93

(Revision as of 14:29, 12 Mar 2005)

Part of the Numbers in Thelema series.

As it is written in The Book of the Law, the Law of Thelema is stated as "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." It is further said, "Love is the law, love under will." The two primary terms in these statements are Will and Love, respectively. In the greek language, they are Thelema (Will) and Agapé (Love).

Using the Greek technique of isopsephy, which applies a numerical value to letters, the letters of both of these words when added together equal 93:

Thelema = Θελημα
- Θ (Theta) = 9 +
- ε (Epsilon) = 5 +
- λ (Lambda) = 30 +
- η (Eta) = 8 +
- μ (Mu) = 40 +
- α (Alpha) 1
- = 93

Agapé = Αγαπη
- Α (Alpha) 1 +
- γ (Gamma) 3 +
- α (Alpha) 1 +
- π (Pi) 80 +
- η (Eta) 8
- = 93

The relevance of this technique is found in the art of correspondence. When two words have the same value, they are said to have a meaningful connection. In this case, it is considered significant that the two central concepts of Thelema—Will and Love—are of equal value, and therefore have a direct connection.

Other correspondences to 93

There are other words found in Thelemic literature that add up to 93 using either isopsephy or gematria. These include:

Aiwaz—Dictated Liber Legis to Aleister Crowley in 1904
LAShTAL
FIAOF
MGN—Compound letter replacing the M in AUM.

Other correspondences include:

Melie—"The Ash", as in Yggdrasil the World Tree
TzBA—"Will; star, host"

"93" as Salutation

It is common for Thelemites to greet each other with "93" in person as well as in the opening and closing of written correspondence. This custom derives from Aleister Crowley's guideline that Thelemites should greet each other with the Law. Since saying the entire Law can be cumbersome, using 93 has become a kind of shorthand.

In informal written correspondence, one often finds the number singly at the head of a letter and in the form "93 93/93" at the end. In this case, the initial "93" stands in for "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law," and "93 93/93" stands for "Love is the law, love under will." Some Thelemites find this usage excessively informal, even for everyday use; others point out that it is attested in Crowley's own letters and deem it acceptable as a result.

References

Crowley, Aleister. (1997). Magick: Book Four. Edited, annotated, and introduced by Hymenaeus Beta. York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser.

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