Gematria

[Neshamah]

Gemetria is the discipline of substituting numbers for letters and determining the relationships of words based on their numerical equivalences. It is a very old discipline which has been as much a part of the Qabalah as the Tree of Life itself. For instance, in Hebrew, the words "Jesus" and "Messiah" both add up to 74.

This thread is for all the information that deals with the discipline of gematria. Posts in this thread - will show the relationships between words of similar values; will determine the value of a Sephirah (or a Path) and list all the words which are related via gematria; and, will attempt to discover, through the subtleties of gematria, hidden relationships between words and concepts which may not appear to be related otherwise.

Love and Light, with Peace Profound,

Neshamah

[Kain]

Gematria is a field I know almost completely nothing about, personally. I have observed results of it's application, and sometimes those are incredibly interesting I must admit, although I've always had a question with it. I am aware that there are numerous different systems and approaches of course, although what has always puzzled me is the following. On what ground can one originally base one's attributions in assigning specific numbers to specific letters? I can see the rule of alphabetical succesion (Aleph - 1, Beth - 2 etc), this is overtly basic, although there are other rules to be observed that are less obvious to figure out. The reason of my question is that I at times feel rather lost in understanding the original logic behind the attributions of the various systems, and thus am also lost in how can one extract with certainty meaningful connections out of them while having successfully extracted the potential influence of pure chance or statistics from the system. This lack of understanding probably has to do with my character as well, as I've always seen language as a very fluid and unstable medium to set firm foundations in, very prone to alterations and mutations to it's original qualities due to pronounciational or written habits of everyday life etc...

It is interesting for me to see however how much others seem to glean from Gematria and how much faith they have in it's wisdom (and also very clear results out of it), so I'd be very interested to know more about it! It seems that I am probably missing something crucial to it's application so far...

Thank you in advance Neshamah,

Kain

[Neshamah]

Beginning with Malkuth, the following numbers would be important to this Sephirah.

Malkuth (in Hebrew) adds up to 496.
Also, obviously we should also add 10 (the number of the Sephirah) to the list.
10 is important also because 4 + 9 + 6 = 19 = 1 + 9 = 10.
A closer examination of 496 will reveal several other important numbers:
496 / 2 = 248 / 2 = 124 / 2 = 62 / 2 = 31 x 16 = 496.

Perhaps now you get the idea. Other Sephirah will reveal relationships and linkages that are not at all apparent. I will post Yesod in a day or two.

Love and Light, with Peace Profound,

Neshamah

[Frater Yechidah]

Gematria also shows the mystery of "Kether in Malkuth (and Malkuth in Kether)" through its number of 10 (both from its Sephiroth number and through its actual name, as delineated above), since 1+0 = 1, which is the number of Kether.

Excellent thread :)

LLLSHJ,
Yechidah.

[Kain]

Looking forward to that Neshamah, thanks for this, very interesting material so far. I do get the general idea of course, although I guess I have to look at it in action more extensively to better understand it's related way of thinking etc...

Also, Frater Yechidah, that's an interesting mathematical approach to the relationship between Kether and Malkuth. Thanks for that,

Kain

[Neshamah]

You can see from my earlier post that the number 31 is important for Malkuth (mulitiply it by 16 and you have 496). 31 is a prime number that actually says a lot about Malkuth all by itself.

The three elements Fire, Water, and Air act upon Earth to produce the material world (which is made up of 4 Elements [3 + 1]). Also, 31 is a good description of Malkuth's relationship with 2 other Sephiroth, Binah (3) and Kether (1). Binah, the Mother of Form is completed in Malkuth. Kether, the Source of All is revealed in Malkuth as the Malkuth of another World (such as Yetzirah, Briah, or Atziluth).

I hope I've helped you see that there's more to this "number thing" than simple addition and subtraction. Numbers are symbols, and in Gematria the symbols speak for themselves.

Love and Light, with Peace Profound,

Neshamah

[Kain]

Very interesting information Neshamah, thank you. I hope I've helped you see that there's more to this "number thing" than simple addition and subtraction. Numbers are symbols, and in Gematria the symbols speak for themselves.Yes, you have. I understand numbers in that sense, although I tend to work more with them visually through geometry etc...I guess that it's a preference of sorts though, and that numbers as symbols can be approached algebraically as well as geometrically. My main concern with Gematria is it's extensive use of mathematical relationships that can only occur in the base10 mathematical system of counting (such as the parralel addition, i.e. 31 -> 3+1 -> 4), not necessarily signifying a relationship between the two numbers "in themselves" but through employing our habitual system of written *representation* of them. By changing the base of the system of counting we use (into octal, hex, binary etc), the numbers themselves can be freely written in themselves but the relationship between them is not equally evident...this got me thinking, since a relationship between numbers as symbols should be depictable universally, much like an objective experience can be described in different languages and through different pronounced words without it's essential meaning being concealed or ultimately altered.

I am not knowledgeable in the art however, and thus only describe thoughts that have crossed my mind on the subject. I must admit I find Gematria's results very interesting and the revealed connections bearing a distinct 'ring of truth' in most cases. In the same venue, I also have found Greek Numerology connections I have happened to be introduced to quite thought provoking.

So, I'm looking forward to this thread's development. Also, thank you very much for your help so far Neshamah.

Kain

[MythMath]

I'm very interested in this topic because of my work with kymotropes
(stereophonic compositional structures, built of sinewaves, that are
analyzed visually, and videotaped, with the aid of an X/Y phasescope)...

The Numbers are re-interpreted as audible frequencies,
which are then arranged in appropriately relevant ways...

The process makes number sequences and inter-relationships
audible in stereo and visible as light in motion on a dvd, etc...

So, I seek Significant Number Systems
to translate into sound and light... :p

[Neshamah]

One more post about the Gematria of Malkuth and then we'll move on to Yesod.

Malkuth is the Sephirah Number 10. The number 10 is the Sum of the numbers 1-4. The Four Elements are made manifest in Malkuth, which the number 10 seems to indicate.

The Sum of the numbers 1-10 equals 55, and this is the Mystical Number of Malkuth. The number 55 reduces to 10, of course, which then reduces to 1 (Kether), as was pointed out earlier in this thread. The number 55 also points to the Hebrew word Miah, which means Bride, another title of Malkuth.

One more interesting tidbit, the Sum of the numbers 1-31 is 496. :cool:

As for Gematria being in base 10, remember that the Hebrews were very "earthy" people, who use their fingers in The Book of Formation to help explain why there are only 10 Sephiroth. I'm sure that numbers in base 8 or 12 would have never occurred to them (2000 yrs. ago, that is). ;)

Love and Light for a Peace Profound,

Neshamah

[Neshamah]

Let's take a quick look at some of the numbers of Yesod. First off, Yesod is the 9th Sephirah whose Mystic Number is 45. It is interesting that the number of Yesod (9) times the number of Elements (5, counting Spirit) equals 45. Adding up all the numbers on the magick square of Saturn (1-9) also equals 45 (and this would indicate a link to the Sephirah Binah).

The number of the Moon (Yesod in the Material World) is 87. 8 + 7 = 15, which brings us back to 45 again. The number 15 is also the Mystic Number of the 5th Sephirah, Geburah, which might point to a relationship there (but I'll let you work that one out on your own).

The word Yesod adds up to 80 in Hebrew, and this is the numerical equivalent for the letter Peh (another association with Geburah). Also, the word Kes (which means Throne in Hebrew) adds up to 80, and this might indicate another relationship with Binah (whose order of Angels is the Thrones).

There are a few more numbers of interest for this Path, but this should be enough to get you started. Have fun !

Love and Light for a Peace Profound,

Neshamah

[Frater Yechidah]

It's interesting to note that the Mystic Number of Yesod also adds to 9 (only Malkuth and Yesod have Mystic Numbers that reduce to the number of their Sephirah). To get a Mystic Number, you take each of the prime numbers relevant to the Sephirothic number and add them together (1+2 for Chokmah [2], 1+2+3 for Binah [3], etc.). It can be quite revealing...

LLLSHJ,
Yechidah.

[Frater Yechidah]

Another thing I thought I'd mention:

Because the number of the Moon (Levanah - LVNH) adds to 87, and this reduces to 15, and further reduces to 6, it shows a relationship with Tiphareth. This is easy to see in the fact that the Moon reflects the rays of the Sun (Tiphareth).

LLLSHJ,
Yechidah.

[Neshamah]

The Sephirah Hod has some interesting numbers associated with it. For instance, Hod = 15, which shows a relationship with Tiphareth, but also a relationship with Geburah (5) and Binah (3). This puts it squarely on the Pillar of Severity, the left-hand side of the Tree.

The Angelic Choir associated with Hod are the Beni Elohim (the Sons of God) which sums to 708. Also, an Ear (Ozen) adds up to 708, which reveals how important communication is to this Sephirah. The number 708 reduces to 15 showing further relationship to Hod, and 15 reduces to 6, which is the number of Tiphareth (perhaps giving us a glimpse of the necessity of clarity of thought in order to comprehend the Tiphareth Sephirah).

Carrying this even further, the Mystic Number of 8 is 36, which is 6 x 6, revealing another link to Tiphareth (this time doubly so). The number 36 reduces to 9, and it is the product of the numbers 9 x 4, hinting at a correspondence to Yesod (and Chesed).

The physical sphere of Hod is Mercury, which is Kokav in Hebrew, and equals 48. This number is one that is divisible by many numbers, more specifically, it is Hod (8) times Tiphareth (6). Forty-eight also shows us a link to Binah since 4 + 8 = 12, and 12 reduces to 3.

There are other observations that could be drawn from these numbers; it is hoped that this will help you get started examining this Sephirah on your own.

Love and Light for a Peace Profound,

Neshamah