THE AEONIC PERSPECTIVE OF THE ENOCHIAN TEMPLES

                           BY BENJAMIN ROWE

                 Copyright 1988, 1992 by Benjamin Rowe



The initiatory system of the Enochian Temples divides the path of
initiation into four major stages, distinguished primarily by the
types and sources of the influences they are sensitive to. Briefly,
these stages are:

1. Lunar-planetary, focused in Yesod and governing the triangle formed
by Netzach, Hod, and Malkuth. Sensitive to forces originating inside
the aura of the Earth (primarily elemental), and generally controlled
by those forces. Represented in the Temple by the floor and altars.
Related to the aeon of Taurus.

2. Solar-planetary, focused in Tiphereth and governing the rectangle
formed by Hod, Netzach, Geburah and Chesed. Sensitive to elemental
forces, but actively dominating them. Also sensitive to and controlled
by the forces of the zodiacal signs. Represented in the Temple by the
pillars and sephirotic crosses. Related to the aeon of Aries.

3. Solar-systemic or Solar-transitional, governing the rectangle
formed by Geburah, Chesed, Binah and Chokmah. This stage has no stable
focus point. Sensitive to the energies of the other planets of the
solar system. Represented in the Temple by the roof and outer curtain.
Related to the aeon of Pisces.

4. Cosmic, focused in Kether and governing the triangle formed by
Kether, Chokmah, and Binah. Sensitive to cosmic forces, primarily
those of the zodiacal constellations (not to be confused with the
zodiac signs) and the constellations of Polaris, the Great Bear,
Sirius, and the Pleiades. These latter four constellations are the
cosmic prototypes for the four levels of this initiatory system.
Represented in the Temple by the Sphere of the Three Names of God, and
by the pillar of fire in the middle of the Temple. Related to the aeon
of Aquarius.

The progression through these four stages is symbolized in the formula
I.R.N.I., a reversal of the Piscean formula of I.N.R.I. or IAO. 

The older formula is primarily concerned with the relations between
the Lunar-planetary and Solar-planetary stages through the cyclic
process of reincarnation. Under that formula, one lived in the world
(first I), then died (N) to be reborn as a soul (R), which then
incarnated again (last I). But the actions of the Aeonic Prophet of
the Piscean aeon symbolized in the stories of Jesus, and their absorb-
tion into the zeitgeist, have completely eliminated any need for death
or a death-like experience in the transition between Lunar and Solar
stages. 

At humanity's present level of development, the Solar consciousness
can be achieved while in incarnation by anyone who wants it through
strong desire (the lowest aspect of Will), self-analysis, and medita-
tion. Effort is still required, but no loss of self occurs in the
process. In the incoming Aquarian aeon, the shift from Solar-planetary
to Cosmic awareness still requires a series of willed death-like
experiences. So the "N" of I.N.R.I has been properly moved to follow
the solar "R" in the new formula. 

The mythological system of the Earth Tablet working depicts the
I.R.N.I. formula under the character of the two Warrior-Mages (Horus
and Set) whose efforts link the Lesser Mother, the Earth, with the
Greater Mother, Nuit. In the old formula Set was depicted as inferior
to Horus, representing a false death which the earthbound soul con-
quered to achieve full awareness of itself. In the new formula, he
represents the conscious destruction of the soul that must occur
before the person can unite the awareness with the divine Will. This
is a true annihilation of the Solar being, unlike the death of the old
formula, which was only a change of state having no permanent effect
on the Solar being. 

Thus, at the end of point 0 Set proclaims himself to have finally
conquered Horus. The soul, the individual self-aware identity, perish-
es, to be replaced by the monadic awareness symbolized by Hadit. As it
is said, "There is an end to the word of the God enthroned in Ra's
seat, lightening the girders of the soul." The higher formula, linking
the Earth with the Cosmos, supercedes the lower formula, linking the
Earth with the Sun.

(This may seem to contradict what was said in point 0. It is the soul
as an "ego-making faculty" that is destroyed. This faculty is the
persistent tendency of the solar consciousness to perceive itself as
the most important thing that exists, and its tendency to polarize the
other sephiroth of the Ruach so that their natural action is subor-
dinated to the solar consciousness. Once this aspect of the soul is
destroyed the entire Ruach, including Tiphereth, becomes polarized so
that it is fully responsive to the monadic consciousness that is the
true core-being of man.)

Set's comments in point 0 about his relations with Horus are a depic-
tion of this supersession of formulas. But they are also a depiction
of the relations between Aleister Crowley, representing Horus, and
Charles Stansfield Jones, representing Set. Just as the formula of the
Piscean aeon was enacted by the mage Jesus, so the formula of the
Aquarian aeon was being enacted by these two, and continues to be
enacted by Set's current avatar.

In this aeonic mystery play, the first player to appear is brash
Horus, representing the conquering child, the perfected Warrior-King
of the aeon of Aries. The next to appear (as Horus' "magickal son")
identified himself as a god of the Elements, and of the Earth, con-
necting him with Set, the scorpionic "dark son" of the Taurean aeon.
Fiery Horus hated the watery formula of the Piscean Aeon. As a child,
he suffered under the most debased applications of the Piscean for-
mula. As an adult, he denied the formula completely and acted as if
the entire aeon was an aberration. He closed the old aeon on one level
by replacing the repressive religious paternalism of his childhood
environment (Jupiter, ruler of Pisces) with the rebellious indepen-
dence that is the lowest aspect of Uranus, the new ruler of Aquarius. 

Watery Set already possessed control over the Uranian energies; Uranus
is exalted in Scorpio. This enabled him to rise up and embrace the
higher aspect of Aquarius. He used the astrological wisdom of Thoth
(Mercury, exalted in Aquarius) to re-formulate the Tree of Life, to
"fix the design in its purity", so that the power of Cosmic Love
(Venus, exalted in Pisces) was replaced with the sign of the new aeon,
and the Word of the Law descends from Kether to Tiphereth as Heru-Ra-
Ha, the Divine Will of the path of Shin.  In addition his Tree em-
bodies the formulas of the new aeon and the three previous aeons,
showing their correct relationship and unifying them in a single path
of initiation. 

Horus correctly overcame the exoteric aspects of Pisces, but he was
caught by the esoteric aspect of Divine Love, under the formula of the
Rose Cross. He could not abandon the Arian/Piscean version of the Tree
of Life, which embodies this formula in its three horizontal paths.
Had he done so, the mystery of the Warrior-Mages would have been
enacted under the more benevolent symbolism of Arthurian romance. But
he did not recognize the higher aspect of the Aquarian energy, and,
invoking Tradition and Authority (Saturn) to justify himself, launched
an attack on Set. Publicly Horus questioned Set's sanity; magickally
he used the links created by Set's oath to his magickal Orders as a
means of attack. Thus he caused Set's manifestation to shift from its
silent middle aspect into its more potent scorpion and eagle modes.
The destroyer aspect manifested in Jones' increasingly vicious verbal
attacks on Crowley. The eagle aspect was needed so that Set could
complete the job that Horus failed to do.

Each full aeonic cycle is a fresh start, building on the past but not
limited by it. Saturn was ruler of Aquarius during the previous Great
Cycle, and by invoking it Horus invoked the powers of that cycle.
Having just announced that the old cycle had come to completion, he
now said, in effect, "Hey - I take that back." He wanted the change to
stop in the middle, so that he could keep the Rose Cross as the
supreme formula.

This left it up to Set, with his superior awareness of the divine Will
manifesting through Uranus, to transform the divine Love of Pisces
into the Universal Mercury of Aquarius. Set is never one to step back
from necessary work, and he proceeded to do this task in a fashion
that was both grand in conception and elegantly direct and simple in
execution. He joined the center of Piscean power, the Catholic Church,
and spent several years being initiated in its system to form magickal
links with its esoteric power. 

He then traveled west to the limits of the Church's influence, taking
the objects that were his link to the Church with him. He invoked the
forces of the new aeon, and cast away the magickal links to show that
under the dark cloak of the Church's teaching was hid the form of the
Air kerub of Aquarius, the Man. The warrior-king's warriors (in the
form of the local police) grabbed him immediately, but too late to
affect the ceremony. Thus he completed the closing of the old aeon
where Horus faltered.  

Horus, having cut himself off from the true scorpian current by his
rejection of Set, continued to delve into the past; he invoked various
gods from his own Aries aeon to substitute for the lost current of
divine Will. He pulled so much power from that past aeon that a
countering current from the future aeon of Maat, Libra, came in to
balance it. 

Now Set, no longer Jones, completes the manifestation of his current
by showing the perfection of the Will in the Eagle aspect of Scorpio.
This Eagle is that energy that binds together the receptive and active
aspects of Tiphereth. Released from Tiphereth by the self-willed death
of the Scorpion, it is tested and purified by the venom of the Snake,
which kills off any remaining shreds of solar matter that might cling
to it. It becomes pure Will. Purified, it is immune to the venom and
can no longer be killed by any means. It rises on wings of will to
land in the path of Tzaddi, where it exchanges its watery Scorpio
nature to enter the stellar realms of Aquarius.  
Set's current avatar demonstrates this aspect and completes the
enactment of the formula of the Aeon. As the god says in point 0,
Horus attempted to destroy his work in the previous avatar, and for a
time appeared to have succeeded. But Set's purified will aspect
enabled him to maintain full continuity of purpose between that life
and this one. Once his current avatar achieved sufficient power as a
magician, the work continued from exactly the point where it had left
off, with no backtracking or redevelopment. By doing this he demon-
strates his conquest of Horus. Had Horus' view been correct Set would
have had to start over completely in his new incarnation, as was the
rule under the old formula of I.N.R.I./IAO. 

It is this ability to consciously maintain the continuity of the Will
between incarnations which Set now offers to humankind. This is not a
new ability; it has existed at all points in space and time throughout
the life of our universe. But on our little planet conditions have
never previously permitted it to be acquired by any large number of
persons. Such is not the case today, when the Will aspect is manifest-
ing more powerfully than at any previous time. Changing conditions on
cosmic levels have their reflection in the lives of men and women.
What has been a special skill of those who have crossed the "Abyss"
will, over the coming century, become increasingly available to those
who have not yet done so.

People need not leave works incomplete when a life ends. Under the
Will, the being can discard a worn-out body and select a new one
adjusted for changes in the environment and zeitgeist. The personality
is not preserved, nor is the soul in many cases. The Eagle creates a
new soul for itself with every incarnation. Memory of past lives is
available or not, as the Eagle choses. The new body and soul recapitu-
late the evolution of past lives in such a way that, at the moment
when the person reaches full development, he finds himself continuing
the work of the previous life at the same point and level of develop-
ment where it had left off. This is true immortality; adaptable to the
times it passes through rather than maintaining an outmoded form
beyond its usefulness, but preserving a continuing purpose between
lives. 

Full identification with the Will aspect eventually leads the magician
into conscious contact with the center of power, sometimes called
Shamballa, that embodies the Will of the Life that is incarnate as the
planet Earth. Passage through this center frees the mage from his
obligations within the Earth's sphere of influence, and enables him to
participate as a conscious creator within the larger scheme being
expressed by the solar system as a whole.

Up to this present day, passage through this center was the only means
by which one could obtain clear conscious awareness of the Solar
scheme. On lower levels, contact has been deliberately blocked in
order that certain tasks might be accomplished within the Earth's
sphere. Had this blockage not been present, the disruptive effects
occurring at certain stages of the work would have spilled out into
the system, causing distortions and disturbances of the larger work.

The barriers that block the Earth from the stars are the 30 Aethyrs or
Aires of the Enochian magickal system. In the Theosophical system and
Alice Bailey's related system, these barriers are called "the etheric
web surrounding the Earth". They were created out of the elements in
such a way as to form a maze around the Earth through which no direct
passage was possible. Only the most skilled of mages could thread the
maze in its entirety. The nineteenth Enochian Call is a commemoration
of the steps by which the barriers were formed, and of the state the
Life of the Earth had to assume in order to accomplish her tasks. A
full description of those tasks and the means of their accomplishment
has been given by the Enochian intelligences, and is recorded in the
form of an Aquarian hero-mythos in The Book of the Seniors.

Now that these tasks have been nearly accomplished the barriers
surrounding the Earth can come down, enabling her and all those living
on her to enter fully into the Solar scheme on all levels of exis-
tence. The Temples of the Tablets are one means by which the barriers
will be destroyed. 

Any properly constructed and charged Temple attracts a flow of divine
Will from outside the barriers. The first inflow of this energy pushes
the barriers inwards, so that they are pinned down to the Earth's
surface underneath the Temple. As the Temple gathers power through use
a process of occult "burning" begins, creating holes in the barriers
through which other energies that the Earth now needs can be brought
in. 

The effectiveness of this "burning" increases with the number of
Temples in active use. Any two Temples generate lines of cosmic fire
between them.  These lines of fire