First published in The Occult Digest, September 1933

The Oracle of the Sun

By C. F. Russell

THIS six-fold figure, is called the KIA ZAN Hexagram and is

one of sixty-four similar symbols no two of which are exactly alike and which all
together constitute the text of the YI KING, or Classic of Changes, the Initiated
Chinese System of Magick. It is called Chinese, for it is widely known as such,
but its origin is much more ancient than anything purely Chinese. It actually
came from Atlantis along with all other esoteric contrivances of an Initiatory use
and power and was invented by the White Race and carried from its source to a
geographical point later ruled by the Manchus before the Akkadian era. The
secrets sealed in this Book have never been published otherwise than in this
symbolic form except by oral communication. The secret society which has
custody of this branch of the Atlantean Wisdom is popularly known as the Order
of the Singing Fan; from the fact that its Members have a way of singing or
intoning the Hexagrams which gives them tremendous influence in all Spheres. It
will be impossible in this article to deal with the technic of magical intonation but
we can at least get an idea of the preliminary study and practice necessary before
one can become an Adept in this Art.

Do not confuse this with some of the hazy theories current concerning the
utterance of the Lost Word, whether it be AUM, IAO, IHVH, or of some other
spelling. All Initiatory procedures, if correct, are based on balance, which may be
analyzed into melody, harmony, rhythm and the function of the focal rite must
be fully comprehended. Then, all the branches of occultism, like the Tarot,
Astrology, Spiritism, Numerology, Geomancy, etc., shall be seen in their proper
places off the main track but all leading into it.

A short and simple definition of Initiation is this: Establish and control

contact between the cerebrum, which is the main organ of personal consciousness
and memory, the cerebellum and the other brains, not only in the head but also
in the spinal column and all the way down to the feet. Any form of Divination has
been designed to help directly or indirectly by its catalytic action on the nervous
system. The Spirits with whom you converse and who answer your questions are
specific parts of your own brains. This thesis has been proved adequately by Sir
Aleister Crowley in the introduction to his edition of the GOETIA so I will not
dwell upon it here. But ordinary and ostensible methods cannot be called magical
because they deal merely with areas of the cerebrum. This is that brain which
functions in the sphere of sensation and memory, is blind and stupid otherwise
and cannot perceive supersensible facts. It is of use to us only in maintaining
necessary relations with the Troglodytes. The Initiates have a secret script of
their own which keeps the nature of life in their world from becoming common
property. But the old tortoise shell has gone out with the old aeon, along with
robes and abrogate are the rituals and ordeals which come not now from the
Light of Mercury who is the Oracle or Messenger of the Sun.

Any child of eight can learn this fascinating game played with eleven numbers
and one in eight. Begin to teach them thus: A single, whole line, drawn
thus, , is called a YANG and is positively male, but occultly
female. A double, or divided line, drawn thus, is called a YIN and
is manifestly female, but secretly male. These two symbols represent the primary
sexual elements, either in the macrocosm or the microcosm, the universe or the
human being. All creation comes from their combination.
 Combining them together two at a time we obtain four different figures which
analyze and explain the Tetragrammaton Formula—

These are respectively: Universal Affirmative, Particular Affirmative, Particular

Negative, Universal Negative —reading from right to left.

Adequate explanation of this IHVH Formula can be found in the textbook on

"MAGICK" by the Master THERION, so I will not give more space to it here.

The next step is to combine the Yangs and Yins together three at a time. This
gives eight Trigrams, whose shapes and names are as follows in the Logical
order:

KHWAN. It is called YONI on the Yetziratic plane and refers to

MALKUTH on the Tree of Life; its representative is EARTH and its divinatory
significance is capaciousness and submission. It is that six-fold star which lights
the way to the Stainless Abode.

KAN is FIRE on the Yetziratic plane and refers to the Sphere of

GEBURAH on the Tree; represented by Thunder and signifies moving and
exciting power.

KHAN is MOON, YESOD, rain, clouds, springs , streams and

defiles and signifies peril and difficulty.

TUI is WATER, CHESED, marshes and lakes and means

pleasure, complacency, satisfaction.
 KAAN is EARTH, NETZACH, hills and mountains; is interpreted
as resting and the act of arresting.

LI is SUN, TIPHARETH, lightning and of course has the sense of

brightness and elegance.

SUN is AIR, HOD, wind, and wood and stands for flexibility and
penetration.

KHIEN is LINGAM, DAATH, heaven, the sky and read as

untiring strength and power.

Omitting consideration of the four and five-fold figures for lack of space let us
see how the Hexagrams are built up. Each Hexagram is produced by combining
two Trigrams and its meaning will always be found by combining those of the
two Trigrams which compose it. The upper trigram is called the modulus and the
lower, the base. The whole figure is always erected and read in the ascending
order, beginning with the bottom line. If the proper technic is used to erect a
figure the operation is Magical and evokes the particular Spirit assigned to that
Hexagram.

The method is as follows. Take two ordinary dice. Consecrate one of them
with your own Feminine Potency. This always proceeds from the right hand of a
man or the left hand of a woman. Consecrate the other with your Masculine
Power, which may be done either with the left hand of a man or the right hand of
a woman. Now the two dice are to be thrown simultaneously upon a SQUARE
whose exact structure must be as follows. Draw accurately a chess-board; fill in
the sixty-four small squares with the sixty-four Hexagrams arranged in their
Logical order with the LINGAM of LINGAM Hexagram at the EAST. This is
not the natural, but the magical EAST. The Logical order of the sixty-four is
found in the same way that one finds the logical order of the eight Trigrams; the
latter being found thus—
 In the SQUARE each file has the same upper Trigram throughout, each rank
the same lower Trigram throughout. Files run perpendicularly —ranks run
horizontally. The sequence is the same for both files and ranks; thus for files,
from bottom to top and for ranks from right to left, in both cases beginning with
KHWAN and ending with KHIEN. Thus number 62 of the logical order will be
placed in the 8th file and the 6th rank.

The two dice are to be thrown upon this SQUARE together six times, once for
each line of the Hexagram to be erected. A line must be either a Yin or a Yang,
which is determined by whether the sum of the pips is even or odd, respectively.
Thus, for example, if the pips which turn up at the first throw are six and three,
their sum is nine, an odd number, so the first or bottom line of the Hexagram is a
YANG, . Suppose that at the next throw, the pips are four and
two; their sum is six, an even number, so the next line will be a
YIN, . And so on. Of course, while erecting the figure in this way,
the operators must concentrate properly on the question or circumstances
pertinent to the Divination or Ceremony.

Suppose that the figure obtained were the one which heads this chapter. One
reads it by naming the modulus, then the base, thus —AIR of SUN. Looking this
up in the Book of Changes (YI KING) we find that it may be interpreted
generally in the following verse :
 "KIA ZAN: the household: this right rule's its base;

"The wife be firm, correct, in her own place."

Further we find the following comment—"The Superior orders his words

according to the truth of things and his conduct so that it is uniformly
consistent." "The Communication to others of one's Realization." "The Oracle
of the Sun."

Those who already have some psychic power, skill and experience would need
little more information about this figure than given above, but for the beginner it
has been further analyzed in the following verse:

First, proper law's a necessary thing.

Housekeeper keep the house with modesty;
Be stern for idleness and chattering.
Thus fortune helps enrich the family.
All share the luck of the high-minded king.
Sincere, majestic —the end's glittering.

It is to be noted that the first line of the verse refers to the bottom line of the
figure and so on consecutively.

It is also to be noted that all the Yin lines rhyme with each other; the Yang
lines do the same.

In the scheme of the OTz ChIIM (Tree of Lives) this figure represents the
Adverse Relation between Tiphareth and Hod.

No system of Divination is valuable if the objective mind is allowed to interfere

in any way, either in obtaining an Oracle or in interpreting it. The essential thing
in this and every form of Divination is to obey the oracles obtained. Then, the
Spirits will reciprocate your confidence and trust by giving you symbols clearer
and clearer in exact ratio to that fidelity. Those who keep a scientific record of
their workings shall find the figure given always right and the answer always
true, appropriate and suited to the question, individual or circumstance, in
increasing proportion as they form the habit of heeding the counsel of the gods
and of conforming their conduct to the advice given with firm correctness. Any
slip-shod or careless procedure insults the Spirits and the operator will be
punished accordingly. In all fairness to the gentle reader we must point out that
anyone using or teaching this grammar from dishonest motives is very likely to
get into serious trouble.
 The natural organ of human personal consciousness is the cerebrum, which is
the mammalian brain, the organ of memory, which perceives by reflected light.
Hence, Man is not instinctively intelligent in his acts, for the little stream of
experience which flows into his physical consciousness is not enough to guide
him. To act intelligently, he must act in accord with the totality of all his
experiences, which are by no means confined to the sphere of physical sensation.
The cerebrum, therefore, exhibits the vanishing point, so to speak, of cosmic
intelligence; the lowest possible mind which is yet capable of acting on a
universal scale. Insight, wit, rationality, co-ordination, creative thinking, the
perception of the nature and identities of things as they are and of the
significance of life, GENIUS or Godhead, does not belong to the cerebrum but is
a function of the Cerebellum, whose activity is mostly sub-conscious. At this stage
in human evolution the cerebrum is properly the most developed brain but we
are entering a higher stage where Man shall learn to use his other brains.
Nothing is better to develop truly practical thinking, which is something about
which all the pseudo-scientists in the world are quite ignorant, than Divination, if
carried out faithfully with the right ritual. There must be no guesswork or
psychic speculation.

The errors made by fortune tellers, diviners and those who deal with Spirits,
are not the fault of the Spirits but are due wholly to wrong attitudes of persons
who do not understand and obey the borderland laws, the first of which demands
the possession of a clear, level head with self-control and absolute moral
integrity. We hear on many sides warnings against spiritism and spiritualism
because of the danger in dealing with evil and malicious spirits. The majority of
those who issue such warnings imagine that entities higher in the scale of
evolution than themselves are less intelligent than themselves and less moral,
which is impossible. Evil and falsehood are inseparable. Consequently, no
understanding can be the receptacle of truth unless it belongs to a will which is
the receptacle of good. Nowhere in the cosmos is there such a thing as a genuinely
intelligent evil sprit. If the Devil were wise he would not and could not be the
Devil. It is absolutely impossible for anyone, human or otherwise, who hates
Humanity, to have or develop the faculty of prevision. Therefore, suspect those
who gaze in a crystal and prate of the approach of malevolent monsters; what
they see is only themselves. If they were capable of acquiring any real knowledge
of themselves and the nature and powers of their own beings, they could pass the
Dweller on the Threshold easily. But they shall remain slaves to time and space
and the illusions of their shadow-personalities. The vestibule of the Spiritual
world is rightly called the "Sphere of the Three Iron Necessities" and there is no
pass-key but LOVE!

A Genius is always an Initiate of some Grade. He or she has learned how to

think voluntarily with the Cerebellum, and other brains. The first step is to form
the habit of Faith. But Faith is not at all a blind belief in what is unknown, for
Faith is of Truth and Truth is of Faith and Truth, before it can become an object
of Faith, must be in its own light and be seen; otherwise what is false may be
believed. FAITH is confidence in the promptings, instincts and correllations
apprehended by that brain whose processes are foreign to and which is wholly
exterior to the organ of personality. No one need or should believe any paradox,
antinomy or absurdity —philosophers and theologians to the contrary
notwithstanding. On the other hand, those responsible for current theories in
Physics, Biology, Geology and Astronomy are equally blind leaders of the blind.
No class has a monopoly of the whimsical, puerile and superstitious conceptions.
Such are but natural to the Troglodytes, the cave-dwellers who are blinded by
the Light which cannot form images in the cerebrum.

The process of Divination, especially the YI KING is one safe and certain road
which leads out of the cave. "By eight and by eight shall I learn to count thy
favours, O thou eleven-fold god four hundred and eighteen." Those who do learn
to count by eight and by eight shall become subjects of Divine Favour. There can
be no purpose in life higher than to do Good and no guide to this end better than
the voice of your own Conscience, which speaks from its throne or seat in the
Cerebellum by means of good and true messengers who will faithfully analyze
and solve your problems if you approach them by an authoritative method
according to the rules of the Magick Art. They will surely and quickly lead you to
the source and center of Good, Itself and Truth, Itself. May you find the Heart of
the Lord who dwells in your own Heart.