The Stele as Legominism"Legominism" is a term coined by the Greek-Armenian teacher G.I. Gurdjieff to describe an "ancient wisdom that is transmitted beneath a form ostensibly intended for quite a different purpose" (J.G. Bennett, Gurdjieff: Making a New World) "in the form of customs and ceremonies, in oral traditions, in memorials, in sacred art through the invisible quality in dance, music, sculpture and various rituals" (Gurdjieff, Views from the Real World). Roughly, the idea is that certain masters of wisdom possessed the power to record teachings within sacred artifacts. These teachings could then be replayed by others coming into contact with such artifacts. Some require exact knowledge in order to be read; others can reportedly spring open even for the utterly unprepared. I've sometimes wondered whether the Stele of Revealing might
possibly have been just such a legominism. And whether Liber AL
might then have been the product of the Stele's ancient knowledge
opening up within Crowley's well-prepared head. |