Frater H.E., as is well-known, tends to be somewhat scornful of those who derive great pleasure and mystical wisdom from the Holy Qabalah, and consequently rarely speaks of the aforementioned subject himself. Imagine my surprise then, when deep into a moonlit night in one of the innumerable dense forests of Northern Europe, our Thrice Illuminated Brother emerged from a sweat lodge laughing, singing, and quoting obscure Hebrew phrases while all around him Brethren of a related Order (and it must be said, even of our own) stood muttering dark imprecations at his lack of respect. "Master!" I cried, fearful almost for our very lives, "What have you done? Why have you treated our Brethren so?"

He looked at me quizzically, while gulping down an entire bottle of cool water in one rapid, smooth movement. "What do you mean?" he finally said.

"But Master! When they asked you for some nuggets of Qabalistic wisdom to inspire mystical fellowship you mocked them!" I, by this time, was close to tears at his cruelty. "How could you do such a thing? To answer them by singing popular songs - and even to cry to them during the choruses to sing 'All together now!' It is the most appalling insult!"

Our divine Frater drew himself up to his less-then-impressive full height, his eyebrows arched more than I have even seen them before or since. "What would you know?" he boomed, his voice seeming to shake the branches of the very trees around us.

"I would know how songs of reindeer, and farm creatures, and those of Frank Sinatra, are germane to our Holy Work." I wailed, for I could see the others beginning to close upon us. And with that, Frater H. E. began to sing once more and to elucidate in terms almost beyond the imagination of us lesser mortals...

Here we notice first the three repeated Rs that begin the first words. R is of course the Hebrew Resh, the letter which represents the Sun, the sixth Sephira of the Tree of Life; and repeated thrice shows that we are dealing with the highest expression of the solar force, 666. 666 is the number of To Mega Therion, The Great Beast, and what beast is nobler than the reindeer, proud wanderer of Nature's forests, whose antlers have ever been the symbol of the masculine powers of procreation? But this is no ordinary reindeer, mark you, for we are told he possesses a Red Nose, which nose is of course, as the ancient Qabalists put it: "The Nose which is not a Nose", but rather a symbol of that other projective force; as our Sisters have oft been wont to say, a man with a big nose is good to find. And note its redness as an important factor, it is swollen with the force of the vital power itself, as we shall see in succeeding lines.

Note that you are not bound to see it, but if you are one of those lucky enough (or dare I say, initiated enough) to glimpse it, you would say it glows. This is the eternal sign of divinity made manifest, the Light of the Gnosis, the glow or halo that has been seen to surround the Saints and avatars since time immemorial; here seen in Rudolph since he himself is an embodiment of that Logos.

Here we see that Rudolph's essential power causes joy and happiness wherever he goes. He is called by many names, as all his avatars in the past have been referred to by different names in different times and cultures, yet all of these names refer to the one source of strength and joy.

Rudolph is poor since he has, like all true Adepts, given up all that he has for the sake of the Great Work. "Reindeer games" are of course, the mating rituals and combats so beloved of the reindeer. Rudolph cannot join in these, since as a high Adept he is also vowed to strict Chastity.

Christmas Eve is the winter solstice, traditionally the time when avatars manifest themselves to rejuvenate the earth from its long sleep. However it is foggy, since the people have forgotten the true essence of the light, perhaps because of the pervading influence of Christ, which must now be dispersed. It is fitting that it is Santa who is the instigator of this, since who is Santa but St. Niclaus, Old Nick, the pagan diety of the bringing of life, as was cunningly hidden in the Qabalistic rearranging of the letters of his true name. For could it be... Satan?

Santa's sleigh is the Cornucopia of nature, the bottomless cauldron of the Celts, the very Cup of Babalon herself, the vessel which contains all the gifts of life. However without the guidance of the true light this vessel can easily go astray. Only when it is guided by the essence of the phallic power can it be a true provider of nurture.

It would perhaps be imprudent in a text intended for those of all ages to comment further on "how the reindeer loved him." Suffice it to say that such commentary is best reserved for those of the very highest Degrees in our Holy Order. Note, however, that they shouted out with glee, so it appears that there was a satisfactory climax to the process.

Rudolph now fully embodies the essence of every true god, as it is written within our most holy Gnostic Mass, "continuing knowledge from generation to generation".

Thus we see in this humble song is hidden how the adepts of old invoked the solar force and transmitted it as the light of the Gnosis unto us their followers and their heirs.

Here Frater H.E. paused and allowed me to ply him with more water, steam rising from his naked body as his eyes glistened with the reflection of the stars above us. The whole wood stood silent, as if rapt away on his erudition. "Truly art thou blessed like no other man," I cried gazing in wonderment at his form. "But tell me of the farm, of that I can perceive no meaning." He paused for a second to look at me, and continued...

Old is another word for Ancient, and MacDonald is a Scottish name, so it is immediately clear that we are dealing with Freemasonry, the Ancient Scottish esoteric tradition. MacDonald means "Son of Donald" and since he currently possesses the farm of his father, we may safely conclude that his father, the original Donald, is deceased, making MacDonald a Widow's Son; so that already we see that his name conceals a Greater Mystery for those initiated. May it not also be so for that other McDonalds that we know so well? For is it not also universal, in all corners of the world, providing sustenance at all times to all men, regardless of race or creed?

Which brings us to the farm. It is the gathering place of all the variations of the natural world, being "raised" to a useful function in society. So it has always been with Freemasonry, gathering together the diverse strands of esoteric tradition and preserving it against the vagaries of those who would destroy it without thought for the morrow. Till at last the New Aeon dawns and we who have waited so long may harvest its wisdom. And what wisdom is this? Why, it is expressed plain as day in the next line!

It would be unbecoming for me to comment further on such a holy arcanum of truth, but the student would do well to study it in the works of our great Masters of the past, such as Book 4 by our wise Master Therion.

By this time even our formerly disaffected Brethren were prostrating themselves before the uprightness of Frater H.E., such was the depth of his fundamental knowledge. But no, he was not yet finished, as though he wished to penetrate to the very core of the arcanum as I waited trembling before him.

"Hearken now to the words of He Most Holy and Divine, for has it not been proved, yea, moreover proclaimed with his last breath by His Grace the Archbishop of Newport Beach as he lay dying at the assassin's hand; that Francis Xavier Sinatra is truly 666, as expressed in that ultimate of all Thelemic Anthems?" Our Frater's voice grew low, his demeanour more grave than I have ever seen it before. "Yea, he cried, for is this not the holiest of all writings itself? The autohagiography of a great Saint, in which he lays out the path that we his successors and heirs must follow!"

The end is near shows not only that we are living in the end times, the apocalypse; but also that the speaker is a high initiate, an Aspirant who is approaching the end of his search. The final curtain is the Veil of Isis, that which hides the Holy of Holies from the sight of the profane, the last of the three veils of the Qabalah, hiding the true Word that was lost.. Can we not hear the reverence in the Master's Voice as he espies it?

He is certain because Nuit promises "certainty, not faith" in the Book of the Law.

He affirms that he has passed through all of the Man of Earth initiations dealing with the full series of incidents in the life of every man. The reference to endless travelling will of course be familiar to initiates of these Degrees (how much more so to the Officers!)

But in the end it must be realised that the Law of Thelema supercedes and transcends even these high initiations. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

At this point Frater H.E. made as to continue, but hearing the words of the Law spurting from his lips like as a young perfectly innocent male child, I was utterly overcome and threw myself on my knees before him; begging him to ordain me as a true Priestess of the Mysteries with the authority of his Bishoprick. And so there, in the midst of those huge swaying wild woods, my Master's Rod towering over me, he at last permitted me to minister unto him, sprinkling me with his Holy Water as he ejaculated the words I longed to hear: Touto Esti Tou Sperma Mou! Never has Greek been more satisfying...

In the Bonds of the Order,

Sister Eunice