Crowley translates Hebrew עולה as “common holocaust”.  Yikes.  Let’s look into it.

First off, he published Sepher Sephiroth years before the rise of Hitler to power.  Whew.

Second, he lifted the definition straight from von Rosenroth’s “comm. holocaustŭ” which dates back centuries.

The word actually refers to the Israelites’ burnt offerings, particularly while they were journeying to the promised land.

The original meaning of the Greek word is indeed “whole burnt offering”. See, the Greek holo- should be familiar in such words as “holistic”, which refers to treating the whole person; and the -caust is the same … [more]

Continuing to work on fixing Crowley’s gematria entries, I find the Hebrew word אשת.  Crowley doesn’t define it; he simply says “Deut. xxiii. 1.”

Deuteronomy 23:1 does not contain this Hebrew word.  But it translates to:

He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD. (KJV)

The word today means things like “wife, companion, lady, girl”.  In the Bible, the word is also used several times disparagingly of men who have become weak or effeminate:

Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting; they remain in … [more]

I’m going through every Hebrew entry in Crowley’s Sepher Sephiroth (“book of emanations”, or simplified, “book of numbers”) and looking at what each Hebrew word actually means by comparing it to Hebrew Biblical dictionaries, and sometimes looking at modern Hebrew ones too for a backup (being aware of linguistic change, of course).

There are lots of typos.  This will take a while.

Today, the Hebrew word קוץ (pronounced much like the English “coats”).  In a modern dictionary, as well as Biblical ones, it means “thorn”.  But Crowley translates it “The crown, summit, point.”  Well, I guess … [more]