93 (Thelema)
The number 93 is of great significance in the religion of Thelema, originated by Aleister Crowley in 1904 with the writing of The Book of the Law. The central philosophy of Thelema is in the two phrases from Liber AL: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" and "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 Agape (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. Similarly, since 23 is the ninth prime number, and 9 is 3 squared, some deem 23 an algebraic mirror to "thelema/agape=93"; see also wikipedia entries for number 23, the 23 enigma, and the 'other correspondences' section for the number 93.
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. Alternately, the salutation 23 (as explained above), became propagated by Genesis P-Orridge of Psychic TV and Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth; (later Thee Outher Peoples International) that included members of related groups Hafler Trio, 23 Skidoo, and Current 93.***
References
- Adapted from the Thelemapedia article, 93. Retrieved 04/05/2005.
- Crowley, Aleister. (1997). Magick: Book Four. Edited, annotated, and introduced by Hymenaeus Beta. York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser.
- P-Orridge, Genesis. Thee Psychick Bible: The Apocraphal Scriptures ov Genesis P-Orridge & thee Third MIND ov Psychic TV. Edited by J.A. Rapoza. San Francisco: Alecto Enterprises, 1994.
- Crowley, Aleister. (1997). Magick: Book Four. Edited, annotated, and introduced by Hymenaeus Beta. York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser.