The Phylax (Greek for "Guard" or "Sentinel") is the Watcher Without, the guardian of the temple. He is represented by the god-form Anoup emp Emenet (Anubis of the West) and is the counterpart of the Keryx, the Watcher Within. His station is without the Portal of the Hall, and it is his duty to keep out intruders, which is represented by the Sword he carries. He is also charged with preparing the candidate, and wears a black collar with a lamen depicting a white eye on a black background, indicative of the ever watchful gaze of Anubis of the West.
The feminine form of Phylax is Phylakissa, but Phylax is often used in practice for both sexes.
The feminine form of Phylax is Phylakissa, but Phylax is often used in practice for both sexes.
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3 comments:
This is a good topic. My comments may seem a bit out of the blue... but does the Phylax have to be outside of the Hall? Can the Phylax be within the Hall, but without the Portal?
Also, does the Phylax disappear from the other Ceremonies above Neophyte? The position certainly is not listed.
And is Anubis of the West the only godform that can be used for Phylax?
okay... I know these are more questions than comments, but I wanted to lead with them.
The Phylax really never disappears, but is present in all the Ceremonies. Someone must guard the door throughout all the Ceremonies.
Does the Phylax have to be without the Hall. The answer here is more complex, but generally no, but does sit outside of the Portal next to the door when within the Hall.
The godform issue can be different depending on what source is looked at. Opaut can be used rather than Anubis of the West, but Opaut is often used as an invisible station after Neophyte.
Any additional comments.
In LVX,
Samuel
Interesting post. Sent it on to a Buddhist friend, as there are some correlations here in Buddhism. In Tibet, shrine keeper, protector, outer watcher is a Geko (not to be confused with gecko=lizard), and many meditations have an inner watcher, meant to create enough inner space for the ego to wear itself out on inner playground=fancy way of saying, you watch your impulses, but don't act on them.(thank God, or I would be so pregnant by now!)
To further your post, I would say that to fully understand the distinct nature of Anubis of the West, one really needs to develop a relationship with both forms of the Godform generally used in the Golden Dawn (East and West).
I have witnessed a number of my students who have a good surface knowledge of Anubis that doesn't fully mature until they have experienced both. This was also true with my own experience.
I'm not sure what other Godforms would be appropriate for use in this office, and while it would be interesting for discussion I ultimately have no use for others. This particular godform fits the needs of the office. Contrary to is rather intellectual, regal, illuminated counterpart, Anubis of the West is a great deal more aggressive and rough around the edges.
A good place to look for a visual aid in understanding the difference between these two godforms would be the Moon card, where they have the two different dogs. One is domesticated, the other wild. I've even seen one artist who painted this trump with the two forms of Anubis rather than the dogs.
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