Gematria is the study of the numeric equivalents and relationships (Numerology) of the Hebrew language and Hebrew alphabet (and Greek) along with their spiritual associations. There are no numeric characters in Hebrew, just alpha characters; when someone wants to write a number, he or she would use the corresponding Hebrew letter associated with that number. Gematria is also used in divinatory practices. The Gematria of the number 616 equals (6+1+6 = 13 = 1+3 = 4) 4 and representative of the number and (spiritual) symbolic for Creation. This also relates to the pentagram along with the four quarters / corners / elementals or elements / watchtowers / gateways / portals of the Earth being North (earth, autumn), East (air, spring), South (fire, summer), and West (water, winter) and their correspondences. Further, these four gateways are the symbolic elements within the metaphysical universe or ethereal cosmos.
The alpha associations of 4 are the letters D, Delta (Greek, D), and Daleth (Hebrew, D). As for the number 666 = 9 and is the symbolic for Judgment. Regardless of the true fact that neither number represent any mythic beast, most New Testament manuscripts, the Book of Revelation of the Christian bible, and other religious texts still erroneously equate the number 666 with the Christian figurative machination of "The Beast". The alpha associations of 9 are the letters Th and T, Theta (Greek, Th), and Teth (Hebrew, T). In some modern critical interpretations, such as the Novum Testamentum Graece (i.e., the Latin name for the Greek language version of the New Testament, namely the Nestle-Aland editions), the number 616 is denoted as a variant of 666.
Moreover, there are the biblical associations between the Hebrew and Greek bibles as well as the many versions of the Old and New Testaments. For example, the “Book of Revelation” (also known as “The Apocalypse of John”) is generally considered to have been written by John the Apostle; Christians identify 666 as the mark of the Antichrist or the Beast and refer to the number 616 to be the Ancient Roman Emperor Caligula. From here, one can examine and analyze the information about the recent discovery of the fragment from the "oldest New Testament manuscript" found to allude in Revelation 13:18 that the number of the beast is supposedly 616 instead of 666.
In closing, there are the theomatic and isopsephic approaches that can be examined as well; according to the Wikipedia.com definitions: “Isopsephy (iso meaning ‘equal’ and psephos meaning ‘pebble’) is the Greek word for the practice of adding up the number values of the letters in a word to form a single number. The early Greeks used pebbles arranged in patterns to learn arithmetic and geometry. A Latin word for ‘pebbles’ is ‘calculi’, the origin of the word ‘calculate.’[1] Theomatics is a numerological study of the Greek and Hebrew text of the Christian Bible, based upon gematria and isopsephy, that its proponents assert demonstrates the direct intervention of God in the writing of Christian scripture. It was invented by Del Washburn in 1975, who coined the name ‘theomatics’ as a combination of ‘Θεός’ (‘God’) and ‘mathematics’, and wrote several books and web sites espousing the hypothesis.[2]”
Endnote: Theomatics concerns the scientific study and investigation, statistical evidence, and examples of the numerical structure within the text of the bible and bible codex (bible code). There are two types of codices (codes)--ELS (Equi-distant Letter Sequences, also known as Torah Codes) and Theomatics (often referred to as Gematria). Recommended resources for the study of Theomatics are the Institute of Theomatic Research and Theomatics Proven Solidly.
Rev. Dr. K.A. Sahure
Elder HP & Arch Hierophant
Temple of Kemetic Wicca
Denver Metro, CO
__________________________
[1] "Isopsephy." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Mar 2006, 14:50 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 Jun 2006.
[2] "Theomatics." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 14 Jun 2006, 03:22 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 Jun 2006.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Yoruba Days of the Week Names
"THE Yorubas reckon time by moons and weeks. A moon, or month, is the period of time between one new moon and the next, and, as is the case with all peoples who count by lunar months, the day commences at sunset, that is at the hour at which a new moon would ordinarily be first perceived.
The custom of measuring time by lunar months appears to be common to all uncivilised peoples, the regular recurrence of the moon at fixed intervals of time affording a natural and easy mode of computing its lapse. The measurement of time by weeks, that is, by sub-divisions of the lunar month, seems, in the present state of our knowledge of the modes of measuring time amongst the lower races, to be rather exceptional; but the subject is one that has been much neglected by travellers, and there is but little information from which a conclusion may be drawn.
The Tshi-tribes of the Gold Coast have (as was stated in the first volume of this series) a seven-day week, or, to be more correct, they have divided the lunar month, which is approximately twenty-nine and a-half days long, into four parts, each of seven days and about nine hours. Hence, as before said,[1] each week commences at a different hour of the day, the reason of this arrangement being that twenty-nine and a-half will not divide exactly into halves and quarters. The first day of the first week of the lunar month commences when the new moon is first seen; the first day of the second week commences some nine hours later, and so on.
The Gã-tribes have an exactly similar mode of measuring time, but their names for the days of the week are not the same as those used by the Tshi-tribes.
They are-
1st. Dsu.
2nd. Dsu-fo.
3rd. Fso.
4th. So.
5th. So-ha.
6th. Ho.
7th. Ho-gba.
which, it will be seen, seem to consist of three pairs and an odd one, the third day.
The Yoruba week consists of five days, and six of them are supposed to make a lunar month; bnt, as a matter of fact, since the first day of the first week always commences with the appearance of the now moon, the month really contains five weeks of five days' duration, and one of four day-, and a-half, approximately. The Benin-tribes to the cast are said to have a similar method, and the Yoruba-tribes have perhaps borrowed the five-day week from them.
The Tsbi and Gã-tribes thus add a few hours to each seven-day week in order to make four of these periods coincident with a lunar month, and the Yorubatribes deduct about twelve hours from the last five
[1. "Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast" pp. 215, 216.]
day week in order to make six of these periods agree with a lunar month. The reason is obvious. Twenty-nine and a-half will not divide, and the nearest numbers that will are twenty-eight and thirty. The Tshi and Gã-tribes have adopted the former as the integer to be divided, and consequently have had to add some hours, while the Yorubas have adopted the latter and have had to deduct.
We have said that to divide the lunar month into weeks appears to be exceptional among the lower races, but we have some examples. The Ahantas, who inhabit the western portion of the Gold Coast, divide the lunar month into three periods, two of ten days' duration, and the third lasting till the next new moon appears, that is, for about nine days and a-half. The Sofalese of East Africa must have had the same system, for De Faria says that they divided the month into three weeks of ten days each, and that the first day of the first week was the festival of the new moon.[1]
When a people has progressed sufficiently far in astronomical knowledge to have adopted the solar year as a measurement of time, the month, for the reason that an exact number of lunar months will not make up a solar year, becomes a civil period or calendar month, and is arbitrarily fixed at a certain number of days, or some months are made of one length and some of another. When this occurs, and the month is disconnected from the moon and its phases, it seems that the week-which was properly a sub-division of the lunar month, and was no doubt
[1. Astley's Collection, vol. iii., p. 397.]
designed to mark the chief phases of the moon-also becomes a civil period, and is a sub-division of the civil month. The ancient Greeks had a civil month of thirty days, divided into three weeks, each of ten days; and the Javanese, before the seven-day week was adopted from the Mohammedans, had a civil week of five days.[1] The former thus resembled the Ahantas, and the latter the Yorabas, and no doubt when the Greeks and Javanese reckoned time by lunar months instead of by civil, they, like the Ahantas and Yorubas, struck off the superfluous hours from the last sub-division of the month.
The names of the days of the Yoruba week are as follows:--
1. Ako-ojo. First day.
2. Ojo-awo. Day of the Secret (sacred to Ifa).
3. Ojo-Ogun. Ogun's Day.
4. Ojo-Shango. Shango's Day.
5. Ojo-Obatala. Obatala's Day.
Ako-ojo is a Sabbath, or day of general rest. It is considered unlucky, and no business of importance is ever undertaken on it. On this day all the temples are swept out, and water, for the use of the gods, is brought in procession. Each of the other days is a day of rest for the followers of the god to which it is dedicated, and for them only, Ojo-Shango being the Sabbath of the worshippers of the thunder-god, and Ojo-Ogun for those of the god of iron, but Ako-Ojo is a day of rest for all. A holy day is called Ose (se, to disallow), and because each holy day recurs weekly,
[1. Raffles' 'History of Java,' vol. i. p. 475.]
Ose has come also to mean the week of five days, or the period intervening between two holy days."
► Source:
Chapter VIII, “Measurements of Time”, Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of The Slave Coast of West Africa [1894] by A. B. ELLIS
http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/yor/yor09.htm
The custom of measuring time by lunar months appears to be common to all uncivilised peoples, the regular recurrence of the moon at fixed intervals of time affording a natural and easy mode of computing its lapse. The measurement of time by weeks, that is, by sub-divisions of the lunar month, seems, in the present state of our knowledge of the modes of measuring time amongst the lower races, to be rather exceptional; but the subject is one that has been much neglected by travellers, and there is but little information from which a conclusion may be drawn.
The Tshi-tribes of the Gold Coast have (as was stated in the first volume of this series) a seven-day week, or, to be more correct, they have divided the lunar month, which is approximately twenty-nine and a-half days long, into four parts, each of seven days and about nine hours. Hence, as before said,[1] each week commences at a different hour of the day, the reason of this arrangement being that twenty-nine and a-half will not divide exactly into halves and quarters. The first day of the first week of the lunar month commences when the new moon is first seen; the first day of the second week commences some nine hours later, and so on.
The Gã-tribes have an exactly similar mode of measuring time, but their names for the days of the week are not the same as those used by the Tshi-tribes.
They are-
1st. Dsu.
2nd. Dsu-fo.
3rd. Fso.
4th. So.
5th. So-ha.
6th. Ho.
7th. Ho-gba.
which, it will be seen, seem to consist of three pairs and an odd one, the third day.
The Yoruba week consists of five days, and six of them are supposed to make a lunar month; bnt, as a matter of fact, since the first day of the first week always commences with the appearance of the now moon, the month really contains five weeks of five days' duration, and one of four day-, and a-half, approximately. The Benin-tribes to the cast are said to have a similar method, and the Yoruba-tribes have perhaps borrowed the five-day week from them.
The Tsbi and Gã-tribes thus add a few hours to each seven-day week in order to make four of these periods coincident with a lunar month, and the Yorubatribes deduct about twelve hours from the last five
[1. "Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast" pp. 215, 216.]
day week in order to make six of these periods agree with a lunar month. The reason is obvious. Twenty-nine and a-half will not divide, and the nearest numbers that will are twenty-eight and thirty. The Tshi and Gã-tribes have adopted the former as the integer to be divided, and consequently have had to add some hours, while the Yorubas have adopted the latter and have had to deduct.
We have said that to divide the lunar month into weeks appears to be exceptional among the lower races, but we have some examples. The Ahantas, who inhabit the western portion of the Gold Coast, divide the lunar month into three periods, two of ten days' duration, and the third lasting till the next new moon appears, that is, for about nine days and a-half. The Sofalese of East Africa must have had the same system, for De Faria says that they divided the month into three weeks of ten days each, and that the first day of the first week was the festival of the new moon.[1]
When a people has progressed sufficiently far in astronomical knowledge to have adopted the solar year as a measurement of time, the month, for the reason that an exact number of lunar months will not make up a solar year, becomes a civil period or calendar month, and is arbitrarily fixed at a certain number of days, or some months are made of one length and some of another. When this occurs, and the month is disconnected from the moon and its phases, it seems that the week-which was properly a sub-division of the lunar month, and was no doubt
[1. Astley's Collection, vol. iii., p. 397.]
designed to mark the chief phases of the moon-also becomes a civil period, and is a sub-division of the civil month. The ancient Greeks had a civil month of thirty days, divided into three weeks, each of ten days; and the Javanese, before the seven-day week was adopted from the Mohammedans, had a civil week of five days.[1] The former thus resembled the Ahantas, and the latter the Yorabas, and no doubt when the Greeks and Javanese reckoned time by lunar months instead of by civil, they, like the Ahantas and Yorubas, struck off the superfluous hours from the last sub-division of the month.
The names of the days of the Yoruba week are as follows:--
1. Ako-ojo. First day.
2. Ojo-awo. Day of the Secret (sacred to Ifa).
3. Ojo-Ogun. Ogun's Day.
4. Ojo-Shango. Shango's Day.
5. Ojo-Obatala. Obatala's Day.
Ako-ojo is a Sabbath, or day of general rest. It is considered unlucky, and no business of importance is ever undertaken on it. On this day all the temples are swept out, and water, for the use of the gods, is brought in procession. Each of the other days is a day of rest for the followers of the god to which it is dedicated, and for them only, Ojo-Shango being the Sabbath of the worshippers of the thunder-god, and Ojo-Ogun for those of the god of iron, but Ako-Ojo is a day of rest for all. A holy day is called Ose (se, to disallow), and because each holy day recurs weekly,
[1. Raffles' 'History of Java,' vol. i. p. 475.]
Ose has come also to mean the week of five days, or the period intervening between two holy days."
► Source:
Chapter VIII, “Measurements of Time”, Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of The Slave Coast of West Africa [1894] by A. B. ELLIS
http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/yor/yor09.htm
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Cosmic Planetary Spheres
Below are just some of the components which make up the Cosmic Planetary Spheres according to the spiritualistic and ritualistic workings of the Temple of Kemetic Wicca:
Avenging Angels & Spirits
Avenging & Warlike Divinities
God/dess-forms (which are present in each of the planets)
Great Mother Goddesses & Great Father Gods
Healing Deities, Spirits & Angels
Holy (Indigo Rainbow Spirited) Children
Illuminous, Illuminator, Illuminati Deities & Spirits
Love Deities
Lunar Deities - The Moon
Messengers & Minions of the Spirit Realm
Sacrificial Deities & Sacrificed Divinities
Solar Deities - The Sun
Underworld God/desses
Monday, November 1, 2010
Mysticum - Et id genus omne
“The hymns of the Atharva Veda contain among other things descriptions of charms for curing diseases, prayers for long life and health, imprecations against demons, sorcerers and enemies, charms pertaining to women--to secure their love or arouse jealousy, and the like--charms for securing harmony and influence in an assembly, charms for securing the prosperity of household, fields, cattle, business, gambling, etc., charms in expiation of sins and defilement. The hymns of the Rig Veda, on the other hand, are often praises of various deities, who are frequently mere personifications of the different powers of nature, such as the rain-god, the wind-god, the fire-god, and the like. The prayers in these hymns are praises of the greatness and power, the mysterious nature, and the exploits of these deities, as well as prayers for various favors. Often the favors sought are of the nature of material blessings, such as long life, vigorous offspring, cattle and horses, gold, etc. Prayers for the advancement of the inner spiritual achievements of man, for righteousness or moral greatness, prayers expressing a passionate longing for the divine or a humble submission of the mind to the divine will are not so frequent. Most of these prayers were recited in the performance of certain prescribed rituals. Though from the praises of the gods one might infer that it was the gods who were supposed to bestow the benefits, it was in fact the complete set of ritualistic performances that was considered to be the cause of the showering of the benefits. It was supposed that these ritualistic performances when carried out in all their details, precisely and accurately, could by their joint and mysterious effect produce a mysterious something whereby the prayers were fulfilled.” Excerpted from – “Lecture I, Sacrificial Mysticism” of Hindu Mysticism [1927] by Dr. S.N. Dasgupta
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