The English Qabalah by Samuel K. Vincent

[pharos]

93

Is anyone familiar with this book? I picked it up a few months ago and its impressive, but I'm not sure what to ultimately make of it. Its presented logically and is backed up by demonstrable evidence. I find it interesting, if a little confusing (which bothers me because math and gematria always have an inherent simplicity and elegance).

At the heart of this book is Mr. Vincent's claim to a discovery of the key to the English Qabalah in the (in)famous verse in II:76. His claim is that the transliteration of the letters/numbers from the manuscript to typeset is the cause of mystery to this verse and that when working from the original manuscript, some of the "numbers" are actually glyphs or symbols, and by treating them accordingly, a new order and numbering for the English alphabet is revealed.

Here's an excerpt from page 24 of the book:

"It is important to examine the original closely. The editors in the process of typesetting have made assumptions. For instance, the eighth character has been established as the numeral "2" ever since the book was first printed. There has never been any question made of this, but it might just as easily denote the letter "z". More grieving still, some of the characters are not letters at all, though they have been printed as such. Among those we note [symbol] which editors give as G, and [symbol] which is given as Y." (my note: he means the 12th and 17th letters from the left in the original manuscript)

"In reality [symbol; 'G'] is the sign of the failure of the squaring of the circle mentioned: "then this circle squared in its failure is a key also." III:47

"x is not a multiplication sign as some have suggested, nor the letters X as others have; but the male half of the squaring of the circle the symbol of which is [symbol of a circle with a 'cross' in the center] as shown in the text, which in its two variant forms lead to the success or failure of this squaring."

"The remaining characters are symbols that the Student will recognize. Some are numbers, others are letters. The nineteenth and twentieth figures appear with arcs drawn above and below them, suggesting the reversal of digits." (my note: 2<-->4, and 8<-->9; this is later explained to be a reversal for the 'final' numeration of letters S and T, respectively)

He then maps this in two columns, with the left being a vertical representation of the cypher in II:76, and the right being the value of the Hebrew key (where there is only a number, it appears in both columns).

"We Understand that any Law or Key must fulfill the old Law in a very similar way that Quantum Mechanics must contain and further explain Newtonian Physics. The truth unfolds; it is never displaced."

"We begin then, by converting these symbols to their elemental set in the Old Aeon key." (i.e. Hebrew)

[figures=values]
4 = 4
6 = 6
3 = 3
8 = 8
A = 1
B = 2
K = 20
Z = 7
4 = 4
a = 1
L = 30
M = 40
O = 6, 70 (for Vau and Ayin, respectively)
R = 200
3 = 3
X = 9, 400 (Teth and Tau)
24 with arcs = 24, 42
89 with arcs = 89, 98
R = 200
P = 80
S = 60
T = 9, 400 (Teth and Tau)
O = 6, 70 (Vau and Ayin)
V = 6
A = 1
L = 30

*Note that we have omitted the symbol for the squaring of the circle (the 12th position) for which there is no corresponing glyph in the old key.

As you can see, this omission of the "circle squared in its failure" leaves a cozy 26 lines.

He then inserts the English alphabet into the left column, while leaving the figures in the right column alone.

A = 4
B = 6
C = 3
D = 8
E = 1
F = 2
G = 20
H = 7
I = 4
J = 1
K = 30
L, L averse = 50, 70 (the 'averse' is explained in the section on the alphabet glyphs itself, adhering to AL II:55)
M = 40
N = 6, 70
O = 200
P = 3
Q = 10
R = 9,400
S = 24, 42 (42 being a final value)
T = 89, 98 (see above)
U = 200
V = 80
W = 60
X = 6, 70
Z = 6

Simple enough, I suppose.

The book goes through lots of complex demonstrations of gematria (which are always fun to read), displaying how this is the 'correct' English Key based on how certain key words and phrases interlock and pass the torch, as it were, from Hebrew (Old Aeon) to English (New Aeon).

Those familiar with Thelema and Crowley will recognize the significance and weight of these numbers in correspondance to the words/phrases. Here's a few demonstrations plucked from the book. These are all from using this New Key and in some places the Hebrew-derived gematria values stay the same.

Kaos = 156 (both in Hebrew AND this new English key)
Babalon = 156 (same as above)
The Law = 220
Horus = 440
Aiwaz = 78
Aiwaz = 418 (with the W "activated"...the book goes into deep detail about some letters of the alphabet being active/passive, etc)
Aiwass = 156
Ra Hoor Khu = 666
Ra Hoor Khuit = 759 (666+93)
Ankh = 111
IT = 93
Hadit = 112 (56x2, or in his words: "the old glyph for Nu upon Chokmah")
Great work = 440 (using an "unactivated" W)
The Greak Work = 777
English Alphabet = 486
Key of this Law = 486

There are also more complex demonstrations of words equating to certain phrases that contain deeper meanings in Thelemic doctrine.
One example is:

Thelema = 221 (his words: "the word of the law is Thelema might translate: The Word [Aleph] + The Law = Thelema: 1 + 220 = 221")

There is also a Sepher Sephiroth-esque lexicon at the back which uses words and phrases from the various Holy Books. The author told me that in the 2nd edition (2011) this lexicon is going to be greatly expanded, which I look forward to. Lastly, a number of errors are going to be fixed (which is very important in a book on gematria).

In my opinion, this is an interesting theory which does make some sense, and does yield very interesting results. But that's all I will say about it because even with gymnastics like this, the real test for me is how does the system work in my personal life, in my magickal reality. So far, I have had decent results which prove to me that the system works. However, the jury is still out because, basically, gematria works no matter what system one uses. I've had brilliant results using Hebrew, Cherubim's English Qabalah, and others.

So, anyway, if anyone is already familiar with this man's work, what is your opinion of it? It was released over two years ago so maybe I'm late to the party, but I did a search on these forums and didn't see any mention of it.

93 93/93

[pharos]

@Alrah said

"Hmmm. It's different to the one I've been using on mysticalinternet.com/gemx/lookup.php?system=naeq

a = 1, b = 20, c = 13, d = 6 etc.

Is that Cherubim's do you think?"

No, Cherubim's is A = 6, B = 12, C = 18 .... Z = 156
His is the "Qabalah of the Sun" (6 = The Sun, 6x26 = 156 which I love )
I have had fantastic results using Cherubim's system. I'll need to check out the other NAEQ's more closely.

"As for the strange G = I once spent an entire week looking through every book on symbols - going back over texts on mathematics from the middle ages, obscure chinese symbols and finally purusing old babylonian and sumerian stuff. I didn't find a symbol that came close to it. The G works in my anagram solution for verse 76, and (as they say) if it works, don't fix it! lol.
"

I agree. It looks close but is clearly not a G. The upper line gives it away. This "symbols not letters/numbers" is very interesting. The fact that this MIGHT be what's referenced in III:47 makes it even more so.

"If you look very closely at the K in the handwritten ms, then theres a very faint double mark at the top of what would be the final downwards stroke if it was a K. Which is why I think it's an r. You would only draw an upwards stroke so tentatively that you have two lines at the top of it, if you were adding it later. Possibly - Rose thought the lower case r looked out of place in the company of rest of the Capitals?"

Hmmm, good catch. I'll have to study the MS later on this evening. It looks to me like a K, but I can see your point. The man was writing fast...who knows? I've been known to write strokes out of sequence when I'm in a hurry (usually botching whatever I'm writing )