And the Dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world." The Kabalistic version of the same story is given in the Codex Nazareus, the scripture of the Nazarenes, the real mystic Christians of John the Baptist and the Initiates of Christos.
Bahak-Zivo, the "Father of the Genii," is ordered to construct creatures (to create).
But, as he is "ignorant of Orcus," he fails to do so, and calls in Fetahil, a still purer spirit, to his aid, who fails still worse.
This is a repetition of the failure of the "Fathers," the lords of light who fail one after the other.
(Book II, Sloka 17.) We will now quote from our earlier Volumes: -- "Then steps on the stage of creation the spirit** (of the Earth so-called, or the Soul, Psyche, which St.
James calls 'devilish') the lower portion the Anima Mundi or Astral Light.
(See the close of this Sloka).
With the Nazarenes and the Gnostics this Spirit was [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * Explaining Kabalistic views, the author of the " New Aspects of Life " says of the Fallen Angels that, "According to the symbolical teaching, Spirit, from being simply a functionary agent of God, became volitional in its developed and developing action; and, substituting its own will for the Divine desire in its regard, so fell.
Hence the Kingdom and reign of Spirits and spiritual action, which flow from and are the product of Spirit-volition, are outside, and contrasted with, and in contradiction to the Kingdom of Souls and Divine action." So far, so good; but what does the Author mean by saying, "When man was created, he was human in constitution, with human affections, human hopes and aspirations.
From this state he fell -- into the brute and savage"?
This is diametrically opposite to our Eastern teaching, and even to the Kabalistic notion so far as we understand it, and to the Bible itself.
This looks like Corporealism and Substantialism colouring positive philosophy, though it is rather hard to feel quite sure of the Author's meaning (see p.
235).
A FALL, however, "from the natural into the supernatural and the animal" -- supernatural meaning the purely spiritual in this case -- means what we suggest.
** On the authority of Irenaeus, of Justin Martyr and the "Codex" itself, Dunlap shows that the Nazarenes regarded "Spirit" as a female and Evil Power in its connection with our Earth.
(Dunlap: "Sod," the Son of the Man, p.
52).
[[Vol.
1, Page]] 195 THE CODEX REPEATS THE ALLEGORY.
feminine.
Thus the spirit of the Earth perceiving that for Fetahil,* the newest man (the latest), the splendour was 'changed,' and that for splendour existed 'decrease and damage,' she awakes Karabtanos,** 'who was frantic and without sense and judgment ,' and says to him: -- 'Arise, see, the splendour (light) of the newest man (Fetahil) has failed (to produce or create men), the decrease of this splendour is visible.
Rise up, come with thy MOTHER (the Spiritus) and free thee from limits by which thou art held, and those more ample than the whole world.' After which follows the union of the frantic and blind matter, guided by the insinuations of the spirit (not the Divine breath but the Astral spirit, which by its double essence is already tainted with matter); and the offer of the MOTHER being accepted, the Spiritus conceives "Seven Figures," and the seven stellars (planets) which represent also the seven capital sins , the progeny of an astral soul separated from its divine source (spirit) and matter , the blind demon of concupiscence.
Seeing this, Fetahil extends his hand towards the abyss of matter, and says: -- 'Let the Earth exist, just as the abode of the powers has existed.' Dipping his hand in the chaos, which he condenses, he creates our planet.***" "Then the Codex proceeds to tell how Bahak-Zivo was separated from the Spiritus, and the Genii or angels from the rebels.**** Then Mano***** (the greatest), who dwells with the greatest FERHO, call Kebar-Zivo (known also by the name of Nebat-Iavar bar Iufin Ifafin), Helm and Vine of the food of life,****** he being the third life, and commiserating the rebellious and foolish Genii, on account of the magnitude of their ambition, says: 'Lord of the Genii******* (AEons), see what the Genii, the [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * Fetahil is identical with the host of the Pitris who "created Man" as only a "shell." He was, with the Nazarenes, the king of light, and the creator; but in this instance he is the unlucky Prometheus, who fails to get hold of the Living Fire necessary for the formation of the divine Soul, as he is ignorant of the secret name, the ineffable or incommunicable name of the Kabalists.
** The spirit of Matter and Concupiscence; "Kamarupa" minus "Manas," Mind.
*** See Franck's " Codex Nazaraeus ," and Dunlap's " Sod , the Son of the Man.
" **** Codex Nazaraeus , ii .
, 233.
***** This Mano of the Nazarenes strangely resembles the Hindu Manu, the Heavenly Man of the " Rig Vedas.
" ****** "I am the true Vine , and my father is the husbandman." ( John xv .
, 1.) ******* With the Gnostics, Christ, as well as Michael who is identical with him in some respects, was the "Chief of the AEons." [[Vol.
1, Page]] 196 THE SECRET DOCTRINE.
rebellious angels do, and about what they are consulting.* They say, 'Let us call for the world, and let us call the 'powers' into existence." The Genii are the Principes , the "Sons of Light," but thou art the " Messenger of Life.
" ** And in order to counteract the influence of the seven "badly disposed" principles, the progeny of Spiritus , CABAR-ZIO, the mighty Lord of Splendor, produces seven other lives (the cardinal virtues) who shine in their own form and light "from on high"*** and thus re-establish the balance between good and evil, light and darkness.
Here one finds a repetition of the early allegorical , dual systems, as the Zoroastrian, and detects a germ of the dogmatic and dualistic religions of the future, a germ which has grown into such a luxuriant tree in ecclesiastical Christianity.
Divine archetypal beings or eternal attributes dwelling within the Pleroma, often arranged in male-female syzygies.
The 'Fathers' (lords of light), the 'AEons' (explicitly named in the footnote), the 'Sons of Light,' and the Genii are all aeonic figures in the Gnostic sense, arranged in a hierarchy.
Malevolent planetary rulers or demiurgic powers that govern the material world and obstruct the soul's ascent.
The seven stellars (planets) representing the seven capital sins, the 'rebellious Genii,' and the seven 'badly disposed' principles function as archon-like planetary and material rulers.
The universal fluid or medium of occult philosophy — Lévi's Great Magical Agent — that transmits will, thought, and magical influence between minds and matter, and preserves the impress of all forms and actions as a book of consciences; cognate with akasha and the anima mundi. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of hidden affinity) in being a substantival medium that can be charged, directed, and abused.
Explicitly named as 'the lower portion the Anima Mundi or Astral Light' and as 'the Astral spirit, which by its double essence is already tainted with matter' — a central operative medium in the cosmogony described.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The seven stellars correspond to the seven capital sins, and the seven cardinal virtues correspond to the seven bad principles, establishing a mirroring structure between cosmic and moral orders.
Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.
The passage explicitly identifies 'a repetition of the early allegorical, dual systems, as the Zoroastrian' and describes the balance 'between good and evil, light and darkness' as the fundamental structure.
Narratives or doctrines of cosmic origin — how heaven, earth, and the primordial deities first came into being. The Kojiki's deities born alone on the Plain of High Heaven, Voluspo's Ginnungagap, Genesis's tohu wa-bohu, the Timaeus's Demiurge fashioning the Receptacle, the Hesiodic Theogony, the Kalevala's egg-cosmogony, Egyptian Nun-and-Atum. Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (structural-ontological cascade), letters_of_creation (mechanism of creation), and apocatastasis/frashokereti (end-state restoration); cosmogony is temporally-narrative beginning.
The entire passage is a cosmogonic narrative describing how the Earth, the seven planets, and the material world came into being through the actions of successive divine and semi-divine beings.
A secondary creator deity—often ignorant or malevolent—responsible for fashioning the material world, distinct from the supreme transcendent God.
Fetahil is explicitly described as 'the unlucky Prometheus, who fails to get hold of the Living Fire necessary for the formation of the divine Soul, as he is ignorant of the secret name' — a classic ignorant demiurge figure, and Bahak-Zivo also fails as a secondary creator.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The passage describes a cascade of divine beings (Bahak-Zivo, Fetahil, the 'Fathers') each failing in turn, with a clear hierarchical structure of descending light.
The Gnostic myth of Wisdom's prolapse from the Pleroma — her unilateral desire or error producing the Demiurge and the entrapment of divine sparks in matter.
The Spiritus (female Spirit) is separated from her divine source, becomes 'tainted with matter,' and produces the seven evil principles — a direct parallel to the Gnostic myth of Wisdom's prolapse producing the material world.
The Hermetic doctrine that a masculine-feminine generative principle operates on every plane of being, not only the biological — present at all times as a structural feature of creation itself. Distinct from divine_marriage (a specific reunification event or symbol) and aeons (paired divine beings arranged in syzygies, not a universal structural claim).
The Spirit is explicitly feminine ('the Spiritus,' 'the MOTHER'), and the cosmogony involves a male-female generative union ('the offer of the MOTHER being accepted, the Spiritus conceives').
A non-physical dimension of reality, interpenetrating the physical world, populated by forces, beings, and forms ordinarily imperceptible to physical senses and instruments, that can affect embodied life without being seen — Dion Fortune's 'mind-side of nature,' the astral plane of Western esotericism broadly construed. Distinct from astral_light (a specific transmitting medium or fluid operating within this realm, not the realm itself), pleroma (the divine fullness at the summit of a cosmic hierarchy, not a parallel plane coextensive with ordinary life), and animism (particular indwelling spirits bound to specific natural objects, not the general unseen dimension itself).
The passage describes the astral plane, the spirit of the Earth, and the non-physical realm of the Genii and Spiritus as a dimension interpenetrating and underlying the physical world.
The doctrine that the cosmos unfolds as a structured descent of spirit into matter — a directional process traced stage by stage from an unconditioned principle down through successive planes to full materialization — complemented by its own eventual return ('evolution'). Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (the static structure of the resulting levels of the cascade) and cosmogony (a single originating event rather than an ongoing staged process) in naming the directional cosmic PROCESS of descent itself, paired with its own complementary ascent.
The passage traces a directional descent from the 'Fathers' through successive failures down to the creation of matter and the Earth, implying a staged process of spirit descending into matter.
The divine fullness or totality of the highest realm, populated by aeons and divine attributes, contrasted with the deficient material world.
The realm of the 'Fathers' (lords of light) and the 'splendour' of Fetahil represent the divine fullness, contrasted with the deficient material world below.
The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.
Bahak-Zivo is 'separated from the Spiritus,' the Genii are separated from the rebels, and the astral soul is 'separated from its divine source' — separation is a structural theme of the cosmogony.
Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma).
The passage distinguishes spirit (pneuma), the astral soul/psyche, and matter (hyle) as three principles, with the 'astral soul separated from its divine source (spirit) and matter.'