TEQ Commentary on Liber Trigrammaton

TEQ COMMENTARY ON LIBER TRIGRAMMATON

sub figura XXVII

Being the Book of the Trigrams of the Mutations of the Tao with the Yin and the Yang.

The 27 Trigrams of Liber XXVII appear in four distinct sets; the triple Tao, the double Tao, the single Tao, and the eight Kua; these can be seen as a hierarchy that exactly parallels the Four Worlds of the Hebrew Qabalah. These Worlds are Atzilut, Briah, Yetzirah, and Assiah, and their names mean Emanation (or Nobility), Creation, Formation, and Making. They are referred to as the Archetypal World, the Creative World, the Formative World, and the Material World.

Atzilut is the divine world of the archetypes and exactly corresponds to the Trigram of Nothing; it is the nought that "informeth all things". The name for this figure is therefore "Archetype". This word comes directly from the Greek Archetypos, which means 'the first model, form, or ideal'. Its value in Greek is 1606, which is 11 x 146.

But most importantly, Archetype means the "first form", and this is the first Trigram of the whole series, the one that "informeth" all the others. 'Nothing' is under three forms because it will expand into those dimensions as it creates, forms, and makes the worlds. The architecture of the Universe is already inherent in this Nothing. This is nowhere better demonstrated than in the fact that the word 'Archetype' has the value of 81, the same as the value of 'Nothing'. When 81 is divided by three, that is, its three dimensions, the result is 27, the number of different possible Trigrams in all of the worlds.

The names of the remaining three worlds are also qabalistically appropriate. The next world is Briah, the world of Creation, and this word 'Creation' equals 77, which is also the value of the words 'triangle' and 'wisdom'.

Briah exactly parallels the set of six Trigrams that constitute the vertexes of the octahedron matrix. These six Trigrams display the six possible energy states of the three dimensions of space. That is, each line of the Trigram is separately described as a Yang or a Yin, in isolation. This shows the potential of each level of space, and is in effect a description of a triangle, since the three lines of a Trigram make up the three edges of a triangle. This triangle is only fully realized beginning with Trigram 13, which is called the Creative in I Ching, and is the result of the world of Creation.

The next world is Yetzirah, the Formative World. While Briah has brought something (the Elements), out of Nothing (the Archetype), now Yetzirah brings something (the Zodiac), out of something else, (the Elements). This is shown by the fact that the twelve Trigrams in this sequence are all connections between the six vertexes. They are all relationships, and derive their existence from the pre-existent forms that are the content of the Creative World.

The name for this world is Formation, which has the value of 105. 105 is also the value of the word 'night-stars', and the Formative World is constituted by the Trigrams attributed to the constellations of the Zodiac. 105 is also the value of the word 'non-atomic', which literally means 'not undivided'. This is reminiscent of the phrase "I am divided for Love's sake, for the chance of union", since these Trigrams form the connections, or union, of the various vertexes.

The last of the Four Worlds is Assiah, the material world, or the World of Making. This corresponds to Malkut, the sphere of the four Elements combined, which is our normal physical universe. The idea of Making is the completion of the creative process, and the word Making has the value of 78, which is an important number in the Qabalah of Trigrammaton, being a multiple of 13 and the Antigram of 39.

The Material World of Trigrammaton begins with Trigram 13, attributed to Saturn, and as Crowley puts it, this Trigram is attributed to Da'ath to indicate that "material illusion begins". In this sense, Da'at is the legacy of the Supernal Triad, just as the number 13 is the legacy of the Creative World. The path on the Tree of Life leading into and out of Malkut is attributed to the planet Saturn, while Crowley attributes the Final Trigram to Malkut, where it completes the illusion begun by Saturn.

The first of the Worlds is then inhabited by only one 'entity', the Archetype. The next three worlds are the architecture of the possible Universe; that is, possible to human consciousness. These three are called Creation - 77, Formation - 105, and Making - 78. The total of these three names is 260, which happens to be the gematria of the title Abomination of Desolation. 260 is also the magic sum of the magic square of Mercury, and as a multiple of 26 it reflects the fact that there are 26 Trigrams that inhabit these three Worlds. The reversed Hexagram of 260 is 676, which equals 26 x 26.

Here is Nothing under its three forms. It is not yet informeth all things.

The first word is Here; its total is 43, the same for Time, Star, Not etc. Nothing is capitalized, and has the value of 81, which equals 3 to the fourth power. The words Here Nothing are equal to the words three forms. The function of Nothing is to 'informeth. Since Nothing is here given under its three forms, it has the ability to provide form for all things that follow. The form is the three spatial dimensions described by the three levels of the Trigrams. In this sense, Nothing is an analogue of space-time, providing the form within which matter-energy can exist. There is also a correspondence with the triple veil of the negative in the Hebrew qabalistic system.

For our purposes, this qabalistic zero is a zero in three dimensions, represented by the three levels of the Trigram. On the octahedron matrix, this triple zero is represented by the intersection of the three axes of spatial dimension found at the center of volume of the figure. This attribution shows that the nuclear core is a void, or zero, which informeth all things subsequent to it because they all hinge around this core."Here is Nothing" can be seen as expressing that in space and time the present is the void point which devolves from the past and is the gate to the future. Only in this case there is no past as of yet, there is only eternity, and the potentiality of time, the possibility of expansion outward from the core.

The Tarot attribution of this Initial Trigram is The Fool. In The Book of Thoth this card is attributed to Aleph/1 and the Element of Air, as well as having the Key number of 0. In Trigrammaton these roles are reversed; The Fool is the letter I/Zero, and the Element is Aether, or Spirit while the key number is One. While Spirit is truly unknowable in its essence, the practical magickal attribution is to the planet Ouranos. This combines with Neptune and Pluto to formulate the neutral pole of the octahedron by linking the three Elemental cards of the Tarot with the three outer planets. This linkage has already been recognized in the Haindl and Rohrig Tarots, and is particularly useful in Trigrammaton. In the absorption of the Tarot into the Trigrammaton system, the four Elements are attributed to the Aces of the four suits; these Aces are the next four Trigrams of the Liber XXVII sequence. The Fool, the Aeon, and the Hanged Man are therefore attributed to the outermost planets, whose effect is of a long-term generational character well-suited to express the slow but inexorable precession of the equinoxes.

Ouranos is the only major planet in the solar system named after a Greek god, so we are entitled to inquire into the gematria of his name, which turns out to be 891. This is a very suggestive number, as it equals 9 x 99. The three 9s of this formula sum to 27, which is the total number of Trigrams. Also, these two factors reduce to 9 and 18, which are the values of the two poles of the system, making Ouranos the multiplier between them.

Ouranos, whose name means heaven, was the oldest of the Greek god-forms, a sky-god brought into being single- handedly by Gaia, the Earth. Later it was said that his father was Aether, the personification of the Element of Spirit. Aether was originally the upper air, or sky, at the peak of a mountain, as opposed to the aer, which was the lower sky at the base of a mountain. Thus the gods lived in the aether upon the summit of Mount Olympus.

Ouranos and his consort Gaia were the original procreators of all the other gods, and the interesting thing is that Gaia preceded him out of Chaos. In Trigrammaton there is no preceding Trigram, but the Final Trigram serves the function of resolving itself back into the Zero, and for this reason Gaia the Earth-Mother is attributed to it. Thus the beginning and end are linked as consorts.

But then Cronus, or Saturn, conspires with his mother Gaia to castrate his father and thus separates Heaven and Earth. Now Saturn is attributed to the 13 Trigram, which is the triple Yang. This Trigram mediates between the Triple Tao and the Triple Yin, which are Heaven and Earth, (Ouranos and Gaia), respectively.

Having achieved the separation, Cronus takes his sister Rhea as his consort and she becomes Earth-Mother. (Thus a cyclical process is engendered, and repeated again with Zeus and Hera). Rhea then is also attributed to the Final Trigram, whose overall significance is the Earth itself as a planet of the solar system. This is in accord with the traditional symbolism of the Final Trigram in I Ching, where it has the name of the Receptive, or Earth, as opposed to Heaven the Creative.

The primary symbolism of the Fool is the reference to Hoor-pa-kraat, the Lord of Silence, the babe in the egg, the Quintessence. It is noteworthy in this context that the modern formulation of the Tree of Life places Ouranos in Daat, the Abyss, the false Sefira. This is analogous to attributing Ouranos to the center of the octahedron; it has no real place on the matrix. Daat is translated as 'knowledge', which is a function of the Air Element and this Abyss is guarded by the demon Choronzon, who can only be defeated by Silence. Hoor-pa-kraat is therefore the power that defeats this demon, and the planetary representative of this power is Ouranos.

Crowley does not provide a spelling of the name Hoor-pa-kraat in his appendix to Liber AL, but it is possible to construct the following spelling in Hebrew: Heh, Vav, Vav, Resh: Peh, Ayin: Kaph, Resh, Ayin, Teth. The total is 666. If the Lord of Silence is 666, then his polarity in Daat is Choronzon, whose name totals to 333. As shown elsewhere, these two numbers are Antigrams, as well as pictographs of the Tree of Life.

Now the Fool in the Tarot is also representative of Baphomet whose name equals 729. 729 is the numerical value of the top line of a Septagram and represents Keter/Ratzon on the Tree of Life. Thus the Fool is the first emanation of the Ain Soph but this Sefira is incomprehensible. It is only realized through the rest of the Sefirot of the Tree as 666, which is balanced against the horizontal Paths of the Tree as 333. These two numbers, 666 and 333, can also represent the front and back of the Tree, and as such, the threshold between them is in Daat, which is attributed to Ouranos, and by extension, to the Fool.

Note that the word Fool by English gematria has the value of 33. 33 x 27 = 891, the value of the word Ouranos. This symbolizes that the Fool stands at the head of the 27 Trigrams and "informeth all things". The double threes signify the three levels of a Trigram, and the three possible lines of Tao, Yang, and Yin. Also note that the neutral poles of the system are the 9 and 18 Trigrams, which add to 27. Thus the neutral pole is an extension of the function of Ouranos at the center, and the value of the poles, 27, multiplied by the Fool, 33, gives the total of the Greek name of Ouranos, 891.

Crowley attributes the letter I to this Trigram, and explains it as "Narrowed breath. Represents concentration including aspiration". Note the dual meaning of the word aspiration. The letter I is a glyph for the True Self, the Will. Being the simplest letter to draw, it is the root of all other letters except 0, thus I is similar to the Hebrew Yod. Its counterpart is the English letter 0, which has a value of 10, the same as the word Will in English.

Now cometh the glory of the Single One, as an imperfection and stain.

This Trigram expresses the number One, as the verse makes clear. In fact the words "Single One" total to 111. Since this One is an imperfection, the assumption is that the perfection is to be found in the Nothing which preceded it. It is a stain because now the hollow of space has a seed in it. This seed will reappear in a later verse, as will the imperfection. There is a tension in this One, because oneness implies a duality; there can be no singularity without reference to another. Thus the next verse necessarily follows from this one.

In the Pythagorean number system, the odd numbers are considered masculine, while the even numbers are feminine. This is also the case with Trigrammaton. The initial male principle is established by the Single One, the 1 that is the root of all the odd numbers. It is attributed to the Element of Fire and the Ace of Wands. This single one must be balanced out by the weak one, the Mother. She is the Dyad, the root of all the even numbers, and her 2 represents the Element of Water and the Ace of Cups.

Crowley attributes the letter L to the 1 Trigram, and describes it as "Passive undulation, without effort unchecked". The glyph of this letter shows the letter I which is the zero, crossed by another line at the base, which is the single one. L is therefore the first deviation away from the central axis of the Initial Trigram.

But by the Weak One the Mother was it equilibrated.

This verse introduces the Dyad, which is the two, the root of all the feminine, even numbers. As the complement of the Single One, it is the Weak One, the One weakened by the division. The Mother equilibrates by completing the process of 'none and two'. This Trigram also completes the description of the first spatial dimension, shown as the lowest line of the Trigram.

We begin with the Zero nucleus, then the extension as a vector by the One, and then the 0 = 2 equation is fulfilled at the end of the vector by the Two. The Zero has been able to produce two different manifestations, Yang and Yin. There are now two components of Universe given: the energy-vector, and the termination of it within the surrounding space.

What this implies is that in one sense the Yang lines are vectors, and the Yin lines are vertexes, at least in this set of six Trigrams, which have only one Yang or Yin. But as this system develops, their characteristics will mutate, allowing any given line, broken or unbroken, to act as either a wave or a particle, depending on the condition of the observer. This is directly connected with the Uncertainty Principle of Heisenberg; position or velocity can be known, but not simultaneously. (Note that by TEQ gematria, the words 'wave' and 'particle' both add to 48).

In the same way, a level of a Trigram can be seen as a Yang or a Yin, depending on the observer. It may be convenient to see the Yang as a vector, and the Yin as a vertex, but either of them will perform the role at any given time. The process of equilibration runs throughout Trigrammaton. Every Yang necessitates a Yin, and this balance provides the means whereby the Antigrams, can be identified.

Crowley attributes the letter C to this Trigram, and this is a glyph of the cup.

Also the purity was divided by Strength, the force of the Demiurge.

The purity is naturally the triple Tao of Nothing already reified by the presence of the Mother. Now Yang rises to the next level, the second spatial dimension, and is called Strength, the force of the Demiurge. The word Demiurge is Greek, but by TEQ gematria it has the value of 120, showing the 0,1,2 sequence that makes up Base Three notation. This is appropriate, since the Trigram has a value of 3. The letterform of H has three lines, and shows the purity of the 1, divided into two pillars by the forceful breath of the Yang line.

The number 3 is at the root of this whole system, since we are counting in base 3. It is attributed to the Element Air and the Ace of Swords, insofar as the Demiurge is the Logos, the Word that is to be transmitted. Thus the Logos of the Aeon, qelhma, is engraved on the Ace of Swords. (Note that the words Demiurge & Knowledge both equal 120). The Demiurge is the issue from its parents, Fire and Water, just as the number 3 is the sum of its parents 1 and 2.

In the Tao Te Ching, Chapter 42, it is said: 'The Tao formulated the One. The One exhaled the Two. The Two were parents of the Three. The Three were parents of all things.

This doctrine is exactly consonant with Liber Trigrammaton. The Three is symbolized by the Demiurge, which creates all things. The title of Liber XXVII is the Book of the Trigrams of the Mutations of the Tao with the Yin and the Yang. This should suffice to indicate that both Taoism and the I Ching are going to be synthesized into this new Trigrammaton Qabalah.

And the Cross was formulated in the Universe that as yet was not.

This Trigram has the value 6, and is attributed to the Ace of Disks. This symbolizes that the Earth Element is the summation of the previous three, since 6 = 1 + 2 + 3. Crowley attributes the letter X to this Trigram, and the reference of the verse is to a Cross. Note that this is not the Tau cross, but a crossing over.

The next numerical step is not four, but six. This is where the linear progression of the numbers crosses over into a non-linear sequence. The appearance of the third vector, in the previous Trigram, provided for Triangle, as a set of three vectors. The next step away from the triangular plane is not only the fourth point, which creates the tetrahedron, but also the six vectors that connect those points.

In terms of the octahedron matrix, this Trigram remains in the second dimension, balancing out the Air Element with the Earth Element and thus completing the Cross which represents the first two dimensions of space, or first two levels of the Trigram. But this Trigram also represents a tetrahedron because of its value as the number six. The subtlety shown here is that a tetrahedron is a volumetric figure, and represents the most fundamental figure of three-dimensional space, yet that third dimension has not been reached by the cosmic process described so far.

The number six represents the Quantum Leap; the regular numerical series is no longer followed after this point. Six is the interface between the multidimensional universe, and the cross of the four cardinal directions; it can shift the energy-flow in either direction. Note that Cross = 56, and this is the fifth Trigram whose value is Six. This union of 5 and 6, as in the formula of Abrahadabra, is the meaning of the Rose and Cross.

The word Cross also describes the position of the vectors on a tetrahedron; for each vector is directly opposite another vector which is turned perpendicular to it. Thus each vector is visibly part of a cross configuration. Note that this cross is formulated, a word derived from the Latin for rule, form or pattern. The cross is a pattern integrity, which completes the sequence of 5 Elements by the number 6.

The fact that Cross is capitalized indicates that it is not the old aeon "cross" mentioned in AL III:51. It is nevertheless a world axis, and appropriately enough, the letter of this Trigram is X, as if to emphasize the crossing-over, the vertex, the convergence of cohesion that typifies pattern, the Element Earth represented by the Ace of Disks.

Note that the capital letters of all the words preceding "Cross" total 126, the value of the word Universe. Thus is it hidden that the Universe is now created, for this Cross is formulated in the Universe, i.e., Universe preceded it, (although in effect they are coexistent). Nevertheless, the Cross is in the Universe "that as yet was not"; there is no Universe manifested as yet because the third spatial dimension has not yet been described. In one sense, the Cross, the letter X, is still in the Abyss.

But now the Imperfection became manifest, presiding over the fading of perfection.

This Trigram has the value of 9, and is one of the two poles of this whole system, the following Trigram being the other. The third spatial dimension is now definitely established by the presence of the Yang line in the upper position. A primary characteristic of all figures having volume is that they have an axis of spin. This axis is provided by the Trigrams of 9 and 18.

Notice that the word Imperfection is now capitalized. The same masculine, fiery, Yang force is now thrust out of the plane; its imperfection is now a manifest fact and is treated as a proper noun. This capital I also represents the third axis of the octahedron, the upright pole of the letter L, the self, manifested. Note that "perfection" totals 101, a glyph of the Zero = Two formula. This harmony of the nucleus and its shell layers is disrupted by the prefix Im-, the only time I is capitalized in the book. Note the imperfection is now manifest, a word that has the value of 99.

The Imperfection is presiding, literally 'sitting before', the "fading of perfection". This alludes to the gradual degeneration of the purity of the original zero. By being a neutral pole, the 9 is above, and distinct from, the various lesser imperfections and corruptions of the Tao. "Fading of perfection" = 198 = 2 x 99, showing the duality of the manifest.

In terms of duality it is important to note that Trigrams 9 and 18 occupy the upper positions in Hexagrams 243 and 486, with the Zero Trigram below in each:

243 = 100000

486 = 200000

This is the one and only pair of Antigrams that add to 729. Balancing these poles, at the center of volume of the octahedron, is Baphomet the Fool. (The difference between Baphomet-729 and Ouranos-891 is Hexagram 162, the Six Trigram in the upper position. This is the letter X, the Cross. As the Earth element it is "a little heap of dust in a sheet that hath four corners").

The Tarot attribution of the 9 Trigram is the Aeon, traditionally associated with the Element of Fire. As explained above, this Elemental Fire is exemplified by Pluto, or Hades, the God of Fire and the Underworld. Pluto, Neptune and Zeus were said to rule Fire, Water, and Air. The Earth was held in common between them, which is another way of saying that the Element of Earth resumed all the forces of the "Active" Elements.

While Neptune's share of the Earth was his role as the god of earthquakes, Pluto's share was taken by him underground for one-third of the year in the form of his marriage to Persephone, daughter of the Earth goddess Demeter. The rape of Persephone by Hades rather typifies the "sexual onslaught" which Crowley explains is the meaning of the letter T, which he attributes to this Trigram. The letter T is therefore the masculine, phallic power. It is complemented by the letter for 18, which is Y, the feminine, yoni power.

It is interesting to note that the planet Pluto was only discovered after the onset of the Aeon of Horus. In astrology this planet is associated with revolutionary change, and this typifies the Aeon of Horus. In mythology Pluto was ruler of the Underworld, and one of his functions was to oversee the trials and punishments of the wicked after death.

This activity would seem to be directly related to the Atu of the Aeon in its traditional form of the Last Judgment, where the dead arise from the grave at the end of time, redeemed by the power of the solar fire represented by the Hebrew letter Shin. In the Aeon of Horus it is recognized that there is no need for redemption in the first place, therefore this Atu is radically redesigned to represent the Stele of Revealing, which is, in fact, a burial tablet.

Also the Woman arose, and veiled the Upper Heaven with her body of stars.

As always, the appearance of Yin doubles the value of the Yang, giving this Trigram the value 18, an even number that reduces to nine. The feminine two reaches the summit in this Trigram; she is the furthest extension and thus veils all beyond. This is done with her body of stars, which are the zodiac signs that are attributed to the next sequence of Trigrams. This Trigram completes the sequence of six that describe the vertexes of the octahedron.

The number 18 is the sum of the three previous Trigrams, and finishes the crucial sequence of 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18. The total of these is 39, and they comprise all the factors of the number 18. If this sequence were to be continued on the same pattern, the next number would be 27, which is beyond the scope of the Trigrams. Thus the remaining Trigrams explain the rest of the numbers less than 27. At this point all the necessary coordinates are in place to construct the remainder of the octahedron, the "body of stars" by which the Woman veils the Upper Heaven.

The Tarot attribution of this Trigram is the Hanged Man, which is traditionally associated with the Element of Water. This connection is exemplified by attributing the Trigram to Neptune, the god of Water. In his Complete Astrological Writings, Crowley explains that Neptune is "the outpost of the solar system, and receives the influence of the stars. Here, he is the vice-regent of Nuit the Star Goddess. For this reason he represents the eternal just as the Sun does; but he is the circumference, while the Sun is the centre; the Mother, and the Sun the Father".

This passage explains the apparent dichotomy of explaining the feminine Yin symbol of this Trigram in masculine terms. The Upper Heaven is the region beyond our solar system. The goddess is the Woman that arose to veil this with her body of stars. This veil is the orbit of Neptune, in the astrological sense, and this idea is made clearer upon jumping ahead to examine the verse of a related Trigram, that of the sign Cancer.

As the 18 Trigram has a Yin above a double Tao, so the 8 Trigram has a Tao above a double Yin. In the verse for this Trigram it is said that "The master flamed forth as a star and set a guard of Water in every Abyss". Again, Crowley explains this idea: "Neptune is, therefore, the Lord of Ocean, and especially of that Oceanus the great river that girdles the whole earth... The earth is not a flat plate, but the solar system is; and on the rim of this plate is that lonely sphere, Neptune, the outpost of the fortress of the Sun". In Crowley's view, Neptune is the sentinel patrolling the confines of our camp. He therefore acts as a guard of Water in every Abyss. (In this light it is noteworthy that Neptune was in the sign of Cancer at the Equinox of the Gods in 1904, thus relating these two Trigrams to each other).

The fact that Crowley's treatise was written well before the discovery of Pluto, which is now the furthest known minor planet from the Sun, does not detract from his analysis, especially considering that Pluto actually veers within the orbit of Neptune in its travels around the Sun, and is therefore not always the furthest planet. If Neptune is considered as the limit then any motion beyond this limit returns to the source. Thus the god of Water, on the circumference, is superseded occasionally by the god of Fire, Pluto, who then resumes the role of the Solar Fire at the center. Thus is Pluto attributed to the Aeon, which depicts the character of the Solar Aeon of Horus.

The letter Y is attributed to this Trigram, and this is an inverted glyph of the Hanged Man posture, where the cross surmounts the triangle. The inversion of this glyph is a reminder that the Hanged Man was said to be suspended from the gallows, seen as the Hebrew letter Dalet, or in Crowley's design, from an ankh.

The letter Daleth is related to Venus, and the ankh is a version of the alchemical sign for Venus. The path of Daleth on the Tree of Life joins Chokmah and Binah, the Father and Mother, from whom issue the Child.

The Hanged Man is literally dependent on his Mother. For this reason the symbol of the Hanged Man is better represented by the fetus in the womb, which also hangs inverted, preparing to plunge headfirst into the life- world. This is the glyph of sacrifice in the Aeon of Horus, the Crowned and Conquering Child.

In the previous Aeon the archetype of the God was one who died and was resurrected, as displayed on the Hanged Man card. In the present Aeon the God does not die, he lives. He is not a man, but a child, and the fetus in the womb is the archetype of the new sacrifice, the willingness of the soul to enter a new incarnation. The sacrifice of the Dying God has been superseded by the sacrifice of the Crowned Child. The gallows have been replaced by the umbilical cord, but the dependence on the Great Sea, the amniotic fluid, the womb of the mother, still remains.

Both "Hanged Man" and "Mother Womb" have the value of 129, and in this context it is interesting to note that the Hebrew letter Mem, attributed to Water and the Hanged Man, can be seen as a glyph of the womb, with an opening at the bottom for the birth canal. This correlates with the English letter Y, which is also a glyph of the Yoni.

The sequence of Elemental Trigrams is now complete; the world of Briah is finished, and we enter the world of Yetzirah, or Formation. The twelve Trigrams of this next group are each the sum of two of the Elemental Trigrams. This is graphically represented by the Trigrams having two of their lines activated by the presence of a Yang or a Yin.

Now then a giant arose, of terrible strength;and asserted the Spirit in a secret rite.

Here begins the sequence of Zodiac signs, the description of the vectors of the octahedron, the filling in of the gaps between the initial six Trigram-vertexes. Prior to this, Yin and Yang could only act separately. Now one of the Tao lines has disappeared, allowing the completion of the single digit numbers of Base Ten, described by the two bottom lines of a Trigram.

By requiring only the first two lines to be filled in the next four Trigrams, there is a correlation with the Four Emblems of I Ching. These 'Emblems' are the four Bigrams, the figures made up of two lines each, (Yang/Yang, Yang/Yin, Yin/Yin, and Yin/Yang). The Bigrams represent four of the five Chinese Elements, namely Fire, Water, Wood and Metal. Western occultism generally recognizes the equivalence of these with Fire, Water, Air and Earth, respectively.

The Elemental nature of these first four Zodiac signs is in complete accord with the Chinese Elements. Thus Aries, the Cardinal sign of Fire, contains a Tao over the "Old Yang" Bigram of two Yang lines, which represents the Element of Fire.

Complementing this is Cancer, the Cardinal Water sign, with a Tao over the "Old Yin Bigram of two Yin lines, which is attributed to Water.

The "Young Yin" Bigram of a Yang over a Yin is attributed to Metal which is equivalent to Earth, and this Bigram appears under the Tao in the Trigram for the Earth sign Taurus.

Finally, the "Young Yang" Bigram representing Wood, or Air, appears under the Tao in the Trigram for the Air sign Gemini.

The Fifth 'Element, or Transforming Moment of the Chinese system, is Earth, which correlates with the Western Element of Spirit. This Element does not get a Bigram in the Chinese system, but with the use of the Tao in the Trigrammaton system, the Bigram of Spirit can be seen in the two lower Tao-lines of the initial Trigram of "Nothing under its three forms".

One explanation for this lack of a symbol for Spirit/Earth in I Ching is that Spirit is the Element that informs all the others, and is thus inherent in each of them. This attitude is in complete accordance with Trigrammaton; Spirit is in the center of the octahedron matrix, mediating all the quarters. This act of mediating the four quarters is referred to in this verse by the appearance of the word Spirit as it relates to the 4 Trigram.

Note that the words 'quarters' and 'squared each total 111, which is the value of the words 'Single One'. Thus the Four Trigram, which is attributed to Cardinal Fire, is related back to the One Trigram, which is attributed to the Element of Fire. Also, this entire verse totals 763 = 7 x 109, where 109 is the TEQ gematria of the word Elements'.

In this verse is Aries, the bursting of the bud-will. This bursting forth is shown in the astrological glyph for Aries, and by the attribution to the letter P, which Crowley describes as: "P (is) to B as K is to hard G. Bursting of a bud as against that of a fruit".

The 'giant of this verse is perhaps the Emperor himself, who sits on the cubical stone, an extension of the four sides of a square into three dimensions. The Emperors Atu is also number IV.

The 'Spirit' may be a reference to the previous seven Trigrams, or it may be that the 'Spirit is the Hadit point while the Ram is analogous to the strength of the demiurge, the first movement out of the center, by means of a secret rite. This Spirit is "asserted"; the root of this word is linked with the Latin for attaching together to make a series. This was later modified to mean to attach to one's self, i.e., to defend one's self.

And the Master of the Temple balancing all things arose; his stature was above the Heaven and below Earth and Hell.

This Trigram has the value 5, and is attributed to Taurus. The Tarot Atu of Taurus is the Hierophant, bearer of the Pentagram. The Hierophant is therefore 'The Master of the Temple'. This title equals 210, which is a glyph for the Zero, One, Two, of Trigrammaton in their proper sequence. It is the first Trigram to appear that contains one line of each type.

Also, the capitalized words are Master = 77, and Temple = 61; their total is 138, the value of the word "benediction'. In Liber CCXXXI, the verse relating to the Hierophant says: "Also is the Star of the Flame exalted, bringing benediction to the fallen universe".

Crowley attributes the letter A to this Trigram, which in its majuscule form is a partial hieroglyph of the pentagram. This Trigram is arguably the most balanced of all because each of the three component lines are filled with the "correct" symbols, if one considers the three levels of the Trigram in the traditional sense of Earth, Humanity, and Heaven.

There is a Yin in the first place, representing the duality of the phenomenal world. This is surmounted by a Yang, representing the individual point of view on this level of human consciousness. At the top is the Tao, which is the influence from the Heavenly sphere. This Tao is analogous to the Holy Guardian Angel or the Neschamah of the Hebrews. By having all these components in their appropriate places, the Master of the Temple is enabled to balance "all things". The verse for this Trigram has 93 letters.

Against him the Brothers of the Left-hand Path, confusing the symbols.

They concealed their horror (in this symbol);

for in truth they were

This Trigram has the value of 7, and is attributed to Gemini, the Twins. The word Brothers = 98, the same as Strength, and is related to the Brothers/Lovers Atu of the Book of Thoth, attributed to Gemini. 98 = 2 x 7 x 7, which correlates with the value of the Trigram and the concept of the Atu. The accompanying verse contains 111 letters, and "Left-hand path" = 111.

The confusing" of the symbols is actually the inversion of the Yang and Yin lines into less- balanced positions. Note that the "enemy" also does this confusing in the verse accompanying the next Air sign, Libra, while the Brothers of the Left-hand Path are further identified with the Trigram of the third Air sign Aquarius.

This Aquarian Trigram appears here at the end of the verse as a forewarning of the real nature of the Brothers, and is not intended as part of the regular sequence, since there are only 27 Trigrams, as indicated by the number of this Book.

Nevertheless, it is interesting that if the value of this extra glyph, (21), is added to the sum of the 27 Trigrams, (351), the total is 372, which is 4 x 93. This verse is the first appearance of the word 'concealed', which equals 93. 'Concealed' appears four times in the text of Trigrammaton. So the 4 appearances of this word 93 equal the sum of all 28 Trigrams that occur in the Book.

The master flamed forth as a star and set a guard of Water in every Abyss.

This Trigram has the value of 8, and is attributed to the sign Cancer. Although the text of Liber XXVII is more a description of the Trigrams as opposed to a description of the Tarot Trumps, there are times when the correlation between the text and the qabalistic attribute of the Trigram is very close, as in this verse.

The 8 Trigram shows many features of the Chariot Atu; one adept has noted that it appears as a glyph for the Chariot, or Tao, being drawn by the four sphinxes, shown as the two Yin lines. The Tao above may also symbolize the Graal held by the charioteer, while the doubled Yin lines could be the pillars of the heavens, which uphold the canopy of the night-sky. Note that the word Chariot equals 43, the same as Star, Not, Here, etc.

Cancer is the cardinal sign of Water, which the Master is setting in every Abyss, and this Trigram is cognate with the 18 Trigram, as explained above. Note that the word Water equals 49, as does the word Nu. Note also that Neptune, the god of Water, was in Cancer at the Equinox of the Gods.

It is curious that the word Abyss equals 73, which in Hebrew is the letter Gimel spelt in full and Gimel is the letter attributed to the path across the Abyss on the Tree of Life. Yet since "every Abyss" is mentioned in the text, more than one seems to be indicated. The nature of the guard is further explained by the fact that both Guard and Woman equal 68 by TEQ gematria. The guard is "of Water", and correlates with the feminine.

The letter attributed to this Trigram is W, the initial letter of Woman and Water. This letter is a pictograph of the wave nature of fluid dynamics, expressing the character of the cardinal sign of Water.

Also certain secret ones concealed the Light of Purity in themselves, protecting it from the Persecutions.

This Trigram is attributed to the sign Leo, and has the value of 10. This verse is the second appearance of the word "concealed", the only word in the text that equals 93. The "Light of Purity" is clearly the Tao in the center of the Trigram, and the words Tao and Light both equal 24. Purity has already been discussed, but the reference to the Persecutions is obscure, although it has the same value as the word 'Continuous', and may therefore represent the outer continuum from which the Tao, or Hadit point is concealed.

The letter of this Trigram is O, which represents the sphere of outward brilliance that conceals the inner light. As Crowley notes, the relation of the letter O to the letter I is the same as the relation of magic to mysticism; O is Leo, the magick force of the Lion and the Lust Atu, while I is the Zero, the Fool the mystic withdrawal to, and intoxication of, the innermost; (note that Crowley considers Ouranos to be exalted in Leo).

This central group of four Trigrams, with the Tao in the middle, all deal with aspects of concealing the Light, or Tao. The other two lines determine the nature of this concealment. In the first instance, with the sign of Leo, the concealment is complete. The next two Trigrams show a partial concealment while the last represents the polarity of the original concealment.

Likewise also did certain sons and daughters of Hermes and of Aphrodite, more openly.

This Trigram is attributed to the sign Virgo, and has the value of 11. It is thus of primary importance in magick. (The word Magick equals 56, and 5 + 6 = 11). Here the verse indicates the sexual polarity of magick quite clearly, for it is both sons and daughters that concealed the Light more openly. These children are the offspring of Hermes and of Aphrodite, which recalls Liber B vel Magi verse 0. "The Magus is Love, and bindeth together That and This in His Conjuration". Note the connection with Virgo, whose Atu is the Hermit; these are the seed and the womb awaiting it.

The letter of this Trigram is G, which is a pictograph of an inwardly directed spiral. This is the coiled serpent, the Yod curled within, the sperm coiled and ready to fertilize, to create the nucleus from which the life will spring. Crowley notes that this letter represents opening, as if to devour"; this opening is the womb of the Virgin, ready to devour the seed of the Hermit, and allows that the concealment is at least partially open or accessible from below. To emphasize this, it is the only verse without punctuation at the end.

The Virgo Trigram and its opposite, the Libra Trigram, are the only pair of Antigrams that are also reversals of each other. One way to understand this relation is that the sign Virgo is ruled by Mercury, or Hermes, while Libra is ruled by Venus, or Aphrodite.

But the Enemy confused them. They pretended to conceal that Light that they might betray it and profane it.

This Trigram has the value of 19, which is also the value of the word 'Air'. It is attributed to Libra, the cardinal sign of Air, and is the central figure of the Trigrammaton sequence, being the 14th of the 27 Trigrams. The Tao in the center is therefore the center line of the 81 lines that comprise Liber Trigrammaton. This is the balance point of the sequence, and appropriately enough the Trigram is attributed to Libra. This fact provides strong evidence that the Zodiac sequence is correctly attributed to the Trigrams.

This verse contains 19 words. The central word is conceal, with a value of 57, which is 3 x 19. The numbers from 1 to 19 form the only possible Magic Hexagon, where every row has the same Magic Sum.

The letter Z is attributed to this Trigram, and shows pictographically a balance of sorts; it also relates to the sword held by the goddess depicted on the Tarot Trump of Adjustment, attributed to Libra. As Crowley has pointed out, the Greek goddess of Justice, Themis, is derived from the "double-wanded one", Thmaist. In that case Z may refer to this double wand as an elaboration of the sword glyph. By TEQ gematria, 'sword' and 'balance' both equal 70.

It is instructive to refer back to the Gemini Tngram, where the Brothers are first introduced. They appear to be the Enemy mentioned here, and again their act of confusing refers to the inversion of the Yang and Yin lines of the previous Trigram. In the verse relating to the Fixed Air sign of Aquarius they also reappear, in the guise of the Black Brothers. In that last appearance, there is no longer any confusion of lines.

Yet certain holy nuns concealed the secret in songs upon the lyre.

This Trigram is attributed to Scorp, and has the value of 20. It is the fixed Water complement to the fixed Fire of Leo. Being 10 and 20, these two Trigrams iterate the identity of the 1 and 2 as Fire and Water. In the Leo Trigram, the concealment of the Light of Purity was completely closed, while in this Trigram the concealment is completely open. This refers to the method of hiding a secret in plain view. The concealment is accomplished by "songs upon the lyre." This phrase equals 209, half of 418.

It is "certain holy nuns" who perform this concealing, and this refers to the feminine nature of the Trigram, with Yin lines at the top and bottom. The term nun is the feminine form of the Latin nonnus, or monk, and refers to a woman who lives in a convent under the three traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In the sense used in this verse, the nuns may also be under a vow of silence, and being unable to speak, they express the nature of the secret in music.

Now did the Horror of Time pervert all things, hiding the Purity with a loathsome Thing, a thing unnameable.

This Trigram begins the last sequence of four Zodiac signs, all of which equal three times the value of the initial set of Zodiac signs. Thus Trigrams 4, 5, 7, & 8 become 12, 15, 21, & 24. Multiplication by three has the effect of moving every Tao from the top line to the bottom line of these Trigrams. All four Trigrams deal with the gradual corruption of the Tao.

This Trigram has the value of 12. The number 12 represents the months of the solar year, which roughly correspond to the Western Zodiac signs, as well as the 12 years of the Chinese Zodiac, which roughly correspond to a cycle of Juppiter. These are divisions of a circle or cycle, and since a cycle can be measured in length or duration, there arises the concept of space-time.

Time has been an integral part of the cosmic process all along. In the second verse it states that "Now cometh..." From that moment of the present the process then unfolds in succession, with each verse describing the process in the past tense. At this stage of the process, Time is explicitly mentioned, and its function is to hide the Purity.

This hiding is accomplished with two things, one loathsome, one unnameable. Since the words thing and 'one' each equal 47, the two 'things' mentioned in the verse may be represented by the two Yang lines, insofar as Yang has the value of 1. The first one is "a loathsome thing", which equals 139, the same as "Here is Nothing". The second one is "a thing unnameable", which equals 151, the same as adjustment and interference'.

This Trigram is attributed to Sagittarius, whose ruler is Juppiter. The Arrow of the Archer becomes a glyph for the directional nature of time, its irreversibility. The Arrow also describes the one who goes, which is Had. At the Equinox of the Gods in 1904, the sign of Sagittarius was occupied by the planet Ouranos. This is the Fool who functions as a glyph of Hadit.

Being Sagittarian, this Trigram is attributed to the Art card of the Tarot. The Art card is usually paired with the Lovers card, as they both represent the alchemical marriage. And the Lovers card is the 7 Trigram. So you have a pairing of the numbers 7 and 12, which have long been associated with each other in the guise of the 7 Planets and the 12 Zodiac signs.

The letter attributed to this Trigram is F, which Crowley describes as a "compound of P & H". Luckily, P = 4 and H= 3; 3 x 4 = 12, the value of the letter F.

Yea, and there arose sensualists upon the firmament, as a foul stain of storm upon the sky.

This Trigram has the value of 15, and is attributed to Capricorn, the cardinal sign of Earth, whose symbolism is fully revealed in Liber CCCLXX. The letter S is attributed to this Trigram, and S is closely related to Z, attributed to the cardinal sign of Air.

The word 'firmament' here indicates the uppermost line, which is Yang. This is a reference to the Single One, which is an imperfection and stain. This stain is now raised to the highest level just as in the 9 Trigram, where the Yang appears in the upper position, and is also described as the imperfection. Thus both attributes of the Yang line, imperfection and stain, appear elsewhere in the text to describe the Trigrams in question. Here it is the sensualists who arose; this word equals 137. By separating the final S, the singular is formed, and this word equals 122, the same as the word imperfection'.

And the Black Brothers raised their heads; yea, they unveiled themselves without shame or fear.

This Trigram has the value of 21, and is attributed to the sign Aquarius. Crowley held that the Aeon of Horus expressed the Leo-Aquarius axis. These two signs have the values of 21 and 10, which total 31, a key number of AL. The letters of these Trigrams are O and M which combine to form OM, the root syllable of creation according to the Hindu cosmology. Trigrammaton is essentially an account of creation, and in this context the glyph of OM represents the opening and closing, the Yin and the Yang, the polarities that are the substance of this Book. Insofar as Crowley notes that the letter M symbolizes "The Will to Die", then the letter O must represent The Will to Live.

Also there rose up a soul of filth and of weakness, and it corrupted a the rule of the Tao.

This Trigram has the value of 24, which is the value of the words Tao and Light. Crowley attributes the letter N to this Trigram, which he explains as "'The vibration which includes Life and Death as complementary curves". Pictographically these curves are the vesica piscis, shown as the sigil for the sign Pisces, which this Trigram is attributed to. Note that the whole Dying & Resurrected God complex prevails through the Age of the Fish.

This Trigram completes the Zodiac sequence, leaving the cosmic process in the state of complete degradation, on the brink of spilling over into consciousness, the final removal from the Tao. The Tarot Trump attributed to Pisces is the Moon, which is a pictograph of this process of ultimate corruption. But at the base of the Moon card is the god Khephra, bearing the Solar Disk. This is the seed of life as awareness; it is also the Tao-Light that has undergone all the previous cycles of assertion, concealment and degradation.

This completes the excursion through Yetzirah. The last set of eight Trigrams represent the actual material world of Assiah. The components of the phenomenal Universe, Yang and Yin, combine with one another to create these last Trigrams. There is no longer any reference to the Tao; the Trigrams represent the crystallized Planetary energies, and are the result of the intersection of three of the Elemental Trigrams. On the octahedron matrix, this means connecting three different vertices, thus making a triangular side of the figure. Eights sides for eight Trigrams.

These eight Trigrams are the Pa Kua of the I Ching system. As such, the continuous use of these Trigrams over the course of the millennia has invested them with a great deal of practical and symbolic potency. The reader will do well to consult any number of texts on I Ching for a better understanding of how these forces operate. Such study will not go unrewarded.

Yet it is also true that in terms of Trigrammaton, these eight classic Trigrams are NOT the whole system, but only a subset thereof, much as Newtonian physics is not the whole story, but a subset of the more universal physics of Einstein.

The first of these Trigrams shows all three spatial dimensions simultaneously established as facts of consciousness. The limits of discourse are now defined, the manifestation takes place, the boundary is set. These are all typically Saturnian functions.

Then only was Heaven established to bear sway; for only in the lowest corruption is form manifest.

This Trigram is attributed to Saturn, whose triangular symbolism is well known. The three Yang lines have completed the triad on all three levels, and the corresponding number is 13, the critical prime number of this whole system. 3 x 13 = 39, while 3 x 39 = 117. The value of the word "established" is 117, as are the words "to bear sway". This indicates that establishment is the key to this Trigram, and this ties it closely to the Saturnian concept of an orderly Universe.

The words "the lowest corruption" total to 193, the same as the English names of the five Elements, and if 'the' is dropped, the value is 168, the same as "Stainless Abode". Also, lowest = 56 and corruption = 112, which is 2 x 56. Now in this lowest corruption is "form manifest", which totals 156.

This Trigram can also be interpreted in accordance with I Ching, where Chien, the Creative, is also known as Heaven. This is the Heaven that was established to bear sway. One of the functions of this Trigram in I Ching is the symbolism of Time as a forward moving flow, the unidirectional entropic character of all manifest things. Its complement is K'un, the Receptive, or Earth, which functions as the space within which time is moving.

In the sequence of numbers from 0 to 26, 13 is the numerical center; thus Saturn/Cronus divides Ouranos-0, and Gaia-26. 13 is thus a counterpart to Zero, which is the center of the octahedron, as well as to the center of the 3 x 3 Magic Square, which the Chinese associate with the Moving Agent of Earth/Spirit, and with the planet Saturn.

Crowley associates this Trigram with Da'at on the Tree of Life, in the sense that this position "resumes the powers of the supernal triad". The three Yang lines of this Trigram then represent either the three Sefirot above the Abyss, or the three paths that connect them. In either case the symbolism is of the triangle, and the reader is referred to Liber CCCLXX vel Capricorni regarding this triangle, since Capricorn is ruled by Saturn.

Also did Heaven manifest in violent light,

This verse is joined with the following one by the comma at the end. They both describe types of light, one violent, the other soft. These adjectives are then important to discern the meaning of the verses. The word 'violent' has the value 79, which happens to be the value of Hermes in English, and this Trigram is attributed to Mercury, or Hermes. Also, 79 is the value of the words quickly and winged, which are both apt descriptions of the nature of Mercury as the messenger-god, wearing the winged helmet and sandals.

In I Ching, this Trigram represents Wood or Wind; both of these natural images convey the idea of transmission; the sap flows through the wood and the air penetrates all in the process of its movement. This Air, as an Element, is, in the Western Tradition, a property of Mercury as Logos, the messenger bearing the Word, while in the Chinese system of the Five Phases, the planet Mercury is attributed to Water and not Air. This diverges from Crowleys formulation, which has this Trigram in the 'airy' Sefira of Hod and therefore related to Mercury.

Additional information can be gathered from the text of Liber B vel Magi, for this Book is attributed to the Hebrew letter Bet, and Mercury. It begins: "One is the Magus: twain His forces: four His weapons. These are the Seven Spirits of Unrighteousness; seven vultures of evil." Note that in English, Magus has the value of 77, as do the words wisdom, creation, written, and breathe.

In verse 2 of Liber B it is said that "By His Wisdom made He the Worlds; the Word that is God is none other than He." This verse relates the Magus to all four of these eqivalent terms, for he creates by wisdom, and the Word may be spoken or written, just as Tahuti was the inventor of writing and the God of Magic. In other words the Magus can both write and recite his spells.

The value of Magus being 77, it is interesting that the first verse of Liber B mentions seven twice. 7 + 7 = 14, the value of this Trigram. 7 is also the value of the Gemini Trigram, a sign ruled by Mercury. Furthermore, the words seven spirits of unrighteousness; seven vultures of evil total 651, which is 7 x 93.

Now 93 is the value of the Word of the Law, which is qelhma; and thus is the Magus the personification of that Word, as the Logos. If one look but close into this word qelhma, the first two letters are Theta and Epsilon, which equal 14. These correspond to the Grade of Hermit, and the Hermit Trump in the Tarot is attributed to Virgo, the rulership and exaltation of Mercury. Also of note is that the whole of the Law shall be 'Do what thou Wilt, and this phrase has 14 letters, while the word Law has the value of 14.

When the 14 Trigram occupies the upper position of a Hexagram, it has the value of 378. The 36 Minor Arcana of the Tarot can each be attributed to a Hexagram that has a Planetary Trigram above a Zodiacal Trigram. For example, Prudence, the Eight of Disks, is symbolized by the Sun in Virgo. Thus it can be represented by Hexagram 443, which has the Sol Trigram above the Virgo Trigram: 443 = 121102

In this scheme, the six cards attributed to the six decans of Gemini and Virgo, (the signs ruled by Mercury), are symbolized by six Hexagrams whose total value is 3024, which is 8 x 378. This formula symbolizes that Mercury is in the 8th Sefira, and is valued at 378 in upper position of a hexagram. It is also significant that the Gemini Trigram equals 7, and the Virgo Trigram equals 11. 7 x 11 = 77 = Magus.

Crowley attributes the letter R to this Trigram, and describes it as "Continuous vibration, like L but active". This harmonizes with the messenger god in constant motion.

And in soft light.

This Trigram has the value of 16, and is attributed to the Sun, which is one of its attributes described in the Eighth Wing of I Ching. The value of this verse is 146, which is the same as the word unclouded, which word appears in verse 19 of Liber CCXXXI; Then the sun did appear unclouded, and the mouth of Asi was on the mouth of Asar.

This verifies that the nature of this Sun is to radiate brightly, without interference. This idea is depicted in the Trigram by the outer Yang lines, which are shining in all directions, while the inner Yin line is dark, like the core of the Sun. In the core of stars is where nuclear fusion takes place, with hydrogen atoms being fused into helium. The atomic numbers of hydrogen and helium are 1 and 2. Thus the core of this fire might represent two hydrogen atoms in the process of fusion, or else the helium atom resulting from that fusion, releasing light that radiates into space by virtue of the two Yang lines.

The Chinese considered the 16 Trigram and its opposite, 23, to typify an important polarity, for they are described as Fire and Water, as well as Sun and Moon. In fact in the Earlier Heaven and Later Heaven arrangements of the eight Trigrams of I Ching only these two Trigrams are polar opposites in both sequences. In the Earlier Heaven sequence they are the East-West axis, while in the Later Heaven they are the North-South axis.

Being such a critical pair, it is worth noting that the two verses for these Trigrams are valued at 146 & 360. Their total is 506, and the sum of these digits is 11. The verse for the 11 Trigram deals with the "sons and daughters of Hermes and Aphrodite", and these form the male and female polarities symbolized in the Sun and Moon. 506 is also equal to 8 + 80 + 418. These relate to the phrase "unite by thine art", and it is curious that the path on the Tree of Life that joins the Luminaries is attributed to the XIV Atu, which is Art, a symbol of union.

The Eighth Wing of I Ching not only describes the 16 Trigram as Fire and the Sun, but as Lightning, the natural phenomenon that mimics the heat and intensity of the Sun. This creates a different kind of correspondence with another Trigram, that of Mars.

The Mars Trigram is called Shock, or the Arousing, by the Chinese. It is directly related to the natural images of thunder and electrical discharge. This overlap in significance with that of the Sun Trigram has allowed the Arousing to take on the Elemental meaning of Fire as well, and this is how Crowley attributes it.

So the thunder and the lightning reinforce one another, and connect the Trigrams of the Sun and Mars. These two typify the Force and Fire of the Aeon of Horus. Note the letters for these Trigrams are Q and U. These are linked, yet not opposites. The two always co-exist, but are not polarized. Lightning has its own internal positive and negative electrical poles, while thunder is polarized by its compressed and rarefied air-waves, which alternate to create the audible event.

In terms of the design of the Sun Atu of the Tarot, the 16 Trigram shows the Yang lines as the circle of the Zodiac, surrounding the balanced Yin line, which represents the twins of Hoor-paar-kraat and Ra-Hoor-Khuit in the center. The solar symbolism is emphasized by the attribution of the letter Q to this Trigram, for Q is the circle of the solar disk, while the tail radiating from within to without is the active and passive aspects of Heru-ra-ha.

The Sun Atu is also closely related to the Lust Atu, as Sol is the ruler of the Lion. The English letters of these Trumps are Q and O, and these are related glyphs.

Then were the waters gathered together from the heaven.

This Trigram is attributed to the planet Juppiter, and the Fortune Atu. In I Ching this Trigram is called the Joyous, and its natural image is the Lake. Joy is a typical characteristic of Juppiter, whence the word jovial. The Lake is the vessel that collects the waters from the heaven, just as Zeus was the cloud-gatherer. The upper line of this Trigram represents the waters, and is related to the 18 Trigram, which also has Yin above. There, the Woman veils the Upper Heaven; she is Nuit as the womb of space.

The Fortune Atu represents the wheel of the Universe, and is thus a cognate symbol with Nuit. But there is a modification of the symbol. The circumference of this wheel has three entities upon it; the Sphinx, Hermanubis, and Typhon. These three creatures represent the alchemical qualities of Sulphur, Mercury, and Salt as well as the three gunas of the Hindu system; Rajas, Tamas, Sattvas.

In The Vision and the Voice the three figures on the wheel are the raven, wolf, and lamb, and these names total to 156. In the context of Trigrammaton, these figures are the Tao, Yang, and Yin insofar as they are alchemical qualities, and they are the 3 lines of a Trigram insofar as they are the gunas.

Being attributed to the Fortune Atu, the 22 Trigram symbolizes the entire sequence of 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot and their corresponding Hebrew letters. This number plays a large role in the Western magickal consciousness, and it is here linked to a concept of inclusive expansion. The Tarot is a map of the cosmos, and the Wheel of Fortune is like a map of the night-sky, different for each observer, but in effect the totality of the universe available to that observer. Thus it is cognate with the Universe Atu, the 22nd and last of the Major Arcana. Thus the number 22 explains the concept that TARO is ROTA; the Tarot is the Wheel.

In the attribution of Hexagrams to the Minor Arcana, mentioned above, there are five decans which are under the influence of Juppiter. The corresponding cards are Victory, Truce, Change, Happiness, and Interference. The Hexagrams for these five Juppiter cards total 3045. The Hexagram for 'Change' equals 609, and 5 x 609 is 3045. Therefore Change, the Two of Disks, can be said to symbolize the root of the Juppiter sequence. The words Change and Nuit both equal 58. Connecting this with the number of the card, the Two of Disks, demonstrates the formula of Zero = Two, for she is the manifest world, which is divided through change.

One unusual feature of the 22 Trigram is that it and its Antigram, the 17 Trigram, differ by 5. This makes a great leap in the sequence of differences between the Antigrams: 1 & 2 differ by 1; 5 & 7 differ by 2; 3 & 6 differ by 3; 4 & 8 differ by 4.

So far only the first eight single-digit numbers have been used, and for the next step, the difference by 5 is between 17 & 22. This leap is all the more curious because the sum of 17 & 22 is 39, their difference is 5, and their product (17 x 22), is 374.

39 + 5 + 374 = 418.

Also curious is that the 22 Trigram seems out of place in the sequence here; in every other case the smaller number of the two Antigrams appears first, but in this case 22 comes before 17.

Crowley attributes the letter V to this Trigram, and says that this letter indicates "Conscious male will. Manhood, strength, truth, righteousness, immortality, integrity". While undoubtedly influenced by his ideas about the Hebrew letter Vav, his comments are also applicable to the Sefira Chesed, to which he attributes this Trigram.

And a crust of earth concealed the core of flame.

This Trigram is the number 17, and is attributed to the planet Venus, and the Empress Atu. In I Ching this Trigram is called Keeping Still and its correlate in the natural world is the mountain. The idea of keeping still reflects a certain passivity, which is a characteristic of the Empress Atu, for she represents alchemical Salt, that quality of nature which is passive, awaiting the spark of her consort the Emperor to awaken her with his quality of Sulphur.

Another feature of the Empress Atu are the columns on either side of her throne. These columns are represented in this Trigram as the two lower Yin lines, and with the upper Yang line they create a doorway, another function of the Empress. The glyph is therefore the arched body of Nuit as it appears on the Stele of Revealing and is thus the Empress as the Mother Goddess, the heavens surrounding Hadit the core of flame.

Crowley associates this Trigram with the Sefira Netzach, to which he attributes the Earth Element mentioned in the verse. But there are two components to this Trigram, the, crust of earth and the core of flame, and both components are integral to the meaning of the Trigram. Resolving this dichotomy is necessary for understanding the Empress Atu. As Crowley explains in The Book of Thoth "There is here no contradiction; such opposition as there seems to be is only the opposition necessary to balance.

Resolving this dichotomy is made possible by looking at both the Trigram for Venus and the Trigram for her astrological opposite, Mars. In both cases, the accompanying verse makes it clear that the flame and the fire are each represented by the Yin lines of the Trigram. But Yin is elsewhere in Trigrammaton associated with the Element of Water, and this makes the identification in the text of the verses all the more intriguing.

Note that the Venus and Mars Trigrams are reversals of each other; in one the earth is above the flame, in the other the fires are lit upon the earth. The earth is then being represented here by a Yang line, although the Element of Earth is elsewhere signified by a Yin line. This completes the reversal of roles as depicted in the lines of the Trigram.

In the sequence of Liber XXVII the 17 Trigram occupies an unusual place; unlike the prior portions of the sequence, here the smaller Antigram comes second, and the only obvious gain from this positioning is that the last eight Trigrams are split into predominantly Yang and Yin halves.

In terms of Chinese nomenclature, the Creative is the Father, followed by his three Daughters; the Eldest, Middle, and Youngest to form the first half of the sequnce found in Liber XXVII. These four Trigrams equal 65. In the second half are the three Sons; the Youngest, Middle, and Eldest, followed by the Receptive, the Mother, who finishes the sequence. These four Trigrams equal 91. This asymmetry in the sequence is highly unusual especially since the Father and Sons equal 78, as do the Mother and Daughters. There is no precedent for this sequence of Trigrams anywhere in the Chinese tradition.

Crowley attributes the letter K to this Trigram, and describes it as meaning Opening, as if startled. As with most of his commentary on the letters, this is a description of the actual physical process of forming the letter, which in this case is the guttural letter K, formed in the mouth more than in the throat like the letter G, which is Opening, as if to devour".

Around the globe gathered the wide air,

This Trigram is attributed to the Moon, and thus to the Priestess Trump of the Tarot. The symbolism of this Trigram is best understood by comparing it with its opposite, the Sun. There the Yang is outside, radiating into space. Here the Yang is inside, surrounded by the receptive Yin lines. This indicates that the light of the Moon is not self-generated, it is but a reflection; and this is the function of the Moon, to receive the influence of both the highest and the lowest. Thus Yin is above and below, providing the entrance into the heart of the Moon, which then reflects the light it has received.

It is interesting that Crowley should attribute the letter D to this Trigram since he calls D "the paternal Vibration". This attribution was made despite knowing that I Ching treats this Trigram as a glyph of the Moon. Since the Moon is an overtly feminine symbol, how is it that Crowley considers D to be a masculine letter? Even if the letter Dalet is seen as a prototype for D, that letter is still attributed to Venus, and therefore is also feminine. Perhaps the capital D by its shape suggested the half-moon. Despite its feminine overtones, the Moon is attributed to Yesod on the Tree of Life, which is the phallic root of the Tree.

This verse ends with a comma, linking it to the following one. This repeats the link between Trigrams 14 and 16, which are the opposites of the two linked here, 23 and 25. The total value of this verse is 360, which is a glyph for the circle, normally divided into 360 degrees.

In his commentary to this verse, Crowley attributes this Trigram to the Moon, and then gives a footnote that The moon is not considered to be a light but as a cohesion of the planets atmosphere. The atmosphere around a spherical planet is suggestive of the circle of 360 degrees, and this wide air is around the globe. Note that the word "around" has the value of 101, a numerical glyph of the same idea.

In I Ching this Trigram is known as the Abysmal, and its natural image is water. These ideas correlate with the Priestess Atu, insofar as her path on the Tree of Life crosses through the Abyss. The Hebrew letter of this Atu is gimel, which means a camel, the one able to traverse the desert of the Abyss by storing enough water for the journey.

The value of the Lunar Trigram is 23, and this provides a symbolic linkage to the act of procreation. Once in every month, that is, once in every lunar cycle, a woman will experience her menstrual period, which attends the release of the egg cell, the largest cell in the human body. This cell bears 23 chromosomes, the female half of the total required for the genetic code necessary to create a human embryo. Note that there are only a small number of total egg cells, while there are millions of copies of its counterpart the sperm cell, which also carries 23 chromosomes. Thus 23 can represent the specific, periodic renewal of the moment of conception, as well as the continuous stream of possible lives.

Perhaps the most important difference in these two sets of 23 chromosomes is that one of each group determines the sex of the child, the so-called X and Y chromosomes. But the egg cell always has an X chromosome, while the sperm cell may have either X or Y. Thus the sperm determines whether the zygote will be XX, a female, or XY, a male. Only the adult female has 23 like pairs of chromosomes, and this constant of 23 is symbolized by the 23 Trigram as the feminine, receptive, egg of fertilization, released by the influence of the orbiting Moon.

And men began to light fires upon the earth.

This Trigram is attributed to Mars, and is a glyph of the letter U. In I Ching this Trigram is called the Arousing, whose natural image is thunder, representing the dynamic force that initiates a cycle. In the same way, Aries initiates the Zodiac, and is ruled by Mars. Also the Minor Arcana of the Tarot that relate to the end of Pisces and the beginning of Aries are both attributed to Mars, to represent the surge of energy that initiates Spring at the Equinox.

This Trigram is the last of the series of Tarot Trumps, because the Final Trigram has no attributions to a traditional planet, (planet Gaia having no card in the Tarot as such). It is also the last because of the nature of the Tower Atu, which shows the destruction of the world by fire.

This conflagration leaves nothing behind, except for the Final Trigram. It is the precursor to that sorrow in the aftermath of the battle, clearing the way for the pure light of the sixfold star to illuminate consciousness. The upper Yin lines of the 25 Trigram are thus the Tower blasted asunder, and this splitting of the Universal Yang found in the 13 Trigram is completed in the Final Trigram.

Yet this glyph is even more subtle and complex, as evidenced by the symbolism of the Dove and the Serpent attendant upon this Trump. For the letter U is also the receptive cup, while its reversed Trigram is the letter K, the upthrusting mountain, symbol of phallic power.

In the same sense that the Empress Atu requires the reconciliation of opposites to be completely understood, so too does this Atu of the Tower. The axis of Mars and Venus is not one of opposites, but of reversals. In terms of the Dove and the Serpent, the Phallus and the Kteis, they fit together and become inseparable. To emphasize one aspect of the function over the other is simply a matter of aesthetics. "Choose ye well!"

This duality of symbolism is carried further by the occurrences of the concepts of fire and earth in the verses for Trigrams 17 and 25. Strictly speaking, if these Trigrams were to have an Elemental nature, then the 25 Trigram must be Earth, opposite the 14 Trigram, which is Air, and the 17 Trigram ought to be Fire, opposite the 22 Trigram, which is Water. This polarity of opposites is found throughout the Elemental and Zodiacal Trigrams, as shown on the octahedron and tetrahedron matrices.

However, Crowleys Elemental attributions break up this symmetry. The difficulty arises from the function of the reversals. Half of the I Ching Trigrams; 13, 16, 23, 26, are their own reversals.

It is the remaining four that are more complex; 14, 17, 22, 25. Each of these four may be balanced in two ways; by its Antigram, or by its Reversal. Being so imbalanced, Crowley felt it appropriate to attribute these four Trigrams to the side pillars of the Tree of Life, and in turn he attributed four Elements to these four Sefirot, which already had Planetary associations. Thus the Elemental and Planetary aspects were unified, but this does not succeed in reconciling the two forces.

The only traditional model for Planetary-Elemental connections is the Chinese scheme, where Mercury is Water, Jupiter is Air, Mars is Fire, Venus is Earth, and Saturn is Spirit. Crowley's attributions create the pairs of Mercury-Air, Jupiter-Water, Mars-Fire, Venus- Earth. This does not corre