Gematria
A form of numerology. In Jewish mysticism gematria was
the study of Hebrew letters in association with numbers. The
method was used to discover hidden meanings in Hebrew
words. Prominent words could be systematically converted into
numbers and linked to other words with the same numerical
value, which were then regarded as comments upon the original
words. This kind of numerology was also used with the
Greek alphabet.
A related system of gematria is Notarikon, in which letters
taken from phrases form mystical acronyms, or words are developed
into mystical phrases. A more complicated procedure
is temurah, in which letters of words are transposed or replaced
according to complex rules. Some modern occultists have applied
gematria to the tarot cards, associating the 22 trump
cards with the Hebrew letters, a practice suggested by Éliphas
Lévi, author of The History of Magic (1913).
Gematria became an integral part of modern ceremonial
magic as practiced in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
and by Aleister Crowley. Crowley and William Westcott of the
Golden Dawn wrote several books on the subject, and Crowley
published a key word guide to numerological meanings of
words titled 777.
Sources
Bond, Bligh, and Thomas Simcox Lea. Gematria A Preliminary
Investigation of the Cabala. London Research into Lost
Knowledge Organization, 1977.
Crowley, Aleister. 777. London Walter Scott Publishing,
1909. Revised as 777 Revised. London Neptune Press, 1952.
Geller Effect Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology 5th Ed.
626
Ginsburg, Christian D. The Kabbalah (with The Essenes). London
Routledge, 1863. Reprint, New York Samuel Weiser,
1970.
Kozminsky, Isidore. NumbersTheir Meaning and Magic.
New York Samuel Weiser, n.d.
Westcott, William W. An Introduction to the Study of the Kabalah.
New York Allied Publications, n.d.
. Numbers Their Occult Power and Mystic Virtues. New
York Allied Publications, n.d.
