Gematria - Sepher Sapphires Volume 1.pdf

Foreword
Gematria, the Qabalistic numerology of Hebrew letters, is the life-blood of the Western Mystery
Tradition. It is a system for investigating Hebrew words and names and learning their "secret
sense" by examining the numerical value of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet which Israel
Regardie called "the Alphabet of the Angels." This system relies on the fact that Hebrew is a.n
alphabet in which letters stand for numbers, for there are no separate symbols for numbers. Words
which have the same numerical value are often thought to have a significant relationship.
The ancient Hebrews devised several methods of using these letter-values to encode layers of
special meaning into their sacred texts and mystical teachings. Thus the "Literal Qabalah,"' which
specialized in using these techniques to interpret Hebrew Scriptures, came into being. In addition
to straightforward gematria, the Literal Qabalah includes the more complex techniques of
notariqon (creating and unraveling acronyms) and temurah (transposing letters in a manner
similar to cryptography) to ascribe and uncover the hidden import of words. Consequently the
Literal Qabalah is the perfect complement to the so-called "Unwritten Qabalah," which deals with
the study of the symbol known as the Tree of Life.
The elegance of this Qabalistic symbol-system has always been evident to Western occultists
such as Eliphas Levi:
"On penetrating into the sanctuary of the Kaballah, one is seized with admiration at the
sight of a doctrine so simple and at the same time so absolute. The necessary union of
ideas and signs, the consecration of the most fundamental realities by primitive characters,
the trinity of words, letters and numbers; a philosophy simple as the alphabet, profourld
and infinite as the Logos; theorems more luminous and complete than those of
Pythagoras; a theology which may be epitomized by counting on the fingers; an infinity
which can be held in the hollow of an infant's hand; ten numerals and twenty-two letters,
a triangle, a square, and a circle's such are the elements of the Kaballah, such are the
primary principles of the written word, shadow of that spoken Logos which created the
world!" (From Transcendental Magic.)
Hebrew is not the only alphabet to use the numeral value of letters to decipher the mystical
meaning of words. Greek has also been used by the Western Mystery Tradition for this purpose.
Isopsephos (literally "equal stones") or Greek gematria as it is often called relies on an even
greater range of numerical letter values. However, its use in esoteric circles has never been as
popular as that of Hebrew gematria. Aleister Crowley, whose Sepher Sephiroth is a staple in
many magical libraries, planned to write a comprehensive text on Greek gematria, but never got
around to finishing it. His notes on the subject were later compiled and published by the O.T.0.
but they were neither complete nor, in some instances, accurate. In addition, Crowley did not find
Greek gematria as satisfiing as its Hebrew counterpart. Author David Godwin, whose seminal
book Godwin S Cabalistic Encyclopedia should be considered required reading for Western
Esotericists, also wrote a book entitled Light in Extension: Greek Magic from Homer to Mode,w
Times, which gives a section listing a number of relevant Greek words and their numerical values.