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Star of Babylon Tattoo

I first took an interest in Thelemic magick some time around 1995. I started to read Crowley and become interested in ceremonial modern magick. After reading “The Book of the Law,” I was struck, like many impressionable young people, by the possibilities of Gematria.

“Thou shall obtain the order and value of the English alphabet. Thou shall find new symbols to attribute them unto” II 55 Liber Al

*An aside for those unfamiliar with these terms: Gematria is an attempt to connect language with mathematics and find therein correlations. What makes this endeavor truly interesting philosophically is that from a rational, mundane perspective, there really shouldn’t be any correlation between mathematics and language. Why not? Well, mathematics is based on scientific laws, and language is an arbitrary human construct. If some connection were found it would seem to indicate that there are broader patterns at work in the world around us. It would, in effect reveal something planned in our reality, by showing correlations in the real world, where none, logically ought to exist.

The first people to try and do this were the ancient Hebrews. Their work with Kabbalah was not only a system for religious understanding and illumination but also a complex attempt at creating a workable Gematria.

Okay, now fast forward to the beginning of the 20th century. Aleister Crowley writes a short text called “The Book of the Law.” It is both a riddle, a dare, and an attempt at prophecy. Only 25 pages long it has enormous ramifications for the next 100 years of interest in and the study of esoteric forms of knowledge. It challenges the reader to create a “new gematria” not using Hebrew, but English.

At the same time I was becoming interested in Thelema I met some other like minded individuals, one of whom was The Archetypal Theriomorph, and my late partner C. He and two other mages had recently developed a novel Gematria as a solution to the challenge posed by “The Book of the Law.” (BoL) I was so impressed with the power of their Gematria to behave as predicted by Thelemic prophesy, that I began to study it in earnest. It is, I think, to this day, unmatched in its power to link language and mathematics.

Perhaps the greatest attribute of the system is that the phrase “Six hundred and Sixty six” equals 0 (zero). And this is the most important omen of all. (We use “six hundred AND sixty six” because this is how Crowley wrote it.)

This is a prized correspondence, sought after for more than 100 years, and can only bring immense satisfaction and outright glee to those who care about the ramifications of a Gematria. Needless to say I was very taken by his success, When he passed away I was forever changed and decided to get a tattoo to honor his memory. The GON came to mind immediately, as it is one of his greatest achievement, in my mind.

For my tattoo I chose the seven pointed star of Babalon, because he made me feel and understand my own inner Babalon. In the center I placed his primordial equation, 666=0, beast=god, man=divinity or however you may choose to see it based on your particular lens for understanding. This correlation was one of his masterpieces. It collapses everything.

As it says in the BoL, “nothing is the secret key of this law” also. . .
“my number is 11 as all their numbers who are of us” . . .
Also “unite by thine art so that all disappear” . . .
In the GON:
Nothing = 11
Zero = 8
One = -8
Cosmos= 0
Will = 0

My tribute to it is a rather large tattoo covering most of my left hip.

-Daerice

This is my 3rd and most recent tattoo. Even though I don’t practice Judaism anymore I do still feel it is a part of me. I was raised Jewish and went to a Jewish private school for a long time. I had the whole Bat Mitzvah and everything. My parents gave me the name Chayah (as it is in Hebrew in my tattoo), which means life or living thing. I will always feel Chayah is part of me and I wanted to get a tattoo for that.

Ironically I didn’t realize that the place I had design and do my Hebrew tattoo had a business card with Hitler on it. Go figure.

-Robin

More Hebrew Tattoos

The story goes that when a phoenix dies, it falls into ashes, and from the ashes it is reborn. The reason why i got my phoenix tattoo was because i always was someone else, and not being my true self. Well my previous life has died, that chapter of me no longer exists, and the new me (the pheonix) is the new chaper of my life.

-Alberto

More Phoenix Tattoos

Phoenix Tattoo

When my ex-boyfriend mumbled something about not been surprised from me anymore, i just had to go and do something about it, say…. like another tattoo (the 4th one).

The phoenix stands as a reminder, that no matter how hard i fall into depression, or what sort of crisis come my way - i can be reborn from the ashes, and come back stronger and more beautiful than ever.

-shira

BlackWork Shoulder and Face Tattoo

The first tattoo was a present 4 myself on my 19th birthday, the second one just now.

I have a hobby since I was 17 years old, its aggressive inline. I’ve got my favorite skate producing company- Salomon, and i was riding with them some years. So I designed my salomon skate as a tribal tattoo, cuz I knew, even if i don’t skate some day, its been a big part of my life, and is worth to be inked on my body, cuz I love this art.

My favorites are especially tribal tattoos, so next one is just a piece of art with no meaning or story under it, except that the idea of it came out pretty silly. I had 2 scars on my eyebrow from piercings done. I loved them, but the 1st one I ‘knocked out’ by falling down on it while skating, the second just came out and so- if I can’t pierce this eyebrow anymore, I thought I could tattoo the scars over (cuz many people do that on their scars). It was a joke at first, but as I loved this art even more, I just felt I needed a tattoo on my face :] I’m now a month happy with it and yeah- the scar on the eyebrow was most painful when tattooed :/

-Anna
Designed by: Anna
Inked by: Vadim - Vadim Tattoo (Latvia)