Chaos

First we will start with Chaos. Chaos is not actually a sphere but rather what exists before and outside of the Tree of Life. In Kabbalah this is Ain, Ain Soph, and Ain Soph Aur (nothingness, boundlessness, and limitless light). Not much can be said of Chaos, all that can be known is what Chaos is not. To add symbols would be to describe what is, therefore what is not Chaos. Chaos may be compared to the Tao of Taoism. Most religions have some concept of a primordial existence before the creation of the universe, whether it be God or primordial waters. The creation story of The Order of the Dawning Sun is that before time existed there was only Chaos, everything that ever would be and even what could never be jumbled up in an incomprehensible mess that is near pointless to ponder. However, within Chaos there was a glaring contradiction: as everything there were some things it was not – happy and sad, temporal, incomplete, and so forth and so on. Out of this contradiction the material universe was born. Yet the universe was one of stagnation, without useful laws governing it and without any kind of true experience. From this came the goddess Nuit (infinite possibility (though lacking the impossibility in Chaos)) and the god Geb (physical matter). They had numerous children including Isis, Osiris, and Horus (the Elder), yet none held any meaning in this jumble of possibility and stagnation mirroring the image of Chaos. Then Nuit was pregnant with Set. Set was not content to simply wait and fall into course with the stagnant and meaningless reality, and so he tore from his mother’s side, bursting himself unnaturally into the world. This first act of will created the universe as we know it to come forth out of the primordial jumble.

Nuit

The next aspect of the Tree of Life encompasses all the spheres and paths. The Book of the Law describes Nuit – the Egyptian Goddess representing the sky – as the “Queen of Infinite Space”. Her circumference is infinite and she represents the totality of Existence. Everything that Is is Nuit, accounting for everything with the exception of Chaos. She is all possibility and all experience. Nuit is represented either by her Egyptian symbol or by a circle. She is the consort of Hadit (Horus).

Babalon

Babalon represents the first three spheres of the Tree of Life. These spheres, as we will cover later, represent the “divine” aspect of the Tree of Life as opposed to the mental and physical. Babalon is represented by the number 7, the most important number to the Order of the Dawning Sun. Due to their ability to see 7 objects moving through the sky (and/or due to the 7 stars of Ursa Major), the number has been sacred since the time of ancient man. There are 7 chakras, sins, virtues, planes to the Tree of Life, heavens, archons, and many more examples of the number in mythology and religion. Babalon represent one who has crossed the Abyss, a being who has transmuted themselves into gold. She represents a state of peace, completion, enlightenment, as state of pure existence where True Will is followed without hesitation or flaw. Babalon is the consort of Chaos, the mythological mother through which the universe was born. She is represented by an inverted heptagram.

Ra

The first sphere on the Tree of Life – Keter – is inhabited by the Egyptian God Ra and represents the crown. He is creative power, the ability to help life grow and thrive, and he as well as the Egyptian solar cycle mirrors one’s journey through the Order of the Dawning Sun’s system. He is the Sun God and is often considered the creator God of both the world and humanity. Ra set Ma’at into place in order to keep the universe from returning to Chaos. He is the final speaker of the Book of the Law, the ruler of the Aeon of the Outsider. Ra represents enlightenment, the divine Self, the Adept rising about the objective universe.

Thoth

Thoth resides in the second sphere – Chokmah – and represents knowledge and wisdom. He is a highly important archetype in the Order of the Dawning Sun, being the creator of all religion, science, philosophy, and anything that allows us to gain knowledge and aid the individual in their quest for self-perfection. He is the consort of Ma’at. Thoth also represents the union of Horus and Set, that is to say Thoth represents True Will itself. He is the vision of God face to face, representing transcendent wisdom and the Adept’s successful and developed ability to change the objective universe in accordance with their will (and the will of the ODS).

Ma’at

Ma’at resides in the third sphere – Binah – and represents understanding as well as truth and balance. In Egyptian mythology her feather is weighed against the heart of the dead to see if they may enter the house of Osiris and continue life after death, or if their heart will be fed to Ammut and they will cease to exist. She is the sign of one who has realized the difference between knowledge and belief, our lacking ability to truly know much, and the balance that makes our lacking knowledge irrelevant, as well as representing the Adept who fully understands their place in the objective universe. Further, she represents the balanced mind of the Adept who has taken control of their unconscious, subconscious, and conscious desires. Ma’at is the force that keeps the universe from returning to Chaos and she is the consort of Thoth. She represents transcendent understanding. Attainment of the sphere leads to the Adept’s ability to take advantage of their place in the universe. Her negative aspects include fideism and delusions of grandeur. She is the vision of sorrow because most – if not all – uninitiated individuals see one’s small place in the universe as negative and try to make humans out to be the center of reality. It is sorrow for the ego.

Leviathan

Leviathan was a creature in Jewish mythology that God feared would destroy the world if they reproduced. It dwells in the Abyss waiting to consume those who attempt to cross without proper preparation. While not evil, Leviathan can and will keep individuals from reaching their full potential.

Lilith

Lilith resides in the fourth sphere – Chesed – and represents unrestriction. This is unrestricted love, creativity, learning, mercy, inspiration, etcetera. She was Adam’s first wife and was created at the same time as his equal. When Adam wished her to be submissive, she refused and left the Garden of Eden. Yet, in sexual terms, Lilith represents submission as opposed to dominance. This is because the submissive in a sexual relationship is the one who secretly is in control (hidden / occult power), as it is only with their say that anything can occur, and their word is God in the encounter. In the wilderness she met her consort – Samael – and together they tricked Eve into eating from the Tree of Knowledge. With Adam and Eve gone, Samael and Lilith – as well as their “decendents”, such as those in the Order of the Dawning Sun – had direct access to both the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life. She represent openness, positive unrestriction, and acceptance, and her vision is Love. Attaining her sphere means that the Adept can open themselves to outer experience on a whim. Her negatives include negative unrestrication, overuse, over indulgence, hedonism, turning the other cheek, and so on. She is the Loose aspect of the self.

Samael

The fifth sphere – Gevurah – is inhabited by Samael, the left hand of God. The nature of the sphere is restriction. From a mystical perspective, Samael is the necessary evil that allows the light of God to be restricted and allows humans to receive it. It is the death to life, the hate to love, it allows for meaning as well as justice and punishment and counters the overwhelming nature of Lilith, his consort. Samael is the vision of strength. He represents self-control, positive restriction, and fair judgment, and attaining his sphere means that the Adept can manipulate their own mind with minimal challenge. The negative aspects of the sphere include negative restriction, massive egos, and god complexes. The sphere’s sexual aspect is that of the dominant partner, the one who seems to be doing the restricting yet is truly just acting at the direction of another, much like the Hebrew conception of “Satan”.

Baphomet

Baphomet resides in the sixth sphere – Tipharet – and represents balance and beauty. He is all the elements, both sexes, a balance of Chesed and Gevurah as well as Netzach and Hod, knowledge, as above / so below, and the animalistic nature of humanity. His symbol is encircled in the Hebrew letters spelling “Leviathan” as a reminder that this sphere is below the Abyss – the despite being balance and beauty this is not the end of the journey. Baphomet is the perfected self or mind, and his positive aspects are balance, peace, and higher consciousness. His negative aspects are pseudo-enlightenment and imbalance, while sexually he represents the magical child. In this sense, the magical child is that of Samael and Lilith, as well as Hathor and Horus. It is the combined and new “self” achieved through love. At this sphere, the Adept has full control over their system.

Horus

Horus resides in sphere of Netzach – the seventh sphere, and is the second speaker of The Book of the Law. To the Egyptians, Horus was the symbol of the Pharaoh, the God-king who ruled over Egypt. He is the conscious will, the spark of life, the individuality of all things, the stars against the infinite backdrop of Nuit. He represents victory. This is the point where an individual can successfully manipulate their beliefs, create rituals, use symbolism, understand themselves, and successfully follow their true well at least to an extent. The consort of Horus is Hathor, and his represents the active aspect of one’s self. Magic, Will, Knowledge and Conversation, and success are the positive aspects of Horus, with the negative being egotism, emptiness, and failure. His sexual aspect is the use of sex in one’s own magical practices and in their quest for self-perfection. At attainment of the sphere, the Adept can successfully create, manipulate, and employ their own magical system.

Hathor

The eighth sphere – Hod – is inhabited by Hathor. She represents splendor and passivity, dance, music, intoxication, experience, and relaxation. Hathor is the passive, meditative balance to the active magic of her consort, Horus. Rather than pushing externally, Hathor represents the internal journey. The feeling of nostalgia, having a cigar with a close friend, meditating in a dark room – all of these are aspects of Hathor. She is the passive aspect of one’s self. Her positives include lust, intoxication, meditation, and enjoyment whereas her negatives include addiction, laziness, and boredom. At this stage in their ascent is when the Adept has a life changing experience – usually a mystical one – that aids in their continuation of the journey. Sexual she represents lust and the initiation into sexual activity.

Yaldabaoth

Yaldabaoth, the “child of Chaos”, inhabits the ninth sphere – Yesod. He represents the foundation, the physical world. He represents the physical self and, in sexual context, specifically the genitals. His positive aspects are connectivity, oneness, and humbleness while his negatives include materialism, scientism, and existential crises. At this sphere the Adept will began to recognize and understand their place in the objective universe.

The Deified Self

The Adept is the kingdom, or at least the ruler of it, and therefore resides in Malkuth. As stated, the Order of the Dawning Sun is a system that is free for all yet requires a basic understanding of the terms within. Unlike other groups, there is no clergy, no initiation, no fees, no meetings, no actual, physical entity. So, unlike other Order, each follower of the Order of the Dawning Sun is considered an Adept. None of us are beginners, none of us are masters.

The symbol representing the Adept is the entire Egyptian solar cycle. Upon first entering a higher sphere, The Adept is Khepri. Khepri represents the rising sun, the triumph of light over dark, knowledge over ignorance, balance over Chaos, and rebirth into a new sphere. Next is Ra, the midday sun, a symbol of the peace and simplicity as The Adept becomes comfortable in the new sphere of existence (note the final sphere on the Tree of Life hosts permanent peace / Ra). Following this is Atum, the setting sun. The Adept fells pushed to move on, it is a time of gently impending doom, the calm before the battle, as The Adept realizes the process cannot be stopped. Finally, The Adept fills the role of Set as he enters the underworld and battles Apep (Chaos). Set further represents the ruler of the midnight sun because of his association with the big dipper, which endlessly and undyingly circles the earth all night. This is where The Adept must defeat the Chaos that has been growing and be reborn into the next sphere as Khepri. Work should be started long before this point in order to ensure easier passage through the sometimes-horrid experience.

The positive aspects of this sphere include self-worth, questioning, growing, and seeing one’s higher self, while the negatives include self-depreciation, immaturity, and ignorance. Sexually it is the first act of sexual maturity.

The Great Work

The Great Work is the entire process of ascending the Tree of Life. Though not an archetype per say, it is an equally important concept. There are three symbols for The Great Work. The first is the pentagram, symbolizing the basic and average man or woman. The second is the unicursal hexagram, which represents ascension. It is the symbol of The Adept’s work and commitment to The Great Work. The heptagram also represents the union of opposites – the objective united with the subjective, the dark united with the light, the fact united with the fiction. It is a symbol of representing “as above, so below” and imitating the final, perfected stage of the Adept’s journey. Finally, the heptagram is a symbol of The Great Work complete, the seven planes ascended. The Adept should never remove his or her eyes from this symbol. Further, the inverted pentagram represents the internal power of the Adept, as well as the union between Horus and Set. It is symbolic of spirit descending into matter, the light of the Father being within everyone and, if properly accessed, powering the Adept’s magic and their True Will.

Melek Taus

Melek Taus is the peacock angel of the Yazidi. When God created the angels he told them to never bow before any but him. Then, upon creation of Adam, God told the angels to bow before Adam. All did, except Melek Taus. Melek Taus asked the creator why he should bow before Adam, who was made of only dust, while Melek Taus was made directly from the creator’s light. For this wisdom, God granted Melek Taus rule over all this reality, all seven planes, all of Nuit. Many see Melek Taus as Satan or Lucifer for his pride and questioning of God.

There is something further to be said about Melek Taus. This ruler was associated with the Islamic conception “Shaitan”, a name the Yazidi are never allowed to utter. Crowley associated Aiwass with Shaitan, and with Set. Melek Taus is another manifestation of Set, though embodying the Luciferian aspect.

Set

Set is covered more in depth in the essays, but a summation is more than warranted. For one, Set is the initiating force of the universe, the one who caused the Big Bang. Set is also associated with Chaos, similar to the way that Christ is conceived of as God on earth, Set is Chaos in our universe. This ties him to his other roles, such as the subconscious mind and the collective unconsciousness of humanity. Finally, Set also represents the midnight sun, riding on Ra’s boat and battling Apep. He is the true ruler of the Aeon of the Outsider and the speaker of the Book of the Law.