Liber Resh vel Helios: The Four Daily Solar Adorations Ritual

Liber Resh vel Helios is the daily Thelemic ritual of four solar adorations, written by Aleister Crowley and first published in The Equinox Vol. I No. 6 (September 1911). It was later reprinted in the Blue Equinox (1919) and is now in the public domain.

At its core, Liber Resh (Sub Figura CC) is a concise way to align yourself with the Sun’s cycle of light and dark. Crowley explains its aim plainly: to align with the Great Work, to enter conscious relation with the Sun, and, at advanced levels, to tap the Sun’s spiritual energy.

For those not familiar, the Great Work is the lifelong process of achieving spiritual mastery and fulfilling one’s true potential.

Even if you’re not a ceremonial magician, daily solar adorations can sharpen focus, strengthen discipline and will, and potentially lead to more powerful results within your witchcraft or spiritual practice. After more than a century, this deceptively simple ritual remains one of magic’s most enduring practices.

If you’d like to explore more ways to work with solar energy beyond this ritual, see this guide on Sun Magic.

What Is Liber Resh vel Helios?

Liber Resh vel Helios (“Book of the Sun”) is a brief series of four prayers offered at dawn (Ra), noon (Ahathoor), sunset (Tum), and midnight (Khephra). It first appeared in The Equinox I:6 (1911) and became a foundational daily practice within Crowley’s A∴A∴ order.

It draws on Egyptian theology and draws inspiration from the Golden Dawn’s solar adorations, whose initiatory system heavily influenced Crowley’s early work. (The Golden Dawn is a highly influential 19th-century magical order that systematized much of modern Western occultism.)

Though relatively modern and rooted in Thelema, the practice connects to rituals as far back as the Egyptian temples of Heliopolis and Roman devotions to Sol Invictus.

How to Practice the Four Adorations

Each of the four solar adorations has a specific time, direction, deity, and sign of the practitioner’s grade.

To perform each adoration, face the direction given, give the sign of your grade, recite the text, do the Sign of Silence, then drop into a brief meditation. Beginners may use the Sign of Silence or the Elemental Sign if they have no grade.

To perform the Sign of Silence: Stand upright, and place the index finger of the right hand vertically on the lower lip.

Crowley also noted that if someone has no grade, they should give “The L.V.X. signs at dawn, 4^○=7^□ at noon, 2^○=9^□ at sunset, 3^○=8^□ at midnight.”

The ritual’s structure, which involves turning to the four cardinal directions (East, South, West, North), subtly reinforces a powerful current found throughout Western Esotericism: the formula of L.V.X. This formula often symbolizes the light radiating from the spiritual center, intersecting the four quarters of the universe.

In performing the four adorations, the practitioner effectively stands at the center of a celestial cross, radiating the light of the Sun (Helios) and integrating the full cycle of light and darkness.

An Important Note on Visualization

Crowley mentions that as part of these adorations, you should “assume the god-form of Whom thou adorest, as if thou didst unite with Him in the adoration of That which is beyond Him.”

• The Technique: Intensely visualize the deity’s image (Ra’s hawk head, Hathor’s solar disc and horns, etc.) superimposed over your own body and feel their divine qualities mentioned above flow through you during the invocation.

• The Why: You are not worshipping the deity itself, but using their divine perspective to reflect on their themes associated with them and the Sun’s energy itself. The real intention is to align with the Great Work.

The Four Adorations: Full Ritual Text and Instructions

You will note the language below is gendered. When reading, I strongly recommend you substitute the original language with your own preferred pronoun for maximum focus and spiritual alignment.

This text below from the 1911 version. In that version, you will face West at both sunset and midnight. In doing so, you are ritually tracing the path of the Sun as it dives below the horizon and begins its nocturnal journey in the realm of the dead and the subconscious. Crowley’s later versions of the Liber Resh vel Helios have the practitioner facing North for the midnight adoration.

1. At Dawn: Adoration of Ra

Let him greet the Sun at dawn, facing East, giving the sign of his grade. And let him say in a loud voice:

Hail unto Thee who art Ra in Thy rising,
Even unto Thee who art Ra in Thy strength,
Who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Uprising of the Sun.

Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.

Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Night!

(If you do not have a grade, perform the full sequence of L.V.X.. or the sign of Air after speaking the words followed by the Sign of Silence. Since the Dawn adoration represents the Sun’s rebirth and the beginning of the spiritual day, it is appropriate to ceremonially re-enact this full cycle of death and resurrection from the night before.)

2. At Noon: Adoration of Ahathoor (Hathor)

Also at Noon, let him greet the Sun, facing South, giving the sign of his grade. And let him say in a loud voice:

Hail unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy triumphing,
Even unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy beauty,
Who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Mid-course of the Sun.

Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.

Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Morning!

(If you do not have a grade, after speaking the words, complete this adoration by performing the Sign of Silence then perform the sign of Fire.)

3. At Sunset: Adoration of Tum (Atum)

Also, at Sunset, let him greet the Sun, facing West, giving the sign of his grade. And let him say in a loud voice:

Hail unto Thee who art Tum in Thy setting,
Even unto Thee who art Tum in Thy joy,
Who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Down-going of the Sun.

Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.

Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Day!

(If you do not have a grade, after speaking the words, complete this adoration by performing the Sign of Silence then perform the sign of Water.)

4. At Midnight: Adoration of Khephra (Khepri)

Lastly, at Midnight, let him greet the Sun, facing West, giving the sign of his grade. And let him say in a loud voice:

Hail unto Thee who art Khephra in Thy hiding,
Even unto Thee who art Khephra in Thy silence,
Who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Midnight Hour of the Sun.

Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.

Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Evening!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When Should I Perform the Solar Adorations?

The solar adorations should be performed at dawn, noon, sunset, and midnight or as close to them as possible. The intention is to be aligned with the sun’s cycles as a reflection of your own cycle.

Because it marks the turning points of light and darkness, Liber Resh also aligns with the celebration of the Sun’s rebirth at the Winter Solstice, known as Yule to some pagans. (Other pagans honor Yule at its historic date in January or early February.)

The structure of daily solar worship reflects the larger Wheel of the Year: decline, darkness, renewal, and the return of light and is another example of the microcosm in the macrocosm.

Do I need to be a Thelemite to practice Liber Resh?

No. While Crowley believed they needed to be done daily but all Thelemites, anyone seeking spiritual discipline or alignment may benefit from them. The deities represent universal archetypes of solar energy and the ritual’s power comes from aligning with those forces.

I had the incredible opportunity to perform this powerful ritual at sites in Egypt and I can attest to how powerful those places are and that this practice isn’t just theory. It’s a direct line to a current of power that can connect you with something larger than yourself. Whether or not you are ready for that is another matter. For once that link is made, you cannot go back.

Can I modify the words or deities?

Sure. You can also modify a recipe and get different results. I’m not saying those results will be bad, but they will be different. As always trust your intuition and do what you feel is most in alignment with you and your higher self.

The original text is magically effective because every word is chosen to evoke a precise current of force. Changing the words alters the frequency of the current you invoke.

If you replace the Egyptian gods with deities from another pantheon, you are essentially creating a new ritual. While this new ritual can certainly be powerful, it will no longer be Liber Resh vel Helios and will carry the specific energetic qualities of the new deities. If you’re a beginner to ceremonial magic, I recommend working with the ritual as is for at least six months.

What’s the purpose of repeating the Liber Resh daily?

The purpose of the daily repetition is to create a permanent shift in consciousness and a focus on the Great Work. Stopping four times a day forces the mind out of its mundane track and centers it on the True Will (the unique purpose for which you were born). This repetition grooves the pattern into the subconscious, ensuring that the True Will, not the ego, guides your daily actions.

What is the Great Work?

The Great Work is the lifelong process of self-actualization and spiritual mastery. It is the journey of discovering and fulfilling one’s True Will and achieving union with the divine. It goes back to the concept of spiritual alchemy of turning “base metal” (the mundane, ego-driven self) into “gold” (the perfected, divine self).

Sources and Further Reading

The Book of the Law
The Equinox I:6
Magick in Theory and Practice
Liber ABA
Liber O