|
Random notes on the gematria of Liber AL vel Legis
Random Notes on Liber AL
by Benjamin Rowe
Copyright 1986, 1992 by Benjamin Rowe
Permission is granted to distribute this work in electronic form, with
the these conditions:
1) No fees may be charged for the distribution or transmission of this
document, other than standard charges for use of transmission lines or
electronic media. Distribution for commercial purposes or by commercial
entities is specifically prohibited.
2) All copies distributed must contain the complete, unedited text of
the original document and this copyright notice.
3) Persons acquiring the electronic version of this document may make
one printed copy for their personal use.
All other rights are retained by the author.
This article presents correspondences relating to several verses of
Liber AL vel Legis. They are presented with varying degrees of
certainty. Some are fairly obvious, and without doubt have been
rediscovered many times by magicians. The present treatment of these
will, I hope, add some depth to the generally- known interpretations by
offering supporting gematraic correspondences. Others are purely
speculative, and may raise as many questions as they resolve. Where the
attribution of the paths to the Tree of Life is important to the
interpretation, the system of Frater Achad is used.
These interpretations are not to be considered in any way authoritative.
They are entirely the product of my own intuition and creative
imagination. I have never been connected with any of the contending
groups that claim to be the "legitimate" inheritors of Crowley's or
Achad's mantle, nor do I make any such claims for myself.
I present these correspondences in the spirit of an adventurer offering
a few landmarks in unknown territory to other interested explorers. May
they be taken in the same spirit.
1. Hadit says in chapter 2, v. 7: "I am the magician and the exorcist. I
am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle."
Both these sentences could relate to Jupiter and Saturn. The wheel is of
course The Wheel of Fortune, attributed to Jupiter, and the cube in the
circle could be The Universe, Saturn. The magician is a creative force,
bringing things into manifestation, and Jupiter has these qualities in
astrological systems. Saturn as the cause of cessation takes things out
of manifestation again.
Jupiter = Kaph = 20
Saturn = Tau = 400
400 + 20 = 420 = HADITh
In Achad's Tree, the paths of these two planets descend from Kether, a
sephira that shares some of Hadit's qualities.
Also, by Tarot, Jupiter and Saturn are cards numbered 10 and 21
respectively. 10 + 21 = 31, the "key" to Liber AL.
2. In the previous verse: "I am the flame that burns in every heart of
man, and in the core of every star."
The word LBH (with varying vowel points) means "flame", "core" and
"heart". Since the words are spelled the same, the things referred to
are all the same thing, as the line says.
"I am" = AHIH, Eheieh, god of Kether
"the flame" = fire = Shin, the path connecting Kether and Tiphereth.
"heart of man" = Sun = Tiphereth. Hadit resides in Kether and in
Tiphereth, and in the path between. He is in the sun both in its lowest
point (as Kephra, in Tiphereth) and in its highest point (as Ahatoor,
the noon sun of Kether).
In this verse, he shows where he resides. In another place, verse 49, he
will show where he is not.
To continue the verse:
"I am Life, and the giver of Life..."
life = ChIH = 23
giver of life = NVThN ChIH = 529 = 23 squared = HVVR-PA-KRAAT
"I am Life" = AHIH ChIH = 44
44 = DM, blood, the carrier of life.
3. In ch. 2, v. 23, Hadit says: "I am alone". This phrase = AHIH IChID, a
combination of two titles of Kether.
AHIH IChID = 53 = ABN, the Father (Kether) coalesced with the Son,
Tiphereth, again repeating the bilocation indicated in note 2.
4. Chapter 2, v. 49: "I am unique & conqueror. I am not of the slaves
that perish. Be they damned & dead! Amen. (This is of the 4: there is a
fifth who is invisible, & therein I am as a babe in an egg.)"
"Unique & conqueror" = IChID + MNTzCh = 220
220 = BChIR, one of the Elect.
(Also, the number of verses in Liber AL)
Alternatively, adding the "and" = IChID V-MNTzCh = 226
226 = TzPVN, "hidden", an attribute of Hadit.
"I am not of the slaves that perish. Be they damned & dead!"
not = LA, nothing.
slaves = OBDIM = 128
perish = NBL = 82
128 + 82 = 210, the reduction of all dyads to zero.
Hadit is the zero ("not") of 210. That is, he is to be found by
eliminating all perceptible qualities (2), and the perceiver himself
(1). He encourages us to this end - "Be they damned & dead!"
damned = NAR = 251
dead = MTh = 440
251 + 440 = 691. 691 is a prime number, but I have not yet found a
gematraic significance for it. The number itself suggests that the
"slaves that perish" put the individual soul (6) and the emotional
nature (9) ahead of the spirit in their lives, thus denying the spirit.
I am not sure of this.
"Amen. (This is of the 4: there is a fifth who is invisible, & therein I
am as a babe in an egg.)"
AMN = 741 (using Nun final)
741 = ShMATh, the letter of the four elements.
Hadit says he is not to be found in the mundane world, but only in the
spirit. There also seems to be an identification of Hadit with
Harpocrates. This identification is repeated several other places in the
text.
5. Chapter 2, v. 66: "Write, & find ecstasy in writing! Work, & be our
bed in working!" Spoken to the Beast, Tiphereth, by Hadit.
According to Crowley, writing is a function of Mem, water, descending
from Tiphereth to Yesod. The sum of the paths that descend from
Tiphereth = Z + M + T = 56.
56 = NU, Nuit, who gives ecstasy. (see chapter 1, v. 58)
"Work", the Great Work of uniting the personal soul with the universal,
raising oneself from Tiphereth to the Supernals. The sum of the paths
leading from Tiphereth to the Supernals = 570 = ORSh, a bed.
These verses are a presentation of the functions of Tiphereth, the
Beast, in relation first to the lower worlds, and then to the higher
worlds. In relation to the lower worlds, Tiphereth is positive,
enlightening, and expository in nature. Its function is to shed light in
the darkness. For the man who has achieved Tiphereth through his work,
this would mean that he has a responsibility to those who have not
achieved, which he must fulfill by giving to them his understanding of
the nature of existence. This should not be an arduous task, but an
ecstatic one, as the verse suggests.
At the same time that he is positive in relation to the lower worlds,
the man in Tiphereth is receptive to those forces that are "above" or
still unrevealed at his present point in evolution. He is their "bed" in
the sense that Tiphereth is the lowest point that any of the paths from
the Supernals can reach directly, so that they could be said to rest
upon Tiphereth. Tiphereth is a relay, receiving and giving out again
simultaneously. He transmits light from above, stepping down its
frequency to the point where it can have some meaning for those still
caught in the lower worlds.
6. Chapter 3, v. 72: "I am the Lord of the Double Wand of Power; the
wand of the force of Coph Nia..."
KP NIA = 161, the sum of the paths of triangles 4-6-7 and 5-6-8.
Since Horus in the Son or Sun, it is appropriate that his power centers
on Tiphereth in this way. The fact that there are two triangles may
relate to the "Double Wand" phrase. As was shown in point 5 above,
Tiphereth itself is of a two-in-one nature. Note that the sum of the
paths connecting sephiroth 4-5-8-7, plus the paths connecting these
sephiroth with Tiphereth = 217 = HVVR, Horus, strengthening the
identification.
In getting from Coph Nia to Hoor, we added two paths to the group being
considered. These were the paths of Nun and Vav. N + V = 56 = NV, Nuit.
161 is also equivalent to APP, Apep, the serpent-god. Since Hadit
identifies himself with the Serpent several places in Liber AL, we have
Nuit and Hadit uniting to form Hoor in these paths around Tiphereth.
There may also be an identification of the Double Wand with Adam, since
161 = ADM OILAH, the primordial man (or, literally, "causative man").
This primordial man is neither male nor female, but contains both within
himself. Thus the Double Wand of Power relates to the dual powers of the
primordial man, positive and negative, male and female. In sex magick,
the union of the male and the female produces a magickal "son" of some
sort, often symbolized by Horus as the Child.
Verse 72 continues: "..- but my left hand is empty, for I have crushed
an Universe, & nought remains."
"my left hand is empty.." Hoor dwells in Tiphereth by choice, not
necessity, since there is nothing in his left hand, the hand of negative
or earth-trending forces.
"..for I have crushed an Universe.." Concentrated in Kether, samadhi, he
has destroyed his attachments to the earth.
"and nought remains." (1) Nothing can bind him to the earth, nothing of
earth remains in him. (2) the technical result of samadhi, destruction
of the perceived universe and the perceiving self, leaving nought (= LA
= 31) but God (= AL = 31).
So here we have the 210 formula again. Note that the words "double
wand", "I", "nought" in this verse repeat the 210 formula in another
form.
The paths we have associated with Horus take up the center portion of
the Tree, so that any power coming from above must pass through him to
get to the lower worlds. Thus it is reasonable for him to say in chap.
3, v. 70: "... my nemyss shrouds the night-blue sky." The night-blue sky
is either Nuit (whose symbol it is) or Ahatoor, the sky-goddess
associated with the Supernal triangle.
Another form of Horus used the Liber AL, Heru-Ra-Ha, seems to associate
Horus with the same paths that we said were related to Hadit in point 2
above:
Heru = Horus, fire, Shin, the path connecting Kether and Tiphereth.
Ra = the Sun, Tiphereth
Ha = Hadit, Kether.
I am not entirely certain of the reason for this intermixing of symbols
between the two gods. Of course, there is always at least a partial
identification between son and father, but this seems too explicit to be
just that. Perhaps Horus represents Man in the process of passing up the
Tree, where Hadit represents the ideal case. Or they could be the two
ends of the 210 formula, which we have seen is also associated with both
of them. Hadit was shown to be the zero or "nought" of the 210 formula,
while Horus in various places has been shown to be dual in nature, and
therefore associated with the 2 of 210.
The initials of Heru-Ra-Ha repeat this identification with 210, since H
+ R + H = 210.
7. Chapter 3, v. 38:
"By Bes-Na-Maut my breast I beat.
"By wise Ta-Nech I weave my spell.
"Show thy star-splendor, O Nuit!
"Bid me within thine House to dwell,
"O winged snake of light, Hadit!
"Abide with me, Ra-Hoor-Khuit!"
We can take Bes-Na-Maut as BISh-N-MAVT.
BISh = 312
N = 50
MAVT = 56
312 + 50 + 56 = 418
Why ABRAHADABRA (418) should be cause for breast-beating is beyond me.
Alternatively, it could be:
Bes = BISh = "shame"
Na = 51 = NA = "failure"
Maut = MAVT = 56 = AIMH = "dread"
This certainly fits better with the rest of the line, but I like the 418
correspondence better.
Bes is the Egyptian equivalent of Dionysius, Sol. Since he is a
dwarf-god, he is clearly related to Hadit as well. Maut, the Vulture
goddess, is Saturnian, or at least related to Binah. Literally
interpreted, this phrase means something like "Bes in Maut".
Astrologically, the Sun is the center of the system, and Saturn
represents its periphery. This could be a reference in alternate terms
to Hadit as the invisible center and Nuit as the circumference, in
chapter 2, verse 3. Again, this does not seem to be a cause for
breast-beating, unless the beats are really magickal "knocks" intended
to call the attention of the gods. There might also be a reference here
to some form of sex magick.
(BUT we could take Bes to represent the Holy Guardian Angel, or Genius,
or merely the soul. Maut as Saturn/Earth would be the body. If this is
the case, the phrase repeats the "Khabs is in the Khu" idea of Ch. 1,
verse 8, and adds another aspect to the ideas behind 418 generally. The
breast is where the heart [= Tiphereth = Sol] lies in the human body.
The breast-beating might really be heartbeats.)
To continue with the verse:
"By wise Ta-Nech I weave my spell."
Spelling in the magickal sense is a function of Chokmah, the sphere of
Thoth, who is the origin of all spells in the Egyptian mythos.
Ta-Nech = ThA-NICh = 401 + 68
401 = ATh, essence
68 = ChKM, wise. This word is the root of ChKMH, Chokmah.
Thus Ta-Nech is the essence of wisdom, or of Chokmah. Also, 401 + 68 = 469 =
ChShVQIHM = ring of the zodiac, also related to Chokmah.
"Bid me within thine House to dwell, O winged snake of light, Hadit!"
Since "Ha" is a commonly used form of Hadit's name in Egyptian works, it
seems reasonable to me that "House of Hadit" might be translated as BITh
HA, which = 418. Crowley translates phrase as "house of He'", with He'
being the pentagram. (Note: 418 = Cheth, Cancer, astrologically,
representing a shell containing living substance, as a house is a shell
for living beings. Hadit identifies himself with life, so it is
appropriate for his house to relate to this number.)
8. Here are a few about 418:
"God" = AL = 31
"to behold" = ShZP = 387
"To behold God" = ShZP AL = 418
"Secret light" = RZI AR = 418
"a universal enchantment" = KLL LChSh = 418
65 = ADNI, Adonai, the Holy Guardian Angel
353 = HGShMH, manifestation
65 + 353 = 418, the manifestation of the H.G.A.
65 = DVMIH, silence, and = HS, keeping silence
353 = ShMChH, joy
65 + 353 = 418
ChIIM, life, livingness = 68
OPR, Ophir, earth = 350
68 + 350 = 418
(Shows 418 as union of Life, spirit, with Matter.)
"to trust in strange gods" = ChSH ALHIM AChRIM = 418
"to trust in God Almighty" = ChSH AL ShDI = 418
9. The Great Voice, Macroprosopus = DBVR = 212
The Lesser Voice, speech, Microprosopus = DBR = 206
Macroprosopus united with Microprosopus = 212 + 206 = 418
Vav = 6 = Tiphereth is what separates the lesser voice from the greater.
Tiphereth is the sphere in which their union, 418, occurs.
10. Chapter 1, v. 30: "This is the creation of the world, that the pain
of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all."
nothing = LA = 31
all = AL = 31
"division" = the dyad = 2
"is as" is equivalent to an equals sign
"nothing" = LA = "not" = 0
This phrase literally expresses the 0=2 formula. ("Is as" expresses an
identity between things, that is, a singularity, and therefore = 1. The
phrase as a whole also expresses the 210 formula.)
And:
"the joy of dissolution" = ChDVH HHMSH = 138
all = AL = 31
138 + 31 = 169.
169 represents the middle pillar from Kether to the Foundation, where a
creation (such as the world) becomes fully established. Also 169 = 13
squared = unity in full manifestation.
"the pain of division" = AN HChLVQ = 200
Totalling the entire phrase:
"the pain of division" = 200
"nothing" = 31
"the joy of dissolution" = 138
"all" = 31
TOTAL = 400 = Tau, the tarot card The Universe, aka The World, that
which is created.
The internal reverberations in this verse are remarkably complex. It
shows the creation of the world in several different ways as a cyclic
process. First, in the literal interpretation of the words, division
(that is, manifestation) is shown to be equivalent to dissolution, the
return to an undifferentiated state. Possibly this connects with the
idea of entropy in some way.
The gematria of the equivalent Hebrew phrases repeats it in numerical
symbolism by showing the 0=2 formula. The sum of the gematraic numbers
produces Tau, Saturn, which governs cyclic events. The "joy of
dissolution" phrase shows the mystic way of return, up the middle pillar
of the Tree, and at the same time shows unity( AChD = 13) in
multiplicity by being the square of unity (169). Also, the "pain of
division" phrase equals 200, Resh, the Sun, whose glyph shows this
division as a point (Hadit) in a circle (Nuit).
And we are not yet done with this phrase! Since "not" is shown to be
equal to "all", we might have added just one of them into the sum shown
above:
"pain of division" 200
"joy of dissolution" 138
"all" or "not" 31
TOTAL: 369
369 = OVLM HBRIAH = the Creative World. Again gematria repeats the outer
meaning of the phrase.
369 shows the trinity (the Supernals) evolving first into the Hexagram,
and then into full creation. 369 is the sum of the numbers from one to
(nine times nine), divided by nine, therefor is a number of Luna and
Yesod, the foundation. In this manner the verse shows the process of
manifestation. (Remember that Malkuth is considered to be a byproduct of
the activity of the higher sephiroth, and does not participate in the
process of creation.)
369 is one less than 370, OSh, "creation". The current that has produced
manifestation must return to its source, (Kether = 1) for the results to
be stable. The exposition of the creative process is shown again.
Alternately, the 1 could be Aleph, the path connecting Yesod with
Malkuth, thereby bringing the creation down into full manifestation.
Let us now look at the beginning phrase of the verse:
"This is the creation of the World..."
"creation of the world" = OSh HOLVM = 521 (a prime number, incidentally).
521 = ASh IVRD = "fire descending", the lightning flash of creation.
521 = MChShVP HLBN = "naked brilliance", the color of Kether in the King scale,
showing the source or first manifestation of creation.
In Achad's system, the sum of all the paths of the Tree that descend
vertically is also 521. The middle pillar sums to 341. 341 = ShMA, the
Word, the manifest qualities of perception at the three main levels of
awareness.
The side pillars combined total 180. 180 = PNIM, the Countenance, the
Face of God. So 521 could be the Word emanating from the face of God.
11. Chapter 1, v. 57.: "Invoke me under my stars! Love is the law, love
under will. Nor let the fools mistake love; for there are love and love.
There is the dove, and there is the serpent. Choose ye well! He, my
prophet, hath chosen, knowing the law of the fortress, and the great
mystery of the House of God." "All these old letters of my book are
aright; but Tzaddi is not the Star. This also is secret: my prophet
shall reveal it to the wise."
Before dealing with the first paragraph of this verse, I should say that
I do not accept Crowley's explanation of the second paragraph, as
described in The Book of Thoth, and in his Commentary on The Book of the
Law. He states that Tzaddi should be attributed to the Tarot card "The
Emperor" and that Heh should be attributed to "The Star", in order to
match the rotation of the cards "Strength" and "Justice" around Virgo at
the other end of the zodiac. His argument is specious because the latter
rotation only involves a change in the serial numeration of the Trumps,
and not a change in symbolic attribution. Other interpretations of this
paragraph are extant among Achad's "Maatian" followers.
The first paragraph seems to me to resonate strongly with the symbolism
of the three horizontal paths of the Tree, as they are used in Achad's
system. The highest of these paths, Tzaddi, connects Chokmah and Binah.
The next, Nun, connects Chesed and Geburah. The last, Vav, connects
Netzach and Hod.
In one of the previous points, it was shown that Hadit and Heru-Ra-Ha
both relate in one aspect to Tiphereth. Here, we see Nuit connecting
herself with the stars, and the highest reciprocal path, Tzaddi, The
Star, 90, immediately comes to mind. The card actually shows eight
stars, one large and the rest smaller, with the ibis of Thoth to the
right side of the card, in the position of Chokmah, and a sea, Binah, on
the left, thus confirming its position between these sephiroth.
The two side pillars of the Tree also sum to 90, so they could be said
to relate to Nuit as well if we accept this correspondence. Together,
the side pillars and the path of Tzaddi form an arch in the Tree.
Hadit identifies himself with the Snake, Scorpio, in several verses of
Liber AL. We can make the equivalent correspondence to the path of Nun
in the Tree. And Taurus = Vav = 6 = Sol = Ra-Hoor-Khuit.
The arch of Nuit bends over and touches both ends of the paths of Nun
and Vav, enclosing both. Thus the Tree itself reflects the image on the
Stele of Revealing, in which Nuit arches over all, with Hadit as the
winged sun below her, and Ra- Hoor-Khuit wearing the solar crown below
Hadit.
"... Love is the law, love under will."
Since it is Nuit who is speaking in this verse, it may be that the
numeration of this arch in the Tree relates to this sentence.
3 times 90 = 270, the total of Tzaddi and the side pillars.
270 = 15 times 18
15 = ChBH, love
18 = ChI, life, will
In this view, Nuit herself embodies the law that she states.
"...love under will." Astrologically, love is Venus, and Will is Mars.
Note that Venus rules Taurus, the lowest of the reciprocal paths, and
Mars rules Scorpio, the next highest reciprocal path. Thus, in Achad's
system, love is literally "under" will.
Nuit is described in Liber AL as being the "circumference" or outer
limit of existence. Since these two paths are the only two that connect
the outer limits of her arch, their action could be said to be universal
within the manifest worlds, and therefore they are truly "the law"
within those worlds.
"... Nor let the fools mistake love; for there are love and love. There
is the dove, and there is the serpent." In Achad's Tree, those who have
passed through the path of Aleph, The Fool, are the equivalent of
zelators in the G.D. system. "Love" (= Venus = Netzach) reaches them
through the path of Cancer. Cancer is the individual emotional nature,
astrologically. And this love is conceptualized in the path of Taurus,
ruled by Venus. For someone at this level of consciousness, love is
perceived as being a relation between the person and an external object.
The person maintains his individuality, and his love is perceived as an
absorbtion of the object into himself.
The sephira Yesod is the natural focus of consciousness for most of the
human race at this time, according to Alice Bailey. The dominant
influence of emotional appeals in forming public opinion demonstrates
this well. Neither appeals to greed (Malkuth) nor reason (Hod) nor ego
(Netzach) are anywhere near as effective. So it's all right to consider
most people fools - they've earned it!
For the adepts, on the other hand, the "love" of the path of Scorpio is
(or should be) controlling. The nature of Taurus is objectification.
Conversely, the nature of Scorpio is penetration and complete
identification of the self with the object, causing both to disappear.
The adept invokes a god by exhalting his consciousness to the point
where it merges completely into the nature of the god. He temporarily
abandons his individuality, and is rewarded by its expansion to include
the nature of the god invoked.
"... Choose ye well! He, my prophet, hath chosen, knowing the law of the
fortress, and the great mystery of the House of God." This phrase
repeats and emphasizes the distinction between the two types of love. It
may also have a broader meaning than the interpretation above. It seems
to embody a warning that by choosing the obvious, mundane view of love,
the person embarks on the path of the "Black Brothers", while choosing
the higher type (disguised by the intense nature of Mars and Scorpio)
leads on the path of the "White Adepts".
In The Vision and the Voice, the Black Brothers are said to have "shut
themselves up in fortresses of love". And by doing so, they put
themselves into a condition where the impact of divine force causes them
to destroy themselves.
"fortress" = MBTzR = 332
"House of God" = BITh AL = 443
When the force of the divine, represented by Kether, 1, is added to each
of these, we get:
332 + 1 = 333, ChVRVNZVN = Dispersion, the devil of the Abyss.
443 + 1 = 444, RA-HVVR-KV, the crowned and conquering child.
Depending on which one chooses, the paths lead either to destruction or
to achievement of the goal of initiation.
Going back to the number 270 again, I would like to point out that there
is another set of symbols it connects with that are just as significant
in the consideration of Achad's Tree. 270 is the number of the I.N.R.I.
formula, also known as the IAO formula.
Since this arch of paths totalling 270 connects all three of the Tree's
triads it must therefore control the relations between them. The triads
are related to the three major grades of initiation spoken of in Liber
AL: the Man of the Earth, the Lover, and the Hermit. The grades
correspond respectively to the lowest triad, the middle, and the
highest. Man's passage through these triads is the process of
initiation. This arch of Nuit, or of I.N.R.I. therefore controls the
process of initiation.
In this formula, the initiation is seen as beginning with a natural
object (1st I of INRI), which is then destroyed (N), and then recreated
in a higher form (R). Lastly, the process begins again with the new form
taking the place of the original natural object (2nd I of INRI).
The formula of I.N.R.I. or IAO is universal. It describes a process that
occurs at all levels of initiation, in all systems of initiation. As
Arnold Toynbee and James Joyce have both shown, it is also universally
applicable in the evolution of human cultures. Therefore it should have
a important place in any system of occult symbolism. Achad's system is
no exception.
The first I of I.N.R.I. relates to the path of Taurus. Taurus is an
earthy sign, and is specifically attributed to activities of a bucolic
nature, unlike the other two earthy signs. It relates to nature in the
form of Isis through Venus, which rules the sign, and through Luna,
which is exhalted therein.
As I described in Achad's Cabala: The Lower Paths, Taurus is connected
both with the person's intellectual conception of the world (Hod), and
with his perception of himself, his ego-image (Netzach). It represents
the person's individual creed or explanation of the universe. In the
process of initiation, this conception has to be destroyed before the
person can advance to the level of adepthood.
The N of I.N.R.I. is of course Nun, Scorpio, Death, the next highest
reciprocal path. The A of IAO is Apophis, the destroyer (literally "the
nay-sayer", or "the negator" in Greek), also related to Scorpio. The
task of the adept is to complete the destruction of his natural,
uninitiated personality, and to begin the building of a "body of light"
to replace it. He does this by the repeated exposure of the personality
to spiritual forces through invocation. Each exposure causes the
destruction of part of the mundane personality, and its replacement with
its spiritual equivalent.
In the Osirian religions, this destruction is often equated with the
idea of sacrifice, of giving up something valuable for a cause that
originates outside the self. No doubt this was designed to keep the
populace in a condition where they could be used as willing
cannon-fodder. In actual practice, this conception is entirely false.
While the process may be painful, absolutely nothing of any value is
lost.
The process is more like the way a snake sheds its skin, or a crab its
shell, in order to grow. The parts that are lost are all dead, used up,
and their usefulness become a hindrance. The parts that remain are free
to adapt to the changed conditions. While these remaining parts may seem
at first to be disconnected beyond recovery, they have a natural
tendency to group together. A short while after a period of destruction
the person finds himself back in one piece, stronger and with a greater
breadth of perception than before. Even the Osirian legend shows it:
Isis, nature, gathers the pieces of the dead Osiris, reassembles them,
and brings him back to life.
Eventually, this process of destruction and replacement is complete. At
this point, the adept has to come to full comprehension and control of
his "body of light". This body is in fact the Ruach, taken as whole and
fully integrated. A parallel integration of his understanding of the
universe also takes place. As an Exempt Adept, he expresses this
integration through the publication of a thesis setting forth his
world-view, according to Crowley.
As his final act of destruction, the adept abandons himself and his
understanding by leaping into the Abyss. If he succeeds fully in this
task, he emerges from the other side into Binah and the path of Tzaddi,
becoming a star in the body of Nuit. Literally so, since the path of
Tzaddi is part of the Arch of Nuit referred to above. As a star, he does
nothing but shed his light on the lower worlds, and grow slowly in
brightness as he perfects his understanding. He thus comes into the part
of the process represented by the R of I.N.R.I. and the O of IAO.
Eventually, as an Ipsissimus, the being must confront the problem of
removing himself from the Tree altogether, and passing into whatever
lies beyond. The star that he is becomes the foundation for the next
cycle of destruction, as the mundane personality had to be destroyed in
the previous cycle. Thus the result of the first cycle, represented by
the R of I.N.R.I. becomes the natural object that is the basis of the
next cycle. This transformation is represented by the final I of
I.N.R.I.
So we have, in the Arch and the three horizontal paths of the Tree, a
completely accurate reflection of the IAO and I.N.R.I. formulas, and
these formulas have been connected directly with the symbolism of Nuit,
and with the law of "love under will".
12. Chapter 2, verse 21 seems to support the idea that death in the
I.N.R.I. formula is not equal to sacrifice: "....Think not, o king, upon
that lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt not die, but live. Now
let it be understood: If the body of the King dissolve, he shall remain
in pure ecstasy for ever. Nuit! Hadit! Ra- Hoor-Khuit! The Sun, Strength
& Sight, Light; these are for the servants of the Star & the Snake."
The first sentence quoted is clear enough. The king, the true self, is
not destroyed, but only the "outcast and the unfit" portions of his
being.
"... if the body of the King dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstasy
for ever." The body of the king is of course the Ruach, with Tiphereth
(whose image is a king) in the center. When this body is dissolved in
the crossing of the Abyss, then his self will enter the path of Tzaddi,
first path above the Ruach. In the symbolism of the Arch of Nuit, a
being in this path is literally in the body of Nuit.
"Nuit! Hadit! Ra-Hoor-Khuit! The Sun, Strength & Sight, Light; These are
for the servants of the Star & the Snake." In Achad's Cabala: The Upper
Paths, I talked about the upper part of the Tree as symbolizing the four
quarters of the Sun. There are four isosceles triangles in the hexagonal
part of the Tree. The attributions of these triangles were:
Triangle 4-5-6 = Kephra = the soul, the manifest sun, light in darkness.
Triangle 3-5-6 = Ra = energy & action
" 2-4-6 = Tum = comprehension & integration
" 1-2-3 = Ahatoor = the full light of noon
Thus the last sentence of the verse can correspond to these triangles:
"The Sun" = Kephra, the midnight sun
"Strength" = Ra and also = the path of Mars, in that triangle.
"Sight" = vision = Tum and also = the path of Sagittarius, in Tum's triangle.
"Light" = Ahatoor, the sky-goddess and also = Tzaddi, The Star, in Ahatoor's
triangle.
Thus the "servants of the Star & the Snake" have all the powers of the
Hexagram at their disposal. They necessarily have to cross the Abyss to
do so fully. Through two of the paths mentioned, they bridge the Abyss,
living in both worlds at once.
Alternately, to include all three of the Grades:
"The Sun" = 6 = Vav = Taurus
"Strength & Sight" = Geburah & Chesed, connected by Scorpio.
"Light" = Aquarius = Tzaddi = The Star
13. Chapter 1, v. 1: "Had! The manifestation of Nuit."
There are two Hebrew words for "manifestation":
PRSVM = 386
HPGNH = 143
NVIT = 75
75 + 386 = 461
4 + 6 + 1 = 11, a number specifically attributed to both Hadit and Nuit
in Liber AL. (See ch. 1, v. 60; ch. 2, v. 16)
461 = ADNVTh, authority, lordship. Nuit calls Hadit her "lord" (v. 21). Also
possibly a reference to Hadit as the Holy Guardian Angel?
143 + 75 = 218
218 = BRIAH, Briah, the creative world, which was shown in point 11 to be
related to Nuit.
218 = RBVI, extension, a characteristic of Nuit.
Alternately, "manifestion of Nuit" = PRSVM HNVIT = 466
466 = OVLM HITzIRH = Yetzirah, the world of formation.
14. Chapter 1, v. 2: "The unveiling of the company of heaven."
unveiling = GLVI = 49
company of heaven = TzBA HShMIM = 488
49 + 488 = 537 = ATzILvTh, Atziluth, the archetypal world.
So in these first two verses of Liber AL, there is represented the
Atziluthic, Briatic, and Yetziratic worlds, Fire, Water, and Air. We
might take this as an indication that the book can be interpreted on all
three of these levels. It could also connect with the "Hermit, and the
Lover, and the man of Earth" in verse 40.
15. Chapter 3, v. 1: "Abrahadabra: the reward of Ra Hoor Khut."
RA HVVR KVT = 453 = NPSh ChIH, the animal soul in its fullness, i.e.
including the ego. Therefore = the pentagram. Abrahadabra, union with
the macrocosm, is the "reward" of man, the pentagram.
Chapter 3, v. 2: "Raise the spell of Ra Hoor Khuit."
The yod of spirit is added to the spelling of R.H.K.'s name in the
previous verse. RA HVVR KVIT = 463 = MTH HShQD, a Rod of Almond. Almond
is attributed to Kether, spirit, represented by the added yod. There
could also be a reference here to Aaron's rod, which god made to flower
as a sign of his fitness to be priest. In any case, the two verses show
that man is raised to godhead through ABRAHADABRA.
The gematraic points shown here support Crowley's interpretation of these two
verses, as shown in his New Commentary.
16. Chapter 2, v. 1: "Nu! the hiding of Hadit."
"hiding" = HChBAH = 21
HADITh = 420
420 + 21 = 441 = 21 times 21
Also, 21 = AHIH, god of Kether, the point.
441 = AMTh, truth.
17. Chapter 2, v. 9: "Remember all ye that existence is pure joy;..."
"existence" = MHVTh, being = 451
"pure joy" = TzCh ShMChH = 451
"existence" = OVLM, the world = 146
"pure joy" = TzCh GILH = 146
This one may be stretching things:
ShMChH, joy = 353
HGShMH, materialization = 353
18. Here is another 0=2 correspondence:
APSVTh, nothingness = 547
MTzIAVTh, existence = 547
|
|
