“Enochian” “Pyramids”

As we have discussed elsewhere, the semantic universe described by the system of “Enochian” Magic is a description of the Interworld in the language of Names and “vibrations” — that is, effectively, a “letter code,” a “programming language” for that depiction. In other words, the “Enochian” Tablets, squares, the Names and Sigils derived from them are a kind of “program code” for the “virtual reality” of the Interworld, the informational substrate one can discern by breaking down the images of the Interworld into their constituent “semantic blocks.”

The study of this “program code,” begun by John Dee and developed by the Golden Dawn, transformed Enochian Magic into a powerful method for “hacking” the interstitial reality, which accounts for both the high operational effectiveness of the system and its popularity.

The mathematical language of the “Enochian” system proved exceptionally well suited to describing those algorithmic structures that underlie the reality each mind creates for itself in the Interworld. Indeed, if the “reality” of any world is “written” by the coordinated work of a large number of streams of mind present within it, and therefore is stable and only amenable to limited correction, the picture of the Interworld is by its nature labile: it is formed anew for each mind each time it is perceived and is thus much easier to “decompile” down to its code of primordial energies.

On that basis, Dee, Mathers, and later Crowley developed a number of approaches to the study of the “Enochian code” and its semantic levels.

Alongside the Magic of Names and Sigils, which makes up the bulk of such methods, particular attention is paid to techniques of active visualization — “scrying,” involving study and interpretation of the units of the “Enochian code” discovered in the process.

One such technique, developed by the Golden Dawn and refined by Crowley, was the visualization of “pyramids” into which the squares and sub-squares of the “Enochian” “tablets” were “folded.”

In the course of studying the energies of the “Enochian code” Mathers discovered that they have a pronounced hierarchical structure, elevating the mind from its more particular, “coarser” manifestations to the subtler. Crowley went even further, observing that since at its core the energy of the Interworld is “negative,” attractive, and absorbing, the “coded structures” of the Tablets can be represented not only as “ascending” pyramids (as was done in the Golden Dawn) but also as “descending” “cups” that can be filled with one’s own energy (as “offerings” or “sacrifices”), providing the mind with a “source of sustenance” on its journeys through the Interworld. It is obvious that it was the use of such a resource that enabled Crowley to achieve his famous feat of exploring and documenting the “ethers” — the levels of the Interworld — culminating in the Crossing of the Abyss.

The idea of “creating pyramids” is that each element of the code — a “letter” or a “word” — can be considered with its surrounding elements, and those surrounding elements may either “raise” or “lower” energy toward it, thereby creating a stable and active energetic structure. In the first case you get a “truncated pyramid” — a square stretched upward, directing energy and attention to a particular block of “reality”; in the second, an “inverse,” concave structure that attracts and holds energy. Just as “physical” pyramidal structures can gather and “transport” energy in the Interworld, successfully visualized and “activated” Enochian “pyramids” establish similar bridges and channels.

At the same time, originating with predatory beings, the Enochian approach requires the most scrupulous control because under any “letting go” the processes it initiates cause major energy drains. This likely explains that this is precisely what underlies the insufficient development of Enochian theory and practice in the Golden Dawn Tradition, whose adepts were thrown off balance by the mismatch between the very high effectiveness of such approaches and their “negative” energetic value. A study of their experience shows it to be fragmentary, insufficiently systematic, and incomplete.

As with all “intermediate” practices, the Enochian system of “decompiling” the cosmos demands enormous discipline and self-control, without which it quickly becomes a destructive force that drains the practitioner and their surroundings. If one can maintain that control and keep in mind the true motives of the “Enochian angels,” then the Dee/Kelly approach can render invaluable service in the investigation of the boundless spaces of the Interworld, the laws of their formation and how they function.