Greek Vowels and the Chaldean Planets

In the Papryi Graecae Magicae (P.G.M) we find a truly unique record into
the ancient practices of Greek, Egyptian, Jewish, Gnostic and early Christian
magic. Collectively, the P.G.M. refer to a cache of ancient papyri of spells
and rituals dating between the 2nd Century B.C.E. and the 5th Century C.E.
In them, we find a wide range of magical practices from folkloric remedies
and love spells to full-fledged exorcisms, summonings, and elaborate rites
of initiation.[1]
Particularly interesting to students of western esoterica is the frequent
recurrence of two practical techniques: 1) self-identification with the deity,
and 2) the vibratory use of long “untranslatable” vowel formulas identified
as voce magicae or nomina barbara.[2]
Both these techniques remain prominent in the modern currents of
western magical traditions under the practice of assuming godforms and
the vibration of divine names.[3] Indeed, these practices may be considered
universal and likely traced back to the teachings of a primordial tradition
preceding all archaeological notions of history, at very least we have early
material records of a parallel tradition arising in the east with the vowel
mantras of the Vedic schools and practices of becoming the deity during
worship.[4] Regarding the voce magicae of the P.G.M specifically, there is a
fair amount of historic literature that traces these practices to the rituals
and priestly tradition of Ancient Egypt; according to the chroniclers of the
ancient world, the priest of the Pharaohs were rumored to perform
unparalleled magical acts through invoking the harmonies of the seven
vowels.[5]
First origin of my origin, AEHIOYΩ, first beginning of my beginning PPP SSS
PHRE, spirit of spirit, the first of the spirit in me, MMM, fire given by god to
my mixture of the mixtures in me, the first of the fire in me, EY EIA EE, water
of water, the first of the water in me, OOO AAA EEE, earthy substance, the
first of the earthy substance in me, YE YOE…
Magical invocations such as the introductory line of the Mithras
Liturgy (P.G.M. IV. 475-829) quoted above drew on the sound of the
letters and the sacred science of hermetic vibration to align the practitioner
to the metaphysical principles of the operation. Such voce magicae were

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conceived as the vibrational manifestation of the very principle in
question. In some instances the sounds may have been designed to mimic
elements of Nature, such as the sound of wind(i.e.PPP SSS PHRE) or the
tune of water (OOO AAA EEE). In others, like the various permutations of
the the seven vowels (AEHIOYΩ) and the commonly repeated divine names
of IAΩ andIEOU, the vowel sounds were the magical formula used to
invoke the power of the “seven Immortal Gods of the Universe”.[6]
From the writings of Aristotle and Hippocrates we know that as early as the
4th Century B.C.E. the Greek initiates attributed the seven vowels to the
seven heavens and planets.[7] Manly P. Hall (1901-1990) in his Secret
Teachings of All Ages[8] discusses the correspondences:
The Greek initiates also recognized a fundamental relationship between the
individual heavens or spheres of the seven planets, and the seven sacred
vowels. The first heaven uttered the sound of the sacred vowel Α (Alpha);
the second heaven, the sacred vowel Ε (Epsilon); the third, Η (Eta); the
fourth, Ι (Iota); the fifth, Ο(Omicron); the sixth, Υ (Upsilon); and the seventh
heaven, the sacred vowel Ω(Omega). When these seven heavens sing
together they produce a perfect harmony which ascends as an everlasting
praise to the throne of the Creator. (See Irenæus’Against Heresies.)
However, the actual correspondences used by these initiates were never
recorded, so posterity was left playing a guessing game as to which vowel
represents which planet.
Considering that Greek astronomy was heavily influenced by the Egyptian
and Chaldean astronomers before them, we can safely assume that the
planets were arranged in the Chaldean order that predominated the
traditional teachings of the ancient world (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn).[9] We will address the question of whether the
order should be taken as ascending or descending shortly. The other
assumption taken by most scholars is that the vowels were considered in
their alphabetic order, but as Joscelyn Godwin points out a tonal or
harmonic order may have been more inline with Pythagorean doctrine
of Harmonia. [10]
Hall, while admitting the lack of textual evidence, proposes a Moon-
Alpha order based on thealphabetical ordering of the vowels and the
Chaldean planets in ascending order from Moon to Saturn.”Although not so
stated, it is probable that the planetary heavens are to be considered as

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ascending in the Pythagorean [Chaldean] order, beginning with the sphere
of the moon, which would be the first heaven.”[11] This is the same system
proposed by the 18th Century French scholar Abbé Jean Jacques
Barthélemy[12] and followed by the majority of vowel-planet
correspondence systems .[13]
However, the German occultist and magician Henry Cornelius Agrippa
(1486-1535) proposed a different system in his De Occulta
Philosophia.[14] Without the textual tradition to preserve the
correspondences used by the Greek initiates, Agrippa turned to the Hebrew
alphabet and initiatic tradition of the Kabbalah to provide the framework.
He had very high regard for the antiquity and symbolism of the Hebrew
letters, and in particular of the inherent 3:7:12 division of the alphabet in
which (and together with the ten digits) the initiate found the esoteric keys
of the universe (see Concerning the Trees). Agrippa’s correspondence was
likely influenced by the highly meditative and magical text of the Sefer
Yetzirah where the seven Hebrew Double Letters( ‫ ת‬,‫ ר‬,‫ פ‬, ‫ כ‬,‫ ד‬,‫ ג‬,‫ )ב‬map in
their alphabetic order to the seven planets in their descending order of
emanation (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon).
This Saturn-Bayt order is the predominate system of correspondence
between the seven Doubles and the seven planets in traditional
Kabbalah;[15] and, through applying the same formula (alphabetic letters
todescending planets) to the Greek vowels and Chaldean planets, Agrippa
arrived at the Saturn-Alpha order .
Vowel (Saturn-Alpha) (Moon – Alpha)

A,α Saturn Moon

E,ε Jupiter Mercury
H,η Mars Venus
I,ι Sun Sun
O,ο Venus Mars
Υ,υ Mercury Jupiter
Ω,ω Moon Saturn
Regardless of the Alpha orientation (Moon-Alpha or Saturn-Alpha), the Sun
and the vowel Iota in both systems remain unchanged. The Sun’s position
as the fourth and central planet in the Chaldean order defines it as the
central pivot between what modern astronomy understands as the inner

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planets (Venus, Mercury, Moon/Earth) and outer planets of the solar
system (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) . This Central Principle is precisely what we
find expressed in traditional glyph of Sol( ) as a literal expression of the
center point (•) within the circle (O). This concept is reiterated in
philosophical assertions such as found in the Corpus Hermetica, “And round
about the Sun, and dependent on the Sun, are the eight
spheres…” [16] Whether these esoteric teachings of the Sun-Center were
interpreted in terms of a modern heliocentric solar system- though
interesting and highly suggestive - is irrelevant.[17] As we have already
discussed in Sun: IGNIS CENTRUM, the initiates into the Mysteries would
have seen this as a reference to a metaphysical principle beyond the
manifested solar orb and pertaining to the traditional doctrine of the
sacred Center and the Divine Seed within. [18]
This brings us to question how the Chaldean order was defined in the first
place. Seems strange that we would still entertain a system based on a
simplistic geocentric model of the universe. Equally perplexing is how this
primitive system could seemingly predict a heliocentric solar system
through the elegant symbolism of the Central Principle. The answers lie in
how this order was created, or rather discovered. The Chaldean Magi
derived this order from their empiricalobservations of the sidereal cycles of
the planets. As such, it is perhaps one of the most pure and unbroken
traditions of sacred science as the arrangement was learned from the
planetary rhythms themselves.
Planet Sidereal Cycle
Moon 29.5 days
Mercury 88 days
Venus 224.7 days
Sun 365.25 days
Mars 687.1 days
Jupiter 12 years
Saturn 29.5 years
Seen from our vantage point on Earth, the Moon takes the shortest time to
complete a cycle around the zodiac and Saturn takes the longest. The

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sidereal cycle observed for the Sun is actually the Earth’s periodic orbit
around the Sun and acts as the base rhythm of 1-year (365.25 days) by
which we identify the outer and inner planets. For this reason whether we
assume a heliocentric or geocentric position the principle of Sun-Center
holds true. Thus, from our terrestrial orientation we perceive the universe
in the Moon-Alpha direction and the orb of the Sun is the fourth and
central planet because it is a reflection of our position on Earth.
We must take a moment to observe the natural synergy between Moon
and Saturn as the Alpha-Omega of the Chaldean planets. This speaks
volumes in the language of traditional symbolism where Moon is
synonymous with ‘Life’ and ‘Nature’ . [19] Saturn, on the other hand, has
been identified with edge of the heavens and the thresholds of space, time,
and timelessness (see The Eternal Chronos). Most humans in antiquity
would only experience one or two Saturn cycles in their lifetime and the
planet was logically equated with ‘Death’ and the Omega point of the
mortal human experience. [20] More importantly, however, Moon and
Saturn in their sidereal cycles share the same numerical rhythm (29.5) but
at different magnitudes (days/years). This is a truly remarkable and
beautiful manifestation of the Alpha-Omega principle - it teaches how
Unity can be separated and polarized merely through the perception of
space and time.

In the Saturn-Alpha order recorded by Agrippa we find an inversion of the

human perspective. The orientation reflects the Alpha and Omega axis
upon itself, it switches from the perspective of a human looking out at the
Heavens to the Creator overlooking His creation…This orientation is a
system the promotes the return to Center as opposed to Moon-Alpha that

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speaks to movement towards the periphery and circumference of the
circle. The return to Center is a descending act related to the “entering the
cosmic cave” or the “passage through the underworld” in the mythic
narrative of the Solar Hero (Osiris, Dionysus, Mithras, Apollo, Christos, etc.).
This chthonic act parallels the initiatic practices of descending into one’s
own being in order to awaken the Divine Seed of the Heart.[21] In
Traditional schools this has been identified as the principial act of initiation,
and according to Julius Evola (1898 – 1974) this act implied by alchemical
aphorism of the “Gold hidden within Saturn” is “one of the first and
fundamental operations in the initiatic art: the transferring of the sense of
the Self into the region of the heart.”[22] In the two systems of
orientation(Moon-Alpha and Saturn-Alpha) we find insights into two
branches of spiritual practice; the former best equated with the path of
mysticism and dissolution into the All, and the later to that of initiation and
spiritual immortality through Unity with the All.

This inversion is not only referenced in the Mysteries of the Greek and
Hebrew Alphabets, but we also find it in the rich symbolic language of the
Tarot and in particular the 12th trump- The Hanged Man. There is much to
contemplate regarding the abundant alchemical and magical symbolism of
the trump, but this is beyond the present scope. At a very topical level what
we are presented with is a symbol of the initiate reversing his orientation to
the natural world. [23] The inversion takes place in the 12th trump
representing the 12 constellations of the zodiac (time) and the 12 edges of
the cube (space). In older versions of the card such as Le Pendu in the Tarot
de Marseilles, the cross bar from which the figure hangs is supported by
two vertical poles each with six stumps, as if their branches have been cut
off – a clear metaphor to breaking free from the 12-pronged structure of
the universe. We should also note that this trump precedes the 13th and
most misunderstood card, Death. The exoteric and ominous nature of this

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major arcana is a far cry from the esoteric traditional symbolism as
representing the “passage through the underworld” and the metaphorical
death preceding initiatic resurrection. [24] Playing on the double meaning
of the Greek verb τελευτᾷν (‘to die’ and ‘to be initiated’), Plutarch wrote ”
to die is to be initiated into the Greater Mysteries.”[25] What we are
referring to is not physical death, but rather a philosophic “Death”
pertaining to the orientation of one’s sense of Self away from the limits of
physical existence and into the realm of transcendent principle; the
inversion of perspective as represented by Saturn-Alpha and The Hanged
Man trump is the necessary stage preceding this Great initiation.
This Alpha=Omega inversion and the doctrine of transcending the space-
time dimension is preserved(among many other places) in various Medieval
and Renaissance paintings and engravings of the Heavenly Spheres-
classified as ‘hermetic’ or ‘alchemical’ in nature. These depict an archetypal
Man (often depicted as androgynous to illustrate transcendent Unity)
standing atop the earth with his head in the Saturnine heavens. Other
variations display the figure standing in the 8th Heaven of the fixed stars
above the 7th Heaven of Saturn, or even more reduced versions simply
depict the figure standing atop the sphere of the heavens. Regardless of the
artistic variations all forms of this symbol share the theme of the
philosophic Man-God or Solar Hero triumphing over the material
world.[26] Resurrected beyond the confines of space-time and liberated
from the karmic cycles of life and death, the Solar Hero now peers through
the universe with the eyes of immortality… his orientation is none other
than Saturn-Alpha.

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While the uninitiated masses made offerings to and worshiped the exoteric
face of individual deity(ies) and the Solar Hero(s) of the prevailing
mythology in an attempt to gain worldly favors and a rewarding afterlife,
the initiates of the Mysteries recognized in these mythological images and
storylines symbolic concretions of greater esoteric truths.[27] Under the
doctrine of Pythagorean Unity and the divinity of the human soul, the
initiates of such traditions sought to achieve apathanatismos (‘deification
of the Self’) by aligning themselves with – and becoming – the Solar
Hero.[28] This was accomplished by a life-long devotion to the Mysteries
and their teachings where the mythological narratives of the Solar Hero
were revealed as parallel allegories to the spiritual development of man.
These Mysteries were committed to instructing the initiate in the
disciplinary techniques and practices to silence the desires of material
orientation and to experience the subtle realities through awakening the
Divine Seed of the Heart.[29] Via the magical and meditative practices of
self-identification with the deity and the vibration of vowel mantras and
other voce magicae as preserved in the P.G.M., the initiate learned to
transform his/her perspective to one of transcendent Unity (read Alpha =
Omega) and elevate their consciousness to a higher ontological level of
experience …we may say, that such practices were intended to liberate the
initiate from the confines of space-time and to evoke a transformation in
the initiate’s sense of Self from mere mortal to living God.
While, at a philosophical level, Agrippa’s Saturn-Alpha system seems to
best align with the traditional doctrine of initiation, we cannot conclude
that it was the system used by the Greek initiates in practice. That the
Chaldean order from a descending perspective was used is highly likely due
to the importance placed on the doctrine of the Center and the centering
implication ofSaturn-Alpha, but ordering the vowels in alphabetic order is
suspect given the musical nature of the sounds produced.
Perhaps in this light, and for practical application we should not correspond
the vowels to their alphabetical order, but rather according to their natural
acoustic pitch.[30] This would place the vowels in an empirically derived
hierarchy based on the frequency of their pitch, letting the vowel sounds
themselves dictate their position, and is very inline with the process used to
arrive at the Chaldean ordering of the planets. When in doubt let the
universe speak for itself.

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 Vowel (Saturn-Iota) (Moon-Iota)
I,ι ː Tree
iː Saturn Moon
H,η ɪ Day
eɪ Jupiter Mercury
E,ε ɛ Bed Mars Venus
A,α æ Cat Sun Sun
O,ο ɔ Cold Venus Mars
Ω,ω ɔː Law Mercury Jupiter
Υ,υ u You Moon Saturn
We find that when the Greek vowels are arranged in Tonal Order the
systems cannot be described as Alpha oriented, since both orientations
yield Sun-Alpha. Instead we are presented withMoon-Iota and Saturn-
Iota orientations depending on whether the initiatic (or inverse)
perspective is taken.
As to which system of correspondence is “correct”, it is impossible to say
for sure. They all speak to key universal truths and each is valid in its own
right. However, in practice, I strongly suspect that the Tonal Order to the
descending planets (Saturn-Iota) best aligns with practices of the Greek
initiates, particularly when we consider the symbolism of the planets in
light of the seven subtle centers of occult corporeity (i.e. chakras). We must
remember that as arrays of principles reflect into different states of subtle
existence their ordering tends to change, we see this with the arrangement
of the Chaldean planets which yield the Saturn-Alpha or Moon-
Alpha systems reproduced above. However, when we consider these in
terms of harmonics, and in particular the scale of perfect fifths, the order is
mixed and yields the harmony of the spheres manifest as time in the
ordering of the week (Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus).
This was represented by inscribing the seven planets in a circle connected
by the Heptagram, each planet links to the third planet from its position
resulting in the seven pointed star connecting the planets in their weekly
order.

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We are left with various gateways to unravel the Mystery of the Vowels and
the power of the “seven Immortal Lords of the Universe”. Through the
principles of inversion and reflection, the planets and vowels re-orient
themselves as they manifest at different ontological levels; and in each
manifestation they yield further insights towards the transcendent
principles of our universe. Ever so slightly the Veil is parted for those who
have the will and desire to Know.

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