LIBER ARCANORUM The Source Document received by Aleister Crowley

In 1907, in the midst of a mystical frenzy, Aleister Crowley received a series of arcane sigils. These sigils were said to be the completed form of the Major Arcana of the Tarot, as witnessed by Osiris in the Egyptian underworld.

Each sigil represents a spirit, each spirit is given a name, that the spirit might be called.

Crowley published these sigils and names without commentary in 1912 in The Equinox vol 1, no 7:

LIBER ARCANORUM τών ATV τού TAHVTI	LIBER CARCERORVM τών QLIPHOTH
QUAS VIDIT ASAR IN AMENNTI	CVM SUIS GENIIS
SVB FIGVRÂ CCXXXI	ADDVNTVR SIGILLA ET NOMINA EORVM

Krzysztof Azarewicz's essay WHAT HAS BEEN SEEN IN AMMENTI is a great overview of this text and its use, published here with permission. This essay was originally published in Howlings in 2009.

Ordo Arcanorum is a group of artists, musicians, writers, and magicians that have been inspired by this work. If you would like your work to be featured on this page, please write to scottpaulwilde@gmail.com

CODEX 231 & ARCANA 231Inspired art by Barry William Hale

Inspired by this work, Barry William Hale produced several series of paintings and drawings depicting spirit, some holding the entire collection of sigils in wheels and some representing the individual Major Arcana.

CODEX 231 was published by fulgur press in 2014.

A printing of ARCANA 231 will be released in 2025.

Prints of several other paintings are available on society6.

ARCANORUM 231A Virtual Temple by Scott Wilde, Barry William Hale, and NOKO210

This VR experience is primarily a showcase of Barry's 231 art. It imagines an Egyptian style tomb, wherein the imagery of the Book of the Dead has been replaced with his art. This tomb leads to journey into the underworld, where the participant will be able to enter into 22 temples each featuring one of the 22 drawings and a custom music track by NOKO210. In these temples, the participant can start a ritual featuring the chanting and drumming of real occultists, designed to invoke the spirit of that card.

ARCANORUM 231 on Steam

A patreon page created to showcase the development of the project.

A screenshot from this VR temple is featured in Taschen's 2024 Sacred Sites collection.

Arcana ArcanorumA Book by Robert C. Stein and Barry William Hale

Keep Silence is pleased to announce the publication of Arcana Arcanorum, a comprehensive exploration of Aleister Crowley's holy book, Liber Arcanorum.

In Arcana Arcanorum, Robert C. Stein presents an initiate's perspective into the system as a whole. He further explores in depth the significance of each individual sigil and its corresponding name. Complementing this analysis, Barry William Hale offers a series of 22 mesmerizing drawings, each piece ingeniously merging the upright and averse spirit of each tarot card into a single, unified form [Artwork is available separately as ARCANA 231, see above]. Together, the engrossing artwork and penetrating analysis uniquely honors and unveils the mysteries of the holy book.

Arcana Arcanorum is a journey into the depths of occult wisdom, bridging the gap between historical texts and contemporary interpretation. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner, a tarot enthusiast, or a curious seeker of hidden knowledge, this book serves as a vital key to unlocking the mysteries of the Major Arcana and the spirits contained therein.

Now available at most online retailers, but buying direct gives the most money to the creators. Net proceeds are split between Barry William Hale and Bob's estate.

• Direct - United States only
• Amazon - US
• Amazon - UK
• Amazon - Germany
• Booktopia - Australia

Online Rituals

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Scott Wilde produced a series of online streaming rituals for Horizon Lodge O.T.O. of Seattle, Washington.

These rituals are available to view on the Spirit of the Tarot Trumps Invocation playlist on Horizon's youtube.

231 Gates of Creation

Sephir Yetzirah 2:4-5

Twenty-two Foundation Letters:
He placed them in a circle
like a wall with 231 Gates.
The Circles oscillates back and forth.

How?
He permuted them, weighed them, and transformed them,
Alef with them all and all of them with Alef,
Bet with them all and all of them with Bet.
They repeat in a cycle and exist in 231 Gates.

In his iconic book Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation, Aryeh Kaplan explains that the 231 Gates referred to a Kabbalist meditative practice of contemplating each hebrew letter in combination with each other hebrew letter, for a total of 231 combinations. This practice was done for a variety of reasons, from lofty goal of binding oneself to the Sefirot, to the materialistic action of creating a golem. He also makes the argument that the gates were connected to the first act of creation:

According to the early Kabbalists, the 231 Gates are alluded to in the name Israel. In Hebrew, Israel is spelled YiSRAeL (ישראל). These letters can also spell out YeSh RLA (יש רלא), which literally means, "there are 231."

The Midrash states that at the beginning of creation, "Israel rose in thought." The name "Israel" thus alludes to the fact that creation took place through these 231 Gates. According to the later Kabbalists, these 231 gates are what remained in the Vacated Space that preceded creation.

In Crowley's LIBER ARCANORUM, there is a directive to compare each of the 22 hebrew letters to one other specific letter. This has generally been taken to indicate that the DOMARUM MERCURII sigils should be compared to each other, that the letters indicate which sigils are similar to other sigils. But given the similarity between this and the kabbalist practice, and that Crowley gave this work the number 231, naturally we are drawn to wonder to what extent we can take this practice.

In 231 Gates, each combination of the 22 Tarot atus is represented via a triangular grid. Each gate is represented by a diamond, clicking on these will show the occult significance of the combination. These are taken from various influential sources, such as Levi, Wirth, Papus, and of course Crowley.

Related WorksBooks, essays, and art by unaffiliated authors and magicians

The enigmatic contents of this work have intrigued and inspired occultists for over a century, here are a few notable works: