Alphabets; gematric calculator

Shakespeare's Epitaph

K. Shakespeare understands himself as Mary's Son

A. Values of Text and Names

E. Gematric aspects of the 4 Y-Words;

G. Y-words in the Angel's Message to Mary

J. The Annunciation words in Greek and Latin

L. Shakespeare's gematric construction for Jesus and Mary

I. Two Semicircles

II. The Five Backward-Steps of Y-Words

III. Three more Greek words

GOOD FREND FOR IESVS SAKE FORBEARE

TO DIGG THE DVST ENCLOASED HEARE.

BLESTE BE YE MAN YT SPARES THES STONES

AND CVRST BE HE YT MOVES MY BONES.

I. Two Semicircles

1. My study on Shakespeare's Epitaph has largely dealt with the 4 Y-words, each consisting of 2 letters. I related the 4*2 letters to the word PENSATOR, and the 4 Y-words to the Greek Annunciation titles for Jesus (H)Yios (H)Ypsistou, (H)Yios T(h)eou – Son of the Highest, Son of God.

2. There is a curiosity of spelling and pronunciation in the first two letters of these four words: The aspirate H is pronounced, but not represented as a single letter. It is marked by a semi-circle ⁽ before the following sound with the open part looking to the right, e.g. ⁽Yios.

On the other hand TH is the Latin transcription for the single Greek letter THETA (J,Q), just like in English the two letters th for the single sound [θ]. So on there are the one hand two sounds and one letter, on the other hand two letters for one sound.

3. Shakespeare made use of an English printing convention to replace TH by Y and put the E above the Y. Similarly Y plus superscript T meant THAT.

In the four Greek words mentioned above (H)YIOS is named twice. So if Shakespeare repeats YT, it's plausible to suggest that the second letter T stands for THEOU. YE, furthermore, may stand for the first three letters of THEOU. So the first three Y-words of the epitaph can be read like this:

YE	YT	YT
THEOU	(H)YIOS THEOU	(H)YIOS THEOU

In this way the letter Y – as true letter Y and sign for TH – connects (H)YIOS with THEOS: Jesus is Son and God in one.

4. Under this assumption, i.e. amidst such theological terms, Shakespeare must have connected some special meaning with the fourth word MY. It is distinguished from the other three words by being written successively:

E	T	T
Y	Y	Y	MY

If YE and YT do not have a meaning for themselves, but represent other words, MY, by analogy, can also stand for words similar in meaning to its preceding equals. So it's reasonable to assume that Shakespeare was inspired by the English form MARY for MARIA to understand MY as two initials for the Latin form MARIAE YIOS – MARIA's Son. We may even suppose that it was Shakespeare's firm intention from the beginning to honour the Virgin Mary as his celestial protectress and that he was intrigued by the possibilities which the possessive pronoun MY offered him.

In an earlier chapter I pointed out that the first Y-word starts, and the last ends with Y, which suggests the arrangement of the 4 words in a circle. Two arrangements are imaginable:

The first graphic assigns two Y-words to the beginning and end of each semi-circle. This circular arrangement, however, is not an end in itself, but has to be cleared of superfluous double forms so that the two semi-circles are connected in a new way. What is left after one YT on the right and one Y on the left has been removed reveals the aimed at sense that was not recognisable before. If the reading starts on the right (YT), the the 2+3 letters can be understood as initials for YIOS THEOU and MARIAE YIOS in such a way that YIOS is enclosed by the first and last letter of the genitive case MARIAE.

The meaning of this enclosure is protection: Jesus was protected in Mary's womb before he was born. When Jesus hung on the cross, he said to his mother, referring to his disciple John: "Woman, this is your son", and to the disciple "This is your mother". So all Christians can look upon Mary as their mother, who protects them like her own son Jesus. In the Middle Ages Mary came to be venerated as "Madonna of the Protecting Cloak" (Schutzmantelmadonna):

The Virgin Mary is the bridge through which the Son of God entered human history in order restore the wounded creation. We may imagine, in the way of the represented circle, that Adam and Eve after disobeying God's commandment, were excluded from the upper half of the circle that represented light and happiness and henceforth had to live in the lower half, in a world of remoteness from God and many forms of deprivation.

5. The NS 42 and 40 of YT and MYE can be put in the ratio 2*(21:20). It can mean two crosses of double rhombi that can be fitted to three-dimensional figures of octahedron:

The two octahedra can be thought to represent the two expressions YIOS THEOU and YIOS YPSISTOU and, in a theological sense, the divine and the human nature of Jesus Christ.

6. If MY stands for the MARIAE HYIOS, then the English form MARY with the Y at the end can be understood in the same way. The numeric values of MY and MARY are the inverted numbers 35 and 53, which are half the NV and the NV+FV of IESUS (70, 106).

If the genitive M-E means M-ARIA-E, then ARIA can be equated with Y and YIOS. The 4values of ARIA prove to be the NS 74 of WILLIAM:

	NS	FS	sm	FV1	FV2	sm	tot.
ARIA	28	25	53	11	10	21	74

II. The Five Steps of Y-Words

1. We can distinguish four groups of words and five steps until the final goal of sense is reached, two concerning the text (T) and three the circle (C):

T 1.	YE	YT	YT	MY
T 2.	THEOU	YIOS	YIOS	YPSISTOU
C 3.	YE	YT	YT	MY
C 4.	E	YT		MY
C 5.	-E	YIOS THEOU		MARIA- YIOS

If Shakespeare proceeded according to these five steps and words, he will have verified their gematric relevance with regard to the purpose he had in mind. As usual, the 4values serve as supreme criterion of validation.

2. I start with the fifth step, Shakespeare's final objective of sense:

	NS	FS	sm	FV1	FV2	sm	tot.
YIOS	63	36	99	13	10	23	122
THEOU	66	48	114	16	11	27	141
sm	129	84	213	29	21	50	263
MARIAE	45	37	82	11	37	48	130
YIOS	63	36	99	13	10	23	122
sm	108	73	181	24	47	71	252
total	237	157	394	53	68	121	515
515 = 5*103; 157+68 = 225 = 15*15; 121 = 11*11

The final result 515, in which Shakespeare finds his NS 103 five times, has a highly symbolic meaning. If the 5 diametric elements are numbered from 1-5, the second half of the circle starts with 5:

If Jesus Christ as the Son of God takes the place of number 5, he has chosen MARIA to complete the second semicircle by her giving consent to his incarnation.

The 4v-sum 252 exactly shows that the 5 elements of the circle axis create two areas and two arcs. The palindrome 252 contains the palindromic factors 12*21 whose single digits can serve to represent the revolving character of the circle:

In addition, the 4v-sum 252 is here composed in such a way that the NS+FV1 and FS+FV2 form a numeric ratio:

NS	FV1	sm	FS	FV2	sm	tot.
108	24	132	73	47	120	252
132:120 = 12*(11:10)

3. The fourth step consists of the two contractions of the four Y-words:

	NS	FS	sm	FV1	FV2	sm	tot.
YT	42	42	84	12	12	24	108
MYE	40	35	75	11	12	23	98
sm	82	77	159	23	24	47	206
84:75 = 3*(28:25) = 3*53
206 = 2*103

Astonishingly, the 4v-sum of the two words is again divisible by 103. 5+2 may characterise, as shown in the graphic, the elements of one semicircle. The (countable) digits of number 103 itself can be referred to a circle line divided by two points:

As the right graphic shows, the divided circle line can represent the trinitarian principle, the first three digits of p, and a pattern of the number 10.

In addition, 206 can be understood as 20+6 which is the number of elements of the octahedron: Jesus Christ unites in himself two natures represented above by the ratio 2*(21:20).

4. If the two results are added, the right and left halves are divisible by 7:

	NS	FS	sm	FV1	FV2	sm	tot.
YIOS THEOU	129	84	213	29	21	50	263
YT	42	42	84	12	12	24	108
sm	171	126	297	41	33	74	371
MARIAE YIOS	108	73	181	24	47	71	252
MYE	40	35	75	11	12	23	98
sm	148	108	256	35	59	94	350
total	319	234	553	76	92	168	721
371:350 = 7*(53:50); 126:108 = 18*(7:6)
553:168 = 7*(79:24)

The FV1/2-sums 74 and 94 are the NS of WILLIAM and OVIDIUS. The sums 41 and 33 correspond to ILLIA and WM. SHAKESPEARE's NS 103 is contained seven times in 721.

5. Step 3 adds the 4 Y-words as the basis of the above circular arrangement:

YE	28	28	56	11	11	22	78
YT	42	42	84	12	12	24	108
YT	42	42	84	12	12	24	108
MY	35	30	65	12	10	22	87
sm	147	142	289	47	45	92	381

The inverted sums 78 and 87 anticipate their converging role in closing two semicircles. The sums of the three steps 721+381 = 1102 = 2*19*29 curiously are identical with the 4v-sum of Ovid's and Shakespeare's names.

6. Now the 4v-sum of the four Greek words (step 2) has to be added to the two previous ones:

319	234	553	76	92	168	721
147	142	289	47	45	92	381
327	200	527	56	44	100	627
793	576	1369	179	181	360	1729
1369 = 37*37; 576:360 = 72*(5:8)
793:936 = 13*(61:72) = 7*(13*19)

The letters equivalent to 13 and 19 are NT constitutive of the TENET cross of the SATOR Square. 61 is the NS of TENET.

7. Although the Y-words have been included already, they should, as the first step, once more added:

793	576	1369	179	181	360	1729
147	142	289	47	45	92	381
940	718	1658	226	226	452	2110
940+226 = 1166 = 11*106

In looking at the results, we should not forget Shakespeare as the author of the gematric construction. Did he know or aim at these exact results? We should assume so if they reveal sense and meaning.

Two sums, 226 and 106, refer to gematric values of IESUS CHRISTUS: 226 is the 4v-sum of CHRISTUS and 106 the NS+FS of IESUS. Twice the sum 226 is striking, it may again refer to the two natures of the Son of God. In addition, 452 is the NS+FS of the four axes (vertical-horizontal, diagonal) of the SATOR Square. 113 is the numbered sum of the four axes:

The number 211 is prime, it's the inversion of 112, the NS of CHRISTUS. It can mean his new existence after his resurrection.

III. Three more Greek words

1. The four Greek Y-words are taken from the message of the Angel Gabriel. The word YIOS, however, occurs a third time in the accusative form YION when the Angel announces to Mary that she would conceive a son whom she should give the name IESOUN. Before the Angel gives this message he addresses the virgin: Don't be afraid, MARIAM. The Greek text uses the original Aramaic form of the name.

Shakespeare treated the four Y-words freely. He found that the single Greek letter Theta is written with two letters in Latin, so in return he neglected the initial pronounciation of H in (H)YIOS. On the other hand he kept to Greek OU in THEOU although the two letters are pronounced as one sound.

If Shakespeare looked at the gematric values of the additional three words, he may have decided to neglect the final letter M in MARIAM. The gematric values he then established must have excited him in the highest degree:

	NS	FS	sm	FV1	FV2	sm	tot.
MARIA	40	32	72	11	10	21	93
YION	58	41	99	31	41	72	171
IESOUN	79	50	129	79	12	91	220
sm	177	123	300	121	63	184	484
121:(177+123+63) = 121:363 = 121*(1:3)
220:(93+171) = 220:264 = 44*(5:6)

Shakespeare found that the NS and FS of the three words are the exactly the same as for his own two names:

	NS	FS	sm	FV1	FV2	sm	tot.
WILLIAM	74	52	126	39	17	56	182
SHAKESPEARE	103	71	174	103	71	174	348
sm	177	123	300	142	88	230	530

To discover this surprising concordance may have given Shakespeare strong motivation for his epitaph. For example, the NS of its fourth line is 313, just like the 4v-sum 93+220 of MARIA and IESOUN.

2. Shakespeare realised the relevance of the two results of 4+3 words at once:

4 w.	21 le.	327	200	527	56	44	100	627
3 w.	15 le.	177	123	300	121	63	184	484
	36 le.	504	323	827	177	107	284	1111
627:484 = 11*(57:44) = 11*101 > FV 112

The numbers 11 and 101 obviously refer to the Second Divine Person. The FV 112 is the NS of CHRISTUS.

The factors of 504 are 9*8*7 as the symmetrical counterparts of the first three numbers 123. The average NV of the 36 letters is 14, just like that of the names IESUS (70) CHRISTUS (112).

The NS+FS 827 has trinitarian meaning in that it can be understood as 8+27 which is 2³+3³.

3. For Shakespeare and Christian believers it is clear that the gematric order of the seven words examined has neither come about by chance nor by the evangelist Luke, but by the Divine Spirit who permeates the creation with the wisest order that exists independent of what the human spirit has recognized or will recognize. The gematric concept is his work as well. It's part of what is said about the holy scriptures' divine inspiration. While Roman authors like Ovid encoded order into their texts, this is done in the gospels by the Holy Spirit.

What Shakespeare did, was to discover gematric connections with regard to the annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. There are innumerable other comparable connections but unexplored and unexplorable by the human mind.

4. If we look at the initials of the seven words, there is a problem of the H. As there is no single letter for the Greek letter Theta (J) in THEOU, we should count two letters. In consequence we should then count two letters for HYIOS and HYPSISTOU,too:

	HY	TH	HY	HY	M	HY	I	sm
NS/V	30	27	30	30	12	30	9	168
FS/V	19	25	19	19	7	19	6	114
	199				83			282
114:168 = 6*(19:28) = 6*47

The number of initials has increased from 7 to 12 letters. The average NV of each letter is 14 like with the 36 letters of the seven words.

The ratio 19:28 can be understood as 1+9 and 2+8 referring to 10 points and 10 measures in a circle:

5. The sound H is especially associated with the Holy Spirit: After his resurrection, when Jesus appeared to his disciples, he "breathed on them" and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20,22). The 5 H have the NS 40 of MARIA, if the FS 30 is added, the NS+FS 70 is the NS of IESUS. It is a demonstration of how the 4 points and 3 lines of one tetractys side can be understood: as ratio of part to whole 4:(4+3). Jesus is both the divine creator of the Virgin Mary and takes his human nature from her through the Holy Spirit. 30+40 may characterise the two natures of IESUS.

Written/March 2009

Revised: June 2014

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