"For what purpose? Perhaps to remind you that that which leads you into this world also leads you out. That a journey that begins with birth ends with death. And rebirth, in a continuous cycle.

That which begins has no end. Only transformation. There is only change. That is why there is a wheel. Because it is continuous. If you see everything as in a process, everything is a part of a transformation, that will change your perspective.

If you plant a seed, the seed is not a seed. It was something before, and it will be something after. The seed is merely a stage. And all of existence is that seed."¹

Many people today envision the Goddess Babalon as something very personal to themselves, something very empowering to their Personas. Often women will parade around circles and gatherings, seeking attention through their presence and mildly sexual displays while envisioning themselves as Babalon Herself. The men often applaud this, praising Babalon for the chance at a sexual encounter, shouting "Hail Babalon!" She is viewed most often as a bargaining chip, a kind of talismanic Goddess, to secure unfulfilled desires, a sorcery for sexual gratification and power.

But, as She Herself says, "my vocation is the Serpent."² When Her Serpent, Her Spirit, burns close to your own fires it is indeed true that all of the senses and desires in the Persona burn more brightly, more intensely. And this is the reason why people behave as they do at the touch of Her presence. But one should never mistake the feeling of Her presence, for being Her. Her Power is the source of what you feel - it does not originate from within you, nor can you possess it simply for your Persona's gratification. Rather, one should help in Her manifestation, in all ways and in all places, with complete and utter dedication to Her – lest the Persona be pitted against the Spirit by its own debauchery. The Power you feel and seek is not your own, nor can you ever possess it.

This state of physical and Spiritual Ecstasy is the result of the Liberation of the Spirit from the bonds of the Persona. The Hagia calls the understanding and implementation of this state the Balanced Ecstatic Path. It is a collection of teachings, rituals and ways of living which have been given to mankind throughout the centuries by the Great Liberating Mother so that they might know the full pleasure of existence and life, both spiritually and physically. These teachings center around the revelation of one’s own Spirit, and how to bring it onto the throne of one’s life. Many powers and levels of being and understanding accompany the closeness of one’s Spirit, and these are the ecstatic rewards of following Her teachings. However this ancient path is made more difficult by modernity, secularism, commercialism and industrialization – all of which reinforce the debaucherous self-indulgence in the Persona. The Balanced Ecstatic Path will be discussed more in its proper place, but if one would understand these ways of Babalon, as She is called in this Incarnation, then one must first understand the Great Liberating Mother throughout history. Indeed, one must understand what She calls the Lineage.³

The Lineage is simply a term which refers to Her Incarnations and Manifestations throughout time and space, along with the Seven and the Nine, who comprise Her most immediate servants. The Seven are Spiritual allies which shall remain unnamed, while the Nine, Her Daughters, are sometimes temporal. These waves or pulses of incarnations form the structure of Her temporal power and influence throughout the Aeons, and are often synchronized to the Aeons in differing ways. Babalon Herself often refers directly to the different Aeons when referring to historical events. These Aeonic energies seem to influence and shape, in some large manner, the way in which spiritual powers and entities have influence over temporal events.

The concept of Aeons refers to a way of organizing historical events and influences according to the system of the Precession of the Equinoxes. This is an astronomical phenomenon which is defined by the long-term shift of the stars in our sky caused by a wobbling of the earth as it spins on its axis. It is a pre-cession, instead of a pro-cession, because it appears as if we are traversing through the constellations in reverse, one complete cycle every 26,000 years or so.

The Precession of the Equinoxes is an Earth-centric understanding of time based upon the observation of the sky as we see it from our perspective here on the surface of the planet. The energies of these Aeonic time periods influence the planet in much the same way that seasons do throughout the year, but on a much larger time-scale. The time-scale is so large that individuals rarely see the changing influences of the Aeons within their own lifetimes, unless perhaps they live on one of the cusps between the Signs. Therefore it is only in large swaths of History or in the evolutionary stages of mankind that one can see these influences more clearly.

We currently stand in the beginning days of the much lauded Aeon of Aquarius, an Aeon of Fixed Air and idealism. This new Aeon began on the Spring Equinox of the vulgar year 1904⁴. But to understand the origins of the Great Liberating Mother we must travel much farther back in time than recorded history. We must travel back not only to the origins of our current species Homo Sapiens but also its immediate ancestors more than 200,000 years ago. The universal religion at this time, throughout the whole of the world, was the Goddess religion. And it is important to note that this is the world’s oldest and largest religion, reigning supreme over hundreds of thousands of years, until very recently in history. And yet today, this grand episode in human history is completely forgotten.

So who was this Goddess, who is now unknown to history? She was of course many things, to many people, in many times. But at Her source, this Goddess was the mother of all mothers, and the origin of life itself. In one very common aspect She was envisioned as the bounty of the Earth itself, the provider of plants and animals which we depend upon for our very survival. Her name is still known to us today in English as Mother Earth, and it is from Her body that we are born, and it is to Her body that our bodies shall be returned. These observations are so self-evident that many people still today give lip service to Her, without an understanding of what they do.

Over time the people began to emphasize different aspects of the Goddess, and one begins to see different forms and images emerge in the archeological record. Originally She was the universal voluptuous female figure of so-called fertility, which is now made so famous in the Neo-Pagan revival. But there are also reptilian-headed goddesses which appear like snakes or bird-headed goddesses, sometimes with wings. There are frog-headed goddesses, and others which are less-easily identified. It is out of this period of emerging female Polytheism that the Great Liberating Mother first makes Her appearance in the historical record.

The Great Liberating Mother has certain universal symbols which are associated with Her cult from ancient times. The main symbols are a woman enthroned with lions, or a woman in a chariot drawn by lions. The Wheel is also terribly important in Her cult, and it is most often pictured with seven spokes. This Wheel can appear resting on Her lap, or on the axel of Her chariot. The Wheel is also sometimes seen as the Star, often with Seven Points. Serpents of all forms are also another symbol which accompanies Her cult, as has already been explained. So with Her then we have the Lion, the Serpent, and the Wheel (or the Star).

Some ten to eleven thousand years ago the last of the Women Kings ruled supreme in their tribes, under the guise of the Great Liberating Mother. In the Aeon of Leo, the Goddess was envisioned as a sphinx, or a Lion with the head of a woman. Recent archeological discoveries due to advances in technology have now caused some scientists to revise the date for the Sphinx in Cairo back to this era. In their iconography, the Women Kings sat upon thrones carved with lions, or rode in chariots drawn by lions. The Lion was a symbol not only of the royal power of the Woman King which was absolute, but also of Her spiritual lineage and heritage. This is very important, for in later times we will see the pale imitation of this earlier dynasty become confused and changed from a divine spiritual lineage to an earthly one of physical bloodlines through the male seed. These Women Kings were chosen because of their Royalty of Spirit, as Daughters of the Great Liberating Mother. This was no mere metaphor. The Spirits of Her daughters were Spirits which incarnated in flesh, here amongst the living. They were both King and Priestess for the tribe. There was no separation of ideas between the two roles. And this Goddess was no longer just a mother as before, rather She was a lover now with a male consort and servant, shown sometimes as the Lions themselves which pull Her Chariot. She was also a fierce warrior, and a wise woman with magical powers derived from the Underworld. And She was the Goddess whose Priestesses functioned as Liminal Points for Spirit, and its Liberator in every sense of the word.

The Great Liberating Mother existed under many names before this, in many earlier times, but it is here, in the Aeon of Leo, that we can first find Her clearly in the historical record. And it is also near here that we can see the Goddess of old was now divided between the three worlds of Earth, Sky and Underworld. We now have the Voluptuous Mother of the earth, the strong Bird Woman of the Sky and the Wise Snake Woman of the Underworld. This was the original Triple Goddess, the original Trinity.

This time was the time of the great Golden Age of mankind, the Golden Age of the Lion, so reverently spoken of later by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. This is the time of the rule of the Titans, the children of Mother Earth Herself, who today are moving again after their long, long slumber between great cataclysmic ages of physical change upon and within the Earth. Justitia still reigned as law-giver, whose judgment was the witness of Justified Spirit, of which Her more recent incarnation of Maat is but a shadowy memory of Her former greatness - all of which is now lost to the awareness of humanity.

For indeed it was She, Justitia, also called Astraea and many other names, who helped forge this great Golden Age. She forged this Age of Gold out of the two previous ones, Libra and Virgo, which together make up Her image in the Heavens. They call Her the law-giver, but She has only One Law. For in those days, "Law" meant not a group of rules or edicts, but the one law of all living things. This Law never changes, despite the different words used to describe it in different Aeons. In Libra She gave the Law of Balance to the tribes - the balance of Spirit and Life, so that Harmonia ensued and one’s Will could be fulfilled. This Will of the Spirit was the guiding principle for decisions for the tribe, guiding their course onward towards their destinies. This balance, this Harmonia, could easily be felt by most people of that time in their Waters, an ability mankind had learned in the previous Aeon of Scorpio. Because of this innate sense of Harmonia, the tribes were able to live life more integrated with Nature and Spirit than ever before. In the following Aeon of Virgo this balanced guidance of the Spirit was transformed into the true implementation of Justice under Her Guidance. She taught Judgment. This Judgment was the Right Action of Justified Spirit. It was by means of this idea of Justification, of an incarnated being doing its incarnated purpose as it was spiritually destined to do, that most conflicts amongst tribal members were resolved. Enlightened cooperation ensued. Humanity’s golden destiny came within its reach. For each living thing had its Nature, in which it was Justified in being, and which no one could deny. And each person was encouraged to express that autonomy of Will within the tribal setting. Problems only arose when one was not being true to their spiritual nature, having been led astray by some distraction, or some desire to be something other than what they were born as. It is no different today, in the core teachings of modern Thelema, than it was 14,000 years ago in Virgo. The central Principle remains the same, despite the change of languages and words and figure-heads.

And so it was in this way, under the principles of the Goddess of Justice, that mankind reached a pinnacle of excellence not before achieved. There ensued a wisdom which was unparalleled, an understanding and acceptance of the necessary, in life as in death. This acceptance, of one’s purpose, of one’s Will, of the necessity of the things in life to function exactly as they were meant to - this ritualization of the Justification of Life, lead to a quality and contentment in living which truly can not be envisioned today. For in today’s world, the people competitively pursue what they are lacking in themselves, in the face of another. Instead of cultivating their inward Spirit, they outwardly seek the light of others to fill their own darkness. All of the advertisements promise this same fulfillment for their products - love, light and happiness. Yet we are at the precipice of despair. We are at a cultural collapse.

But then, at the opposite end of the wheel, it was not yet so. The people lived in small tribes, true to their natures as divine animals, indigenous on their sacred lands. Food was abundant and their lives full of true bounty and prosperity. Harmonia was their wealth, and nothing more was needed. Think not, o modern man, that you have any memory at all of what it means to live well, as these glorious ancestors did, for so well have you been convinced that you, the wage-slave to the industrialization and mechanization of the entire planet - you yourself believe that you are the sons and daughters of Empire, and that you will reap the benefits of an enslaved world.

Yet it is not in any way true. For your life spans are the shortest now since you became so-called homo-sapiens, and your intelligence shrinks daily, even as you suppose that you catalog the knowledge of mankind with science and machines - yet it profits you nothing of real value. A degeneracy has taken hold, at the bottom of the Wheel of the Ages, so far from the Age of Leo. Yet at those times, people still ate as Nature dictated and as their evolution and indigene demanded. Mankind had not yet made the fatal mistake of switching their diet to that of the grains of herd animals. Their stature was tall and well-proportioned. Language was much more advanced than the barbaric western languages of today, even to the point of having many verb tenses which no longer exist, but which can still be seen in the early Indo-European languages. Writing was holy and divine, and only used for recording of the communications with the spirits, at special places or on boundary stones. Justice and Justified Judgment by Spirit decided all conflicts. There were no weapons of war, and no masses of armies. Why should there be? What was there to fight for? There was no need, for very few were unable to see the Harmonia of proper living. Lifespan was extended, wisdom abounded, all things were done in light of the Spirit, under the guidance of the Great Liberating Mother. And this patronage of Justitia, one of the greatest of the incarnations of the Great Liberating Mother, was to last in one form or another many Aeons, from Libra all the way until humanities final fall after the last great age of the Bull, in Taurus. For it was there that womankind fell from Her grace and Astraea fled to the Stars as the Greeks rightly accounted.

But as yet the scourge of civilization did not tread its evil steps upon the Earth. The women ruled their tribes for countless Aeons before this, as elders and leaders, teachers and guardians, gateways of spirit, life and death. And even though this wondrous reign in the Aeon of Leo of the Warrior Women Kings was not to last, they would not disappear completely. For the new Aeon approached, under the sign of Cancer.

Now Cancer is a sign that is heavily influenced by the Moon, and therefore by the Mother aspect of the Goddess. In this Aeon, the Mother Goddess would once again be emphasized and predominate within the tribal cults over that of the Serpent Goddess. As the Golden Age of Leo waned, the people became like children, coddled by their easy living. Their wisdom began to lapse a little - at first here, then there. Fertility rituals now supplanted the mystical rites and spiritual vision of the previous Aeons. The monthly blood of the woman was venerated for its power of fertility as opposed to its power of Spirit. Rites of generation took a central role in the small communities and the role of the male in reproduction grew in importance. When the tribe had some need of something, be it rain or food or land, instead of accepting what nature had to offer in Her way and seeking it in its natural placement in the world, the mother-leaders sought out what they thought it was they needed for themselves in their current locale. They learned to magically manifest their desires into manifest reality, like one manifests a child, through the Rites of Fertility.

This emerging emphasis on need and fertility was also mirrored by a fundamental and devastating change to the future of humanity - the introduction of agriculture. Before this time, mankind made good use of Nature’s abundant greens, nuts and fruits to compliment their diet which was based heavily on meat and especially the important fats which provided for the evolution of our rather large brain size. Mankind followed Nature’s instruction, and gathered Her abundance where She Willed it. But in Cancer, agriculture came into prominence on a large scale - especially grain based agriculture. Now the mother-leaders would decide what would grow where. Animals were kept in pens and grain was stored for their fodder. And because of convenience and expediency, the food of the herd animals now became the food of the people. This change in food source also changed the structure of the tribe. Women still oversaw their communities as leaders, but they were no longer tribes as they once were. It was here in the historical records that the first of the stationary communities and cities were born, and the grain Goddesses came to predominance. Goddesses like Da-meter, or "the mother", now oversaw the well-being of the new community, and store-houses for the grains were erected under Her image. These were the first classical Temples, in the first "civilizations", and the defining break from tribal society to that of cities was well under way.

During this Aeon grain became such an important commodity that out of its use money was born. It was kept in the Temples, and paid to workers for their service. A culture of cooperation had now been transformed by necessity into a society with economics, and its companion slavery. A culture of egalitarian tribal ethics had now become stratified, with the more important leaders living off the work of their subjugated farm workers. It is also at this point in history that new diseases make their appearance in humanity, with the new civilization and the new food supply of grain. Heart disease makes its appearance, owing directly to the grains in the diet, which do not sit well with the fats and meats of old. Grains had to be prepared by special fermentations which made them more digestible to a species which did not evolve to eat them. The previous tribal preoccupation with natural fermented honey-mead changed in this Aeon with the grains, and beer and other alcohols were born. And with the high sugar content of grains came an especially bad disease, which gets its name from this Aeon: cancer. For it is true that cancer feeds on sugar - without which it can not live. Yet, the occurrences of cancer then were rare when compared to the statistics of today.

However this change in lifestyle, far from ensuring a safe and healthy life as is often claimed today, actually marks the beginning of the decline in life-span for those cultures which left the traditional hunter-gatherer, meat and greens life which had brought them forward through evolution. The grains and their accompanying diseases first attack the heart, our connection to spirit, and mark the beginning of our behavioral downfall. This was the beginning of what we Ophidians call the Degeneration, or the Regression. It is here that humanity first left the path of Natura, and all that the Goddess Justitia had given to mankind many thousands of years before. Humanity no longer listened to their own bodies and they became sick and fat. But instead of recognizing this, they cut them open when they were dead and looked to portents in their livers and organs for guidance. They didn’t listen to the words and direction of Gaia in their Waters, instead they looked to the signs of birds flying for Omens. Spirit was becoming symbolic, detached and more distant than before. Spirit in the Aeon of Cancer was now a mere reflection upon the surface of the Waters of what once was the Golden Age of Leo - just as the Moon has no light of its own, but rather reflects the light of the Sun.

Never-the-less, the Grain Goddesses were born, and rose to prominence as the Hand that Feeds. The Temples of the Grain Goddesses now housed the wealth of the fields, and became storehouses or banks for this wealth. Society and its celebrations were now ordered and arranged according to the fields and the harvests. Cities grew up around these Temple centers, and with them the institutions for administering these constructs in a civil manner. Nature was no longer the model for a tribe. Now the people modeled themselves on agriculture and its mechanical systemization, like neat little rows in a field, and with this change civilization was born.

It may be important to note here that the emergence of new evolutionary influences within the species and its cultures and technologies often follow the influences of the Aeonic energy, sometimes in unexpected ways. These new technologies, cultures or spiritual impulses of the Aeon are most easily seen in the most "advanced" cultures of that time, which evolve quickly on the cusp of change. But this, at the same time, does not necessarily mean that the ways of the previous Aeons are wiped clean from the Earth. Rather, they still exist and continue, but they become less and less influential over time, and eventually exist only on the untouched fringes of the so-called advanced civilization. It is always interesting to note the discovery of new tribes that have not evolved in the same way as the rest of humanity because of isolation. It is often easy to see in their myths and culture just which Aeon they hail from. These differences in cultural advancements used to be commonplace in the world, but now are extremely rare - such is the all-encompassing technological reach of the Fixed Air of Aquarius.

The Moon can be a beautiful and a bright beacon in the night, or a place of treachery and confusion in the dark. And so it ended for the Aeon of Cancer, dark, gloomy and lost in confusion, as the Aeon of Gemini dawned. Writing, which in the tribal times was reserved mostly to record communications with divinity, the spirits and the ancestors, now began to be used as an accounting tool in the granary temples. In this way it grew to great prominence, and became a tool of secular record-keeping - especially for the recording of debt and the shaping of the memory of history through monuments. This replaced the Lineage memory of the Priestesses recorded in the sacred symbols of Ages past. Male gods arose to prominence during this time, and while the Goddess still reigned supreme in the Heavens, rarely did women actually rule the civilizations on Earth any more. Violence within the communities began to rise, in conjunction with the stratification of society into workers and slaves. It became more common for some to rule over others in a domineering fashion, and much of the mythology of this time seems to be a rationalization of the need for rulers and subjects.

The rise of written language affected not only economics and record-keeping, but Heka as well. The symbols of the Powers of the Spirit began to be venerated as objects of power in themselves, instead of merely conveying a word which described that power. It is here in Gemini that this superstition concerning symbols appears, and veneration of the Logos, the word itself, was born. Words were thought to convey and hold power in themselves - power which was previously ascribed to the actual manifestation of Spirit. But society in general was loosing touch with actualized spirit through the Priestesses of old, as the new servants of the Grain Goddesses did not have this ability. It was thought that if one held the proper symbol, or used the proper word, then one would possess that particular power and could use it for one’s own end. If one knew the true name of some god or some spirit, then one could control it. Here is the genesis of Talismanic magic and sorcery, which would reach its zenith at the end of Aries. And here also is the germination of monotheism within humanity, which is also inherently dualistic in its nature like the twins of Gemini, with its spectrum of good versus evil.

This Aeon of Gemini, of the Twins, brought forth many ideas of duality which previously had been resolved. The degeneration was continuing to unravel the spiritual greatness of the Golden Age. From the duality of rulers overseeing their subjects came the belief of the physical royalty of the leaders. Some people were now considered Divine and Royal, most others were not. Simultaneously to this, the concepts of good and evil were now cuturalized into patterns of behavior that were seen as either good or evil in themselves, unconnected to spiritual purpose, and therefore punishable based upon the decrees of kings. No longer did the Justified Nature of a thing matter, rather what a king decreed out of his mind now made reality. This caused the concepts of good and evil to become spiritualized into the mythologies, and the first cases of demonization enter the historical records. Here in this Aeon of the Twins the myths of Horus and Set were born in their original forms. Here the stories of Romulus and Remus, under different names, were first imagined. The duality of Day as Good and Night as evil came to prominence also. Those things above ground were pitted against those below, and the Underworld, which before was a place of mystery and transformation now became a place which housed denizens of evil, treachery and deceit. These denizens were the minions of a mad and wretched demoness and temptress who would trick mankind into death and suffering. From such ideas were born things which would later be known as the Furies, the Liliths and the Succubi.

The old Mother Goddesses still retained a loyal following, especially with the rural people and those who remained tribal on the frontiers. Yet even as the old Goddesses still retained their cults, they struggled to maintain their integrity in these new urban civilizations which were so far removed from the Mystery and Genius of Nature which used to sustain them. But at this moment in history, at the dawn of another New Aeon, the Great Liberating Mother would again come to the forefront of history. For the Age of the Great Bull was upon humanity in the guise of the Aeon of Taurus. And Venus would rise to prominence again, lending Her Elegance and Philosophy to humanity for the first time since the Age of Libra.

The Ages rise and fall like the coming and going of the tides. Incarnations come and come again, changing and shifting like the phases of the Moon. And it is the spiritual function of the Moon itself which shifts and changes through the Aeons as well. Whether it is the Horns of the Crescent Moon in Cancer which regulates fertility and barrenness, or the Horns of the Bull in Taurus which show the power of Manifestation inherent in the female anatomy. The images are the same - the crescent moons, the crescent horns, the rising and falling, the inward spiral and the outward spiral. The cycle of life, and therefore the cycle of the Goddess, continues.

The Aeons show forth the power of Spirit in light of the Elements as portrayed in Sign of the Age. So in Libra, Spirit was understood as Cardinal Air, as a need for Balance in all areas of life. In Virgo, Spirit was understood as Mutable Earth, with the Universe being ordered according to the proper make-up, or nature, of each thing. In Leo, Spirit was rendered forth as Fixed Fire, where the Passions of Spirit burned bright, strong and pure. In Cancer, Spirit was understood by the movements of Cardinal Water, with its furtive births and deaths, its unexpected emotive understandings and reactionary and reflective confusions. In Gemini, Spirit was seen as Mutable Air, where it was imagined that the power of Spirit was communicated and transferred from here and there through the shifting shapes of symbols, languages and words of the world. And so in Taurus Spirit would be seen as Fixed Earth, manifested in the body and Temple itself. This is the most physical representation of Spirit possible, and is shown forth most clearly in the reproductive apparatus of the female, which appears to the eye as the head of the Bull with its Horns.

And so Taurus indeed came in like a Bull. The body of the Priestess was the Goddess Herself, and the source of all Heka. There were three goddesses, three bloods, three transformations - all of which were known in Aeons before, but which now returned strongly to prominence. There was the First Blood, which was under the Earth Mother Goddess of Birth. This was the holy blood spilt from the womb at birth, and which drips from the Host of Heaven, the placenta. This blood marked the birth of the Spirit manifesting into the material body as a newborn baby. Then there was the blood of the Sky Vulture Goddess of Death. This blood marked the ancient tradition of the return of the flesh to the vultures at death, and the transformation of the Spirit to the Underworld when the blood was shed at death and at sacrifices. And finally there was the Underworld Serpent Goddess of Spirit itself. Her blood is of the Moon, monthly. It is the time-keeper, the menses, the Guardian of the Citadel of Life. This is the place of the transformation and emergence of the Spirit in the Underworld, before its rebirth. Three Goddesses of Old have always reigned. Three bloods have always been holy. And three liminal stages of life have always been emerging, transforming and receding. Each Aeon brings forth new understandings of these Mysteries of life, death and transformation. It is like a spiral - never repeating exactly the same. It is like a flower - with new petals always appearing in new places around the circle. And in this way it always appears as Mothers - as threes upon threes upon threes. For Mothers are always threes, and threes are always Mothers.

In the Aeon of Taurus the prominence of the physical apparatus of the female returned to the forefront of mankind’s universal religion. The Three Holy Bloods of the Priestess powered their Heka. The Priestess of the Great Horned One called down the Moon, its power and its transformative mystery, into their own bodies for all to see and worship. The Heka of Sexual Manifestation which utilizes this Taurean womb-magick is the hallmark of the Bull-Goddesses of this Age, an example of which is the Hieros Gamos, or Sacred Marriage Rites of Inanna.

Bucrania first date from this period, as do many of the Cow Goddesses such as Hathoor, Inanna, Kybele and the like in their original forms. Many of these cults were so strong, so powerful in their physical manifestation, that they lasted many thousands of years, through Taurus, Aries and even down to the dawn of Pisces. These Goddesses are crowned with the Horns of Bulls, the Crescent Horns of the Moon, all arranged like headdresses of varying sorts in different cultures.

These Goddesses and their Priestesses came to stem the tide of corruption which was fermented in Cancer and manifested in the stark shadows of Gemini. And they succeeded, for quite some time. For in returning Spirit to its rightful prominence in life, and manifesting its presence for all the people to witness, the Cults of the Great Liberating Mother again held temporal power over the destiny of mankind. And with this power they set about to establish Her Temples in a new way, reflecting the power and majesty of the Spirit, lest the common people forget the importance of Spirit, as they had done before. In this way the age of monumentalism began, and the Priestesses manifested their power in massive and awe-inspiring Temples so that no one would fail to see the majesty of the Great Liberating Mother and understand Her import. For just as they stood as Priestesses within the Temple of the Great Liberating Mother, so too the Spirit stood within their bodies, their holy wombs, alighting in the gleam of their eyes for all to see and in their voices for all to hear.

But while this new strategy in the building of the Temples did indeed work its magical affect upon the psyches of the people quite effectively - it too was a degeneration of sorts, for spirit dwells in life, not symbol. The Spirit dwells in the body, not in a building, be it church or temple. Therefore the dualism and the symbolism of Gemini was maintained and this precedent of a guiding institution with its priestess-caste would be the weapon wielded against the Great Liberating Mother in the future, from the institutional churches of Christianity in Pisces with their Priests. Yet it is largely at this point in history that spirit was cemented, literally and figuratively in the buildings of the religions in the Aeon of Taurus. And this event was also the first indication of the coming prominence of the male soon to be seen in the Aeon of Aries — where the size of his phallus would dictate superiority, where the size of his Temple engendered the awe of power in the people.

Yet the Nine still walked the Earth as rulers in those days, establishing the cults which would last for three thousand years across the face of the globe. Babalon, under the many different names and incarnations of that time, walked Her Temples in the physical at will by means of the Liminal Points, teaching Her devotees directly of Her ways. The Bull was manifest. Spirit was again enthroned in matter. The might of the Bull was shown not only in the strength of the Priestess physically, but in the imposing monument of the Temple itself. The Temple would become the image of the body of the Goddess, first visible in the early structures on Malta, with the doors themselves being Her sacred vulva through which all life passed. Priestesses walked the same hallowed grounds and served in the same Temples over many lifetimes. The Lineage was reestablished. And furthermore the foundation for the War was laid in those days, for those wise Priestesses under the guidance of the Great Liberating Mother foresaw in Providence what would come to pass. An enemy which was only hinted at before now made its appearance upon the face of the Earth openly near the end of the Taurean Age, vying to shape humanity for its own ends. This threat first manifested itself in the raging Storm Gods of Aries, creatures of war and violence set loose upon this world by the new enemy. And it was in the face of this new, overwhelming threat to the hierarchy of nature itself that She, the wise one of the Underworld, laid Her cunning plan for victory directly into the hearts of the lords of degeneration themselves. But it would not come without a price. And it would not come without suffering. And this is why they call Her also the Mother of Abominations.

^{1. Babalon Herself, from one of the secret periodic Supreme Rituals.    [return]}

^{2. Babalon Herself, from one of the secret periodic Supreme Rituals.   [return]}

^{3. For polemical axiomata concerning The Lineage, see Book 1 Prosapia.   [return]}

^{4. As was announced on April 8th, 1904 in Liber Legis I:49 "Abrogate are all rituals, all ordeals, all words and signs. Ra-Hoor-Khuit hath taken his seat in the East at the Equinox of the Gods".   [return]}