Etymological Nature of the Switch
Hello everyone,
I'm probably more of a neophyte than Neophyte, who seems to really know what he's doing (everyone up here seems to know what he or she is doing).
So, I'm going to do the typically irritating newbie thing to do: throw in my two cents' worth.
Mr. Crowley, almost as an afterthought, gives us the etymological lineage of the Hebrew letter Tzaddi. It's literal meaning (fishhook) is, I believe, less important than the etymological one.
He relates the "tz" dipthong to all the imperial words for male dominion that the world has. Ceasar. Czar. Tzar. Sire. Sir. All of these come from Tzaddi, according to Mr. Crowley, and you know what? I am VERY inclined to believe him, not just because he forgot more about magic at age twelve than I'll probably ever learn in my lifetime, but because I know how far languages can migrate across this globe. English is strewn with archaic Sanskrit forms, forms that traveled all the way to Germany to Britain and finally to America, all courtesy of the Indian subcontinent. So, I think the etymological link between Tzaddi and the Emperor is important.
Also, I've noticed a few seemingly basic, amateurish errors in a number of otherwise excellent books on the Thoth Tarot. The thought's crossed my mind that the authors (this would include Mr. Crowley) were irritating (I meant to write "imitating" here, and now on an edit I am deciding to allow this Freudian slip to stay, if for no other reason than it illustrates my point that intentional mistakes draw one towards enlightenment) Eliphas Levi--changing small details here and there to protect the integrity of their vows. If the aspirant to knowledge is canny enough, he'll root out and correct the discrepancy.
Either way, I believe the contradictions or errors are intentional. Whether or not they're put there to enlighten or befuddle, I still don't know. Then again, on further thought, I suppose they could be mistakes. After all, these guys are still humans.
When I come across "errors" such as this one in my studies, I'm inclined to just shrug my shoulders, and move on. That's probably because I'm new, and don't want to waste time splitting hairs. Later, when I'm at you guys' level, I'll worry about it more.
By the way, can anyone recommend good books on the Qabala?