The most important "mystic" or "occult" symbol Gurdjieff's "Work" has introduced to the West is enneagram, an occult glyph resembling in some respects Rosicrucian geometrical constructs or Kabbalistic Tree of life. As the story goes (1,7,8), it is prominent among Islamic mystics, Sufis. But- there is a little problem. Not one known Sufi order (and there are more than hundred of them, most notable being Naqshbandis, Mevlevis, Chistis, Qadiris at al.) knows of and uses this symbol.
So, probably, enneagram represents a modified remnant of Neopythagorean and Hermetic tradition that has percolated and survived in Islamic "esoteric" circles; most likely candidates being Ismaili Shiites, spiritual descendants of famous Ihwan-al-Safa (men of learning, an encyclopedic group flourishing around 8/9 century C.E.) and dreaded and slandered (French scholar Henry Corbin has done much to rehabilitate them) Assassins, a secret society on its acme at 11/12 century C.E., until their mountain strongholds in the Caucasus had been destroyed during Mongol invasion in the 13th century.
Set (also spelled Seth, Sutekh or Seteh) was one of the early Egyptian deities, a god of the night identified with the northern stars and initially well regarded as the Prince of Darkness. A sign of this regard is the Tcham scepter, having the stylized head and tail of Set. The Tcham scepter, also called the Was scepter, is frequently found in portraits of other other gods as a symbol of magical power, and in later use, as a symbol of control over the force of chaos (Set).
In early paintings Set is shown as a harpoon bearer at the prow of the boat of Ra, warding off the serpent Apep, an evil demon, the deification of darkness and chaos (isfet in Egyptian), and thus opponent of light and Ma'at (order/truth), whose existence was believed from the Middle Kingdom onwards. Yet the warlike and resolute nature of Set seems to have been regarded with ambivalence in Egyptian theology, and his portrayal went through many changes over a period of nearly three thousand years. Pictures of a god bearing two heads, that of Set and his daylight brother Horus the Elder, may be compared to the oriental Yin/Yang symbol as a representation of the union of polarities. In time, the conflict between these two abstract principles came to be emphasized rather than their primal union.
AKHU – The Ka and Ba in union, the Holy Guardian Angel and Evil Genius joined. This is the Great Work defined, the union of opposites. In Thelemic view this would be The Beast 666 and Babalon conjoined.
ALGOL – From the Arabic 'Al Ghul', meaning 'Demon Star'. Algol is symbolized as the Chaos Star with an averse pentagram in it, representing the individual star or consciousness through Black Magick awakening. Algol itself is the image of Set in the aspect of the Prince of Darkness, being the manifestation of the Black Sun or opposite force of creation. Through Algol one may project any magical force necessary based on ones’ experience. Algol is the mirror of The Order of Phosphorus.
ALPHABET OF DESIRE – The aspect of congress with the subconscious and the spirits which are exterior of the self and within the self. This is the grammar which is unspeakable and is used in communion with the conscious self (Ego,I) and the subconscious self (Kia).
ANCESTRAL SHADES – Spirits, atavisms or familiars of the dead which return to us from our initiation into Magick and Witchcraft. Ancestral Shades may not always be past family, rather those who have been on the path before us who have gained immortality who for whatever reason decide to assist us. In the Black Order of the Dragon, such spirits are closely connected with the concepts of Varcolaci and the Undead Gods.
The shapes familiar to the Spirits of Saturn
They appear for the most part with a tall, lean and slender body, with an angry countenance, having four faces; one in the hinder part of the head, one on the former part of the head, and on each side nosed or beaked: there likewise appeareth a face on each knee, of a black shining color: their motion is the moving of the winde, with a kinde of earthquake: their signe is which earth, whiter than any Snow. The particular forms are,
Invocation for Sunday (SOL):
Come, Heavenly Spirits who have the effulgent rays of the Sun, Luminous Spirits who are ready to obey the power of the great Tetragrammaton, come and assist me in the operation that I am making under the auspices of the Grand Light of Day which the Eternal Creator hath formed for the use of universal nature. I invoke you for these purposes. Be favorable and auspicious to what I shall ask in the Name of Amioram, Adonai, Sabaoth.
This essay resulted from an attempt to find a Greek system of "energy centers" corresponding to the chakras of Eastern philosophy. Such a correspondence would help illuminate Greek mysticism and reveal some of the foundations of the Western Magical Tradition. This goal might seem to be a shallow exercise in analogies, but there are reasons to expect a substantial correspondence. First, the Eastern and Greek systems evolved out of a common Indo-European culture, so one would expect genetic correspondences; these connections were likely maintained over the millennia, since we know the Middle East mediated continual cultural transfer with both the West and East. Second, there is a certain degree of objectivity in the system of chakras, as reflected in the physical body, which would lead to correspondences even in the absence of cultural contact. The consequence of these two factors is a significant uniformity in ideas about the Spirit and its connection to the Body across the Eurasian continent, and even beyond, as documented, for example, in Onians's Origins of European Thought.
How would we know a Greek system of chakras if we saw it? The standard I have used is that
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