Toavotea: An English Qabalah
Derived from instructions in Liber L vel Legis
By Aoynryshtyth
John Farthing II
II:55- "Thou shalt obtain the order & value of the English Alphabet; thou shalt find new symbols to attribute them unto."
II:76- "4 6 3 8 ABK 2 4 ALGMOR 3 Yx 24 89 RPSTOVAL. What meaneth this, o prophet? Thou knowest not; nor shalt thou know ever. There cometh one to follow thee: he shall expound it. But remember, o chosen one, to be me; to follow the love of Nu in the star-lit heaven; to look forth upon men, to tell them this glad word."
III:47- "This book shall be translated into all tongues: but always with the original in the writing of the Beast; for in the chance shape of the letters and their position to one another: in these are mysteries that no Beast shall divine. Let him not seek to try: but one cometh after him, whence I say not, who shall discover the Key of it all. Then this line drawn is a key: then this circle squared in its failure is a key also. And Abrahadabra. It shall be his child & that strangely. Let him not seek after this; for thereby alone can he fall from it."
These 3 Verses of Liber 220 have long inspired speculation and controversy among Thelemites, going back to Crowley himself. Therion first claimed to have solved the question of an English Qabalh with Liber Trigrammaton, which was written in 1907. In later years he would hail Achad's discovery of the 31 Key, and the resulting LAShTAL formula, as the fulfillment of the prophecy, only to retract this endorsement as Achad's deficiencies and hubris became apparent. The Beast would later attempt to solve the riddle by way of phonetics, but was again unsatisfied with his results, as evidenced from this quote from Magick Without Tears, published in 1943, four years before his death: "The Book of the Law itself insists upon the fact that it contains a Qabalah which was beyond me at the time of its dictation, is beyond me now, and always will be beyond me in this incarnation."
Since Therion's Greater Feast there have been thousands of attempts to decode an English gematria as prophesied in the Text. These speculations reflect the initiations of their creators, and thus vary greatly in their worth. Some, such as the Trigrammaton English Qabalah of R.L. Gillis, are quite interesting and worthy of study. Others have blatant flaws, such as the tautology and restrictive presumption of NAEQ, or the lack of proofs in Frater Nigris' English Gematria, which does not produce any significant 93's or 418's. I was drawn to the study of these systems long before I began independent research, because I intuited that an English gematria decrypted from Liber L would give English a power of expressing the truths of the Holy Qabalh analogous to the majestic symmetry of the Hebrew language, and would be an invaluable tool for the advancement of Western esoteric science.
I thus approached the problem as one that might have already been solved: I was open to the possibility that one of the existing o&v systems might have been the one intended by Aiwaz. None of them, however, convincingly solved the riddles of II:76 and III:47; nor did they resonate true to me as does Hebrew. I therefore deemed it neccesary for my continued initiation to decipher the code for myself. Here follows an account of the discovery, penned 2 weeks after the Lux finally dawned, while it was still fresh in my mind:
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
The Order and Value of the English Alphabet
Discovered 1/26/03
by John Farthing II
Frater O.R
A-1 Z-0
I-4 G-2
Q-6 O-3
Y-8 W-5
F-10 E-7
N-12 M-11
V-14 U-13
D-16 C-17
L-18 K-19
T-20 S-23
B-22 H-29
J-24 P-31
R-26 X-28
Origins:
This cipher is encoded in the graph page of Liber L vel Legis, original manuscript, page 16 of chapter 3, comprising most of Verse III:47.
The code was unlocked via the following keys:
1) The 8X10 graph itself.
2) The horizontal line of 8 letters.
3) The vertical line of 10 numbers.
4) The line drawn through center of page indicates A as the beginning of the sequence.
5) The Circle squared in its failure indicates X as the end of the sequence, and provided a clue about the numerical values.
6) Abrahadabra =418 provided the final clue to the numerical values.
Proofs:
Liber Al vel Legis, II:76-
4, 6, 3, 8, ABK, 2, 4, ALGMOR, 3, Y, X, 24, 89, RPSTOVAL
Equals 418 by simple addition.
Thelema =93.
I began working on this decryption in either March or April of 2002. I was originally drawn to the problem because it was a puzzle that no one had ever solved to my satisfaction. I began by continuing the sequence of letters on the graph page of 220, original manuscript, page 16 of Chapter 3, (top horizontal line) from A-Z, and numbers (left vertical line) from 1-26 that was begun in the original text. I then began looking at the clues provided in the words of verse III: 47:
"Then this line drawn is a key: then this circle squared in its failure is a key also. And Abrahadabra."
At first I was obsessed by the fact that the line drawn defines a space of 26 or 27 letters, depending on whether you count its topmost extension. I thought perhaps these 26 squares contained the alphabet code, but there was a major problem with this approach: 20 letters appeared once, 3 (A,S,K) appeared twice, and 3 (F,N,V) appeared not at all.
I tried everything I could think of to get a coherent sequence from this theory; it felt like beating my brain against a brick wall until it was bloody and disoriented. So I let go of my attempt. I gave my research books and notes to Frater G.S. and moved to New Orleans, moved back to Arkansas, did some migrant labor in Illinois, and finally back to Arkansas again.
My return to the code was inspired by the Scarlet Woman N., who loved logic puzzles and was always scribbling on graph paper. I couldn't resist showing her the graph page of Liber Legis as the ultimate word puzzle. She could not solve it, being at that time unversed in Qabalh of any kind, but she did make many helpful suggestions. This return to the project occurred in December of 2002.
My illumination as to the true beginning of the sequence occurred in the middle of January, 2003. I was contemplating the 3 Keys of the text: the line drawn, the circle squared, and Abrahadabra. Needless to say, I tried out many dead-ends attempting to interpret and implement these Keys. Finally I came across something substantial: a 26 letter sequence wherein all letters are present and there are no repeats (see below). This sequence may be found by beginning from the lowermost end of the Line, an A-square, and going vertically top to bottom, left to right. You will note that technically there is one repeat- the A that occupies the second-to-last space on the grid. Because this square initiates a new letter sequence that is not finished, unlike the other three A's on the graph (3x26=78), I considered it trivia that could be safely ignored.
So I had the order: A,I,Q, etc. For the numerical values, I had an intuition that since 26 may only be divided as 13x2 there should be 2 columns of 13 letters each. Intuition also told me that one of these columns must be devoted to prime numbers. On January 26 of 2003, after Invoking Horus by the word Abrahadabra, I came upon the numerical values as shown above.
That is all that needs to be said about the origins of the key. I have read enough essays by long-winded Thelemites that I do not want to be one of them. I seek not to convert; let every man and every woman judge this code by its own merit and their own inner guidance, as they will.
Love is the law, love under will.
John Farthing II
Frater Omnia Redementur
February 14, 2003
I set the following criteria for judging the validity of my work:
1) The discovery of the Key must follow the hints given in III:47.
2) The Word Thelema must translate to a meaningful number.
3)The II:76 string of numbers and letters must translate to a meaningful number, and express an arcanum in the form of a Qabalhistic equation.
4) The system must fit coherently onto the Tree of Life, else it would be a mere numerology, not a Qabalh.
5) The system must provide mathematical formulae that shed light on both the process of initiation and the concealed passages of Liber Legis.
The Toavotea Key as here presented satisfies my personal requirements for a mystical Alephbeth. It may be nothing more than that: personal, something I created to help me communicate with God more clearly. If it provides meaningful results for others then all the better; as that would be in accord with my will to contribute towards the pursuit of understanding. Regardless, my purpose in sharing the Key publicly is one of open scientific inquiry. I have no will to join the depressingly long list of claimants to the titles of "Beast", "Heir", "Child of the Beast", etc. This seems to me like ego, and the madness of Chronozon. In one sense, Crowley as Magus of the Aeon of Horus is the spiritual father of all Thelemites, thus we are all "children" of the Beast. In another sense, success is our proof. When the Child of prophecy arrives his presence will be unmistakable. Aiwass is steering the ship, and the thing will take its course. We need not worry or argue about it.
To apply the Key to Chapter 1 of Liber L is the primary focus of this writing. Let us now turn to questions of methodology.
Principles of Exegesis
The Book of the Law is a symphony of language, number, and communication. We do not claim this study as a definitive or authorized commentary on the Book, far from it. For that students are referred solely to the writings of Aleister Crowley. That the subject of this research is a Book of infinite dimensions we are also well aware. We make no claim herein to define or contain the message of the Book, for it is without limit. The purpose of this Exegesis is to provide an example of Qabalhistic inquiry guided by the methods of science. We thus approach the subject with reverence, seeking only our own will to be worthy students of these mysteries.
Experimental Parameters
For our methodological structure we turn first to the writings of the Beast. In The Equinox of the Gods, revised edition Copyright 1991 (Caliphate) Ordo Templi Orientis, published by New Falcon Publications in 1997, page 128, we find the following concerning principles of Exegesis:
"Wherever
a. The words of the Text are obscure in themselves; where
b. The expression is strained; where
c. The Syntax,
d. Grammar,
e. Spelling, or
f. The use of capital letters present peculiarities; where
g. Non-English words occur; where the style suggests
h. Paronomasia,
i. Ambiguity, or
j. Obliquity; or where
k. A problem is explicitly declared to exist; in all such cases I shall seek for a hidden meaning by means of Qabalistic correspondences, cryptography, or literary subtleties. I shall admit no solution which is not at once simple, striking, consonant with the general plan of the Book; and not only adequate but necessary."
Since we are working with a numeric key we also add the following:
a. All individual words shall be enumerated by Toavotea Qabalh.
b. Hyphenated words shall be considered both as their sum and their individual components.
c. The numerical values of all complete statements, coherent phrases, titles, and verses shall be recorded.
d. Whenever two or more words or phrases have the same numerical value this shall be recorded.
e. When the numerical value of words or phrases in Liber Legis have correspondences in Hebrew QBLH that strike the researchers as interesting this shall be recorded.
f. We will pay especial attention to any numerical patterns seeming to flow through the Text.
g. All numbers and patterns shall be duly recorded, regardless of their seeming significance or lack thereof. We recognize that much trivial data will thus accrue, but think this is not too high a price to pay in the pursuit of thoroughness.
This is an undertaking of epic proportions that demands perfection of the author, and yet the possibility of errors creeping in remains high. I have edited the text for weeks of my life, and apologize for any errors that have gone undetected. If you notice any false data, or wish to comment on my work, please let me know via email:
Exegesis 2 of the Toavotea Key
Exegesis 3 of the Toavotea Key
The 93 Current - A thelemic resource page
The Old and New Commentaries to Liber AL
We have modern numerology: New Aeon English Qabala and 388 Harmonic Clear Light.
And we have alternative numerology: Thinker's Geomatrix, English Mirror, Synthetic, 13 Goddess Numerology, Toavotea Key, Key, Arexz English Qabalah, Maat Aeon Kaballah and Dialectic. If you have any questions, be sure to email me. Frater Sabaechit
Thinker's Geomatrix Numerology Calculator
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