1

PART ONE: THEORY

A Science of the Soul

The magician's first and most important initiation—and I must emphasize

that this stage cannot be bypassed—is learning how to recognize a joke when they

see one. The adept who lacks this subtle but crucial faculty has already failed utterly

at almost every level and so it is therefore unfortunate that, generally speaking, it

cannot be taught for the same reasons that no one can force you to appreciate the

sheer magnificence of a sunset or the ethereal beauty of a rose. At the risk of over-

analyzing the whole thing, I will say that it involves spontaneous, un-contrived

laughter and has something to do with the sudden realization of an unexpected

connection—and that is the foundational skill of magical praxis: the craft of

making connections. Magic then, has much to do with religion if we understand it

in the original sense of the word, “re ligare,” to re-connect with the mysterious.1

1. Miracles as Intentional Synchronicity

But what does “connecting” have to do with magic? Another kind of

connection was, quite recently in the grand scheme of things, discovered (or rather,

1. MacCoun, Catherine. On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician. Boston, MA: Trumpeter, 2008.

2

named) by Carl Jung and he named them synchronicities.2 Some would deem them

small miracles while others may brush them aside as mere coincidence but,

regardless of our metaphysical allegiances, according to Jung, synchronicity occurs

when an outer event corresponds with an inner event that is meaningful, or if I may

paraphrase the Grandfather of archetypal psychology: synchronicity occurs when

there is a connection between our inner state of subjectivity and the outer state of

the presumably objective world. Taking this idea as our starting point, if you were

to imagine a person making a concerted, systematic effort to uncover the processes

by which meaning is created, and by understanding them to gain conscious control

of it in order to affect powerful transformations of meaning within our experiences,

then you would be on your way toward understanding the discipline that a

magician is attempting to cultivate. To understand how this might be accomplished,

let us begin by examining the basic metaphysical premises of the magician as

recorded within the esoteric traditions.

2. Spirit, Matter, & Soul: The Triune Esoteric Cosmology

One of the most basic teachings of the western magical tradition, and one

that can be found in countless variations throughout the mystery schools3 as far

2. Hopcke, Robert H. A Guided Tour of the Collected Works of C.G. Jung. Boston: Shambhala, 1989.3. Regardie, Israel, and Chic Cicero. The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic. 3rd Ed., ed.

3

back in time as recorded history can tell, is the notion of the three-fold nature of

existence, the understanding of which will be necessary later when we examine the

fundamental nature of symbols. A pervasive expression of this esoteric idea can

actually be found hiding in plain sight all over the world: the cross. Though

typically associated with the Christian tradition, the cross, as a religious and

magical symbol predates the advent of Christianity by thousands of years4 and,

fascinating as this subject may be, it is beyond the scope of our studies here. It's

simplicity, however, will lend itself well to a brief exposition of Hermetic

cosmology.

a. The First and Second Principles: Duality in Manifestation

Breaking the cross into it's two components, the vertical and horizontal

lines, we derive two basic principles. The vertical principle represents spirit, or

consciousness. This interpretation will be easily understood when you consider that

human beings intuitively associate, despite cultural difference and an incredible

linguistic diversity, the ideas of “up” and “down” with states of consciousness.

Consider the following: “He was in high spirits,” “She seemed low today,” “He

was in a downward spiral,” “A heightened sense of awareness,” etc. The vertical

St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 2001. 4. MacCoun, Catherine. On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician. Boston, MA: Trumpeter, 2008.

4

points toward the invisible, subjective facet of experience. The horizontal

component represents a different principle: that of substance, passivity, and the

objective realm of time and space. The horizontal orientation lends itself easily to

images of something laying prone, a principle that is passive, relaxing into gravity

as opposed to the willful, energetic quality of the vertical line.

Now we get two seemingly opposite principles: one is vertical, subjective,

active, and insubstantial while the other is horizontal, objective, passive, and

substantial. These principles have been described ad nauseum by metaphysical

traditions throughout history—it has been called yin and yang by the Daoists,

Shiva and Shakti by the yogis, and “being” and “non-being” by philosophers such

as Hegel†—though the magicians have also called these dual principles by many

names, in the west matter and spirit is a perennial favorite. With gratitude to Hegel

for the terminology, if we take the horizontal and vertical, or spirit and matter, as

our thesis and antithesis, then the symbolism of the cross depicts their synthesis in a

third factor—the soul.

b. The Third Principle: Synthesis & Creativity

The idea of soul is at the heart of the magical tradition because it represents

the fundamental principle of connection. Spirit in itself, being empty of all content

†. Appendix I contains more detailed information on these correlations.

5

in its unadulterated form as pure subjectivity, is distinct from and antithetical to

matter which, being entirely substantial, must entirely displace subjectivity, or spirit

—much like oil and water—and both principles, in themselves, are essentially

meaningless in the same way that a musical composition without a listener or a

listener without a musical composition is meaningless. Soul is the synthesis, or

mediating factor that resolves the ontological opposition, reconnecting the

fundamental schism of subject-and-object, being-and-nothingness, or God and the

Creation, if you prefer. In every instance that spirit and matter intersect, as in the

symbol of the cross, there is the principle of soul, and it is this synthetic principle

that renders meaningful the disparate principles of spirit (the listener) and matter

(the music). Meaning is then a function of the soul as well as the basis for all

manifestation and the individual soul itself is therefore the template of re-

connection, or “re-ligare,”5 which is the wellspring of religion and the key to

miracle-working.

c. Anima Mundi

To a hermetic magician, the human soul is an individual instance of

connectivity between matter and spirit which temporarily manifests their hidden

5. MacCoun, Catherine. On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician. Boston, MA: Trumpeter, 2008.

6

qualities which can only be expressed through each other—the soul makes it

possible to experience matter in spirit and spirit in matter which is what we call

consciousness. It is within the spirit that matter is experienced—or to put it another

way, objects are experienced within a subject. It is within matter that the spirit is

experienced—again, to put it another way, only through the experience of objects

can it be inferred that there is an invisible (spirit-ual) subject which is experiencing.

It is not only in human beings, however, that this connection takes place but,

according to the esoteric teachings, in every individual entity—including the

animals, plants, and apparently “inanimate” features of existence—indeed existence

itself, as the sum total of all spirit and matter, is an instance of connectivity known

as anima mundi, or the Soul of the World. According to this system, a thing

manifests as real only when it is in-formed by spirit and substantiated by matter;

the synthesis that occurs in the intersection of form and substance is called the soul

of that thing. The Soul of the World then, resolves the fundamentally irreconcilable

duality through an all-encompassing, creative relationship which is the connection

between the form of all forms together and the substance out of which all matter is

constituted; and it is because of this total relationship that even the slightest change

in one of its parts will affect a dynamic response from the whole. The crux of this

7

teaching is easy to understand but difficult to know—the Soul of the World is the

totality of individual souls and the individual soul is not different from the Soul of

the World.6

3. The Basis of Magic

Understanding the principles of spirit, matter, and soul, the magician

essentially seeks to discover the connection between her own soul and the Soul of

the World. The processes by which this is accomplished are what is known as

magic, and its basic methods will be covered in the second part of this paper. As the

hidden connections are uncovered, every experience of the magician is imbued with

greater meaning and synchronicities occur with increasing frequency. Every

phenomena reveals itself as another instance of meaning that points, again and

again, to the meaning of meanings—the magician may find that he perceives

meaning in the movement of the stars, that he can see the order of time in a deck of

playing cards, that his actions begin to spark surprising synchronicities for others,

or perhaps that she can glimpse fate in the motion of a bird flying across the sun.

6. Regardie, Israel, and Chic Cicero. The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic. 3rd Ed., ed. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 2001.

8

PART TWO : PRACTICE

Methods & Madness

In the first section of this treatise, we laid the foundations of the western

magical tradition's basic cosmology by expounding upon intentional synchronicity,

the vertical and horizontal dimensions of manifestation, the principles of

connection, and the relationship between the individual's soul and the anima

mundi, or Soul of the World. Though western magic is an ancient and typically

secretive tradition that emerges from multiple eras and through widely varying

languages and cultural backgrounds (each with their own idiosyncratic

terminologies and emphasis) it remains our opinion that the cosmological material

covered is broadly applicable and faithfully outlines the essential view of western

magical practice. Similarly, both the wide diversity and infamous secrecy of magical

societies, compounded with the highly individualistic nature of magical practice,

will complicate any discussion of methodology. In spite of this, we will endeavor to

distill the most essential, recurring, and “normative” techniques here.

1. Magic 101: Correspondences & Esoteric Numbers

Previously we stated that the art of making connections was the

9

foundational skill of magical praxis and then suggested that an idea like “intentional

synchronicity” may approximate the methodology of the magician—however,

intentional synchronicity is not lightly achieved and, just as any athlete, artist, or

crafts-person must first practice their skills with determination over time, so the

magician must hone her skill through sustained, methodical practice. One basic

class of exercises toward this end, that of making “magical correspondences,”7 has

been practiced widely and with countless variations.

a. Magical Correspondences

In order to explain this exercise, let's return to the symbol of the cross and

break it down into its components which we've already identified as spirit, matter,

and soul. If we simplify the concepts even further, we could arrive at a formula like

“subject, object, and means of connection” or something similar. From this

information, the adept should attempt to draw as many correspondences as he is

able to; some are drawn easily, such as: “self, other, and relationship,” or

“background, foreground, and proportion”—they can be more abstract such as

“a / b = c,” or more poetic, as in “lover, beloved, and love,” and why not

architectural?: “blue-print, materials, and building.” Anything goes. If one

7. Regardie, Israel, and Chic Cicero. The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic. 3rd Ed., ed. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 2001.

10

develops the capacity, this list of correspondences can grow maddeningly extensive

and yet, in this example, there are merely three components!—over time a skilled

magician must learn to move with ease through highly complex matrices of

correspondences.

b. Their Effect on Imagination

The result of these sorts of exercises is to free the imagination. Though it

may seem strange or childish at first, if this is practiced with regularity and

determination over time, the mind will increase its capacity to work creatively

outside of reason—it does not give up its faculty of reason, which would be

foolish, but instead becomes free to operate outside of it. This is why most of us

have difficulty solving riddles—though the answers are typically simple, they often

require us to make leaps which ordinary reason is incapable of.

c. Number as the Basis of Symbols

In order for this process to be useful (and coherent) it must be systematic;

the magician, therefore, must find a way to contain this apparent chaos. To

accomplish this, the perennial method that emerges across time and traditions is

11

numbers,8 as they are universally recognized symbols for objectively† verifiable

aspects of our experience. The esoteric study and application of number provides

the magician with a link between his invisible subjective plane and the objective

world (another correspondence). The reader is already beginning to become aware

of the esoteric meaning of 1, 2, and 3—they have only to re-examine our treatment

of the cross in section one. It may be noticed too, that the vertical axis taken by

itself is an overwhelmingly common symbol for 1; that it is represented alongside

its opposite, the horizontal line (2); that, when the 1 and the 2 are represented

together, there inevitably arises the 3rd principle, in the form of a relationship or

connection between them (note that 1 + 2 = 3); and finally, that as the 1 and the 2

are brought together, the 3 is implied and there are now 4 four component lines. To

grasp the esoteric meaning of 4, consider that each number is taken as an abstract

point (there is no length, width, depth, etc. of the point), and therefore the

numbers 1 through 3 cannot be represented concretely in reality but only as an

abstract plane (even a sheet of paper has depth)—it is through the 4th point that the

8. Hulse, David Allen. The Western Mysteries. 2nd ed. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1948.

† That numbers are objectively verifiable realities, at least so far as as the observable natural world is concerned, can be demonstrated in many ways—such as the fact that an atom with 1 proton is a hydrogen atom, while an atom with 2 is a helium atom, etc. This shows that number irrefutably plays an important role in the manifestation of the physical universe. See more in Appendix I

12

dimension of depth or volume becomes present and the first three-dimensional

representation becomes possible (which is a pyramid).9

For a patient person, the esoteric study of number alone has the potential to

unlock the entirety of the tradition—alas, a delineation of esoteric numerology

exceeds the aim of this paper! Let the preceding pages and the following summation

suffice as an introduction: that 1 represents a principle of being/subjectivity/unity,

2 represents that of tension/objectivity/differing, 3 represents that of

creativity/connection/relationship, and that 4 represents their concrete

manifestation. Upon reflection, and understanding that 3 and 4 are dynamic

elaborations of 1 and 2 respectively, a clever and intuitive individual may be able to

deduce the meaning of the entire sequence of natural numbers.†

2. Symbols & their Power

By strengthening the creative powers of imagination and grasping the

esoteric nature of number, the magician is able to recognize the symbolic meaning

of phenomena. Because nature (of which we are a part) is both rational and

irrational, as one increases their capacity to operate outside of rationality through

9. Zoller, Robert, and Guido Bonatti. The Lost Key to Prediction: The Arabic Parts in Astrology. New York: Inner Traditions International, 1980. † Again, Appendix I contains more information regarding the symbolism of number.

13

practices such as magical correspondences, previously occluded realms of

experience become increasingly available to them.10 Consider the analogy of a

person who is learning how to read and play classical music. As they spend

increasing amounts of time immersed in the world of music, learning scales, chord

construction, and time signatures, they will begin to recognize new information in

the music that they've listened to their entire life—nothing new has appeared in the

music but, because they have altered their own psyche by integrating the new

language of music, they now are able to recognize major and minor keys, different

modes and timing, and so on. When we alter the way we think we alter the way

reality appears to us, which opens new possibilities for action and interaction and

closes others.

a. Symbol as Maps of Processes

Like the musician, the magician alters the way her mind works—to her, the

cross is not a mere esoteric symbol but a map of a process. It does not simply depict

two separate lines intersecting—it is the diagram of a spiritual event. The cross, as

an instruction manual, is attempting to show how the process of “1-2-3” unfolds;11

10. MacCoun, Catherine. On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician. Boston, MA: Trumpeter, 2008. 11. MacCoun, Catherine. On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician. Boston, MA: Trumpeter, 2008.

14

this may seem somewhat prosaic at first, but as the mind is connected through

magical correspondences to the esoteric numbers, the cross becomes a diagram of

that portion of the mind which has been connected with 1, 2, and 3; the more deeply

connected the mind is, the more useful becomes the symbol as both a map of the

mind and of reality. Other esoteric symbols, such as the pentagram or the tree of

life, will serve similar functions12 and, as the adept's knowledge of magic deepens,

symbols that are more difficult to understand will be revealed and the practitioner

may find themselves inventing their own symbols for specific purposes.

b. Following the Maps

By sustained concentration and construction of the patterns of

correspondence, a world of symbols opens up and phenomena which were

previously considered unimportant or unintelligible begin to convey new

information. And here's where it gets tricky—in order to progress the magician

must act on this new information. The practice must always be systematic and

scientific; therefore, an attitude of strict empiricism is the best one to adopt—but

the application is always an art and ultimately, there's no way to know what will

happen. As the correspondences between the inner and outer worlds are clarified,

12. Hulse, David Allen. The Western Mysteries. 2nd ed. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1948.

15

the magician's actions take on an increasing importance because as changes are

affected in either world, the other is correspondingly affected13—the magician finds

that he is able to alter his inner reality by symbolically altering the outer; similarly,

though it is more difficult, he finds that he can alter reality by correspondingly

altering its symbolic structures within his mind. Altering the inner by making an

outer change is one of the reasons for the many symbols, colors, robes, incenses,

magical wands, and other artifacts associated with magic—they assist the

magician's concentration upon a specific connection, or network of connections.14

c. Advanced Practice

The practices that I have described, though there are many others and

countless variations among them, are foundational to magic and cannot be

bypassed—they prepare the magician's mind for more advanced and specialized

practices. In order to progress to higher levels, the imagination must be unleashed

and the structures which bound it must be dissolved; the will must also be trained

by regular, systematic practice and sustained concentration on subtle realities.

These are the two horses that drive the chariot of magic—without one or the other,

13. MacCoun, Catherine. On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician. Boston, MA: Trumpeter, 2008. 14. Regardie, Israel, and Chic Cicero. The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic. 3rd Ed., ed. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 2001.

16

the magician is doomed to drive in ever deepening circles that will confound him;

without either, the chariot won't move at all no matter how many magical words

one shouts at it. Only when both are present will progress occur.15

i. Magic Words

When the magician has cultivated the appropriate discipline, the

phenomenological and number correspondences may be expanded to encompass

sound and sacred alphabets. As these connections are established, one may use or

create magical words, names, and sounds, which will affect transformations of both

the soul and the world.16 The medieval Qabbalists, as well as both ancient and

modern schools of magic which were influenced by them, recorded a great amount

of magical knowledge regarding sacred letters, words, and sounds.17

ii. Mathematics & Sacred Geometry

The principles of number and symbol, and their uses, may be expanded

greatly by the study and esoteric contemplation of geometry. In addition to the

relatively basic symbolism of the natural numbers, infinite complex relationships

exist between them; mystically understanding these relationships through geometry

15. Regardie, Israel, and Chic Cicero. The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic. 3rd Ed., ed. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 2001. 16. Ibid. 17. Kaplan, Aryeh. Meditation and Kabbalah. York Beach, Me.: S. Weiser, 1985.

17

and mathematics can impart profound esoteric knowledge upon an adept. The

Neo-Platonic sages, such as Plotinus, along with many ancient Greek schools, such

as the Pythagoreans, compiled books of both mathematical and sacred geometrical

wisdom and mysticism.18

iii. Astrology & Tarot

The same hermetic principles that I have introduced in this paper are

applied in most of the occult sciences that deal with the mysteries of nature and fate

such as astrology and tarot.19 The principle of “as above, so below,” or how the

outer conditions symbolically reflect inner realities, is applied to understanding

ourselves by reading patterns in the motion of the planets or the way a deck of

cards happens to be shuffled at a particular point in time and space.20

3. Connecting All of it Together

Ultimately, regardless of whatever bells and whistles and apart from its

myriad applications, the goal of all magical practice is to reconnect ourselves to the

primordial and mysterious beauty of the universe; on this account, it shares many

18. Hulse, David Allen. The Western Mysteries. 2nd ed. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1948.

19. Zoller, Robert, and Guido Bonatti. The Lost Key to Prediction: The Arabic Parts in Astrology.New York: Inner Traditions International, 1980. 20. Hulse, David Allen. The Western Mysteries. 2nd ed. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1948.

18

of its features with other spiritual systems and scientific traditions—the path of the

magician, however, is a radically individualistic one and the author would argue:

unorthodox by definition. Though much may be gleaned from the traditions of the

ancients and there is a rich heritage of various esoteric techniques, in the end, the

magician must discover it anew and create his own soul. Above all, the adept must

contemplate the great wisdom of nature which is all around and within her,

considering how her own mind is constructed by meditating upon the secrets of

number and symbol; trusting that she will be guided by the Soul of the World, she

must connect herself to everything, discarding nothing—and she must always,

always remember not to take herself too seriously—as one of the great spiritual

alchemists of ancient Palestine said: "I tell all of you with certainty, unless you

change and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom of

heaven.21

21. The Gospel of Matthew 18:3

19

Bibliography

Hopcke, Robert H. A Guided Tour of the Collected Works of C.G. Jung. Boston:

Shambhala ;, 1989.

Hulse, David Allen. The Western Mysteries. 2nd ed. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1948.

Kaplan, Aryeh. Meditation and Kabbalah. York Beach, Me.: S. Weiser, 1985.

MacCoun, Catherine. On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern

Magician. Boston, MA: Trumpeter, 2008.

Regardie, Israel, and Chic Cicero. The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic.

3rd Ed., ed. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 2001.

Zoller, Robert, and Guido Bonatti. The Lost Key to Prediction: The Arabic Parts

in Astrology. New York: Inner Traditions International, 1980.

20

Appendix I: On the Basis of Esoteric Numerology

Let us play God for a moment. Were I to take a single proton and combine

it with a single neutron and a single electron—what would happen? A hydrogen

atom would happen, right? Now, say I add to the mix a second proton, neutron,

and electron—now what happens? A bigger hydrogen atom, right? Strangely,

though I had used exactly the same materials, we now have before us, not a larger

hydrogen atom, but a helium atom—which exhibits entirely different properties

altogether. Hydrogen for instance is extremely reactive while helium is noted for its

heroic stability—in fact, physicists believe that helium was the first element to

coalesce in any significant amount following the big bang because it is the only

atom that is both simple and stable enough to have been created by and to have

survived in such extreme conditions. If a third proton, neutron, and electron were

added then the phenomenon of lithium would appear, which is a reactive alkali

metal and the least dense of all solid elements, including liquids.

The Meaning of Numbers: From Mysticism to Physics

But why, if the constituent parts are identical, should mere number result in

such drastically different qualities? Why should one proton result in a highly

reactive invisible substance while two protons result in a noble gas that is noted for

21

its heroic stability? And why should three protons all of a sudden be a solid,

superconductive metal with the approximate weight and density of pinewood?

Though modern physics has undoubtedly advanced our understanding of the

universe immensely, physicists were not the first to have observed the role that

numbers play in the creation of the universe—embarrassingly enough, it was the

mystics who seem to have first proposed that numbers were the key to the secret of

cosmogenesis.

The mystical interpretation of number has long been ubiquitous within

mystical traditions, from Pythagoras' and Plato's schools in ancient Greece to

Paracelsus and the Christian Hermeticists of Renaissance Germany. The idea that

the study of numbers can yield insight into the process of creation and the structure

of the universe is a perennial one, expounded by the mystery schools of ancient

Egypt, theologians such as St. Augustine, the medieval Jewish Kabbalists, the

ancient Chinese schools of Confucius and Lao Tzu, and the relatively recent

alchemist, Sir Isaac Newton, who used the same ancient principles to formulate the

laws of motion, universal gravitation, and calculus.

1, 2, & 3: The Secret of Creation

The first three natural numbers, across traditions, are assigned great

22

importance in the process of creation and their names are sometimes even

synonymous with the Creator or God (the One, the Holy Trinity, etc.)—and for

good reason! Let us examine them, starting with the idea of one. A unique problem

confronts us from the outset, however, and that is the fact that there is no way to

examine or even imagine the one; this is because, if we observe the one, we have

already made the two—observing the one automatically creates a reference point

outside of it from which we are observing. In order for the experience of one to

occur, the observer necessarily cannot be other than the one; one therefore

possesses a quality of ineffability; if one is understood as the sole originator of all

numbers or as the beginning of creation, then all subsequent qualities inhere in it

since there is no other source from which they might be derived; since all future

qualities are derived only by subdivision of this one, there is nothing that exists

without taking part in one's existence. By use of reason alone, one can be described

as ineffable, all-inclusive unity of being.

From the starting point of the un-imaginable one, the idea of two introduces

primordial division within the one and, in order for this to occur, differing takes

place; the indefinite qualities which inhered but were undistinguished within the

one coalesce, so to speak, within the two or the other. It is important to note that,

23

though the qualities that inhere in one are distinguished in the two, they are not

separate because separation implies that there is a medium in which one and two

exist and through which they might escape each other; the differentiation that is

occurring by the one into two is the differing of qualities, complementing and

opposing one another—distinguishable but not separable. Two then, unlike the

one, is partially knowable—though no third person perspective could be adopted

under these circumstances, an object can be recognized as not-subject. The quality

of two is that of one recognizing itself which happens through qualitative

opposition since differing factors such as distance and time are as yet unmanifest—

pure duality, thesis and antithesis defining each other.

Subject & object, positive & negative, male & female, night & day—as the

dual forces represented by two precipitate with increasing intensity from the over-

saturated one, the tension that inheres in their oppositional nature develops into

movement toward overcoming each other; while the natures of one and two ensure

that the balance is ultimately unchanging and self-contained, the apparent changes

of proportion and tension within the whole reveal a third which is the synthesis

between the now irreconcilable thesis and antithesis of one and two. The three,

being the second odd number, is, in actuality, a dynamic form of the one; it is the

24

culmination of a mysterious process originally initiated by the one which causes

division by the two and its subsequent oppositional tension which is resolved by

returning to balance in the three.

4, 7, & 10: Macrocosm, Microcosm, & the Fractal Universe

By resolving the opposition that arose from two, three both re-establishes

the unity of one and reveals its hidden dimensions by reintegrating the qualities

that precipitated as two into a more complicated whole. But just as one

mysteriously projected itself into itself as itself (1 + 1 = 2), so three, as the “new

one,” projects itself—but its self is not made of one, it is made of three, and

therefore projects another three, which when added to itself (as one) is four, an

elaboration of two and the first temporal number. One, two, and three are

primordial numbers, meaning they are the prior, underlying principles upon which

manifestation is supported—as the one, no experience was possible; as the two, the

fundamental split occurred between subject and object but true multiplicity

remained folded inside of the primordial object (the two); only in three are subject

and object finally integrated in a dynamic relationship.

Three is what appears as the creator (one and two are hidden [3 = 2 + 1] in

three) who projects their self outward as creation, which appears as four (four is

25

also the minimum number of points required to move from an abstract triangular

plane to a 3D shape with volume). When three, the Creator, enters into creation,

the four, seven manifests (3 + 4), the number of incarnation. Seven represents the

three-in-one god entering into the four dimensions of space and time.

When one, two, three, and four are added together, the result is ten,

represented as a 1 and a 0. Because ten integrates all of creation with its source,

substance, and cause, it represents completion, the one's presence in creation, and

the fractal repetition of its own being and creative power reflected in its creation.

Closing Remarks

Though this essay hasn't covered all of the natural numbers, I hope that the

reader has understood some of the underlying principles of numerology and it is

the author's opinion that the meanings of all numbers can be deduced by a clever

person who understands the process of one, two, and three. I do not intend,

however, and would not wish for anyone to take my word for all of this—I suggest

that the reader look at nature, science, and the scriptures of their own spiritual

tradition, or better, various traditions.

26

Appendix II: Illustrations

Fig. 1 The Tree of Life

27

Fig. 2, Geometrical/Numerical Correspondences of Astrological Angles

28

Fig. 3, An Example of a Magical Correspondence Chart22

22. Retrieved from http://www.american-buddha.com/cult.esotericsectiontheosocblavatsky.2.htm on May 5th, 2015