7 Angels all around me, 7 Devils in my house

On March 1^st, I began a series of rituals involving the Spirit Binaries of the Weekdays as recorded in The Magical Treatise of Solomon, or the Hygromantiea. The Binaries include an Angel and Demon for all 24 hours of the day, with the entities of the first hour being regarded as presiding Archangel and Archdaemon of that day. It was the 7 Archangels and 7 Archdaemons that I decided to work with. I formulated a ritual based off from the material present in The Magical Treatise. The Magical Treatise is a collection of manuscripts that form a Byzantine Grimoire from about the 14^th century or earlier. It was only translated into English as recently as 2011 by Ioannis Marathakis and published by Golden Hoarde Press.

The grimoire provides a method of working very familiar to the Solomonic magician, but at the same time holding treasures unique to the time, place, and people who wrote, circulated, and used these manuscripts. References to The Testament of Solomon are peppered about the book, as are several hallmark methods that appear in later Solomonic grimoires, thus providing the missing link between Classical Hellenic magic and Medieval Ecclesiastical magic.

I decided that I would create 7 Lamens for each Binary and wear them during my rituals. While there are specific lamens mentioned in The Magical Treatise, these particular ones are my own innovation. I used several seals, signs, and symbols of the Planetary Powers along with the name of the Planet, Angel, and Demon written in Greek magical alphabets from The Magical Treatise. Other innovations of mine were the choice of incenses and sacrament to be consumed for Communion. The ingredients for the planetary incenses recommended in The Magical Treatise aren’t the easiest to acquire, so I went with my standard blends I can make on-hand. As for the sacraments, I usually try to observe some sort of sacred meal in my rituals and in this one specifically it would be an act of cementing the ritual into reality by literally consuming its essence. And besides, transubstantiation is sexy.

Although I began this work on a Saturday, I recommend beginning on Sunday at Sunrise. These rituals are supposed to ideally be performed as soon as the sun rises, but they can be done at any time of the day. If you were doing a working with any of the other spirits in The Magical Treatise, the ritual would have to be performed during the specific hour that spirit rules. But since this is designed for interaction between the Archangels and Archdaemons you have a broader range of when to do the ritual.

To begin you will need to acquire parchment, ink & pen, a Ring of Solomon (any ring blessed for these purposes will work, but one with a pentagram or hexagram on the bezel is most traditional), a Black-hilted Knife (again, any blessed black-hilted knife will do, it is most traditional to have a wizard-smith forge one on Tuesday and affix it to a handle carved from a black goat horn), and comfortable ritual clothing (I wear black, but white is acceptable, or even seven different colored outfits for each day). I find it best to have everything arranged much earlier before the ritual begins. Afterword, I like to spend a few moments taking notes and reflecting on my experience.

Day of the Week	Planet	Archangel	Archdaemon
Sunday	Helios/Sol	Michael	Asmodai
Monday	Selene/Luna	Gabriel	Mammonas
Tuesday	Ares/Mars	Samael	Liteidos
Wednesday	Hermes/Mercury	Ouriel	Loutzipher
Thursday	Zeus/Jupiter	Raphael	Meltiphron
Friday	Aphrodite/Venus	Agathouel	Goulion
Saturday	Kronos/Saturn	Sakatiel	Eliditor

Ritual Outline

• Purification Bath
• Blessing of the Ring of Solomon
• Blessing of the Black-hilted Knife
• Blessing of the Parchment
• Blessing of the Ink
• Blessing of the Pen
• Prayer to God Almighty
• Prayer of the Planet of the Day
• Conjuration of the Angel and the Demon
• Meditation
• Communion
• License to Depart
• Prayer to God Almighty
• Reflection

Blessing of the Ring of Solomon “KYRIE HO THEOS, LEON, SABAOTH, BIONIA, ELOI, AOA, IAO, IASOU, SOUIEOA, AENIOU, OUOUNIOU, IOU, IRO. Holy Angel of God, as you did for Solomon the Wise, so do for me. AMEN.”

Blessing of the Black-hilted Knife “RHAKHOR, RHADIA, KONIL, ARONI, APHINES. Holy Angel of God, be with me now. AMEN.”

Blessing of the Parchment

“OLAI, ALBAI, ARRENETAN, IAZAKH, SEMAMEPHORA, IEOU, IAKH, NEROU, AROUTH, BAROUKH, ATTA, ADONAI, IEOU, IAOU, BAOU, IA, IABA, TETRAGRAMMATON, MESOPHAR, holy name, mighty and pure, cleanse this skin from every contamination and miasma, from every impurity, so that everything I will write on this will be pure, good, and effective. AMEN.”

Blessing of the Ink

“GEKHIEL, ATZAEL, ANATZIPH, RHATZIELE, KABIMEM, NAPHAEL, IORAM, PERTANAEL, MENTEPHHOUL, STEMOEL, RHANDOUEL, INDOUS, LAMIAR, PHATAEL, holy angels, give grace to this material at once, so that this ink will be beneficial, successful and true. AMEN.”

Blessing of the Pen

“OKTIEL, ADONAN, RHOGEETH, TERKOETS, AGIMAE, LEINAPH, THEOPHIL, OITOS, I conjure you, holy angels, to be my assistants in this action, Make all I write holy, beneficial, effective, successful, and true. AMEN.”

Prayer to God Almighty

“In your holy names, SABAOTH, ADONAI, KAMEKH, SANTAI, LAMANTOU, LANMATAN, TETRAGRAMMATON, ARCHE KAI TO TELOS, AGIOS, AGIOS, AGIOS, KYRIOS SABAOTH, the whole heaven and earth are full of your glory, Our Father who art in heaven, uphold us with your holy names, AGIOS THEOS SABAOTH, by the prayers of ENOS, CAINAN, MAHALAEEL, METHOUSELAH, SETH, ENOCH, NOAH, MELCHIZEDEK, JOSHUA SON OF NUN, ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB, SOLOMON AND REHOBOAM, by your holy prayers Lord Our God, come to our help. AMEN.”

Prayer of the Sun, on Sunday

Incense: Frankincense & Nutmeg

“In the name of the almighty and supreme God, I conjure you KYRIOS HELOS, the illuminator, the King of all stars, the begetter of vision. O HELIOS, who nourishes and causes the herbs and trees to bear fruit, who adorns who whole world with majesty, who banishes adversities in the darkness, and who divides the beautiful things from the ugly ones; O HELIOS, the embellishment of the priceless things, the beauty and the majesty of pearls, gold and precious stones, the glory of the Kings and the thought of the judges, I conjure you, HELIOS, KYRIOS HELIOS, inconceivable, incomprehensible, who sees the powers of heaven and understands the splendors of the supreme God SABAOTH. I conjure you, lord HELIOS, candle that burns before the dreadful god SABAOTH, do not disobey me. I conjure you in the following names: PITHANKOUZ, DORIEL, SINAE, MADOEL, LYTROPHAR, PHRYKTOUEL, PELKADON, ANDRAPHOR, IYMEDON, ALIANOS, GARAROUEL. In your above names, grant your grace, power, and virtue in the work I am going to attempt. AMEN.”

Prayer of the Moon, on Monday

Incense: Myrrh & Benzoin

“Lord almighty, supreme, creator, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who created and fashioned man, who embellished the heavens with stars and who adorned the earth with flowers and animals, before the sight of whose power ever creature, visible or invisible, trembles. I, your unworthy servant, beg you and I entreat you to hear me and subdue to me the virtue of this planet, KYRIA SELENE, the order and knowledge of the world, the figure of heaven, the consolation of the night and the queen of the constrained spirits, KYRIA SELENE, the indication of time, the sign of all celebrations and festivals, I conjure you, SELENE, by the Throne of God, by the Solar Rays, by the Rest of God on the Sabbath, by the Cherubim and Seraphim, by all the Orders of the holy angels, and in the following names: KHARIOMO, GALLAGIL, BENOUEL, AGRAMOUEL, ADEKAEL, THYELOEL, RAPHAEL, ZYGOTHOEL, GALAEL. For your above names, do not disobey me, but grant your grace, power and virtue to the work I am going to attempt. AMEN.”

Prayer of Mars, on Tuesday

Incense: Dragon’s Blood, Red Sandalwood, Tobacco

“O Lord, powerful and mighty, whose anger dries the bottom of the sea, whose powerful glance breaks mountains, the mountains feared you and the abyss was terrified of you. Every choir of the Angels and Archangels worshipped you. In your name, Lord, I dare to attempt every work. I conjure you, ARES, bellicose ARES, by the heart of the mighty lion and by the flame of the strong, burning fire, to obey me. I conjure you ARES, sanguine and daring, by the air, by the earth, and the center of the earth, to obey me. O ARES, who rejoices in calamity, I conjure you by Him who every planetary creation fears, and in your following, fiery names: AGLA, ASER, PIORIROTH, ALBAND, ENDOR, OMER, SKONAPHOR, KALONOS, ALMANOS. In your above names, grant your grace and your virtue to this present weak. AMEN.”

Prayer of Mercury, on Wednesday

Incense: Elemi & Lavender buds

“In the name of the omni-benevolent God, AMEN, O Lord who dewells on high and beholds the humble, who searches the reins and the heart, the Lord of Spirits, the King of Heaven and Earth, grant your grace to me, the sinner, O Lord, in order to subdue the Powers of the Planet  HERMES. O HERMES, the most skilled in logical arguments, the effective and most excellent in wisdom and science, who divides and distributes the art and craft of each person, the experienced and skilled soldier, since without you all things mobile or immobile, cannot exist; O HERMES, creator, philosopher, greatest among orators who rules over minds, I conjure you by God who created you and placed you in Heaven. I conjure you by your heaven, your sphere, by the treasure and the secret wisdom of God, by His strong and immeasurable hand and by the myriads of angels, do not disobey me. I conjure you in the following names: SIBORAZ, HYIELISPHAK, IAGROU, HYSREONO, EILIOPH, NAENDOR, GELSTAMOT, KHASELON, AREOULOUEL, TERATOUON, SPHALIKON, KYRAMEN, BARNIDON. In your above names, grant me your grace and your virtue, in order that any work I attempt be effective and true, by the omnipotence of God. AMEN.”

Prayer of Jupiter, on Thursday

Incense: Copal Oro & Cloves

“Lord our God, the great, praised and incomprehensible, whose height of divinity is immeasurable, unto you I pray. I, the unworthy, beg the height of your compassion, hear me and make the work I want to do highly effective. I conjure you, most valorous and most beneficial ZEUS, by the immeasurable thought of God, do not disobey me. I conjure you, ZEUS, by the grace of all herbs. I conjure you, ZEUS, by your valor and justice, by your miraculous virtues and in your following names: MISTHAN, MESAOU, ALASIGNO, PELKHAOUS, AABIO, KEDESOD, OLABER, SEDIO, AOLOI, AZANOR, MERRAN. In your most great and valorous names, grant your grace and virtue to the work I am going to attempt. AMEN.”

Prayer of Venus, on Friday

Incense: Benzoin, Rose petals, Cinnamon

“In the name of the supreme God, in His most desirable name, I conjure you, most harmonious, most beautiful, and most fair KYRIA APHRODITE, who lies in valor and in the might of love, who tortures the human flesh from within. O APHRODITE, who rules over passion and distributes love, most comely APHRODITE, who leads every yearning in the heart of men and women and moves the entrails of people; O APHRODITE, crowned whith the wreath of love, I beseech for your power. I conjure you, APHRODITE, by God, who created you and placed you in the heaven. I conjure you by the seal that is in your heart, by your wreath, by your heaven, and in your following names: MONTOARAN, MAUGORAN, KTIOEL, PYRGETON, LIOIKON, IKARIZI, IAKOR, LADOKON, PARINOS, PHREKTIOUZ, PHALOUMPOL, KRAIPOPHON, ALLEOPON, ESTOGE, IASEPH, ZAGLYTAI, KRIGENOS, OOULAN. In your above names, do not disobey me, but grant your grace and your virtue in the work I am going to attempt. AMEN.”

Prayer of Saturn, on Saturday

Incense: Myrrh & Mullein

“Lord Our God, the Great and Supreme, who created and fashioned man, the Abyss saw you and feared, the living saw you and became lifeless. In His name and by His great and mighty power do I conjure you, KRONOS, do not disobey me. By your antiquity and by your preeminence I conjure you again, O cold KRONOS, who has authority over every harm, who gives treasures and who offeres everything. I conjure you, O Kronos, in your following names: ARPHIN, ORKIP, OULIOB, BERIK, OURAPHON, SAROK, TAIMON, ODEL, SIGEP, SOTAD, grant your grace and your virtue to every work I want to attempt. AMEN.”

Conjuration of the Angel and Demon

“I conjure you angel _____________, who rules this day and who is appointed for the provision and services of mankind, angel _____________, who is always eager, strong, renowned, and brave. I conjure you by God who ordered you to guard this day to assist me, together with your submissive demon _____________, who is ordered to serve and attend you, and be your slave during this day. For this reason, cooperate with me, and make my work effective and true. AMEN.”

Communion

“I bless this sacrament of _____________, in the presence of _____________ , _____________, and Almighty God. May it nourish my body, mind, and. AMEN.”

License to Depart

“In the holy names of SABAOTH, ADONAI, TETRAGRAMMATON, IAO, I conjure you angel _____________, and you demon _____________, to go in peace, each one of you to your own dwelling, and come back whenever I invoke you again. AMEN.”

A Simple Lunar Ritual for the October Full Moon

Any good ritual will have three parts to it, a beginning or Ingress (the preparation), a middle where the congregants, corporeal and otherwise, also called Congress, and the ending wherein the rite is made final and closed, called Egress. This is the pattern that I follow when constructing rituals. Here is a simple one to be performed this weekend, best if done tonight during the penumbral eclipse (for residents of North America).

For this rite you will need the following:
• A ritual tool such as knife or wand
• Three pinches of sea salt in water for asperging
• Natural, botanical based incense on charcoal
• A chalice of wine, beer, liquor, or natural fruit juice
• A paton of bread, cakes, or cookies (gluten-free counts! • But no processed prepackaged junk!)
• A piece of paper for a petition spell, or optionally a length of twine or string for knot magic
• An altar decorated with Lunar symbolism or how you like it

Ingress:
Purify space by asperging and censing
Cast the Circle
Conjure the Quarters

Congress:
Prayer to Selene for any Spell
Spellcraft
Communion

Egress:
Thanksgiving
Open Quarters
Close Circle

Mix the salt and water, say:

“Creature of the Marriage of Earth and Water, bless and purify this space.”

Place a scoop of incense on the glowing hot coal:

“Creature of the Marriage of Fire and Air, bless and protect this space.”

Taking ritual tool in hand, walk clockwise in a circle three times around the area while chanting:

“Thrice around the Witches’ Wheel,
We tread the bounds from toe to heal,
From solid land to starry sky
To Underground where Mighty Dead lie,
With this chant inside we seal
The magic of the Witches’ Wheel.”

Then, turn to face the Eastern Quarter:

“From the East we conjure the Spirits of Hotness and Fire, to sanctify this space and join in our rites.”

To the South:

“From the South we conjure the Spirits of Wetness and
Air, to sanctify this space and join in our rites.”

To the West:

“From the West we conjure the Spirits of Coldness and Water, to sanctify this space and join in our rites.”

To the North:

“From the North we conjure the Spirits of Dryness and Earth, to sanctify this space and join in our rites.”

Standing in the Center:

“The Four Quarters of the World United, the Circumference becomes the Center, and the Center the Circumference.”

Then, looking towards the physical Moon if possible, or holding Her form in your imagination, recite the ancient Prayer to Selene:

Prayer to Selene for any spell (PGM IV 2785-2890)

Come to me, o beloved mistress, three-faced Selene;
kindly hear my sacred chants;
Night’s ornament, Youthful One, Light Bringer to mortals,
O child of morn who rides upon fierce bulls,
Queen who drives your chariot on equal course with Helios,
You dance with the triple forms of the triple Graces
As you revel with the stars.
You are justice and the threads of Fate:
Klotho and Lachesis and Atropos
Three-headed, you are Tisiphone, Megaira, Alekto, many-formed,
who arm your hands with dreaded, murky lamps,
who shake locks of fearful serpents on your brow,
whose mouths sound the roar of bulls,
whose womb Is decked with the scales of creeping things,
With pois’nous rows of serpents down your back,
Bound down with horrifying chains
Night-crier, bull-faced, loving solitude,
Bull-headed, you have eyes of bulls, the voice of dogs;
you hide your forms in shanks of lions,
Your ankle is wolf-shaped,
fierce dogs are dear to you, wherefore they call you Hekate,
Many-named, Mene, cleaving air just like Dart-shooter Artemis, Persephone,
Shooter of deer, night shining, triple-sounding,
Triple-headed, triple-voiced Selene
Triple-pointed, triple-faced, triple-necked, And goddess of the triple ways,
who hold Untiring flaming fire in triple baskets,
you who oft frequent the triple way
And rule the triple decades, unto me who is calling you
be gracious and with kindness give heed,
you who protect the spacious world at night,
before whom daimons quake in fear
And gods immortal tremble, goddess who Exalt men,
you of many names, who bear fair offspring, bull-eyed, horned,
mother of gods and men, and nature, mother of all things,
For you frequent Olympos, and traverse the broad, boundless chasm.
Beginning and end are you, and you alone rule all.
For all things are from you, and in you, Eternal One,
do all things come to their end.

Spellcraft:
This is largely up to the individual. I recommend prefer writing out a petition and burning or burying it. Or you can try knot magic, evoking your wishes in your imagination and binding them to reality by tying 3, 6, or 9 knots in it.

Communion:

Take up your ritual tool and the chalice, say:

“This, the Blood of the Moon, I sanctify in order that it may vivify and bless our bodies and spirits.”

Do the same with the paton:

“This, the Flesh of the Sun, I sanctify in order that it may nourish and bless us.”

Sprinkle a little wine out onto the cakes.

The wine and cakes are passed around the circle, each person taking a drink and a bite and sincerely offering the communion to the next person with the words “May you never hunger, May you never thirst.”

At this point the circle may be kept open and a dance or game may be performed. But, it is best to close it and thank the spirits in attendance.

Simply return to the Northern Quarter and, walking counterclockwise, return to each quarter and say:

“Spirits of (this direction) we give thanksgiving to your presence and power, go now and let there be everlasting peace between us.”

Then, continue to walk counterclockwise around the circle three times. As you walk imagine the magic of the circle dissolving back into reality.

Take the remnants of the communion cakes and wine, go outside and look towards the Moon. Dig a shallow hole and pour the remnants in it as a cthonic offering.

This rite is done. So Mote It Be.

Jake Stratton-Kent’s Manifesto against Masonic-style Magic

Over at Aaron Leitch’s blog Ananael (The Secrets of Wisdom), he posted an open letter from collegue Jake Stratton-Kent, author of the eye-opening Geosophia. Jake posted this letter on Aaron’s Solomonic Yahoo Group, which caused something of a stir. Aaron and Jake are friends, which made for some interesting debate. I’m not going to post Aaron’s responses since you can read them on his blog. I just thought that Jake’s open letter was, for all intents and purposes, correct. I do not believe in an eradication of the Golden Dawn and other Masonic-style lodge workings, nor do I believe that there shouldn’t be secretive societies- it is beneficial for certain groups to operate under a degree of anonymity. What Jake rails against are the mistakes perpetuated by the magical groups that came out of the late 1800’s, the fallible concept of “secret knowledge”, as well as mentioning his distaste for the “darker than thou” Lovecraft-Satanic-Qlipothic stream in  certain branches of Occultism.

I am posting Jake’s manifesto because 1) I agree with his point of view, and 2) Jake is an academic magician, like me, who has taken the study of magic to be his vocation, not just his spiritual pursuit or  hobby, and 3) before I even came across Jake’s work about the origin of Goetia in Ancient Greek shamanism, I myself was beginning to realize these mysteries, which makes me feel that there is a current flowing through modern Occultism wherein many scholars and practitioners are moving in a certain direction. I believe that direction is being pointed out by Jake Stratton-Kent throughout all his work.

“Goetia versus secrecy, Masonry & bogus history

opening remarks

This is close to an outline manifesto, relevant to the POV of my writings and distilled from over 4 decades of involvement in magic, public and private. I’m sure many will reject it out of hand, or mount a defence of aspects of occultism it attacks – but nothing said here is unconsidered; while the unquestioning retention of what it opposes desperately requires critique. Some of it explains why I’m a controversial figure, who many traditionalists find too radical, and ‘post moderns’ consider old fashioned. These easy dismissals are neat ways of avoiding important issues, when in fact the similarities between the extremes are more extensive than the differences, which is part of the problem, as I outline below.

*Goetia versus secrecy, Masonry and bogus history in modern occultism*

The historical links between goetia and shamanism are very strong. If you are familiar with the ‘Greek shaman’ thesis of Burkert et al, ‘goes’ was originally the Greek for shaman, especially as psychopomp. Funnily enough the same word, in its later devalued sense could also mean ‘witch’. Properly understood goetia is – essentially – the one authentic and continuous link the modern Western tradition has with the past, and that includes modern witchcraft (as I believe Hutton pointed out, and he is certainly right historically speaking).

There are various reasons I find the ‘Masonic’ model a dead loss in the many, many areas of modern magic where it applies. I see two reasons for Masonry in magic, one good enough, the other p*** poor. The good enough one was as a cover for free thinkers in an age when – for example – non-attendance at Anglican church was an imprisonable offense in England. That time is over. The other I will come to later.

The whole Secret Society model is not only unhelpful, but actively counter-productive. It is the principle reason why so much energy is expended fighting tiny little wars between factions (between witch groups, between rival Golden Dawns, between thelemic groups etc etc). Energy that could be better spent elsewhere – like incorporating the real advances in recovering our tradition made possible by *non-secretive* sources like academia. Indeed, one reason parts of the grimoire community are advancing faster than any other area nowadays is that it doesn’t automatically include this model! Which, whether in Magical Orders or Witchcraft leads to infighting, stagnation and parochialism. I also have no more time for ‘invented history’, which the entire occult world seems to rely on to an alarming extent. But lets start with secrecy.

Nothing I’ve heard from witch groups or magical orders in the last forty plus years has led me to feel they possess *any* privileged information – let alone insights – regarding goetia. Its been more of the same for decades, indeed since the C19th it has hardly moved at all – at least, not among occultists.

From my perspective, what I’ve learned about goetia in the occult world as manifest since the C19th is very unimpressive. Even if someone is jealously guarding material from deeper into the C18th/C19th it still lacks a lot of context, info and insights now available from modern scholarship, the papyri etc. Things have stood still for so long that modern research has got further along without them, and they don’t want to catch up! Where magic is going is not like where it has been since early modern times, but very few have caught on to that.

Which brings me to the Bertiaux/Grant end of the spectrum, what I call ‘dark fluff’, a major epidemic in recent modern occultism. There are so many ‘darker than thou’ types out there playing silly games with the Qliphoth, Necronomicon, Atlantean initiations and such. The grasp of the roots of magic in this ‘niche’ is even more bogus than the ‘occult establishment’ of the C19th and its offshoots. Indeed, they are much more similar to that establishment than they imagine. Spookying up the Golden Dawn, Crowley and modern witchcraft with a dash of Lovecraft and Qliphoth etc is no more informed about the real roots of Western magic in goetia. Its just more of the same in all but the most superficial details.

Which brings me to the other aspect of ‘why we used masonry’. It was as a *substitute* for elements of the magical tradition we’d either lost, or felt uncomfortable with in a more orthodox religious environment than currently exists. Virtually every western school has relied on Masonry to fill in the gaps for so long that they are no longer very interested in recovering what it was substituting for. There is so much Masonic bathwater that has to go to make room for real babies in the bath, and change frightens people. Hence bogus history and Masonry predominate, even though there is much better information and different structures available.

The *real* roots of what has been called ‘black magic’ by later philosophies and religions, is in fact an incredibly rich tradition distinct from them, *not defined by opposition to them*, or even reliant on similar terms (qabalistic or neoplatonist).

In short, through clinging to bogus history and the secret society model, we are selling ourselves very short indeed as Western magicians.

ALWays

Jake”

Isopsephia in Theory

Correspondence Chart written in the margins of a page in The Treatise of Solomon. The first row of characters shows Arabic numerals. The second row, the first 8 letters of the Greek Alphabet, which are 1-9. The third row represents 10-80, and the fourth row represents 100-800. The characters for 6, 90, and 900 had fallen out of use by this time.

by J.A.Doyle, 2130

Before the invention and widespread utilization of a specialized system of written characters used to represent numerical values, the Ancients most often turned to their written alphabet to illustrate the complex relationship of numbers and the cosmos. Prior to this, however, the Ancients arranged tiny stones into patterns to function as their visual calculator. The Greek word for pebble was ‘psephos‘, and it also stood for “calculation” (calculi itself being the Latin word for ‘pebble’). Eventually, the Ancients needed a better way than pebbles to display the more complex of mathematical formulas, and until the advent of the acrophonic system (“Roman Numerals”) and the later adoption of the Hindi-Arabic numerals, using an alphanumerical system to represent both sound and calculation was the best method. The Pythagorean school’s motto “All is number,” was taken rather literally.

The Greek Theurgists and Wonder-workers saw a deeper relationship between their alphabet, corresponding mathematical values, and the powers of the world. The Classical Hellenistic worldview of the Hermetic Philosophers included twenty four elements, called ‘stoicheion‘. First of all were the four ‘rhozomatoi‘ or ‘roots’ first expounded upon by the philosopher Empedocles, who suggested that it was from these roots that all things were created. The four roots were known as Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. Aritstotle later suggested a fifth root called ‘aiether’, or Spirit, which exists in the heavens and binds all things together. The latter parts of the twenty four elements include the seven ‘planetoi astres‘ or ‘Wandering Stars’ and the twelve figures of the ‘zodiakos kuklos‘ or the ‘wheel of living things’.

Of these seven wandering stars are the two luminaries the Sun and Moon, and the five planets capable of being seen with the unaided eye Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The term “Seven Heavens” refers to the division of the sky into seven spheres that are the domains of the planets that reside within them. Beyond the Seven Heavens is the Eighth Sphere, the domain of the zodiac and the abode of the signs of Ares, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. The zodiac encompasses the elliptic that the Sun passes through on his yearly journey through the heavens. Contrary to ordinary belief, the zodiac no longer corresponds precisely to the constellations of stars they are derived from, but rather functions as a 12-fold division of the heavens. In this way each of the four seasons contains three zodiac signs, but not the constellations themselves.

This was a component of the cosmology of the Hermetic Philosophers, an early periodic table of elements, if you will. The lingua franca of the philosophers of the ancient world was Greek. There are 24 commonly used letters in the Greek Alphabet, others symbols have come and gone throughout history. The Greek Alphabet is very much a composite system of foreign influence and the majority of the characters were originally derived from the 22 letter Phoenician Alphabet. The Greeks system was the first one to represent vowels, and these took on a highly mystical importance.

Now, with magically-minded people existing in a world with and alphabet of 24 commonly used letters and 24 elements comprising the known Kosmos someone was bound to correspond these with each other. Thus, the sounds and forms of words came to represent an element, a Planet, or a sign of the Zodiac. And since the letters corresponded with numbers, the sympathy between them also corresponds with the stoicheon. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) The adoration of the ‘Logos‘, or the Word, Speech, Reason, is persistent throughout Greek thought and religion from the Classical Pagan philosophers up to the emergence of early Mediterranean Christianity and beyond. To speak is to change the world, and the world is contained within the word. Allen Moore, writer and occultist, has made apparent that he believes magic to be a system of grammar, a way of using language. His statement is not unfounded.

Now, we can be sure that the seven vowels of the Greek alphabet Alpha, Epsilon, Hta, Iota, Omicron, Upsilon, and Omega represent the seven planets known in Latin as Luna, Mercury, Venus, Sol, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. This is attested to in collections like the Papyri Graecae-Magicae, a melange of Greco-Egyptian Pagan, Jewish, Christian, and Gnostic rituals. The other attributes are more-or-less accurate, and with less apparent origins. There are no ancient references to the attributes of the other seventeen letters of the alphabet; however, contained within the Occult Philosophy of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa is a chart which corresponds the twenty-four stoichieon with the Hebrew letters, Chieromantic signs, the Greek letters, and an old Roman alphabet. Therefore, by the 1500’s a European tradition of the use of the twenty-four stoichieon and corresponding Greek letters was established in occult philosophy and practical Kabala. Perhaps, then, this was not unknown to the author of the Testament of Solomon, which displays the use of Isopsephia,  and other subsequent grimiores of the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods.

Within the use of the alphabet to represent mathematics we find the Hellenistic occult technique of ‘Isopsephia‘, combining the word for pebble with ‘Iso,’ meaning ‘equal’, like the modern system of Numerology yet distinctly pertaining to Greek Mysticism and Language, its origins are in the teachings of Pythagoras and other Philosophers. There are many other similar alphanumerical occult systems, such as the Hebrew practice of ‘Gematria‘ (itself being a Greek loan-word meaning “earth-measurement”). It is even suggested that the Hebrews adapted the technique after they began to colonize parts of Greece. Though, there is even evidence to support and even earlier use of the alphanumerical technique in the writings of Ancient Mesopotamia.

The Greeks realized that when viewing a word or phrase written in their alphabet, it could also be seen as a collection of numbers due to their mathematical system. When each of these letters are combined through addition, a greater number is found. The mystics looked for words that added up to the same number to find secret connections. If two words or phrases are equal then it can be said that a sympathetic resonance exists between them. When that resonance is meditated upon its power is made manifest. One of the secret treasures of Isopsephia is to awaken the initiate to the realization that number, sound, and symbol are all at the foundations of the magic of the temple.

I conclude with a chart of the Greek Alphabet that will further illustrate the relationship between Kosmos, Number, Sound, and Symbol. Next time we will explore the practical applications of Isopsephia such as the arts of Contemplation, Magical Formulae, Talismanic Images, Temple-building, Encryption, and Secret Code.

The Greek Alphabet  

Characters	Name	Transliteration	Pronunciation	Value	Στοιχεια	Translation
Α α	Alpha	a	Father	1	Σεληνη	Luna
Β β	Beta	b	Vine	2	Κριος	Aries
Γ γ	Gamma	g	Get, Yet before Ι or Ε, Sing before Γ, Κ, Ξ, Χ	3	Ταυρος	Taurus
Δ δ	Delta	d	Then	4	Διδιμοι	Gemini
Ε ε	Epsilon	e	Set	5	Ερμες	Mercury
Ζζ	Zeta	z	Zeal	7	Καρκινος	Cancer
Η η	Eta	ē	Pick or Met	8	Αφροδιτη	Venus
Θ θ	Theta	th	Thin	9	Γη	Earth
Ι ι	Iota	i	Yet or Meet	10	Ηλιος	Sol
Κ κ	Kappa	k	Sack	20	Λεον	Leo
Λ λ	Lambda	l	Light	30	Κορη	Virgo
Μ μ	Mu	m	Mouse, (μπ=Ball)	40	Ζυγος	Libra
Ν ν	Nu	n	Never	50	Σκορπιος	Scorpio
Ξ ξ	Xi	x	Ox, Kicks, Axe	60	Ηυδρος	Water
Ο ο	Omicron	o	Lot, Rote	70	Αρης	Mars
Π π	Pi	p	Pan, (μπ=Ball)	80	Τοξοτις	Sagittarius
Ρ ρ	Rho	r	Perro, Problems	100	Αγιοςκερος	Capricorn
Σ σ ς	Sigma	s	Silver	200	Υδροηοος	Aquarius
Τ τ	Tau	t	Stop	300	Ιχθης	Pisces
Υ υ	Upsilon	y	Ü	400	Ζευς	Jupiter
Φ φ	Phi	ph, f	Phone, Fire	500	Αερ	Air
Χ χ	Chi	x	Loch	600	Πυρς	Fire
Ψ ψ	Psi	ps	Lips	700	Αεθειρ	Aether
Ω ω	Omega	ō	Tote	800	Κρονος	Saturn

Resources:

Theology of Arithmetic, by Iamblichus

De Occulta Philosophia, by Heinrich Corneilus Agrippa

The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, by Hans Dieter Betz

Mystery of the Seven Vowels, by Jocelyn Godwin

Hermetic Magic: The Post-Modern Papyrus of Abaris, by Steven Flowers

Stoichia, by Polyphanes (http://digitalambler.wordpress.com/skills/stoicheia/)

Isopsephia Calculator, by John Opsopaus (http://web.eecs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/Isopsephia.html)