© This Glossary of terms related to Thelema is from The Ending of the Words – Magical Philosophy of Aleister Crowley by Oliver St. John & Sophie di Jorio. Use of the glossary is for private study only; the work is protected by U.K. and international copyright law. All reproduction of the work, electronic or in any other format, is forbidden without the express written permission of the authors.
Abrahadabra: The formula of the transfiguration of man’s elemental nature into a Khu, the Holy Graal or magical body in which Initiates are born forth to the stars of the body of Nuit. By Hebrew Qabalah the number of Abrahadabra is 418. This is the number of Nuit’s love chant, “To Me”, which indicates to the Initiate where his destination lies. Abrahadabra is “the reward of Ra Hoor Khut”. The “reward” is for those who are able to pass the ordeals of Ra Hoor Khuit, the Angel of the Last Judgement.
Abyss: The chasm through which consciousness “falls” from non-duality into duality. The nature of the Abyss is mind; its function is division. Out of it emerges creation – the universe as perceived by the dualistic mind that separates forms and defines them by contrast. The division represented by the Abyss separates the Tree of Life from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It separates macrocosm from microcosm, heaven from earth, and eternity from perpetuity. The “crossing of the Abyss” is the Initiation that the soul must undergo to overcome world illusion. The Abyss is named Daath, meaning “Knowledge”. Daath is the root of “death” which, whether actual or initiatory, is the means of crossing the Abyss. The relationship between knowledge and death is made explicit by Hadit in Liber AL vel Legis, II: 6, where he says: “I am Life, and the giver of Life, yet therefore is the knowledge of me the knowledge of death.”
Aeon (and Aeon of Horus): The word aeon, meaning “age” in Greek, refers to an indefinite period of time, an eternity. Metaphysically, an aeon refers to a power existing outside of time. Such power represents a particular level of consciousness. An aeon may thus be objective (i.e. corresponding to a historical age) or subjective (i.e. outside time and corresponding to a magical universe). The Aeon of Horus is the eternity presided over by the god Horus (Greek) or Heru-ra-ha (Egyptian), the god of death and resurrection.
Ahathoor: Egyptian goddess worshipped especially at Aunnu (Heliopolis), where she represents the aspect of Isis who gave birth to Horus. Ahathoor is also the mother of the star Sirius or Sothis. Her name literally means “House of Horus”; as his dwelling she is his Khu, and Horus is her Khabs. This identifies Horus, as Khabs, with the star of Set or Sept. The star represents the seventh chakra, which stands outside the human body. The awakening or birth of this seventh lotus is the object of the Great Work.
The Greek name of Ahathoor is Aphrodite, the goddess of love; her Roman name is Venus. Esoterically, the planet Venus is considered to emanate from the star Sirius (from the point of view of earth, the celestial path of Venus crosses the path of Sirius). Ahathoor is the prototype of the Scarlet Woman or soul. As the soul in the underworld, she is usually depicted wearing scarlet; in her celestial aspect she is naked and clothed with stars, thus closely identified with Nuit.
Aiwass: (or Aiwaz): The praeterhuman intelligence that transmitted Liber AL vel Legis to Aleister Crowley in Cairo in 1904 e.v. By Hebrew Qabalah the number of Aiwaz is 93, the number of Thelema, the “word of the Law” of the Aeon of Horus given by Nuit (Liber AL vel Legis, I: 39). By Greek Qabalah, Aiwass adds up to 418, the number of the “reward” of Ra Hoor Khut, Abrahadabra. Nuit refers to Aiwass as “the minister of Hoor-paar-kraat”. The god Hoor-paar-kraat represents the un-manifested universe. He is the silent, withdrawn aspect of the double god Heru-ra-ha. His twin is Ra Hoor Khuit, the manifested universe.
Ankh-af-na-khonsu: An Egyptian priest of Thebes in the XXVIth Dynasty. This late Egyptian dynasty extended between the years 663 and 525 BC, a time during which the history of Egypt became increasingly merged into that of the Middle East and Greece. Ankh-af-na-khonsu was a contemporary of the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, and of the reign of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar described at the beginning of the book of Daniel. This period of history coincides with the end of the Kingdom of Judah, which culminated with the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in 587 BC. Ezekiel predicted these events around the year 600 BC, shortly after the deportation to Babylon, a time at which the Temple had been taken over by “pagan cults”. It is around this time also (in 622 BC) that the priest Hilkiah (see 2 Chronicles 34: 14 or 2 Kings 22: 8) rediscovered the Jewish Book of the Law in the Temple of Yahweh.
Therefore Ankh-af-na-khonsu received the eschatological revelation recorded on his stélé at a time that was very much heralding the end of an age, the end of the Kingdom of Judah. This marked the beginning of a tumultuous period that paved the way for the messianic era.
Ankh-af-na-khonsu was named after the moon god Khonsu. Khonsu, whose name means “traveller of the sky”, was worshipped at Thebes as the son of Atum and Mut. The name Ankh-af-na-khonsu literally means “Life (ankh) of the traveller of the sky (khonsu)”. Ankh-af-na-khonsu became master of the forces of the underworld, overcame death and entered the immortal realm of the Aeon of Horus. His revelation, apocalypse or words of truth are recorded on his funeral stone, the Stélé of Revealing. Approximately two thousand five hundred years after his death, this stélé played a central part in the transmission of Liber AL vel Legis. Ankh-af-na-khonsu was a self-slain, risen master whose secrets are revealed by Nuit to her chosen lovers. Ankh-af-na-khonsu is referred to by the gods in the book as priest of the princes, scribe, prophet, and as warrior lord of Thebes.
Assiah: The Hebrew word for “matter”, and the name given to the material world in the Qabalah. Assiah corresponds to the sphere of Malkuth on the Tree of Life, and to the final letter Hé of the formula of Tetragrammaton. The intelligence ruling over Assiah is the Scarlet Woman in the underworld. By Hebrew Qabalah, the number of Assiah is 385. This is also the number of Shekinah, the term used by theologians for the divine feminine presence, represented as light. The name derives from sakan, meaning, “to dwell, rest”.
Atom: The basic building block of matter, consisting of a dense nucleus surrounded by a cloud of electrons. The nucleus of the atom is typically composed of protons and neutrons, except in the case of the element Hydrogen, whose nucleus only consists of one proton. Nearly all the mass of the atom is contained in its nucleus, which only occupies a tiny fraction of the space inside the atom, the rest being filled by the electron cloud. Electrons and protons are electrically charged, and their respective charges are opposite to each other. The charge of the electron is negative, while that of the proton is positive. These opposite charges attract each other and act as the two poles of a magnet, their attraction creating the force that holds together the atom nucleus. The total electric charge of the atom results from the combination of the positive and negative charges of its protons and electrons. These are normally in equal proportions, the total charge of the atom being consequently neutral. The electron and proton’s charges determine their interaction with each other, and with other electrically charged particles. Whereas two opposite charges attract one another, two identical charges will repel each other.
Atomic Bonding: Atoms bond together to complete their valence shell. They can bond by either sharing a pair of electrons, thereby forming a covalent bond, or by losing or gaining electrons to form ionic bonds. If an atom only has a few electrons in its valence shell, its tendency will be to lose those electrons so that the next lower shell, which is full, becomes its valence shell. The reverse takes place in atoms only requiring a few more electrons to complete their valence shell. These atoms will tend to steal electrons from other atoms in order to complete their outermost layer or valence shell. Atoms bonded covalently form molecules, which can be made of anything from two to thousands of atoms. One of the elements that most readily form covalent bonds is carbon, important in the formation of organic life. When atoms bond ionically by losing or gaining electrons, their electrical charge no longer remains neutral as the number of protons and electrons in the atom are no longer equal. They acquire a net positive or negative electrical charge and are called ions. Positively charged ions are called cations, and negatively charged ones are called anions. Due to their opposite charges, these attract each other electromagnetically, forming ionic bonds. This bonding is typical of crystals, solid materials made up of alternating positive and negative ions building up in a solid lattice or framework.
Atomic Forces: Atoms are kept stable by the influence of three of the four fundamental forces of nature – the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force. The only natural force that does not bear an impact on atomic stability is gravity, which only affects much larger objects. Atomic forces exercise a push or a pull upon the atom. The electromagnetic force holds the electron cloud around the atom nucleus; the strong nuclear force maintains the protons and neutrons together in the nucleus; the weak nuclear force exercises its influence on the process of decay that takes place in an atom nucleus containing an excess of protons or neutrons.
Atomic Number: Abbreviated as “Z”, the atomic number is determined by the number of protons included in an atom’s nucleus. As most atoms contain an equal number of protons and electrons, this number frequently indicates the total number of electrons in the atom, the main factor influencing the atom’s chemical and physical properties.
Atziluth: The Hebrew word for “emanation”, and the name given to the divine or archetypal world in the Qabalah. The world of Atziluth corresponds to the sphere of Chokmah on the Tree of Life, and to the letter Yod of the formula of Tetragrammaton. The Intelligence ruling over the world of Atziluth is the Beast, the life-giving spirit manifested as the centre of consciousness or star called Khabs in Liber AL vel Legis. By Hebrew Qabalah the word Atziluth adds up to 537. This is the number of the word for “uterine aperture”. Atziluth thus represents the breaking of the womb of infinity, Nuit, so that life may be emanated from it. The word emanation comes from the Latin emanare, meaning “to flow out”, and it is as the 93 current that life flows out of the world of Atziluth.
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Abyss: The chasm through which consciousness “falls” from non-duality into duality. The nature of the Abyss is mind; its function is division. Out of it emerges creation – the universe as perceived by the dualistic mind that separates forms and defines them by contrast. The division represented by the Abyss separates the Tree of Life from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It separates macrocosm from microcosm, heaven from earth, and eternity from perpetuity. The “crossing of the Abyss” is the Initiation that the soul must undergo to overcome world illusion. The Abyss is named Daath, meaning “Knowledge”. Daath is the root of “death” which, whether actual or initiatory, is the means of crossing the Abyss. The relationship between knowledge and death is made explicit by Hadit in Liber AL vel Legis, II: 6, where he says: “I am Life, and the giver of Life, yet therefore is the knowledge of me the knowledge of death.”
Aeon (and Aeon of Horus): The word aeon, meaning “age” in Greek, refers to an indefinite period of time, an eternity. Metaphysically, an aeon refers to a power existing outside of time. Such power represents a particular level of consciousness. An aeon may thus be objective (i.e. corresponding to a historical age) or subjective (i.e. outside time and corresponding to a magical universe). The Aeon of Horus is the eternity presided over by the god Horus (Greek) or Heru-ra-ha (Egyptian), the god of death and resurrection.
Ahathoor: Egyptian goddess worshipped especially at Aunnu (Heliopolis), where she represents the aspect of Isis who gave birth to Horus. Ahathoor is also the mother of the star Sirius or Sothis. Her name literally means “House of Horus”; as his dwelling she is his Khu, and Horus is her Khabs. This identifies Horus, as Khabs, with the star of Set or Sept. The star represents the seventh chakra, which stands outside the human body. The awakening or birth of this seventh lotus is the object of the Great Work.
The Greek name of Ahathoor is Aphrodite, the goddess of love; her Roman name is Venus. Esoterically, the planet Venus is considered to emanate from the star Sirius (from the point of view of earth, the celestial path of Venus crosses the path of Sirius). Ahathoor is the prototype of the Scarlet Woman or soul. As the soul in the underworld, she is usually depicted wearing scarlet; in her celestial aspect she is naked and clothed with stars, thus closely identified with Nuit.
Aiwass: (or Aiwaz): The praeterhuman intelligence that transmitted Liber AL vel Legis to Aleister Crowley in Cairo in 1904 e.v. By Hebrew Qabalah the number of Aiwaz is 93, the number of Thelema, the “word of the Law” of the Aeon of Horus given by Nuit (Liber AL vel Legis, I: 39). By Greek Qabalah, Aiwass adds up to 418, the number of the “reward” of Ra Hoor Khut, Abrahadabra. Nuit refers to Aiwass as “the minister of Hoor-paar-kraat”. The god Hoor-paar-kraat represents the un-manifested universe. He is the silent, withdrawn aspect of the double god Heru-ra-ha. His twin is Ra Hoor Khuit, the manifested universe.
Ankh-af-na-khonsu: An Egyptian priest of Thebes in the XXVIth Dynasty. This late Egyptian dynasty extended between the years 663 and 525 BC, a time during which the history of Egypt became increasingly merged into that of the Middle East and Greece. Ankh-af-na-khonsu was a contemporary of the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, and of the reign of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar described at the beginning of the book of Daniel. This period of history coincides with the end of the Kingdom of Judah, which culminated with the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in 587 BC. Ezekiel predicted these events around the year 600 BC, shortly after the deportation to Babylon, a time at which the Temple had been taken over by “pagan cults”. It is around this time also (in 622 BC) that the priest Hilkiah (see 2 Chronicles 34: 14 or 2 Kings 22: 8) rediscovered the Jewish Book of the Law in the Temple of Yahweh.
Therefore Ankh-af-na-khonsu received the eschatological revelation recorded on his stélé at a time that was very much heralding the end of an age, the end of the Kingdom of Judah. This marked the beginning of a tumultuous period that paved the way for the messianic era.
Ankh-af-na-khonsu was named after the moon god Khonsu. Khonsu, whose name means “traveller of the sky”, was worshipped at Thebes as the son of Atum and Mut. The name Ankh-af-na-khonsu literally means “Life (ankh) of the traveller of the sky (khonsu)”. Ankh-af-na-khonsu became master of the forces of the underworld, overcame death and entered the immortal realm of the Aeon of Horus. His revelation, apocalypse or words of truth are recorded on his funeral stone, the Stélé of Revealing. Approximately two thousand five hundred years after his death, this stélé played a central part in the transmission of Liber AL vel Legis. Ankh-af-na-khonsu was a self-slain, risen master whose secrets are revealed by Nuit to her chosen lovers. Ankh-af-na-khonsu is referred to by the gods in the book as priest of the princes, scribe, prophet, and as warrior lord of Thebes.
Assiah: The Hebrew word for “matter”, and the name given to the material world in the Qabalah. Assiah corresponds to the sphere of Malkuth on the Tree of Life, and to the final letter Hé of the formula of Tetragrammaton. The intelligence ruling over Assiah is the Scarlet Woman in the underworld. By Hebrew Qabalah, the number of Assiah is 385. This is also the number of Shekinah, the term used by theologians for the divine feminine presence, represented as light. The name derives from sakan, meaning, “to dwell, rest”.
Atom: The basic building block of matter, consisting of a dense nucleus surrounded by a cloud of electrons. The nucleus of the atom is typically composed of protons and neutrons, except in the case of the element Hydrogen, whose nucleus only consists of one proton. Nearly all the mass of the atom is contained in its nucleus, which only occupies a tiny fraction of the space inside the atom, the rest being filled by the electron cloud. Electrons and protons are electrically charged, and their respective charges are opposite to each other. The charge of the electron is negative, while that of the proton is positive. These opposite charges attract each other and act as the two poles of a magnet, their attraction creating the force that holds together the atom nucleus. The total electric charge of the atom results from the combination of the positive and negative charges of its protons and electrons. These are normally in equal proportions, the total charge of the atom being consequently neutral. The electron and proton’s charges determine their interaction with each other, and with other electrically charged particles. Whereas two opposite charges attract one another, two identical charges will repel each other.
Atomic Bonding: Atoms bond together to complete their valence shell. They can bond by either sharing a pair of electrons, thereby forming a covalent bond, or by losing or gaining electrons to form ionic bonds. If an atom only has a few electrons in its valence shell, its tendency will be to lose those electrons so that the next lower shell, which is full, becomes its valence shell. The reverse takes place in atoms only requiring a few more electrons to complete their valence shell. These atoms will tend to steal electrons from other atoms in order to complete their outermost layer or valence shell. Atoms bonded covalently form molecules, which can be made of anything from two to thousands of atoms. One of the elements that most readily form covalent bonds is carbon, important in the formation of organic life. When atoms bond ionically by losing or gaining electrons, their electrical charge no longer remains neutral as the number of protons and electrons in the atom are no longer equal. They acquire a net positive or negative electrical charge and are called ions. Positively charged ions are called cations, and negatively charged ones are called anions. Due to their opposite charges, these attract each other electromagnetically, forming ionic bonds. This bonding is typical of crystals, solid materials made up of alternating positive and negative ions building up in a solid lattice or framework.
Atomic Forces: Atoms are kept stable by the influence of three of the four fundamental forces of nature – the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force. The only natural force that does not bear an impact on atomic stability is gravity, which only affects much larger objects. Atomic forces exercise a push or a pull upon the atom. The electromagnetic force holds the electron cloud around the atom nucleus; the strong nuclear force maintains the protons and neutrons together in the nucleus; the weak nuclear force exercises its influence on the process of decay that takes place in an atom nucleus containing an excess of protons or neutrons.
Atomic Number: Abbreviated as “Z”, the atomic number is determined by the number of protons included in an atom’s nucleus. As most atoms contain an equal number of protons and electrons, this number frequently indicates the total number of electrons in the atom, the main factor influencing the atom’s chemical and physical properties.
Atziluth: The Hebrew word for “emanation”, and the name given to the divine or archetypal world in the Qabalah. The world of Atziluth corresponds to the sphere of Chokmah on the Tree of Life, and to the letter Yod of the formula of Tetragrammaton. The Intelligence ruling over the world of Atziluth is the Beast, the life-giving spirit manifested as the centre of consciousness or star called Khabs in Liber AL vel Legis. By Hebrew Qabalah the word Atziluth adds up to 537. This is the number of the word for “uterine aperture”. Atziluth thus represents the breaking of the womb of infinity, Nuit, so that life may be emanated from it. The word emanation comes from the Latin emanare, meaning “to flow out”, and it is as the 93 current that life flows out of the world of Atziluth.
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