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The Artist's Comment on the Seal The seal for Theorte Ekstasis was created with the concept of divine ecstasy ever in mind. The cup and lotus are based on a motif found on the Nine of Cups in the Thoth Tarot deck. Crowley writes of this card as follows, "...the wine is poured by Ganymede himself, unstinted vintage of true nectar of the Gods, brimful and running over, an ordered banquet of delight, True Wisdom self-fulfilled in Perfect Happiness." The colors of the cup and lotus are also taken from this card. The cup symbolism of the seal was also chosen due to the contents of the cup being the "essence of the joy of the earth" in the Gnostic Mass. The children adoring the cup are those found on the Sun card in the same deck, only counter-charged in black and white to reflect the twin pillars of Jachim and Boaz/Mercy and Severity, and the children of the Gnostic Mass. I thought that the image of the children of the Mass was appropriate, as in divine ecstasy we become as little children. They reflect the balance of masculine and feminine energy that we desire in this body. The seal roughly corresponds to the Tree of Life, with the children's feet in Malkuth, upon the lowest point of the Star of Babalon. They cross arms at the pyramidal base of the cup in Yesod, and reach upwards in joy touching Hod and Netzach. The cup itself is marked with a unicursal hexagram at Tiphereth. The cup running over each side (with water/emotion) corresponds to the emotional responses of Geburah and Chesed. The Lotus and its twin stems form the supernal triad of Binah, Chokmah, and Kether, with the "veil" of water pouring from the lotus serving as Da'ath. All of this is superimposed upon a golden Star of Babalon set on a glowing scarlet field. I chose the Star of Babalon because it is She that has deigned to "enlighten [our] minds and comfort [our] hearts and sustain [our] bodies" during the formation of this body. I feel that it is only appropriate to honor Her guidance and inspiration in our seal. Soror Noctua |
