Magic Squares in Christian Occultism, Part 2

Magic squares became associated with occultism through the practice of numerology. Numerology assigns number values to individual letters of alphabetic writing systems. Individual words or names can be assigned a numerical value by adding the values of their component letters. Numerologists often consider names and words with the same numerical value to be telated to one another in some way.

 Gematria, a form of numerology, began among the Assyro-Babylonians and was later adopted as a practice by the Jews. Words with identical numerical values were considered to be related to one another or to a person whose name could be assigned the same number. Remember that for the first few years, all Christians were Jews. The number of the Antichrist. 666, was recognized to also be the number of the Roman Emperor Nero, Nero Qasr (Nero Caesar).

The Hebrew word, gematria, probably comes from the Greek word, geometria (“geometry”).  Numerology is closely associated with the Jewish Qabbalah tradition, but there are examples within the Bible, where numbers such as 3 or 666 carry special meanings. The primary language for gematria has always been Hebrew. There is a Jewish tradition that God manipulated the letters of the Torah in order to create the universe; in effect, God’s creation of the universe was through the use of numbers; mathematics. The universe does indeed have a highly mathematical structure as attested to by modern physics.

The ancient Hebrews, and later the Jews, were very careful with names because the name of a person carried characteristics associated with that person. An example is Isaac, which means “he laughed” because old Abraham (he was over 100 years old) laughed when he was told that he and the aged Sarah (she was over 90 years old) would have a son. God said Sarah also laughed in secret but she denied it. Their laughter became that of joy and wonderment.

This is where the magic squares and the occultists come in. Because every word can be written as a number, words and even phrases can be embedded into number sequences. Sending a coded message to a fellow occultist, or placing a blessing or  a curse upon a person, could be accomplished by handing them a talisman upon which a magic square of numbers was inscribed. 

This is an attempt to use the power of words, phrases, and names to influence or to alter reality. Occultists believe that if the correct words (spells) are known, the practitioner can force the universe to create good health, wealth, love, and/or personal power. It is also true that malicious persons felt that they could cause disease, economic trouble, sadness, family conflict, and even death.

Even with the biblical proscriptions against involvement with magic, some Christians were fascinated by this.

Next: Magic Squares in Christian Occultism, Part 3   

Magic Squares in Christian Occultism, Part 1

I had to remove today’s post because it became corrupted by some sort of commercial spam. I am instead posting on another subject entirely. Before you read this, let me absolutely declare that I am not an occultist of any sort.  I reject the practice of magic. I am not speaking about stage magic, which is a form of entertainment based on sleight of hand and visual deception.  That is clearly not real and does not claim to be real.

What I am talking about is Magic (or more properly Magick). Magick is based on the belief that there is an underlying basis to reality which is not apparent to the normal human senses. Magick  believes that with knowledge of the correct words, phrases, or actions, one may influence, or even force, the universe to produce particular intended results. In other words, spells and curses. The traditional Christian understanding is that we should have nothing to do with any of this. Of course, some Christians, even some very learned Christians, have not abided by this understanding. Knowing about Magick and understanding how it crept into Christian use is not a violation of the proscription against it. It is necessary so that we do not do it again. (Sadly, some still do.) [Deuteronomy 18:9-13; Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 19:26, 19:31, 20:6, 20:27; Galatians 5:19-21.]

This will take several days to discuss, so bear with me and keep on reading. The subject of this series of posts is “Magic Squares” and how they have been used in Christian symbolism.

The simplest Magic Squares are, of themselves, merely mathematical constructs which consist of numbers arranged so that the addition of the numbers in a column in any direction (left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, or diagonally from corner to corner) always add up to the same sum. Examples are:

                                    2 7 6                                    All the columns in any

                                    9 5 1                                    direction total to 15.

                                    4 3 8

                         8   58 59  5   4   62 63  1

                        49 15 14 52 53 11 10 56  

                        41 23 22 44 45 19 18 48            All the columns in any

                        32 34 35 29 28 38 39 25            direction total to 260.

                        40 26 27 37 36 30 31 33

                        17 47 46 20 21 43 42 24

                         9  55 54 12 13 51 50 16

                        64  2   3   61 60  6   7  57

These mathematical constructions were known in numerous cultures around the world from early in the history of mathematics.  

The mathematical process for producing the squares can be expressed in mathematical formulae. The earliest squares were based on addition, but later squares have been based on multiplication, complex numbers, shapes other than squares, hypercubes, primes, and even genetic algorithms.  The term “magic square” is also applied to word squares which read the same in any direction.   

The squares became associated with occultism through the practice of numerology. Numerology assigns number values to individual letters of alphabetic writing systems. Every word or name can be assigned a numerical value.

More in the next post: Magic Squares in Christian Occultism, Part 2

Tell Someone About This Blog

This blog is receiving between 2,000 and 5,000 discrete visits per month.  Why not 5,000 to 10,000?  Tell your friends, relatives, and fellow church members about the blog.  Mention the blog in one of your tweets, on your personal blog, or on your Facebook page.

This is primarily a ministry to Christians but it also is read by persons who are not Christian.  There have been visits originating from occultic and pornographic sites.  Some readers have been followers of non-Christian religions such as Judaism and Islam.

This blog will never intentionally insult anyone but it also will never back away from telling the Truth.  The Good News is for everyone and if only one person comes to Christ because of this blog, the angels will rejoice. (Luke 15:1-10)

Magic For Jesus

{Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.} 

This is magic (sleight of hand) not Magick or Sorcery.  It is not supernatural but is based on making you think you see something which you do not see.

Magic for Jesus is a ministry to Sunday Schools and youth groups presenting visual lessons about biblical truths.  Many people, children especially, are visually oriented and will understand a point if it is in the form of a story, or, in this case, a magic trick.

Jesus used this approach in his parables.  The Kingdom of God is like …”

Magic for Jesus is non-denominational and from their short statement of faith, appear to be doctrinally orthodox.  They state that “We believe kids are the church too; not the future church.  They are the church right now.”

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One commenter was concerned that sleight of hand is based on deception and, therefore, could be viewed as dishonest.  I would say that this is a needless concern.  Magic for Jesus never tells children that the magic is real.  The tricks are used to make spiritual truths understandable.

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Magick and Sorcery are a different thing entirely.  They are ceremonial magic based on occult concepts and amount to attempts to influence events and people by the use of rituals, ceremonies, and secret or hidden knowledge.  Some claim that Magick and Sorcery may be White (good or benign) or Black (evil or malignant).  The Christian view is that all magic which attempts to influence people or the world is based on man's rebellion against God.   
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A magic trick which looks stunningly real, but it is not.  The magician offers to sell you the information on how to perform the trick.
http://www.youtube.com/user/dreamlandmagic?v=bc7wJA8fhKg&feature=pyv&ad=6923422215&kw=magic%20tricks

More on Edgar Cayce

Yesterday, I posted about Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet.  Search your Bible and test some of the other teachings of Edgar Cayce.

1. The Christ entity came to Earth in many different time periods in order "to manifest the first idea."  At various times it manifested in the following men: Adam, Enoch, Melchizedek, Joseph, JKoshua, Jeshua, and Jesus.

2. Christians serve "the Master Jesus who became the Christ." The Christ entity is a created being and is not a man; Jesus was the man.

3. Enlightenment comes when we realize our own divine nature and become at one with God.  This is classical pantheism.

4. Each of us is the same as Jesus, a spirit child of God. We each may have the Christ consciousness, the Holy Spirit.  The Creator Consciousness desired to have companions and so it created entities like itself from within itself, the first being Christ.  This means that every soul is a portion of God and therefore is divine and existed before this life.

5. Jesus was an Essene.  His mother Mary was one of twelve young girls chosen by the Essenes to be trained to become the mother of the Messiah.  Jesus and Mary were twin souls. Both were trained in the teachings of India, Egypt, and Persia and studied astrology, numerology, phrenology and reincarnation under the tutelage of the leader of the Essenes, Judy, "the first of women."  Judy's parents were Essenes at Carmel.

(Poster's comment; This teaching is totally absurd. The Essenes were a Jewish ascetic sect which strove for absolute ritual cleanliness and purity. They took ritual baths each day and avoided women to the point of not even allowing female animals in their communities.)

6. Cayce life readings dealt with telepathy, past lives, auras, telepathy, out-of-body experiences, and communicating with the dead.

7.  The power in gemstones can be harnessed.  The ancient city of Atlantis was powered by a giant crystal ball.

8.  Cayce predicted that in 1958 the United States would discover a death ray which was used on the ancient city of Atlantis.

9. Soul entities on Earth had sex with animals to produce giants.

10. The five human races were created separately but simultaneously on the Earth.

11. Many modern people were associates of Jesus in prior lives.

12. We are usually associated with people we knew in past lives.

13. Reincarnation gives a soul entity time to correct and perfect itself in its way back to oneness with God.

The Only Dream I Remember

I had a dream two nights ago and I remembered it.  This is remarkable because I have never remembered any of my dreams.  This is the only one …  ever.   I know this is not normal, but it is true.

In the dream, I was eating barbecue sandwiches with three people, an older man and two women, none of whom I knew, but who clearly knew and loved me.  They expressed their pleasure with me, told me I was on the right track, and that I should continue what I was doing.  The older man noticed that I had barbecue sauce on my cheek and reached over to wipe it off with his napkin.  For this to be the only dream I have ever remembered was puzzling.

I am definitely not a believer in occultism or “the science of dream interpretation.”  It is said that dreams speak in the language of symbols and that they may be an avenue for us to work out problems in our lives which we cannot address on a conscious level.  Many non-Christians see dreams as a place where they receive “guidance” from “somebody.”  Others see dreams as a series of archetypal human images produced when our minds are in neutral gear.   Still others feel that dreams have no meaning whatsoever.

In the Bible, God often used dreams to speak to his people (Matthew 1:20-24;  Acts 10: 1-48) and, sometimes, to those who were not his. (Genesis 40:8-19)  I have no idea if my dream was from God or not, but nothing in it is contradictory to a Christian understanding.

The archetypal symbols present in my dream are, to me, quite obvious.  While I place absolutely no credence in the “science of dream interpretation,” I thought it would be interesting to see what a dream interpretation dictionary would have to say about this dream.  I was not surprised at what I found.

The most obvious element of the dream is the presence of three people.  Three is the number of the Trinity, the number of divine perfection.

The older man is a symbol of wisdom, kindness, and forgiveness; the women, of nurturance and love.  Eating with others is taken to symbolize harmony and intimacy.  Eating or cooking meat is seen as getting to the heart of a matter. I have absolutely no idea what that matter would be.

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An update on 20 July 2026: I have just this year become aware that I have a rare neurodivergent condition known as aphantasia, the complete inability to call up mental visual images. I have never been able to do this but I did not realize that it was neurodivergent. Apparently most people with aphantasia can experience visual dreams. I still cannot.

Statements of Faith

Yesterday, in my post about Christian Translation,  I suggested that you check out their Statement of Faith.  This is an excellent idea for every religious website you visit.  Not every Statement of Faith is equal.  Not everyone who says "Christian" is Christian.  Jesus said so: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:22-23


What could Jesus have been talking about?  True Christians obey Jesus' teachings.  True Christians stay true to the faith "once delivered."  Jesus is not just talking about false prophets who are like hungry wolves disguised as sheep.  He is talking to each believer.


This is not about the eternal salvational security of the Christian.  This is about who is a Christian.  Jesus is warning us about being deceived by "false Christianities."  There are many "Christianities," not all of which are Christian.


If you read a group's Statement of Faith, or their publications, keep your mind and a discerning eye open for these RED FLAGS!!!!!!  ( I did the RED FLAGS!!!!! on purpose.  I know it is "shouting" and is frowned on on the internet, but the Christian's powers of discernment should begin to tingle when they encounter these non-Christian ideas, especially the subtle ones which seem reasonable on their surfaces.)  Paul said that if anyone, even an angel, even Paul himself, comes to you with a different Gospel, they should be rejected.  Paul said it forcefully in Galatians 1:8-9: ἀνάθεμα (anathema), "accursed."


There is room within the Body of Christ for disagreement and discussion over some matters of doctrine.  Remember the hierarchy of doctrines (convictions, persuasions, and opinions) discussed earlier.  The doctrinal beliefs listed below are, at best, highly suspect.  Some are completely non-Christian even if they are declared by "Christians."  All of them should set off your alarm system.


1.  Any denial of the deity of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or the Father.
2.  Any denial of the full humanity of Jesus.
3.  The idea that the Gospel is about making you materially rich.
4.  Certain questions about sexuality.
5.  Denial of any cardinal Christian doctrines.
6.  Mention of "secret teachings."
7.  A focus on the leader of a group rather than on Jesus.
8.  Emphasis on social justice at the expense of, or the elimination of, the Gospel.
9.  Mentions of "self-actualization" and discovery of one's "true inner self."
10. Rejection of portions of the scriptures.
11. Any idea of works salvation or self-salvation.
12. Addition of new doctrines for which no clear biblical support exits.
13. New Age ideas, reincarnation, ascended Masters, occultism, UFOs, fairies, elves
14. Hate-based teachings such as racism, extreme nationalism, etc.
15. Ghosts, spiritism, channeling
16. "Our group is the only true Christian church." A denial of the universal Church, the ekklesia.
17. Mixtures of other religions, such as Hinduism, with Christianity.  Numerous churches have "Christian Yoga" classes, seeing Hatha Yoga as secular.  This completely misunderstands that the underlying basis of all types of yoga is Hinduism.


This list could be greatly expanded.