Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
> LIBER A'aSh vel Capricorni Pneumatici sub figura CCCLXX
Frater AMO has given us a word-total of 1030 for this Book.
1030 = 1102011, this is a reversible septagram.
One important thing about this total is that any septagram has a
top line whose inherent value is 729. In this case, the line is Yang, so its
actual value is also 729. Note that this is the value of the name BAVOMIThR
spelled in Hebrew, and thus integral to the text.
Now below this top line we have the 301 hexagram, (729 + 301 =
1030). Using the Hebrew gematria, 301 = ASh = Fire. We have changed the Ayin of
OSh = Creation, to an Alef of ASh = Fire.
(Creation = OSh being, of course, the title and enumeration of
this
Liber).
So we have here 1030 words; this equals Baphomet + Fire. And since Baphomet is the inspiration for
the design of the Devil Atu, which is Capricorn/Ayin, and since Fire is
obviously related to the letter Shin, we find concealed in the number 1030 a
cipher that makes it identical to the title and attributions of this Book. This
is made all the more potent by the fact that 1030 is a reversible number in
base 3, so that the attributions do not change by reversing the order of the
septagram.
> 0. Gnarled Oak of God! In thy branches is the lightning
nested!
> Above thee hangs the Eyeless Hawk. = 871 = Greek XAOS.
As Chaos is the husband of Babalon, so is this Book a
counterpart to Liber 156. Here is a fixation on the phallus, there on the
kteis. Here is Capricorn, there is Cancer, the polar signs of the Solstices. It
is important to remember that the Solstices are the times of extremity in the
Earth's orbit relative to its tilt. We have the contrast of the most and least
sunlight, as opposed to the rather boring equal sunlight of the Equinoxes.
Gnarled Oak of God = 189 = With the Wand createth He.
Also 189 = 021000. Reversing this we get 000120 = 15 = Capricorn
in the TQ arrangement. So the very first verse gives us the trigram of the
Zodiac sign with which this Book is concerned.
In thy branches is the lightning nested! = 370 = the numeration
of this Book.
After giving the Zodiac sign of the Book, it is only fair to
then give the number under which this Book is written!
Above thee hangs the Eyeless Hawk. = 312 = 8 x 39 = sum of the
12 Zodiac and 8 I Ching trigrams.
Note this Book has a zero verse followed by 39 verses. The zero
is the Zero trigram, the 39 is the sum of the next six trigrams, which form the
Elemental basis for all the other trigrams.
These other trigrams of Liber XXVII are an 'eightfold' multiple of the
initial group of trigrams. This is a foreshadowing of how the Eightfold Word
shall be equilibrated with the Three.
>
> 1. Thou art blasted and black! Supremely solitary in that heath of scrub. = 635 = 48th hexagram
of I Ching, the Well.
When the Yin lines of this hexagram revert to the Tao, as they
must eventually do, the result is the 93 hexagram:
212112 = 635
010110 = 93
111111 = 364
The method of the transition is by using the hexagram of the
Creative, the pure Yang. Since Baphomet is the Lord of Creation, this is
perfectly appropriate to this Book.
Also of note is that 364 = the great mystery of the House of
God.
> 2. Up! The ruddy clouds hang over thee! It is the storm.
Ruddy = 103 = prime root of the total of words in the Book,
1030.
Since this requires multiplication by 10 to get us to our total,
I will take the 10 trigram, the sign of Leo, as being the White Lion, (also
cognate with the 10 = Yod = Sperm of the Tarot), while ruddy = 103 is
considered the Red Eagle.
The whole of this Liber is then an alchemical treatise regarding
the combination of the Lion and Eagle. But particularly from the perspective of
the True Will, since Will = 10, and the first two words of the Book are
'Gnarled Oak' = 123 = Do what thou wilt. The initials of these two words are
G.O., which should be self-explanatory.
> 3. There is a flaming gash in the sky. = 279 = 3 x 93.
>
> 4. Up. = 29
TQ would agree that this shortest of verses can concisely
summarize the subject of the Book. The value is 29 = 001002 = the One trigram
over the Two trigram, the combination of yang and yin that can be found in only
one other hexagram, number 55 = 002001.
U is the 25 trigram, attributed to Mars, while P = the 4
trigram, attributed to Aries, the rulership of Mars. Thus the word UP indicates
the masculine part of the formula of combining opposites.
Also, so far there is a rough correlation with the verses and
the Tarot keys:
Verse 0 is the Fool, the Gnarled Oak; verse 1 is the magus;
verse 2 introduces the priestess by way of the ruddy clouds; verse 3 is then
the Empress, the flaming gash; verse four is Up, for the Emperor/Aries.
> 5. Thou art tossed about in the grip of the storm for an
aeon and an aeon and an aeon. But thou givest not thy sap; thou fallest not.
Verse 5 will then be the Hierophant, who officiates at each
successive aeon.
> 6. Only in the end shalt thou give up thy sap when the
great God F.I.A.T. is enthroned on the day of Be-with-Us.
Verse 6 is thus the Lovers, for the consummation of the
opposites is now finally achieved, when the sap is given up.
Be-with-Us = 93, which is very cool, if only I knew what
Be-with-Us means.
F.I.A.T. is of course the initials of the Latin words for the
four Elements. It is interesting that the name of the God is FIAT, which equals
26, just like the value of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton. In TQ Tarot associations;
F= Art, I = Fool, A = Hierophant, T = Aeon. Water is unfortunately missing from
this schema.
> 7. For two things are done and a third thing is begun. Isis
and Osiris are given over to incest and adultery. Horus leaps up thrice armed
from the womb of his mother. Harpocrates his twin is hidden within him. Set is
his holy covenant, that he shall display in the great day of M.A.A.T., that is
being interpreted the Master of the Temple of A.'.A.'., whose name is Truth.
There's some uncertainty as to whether the word 'Set' should be
in all capitals, as it was in the old versions of Magick in Theory and
Practice. I'm inclined to interpret the word as the name of the god Set.
This verse doesn't seem to have as much of an overt connection
to the Chariot Atu, especially since the word MAAT seems to point to Atu VIII,
(or XI, if you prefer). After the 'two things' of the Lovers Atu are 'done',
this verse goes off on a description of the results of that operation. But
perhaps it is noteworthy that this takes place just as we were about to arrive
at the Chariot/Cancer, the polar sign of Capricorn. Apparently rather than the
overt symbolism of the Chariot, we need to be informed about the results of the
operation in more esoteric terms.
> 8. Now in this is the magical power known. = 310
310 = 102111, the reversal is 111201 = 370, the title of this
Book. Appropriate to the verse numbered 8, the title of the Book is here
equilibrated with the essential concept of the work; i.e., "the magical
power".
>
> 9. It is like the oak that hardens itself and bears up
against the storm. It is weather-beaten and scarred and confident like a
sea-captain.
Again, in verse 9 we find a not-too-distant relative of the
Hermit in the forms of the oak & the Sea-Captain.
sea-captain = 82 = sum of the Tarot keys of the letters of
BAVOMIThR. (I + 0 + V + XV + XII + IX + XXI + XIX = 82)
This verse is also the answer to the riddle, "When is an
ash not an ash? When it is the gnarled
oak of God."
> 10. Also it straineth like a hound in the leash.
Here there seems no real connection to the Fortune Atu. Perhaps
this is because having reached the Hermit, its time to expand the narrative
again, since the operations of the Hermit in the guise of Karezza are vital to
the 'magical power', and the Hermit best represents the magus with which these
next verses are concerned.
> 11. It hath pride and great subtlety. Yea, and glee also!
>
> 12. Let the magus act thus in his conjuration. = 365
365 reminds me that we should all have "a feast EVERY night
unto Nu and the pleasure of uttermost delight." (and after a year spent
like that, one might be ready for a greater feast!)
> 13. Let him sit and conjure; let him draw himself together
in that forcefulness; let him rise next swollen and straining; let him
dash back the hood from his head and
fix his basilisk eye upon the sigil of the demon. Then let him sway the force
of him to and fro like a satyr in silence, until the Word burst from his
throat.
One might also use this instruction in a regular,
non-sex-magickal way, as it pertains to the general formula of concentrating
power.
Total of this verse is 2727. Total of the next is 1818. Once
again, the combination of the 13 and 14 makes an appearance. Their total is
4545. Also, verse 13 marks the appearance of the word 'Forcefulness', the only
word in the Holy Books which equals 156 by TQ gematria,
> 14. Then let him not fall exhausted, although the might
have been ten thousandfold the human; but that which floodeth him is the
infinite mercy of the Genitor-Genetrix of the Universe, whereof he is the
Vessel.
Genitor-Genetrix = 171 = sum of 0 to 18, and this verse = 1818;
171 is the 'mystic number' of the 18th path of the
Tree of Life. This is the path of the letter Cheth.
> 15. Nor do thou deceive thyself. It is easy to tell the
live force from the dead matter. It is no easier to tell the live snake from
the dead snake.
>
> 16. Also concerning vows. Be obstinate, and be not
obstinate. Understand that the yielding of the Yoni is one with the lengthening
of the Lingam. Thou art both these; and thy vow is but the rustling of the wind
on Mount Meru.
obstinate = 105 = sum 0 to 14 = mystic number of Dalet/Venus.
not obstinate = 148 = Bind nothing!
Yoni = 52, Lingam = 62.
By the Transitional Triad Method:
52 = 001221
62 = 002022
15 = 000120
The Transition is the 15 trigram, which is attributed to Capricorn. Therefore this Book represents the combining
of Yoni/Lingam.
The sum of this Triad is 129 = Regenerate.
> 17. Now shalt thou adore me who am the Eye and the Tooth,
the Goat of the Spirit, the Lord of
Creation. I am the Eye in the Triangle, the Silver Star that ye adore.
These are obvious references to the Hebrew attributions of Shin
and Ayin, so I don't think any English gematria is really necessary here. But,
for the sake of completeness and scientific enquiry, the TQ total is 1252 =
Greek KATALUST, a Catalyst, which is something that accelerates a chemical
reaction.
the Eye and the Tooth = 187
the Goat of the Spirit = 149
the Lord of Creation = 172
the Eye in the Triangle = 195
the Silver Star = 133
total of titles is 836 = 2 x 418
>
> 18. I am Baphomet, that is the Eightfold Word that shall be
equilibrated with the Three.
Baphomet is 729, as already mentioned, and this explains how the
Eightfold Word, the 8 letters of the Name, shall be equilibrated with the
Three, for 729 is the total number of hexagrams possible in the Base 3
Trigrammaton system.
The total value of this verse is 634 = 212111. The Reversed
Antigram of this Hexagram is 222121 = 718.
Since, by one account, the equilibrating of the Eightfold with
the Three indicates 11, when this 11 is added to 718, the total of 729 is the
result.
There is another way that this verse can be fulfilled. Crowley
has given us the valuation of BAFOMIThR as 729. Now this is certainly an
'eightfold word', since it has eight letters, but 729 is a Septagram: 1000000.
To make this become 'eightfold', i.e., an Octagram, while at the
same time keeping the value of 729, we have to add a Tao line at the beginning,
in the eighth place, thus: 01000000.
Reversing this, we have the Octagram: 00000010, which is the
number 3. Thus the Eightfold Word can be equilibrated ‘with the Three’. This
could have been a way of confirming that the value of 729 for the name
Baphomet, arrived at by Crowley, was indeed the correct one.
> 19. There is no act or passion that shall not be a hymn in
mine honour.
All activity arises from the urge to create.
> 20. All holy things and all symbolic things shall be my
sacraments.
This kind of follows from the previous verse.
> 21. These animals are sacred unto me; the goat, and the
duck, and the ass, and the gazelle, the man, the woman and the child.
I suspect that the animals may be Egyptian hieroglyphics chosen
for their magickal power. Alternatively, we may be given here an actual
description of the animals that were conflated to make the original deity-form
of Baphomet. The goat and the ass seem fitting enough in this respect.
Goat = 35, duck = 67, ass = 35, gazelle = 63.
total is 200 = understandeth
man= 50, woman = 68, child = 29; total is 147 = manifestation.
We should probably add in the word 'corpse', for these too are
sacred to Baphomet, (and its easy enough to tell the live force from the dead
matter).
Corpse = 58 + 200 + 147 = 405 = 120000 = the 15 trigram over the
zero trigram = Capricorn over Spirit.
Again, a description of the title of the Book.
> 22. All corpses are sacred unto me; they shall not be
touched save in mine eucharist. All lonely places are sacred unto me; where one
man gathereth himself together in my name, there will I leap forth in the midst
of him.
Unlike Xtianity, we Thelemites don't need to gather together in
order to guarantee that the deity will appear. Makes you wonder why any of them
pray when they're alone.
> 26. I am concealed with all concealments; when the Most
Holy Ancient One is stripped and driven through the marketplace I am still
secret and apart.
Most Holy Ancient One = 211 = Hebrew ARI = Lion.
But I suspect that this title should really be translated into
Hebrew.
> 30. Fear not when I fall in the fury of the storm; for mine
acorns are blown afar by the wind; and verily I shall rise again, and my
children about me, so that we shall uplift our forest in Eternity.
And as we all know, 'mighty oaks from little acorns grow.'
> 31. Eternity is the storm that covereth me.
>
> 32. I am Existence, the Existence that existeth not save
through its own Existence, that is beyond the Existence of Existences, and
rooted deeper than the No-Thing-Tree in the Land of No-Thing.
Sounds like a bunch of existential hoohah to me. But the last line
conceals one of the basic premises of Thelemic cosmology.
I take NO to mean zero, THING to mean 1, and TREE to represent
Two (as in bifurcation diagrams, or 'Trees').
Thus "No-Thing-Tree" represents the sequence 0,1,2, =
Tao, Yang, Yin = 0.12 = 6/50, as we were told in Liber AL, 1:24-25
Land of No-Thing = 156 = sum of the 12 Zodiac Hexagrams
This ‘Tree’ is certainly rooted in the ‘Land’, just as the
Planets are rooted in the Zodiac.
When the value of the planetary and zodiac trigrams is added,
the sum is 286. This number enters into
the Formula of the First Verse of Liber CCXX.
Love is the Law, love under will.
R. Leo Gillis
A TQ Gematria
Dictionary of Liber 370:
A.'.A.'., = 10
Temple of A.'.A.'., = 93
Giant Glacier. = 95
mighty sea. = 95
unto me; = 102
my name, = 102
lonely places = 107
I am Baphomet, = 111
I shall rise again, = 112
every circle = 112
I am lifted up. = 113
Infinite Chain. = 116
in triangles --- = 116
the Temple of A.'.A.'., = 118
the magical power = 119
many rites. = 119
I am concealed = 119
Eyeless Hawk. = 121
I am Existence, = 121
Gnarled Oak = 123
base illusion, = 129
waves of dew, = 129
No-Thing-Tree = 130
there will I leap forth = 133
hideous god; = 133
Infinite Bliss, = 133
to me; no thing = 134
his basilisk eye = 135
he is the Vessel. = 135
dead matter. = 135
Isis and Osiris = 136
the Infinite Chain. = 141
thou knowest = 143
Bacchus and Apollo; = 155
secret and apart. = 155
the No-Thing-Tree = 155
forcefulness; = 156
all symbolic things = 156
Holy Ancient One = 156
Land of No-Thing. = 156
that heath of scrub. = 157
a satyr in silence, = 158
Mount Meru. = 162
Great Goddess, = 162
the Eightfold Word = 162
the navel of Nuit, = 170
I at the end am slain, = 170
the Lord of Creation. = 172
ruddy clouds = 179
lightning nested! = 180
I am the hideous god; = 184
the great day of M.A.A.T., = 185
Master of the Temple = 185
I am master to accomplish. = 185
the day of Be-with-Us. = 186
whose name is Truth. = 187
the Eye and the Tooth, = 187
Gnarled Oak of God! = 189
like a satyr in silence, = 189
yielding of the Yoni = 189
the sigil of the demon. = 190
every triangle alike! = 193
the womb of his mother. = 194
in the navel of Nuit, = 194
the Eye in the Triangle, = 195
the Genitor-Genetrix = 196
like a hound in the leash. = 207
I am still secret and apart. = 207
the Master of the Temple = 210
Most Holy Ancient One = 211
a flaming gash in the sky. = 212
the penned Indus, = 213
the yielding of the Yoni = 214
create the Infinite Bliss, = 214
Master of the Temple of A.'.A.'., = 217
Let him sit and conjure; = 218
I am the Eye in the Triangle, = 221
the peace that is mother of war, = 222
All things are sacred to me; = 226
confident like a sea-captain. = 235
equilibrated with the Three. = 236
the Existence of Existences, = 252
the hair of the Great Goddess, = 256
is not my symbol a triangle? --- = 264
But thou givest not thy sap; = 268
in this is the magical power known. =
268
the wind on Mount Meru. = 276
deeper than the No-Thing-Tree = 276
from Eternity to Eternity, = 276
There is a flaming gash in the sky. =
279
the next link of the Infinite Chain. =
282
I am concealed with all concealments; =
285
All corpses are sacred unto me; = 286
weather-beaten and scarred = 287
and confident like a sea-captain. = 287
Above thee hangs the Eyeless Hawk. = 312
I am Baphomet, that is the Eightfold
Word = 314
the stars that lie in the navel of Nuit,
= 317
All lonely places are sacred unto me; =
320
the Goat of the Spirit, the Lord of
Creation. = 321
Harpocrates his twin is hidden within
him. = 322
in all shalt thou create the Infinite
Bliss, = 325
For there is no holiness where I am not.
= 338
we shall uplift our forest in Eternity.
= 343
an aeon and an aeon and an aeon. = 347
I am the Eye in the Triangle, the Silver
Star = 354
Therefore lift up thyself as I am lifted
up. = 356
my gifts exceed the olive and the horse.
= 359
a harlot that plucks a jewel from her
nostrils. = 359
thou givest not thy sap; thou fallest
not. = 360
beyond the Existence of Existences, =
360
the No-Thing-Tree in the Land of No-Thing.
= 360
a circle? Therein is all progress base
illusion, = 360
hangs the Eyeless Hawk. Thou art blasted
= 365
the Silver Star that ye adore. I am
Baphomet, = 366
let him rise next swollen and straining;
= 367
the Genitor-Genetrix of the Universe, =
369
In thy branches is the lightning nested!
= 370
Truth. Now in this is the magical power
known. = 370
be obstinate, and be not obstinate. =
371
This chain reaches from Eternity to
Eternity, = 402
Master of the Temple of A.'.A.'., whose
name is Truth. = 404
every circle is alike and every triangle
alike! = 408
I leap forth in the midst of him. I am
the hideous god; = 418
Amen! Therefore lift up thyself as I am
lifted up. = 419
the rustling of the wind on Mount Meru.
= 422
distant as the stars that lie in the
navel of Nuit, = 422
the Master of the Temple of A.'.A.'.,
whose name is Truth. = 429
Who worshippeth me must worship me with
many rites. = 435
It is easy to tell the live force from
the dead matter. = 447
the Eye in the Triangle, the Silver Star
that ye adore. = 450
flowers of the roses that are about her
neck, Amen! = 463
slay thyself as I at the end am slain,
in the death that is life, = 469
I am the Eye in the Triangle, the Silver
Star that ye adore. = 476
the progress is progress, and progress
is rapture, = 479
the Eightfold Word that shall be
equilibrated with the Three. = 482
All things are sacred to me; no thing is
sacred from me. = 485
Up! The ruddy clouds hang over thee! It
is the storm. = 491
Horus leaps up thrice armed from the
womb of his mother. = 502
the Eye and the Tooth, the Goat of the
Spirit, the Lord of Creation. = 508
the great God F.I.A.T. is enthroned on
the day of Be-with-Us. = 515
Isis and Osiris are given over to incest
and adultery. = 539
the oak that hardens itself and bears up
against the storm. = 541