Dee asked:
(1) In the Greek section, you listed the Gnostic concept of 30 Aeons. Do you know where I can find more detailed information to this? I am currently incorporating that material into my current tradition of Hellenic Alexandrian witchcraft. I am especially curious about the Angels of each of the Aeonic powers.
(2) Do you have (or know where I can find) the correspondences and/or attributions to the 3 obsolete letters of the Greek alphabet?
(3) I am a bit confused with the section on the Tarot? Do you know what Tarot cards are attributed with the Greek and Coptic alphabets? You only list the Hebrew attributions.
(4) Do you know what the mystical meanings are to the Greek and Coptic alphabets? Are they the same as their Hebrew equivalents?
David Allen Hulse answered:
(1) Source for 30 Aeons - I cannot recommend any one work that exhaustively deals with the 30 Aeons. However, an obscure source you may be unaware is The Collected Writings of Madame Blavatsky. This is a gigantic 14 volume set of occult writings that is more copious than Crowley's own Equinox series. Volume XIII covers the period 1890-1891. The commentaries and notes to the PISTIS SOPHIA appearing on pages 1 through 82 have much obscure information concerning the aeons.
(2) Correspondences for the 3 obsolete letters - Check out the new publication from Weiser, The Greek Qabalah, Alphabetical Mysticism and Numerology in the Ancient World, by Kieren Barry. This is the most thorough study of the Greek alphabet. From my own studies the following symbolism can be attributed to the 3 lost letters of Stau, Koppa and Sampi. Stau is both the mark of Qain and the mark of the beast. It is the value of being human, and represents man created on the sixth day. Koppa is the mushroom that is used for the elixir to open the third eye. It is also the skull, and more appropriately the back of the head. Sampi is the aura of enlightenment, and the spine, which is the channel for the chakras.
(3) Tarot correspondences for Coptic Greek -Using my second volume of The Key of It All (The Western Mysteries), Tarot correspondences can be developed for both Greek and Coptic. For Greek, use the table in the 8th Key (Coptic) appearing on pages 60 through 67. Here the parallel letter for each Hebrew letter to Greek (via the hieroglyphic image) is shown. Take this table and compare it to the table in the 12th key (Tarot) on pages 350 and 351 showing the Tarot attributes for Hebrew and you will get the Tarot parallel to the Greek alphabet. For Coptic to Tarot go to page 52 of the 8th Key (Coptic). This shows the Golden Dawn system for the Coptic alphabet as the 32 paths of the Tree of Life. Paths 11 to 32 are the Tarot cards. For their equivalents go to the 12th key on page 327. This shows what Tarot cards are what paths on the Tree. Finally, there is an additional table that connects the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet to the 24 runes of the original Germanic system. This is shown in the 9th key on pages 86 through 87.
(4) The mystical and magical images of the Greek alphabet -Though many scholars have claimed that the Greek Qabalah preceded the Hebrew; it is actually the other way around. The proof of this is the letter names of the Hebrew Alphabet in Hebrew and Greek. In Hebrew the letter name Beth means house, and the letter itself is a hieroglyph of a house, based on the Egyptian hieroglyph for a house. However the equivalent letter in Greek, Beth, does not mean anything. The Greek letter names are not images, and the letters themselves were modeled on the Phoenician alphabet, which is also the source for Rock Hebrew. However, the work of Nigel Pennick in his two books Games of the Gods (Weiser, 1989) and Magical Alphabets (Weiser, 1992) gives a magical interpretation of the shapes of the Greek Alphabet. These books came out after I had written The Key of It All. They are insightful enough that I would have incorporated them into the 7th key. Get these 2 books.