Enochess

[from ftp://nic.funet.fi/pub/doc/religion/occult/hermetica/enochia/enochess.txt ] OFFICIAL RITUAL The correct application of the action of the moveable images (representing the motion of The Ruling Angels over the Servient Squares) is called The Playe or Raying of the Chequers of the Tablets. By G. H. FRATER D.D.C.F. Of the Chess King and the Tarot Ace The move of this piece is one square every way, and answereth toto the action of the Spirit. Wherever it goeth, it commenceth andinitiateth a fresh current, whence it is represented by the motion ofonly one square in any direction and there staying for this purposebefore moving onward. So that his action is not hurried, but representsa balanced movement. Yet in his beginning of action is he at first a muteforce, as though throned upon the water; as in the end of his action heis a life manifested and throned upon the earth. And herein is a mysteryof the Lord Aeshoori (Osiris) when enthroned between Isis and Nephthys,thus representing the beginning and end of the action of Him in whom endand beginning are not, but rather concealment and then manifestation.Herein is a great mystery of life, for His Thrones are not in the twoactive elements, seeing that these latter are his horse and chariot oftransition in the passage from concealment into manifestation. Thispiece, then, is the symboliser of the action of the potencies of thecrosses on the Servient Squares. Of the Chess Knight, the Tarot King The move of this piece is three squares cornerwise every way (asin ordinary chess) and representeth the leaping action of the flickeringflame. Wherefore also he is not stopped in his course by a piece or anintervening square, even as Fire seizing on a matter speedily renderethit transparent. This piece representeth the action of Fire as theRevealer of the Strength of the Spirit, even as Hoor is the avenger ofAeshoori. It is a force potent and terrible, the King in the elementaloperations. Thus it openeth the locked doors of matter and showeth forth thetreasure hidden therein. Therefore hath all life its beginnings in a FireCelestial. And the number of squares covered by the move of the Knight inthe midst of the Board (reckoning from the Square on which he standeth,but not including it) is 16 squares, of which 8 are checked, and 8 arepassed over. Of the Chess Queen, The Tarot Queen The move of this piece is unto every third square from her(reckoning the square whereon she standeth as the first) as wellcornerwise, as well perpendicular, as horizontal. Thus again covering 16squares out of a square of 25 squares, of which 8 are threatened, andeight are passed over. But she threateneth not a piece upon theintervening square of her move. And her movement is as that of the wavesof the sea, and (like the Knight) she is not hindered in her motion by apiece on an intervening square. This piece representeth the undulatingaction of water and of the sea, and she is ascribed unto the GreatGoddess Isis, who is Cherisher of Life. Of Chess Bishop or Fool, the Tarot Prince The move is this piece is any number of squares cornerwise (thatis only the diagonal) in any direction even unto the limits of theTablet. He representeth the keen and swift wind, and he is ascribed untothe God Aroueris. He is stopped by a material barrier. He representeththe swift vehicle of the Spirit. Of Chess Castle of Rook, the Tarot Princess or Knave The move of this piece representeth the ponderous and formidableforce of the earth and its motion is any number of squares in a squaredirection, perpendicular or horizontal (but not cornerwise) even unto thelimits of the board. It is ascribed unto Nephthys the Goddess. It representeth thecompleted action of the Spirit in matter. Therefore is its movementsquare, and also stopped by intervening pieces, yet powerful from thelength and breadth of its range. The Pawns The four pawns represent certain forces formed by each con-junction of the Spirit with each of the four elements severally, and theyare severally ascribed unto Ameshet, Ahephi, Tmoumathph, and Kabexnuv,who stand before the face of Aeshoori. And their movement is but onesquare forward, perpendicular, and they threaten one square forwarddiagonal on each side, thus formulating the symbol of the Triangle, forthey each represent a mixture of three elements under the presidency ofthe Spirit. Therefore, each is, as it were the servant of the God orGoddess, before whom he standeth. Yet, they be all, in a manner, alike intheir action, although their Lords be different. Each is the servant ofthe God or Goddess whose element is expressed in his symbol, without itscontrary. In each set of three elements, taken together, two must becontrary. Wherefore, for example, Ameshet, who represents Water, Fire,and Earth, is the servant of Nepythys, whose element Earth is expressedin his attribution without the contrary of Air. Ahephi, who represents Air, Fire, and Water, is the servant ofAroueris, whose attribution is Air. Tmoumathph, who represents Water, Air, and Earth, is the Servantof Isis, whose attribution is Water. Kabexnuv, who represents Fire, Air, and Earth, is the servant ofHorus, whose attribution is Fire. One of the rules concerning the Pawns in actual play is thatshould one reach the 8th square of its column, it may be exchanged forthe piece of which it is vice-gerent. That is, as in ordinary chess, apawn which reaches the eighth square may be exchanged for any piece theplayer desires--but in Enochian chess the exchange is limited by theelemental attributions of the pieces. So that were an Ahephi pawn theservant of Aroueris, to survive the battle of the entire game and winthrough to the top of the board, it could be exchanged for a Bishop, eventhough the Bishop were untaken and still on the board. And so with theothers. The opening of chess play is known under the technical title of"Awakening the Abodes." As already stated the game is set for fourplayers, each of whom works the pieces at each of the four angles,playing in rotation. Should the game be used for the purposes ofdivination, the first player would be the querent, the one asking thequestion, or the person representing the matter about which informationis required. The first player chooses which angle of the board he willplay from, bearing in mind the divinatory qualities of the elements asset forth in the documents on Geomancy and Tarot. The major difference between Enochian Chess and the modern gameis that in the former, when using it for divinatory purposes, the movesare decided by the throwing of a dice. Depending upon the numberdisclosed by the dice, so must a certain piece be moved, for the numbersare attributed to pieces. The actual details of the move--that is whetherto right or left, backward or forward, to take an opponent or to pressforward--are quite obviously left to the personal ingenium and diviningmind of the player. The dice only determines specifically that such andsuch a piece shall be played. The Prime Mover, or the owner of the Ptah piece, plays first, andhis first move is to be decided by the throw of a dice to indicate whichpiece or pawn he must first play. Each player follows in rotation,deosil, that is round the board with the sun from the prime player. Firstthe prime player moves, and if his setting is Air, the follow the Waterpieces, the Fire pieces, the Earth pieces, and then back again to the Airwho is the prime mover. The actual attributions of the numbers on the dice to theEnochian chess-pieces are as follows: If the player throws: 1. He moves a King or any Pawn. 2. He moves a Knight. 3. He moves a Bishop. 4. He moves a Queen. 5. He moves a Castle. 6. He moves a Pawn. At the first move of the game, if the dice cast throws up 1, itclearly cannot apply to the King, for this piece cannot move at all untilthe pawns have been cleared before him. In that event, a pawn wouldrequire to be moved. The reason for the attribution of the numbers on the dice aboveshown to the chess-pieces are fairly simple. The explanation must besought in the numbers and powers of the squares on the Sephiroticcrosses. On the ten-squared cross, Kether, the Crown, is the firstsquare, which is a fairly sound attribution to the King, who is Osiris,Spirit--the Number 1. Number 2 on the Cross is Chokmah, the Yod ofTetragrammaton, Abba, and therefore the Knight is appropriate. 3 isBinah, to which is referred in the Enochian attributions, the HighPriestess card of the Tarot. The mitre of the High Priestess determinesthe selection of the Bishop. 4 is Chesed, to which is attributed theTarot trump The Empress, who is the chess Queen. And 5 is the Castle,referred to Geburah, and the Tarot card The Tower struck by lightning.The remaining number 6 refers to the movement of any pawn, one square. It is not always necessary to use four players. Two individualsmay play, each operating two lesser angles and two sets of pieces. Fireand Air would be pitted against Water and Earth. If this is done, thenthe two sets of elemental pieces of any player must be regarded as asingle unit in practice. That is to say if the first player whose piecesare the allies of Fire and Air, checks the Earth King, the second playermust not continue the movements of the Water pieces, which are hisallies, until he has moved the Earth King out of check by any of theusual technical forms of chess. The reader who understands andappreciates ordinary chess manouevring will appreciate what is expectedof him in the course of play. When the so-called "stale-mate" occurs, which is when a playerhas no piece or pawn that he can move without incurring check, that isthe King not being in check but so placed that he could not move withoutgetting in to check, the result is that the player whose King is affectedloses his turn until his state of "stale-mate" is removed. For the purposes of Divination, an additional piece was employed.This was called the Ptah. Any book dealing with the Egyptian God-formswill describe the form in question. A small figure of this should bemade, and on the board it will represent the question or matter ofdivination. The mode of employing it is simple. It has no power at all,and is not actually used in the play. It is only used by the first playerto be set on any square in the Lesser Angle from which he begins hisplay. Any square, that is, except the one on which the King first stands.The King must reach, in the course of the game, this square on which thePtah is set and remain there for one round of the game undisturbed--thatis without moving therefrom--and unchecked. A knowledge of the nature ofthe Pyramids with their elemental composition, and some knowledge of theAngelic forces represented by those squares and Pyramids, will decide theplayer as to what square shall be selected for the placing of the Ptah.If the divinatory question concerns the fiery Lesser Angle of the Elementof Earth, a question involving Capricornus and the figure Carcer ruled byZazel, then the Ptah probably should be placed upon a square of the Anglewhich is the nature of Cardinal Earth, as representing the Yod type ofEarth, or on Elemental Fire, that is the Heh (final) type of Fire. Theingenium of the interested student will guide his judgement herein. NOTES CONCERNING THE BOARDS AND THE PLAY GENERALLY Every Lesser Angle throughout the Tablets has a diagonal line offour squares starting from its prime square; which are allottedrespectively to Aries, Gemini, Scorpio and Earth. From these four squaresthe Bishops can move one square into a square of Libra, Sagittarius,Taurus or Water, these completing the series of squares in that LesserAngle in which a Bishop can move. Let us call this the Aries System ofdiagonal squares. This diagonal is crossed by another which in the Airy and Wateryboards is composed of Cancer, Leo, Virgo and Air Squares, having assubsidiaries, squares of Aquarius, Pisces, Capricorn and Fire. In theEarthy and Fiery board the second series of four form the diagonal, andthe first the subsidiaries. Let us call this the Cancer series. If we now examine the Boards we shall see that the Aries systemof any Lesser Angle is joined diagonally to the Aries system of the otherthree Lesser Angles; and that the Cancer is also similarly joined toevery other Cancer system. So that we have two systems of squares; viz:the Aries and the Cancer; of the whole, each containing four squaresallotted to every sign it contains. This resembles the black and whitesystems of squares of the ordinary board; and it is as if we allotted theWhite to Aries, and the Black to Cancer. When beginning a game see to which system the Ptah squarebelongs. Because if it be a sqaure of the Aries system the attack of theopposing Queens is insignificant, while that of the Bishops is strong. Insuch a case the number of pieces is 6; 2 Bishops, 2 Knights and 2 Rooks.That is, in these matters the Airy attack is strong, and the Watery weak. If the Ptah be on a square of the Cancer System, one opposingQueen directly attacks this Square, but the Bishops do not. In this casethe number of attacking pieces is 5; one Queen, 2 Knights and 2 Rooks.That is, in these matters the Airy attack is insignificant, while theWatery is strong. If an opposing Queen can attack the Ptah, the defence should notewell which Queen it is and should remember that this fact greatlyenhances her power. He should thereupon not hesitate to exchange whatmight otherwise be considered a more powerful piece for her. She shouldcertainly be exchanged for a Bishop, and probably also for a Knight. The YHVH order of the pieces corresponds with their respectiveoffensive and defensive Powers. Yod Knight The most offensive piece. Heh Queen More offensive than defensive. Vau Bishop More defensive than offensive. Heh (final) Rook Most defensive. That is in a general sense. Because, according to the circumstances of the actual play, everypiece is able to assume both roles of attacking or defending. Note that, as in ordinary chess, opposing Kings may not occupycontiguous squares. There must always be one square between them. This,however, does not apply to the Kings who are allies. That is, if Fire andAir are allies, then the Kings of these elements may approach each otherand occupy contigious squares. Naturally they do not check each another. When a King has once been moved from the corner square which heoccupied with another piece at the beginning of the game neither he northat piece can be moved back again to that square unless it be vacant. If the Prime Player's King is checked and he cannot move it, hisgame is arrested and his pieces cannot move until the pieces of his allycan release the King. That is to say that his pieces remain `in situ'but having during that time of check no power of action and can neitherattack not threaten; they only block the squares occupied. If the alliedKing can be check-mated, his partner continues to play and to seek torelease him. When both Kings are checkmated, the game is at an end, andthe partners checkmated have lost the game. The game is also lost by thefirst player, when though neither he or his ally is checkmated, theenemies hold such a position that the Prime Player cannot possibly attainthe Ptah square. The Knights or Fiery forces of the Elements meet and clashviolently in all parts, and are strong in attack against every thing andeverywhere. Their moves, like Fire, pass unarrested through the otherelements in irregular courses like the lambent flame, leaping bothdiagonally and square-wise at every move. They contain the potentialforces of the other pieces. Their force is similar to the Tarot King, andto Chokmah. They are the Abba forces, and with the Queens represent theBriatic forces of the scheme. The Queens or Watery forces of the Elements never clash with oneanother, but ever undulate onwards, each in its own course unaffected byopposing or crossing waves. But the Watery forces only move in theirrespective pre-ordained courses; they cannot leave their limits and enterupon the domain of others. Water, like Fire, is unarrested andundulating, and like Air and Earth it can act diagonally or square-wise,containing the potential force of Air and Earth. They are the Queen ofthe Tarot, and Binah. They are the Aimah, and are of Briah. The Bishops are subtle and sharp, Airy in quality, movingrapidly, but easily arrested in their course. They clash not withopposing Bishops, and the friendly Airs support each other in attack anddefence. Where the active Airs whirl the passives cannot come. They arethe forces of the Princes, and of Yetzirah, the Son. The Rooks are the heavy resisiting powers of the Princess, theEarth by nature, mighty indeed in action when preseded by the action ofthe other three. That is when in any matter the forces of Fire, Water,and Air have been absorbed and equilibrated, i.e. removed from the board,the mighty powers of the castles come into play. But woe to him who tooearly calls these ponderous forces forth. The Rooks moves through columns as through ranks. She is able,therefore, to reach every square on the board, and is very powerful. Buther movement is very ponderous, and it is a piece that is not moved manytimes in a game unless the forces of the other Elements have beenabsorbed in its working out. While the Aleph, Mem, and Shin, forces arein full operation the Rook is easily attacked and with difficultydefended, unless she remain quiet, and act as a firm basis of support anddefence to the side. If she, however, make the mistake of entering earlyinto action she is nearly sure to fall a prey to the more subtle forceswhose proper sphere is attacked. If the more subtle forces do not bring about a solution of thequestion, and the matter has to be fought out to the bitter end, that is,if the Yetziratic and Braitic forces are absorbed and balanced in thematter, then do the ponderous forces of Assiah, the Princess, engage inpowerful combat. -oOo
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