No. XV.

THE SECRET OF SATAH,

(I.)

And on the seventh day there went forth from the presence
ofGod a mighty Angel, full of wrath and consuming, and
God gave unto him the dominion of the outermost sphere.
2. Eternity brought forthTime ; the Boundless gave birth
to Limit Being descended into Generation.
;

3. As lightning I beheld Satan fall from heaven, splendid

ir» strength and fury.

4. Among the Gods is none like unto him, into whose

hand are committed the kingdoms, the power and the glory
of the worlds :

5. Thrones and empires, the dynasties of kings, the fall

of nations, the birth of churches, the triumphs of Time.

6. They arise and pass, they were and are not ; the sea

and the dust and the immense mystery of space devour

them.
7. The tramp of armies, the voices of joy and of pain, the
cry of the new-born babe, the shout of the warrior mortally
smitten :

8. Marriage, divorce, division, violent deaths, martyr-

doms, tyrannous ignorances, the impotence of passionate
protest, and the mad longing for oblivion :

9. The eyes of the tiger in the jungle, the fang of the

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36o THE PERFECT WAY.

snake, the foetor of slaughter-houses, the wail of innocent

beasts in pain :

10. The innumerable incarnations of Spirit, the strife to-

wards Manhood, the ceaseless pulse and current of Desire :

11. These are his who beareth all the Gods on his shoul-
ders ; who establisheth the pillars of Necessity and Fate.
12. Many names hath God given him, names of mystery,
secret and terrible.

13. God called him Satan the Adversary, because Matter

opposeth Spirit, and Time accuseth even the saints of the
Lord.
14. And the Destroyer, for his arm breaketh and grindeth
to pieces ; wherefore the fear and the dread of him are upon
all flesh.

15. And the Avenger, for he is the anger of God; his

breath shall burn up all the souls of the wicked.
16. And the Sifter, for he straineth all things through
his sieve, dividing the husk from the grain ; discovering the
thoughts of the heart ; proving and purifying the spirit of

man.
17. And the Deceiver, for he maketh the False appear
true, and concealeth the Real under the mask of Illusion.
18. And the Tempter, for he setteth snares before the feet
of the elect ; he beguileth with vain shows, and seduceth
with enchantments.
19. Blessed are they who withstand his subtlety : they shall
be called the sons of God, and shall enter in at the beautiful
gates.
20. For Satan is the doorkeeper of the Temple of the
King he standeth in Solomon's porch ; he holdeth the
:

Keys of the Sanctuary ;

21. That no man may enter therein save the anointed,
having the arcanum of Hermes.
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APPENDIX XV. 36"

22. For Satan is the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, which
is the beginning of wisdom.^
23. He is the devourer of the unwise and the 2vil : they
shall all be meat and drink to him.
24. Whatsoever he devoureth, that shall never more re-

turn into being.

25. Fear him, for after he hath killed, he hath power to
cast into hell.
26. But he is the servant of the sons of God, and of the
children of Hght.
27. They shall go before him, and he shall follow the
steps of the wise.
28. Stand in awe of him and sin not speak his name :

with trembling ; and beseech God daily to deliver thee.

29. For Satan is the magistrate of the Justice of God
he beareth the balance and the sword,
30. To execute judgment and vengeance upon all who
come short of the commandments of God ; to weigh their
works, to measure their desire, and to number their days.

31. For to him are committed Weight and Measure and

Number.
32. Andthings must pass under the rod and through
all

the balance,and be fathomed by the sounding-lead.

33. Therefore Satan is the Minister of God, Lord of the
seven mansions of Hades, the Angel of the manifest worlds.
34. And God hath put a girdle about his loins, and the
name of the girdle is Death.
35. Threefold are its coils, for threefold is the power of
Death, dissolving the body, the ghost, and the soul.

» Ps. A.V. cxL, D. V. ex. 10

J Is.
xi. 2, 3. The first and " eldest of
the gods " in the order of microcosmic evolution, Saturn (Satan) is the
seventh and last in the order of macrocosmic emanation, being the cir-
cumference of the kingdom of which Phoibos (wisdom) is the centre.
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362 THE PERFECT WAY,

36. And that girdle is black within, but where Phoibos

strikes it is silver.

37. None of the Gods is girt save Satan, for upon him
only is the shame of generation.
38. He has lost his virginal estate : uncovering heavenly
he hath entered into bondage.
secrets,

39. He encompasseth with bonds and limits all things

which are made he putteth chains round about the worlds,
:

and determineth their orbits.

40. By him are Creation and Appearance ; by him Birth
and Transformation ; the day of Begetting and the night of
Death.
41. The glory of Satan is the shadow of the Lord : the
throne of Satan is the footstool of Adonai.
42. Twain are the armies of God : in heaven the hosts of
Michael ; in the abyss the legions of Satan.

43. These are the Unmanifest and the Manifest ; the free
an 1 the bound the virginal and the fallen.
;

44. And both are the ministers of the Father, fulfilling

the Word divine.
45. The legions of Satan are the Creative Emanations,
having the shapes of dragons, of Titans, and of elemental
gods;
46. Forsaking the Intelligible World, seeking manifesta-
tion, renouncing their first estate
47. Which were cast out into chaos, neither was their
place found any more in heaven.

48. Evil is the result of Hmitation, and Satan is the Lord

of Limit.
49. He is the Father of Lies, because Matter is the cause
of Illusion.
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APPENDIX XV, 363

50. To understand the secret of the Kingdom of God, and

to read the riddle of Maya, this is to have Satan under foot
51. He only can put Satan under foot who is released by
Thought from the bonds of Desire.
52. Nature is the allegory of Spirit : all that appeareth
to the sense is deceit : to know the Truth, this alone shall
make men free.

53. For the kingdom of Satan is the house of Matter

yea his mansion is the sepulchre of Golgotha, wherein on
the seventh day the Lord lay sleeping, keeping the Sabbath
of the Unmanifest.
54. For the day of Satan is the night of Spirit : the
manifestation of the worlds of Form is the rest of the worlds
informulate.

5 5. Holy and venerable is the Sabbath of God : blessed

and sanctified is the name of the Angel of Hades
56. Whom the Anointed shall overcome, rising again from
the dead on the first day of the week.

57. For the place of Satan is the bourne of divine impul-

sion : there is the arrest of the outgoing force ; Luza, the
station of pauseand slumber :

58. Where Jacob lay down and dreamed, beholding the

ladder which reached from earth to heaven.
59. For Jacob is the planetary Angel lacchos, the Lord
of the Body
60. Who hath left his Father's House, and is gone out
into a far country.
61. Yet is Luza none other than Bethel ; the kingdom of
Satan is become the kingdom of God and of His Christ.
62. For there the Anointed awakeneth, arising from sleep,

and goeth his way rejoicing ;

63. Having seen the vision of God, and beheld the s

of Satan
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364 THE PERFECT WAY,

64. Even as the Lord arose from the dead and brake the
seal of the Sepulchre

65. Which is the portal of heaven, Luza, the house of

separation, the place of stony sleep ;

66. Where
born the centripetal
is force, drawing the soul
upward and inward to God
67 Recalling Existence into Being, resuming the king-
doms of Matter in Spirit
68. Until Satan return unto his first estate, and enter
again into the heavenly obedience
69. Having fulfilled the Will of the Father, and accom-
plished his holy Ministry
70. Which was ordained of God before the worlds, for
the splendour of the Manifest, and for the generation of
Christ our Lord
71. Who shall judge the quick and the dead, putting all

tilings under his feet ; whose are the dora'nion, the power,
the glory, and the Amen.