Saturday, December 19, 2015

Nuit (Thelema)

Nuit (alternatively Nu, Nut, or Nuith) is a Thelema goddess, the speaker in the first Chapter of The Book of the Law, the sacred text written or received in 1904 by Aleister Crowley.

Within this system, she is one-third of the triadic cosmology, along with Hadit (her masculine counterpart), and Ra-Hoor-Khuit, the Crowned and Conquering Child. She has several titles, including the "Queen of Infinite Space", "Our Lady of the Stars", and "Lady of the Starry Heaven". Nuit represents the infinitely-expanded circle whose circumference is unmeasurable and whose center is everywhere (whereas Hadit is the infinitely small point within the core of every single thing). According to Thelemic doctrine, it is the interaction between these two cosmic principles that creates the manifested universe similar to the gnostic syzygy.

Some quotes[1] from the First Chapter of The Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis):

"Every man and every woman is a star." (AL I:3).

"Come forth, o children, under the stars, & take your fill of love!" (AL I:12).
"For I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union." (AL I:29).

"The word of the Law is Θελημα. Who calls us Thelemites will do no wrong, if he look but close into the word. For there are therein Three Grades, the Hermit, and the Lover, and the man of Earth. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." (AL I:39-40).

"For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect." (AL I:44).

"Invoke me under my stars! Love is the law, love under will. [...]" (AL I:57).


"I give unimaginable joys on earth: certainty, not faith, while in life, upon death; peace unutterable, rest, ecstasy; nor do I demand aught in sacrifice." (AL I:57).

In The Equinox of the Gods (ch. 7, section 6)[2], Crowley writes of Nuit in comparison to Christianity:
"Nuit cries: "I love you," like a lover; when even John reached only to the cold impersonal proposition "God is love." She woos like a mistress; whispers "To me !" in every ear; Jesus, with needless verb, appeals vehemently to them "that labour and are heavy laden." Yet She who can promise in the present, says: "I give unimaginable joys on earth," making life worth while; "certainty, not faith, while in life, upon death," the electric light Knowledge for the churchyard corpsecandle Faith, making life fear-free, and death itself worth while: "peace unutterable, rest, ecstasy," making mind and body at ease that soul may be free to transcend them when It will."

The following are quotes from Crowley's commentaries to The Book of the Law.[3]

"Note that Heaven is not a place where Gods Live; Nuit is Heaven, itself."
"Nuit is All that which exists, and the condition of that existence. Hadit is the Principle which causes modifications in this Being. This explains how one may call Nuit Matter, and Hadit Motion"
"It should be evident that Nuit obtains the satisfaction of Her Nature when the parts of Her Body fulfill their own Nature. The sacrament of life is not only so from the point of view of the celebrants, but from that of the divinity invoked."

From: Wiki
(snipped)


So why didn’t Crowley call her Nut? Since The Book of the Law was transcribed as Crowley heard it spoken, perhaps the optional (and Thelemically preferred) pronunciation of her name as New-eet was fixed at that time. The text also refers to her as “Nu”, which makes perfect sense as an Egyptian nickname (it is the waterpot—her emblem). Besides the names Nuit and Nu, in his Commentary on the Book of the Law Crowley writes of her as Nuith, which was another accepted spelling of the day. Crowley was already acquainted with the goddess from his studies. She is briefly mentioned in his 1901 poem A Litany 7. Earlier, he would have known her from brief appearances (as Nu) in Golden Dawn rituals. But now there is much, much more. With the spiritual insights of 1904, the chosen priest and prophet of the beauteous one tells us “Nuit is a conception immeasurably beyond all men have ever thought of the Divine. Thus she is not the mere star-goddess, but a far higher thing, dimly veiled by that unutterable glory.”8


A new philosophy is unveiled; her consort now declared to be the god Hadit. His name is from an inscription on the Stélé of Revealing9 and was also heard during the transmission of The Book of the Law. This association is not based on archeology, but is a metaphysical viewpoint. Hadit is the center point of Nuit’s infinite extension, and represents the individual in relation to her, the self-conscious point of view which experiences life and the goddess. In his New Comment [I:31] Crowley says “The development of the Adept is by expansion—out to Nuit—in all directions equally.”


We can picture Nuit as the ever-enlarging universe, containing infinite dimensions. Within those immeasurable dimensions, stars, life forms, and actions—are all possibilities. She is infinite, she is inconceivable. Any manifestation or image of her is not her, but only a small vision. When we look up at night, we are able to view only a portion of the immense night sky, which is only a fragment of the entire universe. We fail as we attempt to describe her: “...let them speak not of thee at all, since thou art continuous.” Even if we approach her as the One, the highest of manifest deities, we could not comprehend her: “...let it be ever thus that men speak not of thee as One, but as None...” This None, Naught or Zero (0) encompasses all, even our concepts of deity. It is the all-pervasive Tao, the Source, the Ain Soph. It is the Perfect beyond the two of masculine and feminine, beyond even the One.10 “The Perfect and the Perfect are one Perfect and not two; nay, are none!” There is paradox here. She is the None—the Infinite Without who is beyond polarity. At the same time she is a specific goddess with an image, name, history, promises and even preferences; “...ye are my chose ones.”


As the stars are visible to us even with limited perception, so too is Nuit accessible. We meet her at Gnostic Mass where the Voice from the shrine declares herself “the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night?]sky.” The priestess has become the figure arched atop the Stélé of Revealing11—Nut the Sky-goddess—who says “To Me, To Me.” We are called forth to union with her, to a life where we are aware of being indivisible from the universe and sacredness. Unity with the Divine no longer denotes One, as in the Old Aeon12. Now it means Naught, the Infinite; “Nothing is a secret key of this law.” We are not told to reject our humanity. Her instructions are to delight in it; “...dress ye all in fine apparel; eat rich foods and drink sweet wines and wines that foam!” We are to be stars now, not saints in some transcendent afterlife; “ecstasy be thine and joy of earth.” She urges us to seek joy within the miracle of incarnation and through that perfection (“This shall regenerate the world...”)—achieve mastery of the physical universe. “Remember all ye that existence is pure joy.” Reunion and joy; truly this is the Great Work.13


Why invoke Nuit? Even outside the magick and mystery of the Gnostic Mass (her primary public ritual), we have reason to invite awareness of her. We invoke to attune ourselves to a being without limits, to offset our supposed limitations, and to break the bounds of confining thoughts, ideas, and behaviors. “The word of sin is restriction.” We invoke to reject separation and live the perspective she offers, and thereby align with our own highest aspirations and true will. She is the infinite source of stars, space and every manifestation. She is “Infinite Space,” with all the magnitude of activity the term suggests. This is our birthright, not the restrictions of the gods who would make us their slaves. “Aye! feast! rejoice! there is no dread hereafter.”


Our beautiful Star Goddess embraces every woman and every man for indeed, we are already a part of her being. She provides whatever will bring pleasure and comfort in an often difficult world. Whether seeking seclusion in her womb between lives, the ecstasy of her touch, a caring embrace, or boundless possibilities—she provides. She says to us only “Yes.” She greets warmly all those who seek solace in her treasures and who embrace her undying love. “The joys of my love will redeem ye from all pain.”


G.K. Chesterton said, “Among all the strange things men have forgotten, the most universal and catastrophic lapse of memory is that by which they have forgotten that they are living on a star.” We neglect our connection to Infinite Source at are own peril14, even disaster, disastrato in Latin. Dis means “away from or apart” and astrato means “the stars.” For the universe to exist, division from the All was necessary; “I am divided for love’s sake.” The consequences of separation are often suffering, but those of reunion are “unimaginable joys on earth: certainty, not faith, while in life, upon death; peace unutterable, rest, ecstasy . . ..” She desires our conscious participation as worship—“Always unto Me!”—but requires nothing in sacrifice. There is no “One Right Way” to her joy. No orthodoxy leads us to her ecstasy. She brings the paradoxical laws of Will and Love and wishes us to know we have never truly been separate; “I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy.”


The law of light, life, love, and liberty has been proclaimed. She who is endless and eternal is embodied by each of us—as stars in our own true orbits. Nuit has given us the light to illumine the soul with ecstasy, the life to experience her infinite possibilities of “Love under Will,” the love to unite with her and the liberty to choose our own path.


Be as an imperishable star that lives forever.
This is the grace of our Lady of the Stars.

For the full article see: Nuit: The Limitless Goddess
Thelema draws its principal gods and goddesses from Ancient Egyptian religion. The highest deity in the cosmology of Thelema is the goddess Nuit. She is the night sky arched over the Earth symbolized in the form of a naked woman. She is conceived as the Great Mother, the ultimate source of all things.[54] The second principal deity of Thelema is the god Hadit, conceived as the infinitely small point, complement and consort of Nuit. Hadit symbolizes manifestation, motion, and time.[54] He is also described in Liber AL vel Legis as "the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star."[55] The third deity in the cosmology of Thelema is Ra-Hoor-Khuit, a manifestation of Horus. He is symbolized as a throned man with the head of a hawk who carries a wand. He is associated with the Sun and the active energies of Thelemic magick.[54] Other deities within the cosmology of Thelema are Hoor-paar-kraat (or Harpocrates), god of silence and inner strength, the brother of Ra-Hoor-Khuit,[54] Babalon, the goddess of all pleasure, known as the Virgin Whore.[54] and Therion, the beast that Babalon rides, who represents the wild animal within man, a force of nature.[54]

From: Wiki

Also see:
The Book of the Law
Hymn/Poem - Adoration of Nuit
Poetry: Exhalation of Nuit by Sr. Esoterica
Poems to Nuit
Rosary for Nuit
Mass for Nuit
XXXI Hymns to the Star Goddess Who is Not
The Worship of Nuit
Article with quotes and commentary about Nuit
Active Thelema, pt.1: A Thelemic Universe, a Star Among Stars, All in the Night-Sky

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