Gematria: History and Principles
The Magickal Correspondences of Words and Numbers
An introduction to the principles of words and ideas by magickally calculating their meanings through the practice of Gematria.
Gematria is a cabbalistic system by which hidden meanings and insights are discerned based on the numerological aspects of the each letter of the word itself comprising a deeper and more faceted whole.
The History of Gematria
The earliest written record of the use of Gematria was in the 8th century BC when the Babylonian king Sargon II, built the wall of Khorsabad exactly 16,283 cubits long, because that was the numerical value of his name. Since then, countless religions and traditions have utilized Gematria in many forms including the Greeks, Gnostics and Hebrews.
Modern application includes a controversial "New Aeon English Qabala", discovered by Jim Lees in 1976 and based upon Aleister Crowley's writings. Further equally controversial speculations have been made regarding Shakespeare and a hidden identity as revealed in his Sonnets vis-à-vis Gematriac principles. Irrespective of whether one is an Oxfordian, Stratfordian or Thelemite, Gematria remains the cornerstone of Hermetic Qabalah and can be an invaluable resource for the serious thaumaturgic student.
Mystical Gematria
Multiple forms of Gematria exist - one list alone details seventy-two separate forms. Building on the Hebrew tradition, mystical Gematria takes the interpretation a step further to reflect the ten sephiroth within the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, one of the few alphabets to specifically contain a letter to numerological correspondence.
The most common application of Gematria consists of taking the value of the letters that make up a particular word which is then compared with other words of the same numeric equality to reveal new relationships and qualities to the word or name. Many Occultists keep and maintain their own books of numbers or utilize such published works as Aleister Crowley's 'Sephir Sephiroth' or 'Liber MCCLXIV' as numerological references for magickal purpose.
The goal of Gematria is to elucidate and elaborate various magickal principles within a specific ritual, item or name in order to gain further clarity and insight into the associated properties of that thing itself.
Basic Gematria Principles
Perhaps among the bigger misunderstandings in applying Gematria is the lack of understanding the mage has with regards to Gematria itself. Knowing how and where to apply Gematria is something of both art and wisdom. Developing a good foundation should be a key goal.
Callisto Radiant, Ceremonial Magician and Mathematician, defines some fairly good rules of thumb for practical application:
- Certain numbers acquire qabalistic importance of their own outside of word-value. Some have important number-theoretic properties; others are key symbols for qabalistic concepts.
- Numbers have qabalistic meaning on many different levels, and an important goal of Gematria is finding ways to tie concepts on different levels together.
- Some sort of hidden relationship must be hinted, or some ineffable secret that unlocks qabalistic puzzles, for a Gematric result to have some significance
Perhaps one of the wisest advisements to apply to Gematria work was quoted by Nahmanides, who said, "No-one may calculate a Gematria in order to deduce from it something that occurs to him". If an equation then does not mean much to you, it might be worth pursuing in order to develop new knowledge, rather than merely constraining or elucidating it to your own expectations.
