| G |
|
| Geburah |
 Geburah is the fifth Sphere (Sephirah) of divine
emanation according to Kabbalah. The word Geburah means severity. See also
Sephiroth. |
| Gemara |
See
Talmud. |
| Gematria |
Kabbalists believed that the written word of God was the
result of His inspiration and that Scripture contained within itself an essence of His being. By the same token they believed that since God
is hidden, so too, was there a hidden meaning beneath the divine words of Scripture. Gematria made use of the fact that every
Hebrew letter has a numerical value assigned to it, so any words with the same numerical value could be linked. For
anyone interested in studying Gematria, Aleister Crowley's 'numerical dictionary' Liber 500 Sepher Sephiroth
is essential reading. |
| Gemini |
 Gemini, the Twins, is an air sign and the third sign of the zodiac. Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury. |
| Genie |
A genie is a member of a race of powerful and magical
invisible beings created out of smokeless fire who can use their powers for good or evil.
See also Jinn. |
| Geomancy |
Geomancy
is a method of divination
which involves reading features of the environment, such as the skyline, the lie of the land, the layout of a room,
markings on the ground, or how handfuls of dirt land when someone tosses them. The art
of Feng Shui uses practices similar to those used in geomancy, although it is not classed as geomancy, which once
formed part of the required study of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
in the late nineteenth century, and which still survives in modern occult practice. |
| Gimel |
 The third letter of the Sacred Alphabet. It literally means camel, has the phonetic value of G, and has a numerical value of 3. It is further attributed to the Moon and the Tarot Trump The High Priestess. |
| Gnomes |
In
Alchemical tradition, these are the elemental spirits of
Earth. |
| Gnosis |
This word derives from the Greek word for knowledge.
It refers to the divine knowledge sought by Gnostic initiates, who, contrary to the Christian view that salvation could be achieved
at death, believed it could actually be obtained in life. The related word Agnosis, meaning ignorance, is the root of the modern term
agnostic. |
| Gnostic Mass |
Aleister Crowley wrote
Liber XV - The Gnostic Mass
in 1913 while travelling in Moscow. It is similar in structure to the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church in many ways, but the
similarity ends there as the Gnostic Mass is a celebration of the principles of
Thelema, requiring five officers, namely a priest, a priestess, a deacon, and two
acolytes (called children). |
| Gnosticism |
This was an early form of Christian heresy, and a related
Pagan faith that believed the creation of matter was flawed, and the Creator, therefore, was an evil force. In Gnosticism, Jesus is equated
to the serpent of in the Garden of Eden, and one of the
Archons. |
| Goat of Mendes |
See
Baphomet. |
| Goetia |
Goetia is the first part of the Lemegeton, or Lesser
Key of Solomon, a 5-part seventeenth century manual on demonic
invocation popular with nineteenth/twentieth century occultists, most notably
Aleister Crowley and Arthur Edward Waite. The word Goetia stems from the Greek, meaning sorcery.
The Lemegeton purports to be the magical manual of King Solomon, whose legend includes tales of servant demons conjured by him
to do his bidding. |
| Great Work |
This term originates from the Latin of the
Alchemists and relates to the completion of the alchemical process, the
Summum Bonum.
In Ceremonial/Ritual Magick, the phrase refers to the ultimate goal, i.e.
union with the Divine. In Thelemic practice, it means succeeding in gaining the knowledge of and conversation
with one's Holy Guardian Angel. |
| Grimoire |
A book containing a magician's spells or incantations, or a
system of magick. Many such books were produced during the Middle Ages and Renaissance period. The Lemegeten, or
Lesser Key of Solomon, is a grimoire, translated by Samuel Liddell Macgregor Mathers
and edited by Aleister Crowley. |
| Guardian Angel |
A guardian angel is a supernatural creature or spirit who is believed
to protect and guide a particular person. Orthodox religions believe that certain angels are appointed by God at baptism to guide and protect each of the
faithful. See also Aleister Crowleys Liber VIII How to Contact your Guardian Angel. |
