The Lunar Formula of IAO

The mysterious name “IAO” has for centuries been a ubiquitous feature of magical traditions. Many modern systems ascribe this name to Tiphareth and the solar mysteries. However, in the Ogdoadic Tradition of High Magick this name is employed as the divine name of the Moon-sphere, Yesod. The Lunar Formula of IAO discusses the practical magical application of this elusive formula, presenting never-before published keys thereto. While this guide conducts its survey within the milieu of the Ogdoadic Tradition, and provides a brief introduction to the Ogdoadic mysteries as a whole, it will also prove valuable to initiates and students of other traditions of the Magical Art who may find herein a resonance with their own Work.

About the Ogdoadic Tradition:

The Ogdoadic Tradition is best known through the writings of Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips, authors of “The Magical Philosophy” series. A unique and complete magical system, the Ogdoadic mysteries derive from a multiplicity of sources: Alexandrian Hermeticism, Neoplatonic Theurgy, Gnosticism, Hebrew Qabalah and others. These various traditions are all woven together by the key numbers of the Ogdoadic Tradition: Eight, as signifying the Mystical Regeneration of the individual and their attainment of Gnosis; and Five, “the House of Sacrifice,” which represents both the totality of man’s psycho-spiritual makeup and the methodology for activation and proper ordering of those faculties. In addition to the emphasis on these vital structures of Eight and Five, the Ogdoadic mysteries have a number of other distinguishing features, including a “Constellation” of certain principle god-forms derived from the Hermetic mysteries (e.g., the key solar “hero” of this system is the Agathodaimon), and reliance on Ancient Greek as a sacred language of power.

The Ogdoadic Tradition is foremost an initiatory system, the pursuit of which may lead the dedicated aspirant to the realization of their own True Self, and beyond. The Tradition has been veiled and manifested in different forms through time. The Ordo Astrum Sophiae is one such manifestation of this Tradition, and carries on the lineage and legacy of Denning and Phillips. The House of Adocentyn is an initiatory body of the Astrum Sophia. More information about the Ordo Astrum Sophiae and the Ogdoadic Tradition may be found at the Order’s website: www.astrumsophia.org; and the website of the House of Adocentyn: www.adocentyn.net.

About the author:

Derik S. Richards is the Prior of the Ordo Astrum Sophiae, and Master of the House of Adocentyn. He has practiced the “Ogdoadic Tradition” of magick for 13 years, and is the chief editor of the Ogdoadic Journal, the Astrum Sophia’s gratis electronic publication intended to further the range and depth of Ogdoadic material available to the public.