Historically speaking there have been few works as influential in the Hermetic tradition as the mystery poem known as the Chaldean Oracles, often attributed to Zoroaster though this is now considered by scholars as highly unlikely. Only fragments of this foundational document remain and mostly what we know of it stems from the writings of the Platonic philosophers who venerated its teachings. Crowley would likewise hold the Oracles in high regard, at times utilizing passages or terms from its sacred verses. He in fact considered this collection of sixteen Little Essays Toward Truth as a commentary upon the Oracles which are believed to originate from Persia. A working example of Crowley’s use of the Oracles would be the Thelemic pentagram ritual of the Star Ruby in which one invokes the Chaldean Guardians. They are the Iunges, Synoches, and Teletarchai which comprise the three Celestial Intelligences (some say Archangels) of Chaldean cosmology.
