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The Scarlet Letter
Volume IV, Number 2 | June 1997 The Magical Diaries of Ethel Archer, Part II Edited by N. V. Continuity P. March 2nd Asana in God position. Time 12:15 pm till 1:30 pm. Concentrating on a golden ankh. Great difficulty in keeping mind fixed at first. Then strange automatic breathing just as I was about to be absorbed into an immense ankh. This continued some little time; also my throat got dry. The strange breathing ceased as I was doing pranayama quite noiselessly and regularly. Then I seemed to expand or rather a nebulous form of myself that surrounded me seemed to do so—I was a powerful Egyptian god; at the same time I was an ankh, which expanded and contracted as I breathed. The breath seemed as a golden light travelling round the ankh (much as an electric sign does, it is difficult to describe) but the ankh (that was myself) was formed as the breath or the light travelled round if and was contracted and expanded like this (drawing, not copied by Gerald Yorke) June 4, 1912 Between 2 am and 4 am Astral jouney. Rather curious. Had a lot of trouble to get away but very little to get ‘out of myself’. E. G. [her husband –ed.] was enveloped in golden smoke, then was surrounded by a glowing red mist which burnt as a furnace: then saw odd pictures, viz—‘a man seated at a table leaning his head on his hands, dressed in a brown costume, Jacobean or Cromwellian,’ then a looking glass flashed at the end of a long room, etc. etc. Finally I was at the head of a staircase facing east, where was an open window. Doing ‘the enterer’ I projected myself with great force and shot like an arrow from a bow far out of the window and across a beautiful country. Very green it was, with many trees and meadows but no hills. I came to a wall, it was perpendicular and built of reddish looking bricks: with some difficulty I rose upwards and presently arrived at the top. There was a species of tablet let into it. Somewhat like a coat of arms. It was very distinct and I tried to understand it, it may have been some strange language, but my present memory makes it something like this (and once again, <small> drawing, not copied by Gerald Yorke) The squares were black and white and there was a species of fleur de lys. I stayed a long while trying to decipher it and then realising that I ought not to remain stationary I rose above the wall. Apparently it surrounded a city which was enveloped in a dark grey shadow. A hill loomed through the darkness and dimly silhouetted at its base were two black calvary crosses, a third was in the center at its summit, the three forming a triangle. As I looked the cross which formed the apex of the triangle seemed to come downwards and the others to go upwards, so that it formed some symbol but I couldn’t be quite sure. At the foot of the hill were many white stones some with inscriptions and I realised that it was the cemetary and remembered Golgatha. I returned to earth and came to a room where were Bunco [her husband] and Rosher (later was in the Golden Dawn, I think—Gerald Yorke) and a man named Mueller. I tried to explain the coat of arms I had seen on the wall and Rosher said he knew it well, but where had I seen it. I told him. The rest was muddled and I woke feeling very tired. June 21, 1912 Had a rather curious experience last night; at first it was rather pleasant. I seemed to be tingling all over as though electrified, this seemed to go on for hours. I got very restless: finally decided to go on an astral journey. The tingling got very much more violent till it approached a burning irritation and skin seemed all prickling. I tried to push back the bedclothes when suddenly my hand came in contact with another hand and arm. It was horrible, like soft india-rubber, but very strong; I tried in vain to tear the thing away and finally got rid of it by assuming the God Horus. Invoking Thoum-ash-neith and doing ‘the Enterer’ I got away. I didn’t know whete to to but I thought vaguely of one of the planets; either Jupiter, Mars, or Venus. My memory seemed to have gone completely, even as it has now. I did not know a single name or sigil or even the correct pentagrams. It was raining. I went a long way through a damp cloudy atmosphere till I got to what seemed a strange building with an arched iron roof, it was very grey and shadowy, several signs and sigils seemed to float past, but I could not recognise them. Then I remember distinctly it was a Black Tau inverted, also the sigil of Venus. I decided to go to Venus and journeying out of the iron domed roof I went through more and more clouds, till I finally stopped in the midst of darkness—and I realised that I should not be able to meet any challenge or even make a sign, all I could remember in regard to Venus was the name AHA which I repeated boldly several times. A dark cloud slowly parted and before me appeared what at first seemed a wonderful ivory statue of the most perfect athlete, the muscles rippling down the magnificent limbs; I could not see the face but it was very terrible and the whole figure seemed literally bristling with wrath. The left arm was raised in a menacing manner and carried what I suppose was a specus [sic - spear? —G.J.Y.] or scimitar. but it seemed at first more like a large quill. Behind the white figure a little to the left was a black angel equally beautiful in demoniac fashion; and vaguely seen were several other heads, all very frightful. The white figure literally scorched my eyes to look at and whilst I was gazing in blasphemous defiance and ignorance suddenly lunged forward and brought his arm down. A streak of lightning seemed to strike my eyes and for several seconds I felt as if blinded. Then I was back again, but not before I had seen an immense figure standing with its arms out in cruciform fashion. The black angel remained for several seconds (?) after I had been struck and the demon heads were the last to go. Strangely enough I did not feel fear, merely annoyance that I did not know the signs. The clock struck 2 just as I fully woke up. |
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