Liber XLIV: The Mass of the Phoenix
Written by Aleister Crowley

Revised by Frater Osiris 2003

The Magician, his breast bare, stands before an altar on which are his Burin, Bell, Thurible, Incense of Abramelin, and a Cake of Light.
In the Sign of The Enterer he reaches East across the Altar, and Cries:

Hail Ra, that comest in thy bark
From the Caverns of the Dark!

He gives the sign of Silence, and takes the Bell and Fire in his hands.

West of the Altar see me stand
with light and musick in my hand!

He strikes Eleven times upon the Bell 333-55555-333 and lights the charcoal in the Thurible.

I strike the Bell: I light the Flame;
I utter the mysterious Name.

ABRAHADABRA!

He strikes eleven times upon the Bell.

Now I begin to pray: Thou Child,
Holy Thy name and undefiled!
Thy reign is come: Thy will is done.
Here is the Bread; here is the Blood.
Bring me through midnight to the Sun!
Save me from Evil and from Good!
That Thy one crown of all the Ten
Even now and here be mine. AMEN.

He puts the Incense of Abramelin on the Fire of the Thurible.

I burn the Incense-cake, proclaiming
These adorations of Thy name:

Unity uttermost showed!
I adore the might of thy breath,
Supreme and terrible God,
Who makest the gods and death
To tremble before Thee
I, I adore thee:

Appear on the throne of Ra!
Open the ways of the Khu!
Lighten the ways of the Ka!
The ways of the Khabs run through
To stir me or still me!
Aum! Let it fill me!

When the oration is finished he strikes again Eleven times upon the Bell. He then masturbates to orgasm, and at the point of orgasm he visualizes the Mark of the Beast.

Behold this bleeding breast of mine
Gashed with the sacramental sign!

He puts the second Cake to the ejaculate.

I stanch the blood; the wafer soaks
It up, and the high priest Invokes!

He eats the second Cake.

This Bread I eat. This Oath I swear
As I enflame myself with prayer:
"There is no grace: there is no guilt:
This is the Law: DO WHAT THOU WILT!"

He strikes Eleven times upon the Bell, and cries

ABRAHADABRA!

I entered in with woe; with mirth
I now go forth, and with thanksgiving,
To do my pleasure on the earth
Among the legions of the living.

He goeth forth.

Notes on the Revised Mass of the Phoenix

Outline:
Open Temple
Bell: 3-5-3
Light Thurible
ABRAHADABRA
Bell: 3-5-3
Prayer to Horus
Sacrifice first cake
Adorations
Bell: 3-5-3
Consecration & consumption of second cake
Oath
Bell: 3-5-3
ABRAHADABRA
Close Temple

I. A burin is “an engraver’s steel cutting tool having the blade ground obliquely to a sharp point.” Crowley puts this magical weapon into perspective in 777:

“The Burin is used for engraving the Lamen, Pantacles, etc. Being a Knife, its character is martial, but also it pertains especially to Aries because it is used to indicate the creative ideas of the magician.”

Therefore a knife may be used in place of the burin. Do not use the Air Dagger, but a separate implement. In light of Crowley’s commentary, a craft knife would be most fitting. While the burin is not used in the Revised Mass of the Phoenix,

II. The Bell is rung eleven times in a battery of 3-5-3. Eleven is the number of Magick, five is the number of the Microcosm, and six is the number of the Macrocosm. This conjunction of the five and six can also be found in the word ABRAHADABRA, which is composed of five As and six consonants. Note that the bell is rung a total of 44 times in the ritual, the number of dam, Hebrew for blood, and the Liber number of the Mass of the Phoenix.

III. Burning the first cake in the thurible or censer creates a great deal of smoke, which is a problem unless you are doing this ritual outdoors. The proper means of overcoming this unpleasant fumigation is given in Chapter 62 of The Book of Lies, which is a commentary on the Mass of the Phoenix:

“The Phoenix hath a Bell for Sound; Fire for Sight; a Knife for Touch; two cakes, one for taste, the other for smell.”

This passage connects the first cake with the sense of smell and the Element of Air. Considering this attribution and the fact that the Mass of the Phoenix refers to the first cake as the “incense-cake,” it would not be inappropriate to substitute incense for the cake of light. This substitution is also mentioned in Chapter 12 of Magick in Theory and Practice:

“Those Magicians who object to the use of Blood have endeavored to replace it with incense. For such a purpose the incense of Abramelin may be burnt in large quantities. Dittany of Crete is also a valuable medium. Both these incenses are very catholic in their nature, and suitable for almost any materialization.”

Therefore, Incense of Abramelin is used instead of the first cake of light in the Revised Mass of the Phoenix.

IV. The first two spoken lines of the Mass of the Phoenix suggest that this ritual is to be performed at sunset, facing West:

Hail Ra, that goest in thy bark
Into the Caverns of the Dark!

East of the Altar see me stand
with light and musick in my hand!

However, there is no reason why the “Miracle of the Mass” must be performed at any particular time of day. Because this is a solar ritual, The orations in the Revised Mass of the Phoenix have been rewritten for performance in the light of day:

Hail Ra, that comest in thy bark
From the Caverns of the Dark!

West of the Altar see me stand
with light and musick in my hand!

Of course, if you choose to perform the Mass at dusk or in the evening, you would use the original orations.

V. After the incense is added to the thurible, the Magician is instructed to make the “adorations of Thy name” from The Book of the Law. These adorations are given in Chapter 3, verses 37-38, and were originally part of Crowley’s poetic paraphrase of the front of the Stele of Revealing. The Revised Mass of the Phoenix uses only those adorations that directly refer to Horus.

VI. The Mark of the Beast is the symbol of the Sun and Moon conjoined. It is visualized at the point of orgasm and held in the mind until the ecstasy has passed. The use of the sigil charges the “blood” with the energy of Horus in the new Aeon, which is then applied to the cake of light and eaten.