5. The Equinox of the Gods
                                        Acrylic on papyrus
                                        58cm x 47.5cm framed
                                        SOLD

The shape of the Memorial Pillar at Cefalu may be derived from ancient symbols representing rudimentary human forms with upraised arms.

 In 1921, amataeur archaeologist Joseph Whitaker published a report on his discovery of a Phoenician/Cathaginian sacred enclosure or Tophet on the Western coast of Sicily. Crowley may have seen local reports of the discovery.

 The burials in the Tophet were marked by stone stelae decorated with simple human figures shown with upraised arms. Macgregor Mathers noted similarities between examples of these Carthaginian figures in the Louvre and the central motif of the Secret Seal of Solomon.

                          6. The Secret Seal of Solomon

                                          Acrylic on canvas
                                          20cm x 20cm x 3.5cm
                                          SOLD

According to legend, King Solomon used the Secret Seal to imprison 72 spirits in a vessel of brass which was thrown into a lake near Babylon. The legend gave rise to the story of a fisherman releasing a genie from a bottle he found on the shore.

In 1904, Crowley published Mathers' notes and drawings in his Goetia, the first part of a grimoire called The Lemegeton. An old if not ancient magical work, the Goetia deals with the ceremonial evocation of 72 so-called 'evil spirits'. In fact many of these spirits bear the names of ancient Gods, 'fallen idols' condemned to 'hell' by the church.

 

                              7. Fallen Idol - The Seal of Bael.
                                                Acrylic on canvas
                                                20cm x 20cm x 3.5cm
                                                SOLD

The Prophet Jeremiah raged against the Hebrews for creating a Tophet and placing 'abominations' in the Temple at Jerusalem. 'Abomination of Desolation' was term used throughout the Old & New Testaments to describe forbidden cult objects. The Book of the Law says that the Stele of Revealing would also be called by the same title.

We know that Crowley had knowledge of the Carthaginian ritual figure and Mathers' theories concerning its similarity with the Secret Seal of Solomon. He would also, given his fundamentalist upbringing, have been aware of the association in the Old Testament between a Tophet and the 'Abomination of Desolation'. Reports of the recent discovery of carved stelae at a Tophet on Sicily may have inspired him to give the Memorial Pillar at Cefalu its intriguing shape.

 

 

                                8. Terrae Deo Dedit
                                           Acrylic on canvas
                                           30cm x 30cm x 2.0cm
                                           SOLD

 

 The Latin phrase inscribed on the Memorial Pillar literally translates as 'The Earth God Gives'. The closest equivalent phrase in the Old Testament appears in a proclaimation by the Persian King Cyrus who declares that God had 'given him all the kingdoms of the earth' and charged him to restore the Temple at Jerusalem and release the Hebrews from their captivity in Babylon. Crowley may have been making reference to his attempts to establish the Law of Thelema and free mankind in a post-Christian era.