LIBER RESH VEL HELIOS
SUB FIGURA CC

By Aleister Crowley
[Notes by David Cherubim]

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[Liber Resh vel Helios means, "The Book of Resh or the Sun."  Sub Figura means "Under the Figure Of." CC or 200 is the numerical value of the Hebrew letter Resh, which is the letter that corresponds with the Atu of Thoth in Tarot called "The Sun."  Resh means the Head or Face.  Helios was a name for the God of the Sun in Greek Mythology. He is the equivalent of Sol, the Roman God of the Sun.  Liber Resh is a Ritual of Heliolatry or Sun Worship in the form of four Solar Adorations to be conducted four times daily.  Aleister Crowley wrote: "The object of this practice is firstly to remind the aspirant at regular intervals of the Great Work; secondly, to bring him into conscious personal relation with the centre of our system; and thirdly, for advanced students, to make actual magical contact with the spiritual energy of the Sun and thus to draw actual force from him."]

0. These are the adorations to be performed by all aspirants to the A\A\.

[The four adorations of Liber Resh are a means of invoking, uniting with, and identifying with the Sun God in his four primary forms.  To adore is to worship or honor a Deity. To invoke is to call in and to raise oneself to the Godhead.  Aspirants are those who aspire, who seek to attain, to ascend or soar. Also, to aspire is to breathe.]

1. Let him greet the Sun at dawn, facing East, giving the Sign of his grade. [The L.V.X. Signs, or the Sign of the Cross, which is the Sign of the Qabalistic Sephira called Tiphareth, may be used.] And let him say in a loud voice:

Hail unto Thee who art Ra in Thy rising, even unto Thee who art Ra in Thy strength, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Uprising of the Sun.

[Ra was the Ancient Egyptian Sun God and Chief Deity.  He is a Hawk-Headed Divinity.  The Bark is a small sailing Ship.]

Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.

[Tahuti or Thoth is the Egyptian Ibis-Headed God.  The Prow is the bow or stem of a ship.  Ra-Hoor is the Solar Horus, the Divine Helmsman.  The Helm is the position of control, the apparatus for steering the ship.]

Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Night!

[Give the Sign of Silence.]

2. Also at Noon, let him greet the Sun, facing South, giving the sign of his grade.  [The Sign of Fire, which is the Element pertaining to the Qabalistic Sephira called Netzach, may be used.] And let him say in a loud voice:

Hail unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy triumphing, even unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy beauty, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Mid-course of the Sun.

[Ahathoor or Hathor is the Egyptian Cow Goddess, their own form of Venus, and Mother Nature Herself.]

Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.

Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Morning!

[Give the Sign of Silence.]

3. Also, at Sunset, let him greet the Sun, facing West, giving the sign of his grade.  [The Sign of Air, which is the Element pertaining to the Qabalistic Sephira called Yesod, may be used.] And let him say in a loud voice:

Hail unto Thee, who art Tum in Thy setting, even unto Thee who art Tum in Thy joy, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Down-going of the Sun.

[Tum is the Lord of the City of the Sun, that is Heliopolis, and He is the Egyptian God of the West and Setting Sun.]

Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.

Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Day!

[Give the Sign of Silence.]

4. Lastly, at Midnight, let him greet the Sun, facing North, giving the sign of his grade. [The Sign of Water, which is the Element pertaining to the Qabalistic Sephira called Hod, may be used.] And let him say in a loud voice:

Hail unto Thee who art Khephra in Thy hiding, even unto Thee who art Khephra in Thy silence, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Midnight Hour of the Sun.

[Khephra or Keph-Ra is the Egyptian Scarab or Beetle God, the Secret Sun, the Self-Created One born of His own Substance, and a God of Resurrection.]

Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.

Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Evening!

[Give the Sign of Silence.]

5. And after each of these invocations thou shalt give the sign of silence, and afterwards thou shalt perform the adoration that is taught thee by thy Superior.  And then do thou compose Thyself to holy meditation.

[Members of the Thelemic Order of the Golden Dawn perform the Adoration that is written in Liber Legis, Ch. III, vs. 37-38. The Adoration should be performed in the Sign of the Pentagram or Blazing Star, also called the Sign of Osiris Risen.  Compose the Sign of Silence after the Adoration.]

6. Also it is better if in these adorations thou assume the God-form of Whom thou adorest, as if thou didst unite with Him in the adoration of That which is beyond Him.

[A God-form is a representation on the Astral of a Force of Nature.  It is with the Astral Body that we assume the God-form. The Astral Body is transformed into the Body of the God or God-form.  To properly assume a God-form, you must first study and meditate on its image and mythological characteristics to assimilate its essence into your consciousness.]

7. Thus shalt thou ever be mindful of the Great Work which thou hast undertaken to perform, and thus shalt thou be strengthened to pursue it unto the attainment of the Stone of the Wise, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom & Perfect Happiness.

[Liber Resh is performed standing at the intersection of the Paths of Samekh and Peh on the Qabalistic Tree of Life, in the same magical position of balanced power that we perform the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. When giving the Adoration of Ra, we are facing the Solar Sephira called Tiphareth in the East.  Thus we give the Sign of the Cross, which is the Sign of Tiphareth and the Solar Child Orus (Horus or Heru-Ra-Ha). This sign was called the Sign of Osiris Slain in the Old Aeon.  During the Adoration of Ahathoor we are facing Netzach in the South.  Netzach is the Sephira of Fire and thus we give the Sign of Fire, which is also called the Sign of the Goddess Thoum-aesh-Neith. During the Adoration of Tum we are facing Yesod in the West. Yesod is the Sephira of Air and thus we give the Sign of Air, which is also called the Sign of the God Shu supporting the Sky. During the Adoration of Khephra we are facing Hod in the North.  Hod is the Sephira of Water and thus we give the Sign of Water, which is also called the Sign of the Goddess Auramoth.]

THE ADORATION
(From Liber Legis, Ch. III, vs. 37-38)

Unity uttermost showed!
I adore the might of Thy breath,
Supreme and Terrible God,
Who makest the gods and death
To tremble before Thee: --
I, I adore Thee!

Appear on the throne of Ra!
Open the ways of the Khu!
Lighten the ways of the Ka!
The ways of the Khabs run through
To stir me or still me!
Aum! let it fill me!

The light is mine; its rays consume
Me: I have made a secret door
Into the House of Ra and Tum,
Of Khephra and of Ahathoor.
I am thy Theban, O Mentu,
The prophet Ankh-af-na-khonsu!

By Bes-na-Maut my breast I beat;
By wise Ta-Nech I weave my spell.
Show thy star-splendour, O Nuit!
Bid me within thine House to dwell,
O wingèd snake of light, Hadit!
Abide with me, Ra-Hoor-Khuit!