第 31 节
作者:      更新:2021-02-18 21:16      字数:9322
  FAITHFUL。
  FOREWORD
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  THE LIGHT OF EGYPT
  Thy   temple   is   the   arch   Of   yon   unmeasured   sky;   Thy   Sabbath   the
  stupendous march Of grand eternity。
  To my Brothers and Sisters of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor:
  GREETINGFor some years it has been my desire to leave a spiritual
  legacy   to   the   many   devoted   friends   and   followers   who   have   braved   so
  much amid present truth and error for my sake。
  In choosing the present work for such a purpose; I have had in view
  the deeper spiritual needs of the soulthe prophetic element of the interior
  spirit;   which   can   best   exalt   itself   through   the   contemplation   of   Nature's
  arcane symbolism of the starry heavensnot the material expression of the
  glittering splendors of the midnight sky; but the spiritual soul…pictures of
  those blazing systems that reveal to the seeing eye the shining thrones of
  THE RULERSthe Powers that Be。
  Ever since the dawn of intellectual human life upon our Mother Earth;
  long before the days of the cave man; or even the first frost that heralded
  the coming of the Ice Age; souls have hoped and hungered and souls have
  quailed and fallen in their struggles with the mysteries of God。 But ever
  and anon some bright flower of the race has gained the spiritual victory。 A
  Messianic      soul  has   responded     to  aspirations   of   a  great…hearted;    great…
  souled woman; pregnant with spiritual yearnings beyond her race; and she
  has unconsciously blessed her kind for the generations yet to come with
  that incarnated mysteryTHE SON OF GOD。 Blessed; O Woman; is thy
  patient mission on the earth; and transcendent are the holy mysteries of thy
  maternity。 Every human birth is a Divine miracle in humanity; performed
  by the Motherhood of God。
  Hence it is that; from the earliest ages of life; triumphant souls have
  stormed   the   gates   of   the   sanctuary   and   penetrated   Nature's   most   occult
  mysteries   and   there   recorded   their   spiritual   victories。 Amid   these   sacred
  records lies one great scroll; that none but the brightest and bravest may
  read。
  This sacred scroll; sealed with the seven mystic seals of the heavens;
  contains The Tablets of Aeth; a record of the soul's experiences upon the
  planes of both conscious and sub…conscious life…spirit and matter; that are
  expressed in a series of universal symbols; which manifest to the seer the
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  processes   of   creative   life;   of   spiritual   cause   with   material   effect。   And;
  finally; the mystery of the seven vials and the seven stars of Saint John are
  written therein; for the Tablets are the hieroglyphic keys which unlock the
  realities of truth involved within the unrealities of external life; and open
  up; to the aspiring soul; inconceivable vistas of knowledge yet possible of
  realization; within the Divine womb of the uncreated Aether。
  Myriads of exalted spirits; who have toiled for the treasure which doth
  not    corrupt;    have    added;    and    are  adding;     their   portion    of  personal
  conception to this universal conception of life; so that the sacred symbols
  themselves;         inscribed      upon      these     imperishable        Tablets;      ARE
  EVOLUTIONARYare   slowly   unfolding   through   the   eons   of   time;   and
  revealing wider and yet deeper processes of the light; life; and love; of the
  Motherhood of God。
  Therefore; all Divine revelation of infinite truth is limited and finite as
  to   its   conception;   when   revealed   through   a   finite   capacity。   All   Divine
  truths   are   universal;   all   personal   conceptions   of   such   truths   are   limited;
  hence     springs    the   unquenchable       fountain     of  the   ONE      eternal   truth;
  eternally  repeating itself;  in   cosmic   as   in   human   life; by  the   progressive
  unfoldment of Nature's unlimited potentialities。
  〃The outward doth from the inward roll; And the inward dwells in the
  inmost soul。〃
  The   true   poet   is   always   a   seer;   and   he   might   have   added   that   the
  INMOST SOUL is the uncreate; and; the yet uncreated itself; lies buried in
  the ever eternal beyond; hence the immortality of the human spirit。
  This sacred astral scroll; rightly and reverently studied by the disciple
  of    the   higher    law;   becomes      a  boundless      source    of   knowledge      and
  inspiration。   There   is   no   mood   of   the   mind   or   yearning   of   the   soul   that
  cannot     be   satisfied   and   refreshed     from   this   inexhaustible     fountain    of
  spiritual truth; no passion of the human heart that cannot be eased of its
  burden and soothed of its pain。 Its spiritual refreshment falls like the dew
  from heaven upon those who are weary and heavy laden with the trials and
  sufferings of external life。
  Accept it; then; even as it is given unto you。 My friends and brethren;
  accept it as Zanoni's   last work on   earthhis legacy to   you; and may   the
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  spirit   of   the   All…Father…Mother;   the   ineffable   spirit   of   Life;   Light;   and
  Love;the Unknowable; whom men call God; rest upon you and be with
  you now and forever。
  INTRODUCTION
  TO THE BOOK WHICH IS CALLED 〃THE TABLETS OF AETH;〃
  WHEREIN ARE DESCRIBED THE FORMULAS OF MEDITATION。
  THE FORMULAS OF MEDITATION;
  TO THE DRAGON; FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH。
  〃When   first;  a   musing boy;   I   stood   beside Thy  starlit shimmer;  and
  asked my restless heart What secrets Nature to the herd denied; But might
  to   earnest   hierophant     impart;    When     lo!  beside   me;   around     and   o'er;
  Thought whispered; 'Arise; O seeker; and explore。' 〃
  The   Tablets   of   Aeth   are   the   culminating   expression   of   symbolical
  ideas;    and   the   studious    meditation    thereof    is  to  be   approached      and
  continued in this wise:
  First; commit to memory; as near as may be; all the ideas involved in
  the   astrological   laws   and   principles   laid   down   in   〃The   Science   of   the
  Stars;〃   formulated   in   the   second   part   of   〃The   Light   of   Egypt;〃   Vol。   I;
  especially as regards the symbolism there given and manifestation thereof
  on    the  intellectual   plane。   Mentally     digest  these   aspects    of  truth  most
  thoroughly。
  Second; carry forward the same course of mental training with regard
  to the preceding chapters in this volume; from No。 1 to No。 12。 There are
  thirteen chapters; but No。 13; the last one; being 〃The Penetralia;〃 should
  not be included in this course; but; rightly used; should be reserved as the
  last and final revelation for spiritual contemplation。
  The    twelve    chapters   just  mentioned     continue    the   great  astral  laws
  given in 〃The Light of Egypt;〃 Vol。 I; from this plane to that of the soul
  life of the human monad (both prior to and after human incarnation)。 At
  this point we leave the finite and step into the realms of the infinite。 From
  the   sphere   of   limitations   which    surround   the   microcosm   we   enter      the
  starlit   path   of   the   macrocosm;   and   here;   with   the   illimitable   ocean   of
  eternal   life   sweeping   onward   before   us;   we   hear   the   first   strains   of   the
  Grand March of the Universe burst forth from the organs of God! The suns
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  of creative life swell the infinite chorus of sound; archangels swing their
  fiery batons to the march of the heavenly host; and all earthly sound has
  ceased。 We are absorbed in the music of the spheres。
  We are now in the realm of universals; the domain of living realities。
  The    Tarot    of  Mother    Nature    revolves    before    us;  revealing    her   mystic
  meanings to the soul。 All ideas are symbols; and symbols are reservoirs for
  the conservation of thought。 And this is a very truth: Even so on earth as it
  is in heaven。
  The Tablets   of Aeth;   then;   constitute   a   spiritual   astrology;   a   spiritual
  science of the stars; void of mathematics; yet possessing all the exactitude
  of   figures;   constructed   on   the   principles   of   astronomy;   yet   expressed   by
  the methods of the Kabbalah。
  The    transmission      of  spiritual   truth  from    inward    to  outward     form;
  though differing according