the “Force”, the energy which surrounds all living things. The Jedi Knights had the ability to take the “Force” and
direct it toward a goal by will. The Knights were destroyed by Ben Kenobi’s pupil Darth Vader, who had become
corrupted by the Imperium.
Kenobi tries to instruct young Luke Skywalker in the use of the “Force” in one scene of the movie; he forces Luke
to let go of his conscious seeing mind and let his inner mind sense and direct the “Force”. All well and good. Later, at
the climax of the movie, Luke must use the “Force” again to direct his weapons in the destruction of the Death Star.
Throughout this whole battle Ben Kenobi makes statements to Luke [mentally] such as “Use the force, Luke,” “Rely
on the Force,” etc., which Luke dismisses as figments of his imagination until, at the last crucial moment, he does
take Ben’s advice and uses the “Force” on his torpedoes.
In the preceding paragraph I feel I have summed up the crucial [to Setians] issue in Star Wars. I personally
liked the idea of the “Force” and most particularly the concept of directing the “Force”. However Luke is unsuited
for using the “Force”. He is exposed to the “Force” by Ben Kenobi some hours/days prior to the battle. Ben wants to
make Luke a Jedi Knight and gives him the key to the “Force”; Luke does not ask for it. Thus Luke does not really
know what to do with the concept of the “Force”. Had he been aware of the “Force” before and asked Ben for
instructions on becoming a Jedi Knight, his actual hesitant and reluctant use of the “Force” would have been
unthinkable.
We as Setians entered the Temple of our own volition - we weren’t pushed, compelled into joining. Therefore we
act differently in regards to will. We actively push our minds into directing our will [the key word is “actively”]. We
asked to join; we want to learn and evolve. However Luke was given the key to the “Force”, and instead of taking this
new power and exercising it, he merely uses it when he simply has no other choice. The application of the “Force” in
Luke’s case is merely accidental. He’ll use it again if and when he’s in dire straits, whereas a Setian would direct his/
her will from the beginning. For us, using the “Force” would not be accidental.
From the loose ends that have been left dangling at the film’s end, we should expect at least one sequel. I would
be particularly interested in observing how Luke matures in his ability to use the “Force”. Most importantly, would
Luke continue to use the “Force” by accident, or would he in effect evolve into its use? Luke has received a gift he
doesn’t deserve, and he uses it without real understanding of its value. What he needs to learn is that using the
“Force” is a privilege accorded to very few, and that he should grow with its use. Then and only then should he have
the ability to manipulate the “Force”.
At any rate, the movie as a whole is worth the price of admission. Even at the highly-inflated prices ($4.50 in
San Francisco), Star Wars is a blockbuster.
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A29: Setian Science & Technology: The Pentagram of Set
- by Benjamin Kracauer II°
Scroll of Set #II-12, August 1977
The Divine Proportion, symbolized by the Greek letter Φ and numerically expressed as the irrational number
1.61803 ... is inherent to the geometry of the pentagram as all of its lesser to greater ratios.
I quote from the Book of Coming Forth by Night:
When I came first to this world, I gave to you my great pentagram, timeless measure of beauty through
proportion. And it was shown inverse, that creation and change be exalted above rest and preservation.
As Magus Michael Aquino has pointed out in his Analysis and Commentary, the Divine Proportion, or Sacred
Cut as it was known in ancient Egypt, is the basis for the pentagram’s importance, and the calculation of Φ an
important use of the pentagram’s configuration. The discovery of the Divine Proportion by Max Raphael in
prehistoric cave paintings, published in his book Prehistoric Cave Paintings, places the Divine Proportion with the
first known attempts by man to develop an art of figurative and symbolic representation.
Of all the properties which researchers have extracted from analysis of the Great Pyramid at Giza, perhaps one
most significant is its cross-section, a triangle which, if its base be assumed equal to one, the hypotenuse is equal to
Φ, and the adjacent side, or apothem, is the square root of Φ.
Peter Tompkins, in his Secrets of the Great Pyramid, speculates that since the squaring of the circle is
practically resolvable as a function of the number Φ, the Pyramid was designed as a tool with which the squaring of
the circle as well as the cubing of the sphere was possible. Using the (√ Φ) - Φ - 1 triangle, the ancient Egyptians
could construct maps using a Mercator projection from a spherical quadrant of 90° latitude onto a flat surface of
equal area. Thus the Divine Proportion provides the key to the resolution between curved surface and flat surface as
Schwaller de Lubicz has analyzed the triangular loincloth worn by pharaohs on dozens of stone relief
representations. He invariably found two angles of the square root of Φ and Φ, which, due to the location of the
loincloth, confirmed in his opinion the phallic attribution of the Divine Proportion. Similarly Max Raphael
hypothesizes that the Golden Section - using the 19th century name for the Divine Proportion - was the key to form-
making of the most profound sort.
The Golden Section is the synthesis of space and motion (time). The Golden Section is the the
proportion that creates form and that stresses the universality and unity of relations within this form.
The sequence of numbers known as the Fibonacci Series, developed by the medieval Italian mathematician
Leonardo Fibonacci (1170-1230), is an additive series in which each term is the sum of the two previous terms.
Beginning arbitrarily with the couplet 1,1, we may generate the following series: 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,etc. As the
numbers increase, the ratio of two adjacent terms approaches closer and closer to the Divine Proportion.
An interesting property: adding Fibonacci whole number units to Divine Proportion units will generate a
logarithm series which, only in this particular instance, is identical to a simple summation series:
Summation Series
Logarithm Series
Φ
= 1.618 ...
1.618 ...
or Φ
1+
2
Φ
= 2.618 ...
2.618 ...
or Φ
1+ 2
3
Φ
= 4.236 ...
4.236 ...
or Φ
2+ 3
4
Φ = 6.854 ...
6.854 ...
or Φ
3+ 5
5
Φ = 11.090 ...
11.090 ...
or Φ
If you will, the above represents a synthesis between geometric growth and arithmetic growth which only the
Divine Proportion is capable of achieving.
In a remarkable dissertation in architecture done at the University of Pennsylvania by Anne Tyng called
Simultaneous Randomness and Order: The Fibonacci-Divine Proportion as a Universal Forming Principle, the
Fibonacci-Divine Proportion (F-DP) is seen manifested in a wide rang
e of phenomena which span the biological,
physical, chemical, psychological, mathematical, and architectural disciplines.
An example from genetics is the genetic drift formula which is used to calculate the percentage of heterozygotes
present in the offspring of the nth generation under conditions of controlled sibmating.
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Plant growth is seen to be controlled by the Divine Proportion, in the patterning of leaves on a stem, in the
whorl-like arrangement of the florets of a sunflower, and in the scales of a pine cone.
Jumping to the astronomical scale, Wilson ( Hierarchical Structure in the Cosmos) has found Fibonacci rates to
occur in mass limit calculations of planets, stars and galaxies. Muse ( The Fibonacci Study of Consciousness) has
found the Fibonacci Series in observations of eclipses of the Moon.
Pascal’s Triangle contains the odds for head or tails probabilities, giving the ratios for head/tail (or boy/girl)
occurrences. If one were to draw a series of diagonals through this triangle and total the numbers through which
each given diagonal passes, the sequence of numbers which results will be the Fibonacci Series, therefore relating
probability to the Divine Proportion.
The dodecahedron and the icosahedron are the two higher Platonic solids. The Platonic solids are the only five
regular polyhedra possible in three-dimensional space. A regular polyhedron is defined as having all faces identical
and all angles the same. The three simpler Platonic solids are the tetrahedron, cube, and octahedron. The
dodecahedron and the icosahedron are both based on pentagonal symmetry, and either one when rotated on an axis
will generate the double heIicaI outline of the DNA molecule. The DNA helix is in plan a decagon figure in which the
Divine Proportion appears as the ratio between the radius of a circumscribed circle and the side of a decagon.
In the carbon atom bond one finds a fundamental Fibonacci square roots of 1,2,3 right-angled triangle, which is
also the central structure of the three simpler Platonic solids. Deutsch’s experiments with the nervous system have
indicated the occurrence of the Fibonacci triangle in the spacing of overlapping neuron fields.
Another discovery by Deutsch is the occurrence of the number (√5+1)/2 (= Φ) in calculations for nervous
system stability in experiments with amplifier gain in multisynaptic neuron chains with feedback.
The Weber-Fechner Law states that the perception of light intensity in a room which is lit by an unseen source
of successively 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and 13 candles will be perceived as equal changes in lumination by the experimental
observer. Here the Fibonacci Series is seen to have an intrinsic relationship to the subjective perceptual apparatus
as the basis for vision thresholds. The same relationship applies to thermoreceptors sensitive to cold and warmth,
chemoreceptors such as the taste buds, and mechanoreceptors for touch and hearing.
Regarding the Fibonacci-Divine Proportion occurrence in scientific studies of the human nervous system, Tyng
proffers this speculation:
The human brain has an immeasured capacity for both randomness and order: I propose that this
seeming paradox of simultaneous randomness and order may be resolved by a physical statistical matrix of
Fibonacci-Divine Proportion linkage.
I propose that as a matrix for the human brain, the Fibonacci-Divine Proportion forming principle
includes the processes for probability and for order for the brain’s evolutionary origins and sets no limit to
the future evolution of the human brain and its creativity; within such a matrix the brain forms as it is being
formed.
The pentagram is a symbolic structure of Divine Proportion linkages which probably relates to all
manifestations of form in this universe. The pentagram’s geometry is constructed so that every line segment is in
Divine Proportion with another line segment, within a symmetry which is simultaneously radial and bilateral.
Insofar as the Divine Proportion represents a universal forming principle, the pentagram embodies a paradigmatic
structure representing the means by which a universe of infinite complexity is theoretically possible such that its
parts, however diverse, relate to each other in the aspiration towards an overall consistency.
The Book of Coming Forth by Night relates the pentagram to the faculty of creation. Johannes Kepler saw the
convergence of the Fibonacci Series on the Divine Proportion as symbolic of creation:
It is in the likeness of this self-developing series that the faculty of propagation is, in my opinion,
formed; and so in a flower the authentic flag of this faculty is flown, the pentagon.
Kepler saw the pentagon as being symbolic of the form-making potentiality of the Fibonacci-Divine Proportion.
The pentagram, however, is a far richer construction, as it contains all the pentagonal diagonals intersecting each
other in Divine Proportion, while clearly alluding to the pentagonal form with its radial points and actually
containing a fully-formed pentagon in its center.
The potentiality of the pentagram within the pentagon is far more subtle and therefore hidden. Yet the
pentagram is as simple a form as the pentagon, as both are composed of five equal line segments intersecting at
equal angles. While the pentagon stresses the autonomy of its forming segments, the pentagram posits a series of
formal linkages with intentions of an ordered richness of interaction. The pentagon is explicitly formed within the
pentagram; the pentagon contains the pentagram only by implication. The asymmetry between these two forms
establishes the primacy and ascendancy of the pentagram as the true symbol of the potentialities of creation which
the Divine Proportion seems to represent.
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References
Tyng, Anne Griswold, Simultaneous Randomness and Order: The Fibonacci-Divine Proportion as a
Universal Forming Principle. A Dissertation in Architecture, University of Pennsylvania, 1975.
(Unpublished: Available at the Van Pelt Library of the U. of Pa. The references not in this bibliography
but in the article were taken from this dissertation.)
Tompkins, Peter, Secrets of the Great Pyramid. Harper & Row, 1971.
Deutsch, Sid, Models of the Nervous System. Wiley, 1967.
Pauling, Linus, The Architecture of Molecules.
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A30: Sainthood vs. Sethood
- by Robert Menschel I°
Scroll of Set #III-1, September 1977
The Universe abounds with opposites: Bright and Dark, Long and Short, Solid and Gaseous, Good and Evil.
Most opposites are relative and have an infinity of positions between them.
One pair of opposites is Sainthood and Sethood. A Saint is one who “becomes one with God”, who gives up his
identity to become part of God, who willingly and willfully follows only the will of God [”God” here may be “the one”,
“the all”, the universe, the racial subconscious, or whatever]. A Set (referring to a generic type, rather than Set itself)
is one who establishes an identity, an individuality, as completely separated from God. Between these extremes lie
all types of people.
Just what does it take to be a Saint? The Saint-to-be must decide to become a Saint [to follow the will of God
only]! He must decide what is needed to do this and how to personally effect the required changes. He must then do
it. He must continually evaluate his life, advancement, and methods and must change them as required.
The Set-to-be must discover the qualities of Set. He needs to determine how to develop these qualities in
himself. He must make these changes. He must repeatedly review his methods and their results and improve on the
methods.
Being a Saint requires intelligence and the will to follow the path to Sainthood despite all temptations. There are
few Saints. There are few Sets. Sainthood and Sethood require similar strength and will. Only the direction is
different.
Between these extremes are all types of people. The majority of people do not wish to be at either extreme.
Others do not have the intelligence to determine their path. Others do not have the will to follow their chosen path.
Setians have chosen their path, are learning the methods, and are exercising their wills.
Good and evil are opposites. There are good acts and evil acts. There are good people who perform good acts,
evil people who perform evil acts, and all types of people in between. People are judged by what they do.
Good and evil are external attributes. Sainthood and Sethood are internal attributes. Good is as good does. Set is
as Set is.
Traditionally Saints are considered to be good and magicians evil. Traditionally the will of God is good;
therefore those who oppose it and follow their own individual wills must be evil. It ain’t necessarily so.
A Saint becomes one with God; a Saint follows the will of God, for good, evil, or indifference.
Setians striving for Sethood must concentrate on their individuality and act as determined by their own will for
their own advancement. [Good and evil acts still have relevance for the Setian, since society “judges” us by this
external attribute. A good Setian will have less interference from society than an evil Setian - an Indifferent Setian
perhaps even less.]
Setians are beyond good and evil. However this should not be because we don’t care whether we do good or evil,
but rather because we act for the total value of the act, rather than simply because an act is good or evil.
Are there examples of how a Setian might behave, other than those given by our Priests, Masters, and Magus?
Sainthood and Sethood are so similar that we might examine Saintly behavior and from it extrapolate “Setly”
behavior.