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I've been aware of an English Qaballa for over a year now in my occult studies, and that is the focus of this book by the late Jake Stratton-Kent. I've read Duquette's Chicken Qabalah as well as portions of other sources such as the books by Jean Dubuis, so I'm somewhat familiar with the topic. I've practiced recognizing and writing the Hebrew alphabet. It makes me annoyed to do so, since I'm not Jewish.
It has occurred to me that English is the most widely known language in history at this point in time. It has power. So, why not use it magically? For those who adhere to notions of antiquity, know that we're living in someone else's past, so embrace your present moment. We're told that Hebrew has power because of its antiquity, but this is a convenient story which Jake Stratton-Kent disproves in his book. Qabala (whatever your preferred spelling) has its roots in Graeco-Egyptian Neo-Platonism. Stratton-Kent wrote:
The numerology of EQ (English Qaballa) as presented by Stratton-Kent in this book is not based on that old system mentioned by Agrippa. For those not familiar with it, the Agrippa Key looks like this:
Before going on, I should mention that there is a competing system of EQ which features prominently in search engines. They sell a book from their web site. Does it matter which one you use? I cannot answer that for you any more than I can tell you which deck of cards, be they oracle, tarot, or playing cards, you should use for divination, for example.
So, what makes this particular EQ work? It's based on Crowley's Liber AL, The Book of the Law, and it looks like this:
and this...
A K U E O Y I S
B L V F P Z J T
C M W G Q A K U
D N X H R B L V
E O Y I S C M W
F P Z J T D N X
G Q A K U E O Y
H R B L V F P Z
I S C M W G Q A
J T D N X H R B
If the standard order of the English alphabet is repeated, then every eleventh letter becomes the next increment numerically.
"60. My number is 11, as all their numbers who are of us. The Five Pointed Star, with a Circle in the Middle,
& the circle is Red. My colour is black to the blind, but the blue & gold are seen of the seeing. Also I have
asecret glory for them that love me."
There is an online calculator for this particular "geometry" which references the text of Liber AL here:
"55. Thou shalt obtain the order & value [117] of the English Alphabet; thou shalt find new symbols to attribute
them unto."
ORDER & VALUE = 117 = LETTERS
LUCIFER = 110 =
It has occurred to me that English is the most widely known language in history at this point in time. It has power. So, why not use it magically? For those who adhere to notions of antiquity, know that we're living in someone else's past, so embrace your present moment. We're told that Hebrew has power because of its antiquity, but this is a convenient story which Jake Stratton-Kent disproves in his book. Qabala (whatever your preferred spelling) has its roots in Graeco-Egyptian Neo-Platonism. Stratton-Kent wrote:
The Western Tradition of magick in the modern period owes its survival to the revival of the Hermetic tradition in the Renaissance, when Neoplatonist ideas once again nearly toppled the Church. ...
What is surprising is not that those [Graeco-Egyptian] elements persist, since without them the [Western] tradition would scarcely exist, but that the Hebrew elements should have persisted alongside them, since for any but academic and comparative purposes they are inessential, obscurantist, and do much to reinforce the effects of previous religious conditioning which initiation is intended to remove.
It is evident that no central element of Qabalah as employed by Western occultists is specifically Judaic in origin. As Bonner notes: 'Greek presents fewer difficulties for western students. We are more familiar with its symbols, and its structure is closer to English than is Hebrew. Also the fact that it is written from left to right and uses vowels, unlike the north western Semitic languages, makes it an altogether less intimidating proposition'.
The special pleading for the retention of Hebrew as uniquely special and suitable in modern magic has thus taken three hammer blows. Firstly, the outdated idea that Hebrew represents the primal language from which all others are descended - a key idea in its status in the past- has been rightly dismissed by Umberto Eco as a 'crusty old myth'. ... Secondly, the idea that it is the first sacred language of the West has to contend with the antiquity of Sanskrit and its even more ancient predecessor, both of which lay in back of major Western language groups and are undoubtedly sacred tongues. Lastly even the apparently axiomatic historical primacy of its alphabet is doubtful.
I'm still reading the book, so I'm sure to have more thoughts to share later.
Post automatically merged:
The numerology of EQ (English Qaballa) as presented by Stratton-Kent in this book is not based on that old system mentioned by Agrippa. For those not familiar with it, the Agrippa Key looks like this:
Before going on, I should mention that there is a competing system of EQ which features prominently in search engines. They sell a book from their web site. Does it matter which one you use? I cannot answer that for you any more than I can tell you which deck of cards, be they oracle, tarot, or playing cards, you should use for divination, for example.
So, what makes this particular EQ work? It's based on Crowley's Liber AL, The Book of the Law, and it looks like this:
and this...
A K U E O Y I S
B L V F P Z J T
C M W G Q A K U
D N X H R B L V
E O Y I S C M W
F P Z J T D N X
G Q A K U E O Y
H R B L V F P Z
I S C M W G Q A
J T D N X H R B
If the standard order of the English alphabet is repeated, then every eleventh letter becomes the next increment numerically.
"60. My number is 11, as all their numbers who are of us. The Five Pointed Star, with a Circle in the Middle,
& the circle is Red. My colour is black to the blind, but the blue & gold are seen of the seeing. Also I have
asecret glory for them that love me."
There is an online calculator for this particular "geometry" which references the text of Liber AL here:
"55. Thou shalt obtain the order & value [117] of the English Alphabet; thou shalt find new symbols to attribute
them unto."
ORDER & VALUE = 117 = LETTERS
LUCIFER = 110 =
__ verse - quote ______
__ xxxi. - he fall from
_ xxxii. - he that is
_xxxiii. - heaven to
_ xxxiv. - help me o
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