Since we have a class on "Liber 777" this month, I thought I would
resurrect an article I wrote for the old "O.T.O. Newsletter" about
eleven years ago. This first appeared in the May 1978 e.v. double issue
# 7-8. The issue is long out of print, but some considerations are
afoot to put the "Newsletter" into computer format and possibly make it
available again in photocopy. The "O.T.O. Newsletter" was the precursor
of the "Magical Link"; and it was in publication until the last issue in
1980 e.v., # 10-11. The poor beasty died of obesity, with the last
issue going to 120 pages, including four-color cover. Much as I liked
doing it, that was a bit much for the press in the room behind my
kitchen. Hope you like it.
Notes on: "Liber 777"
Column XL on a small budget:
semi-precious stones
by Fr. AMTh
Many of us have wished to set gems into talismans and other devices
in correspondence to the Sephiroth. This is workable in most of the
correspondences listed in "777", Col. XL, but diamonds and a few other
stones are beyond the means of most of us. One can use chips, of
course; but size counts for much in workings of one kind or another. It
is better to have a stone that matches the working, is large enough to
be seen and is not a plastic or glass fake. With these ideas in mind,
the following table of semi- precious gems and minerals is offered.
Notes follow to clarify the selections and to provide instruction on the
principle of magical signatures.
Key Number: Semi-precious stone or mineral:
1 Keter Milky Quartz (noncrystaline)
(or Quartz with gold inclusions).
2 Chokmah Mother of Pearl.
3 Binah Apache Tear (or other darkly transparent stone).
4 Chesed Blue Azurite.
5 Geburah Desert Rose (variation of hematite).
6 Tipheret Citrine.
7 Netzach Green Malachite.
8 Hod Cinnabar.
9 Yesod Moon stone.
10 Malkut Lava rock or basalt or granite.
11 Aleph Native Sulfur.
12 Bet Feather Agate or Tree Agate.
13 Gimmel Satin Spar.
14 Dalet Emerald Beryl.
15 Hay Red Serpentine.
16 Vau Brown Obsidian.
17 Zain Alexandrite (only the artificial variation of
carborundum).
18 Chet Amber.
19 Tet Cat's Eye.
20 Yod Peridot.
21 Koph Turquoise.
22 Lamed Lace Agate.
23 Mem Moss Agate.
24 Nun Aquamarine.
25 Samekh Flint.
26 Ayin Fluorescent Minerals.
27 Peh Blood Stone.
28 Tzaddi Rutilated Quartz.
29 Qof Fossils.
30 Resh Native Gold.
31 Shin Fire Opal.
32 Taw Granite or Basalt.
Notes:
#1. Milky Quartz is featureless white, a match to the white Brilliance of
Keter. Quartz with gold inclusions is white flecked Gold, also a color
symbol of Keter.
#2. Mother of Pearl is the color match of Chokmah.
#3. An Apache Tear is usually a small round stone of black hue. It transmits
a little light and gives a feeling of endless depth. This stone was
sacred to South-Western American Indians. The reference to Binah is by
color and mystical properties.
#4. Blue Azurite matches the blue of Chesed. This is a copper ore, and can
be used to link Netzach with Chesed --- definitely a right-pillar stone
for the Tree of Life.
#5. Desert Rose is a flower-like crystal of granular Hematite. it is dull
light russet in color and an iron ore. Thus, rose = 5; reddish = color
of Geburah, iron = metal of Geburah.
#6. Citrine is a yellow golden gem like a drop of honey, thus Tipheret, gold
and Sun.. In darker hues this is sometimes called honey topaz, and a
large stone of this type was used by Crowley for scrying in his "Liber
418" working. It is inexpensive, not like the rare true topaz. I picked
up a 90 karat cut stone for about $100 some years ago. Little ones go
for under $10 --- as do most entries in this list.
#7. Green Malachite is green in color and a Copper ore, thus Netzach.
#8. Cinnabar is reddish orange in color and an ore of Mercury, thus Hod.
#9. A Moon Stone is at first glance more for #13 and Gimmel than for #9 and
Yesod. This follows from the transcendent appearance of this gem. One
must not fall into the trap of thinking that one affinity determines
place forever. The Moon and Yesod match a stone with the appearance of
the Full phase of the Moon. While lesser gems might match the lower
place of Yesod, there are certain sexual mysteries of O.T.O. which
elevate this place. The Moon Stone in its white form is like a drop of
semen leavened with the White Eagle. Only through subsequent skilled
working can the gem be raised to #13. This is an affinity quite close to
that of Binah and Malkut as Mother and fallen Bride in ancient Qabalah.
In a real way, these "budget" versions of Column XL can be thought of as
Green Lion to the Precious Stones' Red Lion. Those who aim directly for
the top without treading the way up often squander magical force.
#10. Lava, basalt and granite are the bones of the Earth. These stones are
the prima matter of the physical world.
#11. Native Sulfur, not alchemical Sulfur, has an affinity to air and
therefore Aleph. Native Sulfur in crystalline form is yellow (Aleph) and
sublimates (turns into gas from the solid state).
#12. Feather Agate (also called Tree Agate), contains brilliant plumes of
color in a clear and colorless stone. These are like the forces
manipulated within the Magician by the art hidden within the letter Bet.
#13. Satin Spar is a stone that looks like a fall of crystalline rain. It is
a perfect depiction of the descending influence of the Moon.
#14. Emerald Beryl can be bought from a lapidary as an opaque crystal for $8
to $20. It is the green gem of Venus.
#15. Red serpentine has a muted red, for Hay, and is chemically like asbestos
to protect against fire.
#16. Brown Obsidian is often ribboned in black. If all the surface of the
earth were melted, this stuff would result. Vau is union.
#17. Alexandrite (artificial variation of carborundum, not natural
Alexandrite; the natural stone is fully on a par with the finest diamonds
in cost): For Zain, Gemini, this artificial stone is an easy
correspondence. The natural stone has some optical properties not to be
found in the artificial, but both natural and artificial produce a
reddish color in artificial light and a green one in daylight. This dual
coloring is the Gemini matching. The property is more extreme in the
artificial stone. In addition, the idea of art bettering nature has some
affinity to the path of Zain on the Tree of Life.
#18. Chet is color matched to Amber in the symbolic King Scale. This
substance is also used in the regular table XL. Amber may contain and
preserve objects within itself --- Cancer's facility of containment.
#19. The Cat's Eye simulates the eye of the serpent, Tet, and the eye of the
Lion, the Tet Beast of Tarot.
#20. Peridot is yellowish Green; a Virgo = Yod color in the King Scale.
#21. Turquoise has the color of Jupiter, and myth grants it the status of a
fallen part of the sky. This stone is sometimes used to protect or
measure the health of a person wearing it. Turquoise of a white-veiled
type changes its color at times, like the passage of a cloud upon the
mystical sky of its wearer. A strong case of #13 could also be made
here, for Turquoise or Lapis dust was the pigment used by the Egyptians
on the Stele of Revealing for the Body of Nuit. This was once blue, but
now is green. Turquoise and Lapis Lazuli gradually change to a variation
of malachite with exposure to air. Thus mystically, Nuit Virgin becomes
Nuit Mother. There is a strong feminine side to the God Jupiter, which
is often overlooked. Jupiter is the Sire of Dionysus, but also the
birthing Mother. Athena was born from the head of Zeus.
#22. Lace Agate shows a balance of chemical forces, thus Libra and Lamed.
#23. Moss Agate looks like an undersea view, thus Water and Mem.
#24. Aquamarine represents the mystical waters of re-birth in its color and
clarity. Scorpio and Nun also stress this.
#25. Flint is the stone of Arrows and therefore Sagittarius, Samekh. The
power of this stone to strike fire also applies to this path.
#26. Fluorescent Minervals, when exposed to the proper wavelengths of ultra-
violet light or black light, glow with "unnatural" colors. The
application to Ayin = Eye should be clear, especially when taken with the
King Scale color and the Devil Trump.
#27. Blood Stone is a dull black or green flecked with red, like blood
splattered on ebony. This stone is traditionally the talisman of storms,
earthquake, disaster, violence of all kinds and destroying sickness ---
either to cause or cure. The affinity to Peh as the letter of the Tower
Trump should be obvious.
#28. Rutilated Quartz is a stone shot through with perfect lines of bright
metallic crystal. The link to Tzaddi can be made in many ways, but the
clearest in my view is to Tzaddikim, the Perfect Watchers or Secret
Chiefs.
#29. Fossils show the course of evolution and therefore match the Moon Trump
and the path of Qof. In selecting a fossil, choose one that represents a
known evolutional line to the present living species. If from a
vertebrate, part of the back of the skull. Fossil bones and remains from
extinct Genera, like Saurians, are more correct to represent the Qlipot.
In that line, I have a nice Stegasaurous bone that I libate with beer or
wine at intervals. It keeps the beasty happy, and few lesser critters
care to bother the rest of such a ghost.
#30. Native Gold is the metal of the Sun.
#31. Fire Opal gleams with the root of mineral fire.
#32. Granite and Basalt apply here as they do for #10
In obtaining stones and minerals, never go to a jeweler. For that
matter, don't patronize a jeweler's stock anymore than you can avoid.
The mark-up above a Lapidary's retail price commonly exceeds TEN TIMES!
In addition, a jeweler's stone has been subjected to more haggling by
far than a lapidary's. There is less accumulated trash on a virgin,
unset stone. Setting should be done either at the direction of a
practitioner of Magick or by the Magician. While we are on the subject,
there are some things to know about rare metals. Never buy any substance
described simply as "gold"; under the trade laws, this is not true gold
but an imitation yellow metal. Require "Gold Metal" and get the alloy
measure: 24K is nearly pure. 14K is a bit over half gold, but will
work better in almost all uses. Less than 10K is a bit unwise. Also,
German Silver hasn't a trace of true Silver, and Sterling Silver is an
alloy of Silver and other metals. Most finished pieces of true silver
are plated with a silver-like metal that resists sulfur in the air and
from human skin. This may or may not be desirable. Test the coating of
a reputed silver object by rubbing with egg yoke --- tarnish is the
proper result. Gold can often be tested with lemon juice and salt; most
of the imitations will either brighten quickly and tarnish after or show
some sort of reaction. True Gold cannot be harmed by any chemical
product commonly found in the home. Obtain pure metals and metal chains
from Gold and Silver Dealers --- they are used to "small" amount sales.
Lapidaries also can supply these metals in smaller amounts and at a
slightly higher price, with materials for setting and casting sets.
Jewelers will charge $20 to $30 for a length of 10K chain that would
cost $2 to $6 in 14K from a Gold Dealer. If hard up for gold, go to a
liquor store and buy Goldwasser. Filter out the flakes of 24K gold leaf
and drink the rest. Alternatively, drink the whole thing; finely
divided gold is a mild hallucinogenic drug.
