Lesson 5, about 5 minutes
A day with the Sun
Liber Resh gives the Thelemic day four devotional reference points. Begin by understanding the structure, then choose how you want to engage with the historical text.
Why this practice?
Repeated pauses can make the passage of a day more noticeable. Our observational exercise is simple: attend to the light and record the setting. It is an introduction alongside Resh, not a shortened version claiming to replace its full ritual.
The tradition
Liber Resh names Ra at dawn facing east, Ahathoor at noon facing south, Tum at sunset facing west, and Khephra at midnight facing north. Those directions are the text’s ritual conventions, not universal instructions about where the Sun appears in every hemisphere. Do not look directly at the Sun.
Sources
Liber Resh, sections 1–7 · Equinox I.6 (1911), printed pp. 31–32 ↗
The order and named correspondences come from the cited edition. The exercises, explanations and reflection questions are our own.
Dawn, East
Ra
Noon, South
Ahathoor
Sunset, West
Tum
Midnight, North
Khephra
Solar times, words and reminders
Step 1 of 3
Read the source
Read the four adorations and the closing instructions in Liber Resh. Notice how a changing name and direction organize the recurring form. Sections 5–6 also discuss silence, a taught adoration, meditation and the god-form.
Why this step? The meaning and wording should be available before the practice is asked of you.
All steps on one page
Read the source
Read the four adorations and the closing instructions in Liber Resh. Notice how a changing name and direction organize the recurring form. Sections 5–6 also discuss silence, a taught adoration, meditation and the god-form.
Choose one pause
For this introduction, choose a convenient daylight pause. Notice the light indirectly, the weather, and your surroundings.
Record your place in the day
Write a sentence about what you noticed. If practicing full Resh, record which adoration and the actual time.