The Mitzvah Of The Twisted Cord

Ki Teitzei

גְּדִלִים, תַּעֲשֶׂה-לָּךְ, עַל-אַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת כְּסוּתְךָ
you shall make twisted cords upon the four corners of your covering ... Devarim 22:12

The "four corners" (east-west-north-south) of the witch's altar is represented by four points of the pentagram within a pentacle. From my blog Craftwork of a Jewitch, the "four corners" in the pentacle may be laid out like directions on a compass as follows:



The "up" point on the pentacle is unitive in nature. The "down area" on the pentacle is multiplicative in nature. Thus, a "twisting cord" within the context of a "four-cornered garment" seeks to create unified multiplicity within multidimensional space, as does the Shema prayer of Judaic tradition. This is true as it pertains to the Torah phrase at the top of this entry and to the witch's altar, which in addition to it's "four corners" as previously described, has a twisted cord adorning it called a witch's altar ladder. Whereas the compass directions are a fact of nature, the witch's altar ladder is handcrafted and hand made, as are many tzitzyot.

Here are some handcrafted twisted cords, also known as witch's altar ladders, available for purchase at WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu.

Voice Of Adjuration - Charge Of The Goddess

Vayikra on Shabbat Sabbat Ostara

וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי-תֶחֱטָא, וְשָׁמְעָה קוֹל אָלָה, וְהוּא עֵד, אוֹ רָאָה אוֹ יָדָע; אִם-לוֹא יַגִּיד, וְנָשָׂא עֲו‍ֹנוֹ
And if any one sin, in that he heareth the voice of adjuration, he being a witness, whether he hath seen or known, if he does not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity ... Vayikra 5:1

וְשָׁמְעָה קוֹל אָלָה

Known in Torah as the Voice of Adjuration and in Witchcraft as the Charge of the Goddess, both refer to one and the same sacred oath, as dreamt this past week in The Immortals and elucidated in Maāt Kheru, True Voice.

Charge of the Goddess
original ritual poem written by Myfanwy and inspired by Goddess
on this Shabbat Sabbat Ostara
for this upcoming Full Raven Moon Erev Pesach Esbat ritual

I hear
the Voice of Adjuration
She of old, a Witch among Witches, Who is Known
Namelessly by a feast of Names
who dance among the stars myriad
in sacred rhythm with the Lady's moon
who sings upon the earth, caressing chords yet unknown
winding deliciously through the secret places
deeply deep within a most lovely lovely Night
breathing the Soul of Life into a Universe
with artistry, She crafts
Her glorious Multiverse, a myriad myriads
Being the beginning and end of All Desire
brewing up in Beauty every Mystery
in which the Heart Rejoices, the Soul finds Pleasure,
and with which the tongue of flesh tastes Immortality,
I witness True

Sufficient To Do It

Shemot

מזה מה-זה בידך
what is in your hand? ... Shemot 4:2

With digit sums of 10 (the value of the Hebrew hand-letter yod) and 1 (the value of unity), the total gematria of this phrase is 145. The gematriot of each word of the phrase are:

52 = בן = מזה = classification, family, nation
45 = מה = what (am I) I am, with the power to rectify reality
12 = בי = זה = b'yod (in the pintele yid)
36 = לו = בידך = lamedvavnik

Thus, we can see that, with this phrase, Moses is being assayed as to whether or not his pintele yid (Divine spark) is one that can be classified as being one among the thirty-six sparks in whose merit the world exists and within which dwells the Divine power to rectify reality.

With a gematria of 54 (the number of weekly portions in the Torah), Moses answers that in his pintele yid is a staff (מטה), which translates in my mind as sufficient (דים, with a gematria of 54) to do it.

The Fall, The Catch

Bereshit

In today's commentary on Bereshit (Sabbath Soul From The Mist Of Ab Duir) arose the topic of rings, taba'ot (טבעת).

From Torah Tidbits on rings:

TET-BET-AYIN-TAV, meaning RING, appears 38 times in Sh'mot (concerning the Mishkan or Kohen Gadol's garments. The only other place in Tanach that has a lot of rings is Megilat Esther (6 times). (Only two other occurrences - B'reishit and Bamidbar.) In singular, the word is TABA-'AT. In plural (most common) it is TABA-OT in its free-standing form - rings, and TA-B'OT (SH'VA under the BET rather than KAMATZ) in its S'michut form: rings of gold, rings of the Aron, rings of copper...

Interestingly, Torah Tidbits links the concept of rings to the heart (like the two opposite human/divine triplets discussed here and the 6 occurrences of טבעת in Megilat Esther) of the Shema (embodying the concept of Unity in Multiplicity) through the link of a linked discussion (see Torah Tidbits link). Links upon links upon links. Rings and rings and rings.

Other than the 38 times found in Shemot (Exodus), the only other two occurrences of taba'at/taba'ot found in the five books of Moses are one in Bereshit (Genesis) and one in Bamidbar (Numbers). In Bereshit (41:42), ring appears its singular form in the word construct meaning "his signet-ring" (את-טבעתו). In Bamidbar (31:50), rings appears in its plural form in the word meaning signet-rings, taba'ot (טבעת). Pharaoh's signet-ring is singular in Bereshit, and corresponds to the Unity aspect of the Shema. The signet-rings of the Israelites in Bamidbar are plural, and correspond to the Multiplicity aspect of the Shema.

With these ideas taken together, we can see that the Shema is not whole without Pharaoh, and that the two occurrences of טבעת outside the book of Shemot are intimately linked to the wholeness of the Shema.

Like the two occurrences of טבעת linked with the wholeness of the Shema, in my waking vision this morning, as described in Sabbath Soul From The Mist Of Ab Duir, two ideas arose simultaneously to my singular mind linking together in wholeness the prophetic Mist of Avalon with the soul of messianic consciousness "falling" into apprehension and "caught by" comprehension.

And, like taba'at and taba'ot, both the "ring" (Transforming Curse Into Blessing) and "rings" (Sabbath Soul From The Mist Of Ab Duir) link to my experience and to my reality as a Divine Spark made with both the soul Pharaoh the soul of Israel.

I am Pharaoh. I am Israel. I am what I am, and I Am One.

ברוך שם כבוד מלכותה לעולם ועד