Although the Prophet held Libri VII and LXV in the highest
esteem, he commented only briefly on the former, and in depth on the latter.
The extensive Commentary on this Liber can be found in The Equinox
Vol. Four, Number One, Weiser, 1996.
I don't think its possible to really improve on the Prophet's
Commentary, but we can hope to add some glosses that he was unaware of, or
overlooked. Nevertheless, we should keep in mind that this Liber, along with
CCXX, received the most scrutiny from its author, among the many Libri he wrote
or channeled.
LIBER CORDIS CINCTI
SERPENTE
1. I am the Heart;
and the Snake is entwined
About the invisible
core of the mind.
Rise, O my snake! It
is now is the hour
Of the hooded and
holy ineffable flower.
Rise, O my snake,
into brilliance of bloom
On the corpse of
Osiris afloat in the tomb!
O heart of my mother,
my sister, mine own,
Thou art given to
Nile, to the terror Typhon!
Ah me! but the glory
of ravening storm
Enswathes thee and
wraps thee in frenzy of form.
Be still, O my soul!
that the spell may dissolve
As the wands are
upraised, and the aeons revolve.
Behold! in my beauty
how joyous Thou art,
O Snake that caresses
the crown of mine heart!
Behold! we are one,
and the tempest of years
Goes down to the
dusk, and the Beetle appears.
O Beetle! the drone
of Thy dolorous note
Be ever the trance of
this tremulous throat!
I await the awaking! The
summons on high
From the Lord Adonai,
from the Lord Adonai!
At the beginning we have what appears to be a typical poem from
the hand of Crowley. To me it seems as though he sat down to ostensibly write a
poem, and then became in touch with Aiwass and proceeded to write something
entirely different, a poem no doubt, but one unconstrained by the form of the
first 20 lines.
I am the Heart; and the Snake is entwined About the invisible
core
of the mind = 718.
This is a very encouraging start for TQ gematria. The number 718 is, of course, the value of
the name of the Stele of Revealing.
The total of the first 20 lines, i.e., all of verse 1, is 7865.
7865 = 11 x 11 x 65.
So in the very beginning we have the number of the Book, 65,
multiplied twice by the number of magick, 11. This is also significant since
every chapter of the Book contains 65 verses, a reference to the Hebrew word
Adonai, which is ADNI = 65.
I'm inclined to think that regardless of the gematria used,
Adonai can be valued at 65, since this is one of the most important concepts in
the Qabalah, and is used in place of the Tetragrammaton whenever the Torah is
read.
For the record, TQ gives Adonai = 67
2. Adonai spake unto
V.V.V.V.V., saying:
‘There must ever be division in the word.’ = 488
488 is one of the Hexagrams that can be reversed: 200002. Note
that this is the 18 Trigram over the 2 Trigram. The two is the Yin, the essence
of division, the 18 is merely the Yin raised to the highest position, and
significantly, the divisors of 18 are 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18, i.e., all of the
'Elemental' Trigrams. Thus the number 18 is also significant in terms of
‘division’.
3. For the colours
are many, but the light is one.
He proceeds to describe the colours of this spectrum as so many
gemstones, but the light that informs them all is the same, just
as
the interpretations of this work may vary, but they are united
in
their struggle to describe the Light.
Amethyst = 93
4. Therefore thou
writest that which is of mother of emerald, and of lapis-lazuli, and of
turquoise, and of alexandrite.
5. Another writeth
the words of topaz, and of deep amethyst, and of gray sapphire, and of deep
sapphire with a tinge as of blood.
6. Therefore do ye
fret yourselves because of this.
Don't get all uptight about your gematria.
7. Be not contented
with the image.
Its just a way to draw a picture of the Universe.
8. I who am the Image
of an Image say this.
Spiritually inclined people make the higher power into an image
of God. This more general God is made more specific in the form of Adonai. Or
from another angle, the Jews have their YHVH, which is an Image, and they
replace this when reading The Name by saying Adonai, who is thus the Image of
an Image.
9. Debate not of the
image, saying Beyond! Beyond!
For the Image is one's own personal work of Art, just as Crowley
uses the image of Adonai in so many of his works, although he is not Jewish.
One mounteth unto the
Crown by the moon and by the Sun, and by the arrow, and by the Foundation, and
by the dark home of the stars from the black earth.
These are obvious references to the Middle Pillar. The Crown is
Kether, the moon is Gimel, Sun is Tiferet, the arrow is Sagittarius/Samekh, the
Foundation is Yesod, the dark home of the stars is Saturn/Tau, (the Universe
Atu), and the black earth is Malkut.
10. Not otherwise may
ye reach unto the Smooth Point.
And the tautological conclusion is that this Middle Pillar is
the only way to Kether, the Smooth Point.
Smooth Point = 115
Lord Adonai = 115
Verse 10 = 448 = 121121, the doubled Sol trigram, which is
Hexagram 30 of the I Ching, called Adherence. Being a doubled Li trigram, (the
Sun), we can look at the Trigram in isolation. The outer Yang lines are
brightness, the inner Yin line is hollowness. This can represent a person (a
star) who is enlightened, but humble at heart. The K & C of the HGA is
consummated in Tiferet, so this Hexagram ties in with the solar imagery of that
Sefira. And obviously, Tiferet is on the Middle Pillar path to the Crown, and
in particular is the subject of Liber LXV, (a rearrangement of LVX, or Lux,
i.e., Light).
11. Nor is it fitting
for the cobbler to prate of the Royal matter. O cobbler! mend me this shoe,
that I may walk.
"The kings of the earth shall be kings forever, the slaves
shall serve."
O king! if I be thy
son, let us speak of the Embassy to the King thy Brother. = 666
12. Then was there
silence. Speech had done with us awhile. There is a light so strenuous that it
is not perceived as light.
Then was there silence = 197 = Nu! the hiding of Hadit.
17. I shall not rest
until I have dissolved it all. = 359 = Satan (in Hebrew)
Crowley summarizes these perfectly. The K&C of the HGA is
completely transformative.
18. So also the light
that is absorbed. One absorbs little and is called white and glistening; one
absorbs all and is called black.
White and glistening = Yang;
Black = Yin.
19. Therefore, O my
darling, art thou black.
Adonai/HGA is Receptive, thus the Yin. Every man and woman is a
star, thus they are Yang.
26. Now I am with
thee; I will never leave thy being. = 374
374 is the Antigram of 718. Thus the promise of the very first
two lines, which sum to 718, is completed.
27. For I am the soft
sinuous one entwined about thee, heart of gold!
soft sinuous one = 207 = drunkenness = AIN SUF
heart of gold = 111 = ALP
207 + 111 = 318 = Helios, Greeek name for the Sun.
29. I have found that
which could not be found; I have found a vessel of quicksilver. = 778 = That
stele they shall call the Abomination of Desolation; count well its name and it
shall be to you as…
So in a sense the stele is the vessel of quicksilver.
32. Further Adonai
spake unto V.V.V.V.V. and said:
33. Let us take our
delight in the multitude of men!
Let us shape unto
ourselves a boat of mother-of-pearl from them, that we may ride upon the river
of Amrit! = 1436 = 2 x 718
Adonai proposes to "view phenomena from the new
standpoint" as Crowley has it. This goes back to the 'Stele 666', but also
shows the combination of the Adept and the Angel, as was shown in two previous
verses enumerating to 718.
34. Thou seest yon
petal of amaranth, blown by the wind from the low sweet brows of Hathor? = 777
35. (The Magister saw
it and rejoiced in the beauty of it.) Listen!
36. (From a certain
world came an infinite wail.) = 351 = sum of 1 to 26 = the infinite wail of the
elements of the Alphabet, which can compose all words of the language.
That falling petal
seemed to the little ones a wave to engulph their continent.
And just who are these 'little ones'? Crowley hints they are the
cells of the body, metaphorically, and they may be small creatures on the
forest floor, literally. Liber 777 has Amaranth related to Chokmah. Amaranth is
supposedly the plant of immortality, and relates to Chiah, the highest part of
the tripartite soul in the Hebrew Qabalah.
44. Thou strivest
ever; even in thy yielding thou strivest to yield -- and lo! thou yieldest not.
As in Zen Buddhism, one cannot want enlightenment, nor can one
want to not want it.
45. Go thou unto the
outermost places and subdue all things.
46. Subdue thy fear
and thy disgust. Then -- yield!
This should remind us that "only by passive love may he
(the Magus) avail."
51. And V.V.V.V.V.
answered and said: O my lord, my dove, my excellent one, how shall this word
seem unto the children of men?
52. And He answered
him: Not as thou canst see.
The word shall seem as NOT.
It is certain that
every letter of this cipher hath some value; but who shall determine the value?
For it varieth ever, according to the subtlety of Him that made it. = 1368
This is the argument that no single gematria unravels the Holy
Books, with the possible uniqueness of Liber AL excluded. If the gematria constantly varies, it may be
in part because different languages are implied, thus no single code is used
throughout, and it might be worthwhile to use translations of parts of the text.
Ultimately, it seems as if the letter-values can only be completely known by
the one who designed the text.
For the record, the above sentences total 1368 in TQ gematria.
1368 = 1212200. Reversing this gives us 0022121 = 232 = Liber AL
3:65: "Through the second, gold."
Note that the verse number here is 65, the same as this Liber,
and the ordeal that is passed brings one to Tiferet, the gold, the locus of the
HGA. So while the TQ gematria may not be the once and final answer to decode
this Liber, it is at least consistent, and relevant.
53. And He answered Him: Have I not the key
thereof? I am clothed with the body of flesh; I am one with the Eternal and
Omnipotent God.
Crowley assumes that his Qabalistic knowledge will avail him to
understand this text.
54. Then said Adonai:
Thou hast the Head of the Hawk, and thy Phallus is the Phallus of Asar. Thou
knowest the white, and thou knowest the black, and thou knowest that these are
one. But why seekest thou the knowledge of their equivalence?
What good does it do an Adept to make an equation of every gem
of wisdom and power?
55. And he said: That
my Work may be right.
One must harmonize all into an equation so that when they are
united by thine art, all will disappear.
56. And Adonai said:
The strong brown reaper swept his swathe and rejoiced. The wise man counted his
muscles, and pondered, and understood not, and was sad. Reap thou, and rejoice!
I'll wager most Thelemites would be at a loss as to how to
tune-up a car's engine, or frame a house, or wire a new light-switch. Especially the cabalists.
One cannot express the joy of hammering a 16d nail deep into a 2
x 6 by using Newton's equations of motive force. Quantitative vs. qualitative.
59. Stained is the
purple of thy mouth, O brilliant one, with the white glory of the lips of
Adonai. = 729
A.C. says: "Every act of the Adept is really the kiss of
his angel." This is shown by every
possible combination of Trigrams making up the total of 729 Hexagrams.
65. So was it -- ever
the same! I have aimed at the peeled wand of my God, and I have hit; yea, I
have hit.
The final verse sums to 777, and this should need no further
elaboration.
Chapter II
1. I passed into the
mountain of lapis-lazuli, even as a green hawk between the pillars of turquoise
that is seated upon the throne of the East.
mountain of lapis lazuli = 216 = 6 x 6 x 6. The cube of six
represents the cube in the circle, residing in the 6th Sefira of Tiferet, where
the union with the HGA is accomplished.
A green hawk = 113 = Hawk-headed
The pillars of turquoise = 214 = Ruach (Heb RUCh), the sphere of
the intellect, which is the realm of this chapter, partaking as it does of the
Air Element.
2. So came I to Duant,
the starry abode, and I heard voices crying aloud.
The starry abode = 171 = sum 1 to 18. The 18th Trump
is the Star. This is also the mystic number of the 18th path of the Tree of
Life, which is Chet, Cancer, the Chariot, 418, etc. The image on this Atu is of
a chariot under a canopy of stars.
Duant is clearly a misspelling, or misunderstanding, of the
translation, and its appearance in the Holy Books testifies to just how much of
Crowley’s conscious mind was involved in their creation. But is it just a
misspelling?
Duant = 86 = eighteen
3. O Thou that sittest
upon the Earth! (so spake a certain Veiled One to me) thou art not greater than
thy mother! Thou speck of dust infinitesimal! Thou art the Lord of Glory, and
the unclean dog.
Veiled One = 119 = Abrahadabra
Thou speck of dust infinitesimal = 316
316 = 102201. A rare Hexagram, whose Antigram and Reversal are
the same, suggesting that it partakes of its own nature and that of its
opposite in equal measure.
The Lord of glory and the unclean dog = 364 = 111111
The Creative, the 1st hexagram of I Ching, the heart of the 27 x
27 magic square, the center number of all 729 Hexagrams.
4. Stooping down,
dipping my wings, I came unto the darkly-splendid abodes. There in that
formless abyss was I made a partaker of the Mysteries Averse.
That formless abyss = 200 = Mysteries Averse
Note that the Reversed, (‘averse’) Hexagram of 200 is 528. see below.
A partaker of the Mysteries Averse = 333 = Choronzon
(Hebrew/ChURUNZUN).
The formless abyss is the appropriate place for Choronzon. As
Choronzon is more or less the ‘Devil’ of the Tree of Life, we may reverse the
333 Hexagram, 110100, to get 001011, which is the 31 Hexagram.
31 =AL = Hebrew for God.
Thus the structure of the Hexagrams proves the value of W.B.
Yeats’ motto, that God is the inverse of the Devil.
5. I suffered the deadly
embrace of the Snake and of the Goat; I paid the
infernal homage to the shame of Khem.
This is the 70th verse overall. 70 = Ayin =Capricorn = Goat. The
first 65 is Adonai = the Snake twined about the heart of the adept. Adding five
more brings us to the Goat.
6. Therein was this
virtue, that the One became the all.
This verse totals 418.
7. Moreover I beheld a
vision of a river. There was a little boat thereon;
and in it under purple sails was a golden woman, an image of Asi
wrought in finest gold. Also the river was of blood, and the boat of shining
steel. Then I loved her; and, loosing my girdle, cast myself into the stream.
The royal barge of Cleopatra on the Nile had purple sails,
wherewith to impress Marc Antony.
an image of Asi wrought in finest gold = 343 = 7 x 7 x7. The
number 7 is often called the Virgin for its inability to divide the circle, and
the 7th Sefira is the sphere of Venus.
a golden woman = 155 = circumference
8. I gathered myself
into the little boat, and for many days and nights did I love her, burning
beautiful incense before her.
I gathered myself into the little boat = 316 = thou speck of
dust infinitesimal!
9. Yea! I gave her of
the flower of my youth.
The flower of my youth = 209 = 418/2
(Note that the adept gives this to her twice).
10. But she stirred
not; only by my kisses I defiled her so that she
turned to blackness before me.
The gold has turned to black, as if the most precious was turned
into the most base of metals.
Blackness = 112
11. Yet I worshipped
her, and gave her of the flower of my youth.
This verse totals 528, and is the Reversed Hexagram of 200. See
above.
This is the reverse mentioned as the ‘Mysteries Averse’;
devotion is the reversal of abasement.
12. Also it came to
pass, that thereby she sickened, and corrupted before me. Almost I cast myself
into the stream.
It came to pass that she sickened and corrupted before me = 644
= 212212. This is the doubling of the
23 Trigram, known in the I Ching as the Abysmal. It is the image of foreboding, danger, the abyss, dissolution,
the Moon. It may here be used to refer
to the Goddess becoming like Hekate, or Kali, the ‘dark side’ of the moon
aspect.
13. Then at the end
appointed her body was whiter than the milk of the stars, and her lips red and
warm as the sunset, and her life of a white heat like the heat of the midmost
sun.
Her body was white, and her lips were red, the colors of the
Alchemical Marriage. Her life is the third element, and its white heat may
represent the tincture being heated in the alembic.
14. Then rose she up
from the abyss of Ages of Sleep, and her body embraced me. Altogether I melted
into her beauty and was glad.
Ages of Sleep = 112 = blackness
15. The river also
became the river of Amrit, and the little boat was the chariot of the flesh,
and the sails thereof the blood of the heart that beareth me, that beareth me.
the river of Amrit = 159 = the chariot of the flesh
This aligns with Crowley’s commentary that “The Will is itself
the Self.”
16. O serpent woman of
the stars! I, even I, have fashioned Thee from a pale image of fine gold.
serpent woman of the stars = 265
17. Also the Holy One
came upon me, and I beheld a white swan floating in the blue.
A dramatic change of scenery. In the NT, when the Holy One came
upon the newly baptized Jesus, it took the form of a Dove.
There is a distinct dichotomy between the swan and the blue, as
shown by the gematria:
A white swan = 90
floating in the blue = 180
90 and 180 are Antigrams
18. Between its wings I
sate, and the aeons fled away.
Time had been transcended
19. Then the swan flew
and dived and soared, yet no whither we went.
Now space is transcended
20. A little crazy boy
that rode with me spake unto the swan, and said:
21. Who art thout hat
dost float and fly and dive and soar in the inane?
Behold, these many aeons have passed; whence camest thou?
Whither wilt thou go?
22. And laughing I chid
him, saying: No whence! No whither!
Absolute space and absolute time no longer exist. The Holy One
(Einstein) has come upon the Adept. The little crazy boy must be Newton.
23. The swan being
silent, he answered: Then, if with no goal, why this eternal journey?
This is a most terrible and dread question to ask, the kind that
a child would naturally want answered. And yet, children are the most aimless
of all humankind. They start and stop a game at the drop of a hat. It is only
when they begin to reason that we begin to expect them to stop ‘playing’ so
frivolously, and ‘earn their keep’.
24. And I laid my head
against the Head of the Swan, and laughed, saying: Is there not joy ineffable
in this aimless winging? Is there not weariness and impatience for who would
attain to some goal?
Oddly, the word Head is capitalized here.
Head of the Swan = 143 = The Book of the Law, etc.
The adept is in fact leaning on TBOTL, and reminding the boy of
one of its main precepts; that pure will, without lust of result, is perfect.
25. And the swan was
ever silent. Ah! but we floated in the infinite
Abyss. Joy! Joy! White swan, bear thou ever me up between thy
wings!
In this sequence, all the little boy does is ask questions; the
swan remains silent, and the adept has to answer for the swan. But as Frater
AMO pointed out, the boy shouldn’t be asking the swan in the first place.
26. O silence! O
rapture! O end of things visible and invisible! This is all mine, who am Not.
The verse-number is another multiple of 13, and another turning
point in the chapter.
This is all mine, who am Not = 197 = Nu! The hiding of Hadit.
27. Radiant God! Let me
fashion an image of gems and gold for Thee! That the people may cast it down
and trample it to dust! That Thy glory may be seen of them.
Radiant God = 124 = Lord of Glory
Let me fashion an image of gems and gold for Thee = 458 = the
Reversal of Hexagram 718.
28. Nor shall it be
spoken in the markets that I am come who should come; but Thy coming shall be
the one word.
I am come who should come = 216 = 6 x 6 x 6
The one word = 127 = English Alphabet
30. I saw a pale sad
boy that lay upon the marble in the sunlight, and wept. By his side was the
forgotten lute. Ah! but he wept.
A pale sad boy = 119 = Abrahadabra = the union of the 5 and the
6, the Great Work.
This boy is in the sunlight, i.e., Tiferet. The hardness of
marble suggests Geburah, the 5th Sefira. The next line reminds me of Liber
VII; “the music of the lutes was
stilled.”
31. Then came an eagle
from the abyss of glory and overshadowed him. So black was the shadow that he
was no more visible.
The eagle is Juppiter, and by extension, Chesed. Thus ascending
the Tree from the previous verse. This eagle has eclipsed the Sun, and cast the
boy into utter darkness. This seems an adumbration of crossing the abyss, for
the boy may be the adept, and his identity has disappeared.
The abyss of glory = 174 = Antigram of 105 = night-stars
32. But I heard the
lute lively discoursing through the blue still air.
The blue of the Air may be another reference to Chesed.
discoursing = 139 = messenger
33. Ah! Messenger of
the beloved One, let Thy shadow be over me!
34. Thy name is Death,
it may be, or Shame, or Love. So thou bringest me tidings of the Beloved One, I
shall not ask thy name.
Death + Shame + Love = 156
the Beloved One = 174 = the abyss of glory
35. Where is now the
Master? cry the little crazy boys. He is dead! He is shamed! He is wedded! and
their mockery shall ring round the world.
Ambiguity again. The boys may be asking where is the location of
the Master named ‘now’, or else asking, metaphorically, where is the space in
which time is the Master?
Where is now the master? = 210 = NOX (Heb. NOTz)
Then they cry that the master has succumbed to one or all of the
capitalized words, Death, Shame & Love. (haven’t we all?)
36. But the Master
shall have had his reward. The laughter of the mockers shall be a ripple in the
hair of the Beloved One.
The Master = 102 = servant
“Begone! ye mockers; though ye laugh in my honour ye shall laugh
not long:”
37. Behold! The Abyss
of the Great Deep. Therein is a mighty dolphin, lashing his sides with the
force of the waves.
Once again the abyss is mentioned, this time with capitals.
Abyss of the Great Deep = 225 = Antigram of 126 = Universe
45. Then the adept was
rapt away in bliss, and the beyond of bliss, and exceeded the excess of excess.
This verse totals 890 = the total of verse 3:75 of Liber AL.
46. Also his body shook
and staggered with the burden of that bliss and
that excess and that ultimate nameless.
The physical body can hardly stand the stress of bliss, which
manifests as loss of control, or worse. And even a highly attenuated memory of
such an event is almost unbearable. Just at the breaking point, the adept takes
refuge in a sylvan scene.
55. Then let the End
awake. Long hast thou slept, O great God Terminus! Long ages hast thou waited
at the end of the city and the roads thereof. Awake Thou! wait no more!
Let the End awake = 156
Terminus = 121 = continuity (thus the End equals the endless)
Long ages hast thou waited at the end of the city and the roads
thereof = 620 = Kether (Hebrew KTR)
Just as ‘all roads lead to Rome’, so too all Paths lead to
Kether, the Crown.
56. Nay, Lord! but I am
come to Thee. It is I that wait at last.
56 is the reversal of 65, and thus the adept reverses the
(supposed) role, and waits for the god.
65. O Thou beloved One!
is there not an end? Nay, but there is an end. Awake! arise! gird up thy limbs,
O thou runner; bear thou the Word unto the
mighty cities, yea, unto the mighty cities.
Bear thou the Word unto the mighty cities = 373
But whoso availeth in this, let him be the chief of all! =373
The sum of the final verse is 1695 = 15 x 113.
113 = a green hawk,
the character assumed by the adept in the first verse of the
chapter.
Chapter III
01. Verily and Amen! I passed through the deep sea, and by the
rivers of running water that abound therein, and I came unto the Land of No
Desire.
In Liber D we find under the number 143 the Hebrew word NUZLIM,
meaning 'running waters'. Considering how important this number is in Liber AL,
and the TQ gematria, I think this term needs to be explored in depth.
Crowley references this word to the book of Canticles (Song of
Solomon), cap. 4, v. 15. The Amplified Bible renders this verse: "You are
a fountain springing up in a garden, a well of living waters, and flowing
streams from Lebanon."
Notice that the word NUZLIM is translated not as running waters,
but as 'living waters'. NUZLIM comes from the root NZL, 'to flow'. These waters
come from a well, and this is a very important point.
According to Frater AMO:
Canticles 4:15
"MOIN GNIM BAR MIM ChIIM VNZLIM MN-LBNVN" = (in the Authorized
Version) "A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters,and streams from
Lebanon." It is the phrase MIM ChIIM that both versions render as
"living waters". The crucial word appears, with the prefix V (for
"and") removed, in the form NZLIM, the plural of the participle NZL,
flowing down, running down, overflowing, spreading. In Proverbs 5:15, we get
the desired form "Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running
waters [VNVZLIM] out of thine own well." This suggests the possibility of
a singular form NVZL = 93!
In the I Ching, the 48th hexagram is the Well. Its structure is
212112, the number 635 in base 3. But the key thing is that if the Yin lines
revert to Tao, we have 010110, which is the 93 Hexagram.
93 represents the Will, and I believe this is the source of the
power of the Well, which is expressed as 'living waters'.
93 is the essence of "The Book of the Law', whose title =
143.
The verse from Canticles is translated in the Septuagint, in
Greek, as "a fountain of a garden and a well of water, springing and
gurgling from Libanus (Lebanon)."
The Greek in this verse is PhREAR UDRATOS, literally, well-water
the values are 706 + 975 = 1671.
some interesting correlations can be found with these values.
975 = water = UDATOS
706 = Never-failing = EKATHBOLOS
975 = The Demiurge = O DHMIOURGOS
975 = The End = TO TELOS
975 = Serpent, dragon = DRAKWN
(This is the Serpent/Dragon of the Apocalypse)