The Hermetic Museum, Vol. II: The All-Wise Doorkeeper or A Fourfold Figure

The Hermetic Museum, Vol. II, by Arthur Edward Waite, [1893], at sacred-texts.com

THE

ALL-WISE DOORKEEPER,

A FOURFOLD FIGURE,

EXHIBITING ANALYTICALLY TO ALL THAT ENTER THIS
MUSEUM THE MOSAICO-HERMETIC SCIENCE OF
THINGS ABOVE AND THINGS BELOW.

THE ALL-WISE DOORKEEPER.

A KEY TO THE FOURFOLD FIGURE,

BONUM INFINITUM VEL LUMEN GRATIÆ = The Infinite Good or the Light of Grace. TRIUNITAS = Trinity in Unity. ‏יהוה‎, = Jehovah. PATER, FILIUS, ET SPIRITUS SANCTUS = Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. MUNDUS ARCHETYPUS = The Archetypal World. SERAPHIM, CHERUBIM, THRONI = Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, i.e., Hierarchiæ, Classis Prima = First Class of the Hierarchy. DOMINATIONES, PRINCIPATUS, POTESTATES = Rulers, Principalities, and Powers, Hierarchiæ Classis Secunda = Second Class of the Hierarchy. VIRTUTES, ARCHANGELI, ANGELI = Virtues, Archangels, Angels, i.e., Hierarchiæ Classis Tertia = Third Class of the Hierarchy. MUNDUS INTELLIGENTIARUM = The World of Rational Beings.

MARCELLIUS PALINGENIUS (in Zod. Vit., Book ix.): Great Father of Gods, Highest Power of the World, than whom Thought knows nothing greater; far from the bodily world, yet forming all Bodies, those which cannot change,

and those which are destroyed by the lapse of time; Beginning without a beginning; Fountain from which all manner of good things flow forth; Ruler and Multiplier of Nature; Who comprehendest All Things, yet art comprehended of none; Infinite Majesty, Goodness, Wisdom, Life, Order, Beauty, Perfection, Mind, Truth,—Light, Way, Strength; dwelling nowhere, and yet dwelling everywhere; immovable, yet constantly moving all things: Of whom, To whom, and Through whom are all. things; always remaining the same, unchangeable through all time: Greatest of Causes, who, revolving according to a fixed law the starry heavens, dost govern the circle of human Destiny; King of Kings, waited on and worshipped by thousands of Angelic Hosts singing joyous Hymns in the Infinite Domain of Light, beyond the uttermost borders of the [lower] World, where is the fit abode of true Archetypal Things; Thee I worship, to Thee I pray, Thee I reverently adore. Deign to look on me with gracious eye, and hear my voice when I cry to Thee. Send to me the rays of Thy Light, dispel the darkness of my soul, weighed down by the grossness of a mortal body. Grant me to find the Right Way, lest hurtful error, vain credulity, and blind opinion drag me headlong to the ruinous domain of falsehood. For if without Thee a mortal mind or human strength strive to rise upward, their waxen wings are melted, and they fall headlong, like Icarus of old. Without Thee, I cannot see the hidden depths of Divine Truth, or the art and skill by which salvation is attained. Grant unto me, therefore, most gracious King of Kings, that I may know Thee and please Thee; then that I may know myself, what I am, the reason of my life on earth, whence I came, and whither I am going, what is my duty in this life, and what I must eschew—so that when Lachesis has finished the thread of my life, and the last hour has cast my weary body into the Tomb, Death may be unto mc a grateful rest, and the haven of peace.

FIGURE II.

Virgo tenet Hepar, Intestina, et circa Ventrem = The Virgin holds the liver, the intestines, and the parts about the stomach.

Libra cantina Renes et Vesicam = The Balance contains the reins and the bladder.

Scorpio gubernat Naturæ Secreta = The Scorpion governs the secret parts of Nature.

Mineræ = Minerals. IGNIS = Fire. ÆRIS = Air. AQUÆ = Waters. Metalla = Metals. TERRÆ = Earth.

The Seven Planets.	The Seven Angels.	The 7 Members of Microcosmus.	The Seven Metals.
SATURN.	Oriphiel.	SPLEEN.	Lead.
JUPITER.	Zachariel.	LIVER.	Tin.
MARS.	Samuel.	DIAPHRAGM.	Iron.
SUN.	Michael.	HEART.	Gold.
VENUS.	Anael.	REINS.	Copper.
MERCURY.	Raphael.	LUNGS.	Quicksilver.
MOON.	Gabriel.	BRAIN.	Silver.

TRIA SUNT PRINCIPIA, TRES SUNT MUNDI, TRES SUNT AETATES, TRIA SUNT REGNA = There are Three Principles, Three Worlds, Three Ages, and Three Kingdoms.

THEOLOGIA (Theology). ALCHYMIA (Alchemy). GRAMMATICA (Grammar). DIALECTICA (Dialectics). RHETORICA (Rhetoric). MUSICA (Music). PHYSICA (Physics). ASTRONOMIA (Astronomy). ARITHMETICA (Arithmetic). GEOMETRIA (Geometry). MEDICINA (Medicine). JURISPRUDENTIA (Jurisprudence).

Magna dignitas fidelium animarum ut unaquæquæ habeat, etc. = It is the great honour of faithful souls, that from their very birth an angel is appointed to preserve and keep each of them.

§ 1. God is an Eternal Being, an Infinite Unity, the Radical Principle of all things. His Essence is Infinite Light. His Power—Omnipotence; His Will—Perfect Goodness; His Wish—Absolute Reality. As we strive to think of Him, we plunge into the Abyss of Silence, of infinite Glory. § 2. Many Sages have held that an Archetypal World existed long before the world of sense, when the Archetypal Light began to unfold Himself, and set forth in an Ideal World a counterpart of the Divine Mind. This belief is borne out by the words of Hermes Trismegistus, who says that when God changed His form, the universe was suddenly revealed and put forth in the Light of Actuality—this world being nothing but a visible Image of a Hidden God. This is what the Ancients meant when they said that Pallas leapt forth in divine perfection from the forehead of Jupiter, with the aid of Vulcan (or Divine Light). § 3. The Eternal Father of All Things, being not less wise in the ordering, than powerful in the creation, of the world, has made the whole Universe to cohere by means of secret influences and mutual subjection and obedience, things below being analagous to things above, and vice versâ; so that both ends of the world are nevertheless united by a real bond of natural cohesion. Thus Hermes tells us that things below are the same as things above, and that things above are analagous to things below. § 4. He who looks upon Nature as anything but the constant expression of God's Will, is an Atheist; every smallest part of the great universe is constantly vitalized and conserved by the Spirit of the Divine Master, and there is no life or existence apart from His consciously exerted Will. It was He that in the beginning moved upon the face of the waters, and brought forth the Actual out of the Chaos of Potentiality.

FIGURE III.

Genesis, i. 2.—The earth was empty and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

Genesis, i. 3, 4.—And God said: Let there be light: and there was light. . . . And God saw the light that it was good.

Genesis, i. 4, 5.—And He divided the light from the darkness. And He called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Genesis, i. 6-8.—And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

And God called the firmament Heaven, and the evening and the morning were the second day.

Psalm xxxiii. 6.—By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

Psalm cxlviii. 4, 5.—Praise the Lord, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for He commanded, and they were created.

Daniel, iii. S9, 60.—Praise the Lord, ye heavens; bless Him and magnify Him for ever. O ye waters that be above the firmament, praise ye the Lord: bless Him and magnify Him for ever.

Genesis, i. 9-13.—And God said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He seas: and God saw that it was good.

And God said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth: and it was so.

And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Psalm, civ. 5, 14.—Who laid the foundations of the earth that it should not be removed for ever. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man; that he may bring forth food out of the earth: and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

Genesis, i. 14-19.—And God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and days and years.

And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

And God made two lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the stars also.

And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.

Sirach, xliii. 1.—He made the lofty firmament in its glory, and the stars, a vision of beauty. The eastern Sun announces the day. It is a wonder of the Most High. Great is God who created it, and bade it run its course Moreover, the Moon shines throughout the world, in due season, dividing months and years. It waxes and wanes in wonderful guise. The host of the stars shines gloriously in the firmament of heaven. God, the Most High, has commanded them to light up the world. By the word of the Lord they are fixed, and do not neglect their vigils.

Genesis, i. 20-23.—And God said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them, saying: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Psalm civ., 24.—O Lord, how manifold are Thy works: In wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships; there is that leviathan whom thou hast made to take his pastime therein. These all wait on Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

Genesis, i. 24-31—And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, after his kind: and it was so.

And God made the beast of the earth, after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the, earth, after his kind; and God saw that it was good.

And God said: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the

sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him: male and female created He them.

And God blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said: Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

And God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

GEORGE RIPLEY, in the Prologue to his "Twelve Gates," says: O incomprehensible Light, glorious in Majesty, the brightness of whose rays obscures our lights: O Unity in the substance, and Trinity in the Godhead. Merciful purifier of souls, who dost exalt us from this troublesome vale of vanity to heaven. Infinite power and wisdom, unspeakable goodness, sustain and govern me day by day so that I may displease Thee in nothing. O Thou with whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, out of whose infinite mind this universal frame sprang forth in a moment of time—when heaven and earth were made by Thy word, and all that is in them by the breath of Thy mouth—grant unto me grace to know Thy blessedness and Thy goodness. In no other way shall I come to the knowledge of the Blessed Stone. As Thou didst make all things out of one chaos, so let me be skilled to evolve our microcosm (little world) out of one substance in its three aspects of Magnesia, Sulphur, and Mercury!

FIGURE IV.

ANNUS SOLARIS =The Solar Year. ANNUS STELLATUS = The Year of the Stars. ANNUS VENTORUM = The Year of the Winds.

Ignes quatuor ad opus requiruntur = Four kinds of fire are requisite for the work.

BY THE WORD OF THE LORD WERE THE HEAVENS ESTABLISHED, AND THEIR HOSTS BY THE BREATH OF HIS MOUTH. THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD HAS FILLED THE WORLD. ALL THINGS ARE SATISFIED WITH THY GOODNESS, O LORD. THOU TURNEST AWAY THY FACE, THEY ARE TROUBLED. THOU TAKEST AWAY THY SPIRIT, THEY DIE AND RETURN AGAIN TO THEIR DUST. THOU SENDEST FORTH THY SPIRIT AND THEY ARE CREATED, AND RE NEWEST THE FACE OF THE EARTH. THY GLORY IS FOR EVERLASTING.

It is most true, it is without error, it is the sum of verity: That which is beneath is like that which is above, and that which is above is like that which is below, for the performance

of the wonders of one thing. As all things were created from the Mind of One, so all things arose by modification of this One Thing. It is so with our Substance. Its father is the Sun, its mother the Moon. The Wind bore it in its belly. The earth is its nurse. The father of all, the Thelema of the whole world, is here. Its strength is undiminished if it is changed into earth. Separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, gently, but with great skill. It rises from earth to heaven, and again descends to the earth, and receives the strength of things above and of things below. Thus you have the GLORY OF THE WHOLE WORLD, and all darkness will flee away from you. This is the strength of every strong thing: it overcomes every subtle thing, and penetrates all solids. IN THIS WAY WAS THE WORLD CREATED. These are the wonderful modifications, the manner of which I have described. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the wisdom of the whole world. I have now said all I have to say concerning the operation of the Sun.

THE