Magick Without Tears

PROPHECY 257 5. The verification must be simple, natural, unique and unmistakable. Forced and far-fetched explanations, distortions of Qabalistic or other mathematical reasoning, are barred. 6. The prophecy itself must possess the complement of this precision. It must be so perfectly unintelligible at the time that the elucidation of the answer makes it certain that the prophet knew precisely the whole riddle. I feel that this condition is itself expressed in a somewhat oracular form; I will try to clarify by citing what I consider a perfect example. Perfect, 1 say, because the "must" is a little too strong; there are degrees of excellence . "That stele they shall call the Abomination of Desolation; count well its name , and it shall be to you as 718." (AL, III: 19) (The Stele is that whose discovery culminated in the writing of The Book of the Law.) Here the first part is still quite unintelligible to me; 1 have tried analysis of the original phrase in "Scripture," and nearly everything else: entirely in vain. One can see dimly how people, recognizing that Stele as the Talisman responsible for reducing half the cities of Europe to rubble, might very well make reference to those original prophecies. But , at the best, that's nothing to cable to Otaheite about! Now the second part. This was even more baffling than the other. "Count well its name" how can I? it never had a name! So I tried all sorts of experiments with 718. Shin, 300, the letter of Spirit , with our key number 418 , looks promising . Only one more pie-crust! I kept attacking, off and on, for many a long year, got out all sorts of fantastic solutions, complex and confused; they simply shouted their derision at me. lt was one glorious night in Cefalu, too utterly superb to waste in sleep; 1 got up. I adored the Stars and the Moon; I revelled in the Universe. Yet there was something pulling at me. lt pulled eftsoons my body into my chair, and I found