Читать книгу The Magician's Dictionary - Edward E. Rehmus - Страница 13

BA — The Atman, the Egyptian soul, depicted as a bird with a human head, though apparently not the very similar bennu-bird. After death it splits apart into the akh which is a temporary spirit in the form of a bird that flies to the Afterworld where it turns back into the ka, or double. The ba remains behind with the mummy. The ba is incarnation, the ka is the vitalizing power and the akh (symbolized by the ibis) is light. On the spirit level they correspond to the uas, ankh and djed.

BAAL SHEM TOV — (“Lord of the Good Name.”) This phrase is involved in the Hebrew banishing and exorcism of the demons of black magic.

BABALON — Crowley’s numerologically-derived spelling. Another name for the “Scarlet Woman” (i.e., a fire elemental). But it is also the city of “Babylon” in its greatness, before its relegation to the New Testament’s “whoredom.” Ba is the Egyptian soul and its repetition in Baba-lon indicates the “double-wanded” one’s “double-path.”

BAILEY, ALICE — Authoress of A Treatise on Cosmic Fire (and numerous other works). Died in 1949 at age 69. She was a Theosophist who also, it is claimed, maintained a fundamentalist Xtian belief (quite unlike HPB) and the conviction that she (like HPB) was in contact with the Secret Chiefs of the Inner Plane, especially Koot Hoomi. It is difficult, however, to assign much importance to any possible Galilean influences on her serious work. Her writings are highly arcane and abstract, containing insights into Hindu, Tibetan and Buddhist metaphysics of a profundity, and frequently of an opacity, rarely encountered elsewhere.

BALCHIPUSHTI — Literally, “Lord of the cockroaches” (King of the Jebusites).

BALKH — “All roads lead to Balkh” (mysterious Near Eastern city) said by Gurdjieff, referring to the Sufic origin of all systems.

BAPHOMET — Idol (chiefly its head) said to have been worshiped by the Templars. It is also the God of the Sabbath of Sorcerors. Its obvious association with “Mohamet” is possibly the result of unexamined Islam. It’s also a symbol of Gnosticism. The Knights Templars (1118-1300) were involved with Gnosticism, Cathars, Albigensians, Manichaeans, and many other groups.

Since the Tarot appears in the 14th Century and since it bears some indications of Muslim origin (primarily the word, Al-Tariqa, or “the way”) and the “Naipes” of Spain < Arabic nabi, “prophet,” then perhaps Baphomet was supposed to be Mohammad. Crowley’s “Devil” Baphomet certainly is alchemical, phallic and capric enough (with a 3rd eye).