The Ninth Arch
by Kenneth Grant
(Volume IX of the Typhonian Trilogies)
The Ninth Arch is the final volume of the Typhonian Trilogies. It comprises an extended analysis of and commentary upon Liber OKBISh, The Book of the Spider, a transmitted text which was received in the course of the Workings of New Isis Lodge in the 1950s. From the author's account on the inside flaps of the dustjacket for the first edition of this book:
The Ninth Arch, comprising the Book of the Spider (OKBISh), is the final volume of a series of Trilogies which trace the emergence into historic times of an ancient body of occult doctrine known as the Typhonian Tradition.
In order fully to understand its purpose and content, The Ninth Arch should be scanned against the background of the larger canvas on which it is painted. Such an approach will facilitate insight into the Oracles of OKBISh and their accompanying comments. As an additional aid to focusing salient features of the Tradition, the author's Nightside Narrative, Against the Light (Starfire Publishing, 2016), should serve as a helpful and explanatory ‘footnote’ to the circumstances existing at the time OKBISh was ‘received’.
The Oracles were communicated audibly, and occasionally visually, to various members of New Isis Lodge (1955-62) and at certain stages of magical ritual. The Current which generated the material began, sporadically, as early as 1939, with the initial movement of a transmission which developed over the years into the text known as the Wisdom of S’lba (see Outer Gateways, Starfire Publishing, 2015). In 1945, the Wisdom – then in its nascent stage – was recognised by Aleister Crowley as an authentic communication. From that time, the Informing Intelligence went on to complete the Wisdom, and proceeded to produce the massive series of Oracles presented in The Ninth Arch. The mode of reception has been described in the Introduction. The method of documentation confirms beyond cavil the validity of serial qabalah, as used previously in analyses of the Wisdom.
The richly complex pattern of magical correspondences, in both cases, has proved of unparalleled value in determining genuine contact with occult forces possessed of Knowledge and Prescience concerning important terrestrial Events. That the pattern reflects direct contact with an indefinitely ancient yet ever new Typhonian Gnosis, is demonstrated by the application of relentless and rigorous qabalistic exegesis, as recorded in the comments.
For readers interested in significant relationships between Numerical (physical) and Magico-Mystical (metaphysical) concepts, The Ninth Arch contains an exhaustive thesaurus of the Typhonian Tradition. But beyond considerations of gematria, the Oracles of OKBISh adumbrate Events likely to overtake planet Earth within the lifetime of many of the book's readers; and – for individuals who are able to interpret the Oracles in terms relative to their own magical universe – they issue warnings of the dangers that lie ahead of those unprepared to invoke the Sign of Protection against the oncoming wave of Outer Forces set to assume control of the planet. Now, at the turn of a millenium, it seems appropriate to release this Knowledge.
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Table of Contents
Foreword and Acknowledgements
General Introduction
Preliminary Note
The Book of the Spider
OKBISh
(First Transmission)
The Book of the Spider
OKBISh
(Second Transmission)
The Comment
OKBISh
(First Transmission)
The Comment
OKBISh
(Second Transmission)
Appendix I
Appendix II
Appendix III
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Afterword
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Cover artwork and design by Steffi Grant.
32-page centre section of colour and half-tone plates.
Hardcover Edition
592 pages. Black-cloth hardcover, sewn-bound, octavo format. Printed on high-quality paper, with illustrated endpapers. Full colour dustjacket and frontispiece.
ISBN: 978-1-906073-35-0
Paperback Edition
592 pages. Printed on high-quality paper and sewn-bound in a full colour printed cover. Colour frontispiece.
ISBN: 978-1-906073-50-3
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About the Typhonian Trilogies
The Typhonian Trilogies consist of nine volumes, spread across thirty years, from the first, The Magical Revival, in 1972, to the final, The Ninth Arch, published in 2002. Although each volume is complete in itself, taken in series they represent a developing body of work.
A beautifully-written and in-depth account of the development of the Trilogies, situated within the context of Kenneth Grant’s development as an occultist can be found here: The Typhonian Trilogies - Starfire Publishing Ltd. This account was written by Michael Staley, longtime friend and confidant of Kenneth and Steffi Grant, and the founder of Starfire Publishing. Through his publishing imprint, Michael is the custodian and continuation of the Grants’ legacy by making their irreplaceable work available to a contemporary audience.
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About the Author
The late Kenneth Grant (1924 – 2011) was an English occultist, poet, novelist, and writer. He was the head of several important Thelemic orders and the author of the influential Typhonian Trilogies series.
When Aleister Crowley died in 1947, Kenneth Grant became heir apparent of the esoteric magical order Ordo Templis Orientis (OTO). Alongside his artist wife Steffi, Grant was one of few to attend Crowley's funeral service, becoming the last living link with "the Beast", whose work he championed, nurtured and refined for over six decades. From his New Isis Lodge, established in London in 1955, through to his final organisational vehicle, the Typhonian Order, Grant's occult credentials are without parallel.
Grant’s own brand of occultism was a fusion of science, fantasy and metaphysics, through which he offered a radical decoding of Crowley, the artist Austin Osman Spare and the author H.P. Lovecraft, alongside healthy doses of astral projection. Grant's writings and teachings have proved a significant influence over other currents of occultism, including chaos magic, the Temple of Set, and the Dragon Rouge. They also attracted academic interest within the study of Western esotericism, particularly from Henrik Bogdan and Dave Evans.
