First published in The Occult Digest, September 1933
The Oracle of the Sun
By C. F. Russell
THIS six-fold figure,
is called the KIA
ZAN Hexagram and is
one of sixty-four similar symbols no two of which
are exactly alike and
which all together constitute
the text of the YI KING, or
Classic of Changes, the Initiated Chinese
System of Magick. It is called
Chinese, for it is widely known as such,
but its origin is much more ancient
than anything purely Chinese. It actually
came from Atlantis along with all
other esoteric contrivances of an Initiatory
use and power and was invented
by the White Race and carried from
its source to a geographical point later
ruled by the Manchus before the Akkadian
era. The secrets sealed in this
Book have never been published otherwise
than in this symbolic form except
by oral communication. The secret society
which has custody of this branch
of the Atlantean Wisdom is popularly
known as the Order of the Singing
Fan; from the fact that its Members
have a way of singing or intoning the
Hexagrams which gives them tremendous
influence in all Spheres. It will
be impossible in this article to deal
with the technic of magical intonation
but we can at least get an idea of the
preliminary study and practice necessary
before one can become an Adept
in this Art. Do not confuse this with some of
the hazy theories current concerning
the utterance of the Lost Word, whether
it be AUM, IAO, IHVH, or of some
other spelling. All Initiatory procedures,
if correct, are based on balance,
which may be analyzed into melody,
harmony, rhythm and the function of
the focal rite must be fully comprehended.
Then, all the branches of occultism,
like the Tarot, Astrology, Spiritism,
Numerology, Geomancy, etc.,
shall be seen in their proper places off
the main track but all leading into it. A short and simple definition of Initiation
is this: Establish and control
contact between the cerebrum, which
is the main organ of personal consciousness
and memory, the cerebellum
and the other brains, not only in the
head but also in the spinal column and
all the way down to the feet. Any form
of Divination has been designed to help
directly or indirectly by its catalytic
action on the nervous system. The
Spirits with whom you converse and
who answer your questions are specific
parts of your own brains. This thesis
has been proved adequately by Sir
Aleister Crowley in the introduction to
his edition of the GOETIA so I will not
dwell upon it here. But ordinary and
ostensible methods cannot be called
magical because they deal merely with
areas of the cerebrum. This is that
brain which functions in the sphere of
sensation and memory, is blind and
stupid otherwise and cannot perceive
supersensible facts. It is of use to us
only in maintaining necessary relations
with the Troglodytes. The Initiates
have a secret script of their own which
keeps the nature of life in their world
from becoming common property. But
the old tortoise shell has gone out with
the old aeon, along with robes and
abrogate are the rituals and ordeals
which come not now from the Light
of Mercury who is the Oracle or Messenger
of the Sun. Any child of eight can learn this
fascinating game played with eleven
numbers and one in eight. Begin to
teach them thus: A single, whole line,
drawn thus, , is called a
YANG and is positively male, but occultly
female. A double, or divided line,
drawn thus,
is called a YIN and is manifestly female, but secretly
male. These two symbols represent
the primary sexual elements,
either in the macrocosm or the microcosm,
the universe or the human being.
All creation comes from their combination. Combining them together two at a
time we obtain four different figures
which analyze and explain the Tetragrammaton
Formula
Adequate explanation of this IHVH Formula can be found in the textbook on "MAGICK" by the Master THERION, so I will not give more space to it here.
The next step is to combine the Yangs and Yins together three at a time. This gives eight Trigrams, whose shapes and names are as follows in the Logical order:
KHWAN. It is called YONI on the Yetziratic plane and refers to MALKUTH on the Tree of Life; its representative is EARTH and its divinatory significance is capaciousness and submission. It is that six-fold star which lights the way to the Stainless Abode.
KAN is FIRE on the Yetziratic plane and refers to the Sphere of GEBURAH on the Tree; represented by Thunder and signifies moving and exciting power.
KHAN is MOON, YESOD, rain, clouds, springs , streams and defiles and signifies peril and difficulty.
TUI is WATER, CHESED, marshes and lakes and means pleasure, complacency, satisfaction.
KAAN is EARTH, NETZACH, hills and mountains; is interpreted as resting and the act of arresting.
LI is SUN, TIPHARETH, lightning and of course has the sense of brightness and elegance.
SUN is AIR, HOD, wind, and wood and stands for flexibility and penetration.
KHIEN is LINGAM, DAATH, heaven, the sky and read as untiring strength and power.
Omitting consideration of the four and five-fold figures for lack of space let us see how the Hexagrams are built up. Each Hexagram is produced by combining two Trigrams and its meaning will always be found by combining those of the two Trigrams which compose it. The upper trigram is called the modulus and the lower, the base. The whole figure is always erected and read in the ascending order, beginning with the bottom line. If the proper technic is used to erect a figure the operation is Magical and evokes the particular Spirit assigned to that Hexagram.
The method is as follows. Take two ordinary dice. Consecrate one of them with your own Feminine Potency. This always proceeds from the right hand of a man or the left hand of a woman. Consecrate the other with your Masculine Power, which may be done either with the left hand of a man or the right hand of a woman. Now the two dice are to be thrown simultaneously upon a SQUARE whose exact structure must be as follows. Draw accurately a chess-board; fill in the sixty-four small squares with the sixty-four Hexagrams arranged in their Logical order with the LINGAM of LINGAM Hexagram at the EAST. This is not the natural, but the magical EAST. The Logical order of the sixty-four is found in the same way that one finds the logical order of the eight Trigrams; the latter being found thus
In the SQUARE each file has the same upper Trigram throughout, each rank the same lower Trigram throughout. Files run perpendicularly ranks run horizontally. The sequence is the same for both files and ranks; thus for files, from bottom to top and for ranks from right to left, in both cases beginning with KHWAN and ending with KHIEN. Thus number 62 of the logical order will be placed in the 8th file and the 6th rank.
The two dice are to be thrown upon this SQUARE together six times, once for each line of the Hexagram to be erected. A line must be either a Yin or a Yang, which is determined by whether the sum of the pips is even or odd, respectively. Thus, for example, if the pips which turn up at the first throw are six and three, their sum is nine, an odd number, so the first or bottom line of the Hexagram is a YANG, . Suppose that at the next throw, the pips are four and two; their sum is six, an even number, so the next line will be a YIN, . And so on. Of course, while erecting the figure in this way, the operators must concentrate properly on the question or circumstances pertinent to the Divination or Ceremony.
Suppose that the figure obtained were the one which heads this chapter. One reads it by naming the modulus, then the base, thus AIR of SUN. Looking this up in the Book of Changes (YI KING) we find that it may be interpreted generally in the following verse :
"KIA ZAN: the household: this right rule's its base;
"The wife be firm, correct, in her own place."
Further we find the following comment"The Superior orders his words according to the truth of things and his conduct so that it is uniformly consistent." "The Communication to others of one's Realization." "The Oracle of the Sun."
Those who already have some psychic power, skill and experience would need little more information about this figure than given above, but for the beginner it has been further analyzed in the following verse:
First, proper law's a necessary thing.
Housekeeper keep the house with
modesty;
Be stern for idleness and chattering.
Thus fortune helps enrich the family.
All share the luck of the high-minded
king.
Sincere, majestic the end's glittering.
It is to be noted that the first line of the verse refers to the bottom line of the figure and so on consecutively.
It is also to be noted that all the Yin lines rhyme with each other; the Yang lines do the same.
In the scheme of the OTz ChIIM (Tree of Lives) this figure represents the Adverse Relation between Tiphareth and Hod.
No system of Divination is valuable if the objective mind is allowed to interfere in any way, either in obtaining an Oracle or in interpreting it. The essential thing in this and every form of Divination is to obey the oracles obtained. Then, the Spirits will reciprocate your confidence and trust by giving you symbols clearer and clearer in exact ratio to that fidelity. Those who keep a scientific record of their workings shall find the figure given always right and the answer always true, appropriate and suited to the question, individual or circumstance, in increasing proportion as they form the habit of heeding the counsel of the gods and of conforming their conduct to the advice given with firm correctness. Any slip-shod or careless procedure insults the Spirits and the operator will be punished accordingly. In all fairness to the gentle reader we must point out that anyone using or teaching this grammar from dishonest motives is very likely to get into serious trouble.
The natural organ of human personal consciousness is the cerebrum, which is the mammalian brain, the organ of memory, which perceives by reflected light. Hence, Man is not instinctively intelligent in his acts, for the little stream of experience which flows into his physical consciousness is not enough to guide him. To act intelligently, he must act in accord with the totality of all his experiences, which are by no means confined to the sphere of physical sensation. The cerebrum, therefore, exhibits the vanishing point, so to speak, of cosmic intelligence; the lowest possible mind which is yet capable of acting on a universal scale. Insight, wit, rationality, co-ordination, creative thinking, the perception of the nature and identities of things as they are and of the significance of life, GENIUS or Godhead, does not belong to the cerebrum but is a function of the Cerebellum, whose activity is mostly sub-conscious. At this stage in human evolution the cerebrum is properly the most developed brain but we are entering a higher stage where Man shall learn to use his other brains. Nothing is better to develop truly practical thinking, which is something about which all the pseudo-scientists in the world are quite ignorant, than Divination, if carried out faithfully with the right ritual. There must be no guesswork or psychic speculation.
The errors made by fortune tellers, diviners and those who deal with Spirits, are not the fault of the Spirits but are due wholly to wrong attitudes of persons who do not understand and obey the borderland laws, the first of which demands the possession of a clear, level head with self-control and absolute moral integrity. We hear on many sides warnings against spiritism and spiritualism because of the danger in dealing with evil and malicious spirits. The majority of those who issue such warnings imagine that entities higher in the scale of evolution than themselves are less intelligent than themselves and less moral, which is impossible. Evil and falsehood are inseparable. Consequently, no understanding can be the receptacle of truth unless it belongs to a will which is the receptacle of good. Nowhere in the cosmos is there such a thing as a genuinely intelligent evil sprit. If the Devil were wise he would not and could not be the Devil. It is absolutely impossible for anyone, human or otherwise, who hates Humanity, to have or develop the faculty of prevision. Therefore, suspect those who gaze in a crystal and prate of the approach of malevolent monsters; what they see is only themselves. If they were capable of acquiring any real knowledge of themselves and the nature and powers of their own beings, they could pass the Dweller on the Threshold easily. But they shall remain slaves to time and space and the illusions of their shadow-personalities. The vestibule of the Spiritual world is rightly called the "Sphere of the Three Iron Necessities" and there is no pass-key but LOVE!
A Genius is always an Initiate of some Grade. He or she has learned how to think voluntarily with the Cerebellum, and other brains. The first step is to form the habit of Faith. But Faith is not at all a blind belief in what is unknown, for Faith is of Truth and Truth is of Faith and Truth, before it can become an object of Faith, must be in its own light and be seen; otherwise what is false may be believed. FAITH is confidence in the promptings, instincts and correllations apprehended by that brain whose processes are foreign to and which is wholly exterior to the organ of personality. No one need or should believe any paradox, antinomy or absurdity philosophers and theologians to the contrary notwithstanding. On the other hand, those responsible for current theories in Physics, Biology, Geology and Astronomy are equally blind leaders of the blind. No class has a monopoly of the whimsical, puerile and superstitious conceptions. Such are but natural to the Troglodytes, the cave-dwellers who are blinded by the Light which cannot form images in the cerebrum.
The process of Divination, especially the YI KING is one safe and certain road which leads out of the cave. "By eight and by eight shall I learn to count thy favours, O thou eleven-fold god four hundred and eighteen." Those who do learn to count by eight and by eight shall become subjects of Divine Favour. There can be no purpose in life higher than to do Good and no guide to this end better than the voice of your own Conscience, which speaks from its throne or seat in the Cerebellum by means of good and true messengers who will faithfully analyze and solve your problems if you approach them by an authoritative method according to the rules of the Magick Art. They will surely and quickly lead you to the source and center of Good, Itself and Truth, Itself. May you find the Heart of the Lord who dwells in your own Heart.