The Venerable Archangel
"When the great cosmic egoleeonopti had come alongside, certain partitions of the ship Karnak were moved apart in a special way and there passed from the egoleeonopti into the main hall of the ship a procession composed of several archangels with a multitude of angels, cherubim, and seraphim, and they too carried branches in their hands, but theirs were of palm.
At the head of this procession walked a venerable archangel, immediately followed by two cherubim solemnly bearing a casket from which radiated "something orange."
In front of everyone, in the main hall of the ship Karnak, stood Beelzebub, and behind him were ranged his kinsmen and the captain of the ship, and behind them stood all the others at a respectful distance.
When the procession from the egoleeonopti drew near the beings of Beelzebub's nature who were assembled in expectation it halted, and the two groups of three-brained beings of different natures joined in singing the hymn to our Endlessness that is always sung on such occasions everywhere in the Universe by beings of all natures and all forms of exterior coating.
This hymn has the following words:
Thou Long-patient Creator of all that breathes,
Thou Abundantly Loving Cause of all that exists,
Thou Unique Vanquisher of the Merciless Heropass,
Now to the sound of our exaltation,
Rejoice and abide in beatitude.
By Thy Unprecedented Labors
Thou hast given us the source of our arising,
By Thy Victory over the Heropass
Have we obtained the possibility
Of perfecting ourselves to the Sacred Anklad.
And now only rest, as Thou hast merited.
We in gratitude
Will maintain all Thou hast created,
And always and in everything will extol Thee forever,
Extol Thee, Maker-Creator--
Thou, the Beginning of All Ends,
Thou, proceeding from Infinity,
Thou Who hast the End of all things within Thyself,
Thou, our Endless Endlessness.
After the hymn had been sung, the venerable archangel who was at the head of the procession approached Beelzebub and solemnly proclaimed:
"By the decree of His All-Quarters-Maintainer, the Arch Cherub Peshtvogner, and bearing his own sacred rod, we appear before you, Your Right Reverence, in order to restore to you, in accordance with the pardon granted you from Above and for certain of your merits, that which you lost during your exile--your horns."
Having said this, the venerable Archangel turned toward the casket borne by the cherubim and with profound reverence carefully took from it the sacred rod.
Meanwhile all those present knelt down, while the angels and cherubim began to sing the appropriate sacred canticles.
With the sacred rod in his hand, the archangel turned again toward Beelzebub and spoke thus to the beings of Beelzebub's nature:
"Beings created by our Uni-Being Endlessness, Who by His infinite grace has pardoned this once-erring being Beelzebub, will again exist among you, beings like himself . . .
"As the virility and degree of reason of beings of your nature are defined and manifested by the horns on your heads, we must, with the permission of our All-Quarters Maintainer, and with your help, restore the horns lost by Beelzebub.
"Beings created by our One Common Father, your help will consist in this, that each of you should consent to renounce, in behalf of Beelzebub's merited pardon, certain particles of your own horns.
"Therefore whosoever consents and wishes to do so, let him approach the sacred rod and touch its handle. On the length of time the handle of this sacred rod is held will depend the quantity of active elements passing from your own horns for forming corresponding horns on this pardoned being of your nature."
Having said this, the venerable archangel, holding the ball of the sacred scepter over the kneeling Beelzebub, turned the rod toward those assembled there, so that whoever wished might come and touch it.
As soon as the venerable archangel had finished speaking, a very great commotion began among the beings of Beelzebub's nature, each one desiring to come nearer and be the first to hold the sacred rod for as long as possible.
Order was soon established, however, and each one approached in turn and held the handle for as long as was indicated by the captain of the ship, who had taken upon himself the direction of the ceremony.
During this solemn ritual, horns began to grow, little by little, upon the head of Beelzebub."
Beelzebub's Tales To His Grandson, by G. I. Gurdjieff, page 1075-76
Viking Arkana Edition, 1992.