Gemini, The Lovers, The Brothers

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

As the Sun moves through Gemini this month, I’m reflecting on The Lovers card of the Tarot, which Crowley said should properly be called “The Brothers.” In fact, as I write to you, the Sun rests in Gemini directly opposite the Moon in Sagittarius, reflecting an esoteric duality between this card and Atu XIV “Art,” which together Crowley considered a single glyph representing division “for love’s sake, for the chance of union.”

In the Thoth Tarot depiction of The Lovers, the most obvious symbolism is the alchemical wedding which precedes the union of opposites found in Art. But looking closer, we also see a more primitive form of it encoded in Cain and Abel who, for Crowley, together retell the myth of Castor and Pollux, twin brothers sharing a common flesh (Eve, Leda) but only one having divine parentage.

In the myth of the Castores, Pollux must sacrifice half his immortality so that the brothers may alternate between Olympus and Hades, one among the gods while the other dwells below. It is no accident that the brothers were horsemen who aided mortals in travel, for in Sagittarius we see the union of horse and man. The Archer’s arrow aims at one target, representing the gathering of force into a single aim in opposition to the doubling of the twins.

In Crowley’s recontextualization of the myth, Cain shedding Abel’s blood is a shedding of his own. The bloody animal sacrifice made by Abel was the advent of external religion, the use of the sacrificial victim in transaction with God. Recall that Cain’s own offering of grain had been refused: the fruit of the ground bought him nothing. His true oblation worked through Abel: the shedding of his own blood in his brother’s. This sacrifice was the more direct and potent.

The magician who steps into the circle must die, as every initiatory system requires. The old self must be killed to make way for the new. There can be no proxy or scapegoat.

This story serves as a warning too, because the mark of initiation, the blood of one’s “brother,” sets Cain apart from other men. Ironically, the initiated man must wander alone. But I wouldn’t call myself “Ishmael” if I didn’t stand with outcasts and wanderers.

Love is the law, love under will.

— Fr. Ishmael

Initiations

Scarlet Woman Oasis is planning Minerval initiations for the second half of this year. Anyone interested in these rites is encouraged to attend our events to find sponsors.

Upcoming Scarlet Woman Events

Sunday, June 14, 3:00–4:30 PM
Hermetic Practice Workshop: Magick in Theory and Practice, Chapter 15
Genuine Joe’s Coffee annex to Russell’s Bakery
2525 W. Anderson Ln. #275, Austin, TX 78757

Sunday, June 21, 6:00–7:00 PM
Thelemic Coffee Night – Austin
Epoch Coffee
2700 W. Anderson Ln., Austin, TX 78757

Monday, June 22, 7:00–8:30 PM
Thelemic Coffee Night – San Marcos
Wake The Dead Coffee
1432 Old Ranch Road 12, San Marcos, TX 78666

Friday, June 26, 7:00–9:00 PM
Hermetic Practice Workshop: Planetary Wands and Talismans
Members and invited guests – RSVP only*