BethSheba Ashe

Author & Researcher in the Original Gematria and the Precursor to the Tree of Life

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War Engine

April 15, 2019 By BethSheba Ashe Leave a Comment

~ Notes.

Today I have the pleasure of taking a look at a small piece of the gematria within the Book of the Law.  Written in 1904, Crowley – who had made a keen study of the Merkabah and the Torah – encoded a Hebrew/English transliterated form of gematria within the pages of the dual monikered ‘Liber Al vel Legis’[1].  The story behind Crowley’s relationship with the Merkabah is for another day. Today I just want to share the results of my studies regarding the AL III,7 : “I will give you a war-engine,” as the phrase is particularly enigmatic.  Also I believe that allowing you to read my notes will give you insight into how to go about the art of gematria properly.

I have a number of tools open on my desktop; Shematria, this word pad, and an ordinary calculator.  I want to start by seeing line 7 in context of the gematria around it, since the math is probably part of a series.     

Prior to line 7 we have the following sums in the chapter:
Line 1:  Abrahadabra = 418.  [abrahadabra + reward + ra + hoor +khut = 1420 (710 x 2.  See AL 1.3-4 also).


Line 2: “ There is division hither homeward;  [hither homeward = 555, corresponding in value to the phrase “The Hearts of Men”, so we may read “there is division in the hearts of men”.]
[Continuing line 2:]
there is a word not known [probably a reference to the ‘lost word’ of the freemasons, but we have that word and it has the value of 217 so no matter.]

Spelling is defunct;  all is not aught”.
[We should pay attention to spelling errors.  All is not aught may be an allusion to the value of ‘all’ which is 61, sharing the value with words such as Ain (Nothing (not aught)) which Crowley may have believed was a clever enough reason to include it.]

Beware! 219 + Hold! 109 + Raise the Spell 490 = 818
818 – (minus because it is from) Ra Hoor Khuit! 596 = 222.
Therefore, to cure the division in the hearts of men (which is 555) we add 222 and receive 777.

Line 3:   a + God + War + Vengeance = 418
Line 4:  Choose ye an island! = 434
Line 5:  Fortify it! = 478 [418 + 434 + 478 = 1,330]
Line 6:  Dung it about with enginery of war! = 880 [1330 + 880 = 2020]
Line 7:  War Engine = 330
Line 8:  “With it ye shall smite the peoples; and none shall stand before you”. 

Peoples = 330.  Peoples – War Engine = 0 and thus the peoples have been metaphorically ‘smited’ with gematria.     
Line 9:  Law of the Battle of Conquest = 710.

As a student of gematria it’s made me wonder whether Crowley was alluding to biblical battles as being similar plays of mathematics.  The first time the word for war is mentioned in the bible is Genesis 14:2 if you fancy following that up, but for me that’s it for today.  Have a great day and stay tuned for more numerical honey.


[1] א Aleph A = 1, ב Beth B = 2, ג Gimel G = 3, ש Shin Sh = 3, ד Daleth D = 4, ת Tav Th = 4, ה Heh H,E = 5, ו Vav U,V,W = 6, ז Zayin Z = 7, ח Cheth Ch,C = 8, ט Teth T = 9,  י Yod I,J,Y = 10, כ,ך Kaph K = 20, ל Lamed L = 30, מ,ם Mem M = 40, נ,ן Nun N = 50,  ס Samekh S,X = 60, ע Ayin O = 70, פ,ף Peh Ph,P = 80, צ,ץ Tsade Ts = 90, ק Qoph Q = 100, ר Resh R = 200.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Aleister Crowley, book of the law, Gematria, Liber al vel legis, war engine

Liber Al vel Legis 1:3-4

June 13, 2018 By BethSheba Ashe Leave a Comment

“… a cipher involving higher mathematics, and a knowledge of the Hebrew, Greek and Arabic Qabalahs as well as the True Lost Word of the Freemason, is yet veiled within the casual silk-stuff of ordinary English words…” – Aleister Crowley.

Now that the Shematria app is working and has the Book of the Law available to browse through and calculate verse by verse, it’s much easier to analyse the various puzzles in the book.  Check out this latest find!  It’s all calculated with the gematria of the Merkabah (of course).  Find out more here or read Aleister Crowley’s Secret Temple ($7.77) for more information…

Simply type “Book of the Law” or “Liber Al vel Legis” and the chapter and verse you’d like to study.  Or if you’d like to study the bible to compare just enter the name of the book + chapter + verse.  There are some very neat parallels between Liber Al vel Legis and Genesis.  See how many you can spot!

Filed Under: Aleister Crowley, Gematria Tagged With: Aleister Crowley, book of the law, every man and every woman is a star, Gematria, Liber al vel legis, pi

Aleister Crowley’s Secret Temple – Second Edition

April 4, 2018 By BethSheba Ashe Leave a Comment

http://bethshebaashe.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ACST-SE-Banner.mp4

Buy the Paperback version of Aleister Crowley’s Secret Temple…

Reviews for Aleister Crowley’s Secret Temple…

“This book is excellent! A must have for any library. The author certainly knows her subject. I’ve been studying Merkabah since the early 90’s. She is an expert in this field. They long encoded mysteries have been brought forth! This is artistic genius!” ~ By PLaGuardia.

 

“The ‘Book of The Law’ is probably Crowley’s greatest literary achievement, if not one of the most significant texts of esoteric lore. To fully understand and appreciate its multi-faceted content Alrah Fraser delves deep into the ‘mystery behind the mystery’, a concept that is at the heart of much arcane knowledge. The ‘Merkabah’ is the key to Crowley’s system, and although this must be thoroughly delineated, it is to the author’s credit that she does not falter whilst gathering together the many threads of the mystery. The result is a clear and concise exposition of this particular fount of learning, one fundamental to any worthwhile understanding of the Kabbalah.” ~ By Caduceus.

 

“This is not your “run of the mill” take on The Book of the Law using gematria. This is book that looks at the Book of the Law through the eyes of a professional cryptographer! Aleister Crowley’s Liber vel Legis was “unlocked” by Frater Jones using his key of 31. But for a lot of Thelemites (and non-Thelemites) there seemed to be more to this book. Well Soror Alrah Fraser has unlocked even more of Liber vel Legis, and shows how it fits into the Merkuba system of attainment. I highly recommend this book!” ~ By Mysticqabalah.

 

“For those of us who love Tarot, Numerology, Gematria, Qabalistic studies, Crowley, the mysteries of the universe and more, this carefully illustrated and explained study of the Tree of Life is an informative and enjoyable read.” – By Marie Clewley.

 

“Everyone who studies magick wants to more deeply understand the universe, and this book greatly assists in meditation and reflection of Liber AL as well as other texts. The addition of the Merkabah as a map of understanding is especially useful for those who have seen the perfection of the universe, to which the Tree in its classical sense is no longer completely valid.” ~ By lasphodelius.

 




“In the greatest symbolism of all, however, the symbolism beyond all planetary and Zodiacal considerations, this card is the feminine complement of the Fool, for the letters Aleph Lamed constitute the secret key of the Book of the Law, and this is the basis of a complete Qabalistic system of greater depth and sublimity than any other. The details of this system have not yet been revealed. It has been thought right, nevertheless, to hint at its existence by equating the designs of these two cards.” – Aleister Crowley, The Book of Thoth, Adjustment.

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#Aleister Crowley #Thelema #Book of the Law #Seven Palaces #Merkabah #Gematria #Qabalah

Filed Under: Aleister Crowley, Gematria, Merkabah Wheel, Tarot Tagged With: A.'.A.'., ACST, Aleister Crowley, Gematria, Merkabah, Secret Temple, Thelema

Conformations of the Tree of Life

July 23, 2017 By BethSheba Ashe 1 Comment

“…Such an one is that man who ‎can neither institute the union of the Holy Name…” – The Book of Concealed Mystery.

The Tree of Life – showing Malkuth being added to Yesod – Portae Lucis, Augsberg 1516.

The Seven Palaces were hidden under the cipher of the Tree of Life and finding them required a student that was curious enough to ask themselves “I wonder what the original conformations of this diagram looked like?”

The first picture to be published of the Tree of life that wasn’t just a series of concentric circles, ‎was featured on the front cover of the Portae Lucis magazine in 1516[1].

Within a few centuries – new versions of the Etz haChayim (עץ החיים) [The Tree of Life] were popping up across Europe.  New paths were added to the Tree or the positions of the paths were altered.  Sometimes entire Sephiroth were added – no matter what the Sepher Yetzirah said[2]. Issac Luria and other later Kabbalists put much effort into this hermeneutical past-time, and they were joined by Western Occultists such as Frater Achad. These students redistributed the letters into something that was more pleasing and attuned to their personal view of the cosmos.

In it’s own private sphere this is a worthy inquiry if it assists the student to understand themselves somewhat better, but that isn’t the only motivation that people have when they start tweaking at the tree.  The Zohar contains an admonition in the ‘Book of Concealed Mystery’ that says “…derive the Supernals[3] into the position required…“ which is an open invitation to change the tree.

Notice that only one ‘position’ is mentioned. The word ‘position’ is not a plural, and Da’ath is not a Sephiroth, but ‘the position’.

The Seven Palaces – 5th knowledge lecture – The Complete Golden Dawn. Bill Heidrick noted the Golden Dawn diagram “This is the traditional depiction of the moment of the opening of the 50th Gate of Understanding, although there is little evidence that the matter was understood by the G.’. D.’. as such.”

When the supernals are combined in the position of Da’ath then the top half of the Seven Palaces are seen. When Malkuth is drawn back up into Yesod then all the Seven Palaces can be seen.

The Seven Palaces were hidden[4], and finding them required a student that was curious enough to ask themselves “I wonder what the original conformations of this diagram looked like?”  The first step in solving any really good puzzle or riddle is to take yourself out of the equation completely.  It’s not about what you think: it’s about what the writer means.  In a sense, it is a spiritual test… *to see* the Merkabah you have to first leave your ego at the door.

Students of the Golden Dawn had a slightly easier time of finding the original conformation of the Tree of Life because a picture of the Seven Palaces was given to initiates with their fifth knowledge lecture.  It’s a starting point but this diagram is devoid of any paths running between the palaces and it was mis-attributed as “the Seven Palaces of Assiah” (the lowest of the Kabbalistic four worlds).  Essentially the Golden Dawn lumped the Seven Palaces into the same category as the Qlippoth, without taking into account the ancient near east view of the cosmos with its Seven Heavens, Seven Earths and Seven Hells.

The idea of seven heavens originated in ancient Mesopotamia.  Sumerian incantations of the late second millennium BCE make references to seven heavens and seven earths. One incantation is: “an-imin-bi ki-imin-bi” (the heavens are seven, the earths are seven) and the Hebrew word for “heavens” was Shamayim (שָׁמַיִם 93).

What are the ten kings? They are the seven voices and three sayings (Amarim). – The Bahir.

To really comprehend the origin of the Tree of Life, you have to be a bit of a sleuth on an investigation – rather than an inventor at the potters wheel.  In a sense, you have to attack both the Torah and the Zohar as if they were cryptic crossword puzzles; analyzing every word to see if it has a second meaning.  Unlike a cryptic crossword the sources themselves require investigation and this can be especially difficult with translation.  Even the recent Pritzker edition has been ‘corrected’ with the Aramaic word for ‘Supernals’ having been replaced with another one for ‘Spheres’.

The Seven Palaces
The Seven Palaces

The phrasing of the full Zoharic admonition itself is a barrier to understanding;

“‎11. But what is to be understood by that ‎passage
“And they that despise Me shall be ‎lightly esteemed?”
Such an one is that man who ‎can neither institute the union of the Holy Name,
nor bind together the links of truth,
nor derive ‎the supernals into the position required,
nor ‎honour the Name of his Lord.
Better were it for ‎that man had he never been created,
and much ‎more for that man who doth not attentively ‎meditate when he saith Amen!”

– Chapter III – ‎Verse 11, ‘Kabbalah Unveiled’.

The line “and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed” is lifted from Samuel 2:30 and it reads:

“Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares,
I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever;
but now the LORD declares,
‘Far be it from Me – for those who honor Me I will honor,
and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.

The theme of honour is repeated later in the verse; “…nor ‎honour the Name of his Lord…” but the word ‘honour’ in Samuel is מְכַבְּדַ֥י while the word used for ‘honour’ in the Zoharic verse is ‘הדר‘ which (according to Strong’s concordance) also carries the meanings of ‘to honor, adorn, and perhaps also ‘to swell’.   The word comprises three letters that appear on four of the seven palaces (the daleth appearing on two palaces).

In Deuteronomy the word ‘honour’ הדר is used in a very different context:  בכור שורו הדר ל֗וֹ  “As the firstborn of his bull honour to“, which makes a fascinating link with the bull god.  הדד ‘Hadad’ was the bull god son of the supreme Father of the Gods and creator deity אל El (31) and the three letters of the lowest Palaces form his name.  According to the Ba’al cycle texts found at Ras Sharma from Ugarit (6000 BCE – 1190 BCE)- Hadad lived in the Seven Palaces of his Father.

The next line of the riddle is “Such an one is that man who ‎can neither institute the union of the Holy Name.”  At the top of this page you’ll see a diagram that illustrates how – when the letters of the Seven Palaces are correctly attributed to the right Paths and Palaces; they coalesce to form values that are identical to the names of ancient biblical deities and major characters in the narrative. When placed in a logographic arrangement the numbers of the Seven Palaces recur and reflect around the structure.  For example:

Biblical Gematria

7 x 31 = 217.
2 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 200 = 217.
2 + 1 + 200 + 1 + 5 + 4 + 4 = 217.
197 + 20 = 217.
(5 + 3 + 4 + 90 + 100 + 4) + (2 + 8 + 1) = 217

200 + 40 + 8 = 248
217 + 31 = 248.

5 + 3 + 4 + 90 + 100 + 4 = 206.
217 – 11 = 206.

One cannot help but come away from a mathematical enquiry of the Seven Palaces, thinking that the interplay of the numbers upon each of the faces – with each depending on the others for support and existence – conveys a sublime insight into the interdependent functioning of the cosmos.

“…bind together the links of truth…“

What are the links of truth…?  One word for ‘link’ may be ‘qarse’ קַרְסֵ֥י with the value 370:
ועשית קרסי נחשת חמשים והבאת את־הקרסים בללאת וחברת את־האהל והיה אחד – Exodus 26:11.
“And you shall make 50 bronze clasps and put the clasps into the loops and couple together the tent that it may be one.”

Another word for ‘link’ might be עֲנָ֖ק Anaq (220) chain; a necklace, which shares its value with words such as ‘HaTorah’ and ‘Bereshith’, as well as with an arrangement of five of the six ‘inner paths’ that connect with the centered palace of the Resh.  These five paths never change their placement when the Tree is reformatted into the Seven Palaces.  They remain right where they are.  However the sixth path to connect with the Palace of Resh (from the Beth) is made of paths that were once connected to the three Supernals, and just as the Supernals went to make one Palace above, the connecting paths are bound together to make one interconnecting path comprised of the letters ג Gimel ה Heh and ז Zayin.

“50. We have learned (Proverbs 25:2), “The glory of God is to hide a word.”
What is “a word”? That of which it is written (Psalm 119:160), “The Beginning of Your
word is truth.”  [It is also written] (Proverbs 25:2), “It is the glory of kings is to research a word.”
What is this “word”? That of which it is written (Proverbs 25:11), “A word spoken in its
proper place (Aphen-av)”, do not read “its proper place” (Aphen-av), but “its wheel”
(Ophen’av)” – The Bahir.

Insight into how to arrange the letters from the lost paths of the Tree and onto the palaces are given in a Zoharic essay ‘The Mysteries of the Alphabet’.  In this narrative, God is deciding on what letter to begin the creation of the world with, and eventually he decides to begin with the letter Beth, yet he calls to the Aleph twice “Aleph!  Aleph!” and declares that his influence upon the earth shall only be expressed through the Aleph.  This is why the Beth is to the Seventh Palace (at the top) and the Alephs flank it on the palaces at either side.  The Bahir adds this insight into the location of the Daleths upon the Palaces:

“36. His students asked: Why is the letter Daleth thick on the side?
He replied: Because of the Segol which is in the small Patach.
It is thus written (Psalm 24:7), “The openings (pitchey) of the World.” There He placed a
Patach above and a Segol below. It is for this reason that it is thick.
37. What is the Patach? It is an opening (Petach).  What is meant by an opening? This is the direction of north, which is open to all the world. It is the gate from which good and evil emerge.” – The Bahir.

Daleth means ‘door’ – and the two doors on the Palaces are the Doors of Light and Darkness; Life and Death. Between the Palaces of the Doors is the Path of Peh, which begins the words ‘Petach’ and ‘Pitchey’.

A careful study of the Tanakh throws up a wealth of commentary on the conformations and qualities of the Seven Palaces.  Ezekiel is especially forthcoming about the conformations of the Seven Palaces.  For instance in Chapter 44:1-3:

1  Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. 2  YHVH said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the YHVH God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3  “As for the prince, he shall sit in it as prince to eat before YHVH; he shall enter by way of the porch of the gate and shall go out by the same way.”

[This means that no-one may may exit life via the same gate they were born (through the Palace of the Daleth in the East).  The ‘porch’ is the path of Peh – which was represented at the temple by a porch, and ‘the Prince’ is ‘Hadad’ (son of El) who lives in the Palaces of his Father according to the Ba’al cycle texts.]

Scattered among the early Kabbalistic texts, there are plenty of cryptic aids to assist in the discovery of the Seven Palaces. Unfortunately there have been few students who are even aware that they should have been looking for them.  Aleister Crowley was a different sort of man, and from his time with Scottish freemasonry he was quite clear that he should know about them.   From his accounts in ‘The Confessions of Aleister Crowley’ we can date the time of his discovery of the Seven Palaces to 1900.  His accounts make it explicitly clear that he was searching for the ‘Lost Word’ of the Freemasons; the word that was reputably only spoken by the High Priest within the presence of God in the tabernacle, and only once a year.

It’s fascinating that Crowley chose the verse he did to prove his assertions to knowledge of the Lost Word.  He gives an example from Genesis 17:5 – a verse that corroborates biblical gematria when shin = 3 and tav = 4 (as it does on the Seven Palaces).  ‘Abraham’ = 248 and המון גוים נתתיך “of many nations I will make” = 248.  By ‘standard’ gematria the sum total of המון גוים נתתיך is 1040.  It’s one of the rare examples in the Torah where the text directly verifies the gematria result.

“This exegetical method is not a modern invention.  When Jehovah selected a family to be the father of Israel, he changed the name (אברם (243 = Abram Father of Elevation into (אברהם (248 = Abraham Father of a multitude; and by way of compensation changed (שרי (510 = Sari Nobility to (שרה (505 = Sarah, Princess. There are several other similar stories in the Bible. A change of name is considered to indicate a change of nature.  Further, each name is not arbitrary; it is a definite description of the nature of the object to which it is attached. By a similar process, I am certain of my results in the matter of the Lost Word, for the Found Word fulfils the conditions of the situation; and furthermore, throws light on the obscure symbolism of the entire ritual.”

By 1904 he was using the gates of the Seven Palaces as a checksum for the riddle of Liber Al vel Legis and thereafter he keyed (or otherwise based) several of his best A.’.A.’. works to the Palaces – in effect creating a hidden system for the Inner Order of the A.’.A.’. and hiding the whole thing in plain sight.

It can be successfully argued that Aleister Crowley was just the latest of a long line of people who have attempted to create a systematic approach to initiation, but at least he had the virtue of of fully understanding the basis of the older system before he set out to create a new vehicle.


[1] The Tree of Life – showing the number ten being added to Yesod – by Paulus Ricius, Portae Lucis, Augsberg 1516.
[2] “Ten are the numbers, as are the Sephiroth, and twenty-two the letters, these are the Foundation of all things…[]…Ten are the numbers of the ineffable Sephiroth, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Learn this wisdom, and be wise in the understanding of it, investigate these numbers, and draw knowledge from them, fix the design in its purity, and pass from it to its Creator seated on his throne.” – 1:2-4, The Sepher Yetzirah.
[3] The Supernals are the top three Sephiroth of Kether, Chokmah and Binah.
[4] The Seven Palaces are at the core of Merkabah literature and Judah the patriarch forbade people to speak about Merkabah to one another.  Kabbalah came about largely in response to this prohibition upon free study; as a consequence the Seven Palaces was derived into the Tree of Life so that students could discuss the Merkabah in an enciphered fashion.

Filed Under: Gematria, Merkabah Wheel Tagged With: Aleister Crowley, Golden Dawn, Kabbalah, Merkabah, Portaelvcis, Seven Palaces, Tree of Life, Wheel

Liber Arcanorum, Part I

July 11, 2017 By BethSheba Ashe 1 Comment

Sigil of the A.'.A.'.Tarot Correspondences to the Seven Palaces.

Liber Arcanorum τών ATU τού TAHUTI QUAS VIDIT ASAR IN AMENNTI sub figurâ CCXXXI [231] was first published in 1909 by Aleister Crowley.  It is a Class A paper and students of the mysteries have found it to be one of the more accessible and understandable papers of the A.’.A.’.[1] given that it is concerned with the Major Arcana of the Tarot; a topic that Crowley gave a very thorough treatise on in his ‘Book of Thoth’.

That said, most students err in trying to attribute the verses of Liber Arcanorum to the Tree of life instead of the Seven Palaces, largely because that’s just how the correspondences are given in the Book.  The Tree of Life is the public face of the highly secret Seven Palaces, but an adept of the Inner Order understands that when his peers say something like “…the Hierophant, which, on the other side of the Tree of Life, brings down the fire of Chokmah…” he’s actually saying “…the Hierophant, which, on the other side of the Palaces, brings down the fire of Seventh Palace…”.

Crowley hints in the Book of Thoth of “a complete qabalistic system of greater depth and sublimity than any other”, and goes on to explain “The details of this system have not yet been revealed. It has been thought right, nevertheless, to hint at its existence…”  He was talking about the Seven Palaces.  In this system (which is far older than any other extant) the supernal sephiroth of Kether, Chokmah and Binah are rectified into one combined supernal Palace, and Yesod and Malkuth are brought together as the first Palace.

Just as the Tree of Life is at the core of Kabbalah, the Seven Palaces is the basis of the Merkabah, and indeed the study of Kabbalah may be considered the enciphered study of the Merkabah because the Tree of Life was derived from the Seven Palaces.  These Palaces are not to be confused with the Qlippoth nor the Seven Hells as they are things that were themselves derived in their construction from the Tree of life; and are an averse depiction of the purity and sanctity of the former.

The Seven Palaces
The Seven Palaces

Originally, the silence and secrecy that has traditionally surrounded the Seven Palaces was due to a prohibition by Judah the Patriarch[2] that forbade Jewish people from speaking about the Merkabah.  The reasons for the prohibition were likely threefold; there was the Jewish desire to reclaim the land of Israel; there are pantheistic elements of the Seven Palaces such as the Goddess Elat and the Elohim of Hadad on its paths and palaces; and there appears to have been some concern over the spiritual welfare of students to the Merkabah, as evidenced by the stories of Rabbi Akiva and the Pardes.

The silence and secrecy of Occult orders on the matter has another source; either they are wholly ignorant of the Seven Palaces through some break in the proper transmission from adept to adept, or they are seeking to preserve knowledge that they have judged to be proprietorial to the wise; something that is (in their view) not to be seen with the eyes of the profane.

Crowley’s work with the Palaces was not a mere reiteration of the Merkabah.  He took it upon himself to create an entirely new syncretic system upon it that was fit for the new Aeon as he saw it.  His own silence about the Seven Palaces may have been because of Oaths to magical orders that he made[3], and equally – if he had revealed the Seven Palaces openly to the world at any time after he had published the Book of the Law, he would have given away the solution to the Riddle of Liber Al vel Legis.

There is however, no point in keeping something so secret that knowledge of it dies out completely and there is a break in transmission.  Therefore I have absolutely no motivation to keep any of the system secret, and unlike Crowley I have made no oaths to anyone that would prevent me from doing so[4].  Rather – I shall throw it open and let the latter day students of the mysteries have at it, and judge for themselves whether it is an effective vehicle for individual transformation and enlightenment – or not – from their results.

A fellow adept once remarked to me that when it comes to the mysteries, there is little need for formal secrecy as it is the limit of the students understanding that draws a veil of secrecy over matters such as these in any case.

Notes – The Gematria used here is biblical (paleohebrew) Gematria.  Shin = 3 (not 300) and Tav = 4 (not 400).  Also there is no final values for Ashuri final letters.  Also the Isopsephy used here is one that adjusts the Greek letters to match their Paleohebrew counterparts.  This link HERE takes you to the Isopsephy table.

The cards are keyed to Liber Arcanorum according to the value of their Hebrew letters, with the exception of the Shin and the Tav which appear at the end of the pack according to tradition.  See ‘Tarot Correspondences’ for more information about the ordering of the pack.

The Fool (1) Aleph

The Fool0

 0.  A, the heart of IAO, dwelleth in ecstasy in the secret place of the thunders. Between Asar and Asi he abideth in joy.

[This card is attributed to the two Palaces of the Aleph.

“Wherefore I solemnly affirm
This twofold Oneness at the term.
Asar on Asi did beget
Horus twin brother unto Set.”
– The Twins, by A.C.
[Dedicated to Austin Osman Spare]

There is an essay “The Visions of Aleph” by Doctor T. – which was published in ‘The New York Magazine, Or Literary Repository’ in 1797 that may be of  interest: https://tinyurl.com/ya8xwgja

The Aleph appears twice on the Seven Palaces.  It is attributed to two of the Palaces themselves, at either side of the Seventh Palace.  The Rabbis were wont to say “Aleph is never less than Beth” and this is figuratively true in respect of the Seven Palaces.  The Alephs received the influx from the letter Beth above them, for God began the creation of the World with the letter Beth[5].  The influx flows around the circumference to the twin Palaces of the Dalet below which are doors; one opening to allow the spirit to incarnate in the world below (the Palace of the final Heh) and the other allows the return of the spirit through its door once the earthly body is deceased.

What is united in the Palace of the Beth (2), is thus divided in the Palaces of the Alephs (1), and we may recall Crowleys equation “2 = 0”.

Asar is thought to be Osiris, and Asi – Isis. In the Palaces of the Alephs, they are primal forces that beget Horus the Sun God – (dwelling in the central Palace of the Resh) and all things on earth.

The Magician (2) Beth

The Magus
The Magus

  1. The lightnings increased and the Lord Tahuti stood forth. The Voice came from the Silence. Then the One ran and returned.

[Tahuti or Thoth is the Egyptian version of the Greek Hermes.  He represents the wisdom and the word of the aeon.  This card is attributed to the highest Palace which is the private abode of the creator divinity.  In the heavens this Palace corresponds to the Pole Star.  In Canaanite literature this card and it’s Palace corresponded to the God אל (EL).

In the Middle ages the this Palace was split into three to become the supernals of Kether, Chokmah and Binah on the Tree of Life.

Gematria:
The Palace of Beth forms 3 primary gates and 5 small gates from the paths around it.
There’s something very compelling about the initial alphebet of numbers – and by that I mean how each number essentially relates to each other spatially.  By the term ‘The inital alphabet of numbers’ I mean all the really interesting stuff happening down at the level of single digits.

The most important permutation is the number base you intend to use.  That determines the limit of how many units are accounted for in each cycle of the base number.

Now imagine that each base was a palace, that housed an infinite amount of numbers in each palace.  Is there an infinite amount of numbers or is there Seven infinitive amount of numbers?

The seventh palace uses a binary number base;  it is the light and the dark; the 1 and the 0; the positive and the negative; and yet, they exist as indivisible united parts of the whole.  “What is above the abyss exists in unity and what is below the abyss exists in division.”  And yet that is an inadequate description because by trying to describe divinity we can only say what it is not; ergo.  God is not a number.  God just made everything have a number through the very act of perceiving a difference… and even that shall remain a matter of eternal speculation.  Are we all just quantum sparks going off in the quantum night of the pre-material world?  Is every man and woman a quantum star?

Essentially we can only speak in numbers because all other qualia is absent on the subject of God.  Ought said about God is instantly a thing of speculation only.  The symbols of divinity and ancestor worship in both the old and new aeons share essentially the same quality; that they insist upon a God or a state of consciousness that cannot be named, nor described through the medium of words nor numbers.  There is a semantic employment of the symbol of the veil being cast over something without form, nor measurement nor localized position in time or space.  We can talk around the matter only by making a separation between the creator and the created, and yet that again is a matter of speculation only… the butterfly wing of a quantum fluctuation in the space-time continuum that is everywhere and nowhere and possibly there all at once.

God + Not God + God
אללאאל = 93
31 = אל
31 in base 10 is 11111 in binary.

The following is a list of permutations in their logographic placement of the letters in their mathematical relationship to each other, and to the Beth.  There is little else to say, because the rest is God, united and at one with the universe; an all pervading, and everywhere experience of consciousness itself throughout a near infinitely long time period.

 The High Priestess (3) Gimel

The High Priestess

  1. Now hath Nuit veiled herself, that she may open the gate of her sister.

[The path associated with this card joins the Palace of the Beth with the Palace of Resh.  It is the heavenly Holy of Holies between the abode of the Father and the abode of the son (and the Sun).  Its gate value of 217 using all the letters is identical to the gate value of all the palaces when added together; thus representing that everything in the Macrocosm is both begat and extant from the manifestation of divine generation.

“Turn it this way, turn it that way, everything is in it” – Ben Bag-Bag.

“The card represents the most spiritual form of Isis the Eternal Virgin; the Artemis of the Greeks. She is clothed only in the luminous veil of light. It is important for high initiation to regard Light not as the perfect manifestation of the Eternal Spirit, but rather as the veil which hides that Spirit. It does so all the more effectively because of its incomparably dazzling brilliance. Thus she is light and the body of light. She is the truth behind the veil of light. She is the soul of light. Upon her knees is the bow of Artemis, which is also a musical instrument, for she is huntress, and hunts by enchantment.

Now, regard this idea as from behind the Veil of Light, the third Veil of the original Nothing. This light is the menstruum of manifestation, the goddess Nuith, the possibility of Form. This first and most spiritual manifestation of the feminine takes to itself a masculine correlative, by formulating in itself any geometrical point from which to contemplate possibility.”  – The Book of Thoth, by A.C.

The third sister is Nephthys who creates in the dark and the silence.  In the Palace of the Aleph there is only Isis (Asi) but the triune goddess is represented on this path.  Isis veils herself with light.  Nuit veils herself with the possibility of form and Nephthys veils herself in dense darkness as she creates.

When the Gimel (3) is added to the Zayin (7) and to the Palace of the Resh (200) then the gate of Nephthys is revealed: 210 for N.O.X.

The Empress (4) Dalet

The Empress

  1. The Virgin of God is enthroned upon an oyster-shell; she is like a pearl, and seeketh Seventy to her Four. In her heart is Hadit the invisible glory.

[The Palaces of Dalet (4) on the left of the Wheel connects with the paths of Mem, Ayin, Peh and Resh.  Ayin is 70 and the path of Ayin transmits the fertile and creative force and fire of the Sun from the Palace of Resh at the axis of the Wheel.

Not alluded to in Liber Arcanorum is the Palace of the Dalet on the right, probably because that would have been either too confusing or too revealing to the student.  Traditionally, the Palace on the right is like a weigh station that receives dead souls from the underworld.  In Sumerian literature this is called the ‘Palace of Ganzer’ which is visited by the Goddess of Inanna as she descends to the underworld, and it is connected to the paths of Kaph, Nun, Peh and a path of four letters below (Tsade, Qoph, Shin and Tav – QShTh spells ‘rainbow’ and pearls have an iridescent rainbow hue commonly associated with dissolution or purification).

From ‘Strong’s Concordance’ we learn that the word Ostrakon means both “oyster shell” and a potsherd; i.e. Terra cotta, earthen-ware; by implication, of earth or earthen.  This Palace of Dalet on the left is the doorway (for the letter Dalet was a pictogram of a door) to Life or Rebirth; where the soul was clothed in the material flesh before entering into the world.  When connected with the path of Mem above, the Daleth forms the word DM – which means ‘blood’ and when topped with the Aleph we have the spelling for ADM which means mankind – the Adam.  Aleph ‘spirit’ + Mem ‘water’ + Dalet ‘earth’, with the solar light being ejaculated from the Ayin and the fire added from the Peh to form the human being.

When the Dalet joins with the Resh (of the solar barge) below then it forms the word DR which means pearl, or mother of pearl in Hebrew.  See Strong’s Hebrew: 1858. דַּר (dar):  http://biblehub.com/hebrew/1858.htm

The Star (5) Heh

The Star

  1. Now riseth Ra-Hoor-Khuit, and dominion is established in the Star of the Flame.

ה‍לא־אלוה גבה שמים וראה ראש כוכבים כי־רמו

“Not is God in the height of the heaven
and behold the head of the stars – how high
!”
– Job 22:12.

[ There is a lower Heh attributed to the 1st (bottom) palace and there is an upper Heh attributed to the path connecting the top (7th) Palace of the Beth with the Palace of the Resh at the axis of the Wheel.  This upper Heh joins Gimel and Zayin on the path.  The upper Heh is the first Heh of YHVH while the lower Heh is the final Heh of this name.  The upper Heh of the name represents the gate of this path:  Beth + Gimel + Heh + Zayin + Resh.  Heh = 5 but the two Heh’s together total to 10, which is the value of גֹּ֣בַהּ ‘height’.

“He said: There is an upper Heh and a lower Heh” – The Bahir verse 29.

The lower Heh on the palace represents the earth in motion, and with time passing, but the upper Heh made up part of the home of God in the heavens; his heavenly temple in the stars – the chief or ‘head’ of them being the pole star at the Palace of the Beth.  The lower Heh of the name represents the Palaces of the Alephs, the Daleths as well as the Palace of Heh.

הַמְשֵׁ֣ל ‘hamsel’ means the ‘Dominion’ and is seen in verse 25:2 of Job:

המשל ופחד עמו עשה לום במרומיו

“With dominion and fear he makes peace in his heights”

המשל hamsel is 78; the same number as the number of Tarot Cards in the pack, and 78 is the gematria vale of איואס – ‘Aivas’ the Angel of Ra Hoor Khuit (see Sepher Sephiroth).  78 + 15 (Gimel + Heh + Zayin) = 93.

Also  כּוֹכָ֜ב שלהבה ‘Star [of the] Flame’ = 93 ( See Sepher Sephiroth); symbol of the macrocosm.]

The Hierophant (6) Vav

The Hierophant

  1. Also is the Star of the Flame exalted, bringing benediction to the universe.

[The left hand of the Hierophant is open in benediction, and he points towards the bottom right of the star where the card of the Universe would be if the star were placed over the figure of the Seven Palaces.

The sign indicates the number 4, because there are 4 letters on the path thus indicated and also because the Universe card is attributed the letter Tav which has the value of 4.  Essentially the hierophant is counting;  starting with a closed fist and putting the thumb out for 1; extending the forefinger for 2; extending the middle finger for 3 then closing the thumb across the base of the fingers to make 4.  The shape of three fingers also recalls the letter Tav itself; ת.

The Vav on of the name YHVH represents the 6 paths of the circumference of the Palaces ; Vav, Cheth, Mem, Resh, the fourfold Shin/Tav/Tsade/Qoph path, and the path of Kaph.  ]

The Lovers (7) Zayin

The Lovers

  1. Her then beneath the winged Eros is youth, delighting in the one and the other. He is Asar between Asi and Nepthi; he cometh forth from the veil.

[Youth = Y(10) O (70) U (6) Th (4) = 90 + Gimel (3) = 93.
217 (this path’s gate number) – 93 -93 = 31 (אל AL in Thelema or EL traditionally.)
Ὄσιρις ‘Osiris’ = 396 – 93 – 93 = 210 (N.O.X.)

This card is the last of the 3 cards on the path between the Palaces of Beth and Resh.  When the Zayin is united with the Palace of the Resh then 200 + 7 = 207 = אוֹר ‘Light’.  When Resh (200) is united with the Beth (2) through the medium of the Heh (5) this also sums to 207.  Aristophanes (c. 400 BC) writes of Eros:

“At the beginning there was only Chaos, Night (Nyx), Darkness (Erebus), and the Abyss (Tartarus). Earth, the Air and Heaven had no existence. Firstly, black winged Night laid a germless egg in the bosom of the infinite deeps of Darkness, and from this, after the revolution of long ages, sprang the graceful Love (Eros) with his glittering golden wings, swift as the whirlwinds of the tempest. He mated in the deep Abyss with dark Chaos, winged like himself, and thus hatched forth our race, which was the first to see the light.”

Nepthi/Nephthys is the Egyptian name of Nyx/Nox = 210
Gimel (3) + Zayin (7) + Resh (200) = 210
מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם = 210 waters from waters (See Genesis 1:6).

Gimel (3) + Heh (5) + Resh (200) = 208
In the Torah: שָׂרָ֖ה – ‘Sarah’ (208); הָגָ֖ר – ‘Hagar’ (208); יִצְחָ֑ק – ‘Isaac’ (208)
Also Eros Ἔρως = 191.  191 + 26 (YHVH) = 217.

One Zayin (7) + Two Heh’s (10) + Three Gimels (9 – one for each goddess) = 26 (YHVH). ]

The Chariot (8) Cheth

The Chariot

  1. He rideth upon the chariot of eternity; the white and the black are harnessed to his car. Therefore he reflecteth the Fool, and the sevenfold veil is reveiled.

[  This card corresponds with the path of Cheth that joins the Palace of the Beth to the Palace of the Aleph.  The Palace of the Aleph is corresponded with the card of the Fool; thus the Charioteer reflecteth the Fool.

Merkabah in Hebrew means ‘Chariot’.
Liber 500 gives notes that Eternity ‘דּ֣וֹר דּוֹרִֽים’ means literally a ‘cycle of cycles’, and while this word is more usually translated as ‘generations’ the primitive root of דור properly, is to gyrate (or move in a circle) and it also means to remain or dwell (through cycles of time).

The design of this card appears to have been heavily influenced by Zechariah 6:1-7:

ואשב ואשא עיני ואראה והנה ארבע מרכבות יצאות מבין שני ההרים וההרים הרי נחשת׃
במרכבה הראשנה סוסים אדמים ובמרכבה השנית סוסים שחרים׃
ובמרכבה השלשית סוסים לבנים ובמרכבה הרבעית סוסים ברדים אמצים׃
ואען ואמר אל־המלאך הדבר בי מה־אלה אדני׃
ויען המלאך ויאמר אלי אלה ארבע רחות השמים יוצאות מהתיצב על־אדון כל־הארץ׃
אשר־בה הסוסים השחרים יצאים אל־ארץ צפון והלבנים יצאו אל־אחריהם והברדים יצאו אל־ארץ התימן׃
והאמצים יצאו ויבקשו ללכת להתהלך בארץ ויאמר לכו התהלכו בארץ ותתהלכנה בארץ׃

1 And I turned and lifted up my eyes and looked and behold, four (273) chariots (272) were coming from between two (63) mountains (260); and the mountains (266) mountains (215) of bronze (65).
2In chariot (279) the first (264) – horses (176) red (95) , and in chariot (285) the second (72) horses (176) black (261),
3And in chariot (279)the third (55) horses (176) white (132), and in chariot (279) the fourth (291) horses (176) spotted (256) bay (181).

4And I answered and 
said to the angel that spoke in, “What these, my Lord (lit. Adni)?”
5And answered the angel and said to me, “These four spirits of the heaven, go forth from standing before Lord (lit. Adun, (אֲד֥וֹן (61) all the earth,
6That in the horses black go forth to north land, and the white ones go forth to after, and the spotted go forth to the south land.
7“And the bay went out, and sought to go to patrol in earth.” And He said, “Go, get you here, walk to and fro in earth.” And they walked to and fro in earth.”

We cross reference against Crowley’s notes from the Book of Thoth:
The “amber coloured armour” of the Charioteer corresponds to the Bronze mountains.
“Upon his armour are ten Stars of Assiah, the inheritance of celestial dew from his mother”: this detail was inspired from the spots on the horses.  The amber-coloured cobblestones underneath the Chariot reinforce this earthly facing attribution; to the North are the heavens and to the South is the Earth; so when the spotted horses go forth to the south country in Zechariah we may understand that they are going forth towards the earth.
“The scarlet wheels represent the original energy of Geburah which causes the revolving motion.”  On the Seven Palaces; the Energy of Geburah is unveiled as the Energy of the Palace of the Aleph that begins the motion of all things, and this is represented in the biblical text by the red horses.  Note that the red horses travel in no direction!
“This chariot is drawn by four sphinxes composed of the four Kerubs, the Bull, the Lion, the Eagle and the Man.”  These are corresponded to the four spirits of heaven.  The Bull and the Lion are coloured black like the black horses of Zechariah, and the Eagle and the Man are coloured white like the white horses of the biblical prophet.  The inspiration to use Kerubs instead of horses probably came from Ezekiel 10:14-15:

As for the Wheels, they were cried the wheel in my hearing.  And each one had four faces.The first face was the face of a cherub, the secondface was the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

On the canopy on the chariot is written Abrahadabra, which Crowley referred to in the Book of Thoth as ‘the Cypher of the Great Work’.  ABRHD; the letters used to compose the word Abrahadabra are all the letters of the Palaces too.  The eleven letters of Abrahadabra suggest the gate of this path, which is 11.

לְבָנִ֑ים White + וּשְׁחֹרִֽים and Black + מֶּרְכָּבָ֥ה Chariot = 666
מַסְוֶֽה a Veil = 111
666 + 111 = 777 “and the sevenfold veil is reveiled”.]

Lust/Strength (9) Teth

Lust

  1. Also cometh forth mother Earth with her lion, even Sekhet, the lady of Asi.

[  This card is attributed to the path between the two Palaces of the Aleph.  The card was traditionally called ‘Strength’, and the path and was the domain of the Canaanite goddess Elat, and possibly her daughter Anat (daughter of El and Goddess of War and Fire).  Sekhet is the Egyptian counterpart of Anat and her name means “the powerful one”.  She is depicted as a lioness and she is a goddess of healing, but she can be enflamed by bloodshed and so festivals were celebrated at the end of battle to pacify the lust of Sekhet for war and conquest.

“In a myth about the end of Ra’s rule on the earth, Ra sends Hathor as Sekhmet to destroy mortals who conspired against him. In the myth, Sekhmet’s blood-lust was not quelled at the end of battle and led to her destroying almost all of humanity, so Ra poured out beer dyed with red ochre or hematite so that it resembled blood. Mistaking the beer for blood, she became so drunk that she gave up the slaughter and returned peacefully to Ra.”[6]

The Hermit (10) Yod

The Hermit

  1. Also the Priest veiled himself, lest his glory be profaned, lest his word be lost in the multitude.

This card corresponds to the path of the Yod between the Palace of the Aleph (on the right) and the Palace of Resh.  Crowley makes an equivalence between the figure of this card and spermatozoa.  The figure of the priest resembles the phallus with the hair of streams of semen.  The Yod of this card is part of the name:  YHVH, and the paths of Teth, Lamed, Nun, Samekh and Ayin are also represented by the Yod in the name.

Gematria:

כֹּהֵן Kohen meaning ‘Priest’ (75)
לָ֑יְלָה Layelah meaning ‘Night’ (75)
אֹ֖הֶל – Ohel meaning covering, dwelling-place, home, tabernacle, tent (36).  Ohel is from the primitive root word Ahal יאהיל; shine – to be clear (56).  The two Yod’s are removed from Ahal to make Ohel.
75 + 36 = 111 מַסְוֶֽה a Veil.

The primary gate number of this path is 211 (Aleph + Yod + Resh), but gates are also had at either side such as Aleph + Yod = 11 and Resh + Yod = 210.

Fortune (20) Kaph

Fortune

  1. 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.

Gematria:
The gate of the path of Kaph is 25 (Aleph + Kaph + Daleth).  When it’s gate is added to the opposite gate of Mem (45) the total is 70.

אֲבִ֕י כָּל The Father of all (63); Abi Kal
אוֹפַ֣ן Wheel (137); Ophan
63 + 137 = 200 = Resh.  The Sun is the axis of the Wheel of the Seven Palaces, and the letter Resh is attributed to the Palace at the center.

And I’ll be covering the second part of the tarot pack soon in Liber Arcanorum Part II.

  • Bethsheba Ashe 11th July 2017.

[1] Although there remains much imaginative speculation over what name these initials represent, it is probably true that they represent no name for the Order at all; being simply the two Alephs of the Seven Palaces.

[2] See ‘The Faces of the Chariot’ by David Halperin.

[3] “I had been most solemnly sworn to inviolable secrecy. The slightest breach of my oath meant that I should incur “a deadly and hostile current of will, set in motion by the Greatly Honoured Chiefs of the Second order, by the which I should fall slain or paralysed, as if blasted by the lightning flash”. And now I was entrusted with some of these devastating though priceless secrets. They consisted of the Hebrew alphabet, the names of the planets with their attribution to the days of the week, and the ten Sephiroth of the Cabbala” – ‘The Confessions of Aleister Crowley’, pg 177.

[4] On one occasion when I was a young woman, my HGA actually intervened to prevent my initiation into one of the outer Orders.  I stood before my well intentioned would-be initiators with the hood over my head and heard her calmly announce “I am sorry, but this may not be.  You may not proceed”.

[5] So sayeth the Zohar.

[6] Lichtheim, Miriam (2006) [1976]. Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume Two: The New Kingdom. University of California Press. pp. 197–199

Filed Under: Aleister Crowley, Merkabah Wheel, Tarot Tagged With: Aleister Crowley, Arcanorum, Liber, Part 1, Seven Palaces, Tarot

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