Origin of the Red Cross symbol: Azazel and the Rosicrucians

The Rose Cross of Azazel

According to an esoteric reading of the Tarot, a Red Rose represents Venus (Azazel’s human wife), while a Red Cross represents the angel Azazel. The combined Rose-Cross in one respect represents the sexual union of Azazel and his human wife. The word ‘Rosicrucian’ is German for ‘Rose Cross,’ a term synonymous with Red Cross. In addition to this, the word ‘rose’ is an anagram for Eros, the name of the Greek god of Love, who was the first-born son of the angel Azazel and of his human wife.

The 18th Degree in Freemasonry is commonly known as the Rose-Croix (Rose Cross), a fact showing the relation to and establishing a link between these two seemingly diverse organizations. In fact, the ascension of Freemasonry (not to be confused with the more archaic Masonry) as we know it today correspondingly relates to the decline of the Rosicrucian order in Europe, most markedly in Germany, the birthplace of Rosicrucianism (Dr Sigismund Bacstrom, an important Rosicrucian scholar of the alchemical sciences, wrote in Bacstrom’s Rosicrucian Society (circa late 18th to early 19th Centuries A.D.) of “the August most ancient and most learned (Rosicrucian) Society, the Investigators of Divine, Spiritual and Natural Truth (which Society, more than two centuries and a half ago (during the 15th Century), did separate themselves from the Freemasons).”

These movements being inter-related and dynamic by their their very natures, Freemasonry later re-absorbed many Rosicrucians back within its ranks (See pp.55-56 Proofs of a Conspiracy: Chapter I by John Robinson, 1798 A.D.). There are many Rosicrucian Societies yet in existence today, most notably the SRIA and AMORC. In addition, and of a most interesting note, the Order of Maat Supreme Grand Lodge owns a web site called Links Central of Maat (M.A.A.T. = Master of the Temple A:.A:. [A:.A:. = Aleister Crowley’s Argenteum Astrum/Silver Star]. See p. 241 Nightside of Eden by Kenneth Grant, 1977 A.D. “The Master of the Temple A.’A.’ (whose name is Truth [Maat])” [See p.159 Outside the Circles of Time, Kenneth Grant, 1980 A.D.] [“The ‘Silver Star’ of the order’s name is Sirius, which holds a central place in its magickal philosophy, because the Secret Chiefs—the discarnate entities believed to govern the order—were somehow connected with Sirius.” – The Stargate Conspiracy pp.270-1]), by their own profession “a web ring for Rosicrucians,” which employs a rose-cross ankh symbol (a rosetau).

This is derived from the name of the Egyptian god Seker (another name for Osiris), who represented the angel Azazel, who was called ‘He of the rosetau,’ which is to say, he of the rose (red) cross. In Scene 2 of the 3rd Tableau of the Initiation of Plato, it is revealed that Azazel’s symbol, “the red cross,” was “traced upon the banner of Egypt,” on what amounted to being the national flag of Egypt. And according to Flying Roll No. 10 (in Roman numerals, 10 = X, so named in honor of Azazel) of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, ‘X’ (a cross variant) is the occult sign of Osiris risen (Osiris represented Azazel’s cherub Behemoth [Abydos, the cult center for the worship of Osiris in Egypt, in hieroglyphic pictographic writing is denoted in part by the following depiction of (Azazel’s cherub) Osiris: ]. It is for this reason A. E. Waite, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, lists the Wheel of Fortune, representative of Azazel’s cherub, as the 10th [Roman numeral X] Major Arcana of the Tarot. There exist those who hold the crossed-arm symbolism represents ‘Osiris slain’ [it was in the 10th nome of Egypt where was deposited it is said the ‘divine heart’ of Osiris (See On the Hieratic Papyrus of Nesi-Amsu by E.A. Wallis Budge]). It must also be noted The Church of Scientology employs a similar logo, called the Cross Saltire.

Compare the Cross Saltire to Aleister Crowley’s OTO Rose Cross Lamen (a lamen is a magical charm-like pendent worn around the neck by the leader of a witch’s coven). This signifies Azazel’s (represented by the ‘X’) future appearance as the false Christ (represented by the cross). When the symbol for Azazel (x) is superimposed upon the cross (+), it forms what is known as an eight-point compass rose (compare to the Sumerian cuneiform name of the god An who likewise represented Azazel, in basic form an eight-point compass rose: . The ‘Compass Rose’ is also known as the 1042 Roman ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and the Buddhist samsara, the ‘Wheel of Life’ [See p.175 Secrets of the Satanic Executioners by Ambrose Bertram Hunter, 2007 A.D.]).

For this reason a classical wooden ship’s wheel, which resembles an eight-point compass rose, is at times used as a symbol of Azazel (as are wheels and other devices of similar composition). A ship’s anchor (often found wound round caduceus-style with a chain) is also used as a symbol for the union of Azazel and his human wife, as it represents the union of the tau cross, representative of Azazel, with the crescent moon, the crescent moon being a symbol of Azazel’s human wife). (**Author’s Note: The Process Church of the Final Judgment founded by two ex-Church of Scientology members employed a decidedly related symbol depicting a serpent upon a cross [in the place of Christ crucified], what one might venture to identify as a quasi Christianized-version of the palladium (the palladium is related to the Rosicrucian alchemical device known as the ‘Crucified Serpent.’

As Nigel Jackson explains: “One of the oldest symbols in the esoteric tradition is the serpent on the tree (by definition a ‘palladium’ representing the Genesis serpent Azazel [See Genesis 3:1]. That a tree may be employed as a symbol of a cross is evidenced by Galations 3:13). This is usually depicted as a snake coiled or crucified on a Tau cross.” – p.183 The Pillars of Tubal Cain. The signification of the Greek letter ‘T’ and the Hebrew ‘t’ as noted by J.F.C. Fuller in his table of Hebrew Alphabet and Correspondences as set forth in his book, The Secret Wisdom of Qabalah [1937 A.D.], is the serpent). The Process Church even had rings made with this cross depicted in red on a white background [within the ‘disk’] the sigil of Azazel [See below]): In Egyptian hieroglyphics the god Ptah (a god who represented Azazel) is always associated with an ‘x’ within a circle, also known as the quartered circle (for this reason an ox has become an esoteric symbol of Azazel.

A male ox is called a bull, a common angel symbol (by extension, Azazel’s human wife may be symbolized as a cow. The Egyptian cow goddess represents Azazel’s human wife). Compare the ‘x’ within a circle symbol of Ptah to the Cross of Wodan, also a cross within a circle. The Germanic god Wodan is yet another god who represented the angel Azazel/Behemoth. The Celtic cross of the Druids also incorporates the ‘cross within a circle’ motif. In some circles the ‘cross within a circle’ motif is known as the Mark of Cain (this is due to the fact that in the Phoenician alphabet the letter ‘T’ is rendered as an ‘X’ and is pronounced ‘tau,’ meaning ‘mark’; the Mark of Cain is also known as the Mark of Set, who is Azazel). Cain of course was the son of Azazel by Eve. The quartered circle was the badge (talisman/magic charm) of the Grand Master of the Knights Templars as well. No doubt it was worn in part to protect the user in battle, as God was said in Genesis 4:15 to have placed such a “mark” upon Cain to keep him from being slain, hence the term, the Mark of Cain).

The so-called Freemasonic Scottish Rite 18th Degree Rose Croix quartered circle (also a symbol of the Gnostics/Gnosticism) is a variant of the ‘cross within a circle’ motif due to the fact the ‘quartered circle’ is variously known as the Rose Cross (See p.94 Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils by Fred Gettings). The NATO military alliance also employs a variant of the ‘quartered circle’ logo which is representive of the god of war Azazel. And as we learn from the Wicca witch priestess Doreen Valiente in Witchcraft for Tomorrow pp.67-68, the cross within the circle motif, the sign of Azazel, was one of the designs of the ‘magic circles’ of the witches—the construction of such a ‘magic circle’ was standard practice when witch’s invoked their Horned God, who is Azazel. In fact, the device known as the ‘witches’ mark’ which was employed by the witches (often signed during witches’ initiation ceremonies much like when the Catholic Church similiarly makes the sign of the cross) is itself “an X-shaped cross” (Ibid p.179), the sign of Azazel. This is greatly akin 1043 to the ‘Qabalistic Cross’ signed by touching the forehead, then the solar plexus, the right shoulder then the left shoulder, performed during ceremonial magic rituals as well (See p.51 The Practice of Ritual Magic by Gareth Knight).

As in witchcraft, the magic circle of the ceremonial magician is typically divided into “four quarters based on the cardinal points” (Ibid pp.21-22), creating a classic quartered circle/cross within the circle motif. The cross within the circle motif is also known as the Celtic Cross as employed by Celtic pagans which is also known as the ‘wheel cross,’ aka the ‘rose cross’ (See An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present p.405). The signification of the Freemasonic LVX (also rendered LUX) is also the ‘quartered circle’ sign of Azazel: “The early expositors of Freemasonry regarded the Latin word LVX, ‘Light,’ as synonymous with their science, and they dwelt on the fact that by dividing the Circle into four equal parts [the quartered circle] they produced a Cross from which they got the outline of the three Roman letters needed to spell this word – LVX.” – Introduction to The Apocalypse of Freemasonry p.5 by F. De P. Castells, 1924 A.D. (as additionally noted therein, LVX [Light] was also symbolic of the Freemasonic god who was represented by the so-called ‘All-Seeing Eye’ [Ibid p.6] which is for this reason oft depicted surrounded by rays of light, the Being also known as T.G.A.O.T.U., an abbreviated form of The Great Architect of the Universe).

The red (rose) cross (in appearance a red X), was emblazoned upon Azazel’s cherub Behemoth: “Lamia is the ‘snake’ among the Ophidian; Lama is the hand: lamh, hand (for this reason a hand may also be used to represent Azazel; two examples are the god Sabazios, who represents Azazel, and whose symbol is a hand and also the witch’s Hand of Glory which likewise represented their Horned God Azazel), is a divine name in the Scythian tongue. It also means the number 10 (in the Hebrew alphabet, the Hebrew letter yodh whose signification is the ‘hand’ in Gematria is assigned the numerical value of 10), and the Roman numeral X, which is a cross…which, according to Eastern allegory, is placed…upon the Rebellious Spirits (read: a red X was emblazoned upon the cherub of the angels) in their ‘abyss’ or ‘prison’ (within the earth).” – The Rosicrucians: Their Rites and Mysteries by SRIA member Hargrave Jennings, 1870 A.D. (The SRIA is an English Rosicrucian Society.

SRIA members, it must be remembered, gave birth to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which derives its “mysteries” in part from this book by Jennings). With this preceding information in mind it is instructive to learn that: “The 10th and central Arcanum [of the Tarot, the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ which symbolizes Azazel’s cherub], [is] circumscribed by the tetramorph [reminiscent of Ezekiel’s cherubic ‘wheel’] and lettered Caph… Caph is ‘the palm of the hand’…” – The Magician’s Dictionary: Wheel of Fortune by E.E. Rehmus) The Knights Templar god Baphomet also represented Azazel. As we learn from The Rosicrucians: Their Rites and Mysteries p.215, the Coptic [Copts are Egyptian Christians] root –met [such as that encountered in the word Bapho-met] means “ten” (compare also to the name of the Egypt-associated angel Mastema [from Jubilees and the Zadokite Work], an anagram of Met-Sama[el]. Samael is Azazel [“Azazel is Moloch and Samael.” – p.299 Vestiges of the Spirit History of Man by S.F. Dunlap, 1858 A.D.]. Mastema is essentially Metsam-a spelled backwards, a common magic practice).

The Roman numeral signifying 10, rendered as an X, a cross variation, is the sign of Azazel (Ba [=ab/father]-pho [=oph/serpent] – met [X]). As Doreen Valiente is nice enough to point out: “The distinguished nineteenthcentury French occultist, Eliphas Levi, declared Baphomet of the (Knights) Templars to be indentical with the god of the witches’ Sabbat; it was not the figure of a devil (Satan), however, but of Pan (the Horned God of the witches, who is Azazel)…” – p.53 An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present by Doreen Valiente. This author certainly agrees with this assessment. In a like way, Metraya is an anagram of the ‘Arya Met.’ Arya is a Sanskrit word meaning master/lord, with Met of course signifying 10 (the word ten being a cognate of Met), 1044 in Roman numerals rendered as an X (See note on ‘Master X’ below). In her book Witchcraft for Tomorrow p.117 the Wicca witch-priestess Doreen Valiente reveals: “Ogham was a sacred Druid alphabet and would certainly have contained magic secrets…”

I would say one of the biggest secrets it reveals is the mystery surrounding the identity of the mysterious Theosophical Society deva known as Master KH (the 10th Aethyr, Khoronzon, Master of Form, hence the moniker Master KH) with whom many highranking members of this society claimed to be in contact. In the sacred Ogham alphabet of the magic-practicing Druids, KH was rendered as an X. Master KH, which is the Druid way to say, Master X, was the Hidden Master Azazel himself. This is also the idea behind the word ‘Ur-Khaos,’ the god of the underworld: KH (X) + A (horned ox head sign of the horned god) + O (the disk, a cherub) + S (the serpent), the horned god whose sign is the serpent of the X-marked disk of the Chaldean city of Ur (Ur-Khaos was later transliterated as Orcus, the Gaelic Druidic god of the underworld/abyss [aka Lord Sathanas who art in Orcus, the serpent seducer of Eve of the Gnostic Ophites]).

In Freemasonry, Azazel is known as Khur-Om, most often transliterated as Hiram (See p.70 Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Scottish Freemasonry by Albert Pike). In Hinduism, ‘Om’ signifies deity, the symbol of this god a swastika (See the Yajurveda), in basic form an X composed of two crossed S’s: (Azazel/Asasel/SS-El, the angel/god whose sign is the double serpent. The double S [SS] is one of the sacred symbols of British Druidic hereditary witchcraft [See p.73 The Secrets of Ancient Witchcraft by the British witches Arnold and Patricia Crowther, 1974 A.D.]). (Pertinent Quote: “The letter S, which takes on the curving shape of a snake, corresponds to the Greek khi (X) and takes over its esoteric meaning… It is a theoretical image of the Beast of the Apocalypse**…” – p.152 The Mystery of the Cathedrals by ‘Fulcanelli’)

(A reference to Revelation 17:8 which states: “The beast [Azazel] that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit [where he is entrapped within the earth in the Abyss (from the Late Latin abyssus “bottomless pit,” related to the Greek abussos)], and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast…” – Revelation 17:8) (**The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon gives the following definition for ‘Abussos’: “Bottomless; unbounded; the abyss; the pit; the immeasurable depth of Orcus [the Gaulish god Orcus, a derivative of Ur-Khaos (Chaos being by definition, the abyss), god of the underworld (of the abyss located at the site of the ancient city of Ur) in which he is entrapped, a god who represented the fallen angel Azazel], a very deep gulf or chasm in the lowest parts of the earth…the abode of demons [read: the abode of the fallen angels where they remain entrapped within the earth].”)

(According to Islamic legend [as noted in the 9 th – 10th Century A.D. writings of Islamic scholar Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari], it is said that the fallen angels [jinn] are in fact bound in Babylon [within which was the site of the ancient city of Ur wherein is located the abyss in which the angels are imprisoned] and continue in their imprisonment to teach men magic [See p.115 Fallen Angels: The Soldiers of Satan’s Realm by Bernard J. Bamberger, 1952 A.D.]) According to the Ritual Magic of the Golden Dawn (p.208, King 1987), the rising of Adonai** (read: Azazel: “…Adonai, a Hebrew word for Lord which Crowley employed as a synonym for the Higher Genius, the term used by the Golden Dawn, and for the Holy Guardian Angel, the phrase employed by Abramelin.” – pp.353-4 The Eye in the Triangle by Israel Regardie [and as Regardie explains in Foundations of Practical Magic p.127: “…the Adept seeks to unite himself to his…higher self [which in the realm of psychology is symbolic of the ‘Holy Guardian Angel’], symbolized again in the Hebrew word Adonai.”]), of Mithra the Lord of Wide Pastures was by the ancient mysteries symbolized under the form of a rose (also known as the ‘Rose of Dawn’). In a like way, the gods Adonai and Mithra represented Azazel/Behemoth (** “Adonai has…come to mean, through the Rosicrucian tradition, the Holy Guardian Angel [with whom, it must be noted, magicians sought to communicate].” – Eight Lectures on Yoga by Aleister Crowley, 1939 A.D.).

Azazel will in the future arise 1045 within his cherub being loosed from his earthly imprisonment. In respect to the angel Azazel, the rose cross also symbolizes the future rising of Azazel/Behemoth, Azazel being accepted as the promised coming Messiah. So the rose is also used as a symbol of Azazel. The red cross as a symbol of Azazel’s cherub Behemoth also hearkens back to the Egyptian mysteries of Osiris. The god Osiris represented Azazel’s cherub Behemoth, and by extension, Azazel. In the Egyptian Hymn to Osiris, the “disk” of Osiris (Osiris = Behemoth) is identified as the rose tau, the rose (red) cross (“Divine oblation to Osiris [Behemoth] KhentAmenti, lord of Abydos [Lord of the Abyss]…the disk…the rostau” – Hymn to Osiris). Cherubim are disk-shaped. It must also be noted the tau cross (rendered in Greek as a T) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet. Azazel’s prophesied release took place sometime in 2016 A.D., as per the height of 5776 inches in the masonry of the Great Pyramid (Mount Taurus, RosTau, Rose Cross).

In Freemasonry, the symbol for Azazel, a tau cross, is represented by the T-square. The Rosicrucians, whose name means “rose cross” in German, names their secret organization after the rostau/disk/Osiris/Behemoth. The Germanic name Christian Rosenkreuz, which in English translates as ‘Christian Rose Cross,’ represents no other persona than the rebellious angel Azazel himself. The name is a play on words which may be interpreted as the christ of the red cross, representing Azazel, whose sign is the red cross, in reference to his future appearance as the false-christ/false prophet/messiah (See Revelation 16:13. According to the Rosicrucian Hargrave Jennings in The Rosicrucians: Their Rites and Mysteries, p.142, the color red is male and represents the Salvator, a Latin word meaning ‘Savior’). (It must also be mentioned when one adds the disk (O) [Azazel’s cherub is disk-shaped], to the word Sirius, it becomes Osirius, and when one drops the ‘u’ it becomes Osiris. The heliacal rising of the star Sirius in 2016 A.D. takes place on the 19th day of July, the day Azazel in his disk-shaped red-cross emblazoned cherub is to emerge from his earthen imprisonment, claiming to be Christ.

In this same way, the Babylonian god Ea, alternatively spelled Ia (another such god which represented Azazel/Behemoth), becomes the name of the Gnostic god Iao with the inclusion of the disk [O]). The words ‘Sirius’ and ‘Osiris’ are related to the Semitic word ‘Siru’: “Scholars ordinarily refer to the serpent god (who is Azazel) by the name Siru, being the Semitic word for serpent…” – p.120 Tammuz and Ishtar. In Gematria, the numerical values for the Hebrew words for “messiah” and “serpent” are the same. It would also seem the name Isis is also derived from the word Osiris). As an additional added bonus note, in the ancient Babylonian system of Gematria, where letters are used to represent numbers, the number 10 is represented by the letters IA (which Roman numeral is represented by an X). ‘Ia’ of course is an alternative spelling of the name of the god ‘Ea.’ Compare the modern spelling of our number ‘ten’ to the name of the Egyptian sun disk ‘Aten’ (in Roman, A-X) (AX = IAO = OX).

No doubt there exists a connection here. In the pictographic alphabet of the Egyptians, a horned ‘ox head’ (representative of the horned-god Azazel) was the equivalent of the Roman letter ‘A’ (and hence was also derived the anarchist symbol for Azazel, an A within a circle/disk [O]). All of these are designations for Azazel’s cherub Behemoth and by extension, the Horned God Azazel. Additionally, Ax/Abrasax were synonymous terms: “You are Ax (A-ten), you are Abrasax (Ab [father] + Ra [the disk] + S [the serpent] + A [horned oxhead/horned god] + X [ten] (A-ten)), the angel (whose sign is the serpent) who sits upon the tree of Paradise (forming the palladium)…” (A-X is in fact the Archaic Latin alphabetic version of the classical Greek Alpha-Omega, the title of the resurrected Christ (See Revelation 22:13). Both are the first and last letters of their respective alphabets. The Classical Greek Alpha-Omega = the all-encompassing All). As such an ax in the literal sense is often used as a symbol for Abrasax/Azazel (compare ‘ax’ to the Greek word ‘aix’ which means ‘goat’ (also note the addition of the phallic ‘pillar,’ I, possibly to signify a male goat). The Hebrew word for a male goat was also used to denote a demon, demons being by definition fallen angels.

For this reason Satyrs/demons, representative of fallen angels, are symbolically represented as being goat-like in appearance, such as the horned-god Pan, the king of satyrs, who represented Azazel: “The satyrs are, of course, the seirim or ‘hairy ones’ who follow their master, the goat god Azazel.” – p.137 The Pillars of Tubal Cain by Nigel Jackson [from seirim comes the word siren (from Greek seiren) to denote women associated 1046 with the fallen angels]). The letter ‘O’ (the disk) itself was derived from the Semitic `Ayin עmeaning ‘eye’ and additionally representative of a male goat due to its horn-like appendages and its single penile-like protrusion), and hence, the ‘eye (disk) of Horus,’ also known as Azazel’s cherub Behemoth (in Hebrew, the Watcher/angels are known as the resh ‘ayin, commonly translated as ‘those who watch’). Constantine’s ‘IX monogram’ (also employed by the Merovingians) often encircled with the disk in its various forms is likewise esoterically connected with the false christ Azazel.

Constantine had never actually abandoned his pagan beliefs—he simply applied a Christian veneer to them. A phallis (a word cognate with the word ‘pillar’) also is a symbol used to represent Azazel, often represented as an ‘I,’ it being representative of Osiris’ phallis which according to one version of the Osiris legend was the single dismembered member of Osiris’ dissected corpse retrieved by the goddess Isis. One may conclude this to be the origin of the artificial stone phalli and priapic statues employed in Egyptian magic rituals, it representing Osiris’ amputated phallis. Such priapic pagan idols were actually used to perform hiero gamos magic rituals involving the ritual rending of a virgin’s hymen. Consider also the name of the angel Metatron of the 6 th Century work, the Hekalot Rabbati, one of the major extant texts from the period of Merkabah mysticism. If we assume as its name suggests that this angel’s name had an Egyptian-Christian Coptic influence (as Copts are Egyptian Christians), and we juxtapose the letters found therein, we find this to be Met-Ra-T-On. ‘On’ was the Egyptian name for the ‘city of the sun’ [in Greek Heliopolis] named after the Egyptian sun-god Ra (rendered Helios in Greek), which name in hieroglyphics contains the following symbols: the X-marked disc, , and the classic pillar/obelisk (think also ‘pillar of cloud/fire’), .

The Egyptian god Ra represented Azazel’s cherub Behemoth. The name of the sun-god Ra itself when rendered in hieroglyphics (by definition: “a writing system that uses symbols or pictures to denote objects”) includes the following symbols: and (the classic UFO/flying saucer shape). The Coptic Met means “ten” (in Roman numerals X), a symbol of Azazel, he of the X-marked disc. And last but not least we encounter the Egyptian tau cross, also a sign of Azazel, in Greek rendered T. The Rosicrucian/Freemasonic Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn magic order also esoterically derives its name from Azazel. Hermes (hermes in Greek means ‘stone wall’ providing an esoteric Freemasonic link to this god) was another Egyptian name for Azazel, he of a thousand names. The Golden Dawn is analogous of the solar disk, the sun, which like Azazel’s cherub Behemoth, is disk-shaped and rises at dawn, which is the expected time of Azazel’s future release (“…the holy one [read: the angel Azazel in his cherub] appeared…; as a golden dawn did he appear…” – Aleister Crowley’s LIBER ARCANORUM τών ATU τού TAHUTI QUAS VIDIT ASAR IN AMENNTI SUB FIGURÂ CCXXXI LIBER CARCERORUM τών QLIPHOTH CUM SUIS GENIIS. ADDUNTUR SIGILLA ET NOMINA EORUM) (in the Egyptian Book of the Dead Plate XXI B.D. Chap. XV it was said the Egyptian god Ra, who represented the angel Azazel, “risest at dawn” in allusion to the time of Azazel’s release).

Israel Regardie, a Rosicrucian who later joined the Stella Matutina, a successor organization of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Regardie once served as personal secretary to Aleister Crowley), writes in his book entitled The Golden Dawn: “‘The Rose-Cross’… is a glyph…of the higher Genius (read: angel) to whose knowledge and conversation the student is eternally aspiring” (in reference to Aleister Crowley’s “attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.” As Israel Regardie explains in Ceremonial Magic p.64, the term “Holy Guardian Angel” [“extrapolated from The (Book of the) Sacred Magic of Abremelin the Mage”] was a term “synonymous with the Golden Dawn reference to the Higher Genius and the Theosophical term the Higher Self [aka the High Self].”). The ‘Genius’ of which Regardie speaks with whom such individuals sought to converse is a so-called ‘guardian angel,’ the angel Azazel. His glyph/symbol is the rose 1047 cross/red cross (this being the significance of the ‘Red Cross,’ also known as the ‘Cross of Fire,’ used as one of the symbols of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn—a ‘white triangle surmounted by a red cross’ symbol is emblazoned upon Golden Dawn altars [See p.135-136 The Eye in the Triangle by Israel Regardie]—the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn being at heart a Rosicrucian order].

A Rose Cross may also be represented by a gold cross with a red ruby in its center, namely, “the Rose of Ruby and the Cross of Gold” [Ibid p.176]. The Rose Cross is, as Israel Regardie notes, a variant form of the pentagram: “A variation of the Pentagram symbol employed by other people with a certain degree of success is a golden cross surmounted by a crimson rose. The symbolism in both cases is identical…” – p.244 The Tree of Life: A Study in Magic by Israel Regardie). The Rosicrucian initiate, as Israel Regardie explains: “…pledges himself to his higher and divine Genius” (See Ceremonial Magic p.84), this higher divine Genius being the fallen angel Azazel, to whom is devoted “the service of the Order.” Theosophist Freethinker Ida C. Craddock provides yet another piece of our puzzle: “Why did these mystics call themselves Rosicrucian? Some writers have attempted to derive the name from two words meaning “dew” and “cross”: but the usual interpretation is “followers of the Rosy Cross” (read: followers of Azazel) a cross with a rose (used analogously of Azazel) being used as the society’s symbol.” – Heavenly Bridegrooms.

Rosicrucians are followers of and pledge allegiance to the “Holy Guardian Angel” Azazel whose sigil is the rose cross. Azazel is also known as Sirius, the Hidden God of the Illuminati (the Illuminati/angels are also known as the ‘Grand Masters of the Templars’), so named as Azazel’s return is associated with the Dog Star Sirius. This fact is important enough to repeat. Azazel is known as the “Hidden God Sirius”: “In his book ‘Magickal Revival’ Grant writes that Phoenix was (Aleister) Crowley’s most secret name. It represented the ancient Constellation in which Sothis (Seth) (Set) or Sirius was the highest star. He writes that Crowley associated the very heart of his teachings and ‘Magick’ with a certain star, namely the ‘Sun behind the Sun’ (in reference to Sirius A and its companion star, Sirius B), the ‘Hidden God Sirius.’ The secret of the Illuminati, or the Enlightened Ones is the blazing star Sirius, Grant writes.” – The Sirius Mysteries (Pertinent Quote: “To the Egyptians, the Sun behind the Sun was known as Osiris [a god who represents Behemoth/Azazel] and also as Amun-RA, the Hidden Sun.” – The Book of the Master by Marshall Adams.

Indeed, the Egyptian Hymn to Osiris-Soka is a summons/call addressing the angel Azazel in greeting: “Hail, thou hidden God, Osiris in the underworld!”) (The Great Hymn of Aten, Aten being representative of Azazel’s cherub Behemoth, is called therein the “hidden…god…in the underworld…”). Crowley was merely carrying on a long established magic tradition, most noteably of the magic practiced by highdegree Freemasons (particularly within the Egyptian derived rites of Memphis-Misraim and often based on information gleened from ongoing archaeological discoveries of the period): “The Ancient Astronomers (astronomers were as a rule astrologers/sorcerers) saw all the great Symbols of Masonry in the Stars. Sirius glitters in our (Freemasonic) lodges as the Blazing Star (which is a symbol of Azazel [‘Blazing’ is synonymous with ‘shining’].** The ‘Blazing Star’ which represents Azazel is known as the ‘Upright Pentagram.’ Conversely, a downward pointing pentagram, the ‘Averse Pentagram,’ represents Satan.

A combination of the two yields the ten-point star, the ‘Dekagram,’ a powerful charm in the realm of magic).” – Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Scottish Freemasonry by Albert Pike. Indeed, as we learn from C. W. Leadbeater (a prominent member of the Theosophical Society) in Glimpses of Masonic History the Blazing Star Sirius (representative of Azazel), the so-called glyph of the higher genius with whom all practitioners of magic sought to contact, was also symbolized by “the Rose which ever blossoms at the heart of the Cross,” the rose cross, the very symbol of the Rosicrucians themselves. Compare to the Dogon tribe in Africa which also portrays the helical rising of Sirius as a cross with a flower-like sun at its center. (The fallen angel Azazel is associated with the star Sirius. The upward pointing Five-Pointed Star is the icon of Sirius, and as such, it is the icon of Azazel, and this is the esoteric significance of the five-pointed Blazing Star of the Masons.

The symbol of the star Sirius as a symbol of Azazel 1048 hearkens back to Biblical days: “Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch [their ‘King,’ Azazel], and the star [called a Chiun; ‘chiun’ translates as ‘star’] of your god Remphan [Azazel], figures which ye made to worship them [the fallen angels]: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.” – Acts 7:43; and again: “But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch [their ‘King,’ Azazel] and Chiun your images, the star of your god [Remphan/Azazel], which ye made to yourselves.” – Amos 5:26) (** “According to Sufi expert Idries Shah the: “…true rulers of the world are the ‘Enlightened Ones’ (Illuminati) [read: the fallen angels] and the Sufi have discovered their secret in the Quran in the following verse: ‘Allah [who is Azazel] is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. His Light is resembled by a lamp within a niche. The lamp within a crystal, like a shining (blazing) star.’” [a reference to The Koran 24.35: “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth, the parable of His Light is as if there were a niche, and within it a Lamp: The Lamp enclosed in Glass; the glass as it were a brilliant star”].

Idries Shah claims the allusion to a ‘shining star’ is a reference to the star ‘Sirius’ (See The Sirius Mysteries). The angels are known as the Shining Ones and a star is often analogously used as the symbol for an angel, hence Shining Star/Blazing Star) (A Not-sonotable Quote: “Such surely is the destiny that awaits our beloved Order in the future; such the splendour that will transfigure the Craft [Freemasonry] in the years that are to come, until within its temple walls once more is raised—not only in symbol but in actual fact (which is to say, upon Azazel’s release from his earthen imprisonment)—the ladder which stretches between earth and heaven, between men and the Grand Lodge above, to lead them from the darkness of the world to the fullness of light in God (he speaks not, to be sure, of the God of Christians and Jews, but of the god of the Craft, who is Azazel), to the Rose which ever blossoms at the heart of the Cross, to the Blazing Star whose shining brings peace and strength and blessing to all the worlds.” – Glimpses of Masonic History by C. W. Leadbeater)

According to a footnote to The Dionysian Artificers: “Thamuz (a variant spelling of Tammuz) signifies the name of a month, and likewise the name of an idol or divinity, which even in the opinion of St. Jerome is the same as (the god) Adonis (both are gods who represent the angel Azazel—Adonis is a cognate of the word Dionysian). Plutarch says that the Egyptians called Osiris Ammuz, and from thence was corruptly derived the name of Jupiter Ammon (‘Ammon,’ a varient spelling of ‘Ammoum,’ means ‘the Hidden One.’ See p.29 Witchcraft for Tomorrow by Doreen Valiente, 1978 A.D. Another variant spelling is Amoun: “Amoun was the primeval god of the Egyptians…all (Egyptian) deities were his various forms. Therefore his names were many; but his real name [which is Azazel] was secret.” – p.130 An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present by Doreen Valiente). Robertson (Thesaurus Linguae Sanctae) says that the word Ammuz (read Ammoum) used by Herodotus and Plutarch, were corruptions from the Hebrew Thamuz (Hebrew תםוז} Hebrew TMWZ}). I would rather say that the word was originally Egyptian, and made Hebrew by the addition of the formative ת} Hebrew T})…”

And so was an Egyptian name for Azazel, namely Ammuz, transformed into Tammuz by the addition of the symbol for Azazel, namely, the tau cross (rendered in Greek as a T; in the Phoenician alphabet, the Greek ‘T’ 1049 takes the form of yet another enigmatic symbol of Azazel’s cherub Behemoth, the quartered circle/‘x’ within a circle, pronounced ‘tet’ and meaning ‘wheel,’ a Biblical name for a cherub. This corresponds to the Hebrew letter ‘teth,’ meaning ‘serpent.’ [See The Secrets of the Satanic Executioners p.170], which also relates to the Greek letter Theta [which numerical number is 9 and is connected to the 9th sign of the Zodiac, Capricornus, Latin for ‘horned goat’ (Pan)], the initial letter of Thenatos, the Greek god of death [Ibid p.170]).

It must be noted The Dionysian Articifers (circa. 1820 A.D.) is an essay written by an eminent Brazilian Freemason. The Greek Dionysiacs as they were also called was an association of architects and engineers, followers of the god Dionysius (also known as Bacchus), builders of temples, theatres and stadia, they being an early society of Freemasons. As earlier noted, in Freemasonry the tau cross, the symbol of Azazel, is represented by the T-square: “The TAU cross is preserved to modern Masonry under the symbol of the T square.” – The Secret Teachings of All Ages p.582 by Manly P. Hall (Interesting quote: “The TAU [the sign of Azazel] is the central figure of the Theosophical Seal [employed by the Theosophical Society] and the heart of its message.” – The Theosophical Seal by Arthur M. Coon, 1958 A.D.) (The Thames River in England is named after Thamuz/Azazel…

Excerpt from ‘The False Prophet Azazel’ – December 31, 2010

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