 |
LOA
The Cup of Babylon
Introduction * Descriptions and Map * Advanced Material
It is © copyright by Tom DeLiso / Hermes Trismegistus.
Please follow the copyright link for additional copyright information.
LOA, the 13th Aethyr*, carries an important initiation
that must be complete before you can move forward. LOA lies along the path
of Chesed on the Tree of
Life but is below the Abyss and the Tree of Life sphere Binah.
You will no doubt experience some of the powerful feminine forces flowing
down from Binah as you transverse this region.
The central subject of this Aethyr is the Cup or Babalon (Sangreal) and its
symbolic meaning. You may see see a vision of a cup while here. The wine in
the cup can be said to symbolize the lives of the saints and holy men and
all those who have devoted their lives to helping others. Another name for
this wine is sacrifice. So this Aethyr contains the lesson of sacrifice. This
initiation is called the Mystery of Babalon. In this initiation, you will
be required to sacrifice yourself and shed some blood (symbolic blood) into
the cup. This enables you to share in the Great Work and unite yourself with
all those that have done so.
After a successful initiation, you may see or be part of a vision of Babalon
and the Beast, (a seductive mate and your own human self) somewhat like you
experienced in the 16th Aethyr, LEA. However,
because of your experience in VTA you will
now recognize the Beast to be the Lord of the City of Pyramids. The symbolism
here is very important for you to understand. The people you encountered in
VTA have become pyramids of dust because they lost their humaity and their
ability to care about others. They did not shed any blood into the Cup of
Babalon and are thereby confined to VTA. If you have made it to LOA and you
recognize the beast here as yourself in VTA than you have surely earned the
title of Lord of the City of the Pyramids and have freed yourself from the
forces of VTA.
There are two types of residents here in LOA. The Hierarchy of Compassion
(the White Brotherhood) who have dedicated their lives to helping others and
the Earth, and their complement, the Black Brothers. The Black Brothers are
people who have risen in spiritual understanding to this lofty height but
who refuse to shed their blood into the Cup of Babablon unless it is
for personal gain or glory. They are higher in understanding than the residents
of the City of the Pyramids, but have erected thick towers of egotism around
themselves and are thereby shut off from the rest of humanity. It is a distinction
involving the trap of spiritual selfishness; the ill-formed idea that you
are better than another because you have obtained some rank of spirituality.
To grasp this initiation and past beyond LOA, you need to understand
that despite your spiritual rank, you are no higher or lower than any one
else. Spiritual selflessness is what ultimatley separates the White Lodge
and the Black Brothers and has led to the rift in many spiritual and occult
organizations.
So to summarize, this Aethyr contains two lessons:
- self sacrifice of a higher nature (sacrifice for others without personal reward or glory)
- spiritual selflessness (you are no better than any other person regardless of where he/she stands spiritually)
*Notes:
- ZIM and LOA are by tradition reversed in their locations on the Aethyr map from what I have laid out here. I have found in my teaching of students over the years that the lessons of VTA are immediately followed up by the lessons of LOA. This has led me to the conclusion that ZIM was misplaced. I have made the correction on my charts here. The placement is intentional and not a mechanical error.
