{Libeò LVIII} THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON THE KING A.'. a.'. Publication in Class B. Imprimatur: N. Fra A.'. A.'. {Chart approximated} Z____B___________________B_______________B_________________B___________B_____? 3 VI.3 3 3 3 3 3 3Mys-3 V 3 IV. 3 III. 3 II. 3 I. 3 3itc 3 English of Col.IV.3 The Heavens 3English of Col.II3HebrewNames3 Key 3 3# of3 3 of Assiah 3 3 of Numbers3Scale3 3Seph3 3 3 3and Letters3 3 E____E___________________E_______________E_________________E___________E_____4 3 Z3 3 3Nothing. 3 HB:Nun-final HB:Yod HB:Aleph 3? 3 3 043 3 3No Limit. 3 HB:Peh-final HB:Vau HB:Samekh HB:Nun-final HB:Yod HB:Aleph 3C 0 3 3 @3 3 3Limitless L.V.X. 3HB:Resh HB:Vau HB:Aleph HB:Peh-final HB:Vau HB:Samekh HB:Nun-final HB:Yod HB:Aleph 3Y 3 3 1 3S. of Primum Mobile3 HB:Mem-final HB:Yod HB:Lamed HB:Gemel HB:Lamed HB:Gemel HB:Heh HB:Taw HB:Yod HB:Shin HB:Aleph HB:Resh 3Crown. 3 HB:Resh HB:Taw HB:Koph 3 1 3 3 3 3S. of the Zodiac 3 HB:Taw HB:Vau HB:Lamed HB:Samekh HB:Mem 3Wisdom. 3 HB:Heh HB:Mem HB:Koph HB:Chet 3 2 3 3 6 3S. of Saturn 3 HB:Yod HB:Aleph HB:Taw HB:Bet HB:Shin 3Understanding. 3 HB:Heh HB:Nun HB:Yod HB:Bet 3 3 3 3 10 3S. of Jupiter 3 HB:Qof HB:Dalet HB:Tzaddi 3Mercy. 3 HB:Dalet HB:Samekh HB:Chet 3 4 3 3 15 3S. of Mars 3 HB:Mem-final HB:Yod HB:Dalet HB:Aleph HB:Mem 3Strength. 3 HB:Heh HB:Resh HB:Vau HB:Bet HB:Gemel 3 5 3 3 21 3S. of Sol 3 HB:Shin HB:Mem HB:Shin 3Beauty. 3 HB:Taw HB:Resh HB:Aleph HB:Peh HB:Taw 3 6 3 3 28 3S. of Venus 3 HB:Heh HB:Gemel HB:Vau HB:Nun 3Victory. 3 HB:Chet HB:Tzaddi HB:Nun 3 7 3 3 36 3S. of Mercury 3 HB:Bet HB:Koph HB:Vau HB:Koph 3Splendour. 3 HB:Dalet HB:Vau HB:Heh 3 8 3 3 45 3S. of Luna 3 HB:Heh HB:Nun HB:Bet HB:Lamed 3Foundation. 3 HB:Dalet HB:Vau HB:Samekh HB:Yod 3 9 3 3 55 3S. of the Elements 3 HB:Taw HB:Vau HB:Dalet HB:Vau HB:Samekh HB:Yod HB:Mem-final HB:Lamed HB:Chet 3Kingdom. 3 HB:Taw HB:Vau HB:Koph HB:Lamed HB:Mem 3 10 3 Š3 66 3Air 3 HB:Chet HB:Vau HB:Resh 3Ox. 3 HB:Peh-final HB:Lamed HB:Aleph 311 3 3 78 3Mercury 3(Planets follow3House. 3 HB:Taw HB:Yod HB:Bet 3 12 3 3 91 3Luna 3Sephiroth 3Camel. 3 HB:Lamed HB:Mem HB:Gemel 3 13 3 3105 3Venus 3corresponding.)3Door. 3 HB:Taw HB:Lamed HB:Dalet 3 14 3 3120 3Aries 3 HB:Heh HB:Lamed HB:Tet 3Window. 3 HB:Heh HB:Heh 3 153 3136 3Taurus 3 HB:Resh HB:Vau HB:Shin 3Nail. 3 HB:Vau HB:Vau 3 163 3153 3Gemini 3 HB:Mem-final HB:Yod HB:Mem HB:Vau HB:Aleph HB:Taw 3Sword. 3 HB:Nun-final HB:Yod HB:Zain 3 173 3171 3Cancer 3 HB:Nun-final HB:Tet HB:Resh HB:Samekh 3Fence. 3 HB:Taw HB:Yod HB:Chet 3 183 3190 3Leo 3 HB:Heh HB:Yod HB:Resh HB:Aleph 3Serpent. 3 HB:Taw HB:Yod HB:Tet 3 193 3210 3Virgo 3 HB:Heh HB:Lamed HB:Vau HB:Taw HB:Bet 3Hand. 3 HB:Dalet HB:Vau HB:Yod 3 203 3231 3Jupiter 3 3Palm. 3 HB:Peh-final HB:Koph 3 21 3 3253 3Libra 3 HB:Mem-final HB:Yod HB:Nun HB:Zain HB:Aleph HB:Mem 3Ox Goad. 3 HB:Dalet HB:Mem HB:Lamed 3 223 3276 3Water 3 HB:Mem-final HB:Yod HB:Mem 3Water. 3 HB:Mem-final HB:Yod HB:Mem 323 3 3300 3Scorpio 3 HB:Bet HB:Resh HB:Qof HB:Ayin 3Fish. 3 HB:Nun-final HB:Vau HB:Nun 3 243 3325 3Sagittarius 3 HB:Taw HB:Shin HB:Qof 3Prop. 3 HB:Koph-final HB:Mem HB:Samekh 3 253 3351 3Capricornus 3 HB:Yod HB:Dalet HB:Gemel 3Eye. 3 HB:Nun-final HB:Yod HB:Ayin 3 263 3378 3Mars 3 3Mouth. 3 HB:Heh HB:Peh 3 27 3 3406 3Aquarius 3 HB:Yod HB:Lamed HB:Dalet 3Fish-hook. 3 HB:Yod HB:Dalet HB:Tzaddi 3 283 3435 3Pisces 3 HB:Mem-final HB:Yod HB:Gemel HB:Dalet 3Back of Head. 3 HB:Peh-final HB:Vau HB:Qof 3 293 3465 3Sol 3 3Head. 3 HB:Shin HB:Yod HB:Resh 3 30 3 3496 3Fire 3 HB:Shin HB:Aleph 3Tooth. 3 HB:Nun-final HB:Yod HB:Shin 331 3 3528 3Saturn 3 3Tau(as Egyptian).3 HB:Vau HB:Taw 3 32 3 3 3Earth 3 HB:Tzaddi-final HB:Resh HB:Aleph 3 --- 3 HB:Vau HB:Taw 332bis3 3 3Spirit 3 HB:Taw HB:Aleph 3 --- 3 HB:Nun-final HB:Yod HB:Shin 331bis3 @____A___________________A_______________A_________________A___________A_____Y {Chart approximated} Z______B____________________B________B_______B_________________B_______B_____? 3 XV. 3 XIV. 3 XIII. 3 XII. 3 XI. 3 X. 3 3 Š3Secret3 The Four Worlds 3Parts of3Secret 3The Elements and 3Letters3 3 3Names 3 3the Soul3Numbers3 Senses. 3of the 3 3 3the 4 3 3 3corres-3 3 Name. 3 3 3Worlds3 3 3spond'g3 3 3 3 C______E____________________E________E_______E_________________E_______E_____4 3 HB:Heh HB:Mem 3Yetrirah, Formative 3 HB:Taw HB:Vau HB:Resh 3 45 3Air Air, Smell 3 HB:Vau 3 11 3 3 HB:Gemel HB:Samekh 3Briah, Creative 3 HB:Heh HB:Mem HB:Shin HB:Nun 3 63 3Water Water, Taste 3 HB:Heh 3 23 3 3 HB:Bet HB:Ayin 3Atziluth, Archetypal3 HB:Heh HB:Yod HB:Chet 3 72 3Dee Fire, Sight 3 HB:Yod 3 31 3 3 HB:Nun-final HB:Bet 3Assiah, Material 3 HB:Shin HB:Peh HB:Nun 3 52 3Spirit Earth, Touch 3 h 332bis3 3 3 3 HB:Heh HB:Dalet HB:Yod HB:Chet HB:Yod 3 3< Spirit, Hearing3 HB:Shin 331bis3 C______A_________________B__E________A______BA_______B_________A_______E_____4 3 XVI. 3 3 IX. 3 VIII. 3 VII. 3 3 3 The Planets and their 3 3Numbers printed3Value of3Hebrew Letters & 3 3 3 Numbers. 3 3on Tarot Trumps3Col.VII.3English Equiv. 3 3 3 3 3 3 3Symbols used in 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 this Article. 3 3 C________________________E__E_______________E________E_________________E_____4 3 Mercury 8 3123 0 3 1 3 A HB:Aleph 311 3 3 Moon 9 3133 I 3 2 3 B HB:Bet 3 12 3 3 Venus 7 3143 II 3 3 3 G HB:Gemel 3 13 3 3 Jupiter 4 3213 III 3 4 3 D HB:Dalet 3 14 3 3 Mars 5 3273 IV 3 5 3 H HB:Heh 3 153 3 Sun 6 3303 V 3 6 3 V HB:Vau 3 163 3 Saturn 3 3323 VI 3 7 3 Z HB:Zain 3 173 C_______________B________E__4 VII 3 8 3 Ch HB:Chet 3 183 3 XVIII. 3 XVII. 3 3 XI 3 9 3 T HB:Tet 3 193 3English of Col.3Parts of3 3 IX 3 10 3 I HB:Yod 3 203 3 XVII. 3the Soul3 3 X 320, 500 3 K HB:Koph , HB:Koph-final 3 21 3 C_______________E________E__4 VIII 3 30 3 L HB:Lamed 3 223 3The Self 3 HB:Heh HB:Dalet HB:Yod HB:Chet HB:Yod 3 13 XII 340, 600 3 M HB:Mem , HB:Mem-final 323 3 3The Life Force 3 HB:Heh HB:Yod HB:Chet 3 23 XIII 350, 700 3 N HB:Nun , HB:Nun-final 3 243 3The Intuition 3 HB:Heh HB:Mem HB:Shin HB:Nun 3 33 XIV 3 60 3 S HB:Samekh 3 253 3 ?3 Z3 43 XV 3 70 3 O HB:Ayin 3 263 3 33 33 53 XVI 380, 800 3 P HB:Peh , HB:Peh-final Š3 27 3 3The Intellect C3 HB:Chet HB:Yod HB:Resh 43 63 XVII 390, 900 3 Tz HB:Tzaddi , HB:Tzaddi-final 3 283 3 33 33 73 XVIII 3 100 3 Q HB:Qof 3 293 3 33 33 83 XIX 3 200 3 R HB:Resh 3 30 3 3 Y3 @3 93 XX 3 300 3 Sh HB:Shin 331 3 3The Animal Soul3 HB:Shin HB:Peh HB:Nun 3103 XXI 3 400 3 Th HB:Taw 3 32 3 3 3 3 400 3 HB:Taw 332bis3 3 3 3 300 3 HB:Shin 331bis3 @___________________________A_______________A________A_________________A_____Y {WEH NOTE: In the above, col XVIII. head has been corrected and col. XVII., item 2 has been corrected --- all typo's in original. Note additionally that col. XVIII., item 1, "The Self" is not the separate self, but the Universal Self, not distinct in traditional Qabalah from the single divinity.}} THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON THE KING ___ (Continued) GREAT as were Frater P.'s accomplishments in the ancient sciences of the East, swiftly and securely as he had passed in a bare year the arduous road which so many fail to traverse in a lifetime, satisfied as himself was ___ in a sense ___ with his own progress, it was yet not by these paths that he was destined to reach the Sublime Threshold of the Mystic Temple. For thought it is written, "To the persevering mortal the blessed immortals are swift," yet, were it otherwise, no mortal however persevering could attain the immortal shore. As it is written in the Fifteenth Chapter of St Luke's Gospel, "And when he was yet afar off, his Father saw him and ran." Had it not been so, the weary Prodigal, exhausted by his early debauches (astral visions and magic) and his later mental toil (yoga) would never have had the strength to reach the House of his Father. One little point St Luke unaccountably omitted. When a man is as hungry and weary as was the Prodigal, he is apt to see phantoms. He is apt to clasp shadows to him and cry: "Father!" And, the devil being subtle, capable of disguising himself as an angel of light, it behoves the Prodigal to have some test of truth. Some great mystics have laid down the law, "Accept no messenger of God," banish all, until at last the Father himself comes forth. A counsel of perfection. The Father does send messengers, as we learn in St Mark xii.; and if we stone them, we may perhaps in our blindness stone the son himself when he is sent. So that is no vain counsel of "St John" (1 John iv. 1), "Try the spirits, whether they be of God," no mistake when "St Paul" claims the discernment of Spirits to be a principal point of the armour of salvation (1 Cor. xii. 10). Š Now how should Frater P. or another test the truth of any message purporting to come from the Most High? On the astral plane, its phantoms are easily governed by the Pentagram, the Elemental Weapons, the Robes, the God- forms, and such childish toys. We set phantoms to chase phantoms. We make our Scin-Laeca pure and hard and glittering, all glorious within, like the veritable daughter of the King; yet she is but the King's daughter, the Nephesch adorned: she is not the King himself, the Holy Ruach or mind of man. And as we have seen in our chapter on Yoga, this mind is a very aspen; and as we may see in the last chapter of Captain Fuller's "Star in the West," this mind is a very cockpit of contradiction. What then is the standard of truth? What tests shall we apply to revelation, when our tests of experience are found wanting? If I must doubt my eyes that have served me (well, on the whole) for so many years, must I not much more doubt my spiritual vision, my vision just open like a babe's, my vision untested by comparison and uncriticized by reason? Fortunately, there is one science that can aid us, a science that, properly understood by the initiated mind, is as absolute as mathematics, more self- supporting than philosophy, a science of the spirit itself, whose teacher is god, whose method is simple as the divine Light, and subtle as the divine Fire, Whose results are limpid as the divine Water, all-embracing as the divine Air, and solid as the divine Earth. Truth is the source, and Economy the course, of that marvellous stream that pours its living waters into the Ocean of apodeictic certainty, the Truth that is infinite in its infinity as the primal Truth with which it is identical is infinite in its Unity. Need we say that we speak of the Holy Qabalah? O science secret, subtle, and sublime, who shall name thee without veneration, without prostration of soul, spirit, and body before thy divine Author, without exaltation of soul, spirit, and body as by His favour they bathe in His lustral and illimitable Light? It must first here be spoken of the Exoteric Qabalah to be found in books, a shell of that perfect fruit of the Tree of Life. Next we will deal with the esoteric teachings of it, as Frater P. was able to understand them. And of these we shall give examples, showing the falsity and absurdity of the uninitiated path, the pure truth and reasonableness of the hidden Way. For the student unacquainted with the rudiments of the Qabalah we recommend the study of S. L. Mathers' "Introduction"1 to his translation of the three principal books of the Zohar,2 and Westcott's "Introduction to the Study of the Qabalah." We venture to append a few quotations from the former document, which will show the elementary principles of calculation. Dr Westcott's little book is principally valuable for its able defence of the Qabalah as against exotericism and literalism. The literal Qabalah ... is divided into three parts: GMTRIA, Gematria; NVTRIQVN, Notariqon; and ThMVRH, Temura. Gematria is a metathesis of the Greek word gamma rho alpha mu mu alpha tau epsilon iota alpha . It is based on the relative numerical values of words. Words of similar numerical values are considered to be explanatory of each other, and this theory is extended to phrases. Thus the letter Shin, Sh, is 300, and is equivalent to the number obtained by adding up the numerical values of the letters of the words RVCh ALHIM, Ruach Elohim, the spirit of Elohim; and it is there fore a symbol of the spirit of Elohim. For % = 200, V = 6, Ch = 8, A = 1, L = 30, H = 5, I = 10, M = 40; total = 300. Similarly, the words AChD, Achad, Unity, One, and AHBH, Ahebah, Šlove, each = 13; for A =1, Ch = 8, D = 4, total = 13; and A = 1, H = 5, B = 2, H = 5, total = 13. Again, the name of the angel MTTRVN, Metatron or Methraton, and the name of the Deity, ShDI, Shaddai, each make 314;3 so the one is taken as symbolical of the other. The angel Metatron is said to have been the conductor of the children of Israel through the wilderness, of whom God says, "My name is in him." With regard to Gematria of phases (Gen. xlix. 10), IBA ShILH, Yeba Shiloh, "Sjhiloh shall come" = 358, which is the numeration of the word MShICh, Messiah. Thus also the passage, Gen. xviii. 2, VHNH ShLShH, Vehenna Shalisha, "And lo, three men," equals in numerical value ALV MIKAL GBRIAL VRPAL, Elo Mikhale Gabriel Ve-Raphael, "These are Mikhael, Gabriel and Raphael"; for each phrase = 701. I think these instance will suffice to make clear the nature of Gematria. Notariqon is derived from the Latin word notarius, a shorthand writer. Of Notariqon there are two forms. In the first every letter of a word is taken from the initial or abbreviation of another word, so that from the letters of a word a sentence may be formed. Thus every letter of the word BRAShITH, Berashith, the first word in Genesis, is made the initial of a word, and we obtain BRAShITh RAH ALHIM ShIQBLV IShRAL ThVRH, Berashith Rahi Elohim Sheyequebelo Israel Torah; "In the beginning Elohim saw that Israel would accept the law." In this connection I may give six very interesting specimens of Notariqon formed from this same word BRAShITh by Solomon Meir Ben Moses, a Jewish Qabalist, who embraced the Christian faith in 1665, and took the name of Prosper Rugere. These have all a Christian tendency, and by their means Prosper converted another Jew, who had previously been bitterly opposed 1 WEH NOTE: Plagiarized entire from Ginsburg's "The Kabbalah". 2 WEH NOTE: Better: His purported translation of three of the more obscure books of the Zohar. 3 WEH NOTE: This observation led Mathers to miss-identify a picture of Moses as Metatron in his edition (not translation, the MSS were in English!) of "The Greater Key of Solomon." to Christianity. The first is, BN RVCh AB ShLVShThM IChD ThMIM, Ben, Ruach, Ab, Shaloshethem Yechad Thaubodo: "The Son, the Spirit, the Father, ye shall equally worship Their Trinity." The third is BKVRI RAShVNI AShR ShMV IShVO ThOBVDV, Bekori Rashuni Asher Shamo Yeshuah Thaubodo: "Ye shall worship My first-born, My first, Whose name is Jesus." The fourth is, BBVA RBN AShR ShMV IShVO ThOBVDV, Beboa Rabban Asher Shamo Yeshuah Thaubodo: "When the Master shall come Whose Name is Jesus ye shall worship." The fifth is, BThVLH RAVIH ABChR ShthLD ISh VO THAShRVH, Bethulh Raviah Abachar Shethaled Yeshuah Thashroah: "I will choose a virgin worthy to bring forth Jesus, and ye shall call her belssed." The sixth is, BOVGTh RTzPIM ASThThR ShGVPI IShVO ThAKLV, Beaugoth Ratzephim Asattar Shgopi Yeshuah Thakelo: "I will hid myself in cake (baked with) coals, for ye shall eat Jesus, My Body." The Qabalistical importance of these sentences as bearing upon the doctrines of Christianity can hardly be overrated. The second form of the Notariqon is the exact reverse of the first. By this the initials or finals, or both, or the medials, of a sentence, are taken to form a word or words. Thus the Qabalah is called ChKMH NSThRH, Chokhmah Nesthrah, "the secret wisdom"; and if we take the initials of these two words Ch and N, we form by the second king of Notariqon the word ChN, Chen, "gracce." Similarly, from the initials and finals of the words MI IOLH LNV HShMIMH, Mi Iaulah Leno Ha-Shamayimah, "Who shall go up for us to heaven?" (Deut. xxx. 120, are formed MILH, Milah, "circumcision," and IHVH, the Tetragrammaton, implying that God hath ordained circumcision as the way to heaven. Temura is permutation.4 According to certain rules, one letter is Šsubstituted for another letter preceding or following it in the alphabet, and thus from one word another word of totally different orthography may be formed. Thus the alphabet is bent exactly in half, in the middle, and one half is put over the other; and then by changing alternately the first letter or the first two letters at the beginning of the second line, twenty-two commutations are produced. These are called the "Table of the Combinations of TzIRVP," Tzirup. For example's sake, I will give the method called ALBTh, Albath, thus: --- 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 K I T Ch Z V H D G B A M N S O P Tz Q R Sh Th L Each method takes its name from he first two pairs composing it, the system of pairs of letters being the groundwork of the the whole, as either letter in a pair is substituted for the other letter. Thus, by Albath, from RVCh, Ruach, is formed DTzO, Detzau. The names of the other twenty-one methods are: ABGTh, AGDTh, ADBG, AHBD, AVBH, AZBY, AChBZ, ATBCh, AIBT, AKBI, ALBK, AMBL, ANBM, ASBN, AOBS, APBO, ATzBP, AQSTz, ARBQ, AShBR, AND AThBSh. To these must be added the modes ABGD and ALBM. Then comes the "Rational Table of Tziruph," another set of twenty-two combination. There are also three "Tables of the commutations," known respectively as the Right, the Averse, and the Irregular. To make any of these, a square, containing 484 squares, should be made,and the letters written in. For the "Right Table" write the alphabet across from right to left; in the second row of squares do the same, but begin with B and end with A; in the third begin with G and end with B; and so on. For the "Averse Table" write the alphabet from right to left backwards, beginning with Th and ending with A; in the second row begin with Sh and end with Th, &c. The "Irregular Table" would take too long to describe. Besides all these, there is the method called ThShRQ, Thashraq, which is simply writing a word backwards. There is one more very important form called the "Qabalah of the Nine Chambers" or AIQ BKR, Aiq Bekar. It is thus formed: 4 WEH NOTE: Strictly speaking, no. Temura is substitution code, with 24 principal tables. Crowley tended to use simple permutation of the letters in some instances, calling it Temura. Z___________________B____________________B____________________? 3 300 30 3 3 200 20 2 3 100 10 1 3 3 Sh L G 3 R K B 3 Q I A 3 C___________________E____________________E____________________4 3 600 60 6 3 500 50 5 3 400 40 4 3 3 M final S V 3 K final N H 3 Th M D 3 C___________________E____________________E____________________4 3 900 90 9 3 800 80 8 3 700 70 7 3 3Tz final Tz T 3 P final P Ch 3 N final O Z 3 @___________________A____________________A____________________Y I have put the numeration of each letter above to show the affinity between the letters in each chamber. ?sometimes this is used as a cipher, by taking the portions of the figure to show the letters they contain, putting one point for the first letter, two for the second, &c. Thus the right angle, containing AIQ, will answer for the letter Q if it have three dots or points within it. Again a square will answer for H, H, or K final, according to whether it has one, two, or three points respectively placed within it. so also with regard to the other letters. But there are many other ways of Šemploying the Qabalah of the Nine Chambers, which I have not space to describe. I will merely mention as an example, that by the mode of Temura called AThBsH, Athbash, it is found that in Jeremiah xxv. 26, the word ShShK, Sheshakh, symbolises BBL, Babel. Besides all these rules,there are certain meanings hidden in the shape of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet; in the form of a particular letter at the end of a word being different from that which it generally bears when it is a final letter, or in a letter being written in the middle of a word in a character generally used only at the end; in any letters or letter being written in a size smaller or larger than the rest of the manuscript, or in a letter being written upside down; in the variations found in the spelling of certain words, which have a letter more in some places than they have in others; in peculiarities observed in the position of any of the points or accents, and in certain expressions supposed to be elliptic or redundant. For example the shape of the Hebrew letter Aleph, A, is said to symbolize a Vau, V, between a Yod, I, and a Daleth, D; and thus the letter itself represents the word IVD, Yod. Similarly the shape of the letter He, H, represents a Daleth, D, with a Yod, I, written at the lower left-hand corner, &c. In Isaiah ix. 6, 7, the word LMRBH, Lemarbah, "for multiplying," is written with the character for M final in the middle of the word, instead of with the ordinary initial and medial M. The consequence of this is that the total numerical value of the word, instead of being 30 + 40 + 200 + 2 + 5 = 277, is 30 + 600 + 200 + 2 + 5 = 837 = by Gematria ThTh ZL, Tet Zal, the profuse Giver. Thus by writing the M final instead of the ordinary character, the word is made to bear a different qabalistical meaning. . . . . . . . . . It is to be further noted with regard to the first word in the Bible, BRAShITH, that the first three letters, BRA, are the initial letters of the names of the three persons of the Trinity: BN, Ben the Son; RVCh, Ruach, the Spirit; and AB, Ab the Father. Furthermore the first letter of the Bible is B, which is the initial letter of BRKH, Berakhah, blessing; and not A, which is that of ARR, Arar, cursing. Again, the letters of Berashith, taking their numerical powers, express the number of the years between the Creation and the birth of Christ, thus: B = 2,000, R = 200, A - 1,000, Sh = 300, I = 10, and Th = 400; total = 3910 years, being the time in round numbers. Picus de Mirandola gives the following working out of BRAShITh, Berashith: --- By joining the third letter, A, to the first, B, AB, Ab = Father, is obtained. If to the first letter B, doubled, the second letter, R, be added, it makes BBR, Bebar - in or through the Son. If all the letters be read except the first, it makes RAShITh, Rashith = the beginning. If the fourth letter, Sh, the first B and the last Th be connected, it makes ShBTh, Shebeth = the end or rest. If the first three letters be taken, they make BRA, Bera = created. If, omitting the first, the three following be taken, they make RASh, Rash = head. If the fourth and the last be joined, they give ShTh, Sheth = foundation. Again if the second letter be put before the first, it makes RB, Rab = great. If after the third be placed the fifth and the fourth, it gives AISh, Aish = man. If to the two first be joined the two last, they give BRITh, Berith = covenant. And if the first be added to the last, it gives ThB, Theb, which is sometimes used for TVB, Thob = good. . . . . . . . . . Š There are three qabalistical veils of the negative existence, and in themselves they formulate the hidden ideas of the Sephiroth not yet called into being, and they are concentrated in Kether, which in this sense is the Malkuth of hidden ideas of the Sephiroth. I will explain this. The first veil of the negative existence is the AIN, Ain, Negativity. This word consists of three letters, which thus shadow forth the first three Sephiroth or numbers. The second veil is the AIN SVP, the limitless. This title consists of six letters, and shadows forth the idea of the first six Sephiroth or numbers. The third veil is the AIN SVP AVR, Ain Soph Aur, the Limitless Light. This again consists of nine letters, and suymbolises the first nine Sephiroth, but of course in their hidden idea only. But when we reach the number nine we cannot progress farther without returning to the unity, or the number one, for the number ten is but a repetition of unity freshly derived from the negative, as is evident from a glance at its ordinary representation in Arabic numerals, where the circle O represents the Negative and the I the Unity. Thus, then, the limitless ocean of negative light does not proceed from a centre, for it is centreless, but it concentrates a centre, which is the number one of of the Sephiroth, Kether, the Crown, the First Sephira; which therefore may be said to be the Malkuth or the number ten of the hidden Sephiroth. Thus "Kether is in Malkuth and Malkuth is in Kether." Or as an alchemical author of great repute (Thomas Vaughan, better known as Eugenius Philalethes) says, apparently quoting from Proclus; "That the heaven is in the earth, but after an earthly manner; and that the earth is in the heaven, but after a heavenly manner." But inasmuch as negative existence is the subject incapable of definition, as I have before shown, it is rather considered by the Qabalists as depending back from the number of unity than as a separate consideration therefrom; therefore they frequently apply the same terms and epithets indiscriminately to either. Such epithets are "The concealed of the Concealed," "The Ancient of the Ancient Ones," the "Most Holy Ancient One," etc. I must now explain the real meaning of the terms Sephira and Sephiroth. The first is singular, the second is plural. The best rendering of the word is "numerical emanation." There are ten Sephiroth, which are the most abstract forms of the ten numbers of the decimal scale --- "i.e.", the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Therefore, as in the higher mathematics we reason of numbers in their abstract sense, so in the Qabalah we reason of the Deity by the abstract forms of the numbers in other words, by the SPIRVTh, Sephiroth. it was from this ancient Oriental theory that Pythagoras derived his numerical symbolic ideas. Among the Sephiroth, jointly and severally, we find the development of the persons and attributes of God. Of these some are male and some female. Now, for some reason or other best known to themselves, the translators of the Bible have carefully crowded out of existence and smothered up every reference to the fact that the Deity is both masculine and feminine. They have translated a feminine plural by a masculine singular in the case of the word Elohim. They have, however, left an inadvertent admission of their knowledge that it was plural in Genesis iv, 26: "And Elohim said: Let Us make man." Again (v. 27), who could Adam be made in the image of Elohim, male and female, unless the Elohim were male and female also? The word Elohim is a plural formed from the feminine singular ALH, Eloh, by adding IM to word. But inasmuch as IM is usually a termination of the masculine plural and is here added to a feminine noun, it gives to the word Elohim the sense of a female potency united to a masculine idea, and thereby capable of producing an offspring. How, we hear much of the Father and the Son, but we hear nothing of the Mother in the ordinary religions of the day. But in the Qabalah we Šfind that the Ancient of Days conforms Himself simultaneously into the Father and the Mother, and thus begets the son. Now, this Mother is Elohim. Again, we are usually told that the Holy Spirit is masculine. But the word RVCh, Ruach, Spirit, is feminine, as appears from the following passage of the Sepher Yetzirah: "AChTh RVCh ALHIM ChIIM, Achath (feminine, not Achad, masculine) Ruach Elohim Chimm: One is She the Spirit of the Elohim of Life." Now, we find that before he Deity conformed Himself thus --- "i.e.", as male and female --- that the worlds of the universe could not subsist, or, in the words of Genesis, "The earth was formless and void." These prior worlds are considered to be symbolised by the "kings who reigned in Edom before there reigned a king in Israel," and they are therefore spoken of in the Qabalah as the "Edomite kings." This will be found fully explained in various parts of this work. we now come to the consideration of the first Sephira, or the Number One, the Monad of Pythagoras. In this number are the other nine hidden. It is indivisible, it is also incapable of multiplication; divide 1 by itself and it still remains 1, multiply 1 by itself and it is still 1 and unchanged. Thus it is a fitting representative of the unchangeable Father of all. Now this number of unity has a twofold nature, and thus forms, as it were, the link between the negative and the positive. In its unchangeable one-ness it is scarcely a number; but in its property of capability of addition it may be called the first number of a numerical series. Now, the zero, 0, is incapable even of addition, just as also is negative existence. How, then, if 1 can neither be multiplied nor divided, is another 1 to be obtained to add to it; in other words how is the number 2 to be found? By reflection of itself. For thought 0 be incapable of definition, 1 is definable. And the effect of a definition is to form an Eidolon, duplicate, or image, of the thing defined. Thus, then, we obtain a duad composed of 1 and its reflection. Now also we have the commencement of a vibration established, for the number 1 vibrates alternately from changelessness to definition, and back to changelessness again. Thus, then, it is the father of all numbers, and a fitting type of the Father of all things. The name of the first Sephira is KThR, Kether, the Crown. The Divine Name attributed to it is the Name of the Father given in Exod. iii. 4: AHIH, Eheieh, I am. It signifies Existence. . . . . . . . . . The first Sephira contains nine, and produces them in succession thus: --- The number 2 or the Duad. The name of the second Sephira is ChKMHm, Chokmah, Wisdom, a masculine active potency reflected from Kether, as I have before explained. this Sephira is the active and evident Father, to whom the Mother is united, who is the number 3. This second Sephira is represented by the Divine Names, IH, Yah, and IHVHY; and the angelic hosts by AVPNIM, Auphanim, the Wheels (Ezek. i.). It is also called AB, Ab, the Father. The third Sephira, or triad, is a feminine passive potency, called BINH, Binah, the Understanding, who is co-equal with Chokmah. For Chokmah, the number 2, is like two straight lines which can never enclose a space, and therefore it is powerless till the number 3 forms a triangle. Thus this Sephira completes and makes evident the supernal Trinity. It is also called AMA, Ama, Mother, and AIMA, Mima, the great productive Mother, who is eternally conjoined with AB, the Father, for the maintenance of the universe in order. There fore is she the most evident form in whom we can know the Father, and therefore is she worthy of all honour. She is the supernal Mother, co-equal with Chokmah, and the great feminine form of god, the Elohim, Šin whose image man and woman are created, according to the teaching of the Qabalah, equal before God. Woman is equal with man, and certainly not inferior to him, as it has been the persistent endeavour of so-called Christians to make her. Aima is the woman described in the Apocalypse (chap. xii.). This third Sephira is also sometimes called the Great Sea. To her are attribute the Divine names, ALHIM, Elohim, and IHVH ALHIM; and the angelic order, ARALIM, Aralim, the Thrones. She is the Supernal Mother as distinguished from Malkuth, the inferior Mother, Bride, and Queen. The number 4. This union of the second and third Sephiroth produced ChSD, Chesed, Mercy or Love, also called GDVLH, Gedulah, Greatness or Magnificence; a masculine potency represented by the Divine Name AL, EL, the Mighty One, and the angelic name, ChShMLIM, Chashmalim, Scintillating Flames (Ezek. iv. 4). The number 5. From this emanated the feminine passive potency GBVRH, Geburah, strength or fortitude; or DIN, Deen, Justice; represented by the Divine Names, ALHIM GBVR, and ALH, Eloh, and the angelic name ShRPIM, Seraphim (Isa. vi. 6). This Sephira is also called PChD, Pachad, Fear. The numbeò 6® Anä froí theså twï issueä thå unitinç Sephira¬ ThPARTh¬ Tiphereth, Beauty or Mildness, represented by the Divine Name ALVH VDOTh, Eloah Va-Daath, and the angelic names, Shinanim, ShNANIM (Ps. lxviii. 18), or MLKIM, Melakim, kings. Thus by the union of justice and mercy we obtain beauty or clemency, and the second trinity of the Sephiroth is complete. This Sephira, or "Path," or "Numeration" --- for by these latter appellations the emanations are sometimes called --- together with the fourth, fifth, seventh eighth, and ninth Sephiroth, is spoken of as ZOIR ANPIN, Zaur Anpin, the Lesser Countenance, Microprosopus, by way of antithesis to Macroprosopus, or the Vast Countenance, which is one of the names of Kether, the first Sephira. The six Sephiroth of which Zauir Anpin is composed, are then called His six members. He is also called MLK, Melekh the King. The number 7. The seventh Sephira is NTzCh, Netzach, or Firmness and Victory, corresponding to he Divine Name Jehovah Tzabaoth, IHVH TzBAVTh, the Lord of Armies, and the angelic names ALHIM, Elohim, gods, and ThRShIShIM, Tharshishim, the brilliant ones (Dan. x. 6)5. The number 8. Thence proceeded the feminine passive potency HVD, Hod, Splendour, answering to the Divine Name ALHIM TzBAVTh, Elohim Tzabaoth, the God of Armies, and among the angels to BNI ALHIM, Beni Elohim, the sons of the Gods (Gen. vi. 4). The number 9. These two produced ISVD, Yesod, the Foundation or Basis, represented by AL ChI, El Chai, the Mighty Living One, and ShDI, Shaddai; and among the angels by AShIM, Aishim, the Flames (Ps. civ. 5), yielding the third Trinity of the Sephiroth. The number 10. From this ninth Sephira came the tenth and last, thus completing the decad of the numbers. It is called MLVth, Malkuth, the Kingdom, and also the Queen, Matrona, the inferior Mother, the Bride of Microprosopus; and ShKINH, Shekinah, represented by the Divine Name Adonai, ADNI, and among the angel hosts by the kerubim, KRVBIM. Now, each of these 5 WEH NOTE: Tharshisim. Literally the "ships of Tarshish". Isaiah, II, 16: "And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all delightful imagery." See also Isaiah XXIII, 1. Mathers copies Ginsburg's "The Kabbalah" with a reference to Daniel X,6 for this angelic order, but all that is found there is a description of an angel. The figuration of "Brass" in the description is all that can be directly found to unite to Netzach --- in as much as Brass contains Copper, the metal commonly attributed to Netzach. One could just as well attribute to Hod, Brass being a mixed metal. ŠSephiroth will be in a certain degree androgynous, for it will be feminine or receptive with regard to the Sephira which immediately precedes it in the sephirotic scale, and masculine or transmissive with regard to the Sephira which immediately follows it. But there is no Sephira anterior to Kether, nor is there a Sephira which succeeds Malkuth. By these remarks it will be understood how Chokmah is a feminine noun, though marking a masculine Sephira. the connecting-link of the Sephiroth is the Ruach, spirit, Mezla, the hidden influence. I will how add a few more remarks on the qabalistical meaning of the term MThQLA, Metheqla, balance. In each of the three trinities or triads of the Sephiroth is a duad of opposite sexes, and a uniting intelligence which is the result. In this, the masculine and feminine potencies are regarded as the two scales of the balance, and the uniting Sephira as the beam that joins them. Thus, then, the term balance maybe said to symbolise the Triune, Trinity in Unity, and the Unity represented by the central point of the beam. But, again, in the Sephiroth there is a triple Trinity, the upper, lower, and middle. Now, these three are represented thus: the supernal, or highest, by the Crown, Kether; the middle by the King, and the inferior by the Queen; which will be the greatest trinity. And the earthy correlatives of these will be the primum mobile, the sun and the moon. Here we at once find alchemical symbolism. . . . . . . . . . The Sephiroth are futher divided into three pillars --- the right-hand Pillar of Mercy, consisting of the second, fourth, and seventh emanations; the left-hand Pillar of Judgment, consisting of the third, fifth, and eighth; and the middle Pillar of Mildness, consisting of the first, sixth, ninth, and tenth emanations. In their totality and unity the ten Sephiroth represent the archetypal man, ADM QDMVN, Adam Qadmon, the Protogonos. In looking at the Sephiroth constituting the first triad, it is evident that they represent the intellect; and hence this triad is called the intellectual world, OVLM MVShKL, Olahm Mevshekal. The second triad corresponds to the moral world, OVLM MVRGSh, Olahm Morgash. The third represents power and stability, and is therefore called the material world, OLVM HMVTHBO, Olahm Ha-Mevethau. These three aspect are called the faces, ANPIN, Anpin. Thus is the tree of life, OTz ChIIM, Otz Chaiim, formed; the first triad being placed above, the second and third below, in such a manner that the three masculine Sephiroth are on the right, the three feminine on the left, whilst the four uniting Sephiroth occupy the centre. This is the qabalistical "tree of life," on which all things depend. There is considerable analogy between this and the tree Yggdrasil of the Scandinavians. I have already remarked that there is one trinity which comprises all the Sephiroth, and that it consists of the crown, the king, and the queen. (In some senses this is the Christian Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which in their highest Divine nature are symbolised by the first three Sephiroth, Kether, Chokmah, and Binah.) It is the Trinity which created the world; or, in qabalistical language, the universe was born from the union of the crowned king and queen. But according to the Qabalah, before the complete form of the heavenly man (the ten Sephiroth) was produced, there were certain primordial world created, but these could not subsist, as the equilibrium of balance was not yet perfect, and they were convulsed by the unbalanced force and destroyed. These primordial worlds are called the "kings of ancient time" and the "kings of Edom who reigned before the monarchs of Israel." In this sense, Edom is the Šworld of unbalanced force, and Israel is the balanced Sephiroth (Gen. xxxvi. 31.). This important fact, that worlds were created and destroyed prior to the present creation, is again and again reiterated in the Zohar. Now the Sephiroth are also called the World of Emanations, or the Atziluthic World, or the archetypal world, OVLM ATzILUTh, Olahm Atziloth; and this world gave birth to three other worlds each containing a repetition of the Sephiroth, but in a descending scale of brightness. The second world is the Briatic world, OVLM HBRIAH, Olahm Ha-Briah, the world of creation, also called KVRSIA, Khorsia, the throne. It is an immediate emanation from the world of Atziloth, whose ten Sephiroth are reflected herein, and are consequently more limited, though they are still of the purest nature, and without any admixture of matter. The third is the Jetziratic world, OVLM HITzIRAH, Olahm Ha-Yetzirah, or world of formation and of angels, which proceeds from Briah, and, though less refined in substance, is still without matter. It is in this angelic world that reside those intelligent and incorporeal beings who are wrapped in a luminous garment, and who assume a form when they appear unto man. The fourth is the Asiatic world, OVLM HOShIH, Olahm Ha-Asiah, the world of action, called also the world of shells, OVLM HQLIPVTh, Olahm Ha-Qliphoth, which is this world of matter, made up of the grosser elements of the other three. In it is also the abode of the evil spirits, which are called "the shells" by the Qabalah, QLIPVTh, Qliphoth, material shells. The devils are also divided into ten classes, and have suitable habitations. (See Tables in "777.") The demons are the grossest and most deficient of all forms. Their ten degrees answer to the decad of the Sephiroth, but in inverse ratio, as darkness and impurity increase with the descent of each degree. The two first are nothing but absence of visible form and organisation. The third is the abode of darkness. Next follow seven Hells occupied by those demons which represent incarnate human vices, and those who have given themselves up to such vices in earth-life. Their prince is Samael, SMAL, the angel of poison and death.. His wife is the harlot, or woman of whoredom, AShTh ZNVNIM, Isheth Zennuim; and united they are called the beast, CHIVA, Chioa. Thus the infernal trinity is completed which is, so to speak,the averse and caricature of the supernal Creative One. Samael is considered to be identical with Satan. The name of the Deity, which we call Jehovah, is in Hebrew ad name of four letters, IHVH; and the true pronunciation of it is known to very few. I myself know some score of different mystical pronunciations of it. The true pronunciation of it is a most secret arcanum, and is a secret of secrets. "He who can rightly pronounce it, causeth heaven and earth to tremble, for it is the name which rusheth through the universe." Therefore when a devout Jew comes upon it in reading the Scripture, he either does not attempt to pronounce it, but instead makes a short pause, or else he substitutes for it the name Adonai, ADNI, Lord. The radical meaning of the word is "to be," and it is thus, like AHIH, Eheieh, a glyph of existence. It is capable of twelve transpositions, which all convey the meaning of "to be"; it is the only word that will bear so many transpositions without its meaning being altered. They are called the "twelve banners of the mighty name," and are said by some to rule the twelve signs of the Zodiac. These are the twelve banners: --- IHVH, IHHV, IVHH, HVHI, HVIH, HHIV, VHHI, VIHH, VHIH, HIHV, HIVH, HHVI. There are three other tetragrammatic names, which are AHIH, Eheieh, existence; ADNI, Adonai, Lord; and AGLA. This last is not properly speaking, a word, but is a notariqon of the sentence, AThH GBVR LOVLM ADNI, Steh Gebor Le0Olahm Adonai: "Thou art might, for ever, O Lord!" A brief explanation of Agla is this; A, Šthe one first; A, the one last; G, the Trinity in Unity; L, the completion of the great work. . . . . . . . . . But IHVH, the Tetragrammaton, as we shall presently see, contains all the Sephiroth with the exception of Kether, and specially signifies the Lesser Countenance, Microprosopus, the King of the qabalistical Sephirotic greatest Trinity,and the Son in His human incarnation, in the Christian acceptation of the Trinity. Therefore, as the Son reveals the Father, so does IHVH, Jehovah, reveal AHIH, Eheieh. And ADNI is the Queen, by whom alone Tetragrammaton can be grasped, whose exaltation into Binah is found in the Christian assumption of the Virgin. The Tetragrammaton IHVH is referred to the Sephiroth, thus: the upper-most point of the letter Yod, I, is said to refer to Kether; the letter I itself to Chokmah, the father of Microprosopus; the letter H, or "the supernal He," to Binah, the supernal Mother; the letter V to the next six Sephiroth, which are called the six members of Microprosopus (and six is the numerical value of V, the Hebrew Vau); lastly, the letter H, the "inferior He," to Malkuth, the tenth Sephira, the bride of Microprosopus. Advanced students should then go to the fountain head, Knorr von Rosenroth's "Kabbala denudata," and study for themselves. It should not prove easy; Frater P., after years of study, confessed: "I cannot get much out of Rosenroth"; and we may add that only the best minds are likely to obtain more than an academic knowledge of a system which we suspect von Rosenroth himself never understood in any deeper sense. As a book of reference to the hierarchical correspondences of the Qabalah, of course "777" stands alone an unrivalled. The graphic Qabalah has been already fully illustrated in this treatise. See Illustrations 2, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 28, 29, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 82. By far the best and most concise account of the method of the Qabalah is that by an unknown author, which Mr. Aleister Crowley has printed at the end of the first volume of his Collected Works, and which we here reprint in full.