Calculation, Frequency and Analysis of Psalm 145 with biblical gematria.

1.  Introduction.
2.  Gematria.
3.  Calculations.
4.  Frequency and Analysis.
5.  A Tour of the Afterlife.
6.  Conclusion.
7.  Footnotes.

1.  Introduction.

תהלה לדוד  A Psalm of Praise of David is the only chapter of the Book of Psalms that identifies itself as a תְּהִלָה (tehillah) – as a psalm (namely, a hymn of praise).  It is an alphabetic acrostic; the initial letter of each verse running in a Hebrew alphabetic sequence.  The book of Psalms overall contains eight alphabetic acrostics, four in book one and four in book five.[1]

One of Psalm 145’s peculiarities is that there is no verse beginning with the letter nun (נ).  The sequence skips from Mem to Samekh.  There have been various theories proposed for the reason behind this since the Third Century CE, but there is still no modern consensus of opinion on the matter.  The Septuagint, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Dead Sea Scrolls all provide a verse at this point, so I have included it as 13b in the commentary.  Psalm 145 appeared to be volunteering itself for a deeper examination of its contents through the lens of biblical gematria[2], and it didn’t disappoint.

The Talmud, Berakhot 4b[3] says of it: “If you say that it is because it is arranged alphabetically, then let us say: “Happy are they who are upright in the way” (Psalms 119*) where the alphabetical arrangement appears eight times.”

אשרי תמימי־דרך ההלכים בתורת יהוה *
“Happy are the upright in the way who walk in the laws of YHVH.“[4]

Concerning the missing Nun it adds “Additionally, with regard to this psalm, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Why is there no verse beginning with the letter nun in ashrei? Because it contains an allusion to the downfall of the enemies of Israel, a euphemism for Israel itself. As it is written: “The virgin of Israel has fallen and she will rise no more; abandoned in her land, none will raise her up” (Amos 5:2), which begins with the letter nun. Due to this verse, ashrei does not include a verse beginning with the letter nun.”

 The Dead Sea scrolls version of Psalm 145 ends each of the 21 verses with the words: “this is for a memorial”, but it doesn’t say for whom it is a memorial for.  Benun has argued “that acrostics in Psalms are part of a sophisticated literary system which creates a series of signposts intended to guide the reader to each psalm’’s embedded message.”.[5]

As the text is ‘for a memorial’, it is my working hypothesis that the scribe sought to fix the way of the deceased with number magic.  I will show in my analysis that a substantial amount of gematria was carefully embedded into the verses and it’s my hypothesis that these numerical constructions are intended to function in a similar way to the spells of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Typological to the journey through the Duat, the deceased Hebrew traveled through the paths and pavilions of the lower section of the Seven Palaces.  These ‘Seven Palaces’ represented the cosmology of the world and it functioned as a type of Bhavacakra; allowing new and reincarnated souls into the world from doors at the east, and providing an exit for the dead through the door in the west.

Each Path and Palace of this arrangement was created by God (El-YHVH) with the qualities and numbers of the 22 letters.  The Hebrew word for symbol is ot, which, in early Judaism, denoted not only a sign, but also a visible religious token of the relation between God and man.  The number of things could represent quite abstract concepts as well as demonstrable qualia.  Thus (the theory goes) that instead of Egyptian spells that require things such as “nine apple seeds and your urine” (for example) – a simple number that reflected the good and harmonious ordering of the world was substituted.  Besides ‘fixing the way’ these numbers evoke a sense of divinely appointed order over the forces of chaos that may also have been a comfort to those grieving.

What I’ve sought to do below is to map out the gematria of the text and then narrow in on calculations that are most relevant to the value of each letter of the alphabet.  I’ve looked at the frequency of Major and Minor gates[6] and where they are found on the Palaces to see if there is a concentration of gate numbers that correspond with the journey of the deceased.  High frequency recurring numbers have also been flagged, as well as any values (such as gates) that are seen on the Seven Palaces[7].  Finally we shall take a tour of the afterlife as we try and understand what significance the numbers have to the newly deceased on his travels.

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2.  Gematria.

Aleph  ארוממך אלוהי המלך ואברכה מך לעולם ועד

1. I will extol (307) ALVHI (52), King (95), and bless (234) your name (60) forever (176) everlasting (77).

Beth  בכל־יום אברכך ואהללה מך לעולם ועד

2. Every (52) day (56) I will bless (243) and praise (77) your name (60) forever (176) everlasting (77).

Gimel  גדול יהוה ומהלל מאד ולגדלתו אין חקר

3. Great (43) YHVH (26), and praised (111) greatly (45), and his greatness (83) not (61) searchable (308).

Daleth  דור לדור ישבח מעשיך וגבורתיך יגידו

4. Generation (210) to generation (240) shall praise (23) Your works (143) and your mighty acts (251) declare (33).

Heh  הדר כבוד הודך ודברי נפלאותיך אשיחה

5. Honour (209) on the glorious (32) splendour (35) and works (222) of your wonder (201) shall I speak (27).

Vav  ועזוז נוראתיך יאמרו [וגדולתיך כ] (וגדולתך ק) אספרנה

6. And of the might (96) of your terrible acts (291) they will say (257) and greatness (83) I shall declare (396).

Zayin  זכר רב־טובך יביעו וצדקתך ירננו

7. Memory (227) great (202) goodness (37) they shall abundantly utter (98) and of your righteousness (224) shall sing (316).

Cheth  חנון ורחום יהוה ארך אפים וגדל־חסד

8. Gracious (114) and compassionate (260) YHVH (26) slow (221) to anger (131) and great (43) of covenant loyalty (82).

Teth  טוב־יהוה לכל ורחמיו על־כל־מעשיו

9. Good (17) YHVH (26) to all (80) and bringing mercy (270) over (100) all (50) his works (129).

Yod  יודוך יהוה כל־מעשיך וחסידיך יברכוכה

10. Shall praise (46) YHVH (26) all (50) your works (143) and goodly ones (118) shall bless (263).

Kaph  כבוד מלכותך יאמרו וגבורתך ידברו

11. Glory (32) of Malkuth (120) They shall Speak (257) and of your Power (241) talk (222).

Lamed  להודיע ׀ לבני האדם גבורתיו וכבוד הדר מלכותו

12. To make atonement (125) to the sons of (92) the men (50) your mighty acts (231) and the majestic (38) splendor (209) of Malkuth (106).

Mem  מלכותך מלכות כל־עלמים וממשלתך בכל־דור ודור

13. Your kingdom (120) kingdom (100) all (50) everlasting (190) and your dominion (143) in all (52) generations (210) and generations (216).

Nun נאמן אלוהים בדבריו וחסיד בכל מעשיו

   13b.  Faithful (141) Elohim (92) in words (224) and kind (88) in all (52) your works (129).

Samekh  סומך יהוה לכל־הנפלים וזוקף לכל־הכפופים

14. Upholds (126) YHVH (26) to all (80) the fallen (215) and rises up (199) to all (80) the cast down (241).

Ayin  עיני־כל אליך ישברו ואתה נותן־להם את־אכלם בעתו

15. The eyes of (140) all (50) the elect (61) await you (221) and you (16) give (110) like (75) plus (5) their food (91) in season (82).

Peh  פותח את־ידך ומשביע לכל־חי רצון

16. Open (98) plus (5) Your hand (34) and satisfy (131) to all (80) living things (18) desire (346).

Tsade  צדיק יהוה בכל־דרכיו וחסיד בכל־מעשיו

17. Righteous (204) YHVH (26) in all (52) his ways (240) and kind (88) in all (52) His deeds (129).

Qoph  קרוב יהוה לכל־קראיו לכל אשר יקראהו באמת

18. 18. Near (308) YHVH (26) to all (80) those calling (317) to all (80) that (204) call (322) in truth (47).

Resh  רצון־יראיו יעשה ואת־שועתם ישמע ויושיעם

19. The desire (346) of the fearful (227) he will fulfill (88) and plus (11) their cry (123) he hears (123) and will save (145).

Shin  שומר יהוה את־כל־אהביו ואת כל־הרשעים ישמיד

20. Preserves (249) YHVH (26) plus (5) all (50) those who love (24) and plus (11) all (50) wicked (328) he will destroy (67).

Tav  תהלת יהוה ידבר־פי ויברך כל־בשר שם קדשו לעולם ועד

21. Praise (43) YHVH (26) will speak (216) my mouth (90) and bless (238) all (50) incarnate (205) name (43) holy (113) to forever (176) and ever (80).

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3.  Calculations.

Aleph (1)  Line 1:  ALVHI (God) 52 + King 95 + your Name 60 = 207 (Light).
I will extol (307) – Light 207 = 100.
And bless (234) – 207 = 27
Forever (176) – everlasting (77) = 99
99 + 27 = 126.
100 – 99 = 1.

Beth (2)  Line 2:  Every (52) + day (56) – your Name (60) = 48
I will bless (243) – and praise (77) = 166
Forever (176) – everlasting (77) = 99
166 + 99 = 265.
265 – 48 = 217.
217 + 265 = 482.
Every (52) + day (56) + your Name (60) = 168
I will bless (243) – and praise (77) = 166
168 + 166 = 235
168 – 166 = 2 (Beth).

Gimel  (3)  Line 3:  Great (43) + YHVH (26) + and praised (111) + greatly (45) + and his greatness (83) = 308.
Searchable = 308.
Greatly (45) – Great (43) = 2
And praised (111) – YHVH (26) – And his greatness (83) = 2
And praised (111) + YHVH (26) + And his greatness (83) = 220
And his greatness (83) – not (61) = 22
Great (43) +  and praised (111) – greatly (45) – and his greatness (83) = 26
Great (43) + and praised (111) + greatly (45) + and his greatness (83) = 282
Greatly (45) + Great (43) + YHVH (26) + And his greatness (83) – and praised (111) = 86 (Elohim)
And praised (111) = 1 + 1 + 1 = 3.

Daleth (4)  Line 4:  Generation (210) + to generation (240) + shall praise (23) + Your works (143) + and your mighty acts (251) + declare (33) = 900.
Generation (210) + to generation (240) = 450.
Shall praise (23) + Your works (143) + and your mighty acts (251) + declare (33) = 450.
To generation (240) – Generation (210) = 30
And your mighty acts (251) – Your works (143) – shall praise (23) – declare (33) – 30 = 22
22 = 2 + 2 = 4.

Heh (5)  Line 5:  Honour 209 + Splendor 35 = 244 (like Israel).
Honour (209) + splendour (35) – shall I speak (27) = 217
And works (222) – of your wonder (201) + shall I speak (27) = 48.
On the glorious (32) – shall I speak (27) = 5.

Vav (6)  Line 6:  And of the might (96) + of your terrible acts (291) + they will say (257) – I shall declare (396) = 248.
(They will say (257) + I shall declare (396)) – (And of the might (96) + of your terrible acts (291) + and greatness (83)) = 183.
I shall declare (396) – And of the might (96) – they will say (257) + greatness (83) = 126.
I shall declare (396) + and greatness (83) – they will say (257) = 222 = 2 + 2 + 2 = 6.

Zayin (7)  Line 7:  Memory (227) + great (202) + goodness (37) + they shall abundantly utter (98) – shall sing (316) = 248.
Memory (227) – and of your righteousness (224) = 3.
Great (202) + goodness (37) + they shall abundantly utter (98) – shall sing (316) = 21.
21 / 3 = 7.

Cheth (8)  Line 8:  Gracious (114) + and compassionate (260) + YHVH (26) = 400.
Slow (221) – to anger (131) + and great (43) + of covenant loyalty (82) = 215
Slow (221) – to anger (131) – of covenant loyalty (82) = 8 (Cheth).

Teth (9)  Line 9:  Good (17) + YHVH (26) + to all (80) + his works (129) = 252.
Over (100) + all (50) + his works (129) = 279.
279 – and bringing mercy (270) = 9 (Teth).

Yod (10)  Line 10:  Shall praise (46) + YHVH (26) + your works (143) = 215
Shall bless (263) – and goodly ones (118) = 145
215 – 145 = 70.
Shall praise (46) + YHVH (26) + your works (143) – and goodly ones (118) + shall bless (263) = 360.
Shall praise (46) – YHVH (26) + your works (143) = 163
Shall bless (263) – 163 = 100.
100 + YHVH = 126.

Kaph (20)  Line 11:  They shall Speak (257) + and of your Power (241) + talk (222) = 720.
720 – Malkuth (120) = 600 = Kaph x 30.
Malkuth (120) – Glory (32) + talk (222) = 310.
720 – 310 = 410.
Malkuth (120) – Glory (32) = 88.
Glory (32) + talk (222) = 254.
Talk (222) – (They shall Speak (257) – and of your Power (241)) = 206.
talk (222) – of Malkuth (120) – Glory (32) = 70
They shall Speak (257) – and of your Power (241) = 16
70 + 16 = 86.

Lamed (30)  Line 12:  To make atonement (125) + To the sons of (92) = 217.
Your mighty acts (231) – splendor (209) = 22
To make atonement (125) + to the sons of (92) + the men (50) – and the majestic (38) – 22 = 207
To the sons of (92) the men (50) and the majestic (38) = 180.
Splendor (209) + of Malkuth (106) – To make atonement (125)  = 190
To the sons of (92) + the men (50) = 142
190 – 142 = 48

Mem (40)  Line 13:  Your kingdom (120) + kingdom (100) = 220.
Everlasting (190) + and your dominion (143) = 333
Generations (210) + and generations (216) = 426
426 – 333 = 93.
Your kingdom (120) + kingdom (100) + everlasting (190) = 410

Nun (50)  Line 13b:  In words (224) – Elohim (92) – your works (129) = 3.
Faithful (141) + Elohim  (92) + Your works (224) =  362.
In Words (224) + And Kind (88) = 312.
362 – 312 = 50 (Nun).
In words (224) – Elohim (92) – in all (52) = 80.
Faithful (141) –  your works (129) + and kind (88) = 100.
80 + 100 = 180.

Samekh (60)  Line 14:   rises up (199) + the cast down (241) = 440
YHVH (26) + the fallen (215) = 241.  The same as ‘the cast down (241).
YHVH (26) + the fallen (215) + the cast down (241) = 482.
Upholds (126) +  to all (80)  + and rises up (199) + to all (80) = 485.
This is the gate number of the path between the Palaces of Beth and Resh when added to the Path of Samekh on the Seven Palaces.  The path of Samekh upholds the heavenly abode of YHVH.
Upholds (126).

Ayin (70)  Line 15:  The eyes (140) – the elect (61) + await you (221) = 300.
Like (75) + their food (91) + in season (82) = 248.
And you (16) + like (75) + their food (91) = 182.
All (50) + await you (221) – The eyes (140) – the elect (61) =  70.
And you (16) + give (110) = 126.

Peh  (80)  Line 16:  to all (80)
Open (98) = to all (80) + Living things (18) = 98
Your hand (34) + desire (346) = 380.
Open (98) + Your hand (34) – and satisfy (131) = 1
Desire (346) – To all (80) – living things (18) = 248.

Tsade (90)  Line 17:  Righteous (204)
In all (52) + His deeds (129) = 217.
His ways (240) – YHVH (26) – and kind (88) = 126
Righteous (204) – in all (52) – in all (52) + YHVH (26) = 126
Righteous (204) – in all (52) – and kind (88) + YHVH (26) = 90

Qoph (100)  Line 18:  Near (308) + call (322) = 630.
Those calling (317) – in truth (47) = 270.
630 – 270 = 360.
to all (80) + to all (80) = 160
360 – 160 = 200.

Resh (200)  Line 19:  The desire (346)
Of the fearful (227) + he will fulfill (88) + and will save (145) = 460.
Their cry (123) + he hears (123) = 246
346 – 246 = 100
460 – 100 = 360.

Shin  (3)  Line 20:  Preserves (249) + YHVH (26) + all (50) + those who love (24) – wicked (328) = 21 = 2 + 1 = 3.
YHVH (26) – those who love (24) = 2.
YHVH (26) + those who love (24) = 50.
Wicked (328) – all (50) – he will destroy (67) – YHVH (26) – all (50) – those who love (24) = 111 = 1 + 3 + 1 = 3.

Tav (4)  Line 21:  Incarnate (205) + name (43) = 248
To forever (176) + and ever (80) =  256
Praise (43) + YHVH (26) + will speak (216) = 285
And bless (238) – holy (113) + My mouth (90) = 215.
285 + 215 = 500.
248 + 256 + 285 + 215 = 1004 = Ath (with a large aleph).
To forever (176) + and ever (80) – all (50) =  206
Praise (43) + YHVH (26) + will speak (216) + my mouth (90) + and bless (238) + all (50) + incarnate (205) + name (43) + holy (113) + to forever (176) + and ever (80) = 1200.
1200 / 50 = 24.

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4. Frequency and Analysis.

The 14 main gates of the Seven Palaces are; 9, 11, 11, 25, 45, 88, 206, 209, 211, 217, 231, 254, 265, 274.

The text contains 6 of these gate values and they occur 11 times:  206 (x 2), 209 (x 2), 217 (x 4), 231, 254, 265, in the paths of Beth, Heh, Yod, Kaph (x2), Lamed, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Tsade, and Tav.  The path of the Resh represents the solar voyage across the land of the living and is the destination of the fortunate reincarnated soul.

The first 9 values of the letters through either straight gematria or calculation can be returned from the first 9 corresponding verses and is discovered sporadically 6 times after the Teth.

1. ALVHI (God) 52 + King 95 + your Name 60 = 207
   I will extol (307) – 207 = 100.
   Forever (176) – everlasting (77) = 99
   100 – 99 = 1.  Aleph
2. Every (52) + day (56) + your Name (60) = 168
   I will bless (243) – and praise (77) = 166
   168 – 166 = 2.  Beth
3. And praised (111) = 1 + 1 + 1 = 3. Gimel
4. To generation (240) – Generation (210) = 30
   And your mighty acts (251) – Your works (143) – shall praise (23) – declare (33) – 30 = 22
   22 = 2 + 2 = 4.  Daleth
5. On the glorious (32) – shall I speak (27) = 5. Heh
6. I shall declare (396) + and greatness (83) – they will say (257) = 222 = 2 + 2 + 2 = 6.  Vav
7. Memory (227) – and of your righteousness (224) = 3.
   Great (202) + goodness (37) + they shall abundantly utter (98) – shall sing (316) = 21.
   21 / 3 = 7.  Zayin
   
8. Slow (221) – to anger (131) – of covenant loyalty (82) = 8.  Cheth
9. Over (100) + all (50) + his works (129) = 279.
   279 – and bringing mercy (270) = 9.  Teth

and also from verses
Nun;  Faithful (141) + Elohim  (92) + Your works (224) =  362.
In Words (224) + And Kind (88) = 312.
362 – 312 = 50.  Nun
Ayin;  All (50) – await you (221) – The eyes (140) – the elect (61) =  70. Ayin
Peh;  to all = 80. Peh
Tsade;  Righteous (204) – in all (52) – and kind (88) + YHVH (26) = 90.  Tsade
And twice in Shin;
Preserves (249) + YHVH (26) + all (50) + those who love (24) – wicked (328) = 21 = 2 + 1 = 3.
Wicked (328) – all (50) – he will destroy (67) – YHVH (26) – all (50) – those who love (24) = 111 = 1 + 3 + 1 = 3.

The value for Resh (200) is found in the verse for Qoph (100) and vice versa; the value for Qoph is returned in the verse for Resh. Each verse also produces the value of 360 (which commonly represents the circle of 360 degrees in these calculations).  This is interesting because Qoph and Resh correspond to verses 23 and 24 of Genesis which is on the theme of interdependent generation and marriage:

Qoph 100‎.
‎23. The man said,‎
‎“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”‎

Resh 200‎.
‎24. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall ‎become one flesh. 25. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.‎”

The value of 100 is also found in the verses Aleph, Teth, Yod, Mem and Nun.

The value 126 occurs in the text 7 times; once in the gematria of the verse for Samekh; with סוֹמֵ֥ךְ sowmek (which means ‘Upholds’) and a further 6 times in the calculations; in Aleph, Vav, Yod, Ayin and Tsade.  א + ו + י + ע + צ

סוֹמֵ֥ךְ sō·w·mêḵ:
bear up, establish, uphold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self,

A primitive root; to prop (literally or figuratively); reflexively, to lean upon or take hold of (in a favorable or unfavorable sense) — bear up, establish, (up-)hold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self, set self, stand fast, stay (self), sustain.

248  was returned 5 times in the analysis; in Vav, Zayin, Ayin, Peh, and Tav.

אַבְרָהָ֔ם – ‘Abraham’ (248);  His name was changed by God from Abram to Abraham.

When God originally makes the change of Abram’s name to Abraham (248) he gives his reason for the change by saying המון גוים נתתיך ‘of many nations I have made you’ = 248.  The gematria of the name and the explanation for it is a match.  248 is 8 x 31 (אל) and when the name of Abraham is magnified[8] by 10 (2480) then it is the total value of the two gates of the middle pillar of the Seven Palaces when the Beth is also magnified from 2 to 2000:
(Beth, Gimel, Heh, Zayin, Resh) 2215  + (Samekh + Resh + Heh) 265 = 2480.
248 is also the paths Cheth + Mem + Resh around the circumference of the Seven Palaces.

The number of Abraham’s name is a powerful and protective symbol to be woven into these verses of memorial.

שְׁלֵמָ֥ה + מַסָּ֖ע ‘made ready’ + ‘at the quarry’ = 248 (see 1 Kings 6:7).
הָא֖וֹר + הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ ‘the Light’ + ‘the darkness’ = 248 (see Genesis 1:4).

217  was returned 4 times in the verses for Beth, Heh, Lamed and Tsade.

217 is one of the most important gematria values associated with the Seven Palaces of El;
It is 7 x 31  = 217.
EL (God) = אל = 31.
It is the gematria number of the letters assigned to the Seven Palaces:  Beth + Aleph + Resh + Aleph + Heh + Daleth + Daleth = 217.
It is the gate number of the first Heh of YHVH; Beth + Gimel + Heh + Zayin + Resh = 217
It is the combined gate number of Cheth and the fourfold path (Shin, Tav, Tsade & Qoph).
It is the number of the order of the letters when Shin and Tav share 3rd and 4th place with Gimel and Daleth;
1 + 2 + 3 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 + 16 + 17 + 18 + 19 + 20 = 217.

It is the number of the ‘Holy Name’ and is thus the most powerful number to be evoked in memorial to the unknown deceased.

215  was also returned 4 times in Cheth, Yod, Samekh and Tav.  215 is similar to 217 but the 2 of the Beth is missing.  Therefore this number represents all of God’s creation apart from the Godhead itself.

207  usually represents ‘light’ (207) א֑וֹר, was returned 2 times from the verses of Aleph and Lamed (אל). The letters Aleph Lamed spells out El (God).  In verse 1 the scribe explicitly links the name of God (and King) to Light; ALVHI (God) 52 + King 95 + your Name 60 = 207 (Light).

48  was returned 3 times in Beth, Heh and Lamed.
Is a shortened version of 248.  It represents that paths of Mem and Cheth on the circumference and it is the value of the name ‘Moses’ (48) מֹשֶׁ֔ה and for דַּלְת֧וֹת  ‘Daltowt’ (48); the Doors, as well as כּוֹכָב ‘Kokab’ (48) meaning ‘star’.  Kochab and its neighbor Pherkad served as twin pole stars from 1500 BC until 500 AD, and ancient Egyptian astronomers dubbed them “The Indestructibles“.

360 was also returned 3 times in Yod, Qoph and Resh.  Circles tend to convey the notion of divinity or divine cycles in most ancient cultures.

Other values of interest include 410 (usually associated with לָרָקִ֔יעַ lā·rā·qî·a ‘to the firmament’ or ‘to the expanse’ (See Genesis 1:7) and is found in the verses for Kaph and Mem.  410 is the total number of the letters from door to door under the Seven Palaces (ד + ר + ה + ש + ת + צ + ק + ד);
220 which is the value of the first word of Genesis’ בראשית, and  טָה֑וֹר Tahowr’ (220); ‘Pure’ and also התורה ‘The Torah’ and is found in the verses for Gimel and Mem.  In the Egyptian Book of the Dead during the weighing of the heart ritual, the deceased says “I am pure, I am pure, I am pure, I am pure!”

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5.  A Tour of the Afterlife...

  We’re going to take a tour around the afterlife in order to better understand Psalm 145 and what the scribe was trying to achieve by composing this work.  We’ll follow the path of the deceased and witness how the scribe seeks to deal with any difficulties the deceased may encounter on his road back to a new life.

The first station that the newly deceased crossed is the Palace of the Heh.  The Heh represents the most basic earthly plane as well as the most heavenly abode of YHVH, so there are two of them positioned on the Seven Palaces; the upper Heh (the first ‘Heh of YHVH) and the lower Heh (the last Heh of YHVH).  Verse 5 is actually the first verse where the scribe really speaks because it’s here that his magical workings begin with: “Honour (209) on the glorious (32) splendour (35) and works (222) of your wonder (201) shall I speak (27).”  According to tradition, the site of the Temple of Solomon was built at the Gate of this Earthly Palace, and its reputed to be the site that Adam and Eve emerged onto the earth after leaving the Garden of Eden.

Line 5:  Honour 209 + Splendor 35 = 244 (like Israel).
Honour (209) + splendour (35) – shall I speak (27) = 217
And works (222) – of your wonder (201) + shall I speak (27) = 48.
On the glorious (32) – shall I speak (27) = 5.

Because the phrase ‘shall I speak’ is subtracted from Honour and Spendour, this verse reminded me of the admonition “to be silent before the lord”;  “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”  – Zechariah 2:13.

When the deceased cross this threshold they shuffle off their mortal coil and begin their journey to the Palace of the Daleth in the West.  Each Palace and path had guardians that allowed the worthy to pass but stopped the unworthy from continuing the road to reincarnation, so it was probably good council to guard your speech.  The scribe offers the number five for the Palace of the Heh, and then evokes the number of the holy name (217) as a pass to the next gate which has the combined gate of 217 with the Cheth in the heavens.

The Path to the Palace of the Daleth is the only one to be comprised of 4 letters; the Shin and the Tav, the Tsade and the Qoph.  It has a gate number of 206; seen in Kaph and Tav.  The letters Qoph, Shin and Tav spell out the word keshet for ‘Rainbow’ QShTh.

The Tsade has two seperate instances of 126 (upholds) possible, and the scribe again offers 217 for the combined gate and 90 for the letter Tsade.  The main theme of this letter is the praise of God:  In all (52) + His deeds (129) = 217.

This letter is associated with the earthly aspect of pregnancy and midwifery.  The Tarot card associated with the Tsade is the Emperor Caesar because of the legend that the Emperor was born by Caesarian Section.  The first act of reproduction is recorded in Genesis and it corresponds with this Tsade with this verse; “And caused to fall YHVH Elohim a deep sleep upon the Man and he slept and he took one of his ribs.  And made YHVH Elohim + the Rib that he had taken from the man to the woman and brought her to the man.” – Genesis 2:21-2. The deceased has got quite some way to go before he thinks of a new earthly body however; he’s got a rainbow to climb.

The letter Qoph may represent a test of the deceased.  By withdrawing ‘in truth’ from ‘those calling’ it results in the number for evil רָֽע) 270), but by calling on the aid of YHVH and speaking nothing but truth the deceased could pass on to the next leg of our tour. Once a day the Sun (Resh 200) would pass this way and fully illuminate the reflective Moon, and the worthy were allowed to ride along with the Sun to the Palace of the Daleth.

The letter Shin represents the fire of earthly heat that causes both dry land and the decomposition of a corpse alike.  The verse promises preservation for ‘those who love’ and destruction for the wicked and unworthy, but whatever your stripe your physical remains will break down into their essential elemental forms.  This letter represents this process but it also promises renewal; it is an important part of the cycle of biological life.

In Genesis 1, the corresponding verse for Shin reads:  “9. Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land ‎appear”; and it was so. ‎ God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it ‎was good.”‎

To explain the Tav I’m going to read the corresponding verse of Genesis 1: 14 “Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the ‎night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15. and let them be for lights ‎in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16. God made the two great ‎lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night.”

The letter Tav is all matter and all time, and the measurement of both.  The scribe offers 206 for the gate and evokes the mighty word of 8 x 31 so the deceased may proceed to the Palace.  The scribes ultimate offering is 1200 from the total sum of this verse.

Once the deceased arrives at the Palace of the Daleth its decision time.  If the deceased is found to be unworthy here, then they will evaporate into their spiritually constituent parts like mist by the power of the Kaph.  Kaph is like the heavenly version of the Shin in this respect.  On the other side of the Tree is the Mem emerging from the Aleph represents all things emerging from the one, but the Kaph connection to the Palace of the Aleph represents all things returning to the one.

 The path along to the other Daleth, which is re-entry and reincarnation, is along the path of Peh:  Open (98) plus (5) Your hand (34) and satisfy (131) to all (80) living things (18) desire (346).  However because this path is only open for all living things then the way of the deceased is barred.

“Open (98) = to all (80) + Living things (18) = 98”

The path of Peh involves the mysteries of fertility.  The theme of unsatisfied desires is confronted in the Genesis verses that correspond with the Peh:  “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable ‎for him.” 19. Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, ‎and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living ‎creature, that was its name. 20. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and ‎to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.”

Desire (346) – To all (80) – living things (18) = 248.

The only way left for the deceased to travel is along on the Path of Nun (corresponding to the Death card in the Tarot) towards the Sun.  The value of the Nun is 50, the same as האדם ‘The Adam’ and also מ֥וֹת ‘mowt’ which means ‘Death’ and יָם ‘Sea’.  The path opposite to Nun and influencing (or governing) it from above is Lamed.

The verse for Nun in the Dead Sea scrolls is not very helpful in assisting us to form a picture of what the deceased might face on this path.  “13b.  Faithful (141) Elohim (92) in words (224) and kind (88) in all (52) your works (129).”  The scribe made it possible to produce the 50 with the calculations:

Faithful (141) + Elohim  (92) + Your works (224) =  362.
In Words (224) + And Kind (88) = 312.
362 – 312 = 50 (Nun).
We can also find an 80 (which is Nun 50 + Lamed 30) from “In words (224) – Elohim (92) – in all (52)”; which addresses the influence from the Lamed upon this path (Nun + Lamed = 80).

The verse for Lamed is “To make atonement (125) to the sons of (92) the men (50) your mighty acts (231) and the majestic (38) splendor (209) of Malkuth (106)”.

Here, the scribe pulls out all the stops and densely packs the verse with protective numbers and gate numbers;
‘Your mighty acts’ (231) is the gate number of the Lamed (Aleph + Lamed + Resh), and splendor (209) is the gate number of the Resh associated with the Sun.  To make atonement (125) + To the sons of (92) = 217 for the holy name, and the values of 207 (light) and 48 (כּוֹכָב star/מֹשֶׁ֔ה Moses/דַּלְת֧וֹת the doors) are also discoverable in the calculations.  

The corresponding verse for the Nun in Genesis is:
“Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good ‎for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and ‎evil‎” (600).  The penalty that God threatened Adam and Eve with should they eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge was death, but first their souls had to be born on the earth.  It may be that the tempting fruit of the garden of Eden are all the sensual pleasures of incarnating into flesh itself.

The corresponding verse for the Lamed in Genesis is:  “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath ‎of life; and man became a living being.”  Aleister Crowley believed the Lamed was associated with the Goddess Ma’at therefore there may have been one last and final test of the deceased that was something like the weighing of the heart ritual (against the feather of Ma’at) here.  On the other hand it’s equally possible that the Hebrew tradition was distinctly different.  The theme of the verse is one of praise.

The next path is the Ayin and it runs from the Palace of the Sun to the Daleth on the left.  In the Tarot, this path is attributed to ‘the Devil’, but this is because of the Gnostic belief that the material world was somehow ‘evil’.  Originally however, this path represented the creative and fertile aspect of God that begets and engenders life. In the path of the Peh, the material aspect of the sexual act itself is symbolised by the Peh that passes between the two doors, but on the path of the Ayin the influence of the Yod is felt.  In Genesis the verses associated with the Ayin and the Yod are:

Yod  1. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2. By the seventh day God ‎completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He ‎had done. 3. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His ‎work which God had created and made.‎

Ayin  5. Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. ‎‎16. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17. ‎but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from ‎it you will surely die.”‎

Ayin could be thought of as the path of temptation and desire leading to the ultimate fulfillment and satisfaction of God after his creative work which is represented by the Yod.

To Aleister Crowley the sexual connotations were obvious; the Yod represented spermatozoa and the penis spent and at rest, while the Ayin was the erect and potent forces of God in the appropriate season begetting the universe.  For Crowley the symbolism of the sexual act was everywhere found in fertility rituals.  In the Thoth tarot deck the figure of the Hermit is hooded and phallic.  He is slightly bent over and his hair bears an obvious resemblance to cum.

“Yod Phallus Spermatozoon HandLogos Virgin. There is perfect Identity, not merely Equivalence,of the Extremes, the Manifestation, and the Method” , ‘The Book of Thoth’, by Aleister Crowley.

The deceased, now confirmed as pure and fit for reincarnation is allowed to ride in the presence of God on his solar chariot until they reach the Palace of the Dalet and he deposits his load.  The Palace of the Daleth receives the blessings of God that emerges into the world as one; the solar fire and the souls of the departed (and now about to become reincarnated) as well as the seat of the consciousness of the material substance passing from the male to the female. From this door into the world, the consciousness of the deceased influences their new material body (represented by the Tsade) and after 248 days they are born anew under the Sun – in the Palace of the Heh and the cycle of death and life is complete.

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6.  Conclusion.

Psalm 145 is not only an alphabetic acrostic; it is a very deliberately arranged composition that has been densely packed with gematria calculations.  While the text could perhaps be criticized for being rather prosaic in terms of ‘a good read’, there’s something rather more energetic, artistic and exciting happening on a numerical level.  Each verse has been composed as a numerical ‘spell’; designed to aid the deceased on their travels into the afterlife and provide some measure of protection for the righteous who will be reborn on the Wheel.

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7.  Footnotes.

[1][5]  Evil and the Disruption of Order: A Structural analysis of the Acrostics in the First Book of Psalms [Pdf] by Ronald Benun.

[2]   The gematria of the Tanakh was composed with the Paleohebrew script.
Because Paleohebrew has no ‘final forms’ then any final letters in Ashuri are counted with the same value as ordinary letters.
All the values are exactly the same as ‘standard gematria’ except that the letter Shin = 3 (not 300) and the letter Tav = 4 (not 400).
Paleohebrew has 22 letters and 22 characters. Ashuri on the other hand has 22 letters and 27 characters so it can represent the numbers 1 – 900. When the number values from Paleohebrew were transposed to the Ashuri letters the Shin and Tav were multiplied to 300 and 400.

Most published gematria values contain this mistake (or blind). A clue is left in the names of the numbers themselves however that reflect the Resh was the last letter of the alphabet: each of the words for the gematria numbers (i.e. עֶ֣שֶׂר Ten, מֵאָ֥ה One Hundred, מָאתַ֔יִם Two Hundred) have a single word to denote them but this pattern breaks at Three Hundred, which has two words; שְׁלֹ֣שׁ מֵא֣וֹת Three Hundred – indicating that Three Hundred and Four Hundred were not primary values of the letters.

The values of the Shin and Tav are further confirmed as 3 and 4 by the gematria of the Seven Palaces which arranges the number set in a fashion that evokes combinations (gates) which can be used as a checksum; ב(2) + (8)ח + (1)א  +  (5)ה +  (3)ש + (4)ת + (90)צ + (100)ק + (4)ד = 217.

[3] Attributed to Rabbi Johanan Ha-Nappah in the 3rd Century CE.

[4] The word for ‘upright‘ is תְמִֽימֵי ṯə·mî·mê: which means without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely, sound, without spot, undefiled. The word is from תָּמַם tamam; accomplish, cease, be clean passed, consume, have done, come to an end.
A primitive root; to complete, in a good or a bad sense, literal, or figurative, transitive or intransitive (as follows) accomplish, cease, be clean (pass-)ed, consume, have done, (come to an, have an, make an) end, fail, come to the full, be all gone, X be all here, be (make) perfect, be spent, sum, be (shew self) upright, be wasted, whole.

[6]  Gates are made by combinations of letters on the Paths and Palaces.  For instance; the path leading from the Palace of the Beth to the Palace of the Resh has 3 letters attributed to it; Gimel, Heh and Zayin: therefore the main ‘gate’ for this path is 217.  Opposite this path (the Samekh) the main gate value is 265.  When each is added to it’s opposite then a combined gate value is made (482).

[7] Please see ‘Confirmations of the Tree of Life’ and diverse other articles on this site for more information about the Seven Palaces.

[8] Multiplying the value of Abraham’s name is suggested by Genesis 12:2 “ואעשך לגוי גדול ואברכך ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה
– “And I will make you a nation great and will magnify your name and you shall be a blessing.”

Tarot Correspondences to the Seven Palaces

 

In Part II we’ll be covering the paths corresponding to the Major Arcana from Kaph to Samekh.

To review the Order of the Tarot click here.

To return to Part I please click this link.

 Let’s crack on then…

 

Fortune (20) Kaph כ

10. Now then the Father of all issued as a mighty wheel; the Sphinx, and the dog-headed god, and Typhon, were bound on his circumference.

[ This path falls between the Aleph and the Daleth on the right hand side of the Seven Palaces, and traditionally it represented the return of the spirit to its fundamental simplicity; represented by the Palace of the Aleph.  The Palace of the Dalet received the souls of the dead, and those souls who would no longer be reincarnated upon the earth enter this path.  This path exists on the circumference of the wheel and represents simplification or destruction rather than creation.  Creation is the principle business of the Mem and takes place on the opposite side of the wheel.

“The lightnings which destroy, also beget;
and the wheel may be regarded as the Eye of Shiva,
whose opening annihilates the Universe,
or as a wheel upon the Car of Jaganath,
whose devotees attain perfection at the moment that it crushes them.”
A.C.  – The Book of Thoth.

When its gate is added to the opposite gate of Mem (Aleph + Mem + Daleth) + (Aleph + Kaph + Daleth) = 70 which is the value of the Ayin; thus symbolising that the moment of creation is the moment of destruction and vice versa.  This interplay between creation and destruction was thought by the ancients to be the cause of earthquakes and so the letter Kaph is associated with the trembling and quaking.

“As [Kaph] stood trembling with excitement before the Holy One,
two hundred thousand worlds together with the throne itself
were seized with a sudden tremor and seemed ready to fall.

“Kaph, Kaph!” cried the Holy One, “what hast thou done?
I will not create the world by thee, for thou beginnest Kala (ruin, loss).
Return at once to thy place on the throne of glory and abide there!”
Then Kaph retired and went back to its place.”
– ‘Secrets of the Letters’ (Sitrei ‘Otiyyot).

This is typological to the depiction of the Goddess Anat in stories of the Ba’al cycle from ancient Ugarit:

‎”Anath stamped with her foot,
and she rose from the ground.
Then she set her face
towards El at the source of the rivers,
in the midst of the channels of the two deeps,
she arrived at the domain of El, and came
to the abode of the king, Father of the Years.
She broke in, and entered the domain,
the bases of the pavilions quake.
Bull El, her father, lifted up his voice,
and hid himself in seven chambers,
inside eight enclosures.”‎
‎- The Epic of Baal – Bronze Age texts found at Ugarit (Ras Shamra).

The symbolism of the Sphinx, Anubis and Typhon are linked by Crowley to the 3 Gunas; sattva (goodness, constructive, harmonious), rajas (passion, active, confused), and tamas (darkness, destructive, chaotic).

Gematria:
The gate of the path of Kaph is 25 (Aleph + Kaph + Daleth).
When its gate is added to the opposite gate of Mem (Aleph + Mem + Daleth) + (Aleph + Kaph + Daleth) = 70.

אֲבִ֕י כָּל The Father of all (63); Abi Kal
אוֹפַ֣ן Wheel (137); Ophan
63 + 137 = 200 = Resh.

“The Sphinx is composed of the four Kerubs, shown in Atu V,
the bull, the lion, the eagle and the man”~ A.C. Book of Thoth.

Sphinx Σφίγξ = 293
The Bull הַפָּ֔ר = 285
The Lion הָֽאֲרִי֙ = 216
The Eagle הַנֶּ֙שֶׁר֙ = 258
and the Man והָאִישׁ֙ = 25
Hermanubis Ἑρμανοῦβις =‎482
Typhon Τυφῶν = 157 ]

Calculations:
Circumference is a loan translation from the Greek word ‘periphery’ περιφέ = 220.
285 The Bull +  25 and the Man = 310
216 The Lion + 25 and the Man = 241
258 The Eagle + 25 and the Man = 283
285 The Bull + 258 The Eagle + 157 Typhon = 700
241 The Lion and the Man  + 482 Hermanubis + 157 Typhon + 220 Periphery = 1100.

 

Adjustment/Justice (30) Lamed ל

11. Also the lady Maat with her feather and her sword abode to judge the righteous. For Fate was already established.

[ This path connects the Palace of the Aleph (on the left) with the Palace of the Resh.  The feather of Lady Ma’at represents a weightless quality to both light and thought alike.  This quality proceeds from the Palace of the Aleph to beget the Palace of the Sun (Resh) in a grand mating of the essential dualism of thought itself.  On this path, the thought of light becomes manifest in Palace of the Resh.

The sword of Ma’at is also a symbol of mind, with each side of the blade representing the  quintessential duality of thought.  To understand any concept the mind must have some degree of comparison.  A has to be contrasted with A before there can be a B.  The first verse about the Fool (the Aleph) says “the one ran and returned”; a comparison must be made at the moment a thought enters our awareness.

The Palace of the Resh is the point where thought of light becomes light.

One of the popular modern explanations for consciousness has been developed by Professors Stuart Hammeroff and Roger Penrose[1].  The theory is called “Orchestrated Objective Reduction” and I hope I don’t misrepresent them as I give a brief account of their work.  They explain that the point at which there is a flash of consciousness (and this is approximately 60 times a second) is a moment when the objective reduction of the waveform happens followed by its collapse.

This collapse of the waveform occurs in an organised manner in respect of all living beings that are said to possess consciousness, and this is distinctly different from the generalised objective reduction of the waveform that is happening everywhere, all the time.

The Sun (or any other star) is essentially undergoing the same quantum process that generates our awareness, but it’s difficult to see how this process could be organised without the medium of microtubules.  What organisation the Sun possesses, arises from the cycles of its magnetic fields as matter is converted into pure energy and light.  At the point of the objective reduction of the waveform the sun possesses consciousness but we don’t know whether it thinks any thoughts or whether its awareness simply exists in an endless and undifferentiated ‘now’.

Equally, inside every candle flame there is a microdiamond right at its heart, and pervading the influence of this small centre of gravity is the medium of awareness.  At the heart of each flame, a window is opened between the quantum universe and the macrocosmic universe.

The collapse of the waveform creates the experience of consciousness, even though time doesn’t actually exist at the pre-material level of the universe.  Particles can be at two different places at the same time, or in two different times at the same place; the fundamental principles at the pre-material level of the universe are not the same as they are for the material universe.  “Fate was already established”, may allude to the fact that, by the time we become aware of ‘it’, ‘it’ has already happened and the matter has already been decided one way or another.

“If they’re thinking about it now –
they’ve probably already done it somewhere else.”

In the Minor Arcana, we may see these themes reiterated in the Six of Swords.  The theme of the card is the fulfilment of organised thought – ‘thinking’, and therefore ‘judging’; making comparisons and composing our awareness into an organised network of relationships between qualia.  This is fundamental to our experience of reality; as fickle and unpredictable a mistress as the harlequiness.  She is the personification of samsara to the Buddhist mind, but Thelema insists on a more positive perspective;

“Remember all ye that existence is pure joy;
that all the sorrows are but as shadows;
they pass & are done;
but there is that which remains”
– Liber Al vel Legis II;9.

This path has the main gate value of 231 Resh + Lamed + Aleph, and there are also the gates of Aleph (1)  א + Lamed (31) ל and Lamed + Resh (230) ר.

אל Aleph + Lamed = El.
El is “is a Northwest Semitic word meaning “god” or “deity”, or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major Ancient Near East deities”, such as the supreme god of the Canaanites.

The texts of the Ba’al cycle discovered at Ras Sharma, say that El makes his Temple in the mountains and that his temple has Seven Palaces.  His son ‘Hadad’ (one of the Elohim or ‘children of El’) lived in the Seven Palaces of his Father.  We see that statement in logographic terms on the Seven Palaces when we realise that the three bottom palaces of Heh + Dalet + Dalet spell Hadad (13).

Gematria:
‘Ma’at’ can be spelt in two ways in Hebrew.  There is ‘מעת’ Moth in the Hebew.  This word means a cycle or more literally it means ‘from Time’.  It conveys the meanings of eternity and perpetually; a world without end.  The word comes from the word ad עַד; meaning a cycle or long duration; forever.  ‘Ad’ comes from the word adah, meaning to adorn, and also to pass by or take away.

The other word is מָעַט Maat which means to be or become small, diminished, or few.

“And having known these,
there are the wings of Maut the Vulture.
Thou mayest draw to an head
the bow of thy magical will;
thou mayest loose the shaft
and pierce her to the heart.”
– A.C.  ‘Benshrur and Tolga’.
(December 12, 1909.
7-8. 12 midnight).

Ma’at can also be valued from the transliterated word, giving Mem + Aleph + Aleph + Tav = 46
אל Aleph Lamed = El = 31.
Bow = קרך = 320
Feather נוֹצָה = 110
Sword חָ֫רֶב 210
Abode חָצִיר = 308
Judge אֶשְׁפֹּֽט = 93.  Also the value of ‘Thelema’ – written upon the shaft of the bow seen in the Hierophant card, for the shaft of the arrow is the “the quanta of Will.”
Righteous צַדִּ֛יק = 204
Wall קָר = 300.  To ‘go to the wall’ is to face your fate. The chance or accident has קרה happened.
Established נוֹסָד = 120

Calculations:
3 x 31 = 93.
Righteous 204 – Judge 93 = 111.
אלף ‘Aleph’ = 111.
Ma’at (46) + El (31) = 77.
Feather + Abode = 418.
Feather 110 + Sword 210 = 320 the same as Bow קרך]
Feather 110 + Sword 210 + Bow 320 = 640 = 64 Established x 10

 

The Hanged Man (40) Mem מ, ם

12. Then the holy one appeared in the great water of the North; as a golden dawn did he appear, bringing benediction to the fallen universe.

In traditional Tarot packs, the figure of the Fool is seen hanging upside down from a tree branch that resembles a Daleth.  This is ‘Adam’  אדם(45), and he personifies the entire species.  We all have to wait before we get born and the hanged man represents a period of pre-birth and gestation.  The rope that Adam is tied to is the umbilical cord and he is suspended in the womb of his mother, in the waters of her amniotic fluid.  The letter Mem represents the element of water and the preborn Adam is upside down, ready for his journey down the birthing cannal.

Besides the first man, the Fool may also represent Abraham (248) as there are 248 days in 9 anomalistic lunar months.  Astronomical cuniform texts written in the Seleucid Period (312 BCE to 63 BCE) exhibit the relationship: 248 days = 9 ‎anomalistic months, but given that 248 is a multiple of 31 (El) the number was probably known many generations earlier and across the ancient near east and by every midwife and doctor.

248 = 8 x 31

Kabbalistic tradition[2] holds that souls descending from this path are pure and innocent; they have never been born before and are ‘new souls’.  Souls that are reincarnating take their aleph with them on their journey through life and their return to a birth canal through the path of the Ayin after passing through Nun and the Palace of the Resh.

In this verse, the holy one is Osiris who is represented by the Aleph at the top of the path of the Mem.  North is up and South is down, however left is east and right is west.  When he enters the great waters of the North the gate of אֵ֥ם Aleph+ Mem (41) is created, meaning ‘mother’.

Below the Palace of the Daleth the fallen Universe awaits the benediction of a new birth, symbolised by the new Sun that rises each day at dawn.  Included in the meanings of this card is the idea of spiritual initiation as rebirth.

The main gate of this path is 45 and a combined gate is made with the opposite path of the Kaph to make 70.  Like a Bhavacakra, time on the seven palaces is a period of pre-birth, life, the afterlife – the cycle of reincarnation.

Gematria:
Note that from door to door (dalet to dalet) around the circumference of the Wheel is:
ד + ר + ה + ש + ת + צ + ק + ד = 410
לָרָקִ֔יעַ =410 “of firmament” (Genesis 1:7)
אֲרָרָֽט ‎ – ‘ararat’(410); mountain that Noah’s ark ‎landed on after the Flood.‎
410 = אם Mother = 41 x 10
410 – The gate of Mem 45 = 365 (days a year).

 

Death (50) Nun נ, ן

13. Also Asar was hidden in Amennti; and the Lords of Time swept over him with the sickle of death.

This path connects the Palace of the Daleth (on the right) with the Palace of the Resh.

Khenti-Amentiu was depicted as a jackal-headed deity at Abydos, who stood guard over the city of the dead. His name means “Foremost of the Westerners” or “Chief of the Westerners”, and  ‘Westerners’ is a reference to the dead.

Amennti was the realm of the dead in ancient Egyptian mythology.  Amennti is more usually referred to as the Duat.   Asar (Osiris) was the lord of the underworld because he personified life after death and rebirth.

The dead had to undergo a number of obstacles before coming to the Duat to be judged in the “Weighing of the Heart” ritual (depicted in Spell 125).

In the presence of Osiris the dead person swore that he had not committed any sin from a list of 42 sins and this was known as the ‘Negative Confession’. The dead person’s heart was weighed on a pair of scales such as is featured in the justice card for the opposite spoke, against the feather of the goddess Maat.  If the deceased’s heart owned to any sins they may have committed in life then ‘Ammit, the Devourer’ stood ready to eat the heart and put a swift end to their hoped for afterlife, and against this possibility the ancient Egyptian took extensive magical precautions during the course of his lifetime.  If the scales balanced and the deceased had known a good life then he was taken to Osiris to become the ‘maa-kheru’ – meaning ‘vindicated’ or ‘judged’ or sometimes ‘true of voice’.

“…both the skeleton and the scythe are
importantly Saturnian symbols.”
 A.C. ‘The Book of Thoth’.

Saturn was identified by the Romans with the Greek Lords of Time; Cronus and Kairos.  Cronus (Κρόνος) personified the quantity of Time whereas Kairos (Καιρός) represented the quality of Time.

“Pherecydes of Syros in his lost Heptamychos (the seven recesses),
around 6th century BC, claimed that there were three eternal principles:
Chronos, Zas (Zeus) and Chthonie (the chthonic).
The semen of Chronos was placed in the recesses and produced the first generation of gods.” – Wiki

Gematria:

The gate of  this path is 254:  Dalet (4) + Nun (50) + Resh (200) = 254.
מות Mot (50) is the personification of Death in Ugaritic Myth.  He is the son of El and the brother to Hadad, Yam and Anat.  Mot had seven portions cut up for a feast Hadad was hosting and he took with him seven servitors when he went into the earth.
The Adam (50) האדם because the Heh prefix indicates the definite article.  As all men all born, all men are also subject to death.
מָ֗וֶת Mawet Death (50)
לִשְׁחֹ֖ט ‘Lishot’; to Kill (50)
לשחתה ‘Lesahathah’; to Destroy (50)
יָ֔ם Yam; West or Sea (50)
Sickle δρέπανον (360)
Bone עֶ֚צֶם or Skeleton (200)
Cronus Κρόνος = 510
Kairos Καιρός = 401

“The middle interpretation of this sign is given by the serpent,  who is, moreover, the main theme of the sign.
[The Qabalists embodied in the Book of Genesis, Caps I and II, this doctrine of regeneration.

NChSh, the Serpent in Eden, has the value 358: 50 also MShICh, Messiah.  He is, accordingly, in the secret doctrine, the Redeemer] ” – A.C. ‘The Book of Thoth’.

הגאולה The Redemption = 50
נֹ֔חַ Noah = 58
הַמַּבּ֥וּל The Flood = 93
מַ֙יִם֙ Water = 90
NChSh; the Sepent in Eden = 61
MShICh; Messiah = 61
אַ֫יִן Ain; Nothing, naught = 61
נון Fish; the letter Nun = 106 (See Liber 500)
[  מִשֹּׁ֤רֶשׁ נָחָשׁ֙ Root Serpent = 307 (See Isaiah 14:29)
צֶ֔פַע Viper = 240
שָׂרָ֥ף מְעוֹפֵֽף Flying Serpent = 559 ]

Calculations:
93 The Flood + 90 of Water = 183 (see Genesis 6:17)
182 + 183 = 365
61 (See above) x 3 = 183
Root Serpent + Viper + Flying Serpent = 1106
1106 = Fish; the letter Nun (106) + the large Aleph (1000).

“Of course, the Fish is identical in essence with the Serpent; for Fish=NVN=Scorpio=Serpent.”
– A.C. ‘The Book of Thoth’.

 

Art/Temperance (60) Samekh ס

14. And a mighty angel appeared as a woman, pouring vials of woe upon the flames, lighting the pure stream with her brand of cursing. And the iniquity was very great.

This path connects the Palace of the Resh with the Palace of the Heh.  It is placed opposite to the heavenly divine residence.  In terms of architectonic gematria: it connects the Royal Palace of King Solomon with the Temple.  Thus part of the path enters into the compound associated with the Garden of Eden – which is within the Inner courtyard, while part of it traverses the outer courtyard to the Kings Palace.  Thus – it functions to connect the spiritual with the mundane.

The gate name of Sarah (SRH = 265) is immediately apparent but corresponding value of the name of her husband Abraham only appears on the wheel by the process of magnification referred to in Genesis 12:2;  when Abrahams name is magnified tenfold and the Beth upon the Wheel is given the value of 2000 rather than 2, then the name of Abraham is the same as the sum total of the gates above and below which is 2,480.

It has been argued that the attention God pays to Sarah is rather more intimate than would usually be expected, and this had led to speculation in some quarters that Sarah might be the personification of Asherah.  The name Asherah translates as “she who moves across the water” so we can identify her as the spirit of God that moved across the face of the deep in the very beginning of creation (1:2).  According to Midrash Genesis Rabbah – during Sarah’s life – a lamp was continuously alight from Sabbath eve to Sabbath eve.  Her dough was magically blessed so she could feed as many visitors that came to her tent, and the door of her tent was always open.

The Canaanites believed that Asherah was constantly cheating on her husband EL with his son Hadad.  This is the second manifestation of the Goddess on the Wheel of the Chariot.  As ‘Elat’ she appears on the cross beam between the two Alephs, but just as EL manifests lower down on the Wheel through the agency of his son Hadad (who is but another form of the Father) – the Goddess manifests as Asherah to join with Hadad in a mundane sense upon the earth.  Unfortunately the uninitiated came to regard Asherah as a wanton harlot because of a misunderstanding over the nature of the God and Goddess as they manifested both above and below in different guises, and this was used as an excuse to suppress Goddess worship in ancient Israel. In Kabbalah, the Goddess Asherah is the Shekinah – the feminine grace and face of God that manifests upon the earth.

In the Midrash Genesis Rabbah we learn that a cloud was constantly stationed over the Sarah’s tent signifying the presence and loving attention of God.  Once Sarah died the miraculous happenings surrounding Sarah’s tent stopped – however when Rebecca married Isaac and entered the tent they re-manifested, which suggests that the woman Sarah was acting as a priestess would to allow the presence of the Goddess to manifest through her, and it was this that drew the attention of the God to her.

There are parallels between the tent of Sarah and the House of God in Jerusalem; the doors of both were open day or night; bread in the Temple remained fresh for a week just as Sarah also always had fresh bread; and in both Sarah’s tent and the Temple there was a continuous light from the Menorah.

The Tarot Card ‘Art’ has a solar background to the angel, and there is the suggestion of the ‘Sea’ (of the Temple courtyard) via the golden cauldron.  The angel is dressed in Green appropriate to Venus because for 265 days, Venus appears over the horizon after the Sunset, and 265 is the number of the primary gate of this path.

Gematria:
הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ – ‘The Sun’ = 51
גָֽדְלָ֤ה has become great = 42
ר֧וּחַ ‘Spirit’ (angel) = 214
הָאֲשֵׁרָ֑ה ‘The Asherah’ = 214
מיטטרון ‘Shekinah’ = 324 (See Liber 500).
מַלְאָךְ֙ ‘Angel’ = 91
אשים Angels of Malkuth; burnt or incense offering; “The flames” = 54 (See Liber 500)
אִשָּׁ֔ה ‘Woman’ = 9
סֵ֫פֶל ‘Bowl, vial’ = 170
חֵץ ‘Arrow’ = 98
אוֹי ‘Woe’ = 17
א֖וֹרִי ‘Lighting’ = 217
הַנָּ֑חַל ‘The Stream’ = 93
טָהוֹר ‘Pure, clean’ = 220
ארר ‘Cursing’ = 401
נושא ‘Iniquity’ =60 (See Sepher Sephiroth).

Calculations:
When the sentence is reduced to only the nouns and adjectives it reads “And a [mighty] [angel] appeared as a [woman] pouring [vials] of [woe] upon the [flames] [lighting]”: 42 Mighty + 324 Shekinah  + 9 Woman + 170 Bowl/Vial + 17 Woe + 54 The Flames + Sun 51 = 667; The Number of the Scarlet Woman.

the [pure (220)] [stream (93)] with her brand of 
 [ארר Cursing. (401)] + 265 (SRH) = 666.

And the [iniquity = 60] was very great.
60 x 10 = 600.

“Good old A.C. … couldn’t resist scrawling his and SW’s number into his work.  lol.”

The primary gates from this path are:  Heh + Samekh (65); Resh + Samekh (260); and Samekh + Resh + Heh (265); and the combination of this gate with the one above it (217 + 265 = 482).

In Genesis 6:2 we arrive at the number 265 through the marriage of the Sons of the Elohim and Daughters of the Men:  בני־האלהים את־בנות האדם; Bni 62 + Halhim 91 = 153; BnvTh 62 + Hadm 50 = 112; 153 + 112 = 265‎

Specific to this card and path is: 214 Asherah + 51 The Sun = 265
214 Asherah + 51 The Sun + 217 Lighting = 482
170 Bowl + 98 Arrow + 9 Flames – 17 Woe = 260

The gate of ‘Heh + Samekh’ (65) most likely represents the requirement to be silent before YHVH.

* * *

In Part III of Liber Arcanorum we’ll be covering verses 15 to 21; from the path of Ayin ‘The Devil’ to the path of Tav ‘The Universe’.

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[1] ‘Is Quantum Physics Necessary for the Account of Consciousness?’ Lecture by Stuart Hameroff.  https://youtu.be/2_sgFETJzak

[2] “On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead: Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah” by Gershom Scholem, page 204.