[This provocative – in fact insolently aggressive and sarcastic – short text on the numogrammatic incoherence of the Hebrew Tree of Life, was written by ‘Frater V.’ (widely assumed to be P. Vyparov) and appeared as a letter in the short-lived journal ‘Occultism Today’ on 6th September 1956.]
The Tree of Life is Essentially Qliphothic.
Professor Echidna Stillwell’s (literally) path-breaking researches have opened the way to a rigorous Lemurian apprehension of the Hebrew Tree of Life as a degenerated hyperstitional structure. Her numogrammatic perspective decisively reveals that there are no immanent principles supporting the arrangement of the Tree, but only a dead tradition of acceptation, authority without demonstration, order without coherence or consequence.
We only need to ask: Why does Kether, the first Sephira, occupy the crown of the Tree, unless by merit of a banal ordinal mechanism – no more than an instinctive reflex - binding primacy to supremacy and unity? Why does the zig-zag path of divine manifestation continue from Chokmah (2) to Binah (3) and then onwards in tedious ordinal conformity to the end of the series? Is the mere order of the decimal numerals already a map of creation? If so, why the contrivance of a two-dimensional arrangement at all? Why not simply say: the great hermetic truth of the scared ‘qabalah’ is the capability to count to ten and call it God’s work? And then why is Malkuth (10) entitled to sephirotic standing at all, unless as a proto-decimal atavism (attesting to an inability even to count to ten with understanding) whose numerical incoherence is available for subsequent exploitation as a ‘miraculous’ symbol of cyclic re-unification (an unwitting tautology gaudily clothed in the pretence of cosmic significance)? As to the patent absurdity of Da’ath (11), a ‘Sephira’ which would be simply laughable if not encrusted by bejewelled extravagances of magickal solemnity – at this point even elementary arithmetical competence has been sacrificed without reserve to the mysteries of inscrutable tradition.
Imagining momentarily it were possible to sympathize with the servile consciousness of a ‘magickal adept’ prostrating himself before this concoction of sub-numerical nonsense, combining the calculative capabilites of a 13th century European peasant with the credulous enthusiasm of a masonic zealot, how are the ‘paths’ between the Sephirot to be understood? Of course, there are 22 paths, for the overwhelmingly persuasive ‘reason’ that there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Let us also leave aside the fact that 22 is a number without any compelling numerical interest, except as a tautological reverberation of tradition (being the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet - and of course a doubling of Da’ath …), and merely ask: what principle organizes their distribution? Except, of course, that there is no such principle, but only tradition, blind authority and – concretely – a slithering downwards, vaguely echoing that so gloriously exhibited by the Sephirot themselves. Even that exultant obscurantist of occultic traditionalism Aleister Crowley is driven to admit: “With regard to the numbers 11 to 32 of the Key-Scale [the Hebrew letters], they are not numbers at all in our sense of the word. They have been arbitrarily assigned to the 22 paths by the compiler of the Sepher Yetzirah. There is not even any kind of harmony …” - as if arbitrariness was any kind of stranger in this domain.
What a masterpiece of chaotic improvisation we are presented with: regions, paths, letters and numbers jumbled together discordantly, without anywhere betraying a hint of consistent articulation, procedural regularity or objective plausibility. One might as easily shuffle all these elements together on a whisky-soaked bar-table, entirely without systemic motivation or lucid intelligence, and then call the result a ‘qabalistic’ revelation. At least in this case some accidental order might arise to subvert the transcendent idiocy of the whole. The Tree of Life is to rigorous occultism what Ptolemaic astrology is to modern astronomy – a baroque relic of historical interest in the hands of scholars, but an indefensible embarassment when embraced by believers. Let all those who have serious work to do be done with it, lest the science of the Outer Spheres become universally derided as a joke.
Posted by nick at December 28, 2004 04:20 PMnick, read once that if a child can understand it, then you're on to something ....
God’s work: the great hermetic truth of the scared ‘qabalah’ is the capability to count to ten = provides one of the clearest, IMHO, definitions of the great work.
the best instrument to deal with this work is occam's razor.
Posted by: gwendolyn at December 28, 2004 05:15 PMgwendolyn - while you're getting all huggy with 'qabalistic' traditionalism i'm getting chewed up by Choronzon in the basement (surely the sub-basement by now) - can't even comment on the situation without some robotic nightmare chopping me out - can't even describe what's happening without that getting blocked too!!! (kind of reminds me of your place) - figure it out - maybe us XY suckers are just produced as raw material for cosmic cruelty (but that would be paranoid, wouldn't it?)
Posted by: nick at December 28, 2004 05:40 PMNot even allowed to mention the word, AQ values:
12, 18, 10, 21, 18, 28
Why the hell not?
That unmentionable word used as the excuse for blocking my highly elaborate, non-abusive and in no obvious ways exceptionable comments on Choronzon -
Really, try converting it into alphanumerics and making a comment - what is going on here?
It's got to be sacred - pushing it into the Gematrix now
Posted by: nick at December 28, 2004 05:56 PM>>> Chonronzon [my name is legion!]
gee knicky, if i'm paranoid that must mean i'm a thelemite
:going to basement:
Posted by: gwendolyn at December 28, 2004 06:03 PMSeriously, this is weird shit - the 'unmentionable word' in D26 =
2, 8, 0, 11, 8, 18
Try mentioning it - if you're not stomped, then i'll really get paranoid
PS. Got stomped in the sub-basement before 'it' even mentioned 'the word' of course - as if i'd have even thought of it! (If Choronzon is running this site we really are screwed)
gwendolyn - GoN1: 11, 5, 13, 2, 5, -5
Just try and say it, then tell me you're not paranoid
Undercurrent - you know, that's witty (if i wasn't in the burn-core of a paranoid psychosis i'd really be laughing)
Posted by: nick at December 28, 2004 06:52 PMit's a well-known complaint amongst those wishing to converse freely online about soviet politics. A qabbalistically interesting factorial problem, no doubt.
Posted by: undercurrent at December 28, 2004 06:56 PMyou two....really!
what are you getting so paranoid about?
[between jehovah's witnesses just ringing my bell and you 2 a girl can go ... well, always thought laughter was the first and best response]
Posted by: gwendolyn at December 28, 2004 06:57 PMhaving said that...why is it that comments sometimes appear immediately you submit them, but sometimes they take a few minutes - are the (AQ 12 18 10) checking them manually?
Posted by: undercurrent at December 28, 2004 07:07 PM>>> GoN1: 11, 5, 13, 2, 5, -5
LIGHTBULB
11=C|5=I|13=A|2=L|5=I|-5=S
but, you can say 31 all you want to on this server and you can think whatever you want.
GON1 31 = BLASPHEMY OF THOUGHT (Liber Arachnid)
You two might as well put on your "I'll follow Choronzon into the burning pit and love it" badges right now
Posted by: nick at December 28, 2004 07:42 PMactually, i think crowley stretched the truth about C in V&V #10 [drama queen]
Posted by: gwendolyn at December 28, 2004 07:58 PMLooking looking began I game astrology, built same more into.
Posted by: Hugo at January 1, 2005 06:03 AMhighly targeted occultist spambot...check the link from Hugo
Posted by: u/c at January 3, 2005 04:47 PMclik the link on his name...it will take you somewhere to which you have a proven consumer affinity...
Posted by: u/c at January 5, 2005 08:52 PMHad no idea the MT IDs could do that (should probably have subjected Hugo to the BP porn treatment - but he seems inoffensive enough on the surface)
Posted by: nick at January 9, 2005 06:49 AM