On the Powers of the Sphinx
Part 2: Aleister Crowley
By Michael Osiris Snuffin (2002)
In Part 1 of this series we discussed the Four Powers of the Sphinx as understood by Eliphas Lèvi. We shall now look at the works of Aleister Crowley, who developed the Powers of the Sphinx as a part of his own Thelemic paradigm, even incorporating them into the instruction of both the A.’.A.’. and the OTO.
Crowley identifies himself with Lèvi in his first major discussion of the Four Powers in Chapter 151 of Liber Aleph:
The last sentence refers to the Elemental perfection of the Sphinx. The Four
Elements are the "Forces of Nature, each in its Balanced Strength" represented
by the four Kerubic beasts that compose the Sphinx. Like Lèvi, Crowley
identifies the Sphinx with the Adept or Magus, who employs the Four Powers to
become "whole, Himself, containing all Things in true Proportion."
Crowley’s definition of the Sphinx continues in Chapter 152:
The first sentence gives the traditional attributions of the Powers to the Kerubic Signs. Here Crowley has identified two beasts with the Kerubic Eagle: the Serpent and the Dragon. This symbolism has its roots in the Golden Dawn tradition, which divided Scorpio into three forms to represent various aspects of the sign:
The Dragon is a winged Serpent, a combination of the two highest aspects of
Crowley also connects the Kerubic Signs to the Four Emanations of Law: Light, Life, Liberty and Love. These are discussed in Liber 150, De Lege Libellum, which is "a further explanation of The Book of the Law, with special reference to the Powers and Privileges conferred by its acceptance." The Four Emanations of Law are connected with the Gnostic Catholic Church (EGC) in the creed of the Gnostic Mass.
A few years after he wrote Liber Aleph, Crowley introduced a Fifth Power of the Sphinx. This concept is fully explained in Magick Without Tears:
The Fifth Power of the Sphinx is to Go, corresponding with the Element of
Spirit. The astrological counterpart of the power to Go is the Sun, that which
links the Kerubic Signs in the same manner as Spirit binds the Four Elements.
The symbol of the Fifth Power is the Ankh, "which is a sandalstrap, implying the
power to go" and was also considered by Crowley to be the "characteristic of a
Note that Crowley has switched the attributions of two of the Kerubic signs. In Liber Aleph and also in Lèvi’s works, Taurus (Earth) represents the Power to Dare and Scorpio (Water) represents the Power to Keep Silence; but in later works such as Magick Without Tears and The Book of Thoth, Scorpio (Water) is to Dare and Taurus (Earth) is to Keep Silence. Crowley’s final attributions to the Powers of the Sphinx are summarized in Table 1.
The special relationship between the Four Powers and the Fifth Power is revealed in The Book of Thoth:
By the exercise of the Four Powers of the Sphinx, the Adept attains the Fifth Power, the indwelling of Spirit and the realization of the god within. Eliphas Lèvi came to a similar conclusion in The Great Secret:
To summarize, the Four Powers of the Sphinx are the means by which Man becomes
God. It is for this reason that Crowley refers to the Sphinx as "the True Symbol
of this our Holy Art of Magick under the Law of Thelema" and "a Glyph of the
Satisfaction and Perfection of the Will and of the Work, the Completion of the
True Man as the Reconciler of the Highest with the Lowest."
Thus ends our discussion on the Powers of the Sphinx.
Copyright (c) 2010 Michael Osiris Snuffin
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