The Hermeneutics of Aleister Crowley

B. Ashe
bethshebaashe@gmail.com
https://shematria.pythonanywhere.com

“It is true that some of the so-called
secrets are significant, but as a rule they
are so only to those who already
know what the secret is.”
~ Aleister Crowley.

Abstract

More than 20 examples of biblical gematria in Liber AL vel Legis are presented. We trace the secret hermeneutical work of Aleister Crowley and we ask; does Liber AL vel Legis fulfill its objective as the foundation of a Hermetic Qabalistic system?

Contents

Introduction

Main

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Introduction

Research into the hermeneutics of the most important texts written by Aleister Crowley tends to suffer from the same limitations as research into texts of the Bible; all the material is in the public domain but the keys to unlocking their concealed meanings have been hidden by the authors. The amazing thing is that the keys to the Bible are also the keys to Crowley’s work so when Crowley dubbed his key ‘the key of it all’ he was being literal rather than figurative in his speech.

The ‘key of it all’ is an alphanumeric system. In its original form the paleo-hebrew letters of the alphabet represented numbers as well as phonetic sounds. This is commonly called gematria (Hebrew) or isopsephy (Greek). There are many forms of gematria, but the only one that matters is the one able to unlock the closed doors of the texts, and that was hidden by ancient authors as well as by Crowley.

This brief monogram will demonstrate by example the conventions and uses of the key as employed by Aleister Crowley. Readers are advised to consult my other works The Genesis Wheel’[i] and ‘Chariot’ii for a more in-depth investigation of the use of gematria and isopsephy in the Bible.

In Hebrew the gematria is:

א=1 ב=2 ג=3 ש=3 ד=4 ת=4 ה=5 ו=6 ז=7 ח=8 ט=9 י=10 כ=20 ל=30 מ=40 נ=50 ס=60 ע=70 פ=80 צ=90 ק=100 ר=200 ך=20 ם=40 ן=50 ף=80 ץ=90

In Greek the isopsephy is:

α=1 β=2 γ=3 δ=4 ε=5 ζ=7 η=8 θ=9 ι=10 κ=20 λ=30 μ=40 ν=50 ξ=60 ο=70 π=80 ρ=100 σ=200 τ=3 υ=4 φ=20 χ=40 ψ=50 ω=80 ϝ=6 ς=200 ϟ=90 ϡ=90

The Greek set is mainly used in the New Testament and was ported across from the Hebrew setiii. Crowley transliterated the Hebrew set for the English language, and he assigns some of the transliterated values to digraphs. There are more letters and digraphs in the English gematria than there are in the Hebrew alephbet which is why several letters can represent one Hebrew letter; for instance, the letter Yod is transliterated to the letters I, J and Y.

Crowley’s transliterated English gematria:

a=1=aleph b=2=beth c=8=cheth d=4=daleth e=5=heh f=80=peh g=3=gimel h=5=heh i=10=yod j=10=yod k=20=kaph l=30=lamed m=40=mem n=50=nun o=70=ayin p=80=peh q=100=qoph r=200=resh s=60=samekh t=9=teth u=6=vav v=6=vav w=6=vav x=60=samekh y=10=yod z=7=zayin Ch=8=cheth Sh=3=shin Th=4=tav Ph=80=peh Ts=90=tsade

These values will look familiar to most students of the occult, as apart from the dissimilar values of the letters shin and tav, they are exactly the same as Standard Gematria. In Standard, the values of the letters shin and tav are 300 and 400 but in the bible and in Crowley’s encrypted work they are valued 3 and 4. This means that two letters of the key have the value of 3 (gimel and shin) and two letters hold the value of 4 (daleth and tav), and because this is counter-intuitive to most people, it has served to keep the hidden meanings of both the Bible and Crowley’s work a secret.

Crowley’s hermeneutics do not stop at gematria or notariqon however. His work is intimately bound up with a diagram called ‘the Seven Palaces’ which is responsible for the modern day shape of Kabbalistic the Tree of Life. Just as the letters of the Hebrew alephbet correspond to the paths of the Tree, they also correspond to the paths and palaces of the Seven Palaces using the biblical values. These correspondences form the organizational basis of chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, as well as being the schematic and mnemonic origin of the Tarot.

It is expected that this paper will be of interest to a broad range of students from the modern day mystery schools, likely all at different stages of their education and development, and therefore to make things as easy as possible for newer students I shall use Crowley’s transliterated English gematria rather than the Hebrew letters wherever I can. An online app has been coded to calculate exclusively with biblical gematria. You are encouraged to use it to check these examples or to do some research of your own. Mobile users should use the second link instead.

https://www.shematria.com

https://shematria.pythonanywhere.com

This app is a community resource and there are no charges associated with its use and no personal information is asked for.

Main

Crowley’s main book of interest and the foundation of his A.’.A.’. system is the Book of the Law; Liber AL vel Legis, so I will cite numerous examples of gematria from it in an attempt to pass the threshold of reasonable doubt about the presence of this gematria in the book, followed by 3 examples from his other works. These examples often illustrate some element of logical riddling with the language.

a) Liber Al vel Legis 1:1

Had! The manifestation of Nuit.

Had + manifestation + Nuit = 480.

The sub figura number of the book is 220, and 480 + 220 = 700.

These calculations are identical to those seen in Genesis 1:1. The name of each book of the Torah is determined by the first word of it, therefore the Jewish name of Genesis is Brashith [in the beginning] which has a value of 220. ALHIM [Elohim] + HShMIM [The heavens] + HARTs [The Earth] = 480, + 220 = 700.

Biblical gematria usually omits the small & common words (the, of, to, etc.) from calculations, following biblical conventions that reserve many of these words to act as mathematical notation, but this is not true in Crowley’s gematria work. His adopted conventions are not as strict as those of most biblical authors although he omits the small words here. One common convention Crowley adopts is his use of the ampersand (&). It has no gematria value but it was undoubtedly a useful device for making the sums add up while ensuring the open text was readable. There are a total of 86 ampersands in the book.

The number 700 in the bible is a nod at both the seven palaces that God used to create the heavens and the earth, and the seven days of creation. With Liber AL vel Legis Crowley is attempting to create a book intended to replace the book of Genesis, and a system intended to replace Abrahamic religions. The English title of the Book of the Law reflects this too, as HThVRH [The Torah] = 220, and Torah is the Hebrew word meaning Law. The ‘AL’ (31) from the title of the Book is transliterated Hebrew for God [El], and among the Canaanites he was the chief creator God. The children of El were called the Elohim, the eldest being Hadad who lived in the seven palaces of his Fatheriv.

b) Liber Al vel Legis 1:2

The unveiling of the company of heaven.

There are two possibilities for this verse, and both may be intended and true (dialethia).

The + unveiling + the + company + of + heaven = 669.

700 – 669 = 31, suggesting the unveiling of God, and;

The + company + of + heaven = 490 = 7 x 70, which is another nod at the seven palaces and the seven days of creation.

c) Liber Al vel Legis 1:3-4

Every man and every woman is a star.

Every number is infinite; there is no difference.

Every man + Every Woman = 710.

Gliese 710 is a star in the constellation Serpens Cauda (Scorpio). Also 'every' = 226, so 710 / 226 = 3.14159292035 which is pi accurate to seven digits. Another way to produce this calculation is to take the value for Gliese = 113 and to half 710 between the genders to give 355 / 113 = 3.14159292035. Verse 4 confirms the calculations in verse 3 'Every number is infinite;' because every number must be found in pi and therefore every number is infinite in this context. There is also no difference between 710 / 226 or 355 / 113. This approximation to pi is more accurate than the one found in Genesis 1:1 (220 / 7).

d) Liber AL vel Legis 1:5

Help me, o warrior lord of Thebes, in my unveiling before the Children of men!

The first word is a riddle. It’s a regular transliteration of HALP [The Aleph], and since the leader of a clan or tribe is called the Eleph, then we take the leading letter from each word in the next phrase. This is called notariqon and is regular part of hermeneutical exegesis. For: O warrior lord of Thebes, we take the leading letters OWLOTh.

OWLOTh + My + Unveiling + Children + Men = 802.

This is total gematria value for all the letters of the Hebrew alephbet:

אבגדהוזחטיכלמנסעפצקרשת = 802, and also the value of the phrase ‘Glory of the Stars’ in AL 1:15.

My Unveiling = 220.

e) Liber AL vel Legis 1:6

Be thou Hadit, my secret centre, my heart & my tongue!

Crowley has left a clue to this riddle in the Tunisia diaries;
“In order to achieve this, The Beast, stripped of his human personality, becomes, feels & speaks in the character of the impersonal individual essence, which is common to all individuals alike.”

Remove the 3 ‘my’ words to make the sentence impersonal, and also remove the ‘&’ which has no value, then treat the rest as a notariqon;

B + Th + H + S + C + H + T = 93.

my secret my heart & my tongue = 800.

f) Liber AL vel Legis 1:7

Behold! it is revealed by Aiwass the minister of Hoor-paar-kraat.

It + is + revealed + by + Aiwass + the + minister = 888.

[See also AL III:38; a secret + door + ra + tum = 888]

Aiwass + minister + of + HPK = 777.

All significant gematria calculations in the bible are preceded by the word הנה Hnh which is usually translated as “Behold!”

g) Liber Al vel Legis 1:8-9

The Khabs is in the Khu, not the Khu in the Khabs.

Worship then the Khabs, and behold my light shed over you!

This is a clever riddle. “Khu not the Khu” = 200, which is the value of the letter Resh and is attributed to the Tarot card of ‘The Sun’. ‘Khabs’ = 88. If we remove “Khu not the Khu” from the expression and use notariqon on the remaining words we are left with “Th K I I Th I I K” = 88. The Khabs cancels itself out leaving the inner light of Resh; the Sunshine of consciousness.

Worship khabs light you = 600, which is Resh x 3.

Also "My light shed over you" = 486 and Major Adeptus = 486 (see verse below).

h) Liber Al vel Legis 1:10

Let my servants be few & secret: they shall rule the many & the known.

Few + secret = 378

The many + the known = 315

The reduced form is notation for the magical grade of the Major Adeptus, signifying that only persons of that grade may be servants unto Nuit.

i) Liber Al vel Legis 1:11

These are fools that men adore; both their Gods & their men are fools.

Fools = 310. Because both men and Gods are fools there are three fools to be counted in the expression (one is implied). Fools x 3 = 930.

j) Liber Al vel Legis 1:12

Come forth, o children, under the stars, & take your fill of love!

This can be counted numerous ways;

come forth fill of love = 888

o children, under the stars = 981

981 – 888 = 93.

There are 4 words in Greek for love. Agape = 93. Eros = 385. Philia = 71. Storgh = 384. The word Storgh is rarely used in ancient works and is usually listed in fourth place, so I suggest the phrase “come forth” is a sort of riddle.

Storgh is the natural feeling between parents and children. Agape + Storgh = 477, which is identical in value to “come forth”.

k) Liber Al vel Legis 1:13

I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy.

Crowley writes in ‘The New Comment’:

“Note that Nuith, although She is Infinite Space, speaks as an individual might do, often enough. This is not that She is 'talking down to our level'; it is a fact. In the Cosmos almost any aggregation can think and act as an Ego. For instance, the cells of our bodies are each units, diverse in composition and character, living each a life of its own. Yet we think and act for them, and say “I”. The stars are the cells of Her Body. Each one of us is such a cell; not less itself but more because of its secret function in Her.”

If we replace every instance of “you” or “your” in this expression with “I” then we arrive at seven “I”s totaling to a gematria value of 70.

l) Liber Al vel Legis 1:14

Above, = 84

the gemmed azure is = 395.

The naked splendour of Nuit = 819.

She bends in ecstasy to kiss = 571.

The secret ardours of Hadit. = 1016.

The winged globe, = 197

the starry blue, = 532.

Are mine = 311

O Ankh af na khonsu = 489.

Crowley’s comment indicates to me that this poem may be rearranged according to a threesome arrangement with each element standing for a Father, Mother and Child.

“…This Finite will evidently be an expression of the particular mood of its Father and Mother at the moment of its conception. Obviously, this “Child” cannot add to the Universe; it is therefore inevitably twin (Horus and Harpocrates, Osiris and Typhon, Jesus and Barabbas) in Nature, formed of equal and opposite elements.”

There is matching values in these sets;

the gemmed azure is – Are mine = 84: Above

The naked splendour of Nuit + The winged globe = 1016: The secret ardours of Hadit

But I have not been able to complete the arrangement. These lines are left over, and perhaps require a different operation than addition or subtraction;

the starry blue = 532

She bends in ecstasy to kiss = 571

O Ankh af na khonsu = 489

m) Liber Al vel Legis 1:15

Now ye shall know that the chosen priest & apostle of infinite space is the prince-priest the Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman is all power given. They shall gather my children into their fold: they shall bring the glory of the stars into the hearts of men.

Using notariqon for the first part;

N Y Sh K Th Th Ch P A O I S I Th P P Th B = 500

Scarlet woman = 480

his woman called scarlet woman = 800

glory of the stars = 802 [identical to the total sum of the alephbet]

the hearts of men = 555.

It should be noted that Babalon spelt in Greek ΒΑΒΑΛΩΝ = 166 which when added to the number of the verse for the prince priest above is 500 + 166 = 666.

n) Liber Al vel Legis 1:16

For he is ever a sun, and she a moon. But to him is the winged secret flame, and to her the stooping starlight.

Sun and moon are tarot card attributions which have Hebrew letter attributions; Resh (200) for the Sun and Qoph (100) for the Moon.

Winged secret flame + stooping starlight = 1200.

o) Liber Al vel Legis 1:17

The key of the rituals is in the secret word which I have given unto him.

The word is believed to be Abrahadabra, which is 418, but it should be noted that two hundred and twenty when spelled out in Hebrew; מָאתַ֔יִם עֶשְׂרִ֑ים = 418, and that this value is found as a gate in the shape of a star on the seven palaces.

Other correspondences for 418 in the Book of the Law are;

Silver + Gold = 418 [AL I:51]

Cum a word: I go = 418 [a ‘foolish word’ in AL II:7, Cum is notariqon of ‘come unto me'.]

a + God + War + Vengeance = 418 [AL III,3]

רא הוור = 418 = RA HVVR [This spelling is Ra Hoor is given by Crowley in the Old Comment for AL III:1]

p) Correspondences with 666;

O Ra Hoor Khuit! = 666 [AL III: 37]

D Khephra Ahathoor = 666 [AL III: 38; The pictogram of the letter Daleth is a door]

axle of the wheel the cube in the circle = 666 [AL II, 7]

q) Correspondences with 777;

is the Word Abrahadabra = 777 [AL III, 75 ~ end of the book]

Love of Nu in the star-lit heaven = 777 [AL II, 76]

I am Nuit - 56 + Divide, add, multiply, and understand = 777 [AL I,24-25]

a secret name + Isis + bind nothing = 777 [AL I:22. The letters ISIS are notariqon of: Infinite Space Infinite Stars.]

AL III: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”. This is followed by;

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 to receive 777.

r) Other notable entries in Liber AL:

The Book of the Law is Written and - Concealed = 600 [Written at the end of the Book.]

In AL III: 7; War Engine = 330.

AL III: 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. As an aside, this type of faux numerical violence happens quite a bit in the Bible too.

s) AL II, 76:

4 6 3 8 A B K 2 4 A L G M O R 3 ץ x 24 89 R P S T O V A L.

In the hand written edition, there is a Tsade sofit instead of a letter Y, and the X resembles a smaller x multiplication sign. Crowley indicates there is Standard gematria for this verse, so converting all the letters to numbers gives us;

4 6 3 8 1 2 20 2 4 1 30 3 40 70 200 3 900 x 24 89 200 80 60 9 70 6 1 30.

There are also rounded marks around the number 24 and 89 and these indicate they should be rounded up or down. I suggest 89 is actually 890 and 24 is 0.24 and is part of a sum with the final Tsade and the multiplication: 900 x 0.24 = 216, therefore;

4 6 3 8 1 2 20 2 4 1 30 3 40 70 200 3 216 890 200 80 60 9 70 6 1 30.

So what do we do with these numbers? Well, Crowley wanted to be sure that any successor had shown sufficient ability to not only discover the secret gematria but also find the Seven Palaces. The SP is discoverable via a careful study of the Sefer Dtzeniouthia (check the Mathers edition), via a riddle that turns the Tree of Life back to the Seven Palaces and reassigns the letters to the Wheel like so;

Gates are made on the Wheel for each path by adding the value of the letters of the palaces at either side of them. For more information about this we must consult AL 1:51;

There are four gates to one palace […] Let him enter in turn or at once the four gates; let him stand on the floor of the palace. Will he not sink? Amn. Ho! warrior, if thy servant sink?

The Palace of the Daleth on the right hand side of the diagram has a path below it with 4 letters. We may count these 4 letters to make one gate, or count them as individual gates. When counted as one we add the value of the palaces at either side (heh 5 + daleth 4) to shin 3 + tav 4 + tsade 90 + qoph 100 = 206.

The floor - stand not = 206. Therefore this gate is not included in our calculations for II, 76.

The words “not sink” refer to the gates of the paths Samekh, Yod, Nun and Kaph (notariqon) and so they too are not included in our final calculations. This leaves us with the following gates;

The final bit of the riddle always reminds me of an old TV game show in the UK called Countdown. The contestants were given a bunch of numbers and asked to produce a specified sum for it. There are 9 gate values to find sums for with the seven palaces but since Cheth and Teth are both 11 we really only need to find 8 gate values from the 26 numbers [AL 1:15: my number is nine by the fools; but with the just I am eight] and it can be done like this;

4 6 3 8 1 2 20 2 4 1 30 3 40 70 200 3 216 890 200 80 60 9 70 6 1 30

9 = Vav

216 + 1 = 217 = Heh

(890 + 4 + 6) / 20 = 45 = Mem

8 + 3 = 11 = Cheth & Teth

80 + 6 + 2 = 88 = Peh

200 + 3 + 4 + 2 = 209 = Resh

200 + 30 + 1 = 231 = Lamed

70 + 70 + 40 + 60 + 30 + 1 + 3 = 274 = Ayin.

t) Gematria outside Liber AL vel Legis;

In Liber Ararita, verse 1 we find this;

AChD RASh: AChDVThV RASh YYChVDVThV: ThMVRThV AChD = 777

Meaning (according to Crowley): One is His Beginning; one is His Individuality; His Permutation One!

In LIBER LVIII Crowley says the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life can be grouped in several ways; “…division into seven Palaces, seven Planes, three Pillars or Columns, and so on…”

When the Seven Palaces are grouped into Pillars or Columns;

BChAMDRH + BGHZRSH + BVAKDShThTsQH = 777.

In Liber Arcanorum, the 22 lines not only relate to the Hebrew letters and their attribution to the Tarot cards, but each line corresponds to a path or palace of the Seven Palaces. The verses are numbered from 0, thus the fourth verse for the letter Daleth is numbered 3:

3. 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 path of Ayin (70) connects with the palace of the Daleth (4).

There is much more gematria in Liber AL vel Legis, but I feel these examples are enough to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that Crowley was covertly using the biblical number system with the English alphabet.

Discussion

Although Crowley’s stated reasons for writing the Book of the Law are lofty rationales like; the initiation of the New Aeon, or the foundation of a new system to replace Abrahamic religions, or divine inspiration from a mysterious entity called Aiwass, to my ears these reasons sound like justifications after the fact. I think the truth of the matter is a little more prosaic, and that the original motivation for the book to be written was as an experiment in reproducing the hermeneutical scribal practises of biblical authors. The Tanakh is replete with gematria, and it is a feature of some books of the New Testament such as the Gospel of John and Revelation, but the art of writing whole books with gematria is long dead. Biblical authors or those proximate to them have left no scribal commentary to explain how it was done[v]. Crowley delighted in working with cryptographic writing and being a highly experimental character, it must have been a matter of speculation as to whether the art of gematria could be revived or reproduced, and what effect that would have on his readership if it was?

Many parts of the bible that lead with gematria are read by the public at large as innocent open texts, and they don’t have inkling that the meaning of these texts are chiefly derived from their numerical expressions. They naturally assume that some form of literal truth pertains to even the most strange and fantastical of biblical writings, and the more strange and inexplicable the events seem to be, the greater is the impact upon the readers curiosity and religious fervor.

When Crowley wrote “One would go mad if one took the Bible seriously; but to take it seriously one must be already mad”vi we can appreciate his point of view from those who are in on the secret. It is obviously silly to entertain ideas such as flying chariots and fiery horses taking people off into the sky if you already know the text is a device meant to produce a certain number as a reverence to God. It therefore has to be wondered whether Crowley thought the early Thelemites that flocked to him as a prophet and revealer of mystical secrets were simply off their rockers? Did he pity them in their ignorance? Did he believe that the eventual revelation of the secrets of the Book of the Law would function like a slap in the face to a hysteric and ‘cure’ people of their insanity?

He wrote “The sin which is unpardonable is knowingly and willfully to reject truth, to fear knowledge lest that knowledge pander not to thy prejudices.vii” Nowadays we understand the mechanisms of cognitive dissonance, but if Crowley tried to reach out to religious people and educate them about the facts of the bible, he likely would have deemed their horrified reaction, denial and sudden memory loss to be “willful ignorance” and possibility even a sign of stupidity, for he was not a man that was especially tolerant of human foibles in this respect. Yet rather than decry the human failings of men and women, he went directly after religion and placed the blame for the defects in our species with religious cultural phenomena. He was the Richard Dawkins of his day, asking “What is the curse upon religion that its tenets must always be associated with every kind of extravagance and falsehood?”

Conclusion

As the foundation of a hermetic Qabalistic system, Liber AL vel Legis fulfills its objective in every way. The first lesson the aspirant faces on the path is the proper discernment of fantasy from reality; in Qabalistic terms; what is Yesod and what is Malkuth? Any work that brings one up short and forces a re-evaluation of the way you fundamentally accept things as meaningful to you, is valuable. Aleister Crowley said “Let us begin by doubting every statement. Let us find a way of subjecting every statement to the test of experiment. Is there any truth at all in the claims of various religions?”

It is not the fault of religion if you find yourself conned by a narrative that flatters your self-image or bolsters your ego. There is no blame to be laid at the door of either Aleister Crowley or any of the biblical writers if you mistook their gematria to be something it was not. If you learned something from it ~ kudos!

References

i Ashe, Bethsheba. (2019). The Genesis Wheel.

ii Ashe, Bethsheba. (2016). Chariot. Pennsylvania: The Lemic Group inc.

iii {ibid i.}

iv Kapelrud, A. S. (October 1968). The Number Seven in Ugaritic Texts. Vetus Testamentum, 494-499.

v Lieberman, S. J. (1987). A Mesopotamian Background for the So-Called Aggadic “Measures” of Biblical Hermeneutics? Hebrew Union College Annual, 58, 157–225.

vi Crowley, A. E. (1930). Magick: Liber Aba: Book 4. Privately published.

vii {ibid v.}