Cath Thompson - The Magickal Language of the Book of the Law: An English Qaballa Primer

The Magickal Language

of the

Book of the Law

an English Qaballa Primer

Cath Thompson

For Jim

The Magickal Language of the Book of the Law:

An English Qaballa Primer

Copyright Cath Thompson 2016.

All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Cover Image: NASA/SDO 2015.

ISBN 978 1 907881 68 8 (Hardback)

ISBN 978 1 907881 93 0 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-907881-73-2 (Digital)

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Except in the case of quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Cath Thompson has asserted her moral right

to be identified as the author of this work.

First published in 2016 by Hadean Press

West Yorkshire

England

www.hadeanpress.com

FOREWORD

Who am I , to offer a manual of English Qaballa? Please note the spelling, one B, two Ls, as it refers specifically to the system discovered by James Lees in November 1976 and was chosen by him because as he said no-one else was using that spelling at the time. I am his literary executor, and for over thirty years until Lees death in 2015 I was his secretary and his archivist, his assistant, his priestess, his companion, and his housekeeper.

When I inherited James Lees notes and diaries recording his unique pioneering journeys with the English Qaballa I enquired of the remaining members of the O...A...A... Second Order what they thought I should do with it all. The answer was rapid and unanimous. Write the book, they said. I suppose it was pretty obvious that I should undertake this task, although it was equally clear to me at least that to do the system justice would need more than one volume. For make no mistake, the English Qaballa is a complete system of Magick both practical and theoretical, with coherent philosophy, stable Mandala, infinite correspondences, and Holy Book.

The present work is not a history of the English Qaballa nor is it a detailed exegesis of English Qaballistic philosophy; it is simply intended as an introduction to the system, a beginners guide to the Citadel as it were, to which end I have given the ground plan and described the main areas of interest. The basic techniques of E.Qaballistic work are presented also, with a variety of examples which adequately demonstrate the manner in which the English Qaballa picks up the stitches that were dropped centuries ago, untangling the filaments of half-remembered traditions, unpicking the false knots, carding all strands and laying them straight and true for spinning out the warp threads on the loom of the New Aeon. Here you will find how to build the loom for yourself, and begin weaving the fabric of your chosen garment it is not difficult work for there are relatively few essentials: a copy of Liber AL and a calculator; a pure heart and a keen eye for observing Nature; some knowledge of the principles of Astrology, of myth and legend, and of other occult systems; and there should be no damage to existing beliefs beyond the overturning of the odd sacred cow whose characteristics simply cease to make sense, providing only that the student be honest enough to let it fall rather than attempt resuscitation.

And who are you, reading my words? You may wish to find out, and if you come exploring into the Citadel of the English Qaballa you might just discover your True Self peeping out from behind that diadem of the English language that is the Book of the Law . Then again, you might be already disenchanted and ready to put this book down do so, go your way. You have all eternity in which to find the Truth, theres no need to rush.

The Order and Value of the English Qaballistic Alphabet

A=1 L=2 W=3 H=4 S=5 D=6 O=7 Z=8 K=9 V=10 G=11 R=12 C=13 N=14 Y=15 J=16 U=17 F=18 Q=19 B=20 M=21 X=22 I=23 T=24 E=25 P=26

I wish to thank Richard, Will, and Davey, for all their support and encouragement of this literary endeavour.

Part One

PRELIMINARIES

The English Qaballistic methods and guidelines described in the following pages were proposed, tried, and tested by those initiates of the O...A...A... who devoted themselves to the task of proving the English Qaballa following its discovery by the Chief of the Order, James Lees, on November 26, 1976. In 1980 I became the eighth and youngest initiated member just in time to help with the last two editions of The New Equinox: British Journal of Magick under which title there were five magazines published all together, containing some of the early results of the groups work with the new Qaballa. The present work should serve to amplify some of that material while delineating a framework of rules-of-thumb for working with the English Qaballa.

Now it says in the Comment which accompanies the Book of the Law , All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself, so there can be no hard and fast laws of English Qaballa, thus its usefulness depends upon the discrimination and common sense of the individual concerned, and we earnestly recommend the employment of these faculties. Nothing can be dyed in stone, as we say, but decades of experience have shown that there are some processes that are fruitful and may lead on to illumination and others that are barren and a complete waste of time.

The first and most obvious rule is to stay with the English language. Crowley was English, the Book of the Law was written almost exclusively in English, and its Qaballa was discovered by an Englishman, and developed in the English Midlands. There is simply no need to wander off into other language systems. The English language has encircled the globe irrevocably since Liber AL was written, and that fact alone is indicative of its power in this Aeon. English words should be evaluated with English Qaballistic methods: if an idea works in E.Q. it does not need an explanation by means of translation into other languages; one of the things that makes the English Qaballa attractive to born English-speaking occultists is that it works in their mother-tongue, the language of their thoughts and dreams. (This actually leads to an initiatory process of communication between Liber AL and the E.Qaballist to which we will return later.)

It is important to keep within the vocabulary of Liber AL for the purpose of analysis by English Qaballa. The Lexicon of the Book is the primary source of the English Qaballistic system, and the numerical values thereof are the primary symbols. Follow the numbers! was almost a battle cry in those early years of experiment and exploration, because the numbers are pure and their meanings cannot be twisted or altered or fudged. Sometimes it seems almost as if the text requires a certain value to be present, as for example with the unusual spelling of the Name AHATHOOR. The initial letter A brings the value of the Name to 60 which is the value of DEATH. It is no good wishing it were otherwise because the juxtaposition of symbols is too difficult, pretending that the Name is spelled HATHOOR which adds to 59, apparently a much easier number and the value of YONI and THE LAW. Honesty is a prerequisite virtue when working with E.Q.

The Lexicon of Liber AL comprises around 1300 single words with values ranging from 1 to 231. Some numbers only have one word of that particular value within the text of Liber AL ; for example, 150=PRIESTESS, 17=HAWK, 231=CIRCUMFERENCE. These single word values have a purity all of their own because there are no other concepts expressible in one word which compare or parallel, or which oppose or support. Where there is a collection of words of the same value the beginner will find some that stand out with easily recognisable meaning and significance, while others may seem to contradict, and yet other words appear to be utterly disassociated. It may be easiest to begin with the words that strike the most harmonious and loudest chords, and trust that in time they may cause the more obscure subjects to resonate. The numerical value is always the prime archetype and supreme symbol, containing all that we find pertaining thereto. Thus 93 is the paradoxical nature of the Virgin(=93) Mother(=93); and the unforseen divide(=93) caused by a visitation of fates bad fairy is 93, and 93 is again the enduring puzzle that is Time(=93). These statements will be enlarged upon later on.