Prime Qabalah & Liber Al

Some years ago when playing with ideas for numbers, an obvious thought struck me. As English is our spoken language, why not see if a satisfactory system of gematria could be inspired, rather than using Hebrew or Greek Qabalah.

The common systems used for the English alphabet are the uninspiring consecutive A=1 to Z=26 or the same 1 to 26 range with an 11 interval (A=1, L=2, W=3, etc). The latter system, known as English Qabalah and derived from Liber Al, at least makes use of the magickal number eleven (important as the 1 beyond 10, representing the unseen energies) in the attribution of number to letter, but still seemed unsatisfactory.

I remembered Crowley's comment about how magickal the primes are, and had the obvious thought was, why not attribute the 26 prime numbers under 100 (i.e. 102) to the letters of the alphabet. Primes are by their nature more magickal, being non-divisible by any other numbers except themselves and one.

I then thought of Al II.55 "Thou shalt obtain the order & value of the English alphabet". To me this suggested the numerical attributions should not be just a straight sequence of A-Z to the primes. As there are 5 primes under 10, why not attribute them to the vowels, and the remaining numbers to the consonants. The word "Value" also suggested that the values were not the straight 1-26 range, but something a bit more exotic, hence the primes.

The range of numbers attributed to the letters is considerably larger, so there will be higher values attributed to most words, giving a higher degree of significance to correspondences between words attributed to the same number. The attributions suggested are thus:

 

A	1	H	29	O	5	V	73
B	11	I	3	P	53	W	79
C	13	J	31	Q	59	X	83
D	17	K	37	R	61	Y	89
E	2	L	41	S	67	Z	97
F	19	M	43	T	71
G	23	N	47	U	7

Having come up with this system of gematria, which I call Prime Qabalah (PQ for short), the next obvious step was to apply it to the greatest grimoire of modern times - Liber Al. I am not claiming this is the only system, but rather a system that can be used to produce insights and reveal another of the many layers of meaning contained within this masterpiece.

Before turning to Liber Al, I would just like to mention a few interesting correspondences.
114 = Angel, Demon 175 = Altar, Woman
115 = Change, Chaos 181 = Beauty, Glamour
120 = Death, Magick, Soul 182 = Deity, Lover, Thebes
135 = Abyss, Nox 208 = Shakti, Sirius, Element
152 = Beast, Desire, Sex 211 = Daughter, Mother
169 = Horus, Seth 218 = Aiwass, Alchemy

Some analyses from Liber Al:

I.3 Every man and every woman is a star.
Star = 200 = Power, i.e. the power of the individual doing their true will is the star(fire) within.

I.4 Every number is infinite; there is no difference.
Infinite = 195 = Abrahadabra, Ipsos.
The formulae of the Aeons of Horus and Maat are both equivalent, implying their concurrence, and also infinite, as an Aeonic formula should be. Also, any number divided by zero is infinite, making all numbers the same when that operation is applied to them. 195 is also the total for Trance, suggestive of the loss of self when meditating and dissolving into the Infinite.

I.24 I am Nuit, and my word is six and fifty.
Starting with the obvious consideration, what word adds to 56 in PQ? I decided on preferably a 2-letter word as implied by the term "six and fifty" rather than saying "fifty-six". The one which jumped to mind was Pi (P = 53 + I = 3). And how perfect is this as the word of Nuit! The relationship between the radius of a circle with its circumference and area fits so well with the concept of Nuit as the eternal circle, linked by the straight line (the radius) to the point in the centre that is Hadit. Also Pi is an irrational number, being indefinable, which is totally appropriate as the word of the Goddess Who represents infinite space.

I.39 The word of the Law is Thelema.
Thelema adds to 189, as do Bliss and Total. So in this context, the word of the law is bliss or total. Those who do their will experience their total being, enabling bliss.

I.40 Who calls us Thelemites will do no wrong, if he look but close into the word. For there are therein Three Grades, the Hermit, and the Lover, and the man of Earth.
Thelema = Will.
Will = 164, as does holy, heart and earth. These three words can be equated to the three grades, which are also suggestive of the upper and lower of the seven major chakras, with the heart chakra in the middle as the balance.
Holy suggests the Hermit = crown chakra (i.e. the divine consciousness)
Heart suggests the Lover = heart chakra
Earth suggests the Man of Earth = base chakra (attributed to earth)

I.62 At all my meetings with you shall the priestess say - and her eyes shall burn with desire as she stands bare and rejoicing in my secret temple - To me! To me! calling forth the flame of the hearts of all in her love-chant.
To me = 121 = 112 = Love, Law, Hadit, Sun. That these concepts should all equate, and all add up to 112 is clearly significant.

II.15 For I am perfect, being Not; and my number is nine by the fools; but with the just I am eight, and one in eight: Which is vital, for I am none indeed.
Not = 133 = Circle, Diamond
The Circle is the perfect form which Nuit describes Herself as, and diamond is the most perfect stone
Eight = 128 = Nuit, Key.
One = 54 = Nu
So this can be seen as Hadit identifying himself as the key (with the just I am eight), and as being within Nuit (one in eight, Nu in Nuit). It is also worth noting that "none indeed" = 286, the same as voltigeur, identifying with the formula of the leaper.
Considering the formula numerically, 8 = IO = I(3) + 0(5)
1 in 8 is A(1) added in middle i.e. IAO formula.

II.23 I am alone: there is no God where I am.
"No God" adds to 97, which is the same as Five and Gate. So the formula of "No God" could be seen as both identification with the pentagram as the microcosm (five) and also that the Gate to the mysteries is within and needs to be unlocked by doing one's true will. The word "no" implies the formula of reversal, which applied to "No God" produces Dogon, the tribe with extensive knowledge of the Silver Star, Sirius. So this phrase could be interpreted as "The star of the mysteries is where I am", for every man and every woman is a star, but only one who attains their true will can be said to be a star that radiates a magickal current.

III.2 There is division hither homeward; there is a word not known.
This apparently simple line seems to be one of the most significant of all! "Division" adds to 218, the same as Aiwass and Alchemy. "Hither" adds to 195, which has already been shown to be Infinite, Abrahadabra, Ipsos & Trance, a potent number indeed! "Homeward" adds to 237, the same as Abomination.
On consideration I feel this also refers back to I.24, for the phrase "not known" adds to 338, the same as "Limitless". So the phrase then becomes "there is a word limitless". Now as I.24 gives Pi, this is a "limitless" word "not known", in an earlier chapter ("hither homeward") and verse I.25 also tells us to "Divide, add, multiply, and understand."

III.54 Bahlasti! Ompehda! I spit on your crapulous creeds.
Bahlasti = Energy, Mantra
Ompehda = 150 = Curse
This clearly demonstrates the use of this barbaric formula as a curse.

III.74 There is a splendour in my name hidden and glorious
Firstly consider "hidden" and "glorious". Hidden adds to 115, the same as Change and Chaos; Glorious adds to 212, the same as Gnosis and Fortune. Substituting these words into the phrase gives all sorts of permutations like "There is a splendour in my name change and gnosis", etc. Also if we consider chapter 3 as being the words of Ra-Hoor-Khuit, so the splendour is hidden in his name, then Ra-Hoor-Khuit adds to 309, the same as "Key of it all"!

Obviously there is far more that can be said, and more analysis to be done. However I hope this taster may inspire the reader to experiment for themselves and divine their own mysteries.

 

This system of Gematria is explored in more depth by David Rankine in his book
Becoming Magick