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ASTRUM ARGENTEUM (AA) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

ASTRUM ARGENTEUM (AA) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick...
From: 333 (nigris)
Subject: [t93] AA FAQ
Date: 10/20/00

QUESTION: What is the A.'.A.'.?

ANSWER:

quotes found in a search on some of the above key terms which are pertinent to answering the question follow
1898: By chance and by circumstances [Crowley] is introduced
to George Cecil Jones. Jones in turn, introduces him
to Samuel Liddel Mathers, chief of
The Golden Dawn Society.
...
1907: [Crowley] is expelled from Golden Dawn and forms his
own order, the Argentum Astrum - The Silver Star.
http://d1o204.telia.com/~u256100087/deabirli.html

In 1906 Crowley rejoined George Cecil Jones in England, where they set about the task of creating a magical order to continue where the Golden Dawn had left off. They called this order the A.'. A.'. (Astrum Argentium or Silver Star), and it became the primary vehicle for the transmission of Crowley's mystical and magical training system based on the principles of Thelema.
http://abaris.net/crowley/
(accessed 10/2000)

A.'.A.'. is the one true and invisible Order which has operated under various names and guises throughout history to guide the spiritual evolution of humanity. The goals of the A.'.A.'. are those which have motivated spiritual exploration and religious inquiry throughout human history. Its methods are those of science; its aims are those of religion.

It is the Arcanum Arcanorum, and the Holy of Holies wherein the Sacred Ark rests inviolate. Every legitimate magical order, mystery school, religion, or other agency disseminating some portion of Wisdom or Light is or has been but an Outer Vehicle of this Inner Fellowship of Light. "All words are sacred and all prophets true; save only that they understand a little..." (Liber Legis, I:56).

This is the highest and purest meaning of A.'.A.'.

More commonly, however, we use the name A.'.A.'. to mean not only this Invisible and Eternal Order, but a particular outer structure, or terrestrial incarnation of the Interior School, which came into being, beginning in 1906 C.E., at the hands of two Adepts named Aleister Crowley and George Cecil Jones. This Order survives today through various authentic lineages which can be traced back to these two Adepts.
http://www.thelema.org/aa/intro.html
(accessed 10/2000)

In the month of December the Secret Chiefs formally invited me, through G. R. Frater D.D.S., to take my place officially in the Third Order. I still felt that I was not worthy. Not till three years later did I accept the grade, and then only after having passed ceremonially through the Abyss in the fullest possible measure.
"The Confessions of Aleister Crowley", by Crowley, edited by Symonds and Grant, Hill and Wang, N.Y., U.S.A., 1969; p. 533.

The Brothers of A.'.A.'. are one with the Mother of
the Child.(4)
The Many is as adorable to the One as the One is to
the Many. This is the Love of These; creation-
parturition is the Bliss of the One; coition-
dissolution is the Bliss of the Many.
The All, thus interwoven of These, is Bliss.
Naught is beyond Bliss.
The Man delights in uniting with the Woman; the
Woman in parting from the Child.
The Brothers of A.'.A.'. are Women: the Aspirants
to A.'.A.'. are Men.

[16]
COMMENTARY ({Gamma})

Gimel is the High Priestess of the Tarot. This chapter gives the initiated feminine point of view; it is therefore called the Oyster, a symbol of the Yoni. In Equinox X, The Temple of Solomon the King, it is explained how Masters of the Temple, or Brothers of A.'.A.'. have changed the formula of their progress. These two formulae, Solve et Coagula, are now ex- plained, and the universe is exhibited as the interplay between these two. This also explains the statement in Liber Legis I, 28-30.

NOTE
(4) They cause all men to worship it.

"The Book of Lies", Crowley, Chapter 3, 'THE OYSTER', pp. 15-16. http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/333lies.txt (accessed 10/2000)

The result was that The Golden Dawn was destroyed and several fractions arose from its ashes. One such fraction was a new Order created by Crowley and George Cecil Jones in 1907 e.v., when they corporate to found an Order which were to be known as the A.'.A.'.

The A.'.A.'. purported that it "should be free from the errors and deceits of the former one" (Liber LXI, v.20). Opposed to the former, serious training started from the very first grades and specific and rigid tests were set for each grade, to assure that no one could slip through without being competent. It is not a teaching Order, but an Order which examines each aspirant thoroughly. In 1909 they opened up by starting the publication of The Equinox volume One, an impressive series of 10 editions printed at each Equinox for a five year period. It is now regarded as the corner-stone of Crowley's works. The foundation of Crowley's teaching Magick had been cast.
http://www.solomonssecrets.com/crowley.htm
(accessed 10/2000)

As the A.'.A.'. is not a mundane order, all lineages and all people who make the claim that they are A.'.A.'. ... are A.'.A.'.. The A.'.A.'. is simply a manifestation of the `Great White Brotherhood'. And that collective body of individuals has over the span of time, been at the heart of humanity's initiation. There is a pantheon of those Adepts who have proven themselves to belong to the august body from time immemorial. And it seems that it is left up to every generation to forge their own links with the current, with greater numbers of individuals aspiring to this with the onset of each successive generation.

It could be argued that perhaps some of these once incarnate beings number amongst the Secret Chiefs that sanctify and edify the Order. Most certainly, there are also inner-plane contacts consistently presenting new knowledge; corresponding with humanity's present stage of evolution. And it is left to those Adepts that can knock on their door, to messenger their reception to those of our race who can already hear such murmurs in the winds. These Prophets thus become the heralds of cerebral and praeter-human delegates ministering to the congress of the human race.
http://www.a-m-h-r.org/aa/reclin.html
(accessed 10/2000)

The A.'. A.'. -- You decide what this stands for ;) -- Crowley's well-known Order - with a structure that is in a limited sense comparable to that of the Golden Dawn. Since Crowley's death there are several legitimate and sometimes illegitimate lineages of the A.'. A.'. out there. Beware, beware, beware: Those individuals, who will tell you that they are members of the A.'. A.'. are it most likely not - those who think they are, probably won't tell you soon and those who really are, don't even know it themselves, as a friend once put it.

Yeah, sure, I'm just joking, am I? ;-)) In no particular order:

  • http://www.thelema.org/aa/
    A.'. A.'. This is the Soror Estai (aka Jane Wolfe)
    lineage. On this site you can find the basic A.'. A.'.
    documents and a very good introduction to A.'. A.'.

  • http://www.outercol.org
    Outer College Curriculum Resources contains The
    spiritual guide of Miguel de Molinos and a student
    reading list. As far as I know this is the lineage
    with connections to the O.T.O. with an authority
    through Soror Grimaud.

  • http://www.crl.com/~thelema/aa.html
    A.'. A.'. A very good A.'. A.'. page representing
    another lineage. Same address as given for the O.T.O.
    in Equinox I

  • http://www.ozemail.com.au/~realoto/aa.html
    W.R. Barden's A.'. A.'. lineage from Australia.
    (See also the comment on the link to SOTO, Parzival
    Foundation below)

  • http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Sparta/7603/main.html
    A.'. A.'. - 'Helios Lineage' I don't know anything
    about this group and the so called Helios lineage, but
    their site is good source for information on A.'. A.'.
    related stuff.
    http://www.93current.de/groups.shtml
    (accessed 10/2000)

    FURTHER STUDIES

    Crowley's Text

    http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/004osisight.txt
    http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/013gmabiegni.txt
    http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/033aaaccount.txt
    http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/061causae.txt
    http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/185csancti.txt

    Posts to T93-L Which May Be of Interest

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelema93-l/message/766
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelema93-l/message/794
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelema93-l/message/908
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelema93-l/message/1262
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelema93-l/message/1460
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelema93-l/message/1599
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelema93-l/message/2119
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelema93-l/message/2541
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelema93-l/message/3178

    Text Online Otherwise

    Other Forums, Related
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Astrum_Argentum (private)
    Offline:
    "Gems of the Equinox", Crowley, edited by Regardie.
    Marcelo Motta AA Contacts
    http://www.astrumargentum.org.br

    Jane Wolfe AA Contacts
    http://www.thelema.org/contacts.html

    Gabriel Lopez de Rojas
    http://www.ordotempliorientalis.com/files/astrumargentum.htm"

    Albion OTO AA Ordo AA
    http://www.ordoaa.org/

    order of kAAos
    http://www.satanservice.org/aa.html

    copyright (c) 2000-2666 nigris (nagasiva yronwode). all rights reserved.
    EOF

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