Liber cordis cineti serpente

LIBER CORDIS CINCTI SERPENTE
SVB FIGVRÂ

LIBER LXV

ynda

V
A∴A∴ Publication in Class A
The full knowledge of the interpretation of this book is concealed from all, save only the Shining Triangle. The Probationer must nevertheless acquire a copy and throughly acquaint himself with the contents. He must commit one chapter to memory.

I
1. I am the Heart; and the Snake is entwinedAbout the invisible core of the mind. Rise, O my snake! It is now is the hour Of the hooded and holy ineffable flower. Rise, O my snake, into brilliance of bloom On the corpse of Osiris afloat in the tomb! O heart of my mother, my sister, mine own, Thou art given to Nile, to the terror Typhon! Ah me! but the glory of ravening storm Enswathes thee and wraps thee in frenzy of form. Be still, O my soul!that the spell may dissolve As the wands are upraised and the æons revolve. Behold! in my beauty how joyous thou art, O Snake that caresses the crown of mine heart! Behold! we are one, and the tempest of years Goes down to the dusk, and the Beetle appears. O Beetle! the drone of Thy dolorous note Be ever the trance of this tremulous throat! I await the awakening! The summons on high From the LordAdonai, from the Lord Adonai! 2. Adonai spake unto V.V.V.V.V., saying: There must ever be division in the word. 3. For the colours are many, but the light is one. 4. Therefore thou writest that which is of mother of emerald, and of lapis-lazuli, and of turquoise, and of alexandrite.
1

2

LIBER LXV

5. Another writeth the words of topaz, and of deep amethyst, and of gray sapphire, and ofdeep sapphire with a tinge as of blood. 6. Therefore do ye fret yourselves because of this. 7. Be not contented with the image. 8. I who am the Image of an Image say this. 9. Debate not of the image, saying Beyond! Beyond! One mounteth unto the Crown by the moon and by the Sun, and by the arrow, and by the Foundation, and by the dark home of the stars from the black earth. 10. Not otherwise may yereach unto the Smooth Point. 11. Nor is it fitting for the cobbler to prate of the Royal matter. O cobbler! mend me this shoe, that I may walk. O king! if I be thy son, let us speak of the Embassy to the King thy Brother. 12. Then was there silence. Speech had done with us awhile. There is a light so strenuous that it is not perceived as light. 13. Wolf’s bane is not so sharp as steel; yet itpierceth the body more subtly. 14. Even as evil kisses corrupt the blood, so do my words devour the spirit of man. 15. I breathe, and there is infinite dis-ease in the spirit. 16. As an acid eats into steel, as a cancer that utterly corrupts the body; so am I unto the spirit of man. 17. I shall not rest until I have devoured it all. 18. So also the light that is absorbed. One absorbs little, and iscalled white and glistening; one absorbs all and is called black.

LIBER CORDIS CINCTI SERPENTE

3

19. Therefore, O my darling, art thou black. 20. O my beautiful, I have likened thee to a jet Nubian slave, a boy of melancholy eyes. 21. O the filthy one! the dog! they cry against thee. Because thou art my beloved. 22. Happy are they that praise thee; for they see thee with Mine eyes. 23.Not aloud shall they praise thee; but in the night watch one shall steal close, and grip thee with the secret grip; another shall privily cast a crown of violets over thee; a third shall greatly dare, and press mad lips to thine. 24. Yea! the night shall cover all, the night shall cover all. 25. Thou wast long seeking Me; thou didst run forward so fast that I was unable to come up with thee. O thoudarling fool! what bitterness thou didst crown thy days withal. 26. Now I am with thee; I will never leave thy being. 27. For I am the soft sinuous one entwined about thee, heart of gold! 28. My head is jewelled with twelve stars. My body is white as milk of the stars; it is brightwith the blue of the abyss of stars invisible. 29. I have found that which could not be found; I have found a vessel...