What is the Mass of the Phoenix

On the Mass of the Phoenix

An Analysis by Frater Osiris 2003
What is the Mass of the Phoenix? The answer is not a simple as you might think. The Mass of
the Phoenix makes its debut as Chapter 44 of Aleister Crowleys Book of Lies with no real
explanation. At least the Official Instructions of the A..A.. gives a basic description of the Mass
of the Phoenix: An instruction in a simple and exoteric form of Eucharist. A Ritual of the Law.
This indicates that the Mass of the Phoenix is a true Mass, in that it celebrates the Eucharist. In
Liber Aleph, Crowley puts the Mass of the Phoenix on par with the Gnostic Mass:Neglect not
the daily Miracle of the Mass, either by the Rite of the Gnostic Catholic Church, or that of the
Phoenix. The Miracle of the Mass is the process of transubstantiation, whereby the bread and
wine are transformed into the body and the blood of a God. The general nature of this Eucharist
is explained in Chapter 20 of Magick in Theory and Practice:The Eucharist of Two Elements has
its matter of the passives. The wafer (Pantacle) is of corn, typical of Earth; the wine (Cup)
represents Water. (There are certain other attributions. The wafer is the Sun, for instance; and
the wine is appropriate to Bacchus.) The wafer may, however, be more complex, as the Cake
of Light described in Liber Legis. This is used in the exoteric Mass of the Phoenix mixed with
the blood of the Magus. This Mass should be performed daily at sunset by every Magician.
Corn and wine are equivalent to flesh and blood; but it easier to convert live substances into the
body and blood of God, than to perform this miracle upon dead matter.
The Eucharist of the Mass of the Phoenix consists of the Cakes of Light (bread) and the blood of
the magician (wine). However, the blood of the magician is also the live substance that is
added to the Cake of Light during the ritual, and it is thereby that the two elements become one
Eucharist. This is the best kind of Eucharist according to Chapter 20:
The highest form of the Eucharist is that in which the Element consecrated is One. It is One
substance and not two, not living and not dead, neither liquid nor solid, neither hot nor cold,
neither male nor female. This Sacrament is secret in every respect. For those who may be
worthy, although not officially recognized as such, this Eucharist has been described in detail
and without concealment, somewhere in the published writings of The MASTER THERION. The
secret is actually published only pages away in Chapter 12 of Magick in Theory and Practice,
where Crowley symbolically equates blood with semen through barely cryptic references to
human sacrifice. The Mass of the Phoenix is also mentioned in Chapter 12:But the bloody
sacrifice, though more dangerous, is more efficacious; and for nearly all purposes human
sacrifice is the best. The truly great Magician will be able to use his own blood, or possibly that
of a disciple, and that without sacrificing the physical life irrevocably. An example of this sacrifice
is given in Chapter 44 of Liber 333. This Mass may be recommended generally for daily
practice. The Eucharist of the Mass of the Phoenix now takes on a whole new meaning: the
blood is semen and therefore the Cakes of Light are the gluten, or sexual essence of the female.
The blood is used to fertilize the Cake of Light to create the sexually charged Eucharist. This
idea is reflected in Chapter 3 of The Book of the Law, which gives the recipe for the Cakes of
Light:23:-

For perfume mix meal & honey & thick leavings of red wine: then oil of Abramelin and olive oil,
and afterward soften & smooth down with rich fresh blood. 24. The best blood is of the moon,
monthly: then the fresh blood of a child, or dropping from the host of heaven: then of enemies;
then of the priest or of the worshippers: last of some beast, no matter what.
25. This burn: of this make cakes & eat unto me.
The preferred blood in the recipe is menstrual blood, which includes female sexual fluids and an
unfertilized ovum. It is important to note that the next best blood is the fresh blood of a child,
which is a symbolic reference to sperm. A female Magician may therefore choose to make their
Cakes of Light with the male essence or sperm for use in this Mass.
From a practical point of view, the Mass of the Phoenix works much better as a sex magick ritual
than the traditional literal interpretation of the script. Crowley instructed us to perform the Mass
of the Phoenix on a daily basis, but if you scratched the same sigil into the breast with this
frequency you would end up with a permanent wound! At the same time there would be no
discomfort and risk in masturbating daily to perform the Mass of the Phoenix.
So how does the Mass of the Phoenix work as a sex magick ritual? After reciting the Adorations
from The Book of the Law, the Magician masturbates to orgasm. At the moment of orgasm, he
visualizes the proper sign to direct the energy. (Although Crowley never specifies exactly what
the proper sign is, many Thelemites use the Mark of the Beast, the sigils of the Sun and Moon
conjoined.) He smears the semen on the second Cake of Light and eats it as the Eucharist. It is
in this manner that the Magician can perform the Miracle of the Mass every day.
Revised Mass of the Phoenix - Male
Revised Mass of the Phoenix - Female
copyright (c) Frater Osiris 2008
back to MAIN

The Revised Mass of the Phoenix

Male Script
Written by Aleister Crowley
Revised by Michael Osiris Snuffin (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 engravers 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 Crowleys 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 incensecake, 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 Crowleys 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.
The Revised Mass of the Phoenix
Female Script
Written by Aleister Crowley
Revised by Michael Osiris Snuffin (2003)
The Magician, her breast bare, stands before an altar on which are her Burin, Bell, Thurible,
Incense of Abramelin, and a Cake of Light.
In the Sign of The Enterer she reaches West across the Altar, and Cries:
Hail Ra, that comest in thy bark
From the Caverns of the Dark!
She gives the sign of Silence, and takes the Bell, and Fire, in her hands.
West of the Altar see me stand
with light and musick in my hand!
She 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
She 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.
She 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 she strikes again Eleven times upon the Bell. She then masturbates
to orgasm, and at the point of orgasm she visualizes the Mark of the Beast.
Behold this bleeding breast of mine
Gashed with the sacramental sign!
She puts the second Cake to the gluten.
I stanch the blood; the wafer soaks
It up, and the high priestess Invokes!
She 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!"
She 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.
She goeth forth.
I decided it was time to try making my own Cakes of Light, so as to enhance my Gnostic Mass experience
and allow for performance of the Mass of the Phoenix, a daily Thelemic eucharist. At this stage in my life,
I think I agree with Crowleys emphasis on the importance of the daily consumption of a eucharist.
After checking Google, there seem to be two main recipes that can be easily found [note: I found a bunch
more after writing this, by searching things like "thick leavings of red wine" and such as opposed to
"cakes of light"]. Im not sure of the origin of the first, but in depth instructions regarding it are given in

Rodney Orpheus Abrahadabra: Understanding Aleister Crowleys Thelemic Magick (ISBN 1-57863-3265) The second is a recipe by someone who goes by the name Aisha. They can be found at these
locations, respectively:
http://www.hermetic.com/egc/cakes-recipe.html
http://www.hermetic.com/egc/aisha-cakes.html
I decided to work primarily with the Aisha recipe, myself, although I used the other recipe to determine
that I should buy 2 liters of port wine and heat at the lowest possible temperature to obtain my wine
leavings. Neither of these recipes mentioned how much Ingredient X (frequently menstrual blood,
semen, etc. See the Liber AL quotes in the recipes above) to use, although after careful perusal through my
library, I was able to find this passage in the Orpheus book cited above:
Take a very small amount of the dough, add a small (homeopathic) amount of the other ingredient to it,
and make it into a single small cake. Turn the oven up to its highest setting and bake this single cake
until it is burned black. Take it from the oven and crush it into powdery ash, then add the ashes to the
original dough mixture.
This satisfies AL III:25: This burn: of this make cakes & eat unto me. This hath also another use; let it
be laid before me, and kept thick with perfumes of your orison: it shall become full of beetles as it were
and creeping things sacred unto me.
Unfortunately, before I came across this passage, I had already mixed Ingredient X into the 7 tbsp of
honey I would be using for the Aisha recipe, and froze it to preserve it overnight. I had interpreted burn
as another word for cook in this case, although next time I will try literally burning the ingredient and
see which way I prefer. I wonder if there is any potential for carcinogenesis from the ash? I think I saw
discussion on this somewhere online.
I will now present my photographical guide to Cakes of Light:
Ingredients Used:
[No picture, but I ended up using brownish flour I found, which I assume was whole wheat]

I mixed the Ingredient X (conjoined fluids not just the menses) into 7 tablespoons of honey and stuck it
in the freezer for overnight preservation. Im guessing that as a preservative, honey would maintain
freshness of these ingredients for longer than just one night, if necessary.

The Wise Weeds Abramelin Oil (which I highly recommend) *did not* kill me when I ate the cakes during
the Mass of the Phoenix the next day. Quite to the contrary, these are some of the most delicious Cakes of
Light I have ever had. Not bad for my first time making them. I did not measure out the 7 drops exactly as
I didnt have a dropper, so what I did was put tiny amounts of Abramelin Oil into a 1/8 tsp and slightly tip
it until one drop fell off, put more in if necessary, and repeated. There was maybe mild irritation on my
tongue after eating the Cake of Light, but nothing too bad. I was a bit worried at first about the cinnamon
oil causing problems/not being safe to eat (if I used too much Abramelin), but I dont think theres an
issue. Jalepinos are certainly more of an irritant!
Process:

The port wine reduction took *forever* (6 hours maybe) for 1.25 liters. I ended up getting a 1.5 liter bottle
and not using the entire amount because it wouldnt fit in the pot I used. I would say that minimal oven
heat is not enough to get the job done in a reasonable amount of time. I had it set to medium/medium-low
most of the time.
Although the scent was pleasant, Im pretty sure it filled my house with alcohol fumes
open a window and set up some fans for this if youre sensitive.

Might want to

The finished product looked like a bunch of foam, and after cooling became this thick syrupy stuff that
resembled blood. When reducing the wine, it may seem to be maintaining its consistency, but it *will*
eventually look foamy and then cool into syrup.
Side note: Most of the people at the liquor store had no idea what port wine was (except vague notions
that it is eaten with cheese) and there was none on the shelves. I almost settled for regular wine when a
manager came out and brought me a bottle of port (the only kind they had) from the back. He knew
exactly what it was and said for a stove reduction, port is specifically required as it is different from other
red wine.
Even though I used quite a bit less wine than the 2 liters suggested in other recipes, and even though I
used twice the amount of wine leavings (2 tbsp instead of 1) in my recipe than suggested, there was still a
lot of left over. I stuck these in the freezer to use some other time.
I just kind of stuck all the ingredients in at once and then mixed (and then kneaded on a counter) the
dough together. Next time, I may put the Abramelin Oil in the olive oil, mix that up, and then mix that into
the flour for a more even consistency. Not that I doubt that mine was thoroughly mixed, but it seems like a
better approach.
I ended up putting them in the oven for 3 minutes per batch. For the thinner cakes of light, this was
perfect. The thicker ones ended up still being soft even after cooling. While I like the thinner ones better
for burning (perfect because theyre dry/crisp), the thicker ones give you more to eat (and these were
delicious) and seem more like Cakes of Light. Id recommend making some of each.
The cleanup wasnt nearly as bad as I thought it would be, despite appearances! Total yield was
approximately 75 cakes, and if I had made them thinner not to mention the 1/2 3/4 inches in diameter
that most places suggest as opposed to the much larger size I made mine I would have had far more.
Overall, this was a fun albeit tedious task (took all day), and the fruits of my labour are definitely
worthwhile. If you have not yet made your own Cakes of Light, I highly recommend it. Doing so (and
then using them in the Mass of the Phoenix) proved to be quite intense/effective.
If anyone stumbled across my site and has questions, Id love to be of assistance. Just leave comments.
Good luck!
Cakes of Light
Cakes of Light 1st recepie

Ingredients:
Half a gallon (2 litres) of port wine
One & half cups of wholewheat flour
Honey (to taste)
One & a half tablespoons of olive oil
Abramelin oil (to taste - not much!)
Other ingredient (see AL III, 23 & 24)
Procedure:
Heat the wine at the lowest heat possible. Steam should be rising, bur it should never boil. It
takes approximately five hours. At the end you should have about a quarter of an inch (half a
centimetre) of goo at the bottom of the pot.
Preheat the oven to 300 F (150 Celsius). In a mixing bowl add the flour, honey, wine goo,
olive oil, Abramelin oil, and other ingredient. Knead until it becomes cookie dough - this takes
a while. Add more flour if it's too sticky.
Roll out the dough on to a floured surface. Flour the rolling pin and your hands too. When the
dough has been flattened out, cut into cakes using a small circular cutter - a pill bottle top or
lipstick top is ideal.
Place cakes on floured sheet and bake them in the oven for no more than five minutes.
Usually 3 - 4 minutes is enough. The cakes won't look done when you take them out - just let
them cool for a while.
won't look done when you take them out - just let them cool for a while.
Cakes of Light
by Aisha Qadisha
Thanks to Sulis who gave me the basis for the recipe that follows
I like to make big batches of cookies so they last a while. Here is the recipe that I use. If you use exact
amounts as shown, you shouldn't have to fudge extra honey or oil to tweak the consistency.

1.5 cups flour (I use Kamut)

6 tblsp. extra virgin olive oil

7 tblsp. honey

1 tblsp. wine leavings

7 drops Abramelin oil

Optional: Ingredient X*

1. Clear a counter top and rub some olive oil on it so that the dough won't stick. Also oil some pans
and/or cookie sheets.

2. In the absence of actual wine leavings, you can capture the "leavings" from the bottom of a good
bottle of port. Alternately, you can simmer some ruby port until it leaves a thick syrupy residue.
3. Pre-heat oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit
4. If making priest cookies using Ingredient X, keep this dough separate from the other non-X
dough. Use two separate bowls.
5. Mix oils and flour together and mix with a spoon. Add additional ingredients. Mix and then knead
until the dough yields a homogenous consistency. It should stick together, but not stick to an oiled
rolling pin.
6. Re-oil the counter top if necessary. Take out a small ball of dough at a time. Press it flat with the
palm of your hand. Then use an oiled rolling pin to flatten it out. When it is about an 1/8" thick,
you are ready to cut cookies.
7. I use the lid of my olive oil container for a cookie cutter. It is the size of quarter. Priest cookies are
bigger. At this time you can press shapes into the cakes for decoration.
8. Bake cookies for 4 - 7 minutes, depending on thickness of the cakes and the heat of your oven.
9. Refrigerate or freeze to store. Keep blanks separate from Ingredient X cakes. Cakes that have
gotten brittle can be rejuvenated by microwaving them wrapped in a damp paper towel.
Cakes of light can be used for the Gnostic Mass (you can bring your own), the Mass of the Phoenix, or
any other ritual of your own invention.

Additional Notes
My rolling pin is a magical object that is only used for this purpose. It is a small, hand-painted rolling pin
that I purchased from an Indian grocer.
As in any magical operation, you should be in a good state of mind while making the cakes. This is
especially true if the cakes of light are to be consumed by an EGC congregation. If you are angry,
depressed, or sick, you should wait until you are feeling better to proceed.
People should never be served cakes of light containing Ingredient X without their knowledge and full
consent.
Ingredient X can be harvested, mixed with some honey and then frozen until such a time as you are ready
to make your cakes of light.
There is no part of me that is not of the gods!

(i.e., You are what you eat!)

_____________
*Regarding Ingredient X, here is the original Liber Al vel Legis Reference:
II,23: For perfume mix meal & honey & thick leavings of red wine: then oil of Abramelin and olive oil,
and
afterward
soften
&
smooth
down
with
rich
fresh
blood.
III,24: The best blood is of the moon, monthly: then the fresh blood of a child, or dropping from the host
of
heaven:
then
of
enemies;
then
of
the
priest
or
of
the
worshippers: last of some beast, no matter what.
III,25: This burn: of this make cakes & eat unto me. This hath also another use; let it be laid before me,
and
kept
thick
with
perfumes
of
your
orison:
it
shall
become full of beetles as it were and creeping things sacred unto me.
III,26: These slay, naming your enemies; & they shall fall before you.
III,27: Also these shall breed lust & power of lust in you at the eating thereof.
III,28: Also ye shall be strong in war.
III,29: Moreover, be they long kept, it is better; for they swell with my force. All before me.