It turns out that in 1917, Aleister Crowley came up with an idea to improve the game of Auction Bridge: “There are […] drawbacks to Auction Bridge. Here they are: 1. Mismated partners. You get a fiend for a partner and can’t shake him off. 2. Mismated hands, The two good heart hands never seem… Continue reading Pirate Bridge
Category: magick
Tzaddi “is not the Star”
The verse in The Book of the Law where it’s mentioned that the Hebrew letter Tzaddi “is not the Star” led to Crowley doing some weird gymnastics with the Tarot trumps and their attributions. This was recently discussed on Reddit (in /r/thelema). Reddit user “Do_What_Thou_Wilt” has an excellent page with excruciating detail about Crowley’s solution… Continue reading Tzaddi “is not the Star”
Cakes of Light recipe
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Most Thelemites are very familiar with Cakes of Light, the eucharistic cakes prescribed in The Book of the Law for the (Thelemic) Gnostic Mass: For perfume mix meal & honey & thick leavings of red wine: then oil of Abramelin and olive oil, and afterward… Continue reading Cakes of Light recipe
The Bornless One improved
In the original Bornless papyrus the purpose is not invocation of the HGA, but invocation of the gnostic deity to exorcise an evil spirit from a possessed person. At one point in the GD/Thelemic version we have: This is He […] King, Ruler and Helper. Hear Me, and make all spirits … But in the… Continue reading The Bornless One improved
The Bornless One
So near the end of the Bornless Invocation is the phrase “‘The heart girt with a serpent’ is my name! ” The Greek original of this sentence, in the British museum collection, is “ονομα μοι καρδια περιεζωσμενη οφιν”, “onoma moi kardia periezosmene ophin”, “name my heart girt/girdled/encircled serpent”. I didn’t have anything in my Gematria… Continue reading The Bornless One
A new Tree
So many of my readers know about the Darunumi project: a new language for magical ritual. I just had some realizations about it, and some new direction ideas. I spoke at Crucible about adding two extra paths to the Tree crossing the Abyss; hence Darunumi would have two more letters than Hebrew. I somewhat flippantly referred to this… Continue reading A new Tree
Radical
Sometimes, you need to take a radical new approach. Sometimes, to start a radical new approach, you have to make a strong break with the past. My pentacle, as it looked for the last few years: My pentacle, a few minutes ago: My cup, as it looked for the last few years: My cup, a few… Continue reading Radical
Scary words
Crowley translates Hebrew עולה as “common holocaust”. Yikes. Let’s look into it. First off, he published Sepher Sephiroth years before the rise of Hitler to power. Whew. Second, he lifted the definition straight from von Rosenroth’s “comm. holocaustû” which dates back centuries. The word actually refers to the Israelites’ burnt offerings, particularly while they were… Continue reading Scary words
The peak and the thorn
I’m going through every Hebrew entry in Crowley’s Sepher Sephiroth (“book of emanations”, or simplified, “book of numbers”) and looking at what each Hebrew word actually means by comparing it to Hebrew Biblical dictionaries, and sometimes looking at modern Hebrew ones too for a backup (being aware of linguistic change, of course). There are lots of typos. This will… Continue reading The peak and the thorn
Crowley the Hebraist, again
Continuing to work on fixing Crowley’s gematria entries, I find the Hebrew word אשת. Crowley doesn’t define it; he simply says “Deut. xxiii. 1.” Deuteronomy 23:1 does not contain this Hebrew word. But it translates to: He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation… Continue reading Crowley the Hebraist, again