Skip to main content

Arithmancy, part IV


(please read previous posts in this series for continuity)

Practical Method of Arithmatic Magic—the Mudra

          Agrippa teaches in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy about the power of certain movements of the fingers and hands, which the Magicians of old used to silently signify “words unknown by sound, various with numbers, yet of great virtue, by their fingers joined together, and sometimes changed, and did the sacred silence worship the Gods that rule over the world”. This is an allusion to the use of Mudra, bending and twisting the fingers into shapes that signify numbers, that themselves are used to invoke the power of the Planets and the fundamental virtues of the primary numbers.  Using Number we invite into our spheres and into objects the power of the Seven themselves, containing their virtue through sympathy and echo.

The Magical Gestures (Mudras) of Number

           To make the number 1, bend the little finger of the left hand and touch the middle of the palm.
            To make the number 2, bend the ring finger of the left hand  so that it joins the little finger in the middle of the palm.
            To make the number 3, bend the middle finger to join the other little and the ring finger in the center of the palm.
            To make the number 4, the previous fingers stay upon the palm as aforementioned but for the little finger which is lifted up.
            To make the number 5, lift up the ring finger as well, so that only the middle finger is touching the center of the left palm.
            To make the number 6, lift up the middle finger as well, and then place the ring finger alone in the center of the palm.
            To make the number 7, place only the pinky finger so that it its tip hovers over the root of the palm, with the rest being lifted up.
            To make the number 8, place only the ring finger so that its tip hovers over the root of the palm, with the rest being lifted up.
            To make the number 9, place only the middle finger so that its tip hovers over the root of the palm, with the rest being lifted up.
            To make the number 10, bend the index finger so that the nail touches the inside middle joint of the thumb, with the rest of the fingers being raised.
            To make the number 20, bend the middle finger and place it against the index finger, with the tip touching the thumb’s middle joint.
            To make the number 30, touch the nail of the thumb to the forefinger while keeping the other fingers raised.
            To make the number 40, touch the inside of the thumb to the outside of the index finger.
            To make the number 50, bend the thumb so that the tip points as close as possible toward the center of the palm, forming what looks similar to the letter “G”.
            To make the number 60, keep the thumb bent as before, and bend the index finger so that it wraps over it.
            To make the number 70, keep the index finger bent as before, and place the thumb over it.
            To make the number 80, keep the index finger bent as before, and toucth the middle joint of the index finger with the nail of the thumb.
            To make the number 90, straighten out the thumb and place the nail of the bent index finger at its root.
            To make the number 100, make the figure of ten upon the right hand.
            To make the number 200, make the figure of twenty upon the right hand.
            To make the number 2000, make the figure for 2 upon the right hand.
To create 1000-9000, simply create the numbers for 1-9 on the right hand.
            To make the number 10,000, put the lift hand upward on the chest, the fingers all pointing up toward heaven.
            To make the number 50,000, lay the thumb of the right hand pointing sideways, while on the navel.
            To make the number 60,000 hold the left thigh with the right hand in a fashion similar to fifty.
            To make the number 70,000, the thumb points up. The rest of the fingers are closed.
            To make 80,000, the above mentioned thumb is place upon the the same downward on the thigh.
            To make 90,000, hold the loins with the above hand, turning the thumb downward.
            To make 1,000,000, bring the hands together with fingers interlocked, and clasp them together as if in prayer.

Using mudra to build symbols works so well because it links physical action with mental concept and spiritual Virtue; the levels of Being symbolized by the number 3 and representative of our manifest reality. The only thing missing, in my opinion, from this equation is the vibration of sound. My method of Arithmatic magic addresses this using the traditional scales of the numbers to Sing a certain Virtue into an area or environment.

Comments

  1. Hi Frater ---

    I've never been able to understand 20 in Agrippa's counting/mudra method. It has to be that I'm misunderstanding. For example, I make 20 per Agrippa's instructions. I proceed till 23, suddenly the middle finger joins the other three fingers to make the 3 in 23 and it looks just like 13. ---Could you please clarify this certain case of misunderstanding for me? Thanks so much.

    Cordially --- Tesla

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry, but I didn't illustrate my misunderstanding very well. 29 is even harder for me to understand than 23. It's just those 20's...

    Cordially --- Tesla

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bullshit Siddhis

Nsala malongo, So.....powers. They exist. You work your alchemy, and they start popping up. It isn't what you expect. It's not like the comics. Subtle things happen. You get a little something here, a big something there. Some of them appear useless at first. Some years ago, after work in the upper cinnabar field, I gained the dubiously awesome ability to see a sort of spirit double floating around people. At first I was BEYOND stoked, and thought I was well on my way toward ascension from my normal state into a vicious and powerful spiritual overlord, as was foretold. By me. When I was like, fourteen. Then, after the wonder wore off, I realized that this was absolutely useless. The double gave me no information about the person, no power to manipulate myself or the other. It was just there. So. Countless hours of heat and concentration, and the end result was this? Of course it *was* useful in the long-run, as a mark of my developing spiritual s

Golden Dawn--WTF

Ave, I've been trying my level best to not talk about this latest eruption of foolishness, but good folks are being dragged through the mud (on both sides), and I've grown weary. This whole thing is a steaming pile of bullshit. No one is trying to "destroy" the Golden Dawn, that's just silliness. No one is trying to become the only "legitimate" Golden Dawn order either. I'm sickened by this display. Argue in a scholarly fashion! When did this sniping nonsense become the norm? A debate between honorable and wise gents (both of whom I consider Brothers in the Work) like Fraters AM and SR about the Sabbatian Qabbalah would be wonderful, if we could cut all the bullshit out. Quality conversations, ya'll.  Skip the vitriol, the name calling and the idiotic marketing methods. Yes, it is idiocy. This "McGolden Dawn" nonsense is stupid.Ya'll. GROW THE FUCK UP. For the record, The A+O's transmissions are valid, they are real. T

Quick overview of Simple Spagyric Technique

The following is a simple rundown for creating Spagyric tinctures and Elixirs, from the manuscript 'Book of the Blossoming Flower." I wrote it so that there would be a baseline, unobfuscated understanding of how to make Spagyric products with extremely basic tools. I posted something similar earlier, but without explaining much as far as how the steps relate to the classic alchemical progression. So, here we are! Making a Spagyric Tincture 1.Take up your plant, and on the Day/Hour corresponding to the energy you wish to refine (Planet, Element, or Sign.) Chop the plant into fine pieces on your cutting board, beginning the Mortificatio stage. Sunrise on the Day corresponding to a planet is best-for astrological forces. I had success capturing the Astrological powers by beginning the work when the Sign is in the Ascendant, preferably during an Elemental Tide that corresponds to the Triplicity the Sign is associated with. For Elemental powers, I have found that beginning the wor