In reply to a query about the sphinx appearing to the mystic I revised the composition of the sphinx in the human energy body and would like to share that here;
--- In Hermetic-Order-of-the-Golden-Dawn@yahoogroups.com, "Dean Scott" <dean.yoda@...> wrote:> Can anyone help me with the meaning of the sphinx. It follows me around at the moment i keep seeing it in movies and dreaming of it or rather it is there in the back ground.. any ideas ? Thanks Dean.
THE SPHINX
First , I suggest, perform a keyword search Googling images for variations on the sphinx.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLRVSfDTklE/Tix4NBImGyI/AAAAAAAACYU/ESjiJ52-pxI/s1600/4+gospels.gif
http://lh4.ggpht.com/-tR8KGxjALSk/SRhyWYe7qiE/AAAAAAAAcIw/EZF5nm_g-9w/ParisNotreDameFaAde.jpg
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/assets/images/images/four-evangelists.jpg
The Hermetic Sphinx;
red
earth...bull/ox.............Luke
indigo
water...eagle..............John
(dominion over the river it fishes from)
yellow/orange
fire......lion.................Mark
emerald green
air.......angel/human...Matthew
http://pftdcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cherubim_head.jpghttp://pftdcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cherubim_head.jpg
http://pftdcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cherubim_head.jpg
These signs were chosen from fixed Zodiac signs of ancient Babylon adopted later by the Greeks; Taurus, Aquila&Scorpio, Leo and Aquarius. These are depicted at least since the Tarruchi origins and perhaps earlier on Tarot cards i.e. the Wheel, the World and the Star;
http://www.wischik.com/lu/tarot/thumb_major.jpghttp://www.wischik.com/lu/tarot/thumb_major.jpg
Ezekiel's vision of the kerubim Ez1:1-28
http://www.heavenlyascents.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/ezekielvisionmerkabaux6.jpg
and the golden kerubim in the Temple of Solomon predate New Testament associations of the Biblical Evangelists whom were assigned Hermetically by Irenaeus the sole selector of which codices would compose the NT. Irenaeus cited; "There actually are only four authentic gospels. And this is obviously true because there are four corners of the universe and there are four principal winds, and therefore there can be only four gospels that are authentic. These, besides, are written by Jesus' true followers." Contemporary scholars would disagree citing Q as the source for 3 synoptic gospels;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_source
Read more: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/emergence.html#ixzz1i5sgOzps
The Motto of the sphinx espoused by Hermetic Magicians is attributed to Eliaphas Levi and modified by Aleister Crowley;
The Motto of the Sphinx is Velle , Audere , Tacere , Scire . From Latin this has been wrongly translated imho, and widely accepted as Velle for Will , Audere for Courage , Tacere for Silence and Scire for Knowledge. Commonly ; To will , to dare , to keep silent and to know. And the Fifth Power was called Ire by Crowley and it is the power "to Go" which to my mind means to go to the monad, go to the source, and astral or mystic projection through the realms.
As for myself , I do not subscribe to the Motto of the Sphinx translated "to keep silent" . Tacere does not mean for magicians to keep silent but it means “to hold onto meaning without words” .And that to me , means to understand our magick through clairvoyant visions , meditative trance , projections and dreamstate lessons which are more easily seen but are hard to hear .Why ? Because our energy body develops sight much earlier then it develops its hearing.
The magician's subtle energy body morphs into variant forms of a sphinx in a predictable continuum of human energy body development.
The number of heads and limbs and their attributes are telling. The colouring of the sphinx is also an indicator of the magician's stage of ascension alchemy. Notably, the sphinx will appear to the magician or the reader in altered states of consciousnesss such as dreamstate or meditative trance.
Gold indicates conclusion of that particular level. Purple indicates the alpha omega neutral stage at the conclusion of one work and the beginning of another. Typically; purple, blue , green , yellow, red ,red/black, black, black/white, silver, gold, and then purple again.
A sphinx will typically have at least 2 heads , 4 are a Hermetic Set some split double for as many as 8, 12 or even 16 heads. The limbs may be single pairs or 2 or 4 pairs, typically.
If a hermetic set is manifesting the front might be green the rear red the right indigo and the left side orange until the entire sphinx becomes silver akashic or then golden sun.
Here are some images of the limbs and phalanges during various stages and works;[url=http://s1178.photobucket.com/albums/x366/AuntClair/]http://s1178.photobucket.com/albums/x366/AuntClair/[/url]
What did your sphinx look like? What beast heads, what colours, were there swan wings like an angel or bat wings like this rebus?
http://herebedragons.weebly.com/uploads/6/3/2/7/6327404/913747.jpg?390
View imagery at Adam McLean's alchemy web ie of various two headed Lagashian Eagles and rebus forms and other sphinxes.
http://www.levity.com/alchemy/http://www.levity.com/alchemy/
I would like to add that books could be written on the sphinx and its associations in magick. The body morphs predictably through stages of the sphinx becoming dragon, beast, demon and angel headed.
The questions of peers are hugely important to the magician. Robert Bruce remarks that he learns something from each workshop he teaches . I agree. Buddha taught that we are all both a student and a teacher to all whom we meet on our path.
A member of VS asked about the red eye appearing to him. Christ teaches about the red demons of Seth in Gnostic apocrypha saying he is the principle archangels in previous incarnations and he is the red Christ called Seth too.
The red soul , the red eye and the red bull headed and bull horned energy body of the Guardian Demon within are not to be feared. This is an opportunity , like all morphing of the energy body ,for reflection , transmutation and pathworking in altered states of consciousness.
Typically morphing of the energy body heralds Kundalini events or is subsequent to them. The Guardian Demon is an opportunity to learn righteous anger, appropriate passion for a cause, defense of the innocent and when to stand stubbornly in one's own truth despite the bullying and disparagement which might be discharged even from one's own peers.
But it is mostly an opportunity to control the rage within, the naive prejudices, the irrational fears and the lusts, hatreds and thirst for revenge . These are the red internal demons of Seth. It is through loving service and forgiving each other that we transmute the demons .
The Cosmic Christ is a teaching spirit whom appears to many mystics irregardless of their belief system or paradigm. He teaches that 7 demons and 7 angels are within each of the inner gates.In my exegesis, these are the 7 golden lampstands of the Bible or the Chakras of Vedantic texts. We heal our inner demons with our inner angels.
We heal ourselves through love, forgiving and service . Robert Bruce calls this building up the good karma bank.
These seemingly bewildering archetypical images that appear to the magician in dreamstate or meditation are actually lessons to demonstrate how far we have come and what step is next and how much more needs to be done. That is the purpose for the archetype.
It is pertinent to note, when I see a horn upon the head of a sitter or view clairvoyantly their angelic wings that this is what would be seen by another clairvoyant should they look at that moment.
It is not like the more personal transient visions we might have in the astral plane where what I see may not parallel what the peer beside me sees, in any fashion.
As magicians, we need to distinguish as magicians what are temporally stable archetypical images and what are the dream like images of the subconscious mind unique to each magician.
By teaching each other,we find the universal commonality of such imagery. A good example of universal morphing would be in the Uraeus Effect described aptly by Robert Bruce. At that stage the magician will feel this heavy fleshy serpent fall flacidly over the nose and mouth like the uncooked steak he described. It is telling when we find these descriptions in other texts, sites and in other eras and locales. Than we can suppose it is a true universal archetype which would manifest on any magician at that stage.
The hermaphroditic rebus depicted in numerous images on Adam Mclean's Alchemy Web are a testament to another universal archetype.
Despite tradition that angels are immortal spirits created separately prior to the human race, the human manifests angels or demons according to their vibration.The human becomes angelic in gradual stages of enlightenment over subsequent lifetimes.
And I am excited to discover that;
[b]The blue Guardian Angel
projects from the indigo brow chakra and third blue eye
winged like the eagle.
The red Guardian Demon
projects from the red chakra and red eye of Seth
horned and hooved like the bull.
The yellow Higher Self
projects from the chest/solar plexus/heart
the aura around the head and shoulders is like a lion's mane blazing in sunlight.
The emerald green HS/GA
projects from the supernal centres
like the Angel of the Sphinx.[/b]
The amber Lower Self
projects from the lower back secondary amber chakra
it unites with the red Guardian Demon
to form the orange LS/GD
If you would like to participate in this research with me, I offer free clairvoyant readings of the human energy body on Skype under the handle Aunt Clair.
Om Shanti.