22. The Book Of Hermes-a

THE END of our work is upon us; it is here that we must give the universal key thereof and utter its final word. The universal key of magical works is that of all ancient religious dogmas - the key of the Kabalah and the Bible, the Little Key of Solomon. Now, this Clavicle, regarded as lost for centuries, has been recovered by us, and we have been able to open the sepulchres of the ancient world, to make the dead speak, to behold the monuments of the past in all their splendour, to understand the enigmas of every sphinx and to penetrate all sanctuaries. Among the ancients the use of this key was permitted to none but the high priests, and even so its secret was confided only to the flower of initiates. Now, this was the key in question: (i) a hieroglyphic and numerical alphabet, expressing by characters and numbers a series of universal and absolute ideas; (2) a scale of ten numbers, multiplied by four symbols and connected with twelve figures representing the twelve signs of the zodiac; (3) Plus the four genii of the cardinal points. The symbolical tetrad, represented in the Mysteries of Memphis and Thebes by the four forms of the sphinx - man, eagle, lion and bull - corresponded with the four elements of the old world, water being signified by the cup held by the man or aquarius; air by the circle or nimbus surrounding the head of the celestial eagle; fire by the wood which nourishes it, by the tree fructifying in the heat of earth and sun, finally, by the sceptre of royalty, which the lion typifies; earth by the sword of Mithras, who each year immolates the sacred bull, and, together with its blood, pours forth that sap which gives increase to all fruits of earth. Now, these four signs, with all their analogies, explain the one word hidden in all sanctuaries, that word which the bacchantes seemed to divine in their intoxication when they worked themselves into frenzy for IO EVOHE. What then was the meaning of this mysterious term? It was the name of four primitive letters of the mother-tongue: JOD, symbol of the vine-stock, or paternal sceptre of Noah; HE, type of the cup of libations and also of maternity; VAU, which joins the two, and was depicted in India by the great and mysterious lingam. Such was the triple sign of the triad in the Divine Word; but the mother-letter appeared a second time, to express the fecundity of Nature and woman and to formulate the doctrine of universal and progressive analogies, descending from causes to effects and ascending from effects to causes. Moreover, the sacred word was not pronounced: it was spelt, and expressed in four words, which are the four sacred words - JOD He Vau He. The learned Gaffarel regards the TERAPHIM of the Hebrews, by means of which they consulted the oracles of the URIM and THUMMIM, as the figures of the four kabalistic animals, which symbols, as we shall show shortly, were epitomized by the sphinxes or cherubs of the ark. In connexion with the usurped TERAPHIM of Michas, he cites a curious passage from Philo, which is a complete revelation as to the ancient and sacerdotal origin of our TAROTS.