Are the names of the Elemental Kings based on Hebrew?

Rose Cross sigil of Ghob.

One of the mysteries of the spiritual hierarchy and divine names that Golden Dawn uses is what the names of the Elemental Kings actually mean.

The source of the names for the Elemental Kings that Golden Dawn uses seems to be Eliphas Levi (or at least, that is the earliest source I have heard cited for them). It is just too bad that Levi did not reveal what the names actually mean.

[I have ran across references to a Buni text (?) and that Ninevah Shadrach claims that the names are actually those of Djin family names--having not seen those sources first hand, I am going to continue to ignore them at this time (if later, I read them in some form, and they make more sense than my theory, I will tell you).]

Awhile ago, I ran across a theory that the Elemental Kings names were actually Sanskrit (proto Indo-European). For me, this theory instantly stuck a cord of falseness. Levi has never stuck me as being knowledgeable about Sanskrit. Plus the theory seemed to be one that someone put a lot of work into...you know the type of theory that so much work is put into it that you can see the creator of it tying themselves into knots trying to prove it.

Besides, it has been my experience that magicians (even armchair occultists and theorists like Levi [he was not a working magician despite his influence on the occultism]) tend to stuck closer to their home sources. So Latin and Hebrew would be better choices for the source language of the Elemental Kings names. Maybe Greek. (But not Enochian--Levi does not seem terribly aware of that language.)

Now, the Latin seems to be a no-go...but someone more knowledgeable than me will have to confirm its unlikelihood. Greek is, well, Greek to me (so ditto, but more so in the need of an expert other than me). And as to the Enochian, well I will leave that one to Aaron Leitch.

But I could do a preliminary search of Hebrew, so I did. Besides I really wanted to be able to have a set of Rose Cross sigils for the four Elemental Kings, and being able to spell their names in the Hebrew alphabet would be handy even if the names turned out not to be Hebrew.

Now, do the names actually have to mean something? Yes, if one goes by the bulk of evidence from the grimoires and other spiritual traditions, the names of spiritual entities always have a meaning--you do not find random strings of letters being tossed together to create names like those of characters in some bad science fiction story. True, you can find instances where names seem to be just random letters, but I know no instance of a truly random creation of a name--what we do find when we encounter goobly-gook names is actually encoding. For instance, look at the so-called 72 names of God; they appear to be random letters until you know the way that they were created--after which you have to admit that they are just the result of a magical programming code, so to speak.

So do the Elemental King names mean anything in Hebrew? Maybe. Maybe not.

The name of the Elemental King of Earth (Gnomes) is Ghob according to the official documents of the Golden Dawn. There is a possibility that the name comes from the Chaldean word, Gob, meaning "a pit." In Hebrew (a language that is both one of the oldest in the world, and one of the youngest...it is a historical curiosity), we find Gov "a locust" and Gev "a waterhole/cistern". That gives us two possible spelling: Gimel Vav Beth and Gimel Beth.

Those of you who have already looked at the Rose Cross sigil at the top of this post will notice that while part of me went with Gimel Vav Beth, another part wanted to go with Gimel Vav Beth Heh instead.

Why Gimel Vav Beth Heh? Well, the word Gove means "collector of money/taxes" which (in my opinion) would actually be a sensible name for the Elemental King of Earth.

(For those unfamiliar with Hebrew, the letter Beth often ends up sounding like a V instead.)

Rose Cross sigil of Djin.

The next name to look at is Djin, the name of the Elemental King of Fire (Salamanders). Besides looking a lot like the Arabic word that became our modern word of Genie, Djin could also be Chaldean, Dayan "a judge." The Hebrew, being an offshoot (or is it kissing cousin) of Chaldean also has Dayan as a possibility, as well as Din "law/rule/judgment/justice." Plus there is a related word Dinur that means "of fire." So far, maybe Hebrew is the key to the meaning of the Elemental King names.

For this name, I went with the spelling of Daleth Yod Nun.

[As for the Arabic, Hebrew and Arabic are of the same language family branch...so a case for Hebrew is also a case for Arabic as a possible source for the names.]

Rose Cross sigil of Nichsa.

Now, Nichsa, the name of the Elemental King of Water (Undines)...or is it a Queen?...presents a spelling nightmare.

[Actually, I recently ran across a webpage arguing that Nichsa is a King's name and that there are also four Elemental Queens...that will be the subject of another post someday. For ease of blogging, I chose to treat all four names as King names, even though at least one branch of the modern Golden Dawn labels Nichsa as a Queen's name.]

Basically, eyeballing the word Nichsa in Latin (English) letters leaves us with twelve possibilities. Partially hits were Nun Kaph Shin, Nikesh "to weed," Nun Kaph Samech "property/asset/wealth," and Nun Cheth Shin, Naxash "snake/serpent."

But the best hit was Nixsa (Nun Kaph Samech Heh)--so close that Levi could choose to spell it Nichsa--which means "to be covered/concealed"; this gives us three names that Hebrew might be the source of.

Rose Cross sigil of Paralda.

But the theory seems to come apart with Paralda, the name of the Elemental King of Air (Sylphs).

There is no Paralda in any of the dozen Hebrew dictionaries that litter my coffee table. The best that I could come up with is Peri (Peh Resh Yod) meaning "fruit/offspring/progeny" or "reward"; Peh Resh Heh meaning "to bear/increase/to be fertile"; and Leda (Lamed Daleth Heh) meaning "birth." Combining the two parts, Paralda might mean "reward [of] birth" or maybe not. It is beyond my skill with the Hebrew language to be sure; nevertheless that is the meaning I am going to go with for now.

The spelling that I chose to use for the Rose Cross sigil is Peh Resh Lamed Daleth Heh. (An Heh on the end of a word is often said as an "A" like on the end of the name "Sandra."

So there you have it. Hebrew may or may not be the source language for the four Elemental King names that Levi gave to the Golden Dawn tradition. But I think that it is a stronger 75% than the Sanskrit theory (which also seems to fall apart with Paralda).

My shocking disbelief: Primordial Languages of Power (1/3)

Over on Postmodern Magic, there is a three part series about things that the blog author does not believe in--Atlantis and Secret Chiefs are the first two parts (as I write this, the third part is still forthcoming). Of course, this got me thinking about the things that I do not believe in, and I decided to also blog about three things that I do not believe in...because that is how the blogosphere rolls. Given that they chose to pick on Atlantis and the Secret Chiefs, I will pick something else to start off with.

(For the record, both Atlantis and the Unknown Secret Chiefs are high up on my list of disbelief...as they are commonly thought of in esoteric circles--go read the Postmodern Magic posts; they touch upon many of the problems that I have with the two subjects.)

One of the things that I disbelieve in is the idea that there is a primordial language out there which when you speak it, magic automatically happens.

Armanic, Hebrew, Ancient Egypt, bastardized Latin, have all at one time been thought to be a language that if you speak it, wonderful horrible things happen--walls bleed, worlds get created, Republicans burst into flames. The Enochian language of Doctor Dee is also a candidate, as well as certain esoteric forms of mathematics, for this "too dangerous to be revealed to the great unwashed" language.

Much of our time in esoteric circles and studies is involved in studying these mystery languages. If you are in the Outer Order of Golden Dawn, you spend time studying the Hebrew alphabet, which you are oathbound not to reveal to others (seriously, the Hebrew alphabet is actually oathbound in some GD circles to this very day). You also get to hear some Greek, some badly spoken Ancient Egyptian, and Enochian, as well as some Latin. In Inner Order, the RR et AC, you deal a lot with Enochian and Hebrew...not enough to order soup, but enough that one can make the occasional odd pun that no one understands.

The esoteric theory behind the Great Primordial Langauge of Magic, Light and Creation, is that it is the language of the gods, angels and ascended masters. At the beginning of the universe, some deity created the universe by uttering some magic words. Later, the same deity (often, but not always) created the art of writing. Over time, this pure language of creation got corrupted into the languages that we humans speak on a daily basis.

The important part is the idea that IF you could RESTORE the language to its precreation/creation/divine state, you can perform MIRACLES.

Think Harry Potter meets the Tetragrammaton.

Because of its awesome power, the primordial language must be guarded from those who are not yet ready to use it--aka everyone who has not paid you enourgh lodge and Order dues yet. Seriously, you would not want a Democrat to gain access to it, they might go around healing the poor for free.

And in esoteric circles, a lot of training goes into making sure that you are spiritually ready to learn the primordial language...because time spent paying lodge and Order dues are the purest form of tithing and spiritual development. Without the training, you could seriously hurt yourself using the primordial language.

Yet here is the thing to remember about the claim--secrecy reveals what it conceals, and conceals what it reveals--it is not the language that does the work; it is the training that you undergone to qualify to use the language that does the heavy lifting.

Of course, the fact that I do not believe that it is the secret esoterically guarded primordial language that is important is SHOCKING. And probably a form of Golden Dawn heresy. You can buy your pitchforks and flaming torches from several GD vendors if you want to form an angry horde and burn me at the stake (hey, I am Wiccan--I am allowed to make witchhunt jokes).

Here is the real secret to know if you see me use a primordial language of power in your presence to perform some bit of magic--what you are percieving is a mere one-seventh of what I am doing. It is not the language by itself that gives its power--it is the hidden six-sevenths that is happening elsewhere; six-sevenths that is only possible with a lot of occult training.

So the next time, you see me ignore someone's claims that they know magical words that automatically causes certain events to happen when uttered, and that one must be highly trained, developed and vetted to learn, just remember I do not believe that it is the language doing the work--rather it is the training and development that they are insisting that you do first...provided that they are actually training you and not just milking you for Order dues, which probably the thing that esoteric language most often gets used for.

Required Hebrew to advance to Zelator

The latest blog meme (those ideas and discussions that truly create a wildfire on the blogosphere as they hop from one blog to another) is Hebrew in the Golden Dawn. So far I have seen this meme on Dean Wilson's GD blog and on Tabitha Cicero's HOGD blog---both of them are taking about errors that crept into the system. And yes, I am jumping onto the band wagon; we are going to talk about Golden Dawn and Hebrew today. Before next week, I think we will see the topic crop up on at least two other blogs.

(Why? Because I rather talk about the Hebrew in Golden Dawn than try to explain how I can work with myths I do not believe in and end up insulting the weather gods in the process---some things you can see are going to end badly, even without looking into a cracked crystal ball. And I imagine other people will also jump on the bandwagon because it will be better than whatever topic that they were going to talk about instead; I have discovered that bad blog ideas can always wait until next week.)

Several years ago (2004), I cobbled together a list of the Hebrew words that one would need to recognize in order to pass the strictest test for advancement into Zelator. Or at least, the strictest test that the branch of the tradition I belong to would issue. I can't speak for the branches of the tradition that I have never been a part of.

When you join the Order (any Golden Dawn based Order to the best of my knowledge), you are not required to know any Hebrew. Can you read and write your local language? Yes? Ok.

(Occasionally, one does hear the rumor about the mythical GD/Freemasonic lodge that predated Isis-Urania #3---I have never seen enough evidence to confirm its existence from a historian's viewpoint. If that lodge existed, Hebrew might have been an entry requirement. A Golden Dawn lodge located in the Middle East today might also have Hebrew as the local language. But those two are only two examples I can think of where Hebrew would be an entry requirement.)

So Neophytes are not required to know Hebrew. From an officer's viewpoint, all Hebrew mentioned in lectures and documents must be explained and translated on the Neophyte level. Example: "The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Aleph, ALPh, which mean 'ox.'"

It is on the Zelator Grade level, that a certain amount of the Hebrew ceases to be explained. Why? Because you were tested on it. If you have been tested on it, the officers of the system are no longer required to give the translation. Example: "One of the symbols of the 32nd path, the path between the sephiroth Malkuth and Yesod, is the letter Tav." At the level of this lecture, one should know what Tav means, and where it is located in the Hebrew alphabet; furthermore, they should know the location of Malkuth and Yesod on the Tree of Life as well as the meaning of the sephiroth names.

Now, I will admit that I am a cruel Praemonstrator (that is when I am in that office): I think that by the time a person reaches the Very Honored Grade of Adept Minor that one should have taken a semester of college level Hebrew. By the way, a single semester of college level Hebrew is not that much---it is about the same as taking a semester of French, Spanish, Latin, or whatever your poison of choice is. It is just enourgh to roll your eyes at some of the mistakes that have crept into the system, to be able to struggle with isolated sentences in the Old Testament, and to annoy your fellow lodge members.

Towards that end, I have occasionally threaten to write "Easy Hebrew for Adepts." But I would rather have someone else do the work---if you write it, I will buy a copy. I don't trust my own limited knowledge of Hebrew enourgh to attempt writing it myself.

The closest I have came to writing "Easy Hebrew for Adepts" is to write a few lists of words about the Hebrew one needs to recognize at the various Grade levels of Golden Dawn. The following list is the Hebrew I do not believe that I have to translate for you if you are a Zelator; it is the Hebrew that you should have learned in Neophyte and could translate if the words showed up on your advancement test. There are a few words in parenthesises (curved brackets for the non-English majors) that are optional---they are words or terms that I would prefer you to know because they would be really useful to know. Towards the end of the list are a few terms that I would suggest that the Zelator should also know. Furthermore, the list is divided into "logical" sections---one can see how I thought the words were grouped when I wrote out the original list.

So can you pass this section of the Neophyte test?

Aleph
Beth
Gimel
Daleth
Heh
Vav
Zayin
Cheth
Teth
Yod
Kaph
Lamed
Mem
Nun
Samekh
Ayin
Peh
Tzadi
Qoph
Resh
Shin
Tav

Final forms---which five letters

(Etz ha-Chayim)
(Ain Soph Aur)
Kether
Chokmah
Binah
(Daath)
Chesed
Gedulah
Geburah
Tiphareth
Netzach
Hod
Yesod
Malkuth

Atah
Ohlam
Amen

H-
V-
L-

QBL---Kabbalah

Sephirah
Sephiroth
(SPhR--Sepher)

YHVH
ADNI
AHIH
AGLA

Elohim
Eloah
Shaddai
El
Chai
Tzabaoth
Aretz

(Ash)
(Eth)
(Ruach)

Rapheal
Gabriel
Michael
Uriel

(Atziluth)
(Briah)
(Yetzirah)
(Assiah)

(Shevil)
(Shevilim)
(Nativ)
(Netivot)

Concept of the Three Pillars

Four Divisions of Kabbalah

(Abyss)

(Lightning Flash)

(4/40/400 World Theory and its' Relationship to the Grades)

(Neophyte Temple floor diagram)

(The Tree of Life mapped on the human body)

Hebrew letters look like this

According to The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford (Lon Milo DuQuette), the Hebrew letters look like this:

Aleph doesn't look like any other Hebrew letter and is therefore easy to recognize. It has one long diagonal bar that looks like a banana separating two small Yods. Thw Yod at the top right is connected to the banana at the midpoint by a thin line (a Yod on a stick). The Yod at the bottom left is flattened at the bottom like a foot and is connected to the banana underneath its left shoulder.

Teth looks like the profile of a duck swimming on the water looking back at a big Yod that's stuck to the tip of its tail.

Yod is a flame.

Lamed looks like a snake that has swallowed a brick and is now having second thoughts.

Mem---if we are still looking at a duck swimming on the water, the duck has reached back with its bill and has pulled its tail completely off.

Nun Final looks like that little mirror on a stick that the dentist sticks in your mouth.

Ayin is very distinctive. It is built upon a bold right-leaning diagonal banana. There is one Yod connected to the top of the banana, and a Zain [sword] stabs the banana's top mid-section. It looks very much like an English lower case "y."

Peh is exactly like a Kaph, only it sports a distinctive tongue that dangles from the roof of its mouth.

Tzaddi looks like a man with a huge pompadour haircut kneeling forward. He has just been stabbed in the back with a Yod on a stick.

Qoph is quite unique. It is very similar to an English capital P with none of its components touching. It also looks like a left-facing profile of Elvis Presley with really long eyebrows drooping down past his chin.

Tau [Tav] looks like a Resh holding a dead dolphin by the tail.

If you do not believe the Rabbi, pull out your Hebrew alphabet cheat sheet and look again.