The Book of The Law Study Group 3.46
Aeon418
The opening line of this verse is commonly interpreted as the advent of nuclear power in the 40's and the fear of Mutually Assured Destruction that reached it's height during the 80's. While I think this is an interesting 'surface' interpretation, I don't personally think it is the primary one.
I note that Crowley thinks the Forties and Eighties are references to the letters Mem and Peh respectively. The letter Mem is Atu XII The Hanged Man, who in a certain sense represents the child Harpocrates suspended in the amniotic fluid within the womb of the Mother. But the letter Mem spelt in full (Mem-Yod-Mem) has a value of 90 which is Tzaddi - Atu IV The Emperor. This card is more representative of Ra-Hoor-Khuit, the extroverted, Warrior aspect of Heru-Ra-Ha.
Why should the Eighties cower before him? 80 is Peh - Atu XVI The Tower. This card represents the Man of Earth in the scheme of initiation. This could indicate that those who are not yet Lovers/Adepts don't see the benign Child aspect of Harpocrates. Instead they can only see the 'seemingly' frightful, destructive and fiery aspect of Ra-Hoor-Khuit who is trying to destroy their Tower, or open their Mouth which is "resolutely shut".
I'm not sure if the referrence to "victory & joy" is meant to mean Tiphareth or the path of Peh which joins Netzach(Victory) and Hod(Joy?). It could be both. The path of Peh is the place where the Warring opposites of Force and Form clash within the psyche. Their "slaying" through Union constitutes the passage of this ordeal. Success is your proof? See verse 69.
Courage is your armour? Beyond the obvious meaning is this a referrence to Atu VII The Chariot? Go, go, go....
Go on, go on? Gimel-Ayin(73) Ayin-Nun(120). The final approach to Tiphareth is along the paths of Ayin and Nun, the pair of them being reconciled on the Path of Samekh - Art. (120 is also a number signifying Adeptship.) 73 is Gimel. So could this be the union of the two arrows of inspiration and aspiration meeting. The double gift of tongues!
Turn not back for any? The wording here is very curious. Turn not back? LA-AL?
Any - ANI=61=AIN. Interstingly there are 61 words in this verse (including ampersands). I'm wondering if some kind of reversal is indicated between the numbers 61 and 16(XVI).
61 + 16 = 77, Oz - Goat, Strength.
I think that's just scratching the surface though. Hmmm...
I note that Crowley thinks the Forties and Eighties are references to the letters Mem and Peh respectively. The letter Mem is Atu XII The Hanged Man, who in a certain sense represents the child Harpocrates suspended in the amniotic fluid within the womb of the Mother. But the letter Mem spelt in full (Mem-Yod-Mem) has a value of 90 which is Tzaddi - Atu IV The Emperor. This card is more representative of Ra-Hoor-Khuit, the extroverted, Warrior aspect of Heru-Ra-Ha.
Why should the Eighties cower before him? 80 is Peh - Atu XVI The Tower. This card represents the Man of Earth in the scheme of initiation. This could indicate that those who are not yet Lovers/Adepts don't see the benign Child aspect of Harpocrates. Instead they can only see the 'seemingly' frightful, destructive and fiery aspect of Ra-Hoor-Khuit who is trying to destroy their Tower, or open their Mouth which is "resolutely shut".
I'm not sure if the referrence to "victory & joy" is meant to mean Tiphareth or the path of Peh which joins Netzach(Victory) and Hod(Joy?). It could be both. The path of Peh is the place where the Warring opposites of Force and Form clash within the psyche. Their "slaying" through Union constitutes the passage of this ordeal. Success is your proof? See verse 69.
Courage is your armour? Beyond the obvious meaning is this a referrence to Atu VII The Chariot? Go, go, go....Go on, go on? Gimel-Ayin(73) Ayin-Nun(120). The final approach to Tiphareth is along the paths of Ayin and Nun, the pair of them being reconciled on the Path of Samekh - Art. (120 is also a number signifying Adeptship.) 73 is Gimel. So could this be the union of the two arrows of inspiration and aspiration meeting. The double gift of tongues!
Turn not back for any? The wording here is very curious. Turn not back? LA-AL?
Any - ANI=61=AIN. Interstingly there are 61 words in this verse (including ampersands). I'm wondering if some kind of reversal is indicated between the numbers 61 and 16(XVI).
61 + 16 = 77, Oz - Goat, Strength.
I think that's just scratching the surface though. Hmmm...
Aeon418
III x 46 = 138. ChSO - to leaven, ferment.
Leaven - An element, influence, or agent that works subtly to lighten, enliven, or modify a whole.
Ferment - A state of agitation or of turbulent change or development.
Leaven makes me think of Atu XII The Hanged Man - Mem. It is the "germ" of Spirit entering into Matter to enliven or enlighten it. On the Tree of Life it is the energizing power of Geburah entering into the formative conscious mind of Hod.
Ferment is most definitely Atu XVI The Tower - Peh (and it's associated card, XIV Art). The introdution of the "quickening agent" into the dough/wine of the mind causes a radical change to occur. How welcome or easy that change will be depends upon the receptivity of the mind. If the mind is too rigid or set in it's ways the engergizing, liberating force is perceived as destructive and violent. It's one reason why so many people have a negative reaction to the third chapter of Liber AL.
Leaven - An element, influence, or agent that works subtly to lighten, enliven, or modify a whole.
Ferment - A state of agitation or of turbulent change or development.
Leaven makes me think of Atu XII The Hanged Man - Mem. It is the "germ" of Spirit entering into Matter to enliven or enlighten it. On the Tree of Life it is the energizing power of Geburah entering into the formative conscious mind of Hod.
Ferment is most definitely Atu XVI The Tower - Peh (and it's associated card, XIV Art). The introdution of the "quickening agent" into the dough/wine of the mind causes a radical change to occur. How welcome or easy that change will be depends upon the receptivity of the mind. If the mind is too rigid or set in it's ways the engergizing, liberating force is perceived as destructive and violent. It's one reason why so many people have a negative reaction to the third chapter of Liber AL.
Always Wondering
Interesting. I'm going to have to rethink Peh in regards to Mouth again.
aeon418 said:
Are you using tongues in a biblical sense? Or sexual? Or both.
Is that the double gift? I like this connection to The Tower. Nice. I like it.
AW
Aeon418
Just in the sense of rising aspiration being met by descending inspiration from the HGA.
Always Wondering
I like thinking about it that way. Back in my young church days we expermented with "speaking in tongues". I never did understand the point of it all. It reminded me more of the Tower of Babel.
Funny how it all kind of fits though. And I haven't gotten too off topic.
AW
RLG
Dwtw
If the numerical references were really supposed to indicate mem/40 and peh/80, why are the words used in plural form?
Certainly we speak of decades of time as the 'Forties' or the 'Eighties', and seeing these words capitalized makes me think of them that way. Those decades were dominated by World War II and Terrorism, as far as RHK is involved. He seems to say that he is the warrior whose force is behind the great upheaval of WWII. No similar global conflict occurred in the 80s, but terrorism really began as a major weapon for political ends during that time. The only other global scourge of the 80s was AIDS, which one might imagine had people cowering, but germ warfare is just so...undignified. I can't quite imagine this is what RHK was referring to.
If one takes the numerical references at face value, one would have to sum up all the forties and eighties:
40 + 41 + 42...+ 49 = 445 = sum of the twelve single (zodiacal) letters of Hebrew = MKShPH, meaning Sorcerer, and ThLIH, meaning gallows
80 + 81 + 82...+89 = 845 = NEPTUN, Hebrew word for Neptune.
So much Crowley might have gathered from Sepher Sephiroth. Combining the two ideas might indicate to look for the position of Neptune among the zodiac signs in regard to some conflict.
Neptune was in 3 degrees of Cancer on April 10, 1904, when these words were spoken; in 3 degrees Libra when the atomic bomb exploded in New Mexico in the middle of the 'forties'. He was in 3 degrees of the next cardinal sign, Capricorn in the era 1985-1986. So these positions occur roughly every 40 years.
As far as Mem is thus indicated, by this biblical number 40, (the flood, etc.), many tarot practitioners who want to incorporate the outer planets assign Neptune to the Hanged Man, which is the card of Mem, (and thus Pluto to Shin/the Aeon, and Uranus to Alef/The Fool, to mate the outer planets with the three elemental cards). And of course, the whole point of the iconography of the 'Hanged' Man is that he is hanging from...a gallows!
So the sum of the 40s gives us gallows, and the sum of the 80s gives us the name of Neptune, and both of these concepts can be directly related to Atu XII of the Thoth Tarot
Interestingly, in Greek the 'forties' have two important words that are quite similar to the Hebrew meanings:
DAIMONOS = demon/spirit; 445 = NEKROS = dead
Adding an Upsilon still gives us the word for dead in Greek:
845 = NEKROUS = dead
I like this solution, as it connects the forties with the eighties quite elegantly.
But one thing's for sure, a warrior lord is bound to cause lots of Death, regardless of how you interpret that term.
As far as the letter Peh is concerned, it's natural to think of the 'eighties' as indicating Peh = 80 = the Tower. This building on the card does get lowered physically, which is the archaic meaning of the word 'abased'. The current meaning is to lower in rank, esteem or prestige.
Since the word 'eighties' is plural, it could easily be a reference to a *pair* of Towers, such as the WTC. Of course, Atu XVI is the card of Mars, who is the god of War. But mentioning this card to show he is the warrior Lord is hardly a revelation from RHK. As a prediction of 9-11, however, it would definitely qualify as a prophecy.
Litlluw
RLG
If the numerical references were really supposed to indicate mem/40 and peh/80, why are the words used in plural form?
Certainly we speak of decades of time as the 'Forties' or the 'Eighties', and seeing these words capitalized makes me think of them that way. Those decades were dominated by World War II and Terrorism, as far as RHK is involved. He seems to say that he is the warrior whose force is behind the great upheaval of WWII. No similar global conflict occurred in the 80s, but terrorism really began as a major weapon for political ends during that time. The only other global scourge of the 80s was AIDS, which one might imagine had people cowering, but germ warfare is just so...undignified. I can't quite imagine this is what RHK was referring to.
If one takes the numerical references at face value, one would have to sum up all the forties and eighties:
40 + 41 + 42...+ 49 = 445 = sum of the twelve single (zodiacal) letters of Hebrew = MKShPH, meaning Sorcerer, and ThLIH, meaning gallows
80 + 81 + 82...+89 = 845 = NEPTUN, Hebrew word for Neptune.
So much Crowley might have gathered from Sepher Sephiroth. Combining the two ideas might indicate to look for the position of Neptune among the zodiac signs in regard to some conflict.
Neptune was in 3 degrees of Cancer on April 10, 1904, when these words were spoken; in 3 degrees Libra when the atomic bomb exploded in New Mexico in the middle of the 'forties'. He was in 3 degrees of the next cardinal sign, Capricorn in the era 1985-1986. So these positions occur roughly every 40 years.
As far as Mem is thus indicated, by this biblical number 40, (the flood, etc.), many tarot practitioners who want to incorporate the outer planets assign Neptune to the Hanged Man, which is the card of Mem, (and thus Pluto to Shin/the Aeon, and Uranus to Alef/The Fool, to mate the outer planets with the three elemental cards). And of course, the whole point of the iconography of the 'Hanged' Man is that he is hanging from...a gallows!
So the sum of the 40s gives us gallows, and the sum of the 80s gives us the name of Neptune, and both of these concepts can be directly related to Atu XII of the Thoth Tarot
Interestingly, in Greek the 'forties' have two important words that are quite similar to the Hebrew meanings:
DAIMONOS = demon/spirit; 445 = NEKROS = dead
Adding an Upsilon still gives us the word for dead in Greek:
845 = NEKROUS = dead
I like this solution, as it connects the forties with the eighties quite elegantly.
But one thing's for sure, a warrior lord is bound to cause lots of Death, regardless of how you interpret that term.
As far as the letter Peh is concerned, it's natural to think of the 'eighties' as indicating Peh = 80 = the Tower. This building on the card does get lowered physically, which is the archaic meaning of the word 'abased'. The current meaning is to lower in rank, esteem or prestige.
Since the word 'eighties' is plural, it could easily be a reference to a *pair* of Towers, such as the WTC. Of course, Atu XVI is the card of Mars, who is the god of War. But mentioning this card to show he is the warrior Lord is hardly a revelation from RHK. As a prediction of 9-11, however, it would definitely qualify as a prophecy.
Litlluw
RLG
Aeon418
How about if I rewrite it this way. "I am the Warrior Lord of the Adepts (plural): the Men(plural) of Earth cower before me and are abased.
Atu XII The Hanged Man - Mem, is one of the card-letter combinations characteristic of Adeptship. It indicates the reversal of perspective attained by the adept. This reversal gives the adept a different view of Ra-Hoor-Khuit. How does this relate to the Atu XVI The Tower - Peh? On the surface The Tower looks like wanton destruction and violence. But as Crowley says in the Book of Thoth the symbols must be understood in a dual way. To the pre-Adept stage men(and women) of earth, Ra Hoor Khuit appears horrifying and they cower before him. But is not his "apparent" destructive violence really liberating force? How you perceive this force depends on how desparately you are clinging on to the Tower.
Am I saying this is what the verse, in your words, is really supposed to indicate? No, because I don't claim to know what it's really supposed to indicate. It's just an interpretation.
RLG
Dwtw
My query "If the numerical references were really supposed to indicate mem/40 and peh/80, why are the words used in plural form?" is obviously a rhetorical question.
It is my oft-stated position that each verse of the Law has at least four meanings, (cf. III:64-67) the most basic of which is the literal definition of the English words used. If this were not the case, there would be no point in having the Book "translated into all tongues".
As for claiming to know what the text is 'really' supposed to indicate, there are some cases where I claim exactly that. Having deciphered the entire text provides the key to doing so.
As for the position that the entire Law is relative and can only be interpreted by each individual, I disagree. Taken to the extreme, it would make the Book essentially meaningless; by meaning everything, it would mean nothing. I believe that at its foundation, the Law has a core meaning that is true for all. If it were not so, how could it claim to be a 'Holy Book'? But undoubtedly each individual will have their own 'reading' of it, just like any other set of words. From each according to his will, to each according to her ability. And this is exactly as it should be.
In my post, I asked a rhetorical question as to why the term 'Forties' is used as a plural if it is supposed to indicate the letter Mem, (as is often the conclusion of interpretation). I gave an answer to that question in the body of the post, showing that in fact, the derived numerals of the literal interpretation of the words does in fact return to the symbology of Mem, via the Hanged Man.
And of course, there are other levels of meaning to this verse, some of which you touch on in your own post.
Litlluw
RLG
RLG
Dwtw
Your procedure of multiplying the verse number by the chapter number provides some interesting details. Taken to it's obvious conclusion, one could do this with the verse-numbers of the entire text. Hopefully this will tell us something about the Book as a whole:
chapter I is unity, so the sum of all the verses from 1-66 = 2211
chapter II would be double the sum of 1-79 = 6320
chapter III would be triple the sum of the numbers 1-75 = 8550
Note that the total for chapter III is only 19 more than the totals of chapters I and II combined.
Grand total of all verse numbers multiplied in this way is 17081.
we can prime factor this: 17081 = 19 x 29 x 31.
Using Hebrew gematria, we can get
19 = HVH = to manifest
29 = HADIT
31 = AL, or LA, or perhaps more appropriately BHUTT, Behutet, the epithet of Horus used in the Stele of Revealing.
Thus the verse number multiples, brought to their conclusion, could say
"To manifest Hadit Behutet
"To manifest not Hadit"
or some other combination of thine own ingenuity
It is interesting that the name of the winged disk which Crowley understood as Hadit was more properly Ba-hadit, or Behutet.
Of course, other factors of 17081 might also be employed to good effect. The results above are excellent prima facie evidence for the validity of the method.
I note one example from English gematria; the great cipher is in verse II:76:
2 x 76 = 152 = the sum of the top row of the cipher = the term "the English Alphabet"
Litlluw
RLG
