TQ Commentary on Liber 156

 

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law

 

> Liber Cheth vel Vallum Abiegni sub figura CLVI

 

 

This Book contains 673 words.

673 = 220221 = the 24 trigram over the 25 trigram.

By TQ , trigram 24 is N and 25 is U, thus this hexagram is, alphabetically, NU.

 

Cf. also verses I:24-25 of Liber AL.

 

673 = There is no bond that can unite the divided but love. All else is a curse.

 

(The reversed hexagram of 673 is 467 = 122022 = Venus over Cancer = the Two of Cups = ‘Love’).

 

Even more interesting is the crossing over from chapter one to chapter two of Liber AL:

 

673 = To me! To Me! The manifestation of Nuit is at an end. Nu! the hiding of Hadit.

 

673 = 418. The end of the hiding of Hadit.

 

We are told that NU is the hiding of Hadit, and in Liber 156, NU represents the number of words. But also in this Book, which is called Cheth, the number 418 is hidden, since 418 the value of the letter Cheth spelled in full. Thus both '418' and 'the hiding of Hadit' are concepts hidden in a Liber whose total number of words equals this phrase from Liber AL.

 

 

At the center of the top row of the Kamea of Baphomet is the Zero hexagram. This is flanked by hexagrams 673 and 699, which exchange the 24 and 25 trigrams in upper and lower position, so that symbolically, this Kamea has Zero flanked by NU and UN at the very top, representing NU bending over the whole pantacle.

 

 

TQ gives a grand total of 30,544 for this Liber. This is 23 x 1328, and 23 is the Luna trigram, symbolic of the materialized feminine power of Babalon, the Mother Goddess.

 

1328 = VII I:55; I cried aloud the word--and it was a mighty spell to bind the Invisible, an enchantment to unbind the bound; yea, to unbind the bound.

 

Note that this is verse 55, and 55 = WORD.

 

We are told in the present Liber that Hermes is the Invisible, therefore Hermes is the Word, the spell that binds the Invisible, and his utterance is the enchantment that unbinds the bound.

 

30,544 also equals 46 * 664.

 

46 = LOVE.

644 = Yet the Magus hath power upon the Mother both directly and through Love.

 

Since the word of the Law is Thelema = 93 = AGAPH = Love, then the above example reinforces the idea of the first example. Love is the Word is the Magus. We are told this very directly in the next sentence of Liber B: "And the Magus is Love and bindeth together That and This in His Conjuration.

 

We're back again to this idea of 'binding'. This sets up a curious parallel, for if one takes the total gematria value of the Liber and adds the number of the Liber to it, we have 30,544 + 156 = 30,700.

 

30,700 = 307 * 100.

 

307 = Heb. RBQE, Ribkah or Rebecca, whose name, according to Gesenius, means 'binding', i.e. engaging, captivating.

 

What is Ribkah binding? One possibility is the 100, the letter Qoph, which symbolizes the Fish, Pisces. 'Binding the fishes' is tantamount to catching them in a net. It may also symbolize that now the Aeon of Pisces is over, it is bound and immobilized, as the power of the Aeon of Aquarius begins.

 

Naturally, there are a couple other possibilities if one decides to spell certain names in this Liber in their original Greek.

 

> 1. This is the secret of the Holy Graal, that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother of Abominations, the bride of Chaos, that rideth upon our Lord the Beast.

 

the Holy Graal = 93

 

This is one of the best hits in TQ, since the concept of a Graal is used to metaphorically describe anything that is of essential value, or the goal of any important quest. And for a Thelemite, one's Holy Graal is, in a very important sense, one's own Will.

 

In a rare case of my using Hebrew transliteration:

 

HOLY GRAAL = Heh Ayin Lamed Yod, Gimel Resh Ayin Lamed = 418

 

Their Tarot Keys are: IV + XV + VIII + IX + II + XIX + XV + VIII = 80.

 

The total number of Hebrew letters = 8.

 

Thus in Hebrew, HOLI GROL = 8, 80, 418!

 

 

There is a certain lack of information about this creature CHAOS. We are told its relation to Babalon, and perhaps can find out more from the Transitional Triad method, using the gematria of their names:

 

Babalon = 156 = 0012210

     Xaos = 871 = 1012021

                 875 = 2012102

 

875 is a reversible septagram. This alone is interesting, but doesn't tell us nearly enough.

 

875 = Greek PhASGANON = SWORD. This hints that they truly are bride and bridegroom, for the Sword indicates ZAIN, and thus Tarot Atu VI, the Lovers. In this case, a palindromic septagram is all the more appropriate.

 

875 = 7 * 5 * 5 * 5; 7 times the cube of 5.

 

The sum of this Triad = 156 + 871 + 875 = 1902.

All Triads are divisible by 3, so 1902/3 = 634.

 

634 = Greek H AGIA TRIAS = The Holy Trinity.

 

So multiplying the term for the Trinity by 3 gives us the sum of the Triad created by Chaos and Babalon. I suspect that 875 also conceals the name of some other entity.

 

There is the Greek name AIGAIWN, (or Aegaeon) = 875; "the name given by men to the hundred-armed son of Uranus and Gaia, called by the Gods BRIAREUS".

 

Anything with a hundred arms is a sort of abomination, of which Babalon is the Mother.

 

Abominations = 143 = Trigrammaton

(Babalon = 156 = the total of two of the trigram groups; thus She is

the Mother of Trigrammaton)

 

Scarlet Woman = 127 = bride of Chaos

 

> 1. This is the secret of the Holy Graal, that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother of Abominations, the bride of Chaos, that rideth upon our Lord the Beast.

 

The total of this verse is 1567, and in base 10 this is symbolic of

156/Babalon, working through the 7 Atu, Cheth/the Chariot.

 

The numeration of the word Beast = 62 = 002022.

The reversal is 220200 = 666.

 

This not only hides a reference to Aleister Crowley, but to the Tree of Life, for the Septagram 0220200 also = 666 and is a pictograph of the Tree of Life; the Tao lines are the Sefirot of the Middle Pillar, and the broken lines are the Sefirot of the side pillars.

 

So when it is said that Babalon rides upon the Beast, I take it to mean that the Star-goddess envelops the entirety of the Tree of Life.  Babalon is not 'on' the Tree anywhere, she transcends it, and her lawful lord is Chaos, whose name means 'a gap'. For there is a gap between the eternity of starry space, and the manifestation of the Tree of Life.

 

When we combine by simple addition the values of Babalon/85 and Chaos/35, we have 120 = Demiurge.

 

The result of the Union of Babalon and Chaos is the intermediary creator god, attributed to the 3 trigram, (cf. Liber XXVII), where 3 is symbolic of all trinities, including the one here under consideration. The 3 trigram is attributed to the Element of Air, and thus Reason.

 

But 120 is also the value of the word Knowledge, our name for the Abyss, the false Sefira, which is not truly on the Tree, and is therefore the link to what is beyond it, as Babalon is ‘beyond Knowledge, the accursed one’.

 

But she is linked with it via this title:

 

our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon = 333

 

333 is the Antigram of 666, and thus can represent all that 666 is NOT. i.e, all that is outside the Tree.

 

Babalon is like unto the Ain Sof Aur, the Limitless Light, whose value is 414. If the Adept take her formula of Union, which is Abrahadabra, and lose the letter Bet's that are in it, that is, lose the duality of Hermes the Invisible, the trickster Mercury, then what is left is the 414, the Nothing under its three forms.

 

We are told in Liber Ararita that 418 is an essential formula, but one must not be 'deceived' by it. This deception is the work of the trickster. I take it to imply that 418 can bring us to the Abyss, and even propel us beyond it. On the other side, having lost duality, we can be one with the Ain Sof Aur.

 

So in the first verse alone there are quite a number of ideas latent, and I have time to touch on only the most salient.

 

 

Love is the law, love under will.

R. Leo Gillis

 

A Trigrammaton English Gematria Dictionary of Liber 156:

 

 

white ash = 56

 

the Holy Graal, = 93

thy brain = 93

thine heart, = 93

by stealth = 93

Be-with-Us. = 93

She rideth; = 93

 

Our Lady = 96

the Virgin = 96

 

grace of God, = 111

 

thy bones = 112

no desire = 112

golden cup = 113

 

not known = 126

unto Nuit = 126

 

Scarlet Woman, = 127

bride of Chaos, = 127

this is the Truth, = 127

 

the wrath of God, = 130

 

Life and Death; = 131

 

four corners, = 153

 

beyond Love; = 154

 

of the Holy Graal, that is = 156

desire toward it. = 156

 

a little heap of dust = 157

 

a new sacrament, = 158

 

the birds of the air = 163

the belly of thy wife, = 163

 

Chaos her lawful Lord; = 165

 

the face of thy father. = 165

the universal life. = 170

 

City of the Pyramids, = 176 

 

Babalon the Mother = 180

 

our Lord the Beast. = 184

 

the Day of Be-with-Us. = 186

 

Chapel of Abominations. = 193

 

this ritual of the Holy Graal, = 196

 

Hermes the Invisible. = 199

 

drain out thy blood = 204

 

the secret of the Holy Graal, = 206

 

the Sacrament of the Graal = 216

cast out into the abyss = 216

 

the Chapel of Abominations. = 218

 

Yea! verily this is the Truth, = 231

 

Mother of Abominations, = 235

 

the Scarlet Woman, Babalon = 237

 

This is the secret of the Holy Graal, = 248

our Lady the Scarlet Woman, = 248

 

the Mother of Abominations, = 260

 

the Beast whereon She rideth; = 265

 

passion for the Unknown, = 266

 

cast out upon the midden, = 267

the guardians of the abyss = 267

 

unto Hadit and unto Nuit = 286

 

the End and the Beginning. = 289

 

thy passion for the Unknown, = 296

 

the golden cup of her fornication. = 300

 

This Path is beyond Life and Death; = 302

 

the Holy Graal, that is the sacred vessel = 310

 

the name thereof shall be no more. = 312

Thou shalt keep not back one drop. = 312

 

our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon = 333

 

that is the sacred vessel of our Lady = 335

that rideth upon our Lord the Beast. = 335

 

revel with the wanton in the market-place, = 341

 

abandonment unto Our Lady. = 342

 

into the golden cup of her fornication. = 343

 

Babalon the Mother of Abominations, = 345

 

and thy bones shall whiten in the sun. = 359

 

and the name thereof shall be no more. = 364

Let thy flesh hang loose upon thy bones, = 364

 

that ye know not, for ye know not Love. = 374

 

this is the Truth, this is the Truth, this is the Truth. = 381

 

So that thou attain to the Sacrament of the Graal = 385

Then shall every gain be a new sacrament, = 385

 

the glory in the End and the Beginning; = 392

 

sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, = 421

a white ash be prepared by Hermes the Invisible. = 421

 

thou shalt be forgotten, dust lost in dust. = 428

 

a little heap of dust in a sheet that hath four corners, = 438

 

the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, = 446

 

the Sacrament of the Graal in the Chapel of Abominations. = 458

the angels shall lay thy dust in the City of the Pyramids, = 470 

 

Unto thee shall be granted joy and health and wealth = 475

 

Yea! verily this is the Truth, this is the Truth, this is the Truth. = 485

 

that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, = 487

the bride of Chaos, that rideth upon our Lord the Beast. = 487

 

the Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother of Abominations, = 497

Babalon the Mother of Abominations, the bride of Chaos, = 497

 

This Path is beyond Life and Death; it is also beyond Love; = 511

 

slay thyself in the fervour of thine abandonment = 518

if thou dost not this with thy will, then shall We do this despite thy will. = 518

 

dust lost in dust. Nor shall the aeon itself avail thee in this; = 525

 

for the Unknown, for Her that is beyond Knowledge = 528

 

attain to the Sacrament of the Graal in the Chapel of Abominations. = 529

 

the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon = 531

 

 

 

the fervour of thine abandonment unto Our Lady. = 548

 

For if thou dost not this with thy will, then shall We do this despite thy will. = 554

 

tear thy mother from thine heart, and spit in the face of thy father. = 560

 

Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother of Abominations, the bride = 567 

 

that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon = 572

 

thou attain to the Sacrament of the Graal in the Chapel of Abominations. = 576

 

the Holy Graal, that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, = 580

from the dust shall a white ash be prepared by Hermes the Invisible = 600

 

 

the guardians of the abyss shall bid the angels of the winds pass by. = 623

 

Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother of Abominations, the bride of Chaos, = 624

 

Thou hast health; slay thyself in the fervour of thine abandonment = 631

thy passion for the Unknown, for Her that is beyond Knowledge = 631

 

the lonely one, the eater of dung, the afflicted in the Day of Be-with-Us. = 635

 

all thy life shall go from thee; and thou shalt be cast out upon the midden, = 636

 

the merchants bend their knees and bring thee gold and spices. = 637

 

drain out thy blood that is thy life into the golden cup of her fornication. = 644

 

the Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother of Abominations, the bride of Chaos, = 649

 

with thy passion for the Unknown, for Her that is beyond Knowledge = 651

attain to the Sacrament of the Graal in the Chapel of Abominations. And behold! = 651

 

in the End and the Beginning; yea, in the End and the Beginning. = 662

 

the Holy Graal, that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon = 665

 

the end thereof is known not even unto Our Lady or to the Beast = 666

 

This is the secret of the Holy Graal, that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet = 667

that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother = 667

 

thy will. So that thou attain to the Sacrament of the Graal in the Chapel of Abominations. = 667

 

 

slay thyself in the fervour of thine abandonment unto Our Lady. = 682

 

the secret of the Holy Graal, that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, = 693

 

the golden cup of her fornication. Thou shalt mingle thy life with the universal life. = 696

 

Thou shalt mingle thy life with the universal life. Thou shalt keep not back one drop. = 708

 

unto Hadit and unto Nuit be the glory in the End and the Beginning; = 711

 

And the end thereof is known not even unto Our Lady or to the Beast = 718

 

Mother of Abominations, the bride of Chaos, that rideth upon our Lord the Beast. = 722

 

Thou shalt drain out thy blood that is thy life into the golden cup of her fornication. = 724