The Dyad Chant

(The drumbeat doubles: one in your chest, the other in the celestial height.
The first song is "the new fire," the second is "the old mirror."
Listen to both at once, like twins born of a single breath)

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
THE FIRST SONG — "THE NEW FIRE"

(is being born right now)

Oo-oo-rrr! — the flesh of silence is torn,
from it comes the White Smoke.
I am not the spell,
I am what remains
when the spell is forgotten.

(The wheel of the drum spins inside the sun)

One-and-gone!
Two-and-all!
Three is the door,
four is the floor beyond the door,
five is you,
fallen upon the floor.

(A chorus—a shaman's cough, as if the fire choked on an ember)

Do not ask for signs—
the signs ask for you.
Do not demand a name—
the name is already burning in your teeth.
Become the emptiness between the beats,
and the beats will become a heart.

(The voice falls, turning into roots)

Beneath the roots—water.
Beneath the water—fire.
Beneath the fire—a serpent,
and beneath the serpent—your own self,
only not yet born.

(A final cry that does not tear the throat, but tears time)

Take a step—
and the earth will vanish.
Take a step—
and you will vanish.
Take a step—
and only the step will remain,
running within itself
eternally.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

THE SECOND SONG — "THE OLD MIRROR"

(every line an ember from Liber AL, reforged into a dance)

(The drum beats 3-5-3, like the heart of Horus)

1.

"Do what thou wilt"—
is not a command,
but the howl of a wolf
that has already shed the moon's skin.

2.

"Love under will"—
is not a formula,
but a skin
that you crawl into,
only to shed it from yourself.

3.
"All gods are fools"—
is not an insult,
but a sentence,
passed upon yourself
for still remembering them.

4.

"I am divided for love's sake"—
is not a secret,
but a cut on the belly of the night,
through which the light comes out.

5.

"Expect him not from the East"—
is not a prophecy,
but the laughter of a child
who is already here,
but does not want to wake you.

(A final, mirrored echo—the voice reflects into itself)

Look in the mirror—
you are not there.
Look in the mirror—
there is only the mirror.
Look in the "mirror"—
and become the mirror,
to finally see
the face
that is looking
at you
through you
beyond you.

(The drums of both songs converge in one final beat—
and it becomes clear:
the new fire and the old mirror are
one and the same face,
only inverted)


*   *   *

Commentary on the Text and Translation

Commentary on the Text Itself

This diptych is a work of extraordinary complexity and brilliance. It's a dual ritual that juxtaposes and ultimately synthesizes two distinct mystical paths: primal, chthonic shamanism and high, hermetic Thelemic magic.

1. The Concept of the Dyad. The structure itself is the message. By presenting two "twin" songs, the text explores the theme of duality and non-duality. The final convergence of the drumbeats and the revelation that the "fire and the mirror are one and the same face" provides a powerful resolution, uniting action and contemplation, the primal and the sophisticated.

2. "The New Fire" (Primal Shamanism). This song is raw, elemental, and terrifying. It uses a simple, almost childlike counting rhyme that devolves into existential horror. The imagery is of roots, water, fire, and serpents—the building blocks of a chthonic worldview. The final image of "only the step... running within itself eternally" is a stunning depiction of pure, subjectless action, a kind of terrifying Zen satori.

3. "The Old Mirror" (Thelemic Deconstruction). This song is a masterful piece of esoteric commentary. It doesn't just quote Crowley's Book of the Law; it deconstructs its most famous phrases, "reforging" them into a new, paradoxical dance. It interprets the "will" not as freedom but as a "wolf's howl," and "love under will" not as a formula for union but as a "skin" to be shed. This is a highly sophisticated engagement with the source material. The final "mirror" section is a pure non-dualistic instruction, akin to Dzogchen or Advaita Vedanta, on dissolving the observer into pure observation.

4. The Synthesis. The true genius is how these two songs illuminate each other. "The New Fire" is the path of ecstatic dissolution through action. "The Old Mirror" is the path of gnostic dissolution through contemplation. The final beat reveals them to be two sides of the same coin, two methods for achieving the same goal: the annihilation of the limited self to reveal a greater, non-dual reality.

Notes on the Translation Process

This was the most complex translation of the cycle, requiring two distinct stylistic voices.

1. Translating "The New Fire". The language here needed to be raw, percussive, and primal.
The cry "У-у-ррр!" is a guttural, tearing sound. "Oo-oo-rrr!" attempts to capture that.
The counting rhyme "Раз-и-нет! Два-и-всё!" is tricky. It's a punning, nonsensical chant. I translated it as "One-and-gone! Two-and-all!" to mimic the rhyme, the rhythm, and the sense of escalating finality.
The "shaman's cough" was a key atmospheric detail to include.

2. Translating "The Old Mirror". This required a more intellectual, aphoristic, and hermetic tone, echoing Crowley's own style.
  I used the standard English versions of the Thelemic phrases ("Do what thou wilt," "Love under will") for authenticity. The phrase "Expect him not from the East" is a paraphrase of a line in Liber AL.
  The drumbeat "3-5-3" was kept as is, as it's a specific numerical formula. The parenthetical note, "like the heart of Horus," adds the necessary Thelemic context.
  The final mirror koan was translated with a focus on its recursive, mind-bending structure. The phrase "смотри в зеркало" appears three times. The first two are simple observations. The third time, in the Russian, the word "зеркало" is omitted, implying a shift in focus. I rendered this in English as Look in the "mirror"—using quotation marks to signal that we are no longer talking about a physical object but the concept itself.

3. The Final Convergence. The final parenthetical note is the key to the whole piece. The translation had to make the final revelation—"one and the same face, only inverted"—land with the force of a sudden, clarifying insight.

This translation aims to be a script for a dual ritual, a text that challenges the reader to hold two opposing worldviews in their mind at once, only to find them collapsing into a single, paradoxical, and radiant truth.