From Aha

From "Aha" The end of the Poem
Diverse editions p 46ff/78ff

Marsyas

Yonder, faintly luminous, a
The yellow desert waits for us.
Lithe and eager, hand in hand,
We travel to the lonely land.
There, beneath the stars, the smoke
Of our incense shall invoke
The Queen of Space; and subtly She
Shall bend from Her infinity
Like a lambent b flame of blue,
Touching us, and piercing through
All the sense-webs that we are
As the æthyr c penetrates a star!
Her hands caressing the black earth,
Her sweet lithe body arched for love,
Her feet a Zephyr d to the flowers,
She calls my name - she gives the sign
That she is mine, supremely mine,
And clinging to the infinite girth
My soul gets perfect joy thereof
Beyond the abysses and the hours,
So that - I kiss her lovely brows;
She bathes my body in perfume
Of sweat . . . . O thou my secret spouse,
Continuous One of Heaven! illume
My soul with this arcane a delight,
Voluptuous Daughter of the Night!
Eat me up wholly with the glance
Of thy luxurious brilliance!

Olympas

The deserts calls.

Marsyas

Then let us go!
Or seek the sacramental snow,
Where like an high-priest I may stand
With acolytes b on every hand,
The lesser peaks - my will withdrawn
To invoke the dayspring from the dawn,
Changing that rosy smoke of light
To a pure crystalline white;
Though the mist of mind, as draws
A dancer round her limbs the gauze, c
Clothe Light, and show the virgin Sun
A lemon-pale medallion!
Thence leap we leashless d to the goal,
Stainless star-rapture of the soul.
So the altar-fires fade
As the Godhead is displayed.
Nay, we stir not. Everywhere
Is our temple right appointed.
All the earth is fairy fair
For us. Am I not anointed? a
The Sigil b burns upon the brow
At the adjuration - here and now.

Olympas

The air is laden with perfumes.

Marsyas

Behold! It beams - it burns - it blooms.

*                *                *                *                *

Olympas

Master, how subtly hast thou drawn  
The daylight from the Golden Dawn,
Bidden the Cavernous Mount unfold
Its Ruby Rose, its Cross of Gold;
Until I saw, flashed from afar,
The Hawk's Eye in the Silver Star!

Marsyas

Peace to all beings. Peace to thee,
Co-heir of mine eternity!
Peace to the greatest and the least,
To nebula and nenuphar! c
Light in abundance be increased
On them that dream that shadows are!

Olympas

Blessing and worship to The Beast,
The prophet of the lovely Star! a

[TOP]

     a This verse paraphrases several passages of "The Book of the Law", most notably: I:26-32; I:57-66.

     b lambent: Of flame or light playing on surface without burning it, with soft radiance, and the like.

     c Aethyr: the spheres, Aethyrs, surrounding the earth in 30 layers, derived from the Enochian magick of Dr. Dee and Edward Kelley.

     d Zephyr: the Western wind, here  perhaps: "as a mild breeze."

     a arcane: "mystical," "secret."

     b acolytes: "servants of the mass," "people who follow a master."

     c gauze: the white textile with which a dancer fortifies the limbs and muscles.

     d leashless: without any bonds or bindings.

     a anointed: sanctified by the holy oil.

     b Sigil: a magical sign or drawing pertaining to some angel, spirit or demon.

     c nebula and nenuphar: "star-cluster and lotus-flower," the nenuphar: a plant growing in water somewhat like the lotus, most likely the meaning here.

     a These two last lines, quoting Liber Legis II:79.

[TOP]