LIBER XXV
THE STAR RUBY

By Aleister Crowley
[Notes by David Cherubim]

[XXV is the Square of 5, the number of the Pentagram.]

[The Star Ruby is the precious Stone of Chokmah or Therion, whereas the Star Sapphire is the precious Stone of Binah or Babalon.]

[The Ritual of the Star Ruby is a modified and improved version of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.]

Facing East, in the centre, draw deep deep deep thy breath, closing thy mouth with thy right forefinger prest against thy lower lip.  Then dashing down the hand with a great sweep back and out, expelling forcibly thy breath, cry: APO PANTOS KAKO DIAMONOS.  [Away from me evil spirits.]

With the same forefinger touch thy forehead, and say SOI [To Thee], thy member, and say O PHALLE [O Phallus. Women in the Order may say: O KTEIS.], thy right shoulder, and say ISCHUROS [Strong, Power], thy left shoulder, and say EUCHARISTOS [Thanksgiving]; then clasp thine hands, locking the fingers, and cry IAO.  [IAO is a Notariqon of the Qabalistic God Name of Tiphareth, the Sun, and it is the Gnostic Tetragrammaton.]

Advance to the East.   Imagine strongly a Pentagram [The color of the Pentagram should be the Red of Geburah], aright, in thy forehead.  Drawing the hands to the eyes, fling it forth, making the sign of Horus, and roar THERION. [Therion is the Beast 666, the Perfected Man.] Retire thine hand in the sign of Hoor pa kraat.

Go round to the North and repeat; but say NUIT.  [Nuit is the Queen and Goddess of Infinite Space, Our Lady of the Stars.]

Go round to the West and repeat; but whisper BABALON.  [Babalon is the Bride of CHAOS that rideth upon Our Lord the Beast, and the Perfected Woman.]

Go round to the South and repeat; but bellow HADIT.  [Hadit is the Winged Globe at the Heart of Nuit and the Flame of Life that burns in every Heart.]

[In the ritual of the Star Ruby, East corresponds to the Element of Earth, the Sephira Malkuth on the Tree of Life, and the final letter Heh of the Tetragrammaton; North corresponds to the Element of Air, the Sephira Yesod on the Tree of Life, and the letter Vav of the Tetragrammaton; West corresponds to the Element of Water, the Sephira Hod on the Tree of Life, and the letter Heh of the Tetragrammaton; and South corresponds to the Element of Fire, the Sephira Netzach on the Tree of Life, and the letter Yod of the Tetragrammaton.  Thus, when moving widdershins or anti-clockwise during this ritual we also ascend the Tree of Life from Malkuth to Netzach, and we complete the proper Elemental Formulae of Initiation as represented by the Tetragrammaton or Fourfold Word.]

Completing the Circle widdershins, retire to the centre, and raise thy voice in the Paian [Joyous Song or Hymn of Praise], with these words IO PAN.   [Hailing Exclamation to Pan, Male-Female-Quintessential One] with the Signs of N.O.X.

[IO PAN has 5 letters and thus corresponds with the Pentagram.  Qabalistically, IO PAN is Yod-Ayin Peh-Nun = 210 = N.O.X. or Nun-Ayin-Tzaddi.  N.O.X. is the Night of Pan and the Word of Hoor.]

[The Signs of N.O.X. are five: Puella (Girl), Puer (Boy), Vir (Man), Mulier (Woman), and Mater Triumphans (Triumphant Mother).  Note the connection of these five Signs with the Tree of Life: Puella = Malkuth, Puer = Yesod, Vir = Tiphareth, Mulier = The Abyss, and Mater Triumphans = Binah.  This order of the Signs thus represents the formula of crossing and transcending the Abyss by way of the Middle Pillar of Initiation.]

[The N.O.X. Signs are done around the Circle of the Temple.  N.O.X., the "Night" of Pan = Nuit = The Circumference.  Whereas the L.V.X. Signs are done in the Centre of the Temple. L.V.X., the "Light" of the Gnosis = Hadit = The Centre.]

Extend the arms in the form of a Tau [Cross], and say low but clear: Pro Mou Iunges, O Pixo Mou Teletarchae, Epi Desia Chunoches, Epa Ristera Daimonos, Pheg Ei Gar Peri Mou O Asther Ton Pente, Kai En Thi Sthele, O Asther Ton Es Esthxe.

[Translation of the above Greek words is as follows: Before me the Spells (Iunges), Behind me the Mysteries (Teletarchai), On my right the Constraints (Sunoches), On my left the Spirits (Daimonos), For about me blazes the five-fold Star, and in the Stone, the Star of Six is fixed.]

Repeat the Cross Qabalistic, as above, and end as thou didst begin.

The secret sense of these words is to be sought in the numeration thereof.