Chapter 2- the Key to the Order & Value of the English Alphabet

Several verses of the Book of the Law indicate that there is a hidden “key” somewhere in the

text. In the first chapter on page 16 there is an indication that ‘mysteries’ are hidden in the

script itself and that these secret were to be revealed by “the child of thy bowels”. In the

second chapter, verse 76 again refers to ‘one to follow thee’ who will expound the mystery of

the book. In this verse an apparently random string of letters and numbers seems to be

connected to these hidden secrets. The string of characters is certainly attributed some

importance and meaning by the text itself. Finally in the third chapter, verse 47 defines the

key by three distinct points of reference, and again ‘one chosen’ is prophesied to come to

elucidate upon the mysteries of this key.

This same page of the third chapter that contains verse 47, is unique in that it has a grid

drawn over it measuring 8 inches by 10 inches (the original page being quarto), and across

this grid is a roughly drawn diagonal line near which is drawn a small circle with a cross

inside of it. From its appearance one must assume that the grid was drawn over the line and

the ‘circle squared’, as it is referred to in the text. The MSS refers to these two marks as

‘keys’. The third point of reference given on this page is the word ABRAHADABRA. The

grid is further marked along the top of the page with the letters A through H and down the

left edge with the numbers 2 to 10, with the top square left un-numbered yet implying a value

of 1. From all of this I deduced at the time that ‘the key of it all’ was the ‘key to the order &

value of the English Alphabet’, as was indicated in verse 55 of the second chapter.

When I saw these keys on the page it was immediately obvious to me that I was looking at a

simple graph of an elementary algebraic expression. Taking the top of the page and the left

edge of the page as representing a null value, or as no letter, each line can be easily assigned
a literal and numerical value. The first point of reference for the key is “this line drawn”

which passes through the grid in two places: D=5 and C=3. Mathematically a line can be

extrapolated indefinitely from two calculable points of reference and thus, working

backwards B=1, and forwards E=7. This is where the second point of reference comes into

play. “The circle squared” indicates that the value of 7 is not applied to the sequence of letters

as they stand, and the text describes it as “in its failure”, or E≠7. The inclusion of this

exception to the rule of the letters, the exception of the vowels from the alphabet, marks the

Book of the Law as a true Grammar, or Grimior.

Also, the letter A is not given a value on the grid, if any mathematical value were indicated it

might be ½. In this case it would seem common sense to attribute to it a decimal integral

value of zero, as in the Tarot. The second chapter, in verse 55, indicates that there is another

order to the English Alphabet, and only a small amount of research reveals that its order is

variable in any event, having changed many times throughout history. In fact since the

Romans Latinized it about half of the vowels of the English Alphabet have been late

inclusions, or are mere variations upon existing characters. In addition, the Holy Qaballah

assigns integral values only to consonants in Hebrew, vowels being indicated by diacritical

marks in that script, so the Paths of the Tree of Life correspond to consonant rather than

vowel sounds. From all of this it seems not unreasonable to agree with the indication that

E≠7.

From the line drawn and the circle squared I surmised the following equation for calculating

the integral values of the English Alphabet: for (the alphabet)-(the vowels a,e,i,o,u), and B=1;

the value of the next letter is +2, giving the following values:

A=0, B=1, C=3, D=5, E=0, F=7, G=9, H=11, I=0, J=13, K=15, L=17, M=19, N=21, O=0,
P=23, Q=25, R=27, S=29, T=31, U=0, V=33, W=35, X=37, Y=39, Z=41.

Whilst the line drawn and the circle squared determine what are and what are not the correct

values of the letters of the English Alphabet, the third point of reference on this page,

ABRAHADABRA, is the proof of the correctness of the newly found values.

Aleister Crowley was aware of the word Abrahadabra and of its symbolism as the Great

Work completed, and of the method that it indicated for the uniting of the microcosm with

the macrocosm (see; the Confessions of Aleister Crowley pp. 212). It follows then that

because Abrahadabra expresses this known quality that it is the perfect test of the key’s

veracity. When the values from the key are applied to this word it must in some way express

the completion of the Great Work, qaballistically and by Gematria. The total enumeration of

ABRAHADABRA by the values for the letters from the key is:

ABRAHADABRA=0+1+27+0+11+0+5+0+1+27+0=72. By qaballah 72 represents the

circumference of the circle of the Zodiac, as well as the Schemhamporesch, or the divided

name of God, a symbol of the unity and the totality of the universe.

Yet upon closer inspection the key is further confirmed by Abrahadabra, by its literal

connection to the cosmology of Thelema. Even Crowley had noticed that “HAD” forms the

centre of the word ABRA-HAD-ABRA (see; the Comment on the Book of the Law). Upon

either side of HAD is ABRA, and symbolically everything that is not HAD is NUIT,

therefore ABRA+ABRA=NUIT. The first chapter states, on page 5, that Nuit’s word has a

value of “six and fifty”, and ABRA has a value of: 0+1+27+0=28, and

ABRA+ABRA=28+28=56. This adds depth to the meaning of Abrahadabra whilst still

expressing the union of microcosm and macrocosm even to the highest, making it a symbol

of the union of Nuit and Had, or of the Great Work accomplished upon the divine level.
Further; HAD=11+0+5=16, foursquare, which is another significant number to the Book of

the Law, mentioned in the second chapter, verse 78, where it is defined as the quality of

divinity in the Beast, and the other prophets. In this instance it implies that the knowledge of

Hadit is the knowledge of the possibility of union with Nuit and so of the completion of the

Great Work.

Lastly, there is a final qaballistic or Gematric puzzle in the third chapter, verse 74, and upon

the application of the values of the English letters from the key it is instantly and obviously

solved. In this verse Horus says; “there is a splendour in my name hidden” and as splendour

and Ra Hoor Khuit both have a numerical value of 122 even the name of the Lord of the

Aeon of Horus is a key to the value of the letters of the English Alphabet. There are so many

more incidental cases similar to these that I can never hope to have the time to fathom them

all, but in any case the important thing is that there is a consistency to these results which is

somewhat unshakeable and which seems to confirm the veracity of these values for the letters

as they are given by the key.

Returning to the second chapter, verse 55 indicates that along with the numerical values of

the letters of the English Alphabet that there would also be new symbols to attribute them to.

As the entire key is a problem of qaballah it seems certain that the next best set of symbols to

attribute the letters to were the Tarot Atus and thence to the Holy Qaballah. If the consonants

(after A) are assigned to the Tarot Trumps in their correct order (also indicated by the Book

of the Law) the following table of correspondences can be extrapolated:

The Yetzirac Attributions of the Latin Alphabet

Letter Value Yetzirac Value Hebrew Tarot Atu

A 0 Air - 0 The Fool/The Swords
B 1 Mercury I The Magus
C 3 Luna II The Priestess
D 5 Venus III The Empress
E 0 Earth - The Disks
F 7 Aquarius XVII The Star
G 9 Taurus V The Hierophant
H 11 Gemini VI The Lovers
I 0 Fire - The Wands
J 13 Cancer VII The Chariot
K 15 Libra VIII Adjustment
L 17 Virgo IX The Hermit
M 19 Jupiter X Fortune
N 21 Leo XI Lust
O 0 Spirit - The Trumps
P 23 Water XII The Hanged Man
Q 25 Scorpio XIII Death
R 27 Sagittarius XIV Art
S 29 Capricorn XV The Devil
T 31 Mars XVI The Tower
U 0 Water - The Cups
V 33 Aries IV The Emperor
W 35 Pisces XVIII The Moon
X 37 Sol XIX The Sun
Y 39 Fire XX The Aeon
Z 41 Saturn XXI The Universe

Beyond the numerous problems of Gematria within the text of the Book of the Law there is

one verse that stands out as unique, and as an obvious test of qaballah. In his Comment

Crowley refers to verse 76 of the second chapter as “a Qaballistic test on the regular pattern

of any person who may claim to be the Magickal Heir of the Beast”. With the symbols

attributed to the letters by the key this verse can be easily interpreted by anyone with even the

most rudimentary knowledge of qaballah and of magick.

In this portion of the text attention is called to a specific string of characters, both letters and

numbers, and in the verse it is predicted that Crowley would never know their true import,

but that one to follow him would expound their true meaning. Even Crowley connected this
‘one to follow’ with the ‘one chosen’, and so originally I came to examine the verse and its

string of characters more closely.

4 6 3 8 ABK 2 4 ALGMOR 3 Y X 24 89 RPSTOVA L

In the MSS this string of characters seems to be spaced so as to suggest eleven distinct

groups; implying some connection with Abrahadabra and so to the Great Work. These

characters are also quite obviously some sort of cipher or code that is designed to be easily

remembered, somewhat like a mantra or a spell. Verse 56 of the first chapter states that

Crowley has half of the solution in “the clear light”, and “some though not all in the dark”.

The numerical portion of this cipher would have been quite clear to Crowley as references to

the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life, but the correspondences of the letters to the Paths would

have been hidden from him entirely without the key, leaving him in the dark for his whole

life. He may have deduced a few of the correspondences, such as A= 0 The Fool, and B= I

The Magus, because of their obvious parallel in Hebrew, but for the most part, it is obvious

from his later diary writings, without the key he could never crack the full cipher formula.

Dividing the sections of the cipher into their groups and interpolating their most basic

correspondences reveal the following table of results:

Correspondences of the Secret Word Ch. II, Vs. 76

Letter Cipher Correspondence

A 4638 Chesed, Tiphareth, Binah, Hod
B ABK Fool, Magus, Adjustment
R 24 Chokmah, Chesed
A ALGMOR Fool, Hermit, Hierophant, Fortune, O, Art
H 3 Binah
A y Aeon
D x Sun
A 24 Chokmah>>Hierophant>>Chesed
B 89 Hod>>Sun>>Yesod
R RPSTOVA Art, Hanged Man, Devil, Tower, O, Emperor, Fool
A L Hermit

Words of power such as YHVH, ADONAI and ABRAHADABRA are all magickal

formulae, thus ABRAHADABRA may be made to be the basis of ceremonies and rituals for

the accomplishment of the Great Work. The eleven portions of the formula seem to have

some consonance with the Neophyte Formula of the Golden Dawn at its most basic level of

interpretation, and this being so it would seem that the cipher outlines the process of each of

the eleven stages of an initiation ceremony of a similar nature. By interpolating along very

traditional qaballistic lines the following correspondences are arrived at:

Correspondences from the Cipher Formula

A: 4: The Elements- separated into their quarters

6: The Hexagram- the influence of Tiphareth

3: Nuit- as LVX, the Extended Light

8: Hod- analysis of that extended light

B: A: The Fool, Air, the Word- ABRAHADABRA

B: The Magus- the direction of the will by that word

K: Adjustment- harmonizing action with True Will

R: 2: Chokmah, the Word, Breath, Wisdom

4: Chesed, Form, Law

A: A: ABRAHADABRA (see above)

L: The Hermit- the Holy Guardian Angel

G: The Hierophant- The Oath of Obligation

M: Fortune- the Wheel of Life, True Will

O: Spirit/Aethyr- The Magick Circle itself

R: Art- the synthesis of these forces

H: 3: Binah, the Mother- Nuit

A: Y: The Aeon- True Will, Perfect/Divine Will

D: X: The Sun- rebirth, enlightenment

A: 24: invocation of authority (the number of elders in the Revelation)

B: 89: bindings or constraints- containing the Solar force

R: R: Art- synthesis of spiritual and material forces

P: The Hanged Man- sacrifice for the material manifestation of forces

(i.e. from potential to kinetic)

S: The Devil- the secret force, the material directive

T: The Tower- Breakthrough, the materialization of force

O: The Magick Circle itself

V: The Emperor- the discipline, the obligations

A: ABRAHADABRA (see above)

A: L: The Hermit- the Holy Guardian Angel, enlightenment from within

All of this seemed very suggestive to me at the time (1983) and so I set about constructing a

ceremony based upon the cipher, the object of which appeared to be the invocation of the

Holy Guardian Angel, symbolized by the final ‘L’. Over a period of years this ceremonial

form has been refined by study and practice until it can be expressed in the following

adaptable and practical format:

The Ceremonial Formula of the Secret Word Ch. II vs. 76

A: 4: The Pentagram rituals of the Elements

6: The Hexagram rituals of the Planets

3: Invocation of the Trinity- NUIT: HADIT: RA-HOOR-KHUIT

8: Ritual invocation or extension of Khabs (LVX)

B: A: Invocation to ABRAHADABRA (inner)

B: Conjuration of ABRAHADABRA (outer)

K: Announcement of the balance between inner and outer

R: 2: Invocation of NOT as ABRAHADABRA

4: Conjuration of Nuit’s Palace of Four Gates

A: A: Invocation of HAD of ABRAHADABRA

L: Invocation to Hadit within

G: the Hierophantic address

M: The Oath

O: Mystic Circumambulations

R: Synthesis of the invoked NUIT and HADIT

H: 3: The Primary Invocations

A: Y: Consecration of the Candidate

D: X: Rending the Veil

A: 24: Conjuration/ invocation of authority- of the Word to take manifest form

B: 89: Conjuration/ invocation of binding of the force of the operation into

the Yetzirac world

R: R: synthesis of spiritual force with material form- bindings

P: Purification of the new arrangement

S: the conjuration of the spirit of the operation

T: breakthrough- the Sign of the Enterer

O: Circumambulations

V: the statement of authority over the conjured force

A: Invocation to ABRAHADABRA as the Word of Power

A: L: Invocation to the Holy Guardian Angel

Using this rudimentary outline I have been enabled to construct many dozens of ceremonies

in consonance with the “secret word” with some degree of success. In addition, as I have

grown in experience and attained to higher grades of initiation, the formula has grown and

evolved with me so that my interpretation of it as a 7º=4∆ Exempt Adept was more refined

than as a 0º=0∆ Neophyte whilst still remaining totally relevant to the work of both grades.

As an Adept I used this formula to perform the Sacred Magick to its successful completion.

To date this formula is yet to fail me in the veracity of its operations.

By the application of the values of the letters to the words in English (and presumably in

other languages using the Latin Alphabet), most especially those words and phrases in the

Book of the Law, an English Qaballah can now be easily constructed. The Gematria of these

words and phrases from the Book of the Law that is revealed by the key is all very

suggestive, at least as much as the Hebrew Gematria that is familiar from tradition. There are

obviously more qaballistic puzzles in the MSS than I can possibly explore in this essay, but

one very persuasive example is in the unusual name given to the “Minister of Hoor Paar

Kraat”. In the three major western scripts that have a qaballah associated with them the name

AIWASS=93, thus the name of the angel is itself a key of the Order & Value of the English

Alphabet.

The outline of the key that is given here is very rudimentary and there is certainly much more

scope for investigation of it than I have space for here, and in any event many of the puzzles

remain concealed from my own ken, and are certain to remain so for this lifetime at any rate.

Whilst I have gleaned a great deal of important and useful information from the key there
remains much that the student will discover for himself, and all who use the key have the

same opportunity to employ it as a weapon in their own Great Work, as I have in my own.