
of kabbalah call it the second glory."

And to quote from my own commentary upon the 32 Paths of Wisdom:
========================
Here we see the Kethric Light emanating down to Chokmah. This emanation
of Light "crowns" Briah. In other words, it stands above the Briatic
World of Chokmah-Binah. This descending illumination carries the
"splendor" aspect of Kether, the Primal Glory. Therefore, Heh is called
the "second glory" and is depicted in the Tarot as an Emperor who
"exalts [him]self as the head over all." The Emperor may wear and
personify the power that the Crown confers, but he is not the Crown
itself.

Heh represents the "first" non-sequential act of creation (Briah) which
is/was/will-be a matter of Elohim turning Its attention "downward":
Here, Elohim "does" nothing more than take notice of the state of
potential and "hover over" attentively. Yet this divine attention is
what ultimately sustains the universe since it provides the mental
pattern for all that follows.
============================

My understanding of what Bardon hoped to accomplish with the "Golden
Book of Wisdom" is: 1) a theory section in which he discussed the occult
anatomy of The One Self (i.e., the structure of the universe), and 2) a
practical section in which he hoped to teach three things -- (a) the
direct perception of essential meaning (or, in Bardon's own terms,
"legality"), (b) a first hand, experiential understanding of the occult
anatomy of The One Self, and (c) the *direct* creative manipulation of
essential meaning / legality.

I would think that the theory section and parts (a) and (b) of the
practice section would have been *very* helpful for students at any Step
of IIH and that section (c) of the practical section would perhaps only
have been appropriate after mastery of Step Eight of IIH.

In his introduction to the "Golden Book of Wisdom" Bardon stated:
"The description of the fourth Tarot-card is of very great help
for magicians, spheric magicians and also for quabbalists, for it makes
them penetrate deeper into the secrets of wisdom and thereby enables
them to solve the greatest problems. **This is not only possible from
the point of view of knowledge, but -- what's more important -- from the
point of cognition, i.e., the point of wisdom.** An initiate must be
able to answer, at any time, any question that he may be asked. If he
has taken the right way, he must be capable of solving any problem that
he may be facing in connection with the universal laws."
"Logically, it is not possible to accommodate and explain all
the wisdom in only one book. Part of it though, is contained in this
work. **Above all, the subject matter contained in the preceding three
books is illuminated from many aspects, so that any practitioner who
becomes absorbed in the study of what this book contains will become
more acquainted with the universal laws and their effects by extending
his consciousness and enlarging his knowledge.** The more he identifies
himself with the comprehensive subject matter, the stronger will he be
seized by the greatness of power of these laws, and he will be filled
with unbounded awe, will look up to Divine Providence in humbleness."
"Anyone who masters this Book of Wisdom completely will
thoroughly know the foundations of hermetic philosophy and may be
considered a hermetic philosopher from the standpoint of the universal
laws."

The foundation of Wisdom is the *direct perception of essential
meaning*. With this faculty, the magician is able to understand any
thing and any situation. In his "Golden Book of Wisdom", Bardon would
have related his own *direct* perceptions of how our universe is
structured, phrased in the "language of intellectuals". And, as was his
way, he would invariably have included a section of exercises that
reveal an initiatory path which trains the student in the faculties they
will need to make their own *direct perceptions* and then how to make
Wise, creative use of those perceptions and the Understanding that
arises from them.

Hence the Emperor -- one who is absolute sovereign over the "realm". In
the standard Tarot image, he is enthroned and bears all the symbols of
rulership. Personally, I prefer the image of the "Imperator" from the
Tarocchi del Mantegna, which serves as the foundation of the image I
developed in my "32 Paths of Wisdom Tarot" for the Letter Heh. In this
image, the crowned and enthroned Imperator is gazing into a sphere that
he holds in his left hand. At his feet, there stands a Raven. To my
mind, this image presents a more accurate depiction of the branch of
magic which pertains to the Letter Heh. It is about *direct perception*
and about the levels of creative power that *direct perception* opens
the initiate to.

My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
18 Nov 2003
rawnclark@...
rawn@...
http://www.ABardonCompanion.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BardonPraxis
http://E.webring.com/hub?ring=arionthebardonwe