6

CAVIAR

The Word was uttered: The One exploded into one thousand million worlds.

Each world contained a thousand million spheres.

Each sphere contained a thousand million planes.

Each plane contained a thousand million stars.

Each star contained a many thousand million things.

Of these the reasoner took six, and, preening, said: This is the One and the All.

These six the Adept harmonised, and said; This is the Heart of the One and the All.

These six were destroyed by the Master of the Temple; and he spake not.

The Ash thereof was burnt up by the Magus into The Word

Of all this did the Ipsissimus know Nothing.

COMMENTARY (Ϝ)

This chapter is presumably called Caviar because that substance is composed of many spheres.

The account given of Creation is the same as that familiar to students of the Christian tradition, the Logos transforming the unity into the many.

We then see what different classes of people do with the many.

The Rationalist takes the six Sephiroth of Microprosopus in a crude state, and declares them to be the universe. This folly is due to the pride of reason.

The Adept concentrates the Microcosm in Tiphareth, recognising an Unity, even in the microcosm, but, qua Adept, he can go no further.

The Master of the Temple destroys all these illusions, but remains silent. See the description of his functions in the Equinox, Liber 418 and elsewhere.

In the next grade, the Word is re-formulated, for the Magus in Chokmah, the Dyad, the Logos.

The Ipsissimus, in the highest grade of the A⁂A⁂, is totally unconscious of this process, or, it might be better to say, he recognises it as Nothing, in that positive sense of the word, which is only intelligible in Samasamadhi.