Thoth "Typographical Error"???

[Barleywine]

Although he was surely being facetious, Lon DuQuette mentions in his discussion of Atu VII (The Chariot) a "slight Lady Harris typo" in the text obscured in the decorative embroidery on the canopy above the Charioteer: "ABRACADABRA" as opposed to ABRAHADABRA." Since it's inconceivable that the gimlet-eyed Crowley would have missed this (or that Harris wouldn't have mentioned it to him) I'm forced to conclude that he intentionally let it go, probably as a subtle joke on an uninformed public, or as a "blind." The word on the card is a stage magician's exhortation (as in "Abracadabra! Presto-chango!" and the like.) Here is a Wiki definition:

"Abracadabra is an incantation used as a magic word in stage magic tricks, and historically was believed to have healing powers when inscribed on an amulet. The word is thought to have its origin in the Aramaic language, in which abra (אברא) means "to create" and cadabra (כדברא) which means "as I say," providing a translation of abracadabra as "create as I say", thus its use in magic."

Looks to me like an active expression of "As above, so below," with the Macrocosm operating on the Microcosm. It's not really that far-fetched from Crowley's magickal formula of the union between the macrocosm and the microcosm, but it has certainly been debased by its more pedestrian usage. Has anyone seen a more detailed discussion of this "typo"?

 

[Aeon418]

Although he was surely being facetious, Lon DuQuette mentions in his discussion of Atu VII (The Chariot) a "slight Lady Harris typo" in the text obscured in the decorative embroidery on the canopy above the Charioteer: "ABRACADABRA" as opposed to ABRAHADABRA." Since it's inconceivable that the gimlet-eyed Crowley would have missed this (or that Harris wouldn't have mentioned it to him) I'm forced to conclude that he intentionally let it go, probably as a subtle joke on an uninformed public, or as a "blind."

A simple Harris mistake? A detail that Crowley missed? (His eyes weren't too good in his final years.) An intentional blind, possibly designed to mislead people using the deck without the accompanying Book of Thoth?

The real answer is......

Nobody knows. Crowley does not mention it in his diaries, and there is no mention of it in the surving portions of the Harris-Crowley correspondence.

Of course that automatically makes it fertile ground for conspiracy theorists.

 

[Barleywine]

Of course that automatically makes it fertile ground for conspiracy theorists.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! I wish you hadn't said that . My wife is up to her (paranoid) eyeballs in that stuff and it's driving me nuts. Umm, do you suppose I could make any money on the lecture circuit with that one?

 

[Abrac]

Crowley's new comment on 3:2 in the Old and New Commentaries says: "That Word is Abrahadabra, which was not known, it having been concealed by the corrupt spelling 'abracadabra'." He says abracadabra "concealed" abrahadabra, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that he would use it to conceal abrahadabra on that tarot card.

 

[Grigori]

Also the numerical value of CHETH spelled in full (as in the rogue C in ABRACADABRA) is 418, the same as ABRAHADABRA (spelt with the H/Heh). So, maybe a bit of cute gematria fun.

 

[Craxiette]

Barn burnt down, now I see the moon.

I'm beginning to think Crowley's works are like a labyrinth! Full of side-tracks, hidden vaults and dead ends.
So many distractions that test our Will on the way of the Great Work. Little details of mystery scattered all over the place, fingers pointing everywhere...makes me wonder if he put them there deliberately to make us tire of looking at the "fingers" and instead lift our heads to see the moon..? (from the saying "the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon")

See...now I did just that! Damn finger!

Edit: Ok, now I can't help myself...Abracadabra is stage magic, i.e. not the REAL magick of the soul. According to the line of thought above, it COULD have been put there as a "test" or "reminder" to discern between the false illusions in the abyss and the true voice of our soul (=HGA?). Without it, the chariot will be lost! *add spooky music*

 

[Barleywine]

Crowley's new comment on 3:2 in the Old and New Commentaries says: "That Word is Abrahadabra, which was not known, it having been concealed by the corrupt spelling 'abracadabra'." He says abracadabra "concealed" abrahadabra, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that he would use it to conceal abrahadabra on that tarot card.

I do recall seeing that comment before. It seems reasonable, and reinforces my impression that DuQuette had his tongue in his cheek on this one; it also seems, though, that he could have just said what you did.

Also the numerical value of CHETH spelled in full (as in the rogue C in ABRACADABRA) is 418, the same as ABRAHADABRA (spelt with the H/Heh). So, maybe a bit of cute gematria fun.

Likely it is; gematria is one of my favorite aspects of the qabalistic analysis of the Majors since it opens up so many chains of meaning (even if it can sometimes take great tenacity to interlace those chains fruitfully). I also went looking for notariqon on ABRAHADABRA but didn't find anything useful (yet). Thought maybe he had unfolded the word into a more detailed exposition, but if his intent was to keep its true meaning concealed, it may not exist (at least not by his hand).

I'm beginning to think Crowley's works are like a labyrinth! Full of side-tracks, hidden vaults and dead ends.
So many distractions that test our Will on the way of the Great Work. Little details of mystery scattered all over the place, fingers pointing everywhere...makes me wonder if he put them there deliberately to make us tire of looking at the "fingers" and instead lift our heads to see the moon..? (from the saying "the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon")

See...now I did just that! Damn finger!

Had he consistently used the "index finger" to point the way, I would have no problem since most of the best writers I've read on this abstruse subject (by which I mean the "Qabalistic Tarot," not specifically Crowley's work) are occasionally compelled to do that. Quite often, though, I just got the feeling he was waving the "middle column" in the face of his readers, maybe accompanied by a loud, well-vibrated "raspberry" (though seldom without some serious intent at the base of his provocation). But I guess that just endears him to me more .

 

[Craxiette]

Had he consistently used the "index finger" to point the way, I would have no problem since most of the best writers I've read on this abstruse subject (by which I mean the "Qabalistic Tarot," not specifically Crowley's work) are occasionally compelled to do that. Quite often, though, I just got the feeling he was waving the "middle column" in the face of his readers, maybe accompanied by a loud, well-vibrated "raspberry" (though seldom without some serious intent at the base of his provocation). But I guess that just endears him to me more .

"Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention." /John Doe, in the movie "Se7en"

 

[RLG]

Dwtw

Harris refers to the Chariot card as "Abracadabra" in her correspondence with Crowley regarding the Thoth deck (5-11-1941). So it seems pretty likely that he knew exactly what she was doing. Whether he encouraged this or insisted upon it is not certain, but in any event, he did not request the 'correct' spelling. Harris must have known the word in Liber AL is spelled with an H.

Litlluw
RLG

 

[nicky]

I believe the spelling was intentional ... however <hijack warning> I sigh every time I look at that Hanged Man's foot.