The Dragon whose eighth head reigns in Daath is identical with the Beast 666. The male half is Shugal (333), the howler in the Desert of Set; the female half is Choronzon (333) or Typhon, the prototype of Babalon, the Scarlet Woman. One of the meani…
The Dragon whose eighth head reigns in Daath is identical with the Beast 666. The male half is Shugal (333), the howler in the Desert of Set; the female half is Choronzon (333) or Typhon, the prototype of Babalon, the Scarlet Woman. One of the meanings of Goetia is 'howling' which suggests that the ancient grimoires were primitive records of man's attempt to rend the veil of the abyss and explore the other side of the Tree. The elaborate codifications of demons and their sigils and the rites accompanying their use parallel the orthodox magical workings used in connection with the front of the Tree. This would explain the need for secrecy and the frequent use of sacred names which veiled the sorcerer's true intentions.
A.E. Waite, in his introduction to The Book of Ceremonial Magic, speaks of the more orthodox phases of magic as 'aspects of the Secret Tradition insofar as it has declared itself on the side of God.' He then declares 'that there is a tradition a rebours. He further notes: 'As there is the height of Kether in Kabalism, so there is the abyss which is below Malkuth . . .' He does not say, however, that the abyss below Malkuth is accessible to man only through the Gate of Daath. But on page xli he writes:
'As there is a door in the soul which opens on God, so there is another door which opens on the recremental deeps, and there is no doubt that the deeps come in when it is opened effectually. There are also the powers of the abyss.'
It will be noted that Waite distinguishes between the 'deeps' and the 'powers of the abyss':
'There is a Black and a White Art . . . a Science of Height and a Science of the Abyss, of Metatron and Belial.'
—Kenneth Grant, The Nightside of Eden, Skoob Books, 1994, pgs. 43-4
