Firmly On The
Earth I Stand
Aspects of
Cosmology In The Irish Order of Thelema
Do what thou wilt shall be the
whole of the Law
0. Introduction
- I have recently received some
enquiries about what the Irish Order of Thelema is about Is it all ceremonial
magick? What is Irish about Thelema? The following was originally posted on
lashtal.com and has been slightly amended for posting here. The Order has a
different significance to different people, but the following gives a sense of
our cosmology and outlook.
The Irish
Order of Thelema and its immediate historical antecedents have been
experimenting and working with Irish cosmology to express both the universal
stream of thelema, and the traditions of the land of Ireland for almost 20
years. This work has included research into the historical cosmology of the
Irish, as well as experiment based in these researches, developed through
active magickal and meditative work with the land and Her occupants.
The Order
also uses the cosmological systems of the East and West including the Chakras
and the qabalah as analogous to the initiates experience.
So what
is cosmology? Cosmology could be simply called a 'reality map', a means of
categorising and understanding the experience of the navigator. This includes
both the outer world and the landscapes of the individual’s inner experience. The
Order is set up to offer progressive experiences and development through Irish
cosmology, and through systematic development through the methods and tools of
the Western Mystery tradition. The basic outline of the elemental degree system
of the Irish Order of Thelema is given in full in the Orders constitution which
is available on our website.
The
following is a brief introduction to some of the cosmological themes used by
the Irish Order of Thelema. But this is by no means intended exclusively as an
introduction to the Order; it also aims to offer themes that any person working
in a modern syncretic Irish tradition might draw upon in their individual work.
1. The Classical Elements
The first
tier of the initiatory system of the Irish Order of Thelema is called the
elemental series. This makes reference to the five elements of ancient Greece,
also in prevalent use in the Western mystery tradition. These elements are
earth, water, air and fire. These four are joined by the fifth principle of
aether or spirit.
The four,
being earth, water, air and fire are attributed by Plato as pre-Socratic. The
fifth element, called aether, was added by Aristotle as the quintessence.
Aristotle rationalised that as the other four elements were 'earthly' and
corruptible, that there was a fifth element which is eternal (aether is based
on the Greek for eternity). This is a foundation people from a general Pagan
background will already be familiar with.
These
building blocks connect all things. This sense of interconnectedness is also
found in the Irish tradition. An example of this is the Song of Amergin:
I am the wind on the sea
I am the stormy wave
I am the sound of the ocean
I am the bull with seven horns
I am the hawk on the cliff face
I am the sun's tear
I am the beautiful flower
I am the boar on the rampage
I am the salmon in the pool
I am the lake on the plain
I am the defiant word
I am the spear charging into battle
I am the god who put fire in your head
Who made the trails through stone mountains
Who knows the age of the moon
Who knows where the setting sun rests
Who took the cattle from the house of the warcrow
Who pleases the warcrow's cattle
What bull, what god created the mountain skyline
The cutting word, the cold word.
The four
elements are related to the four compass directions with the point of the
observer being the fifth element of spirit. This same attribution applies to
the space of the lodge room in the work of the Order. Though the elements are
not the only symbolic motif (or even the main one) running through the work of
the Order, as a modern syncretic tradition we work with a holistic yet intelligible
synthesis of working images.
For those
who would like to work with the gaelig for each of these elements, the
following translations are offered.
Earth: Talamh (ground)* Water: Uisce * Air: Aél * Fire: Tine * Spirit:
Imbas; Menme1
1. A
direct translation is difficult. Dia (God) has often been used. I have chosen
Imbas (inspiration, a force of spirit in matter) or Menme (mind; idea)
2. The Five Provinces of Ireland
The Irish
Order of Thelema works with a fivefold division of the island based on the five
traditional provinces, being Ulster, Leinster, Munster, Connaught and Meath. To
speak of the traditional provinces is in a way a misdemeanour as there have
been numerous other divisions of the Island. A document from our Orders
archives explains the complexity of this question:
The Mythology and history of Ireland has involved numerous divisions of
the Island, some established by the various mythical races of invaders, others
have been based on the changing fortunes of dominant Clans and Families,
through to more modern influences such as the Normans and the English. Even in
the apparently straightforward provincial divisions which have survived into
modern times the situation is far from simple. The Five-fold division of the
Island has, at varying stages been based on Ulster, Leinster, Connaught, and
East and West Munster. It has also been taken as consisting of the four main
Provinces, with the later addition of the Province of Meath, the geographical
extent of which varied widely. Other periods have seen the island treated as a
unity, or divided in half by the Eiscir Riada etc. etc.
In spite
of this, our work needs to start from somewhere. Ours starts firmly based on the fivefold division of the
island, and the attributes of these provinces found in The Settling Of The Manor At
Tara. The divisions of the provinces are worked within the borders as they
appear in contemporary Irish geography. The fifth province of Mide is defined
as a point of unity at the centre of the Island. No such fifth province exists
in contemporary Irish geography, though a connection to Tara, outside Navan in
modern day county Meath, as the seat of kingly sovereignty could be seen as
representative of this quality. Alternately the site of Uisneach in modern day
Co. Westmeath, as the seat of druidic power could be seen as representative of
this quality. A model has also been developed for an alternation between these
two representations of the quality of centre and sovereignty, Tara and
Uisneach, through the progression of the Celtic year.
In the Settling Of The Manor At Tara Fintan
also attributes qualities to these five provinces. These fivefold qualities are
the titles and one of the layers of symbolism of the elemental degree system of
our Order. When asked of the partition of Ireland and its cosmological
attributes, Fintan says:
‘Easy to say,’ said Fintan: ‘knowledge in the west, battle in the north,
prosperity in the east, music in the south, kingship in the centre ’.
Fintan
further elaborates on the attributes and boundaries of these provinces in great
detail, providing a workable correspondence set for both working on an island
wide basis, and for working with the directions (and centre) in any ritual
space.
3. The Four Cities
The four
cities is another important aspect of the symbolism of our Order. The Four
cities are mentioned in the Yellow Book
of Lecan and in the Second Battle of Moytura. The description in the text
for the second battle of Moytura is as follows:
The Tuatha De Danann were in the northern islands of the world, studying
occult lore and sorcery, druidic arts and witchcraft and magical skill, until
they surpassed the sages of the pagan arts. They studied occult lore and secret
knowledge and diabolic arts in four cities: Falias, Gorias, Murias, and
Findias. From Falias was brought the Stone of Fal which was located in Tara. It
used to cry out beneath every king that would take Ireland. From Gorias was
brought the spear which Lug had. No battle was ever sustained against it, or
against the man who held it in his hand. From Findias was brought the sword of
Nuadu. No one ever escaped from it once it was drawn from its deadly sheath,
and no one could resist it. From Murias was brought the Dagda’s cauldron. No company
ever went away from it unsatisfied. There were four wizards in those four
cities. Morfesa was in Falias; Esras was in Gorias; Uiscias was in Findias;
Semias was in Murias. Those are the four poets from whom the Tuatha De learned
occult lore and secret knowledge.
The
'cities', unlike the provincial attributes do not have clear directional
attributes. The 'Northern islands of the world' may be a description of a non-
physical place, analogous to the astral plane of contemporary magickal
cosmology. Fantastical islands are also described in the Imramma texts, and may
represent non ordinary realities encountered by the faidh (ovate). Within the
Order the treasures of the cities, and the cities themselves have been linked
with the fourfold provinces, excluding Mide. Although there is no known
historical precedence for this, this arrangement allows work with the full set
of forces in the Irish tradition, developing a modern tradition of work based
on experiment and experience. The exact nature of this synthesis of symbolism
including several other elements is revealed to initiates of the Order as they
progress through the elemental cycle.
4. The Law of Thelema in the
Irish Order
At the
centre of our work is the law of thelema. Thelema says ‘do what thou wilt shall
be the whole of the law’- or be true to your higher ideal. Each person is
unique, with a unique path in life, led by higher principles. The idea that
each person has a path that is unique to them, and that you should mind your
own business (don’t interfere with another person’s path) are the core principles
of Thelema. Beyond building a society based on personal development, mutual tolerance
and freedom, there is the work of the individual on a path.
There is
often an antiquated opinion that thelema is exclusively about ‘ceremonial
magick’ and the works of Aleister Crowley. Certainly there are people and
groups who are dedicated to duplicating the work of Crowley, but the work of
the Irish Order, like that of many others, is innovative, and primarily post
Crowleyian. This is to say we started with a question – what is relevant today
for a person living on the island of Ireland?
Thelema
is a philosophical outlook, and many people who have come to the Order walk
associated paths with associated values, including so-called esoteric or pagan paths. As each person’s
path is individual there is no inherent incompatibility between the work of the Order
and the individual work of a spiritual path.
5. The Three Realms
Neart mara dhuit,
Neart talamh dhuit,
Neart nèimhe.
Mathas mara dhuit,
Mathas talamh dhuit,
Mathas nèimhe.
Power of sea be with you,
Power of land be with you,
Power of sky.
Goodness of sea be with you,
Goodness of land be with you,
Goodness of sky.
Collected by Alexander Carmichael
In as
much as the provinces represent the horizontal cosmology of our order, the
three realms represent the vertical axis of the world tree and our
relationships with elemental forces, forces of soul/ self, and the realm of the
archetypes/ Gods.
These are
also the three realms of the shaman, as well as various other expressions of
threefoldness including the Thelemic threefold of Hadit, Nuit and Ra-Hoor
-Khuit. In the Irish tradition the vertical axis is invoked in such a way as to
place the individual at the centre as the world tree. In the epic of the Tain
the threefold is expressed as land, sea and sky. Based on an island, land
beneath, waters around and sky above declares a natural order as well as an
occult cosmology through the world tree.
Tied with
this image are the three realms of the shaman. At the roots of the tree we have
the aspect of sea/ water. This has a strong link with the unconscious and is
analogous to the lower world of the shaman. Here the initiate encounters the
ancestors and the nature spirits.
The bark
of the tree can be experienced as the middle world; the here and now, but lived
consciously with the forces of nature recognised as manifestations of spirit.
The being of the land is aspected and personified through conscious living and
observation of the subtle processes of the natural world.
The top
of the tree can be viewed as the upper world of the shaman. Here the higher
archetypes including the Gods and higher spiritual dimensions, such as the
cities and the lords of the cities, are encountered.
The tree
can alternately be imagined in the tradition of the life tree of the Qabalah (a
school of jewish mysticism) with its roots in the sky and growing down into the
underworld. The development of the image of the bile/ crann (the axis as the
world tree) is an individual work which is best understood through personal
meditation and experience.
6. Further Aspects
The
cosmology detailed here defines the world around. The inner world of the individual is also a ripe subject. Many of the threads introduced here and others are explored more deeply in the first edition of the soon to be released journal of the Irish Order of Thelema, which will be released at the Vernal Equinox, so watch this space.
Love is the law, love under will
For more information on the Irish Order of Thelema visit:
