Gematria
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Gematria is a system of alphanumeric substitution in which each letter of the Hebrew alphabet is assigned a numerical value. This allows words and phrases to be translated into numbers, and those numbers can then be compared, analyzed, and interpreted to reveal hidden meanings, symbolic relationships, or mystical insights. Gematria is a central technique in Kabbalistic thought, where it serves as a tool for uncovering the deeper structure of sacred texts, especially the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh).
The term "gematria" is believed to derive from the Greek word geometria, or possibly from a conflation of gramma (letter) and metron (measure), reflecting the art of measuring letters through numerical equivalence. Although most closely associated with Jewish mysticism, gematria has parallels in other traditions, such as Greek isopsephy and Arabic abjad numerology.
In the Hebrew system, the 22 letters of the alphabet are assigned values, and with them, any Hebrew word can be reduced to a numerical sum. The word for "life" (chai, חַי), for example, is composed of Chet (8) and Yod (10), totaling 18. This is why the number 18 holds special significance in Jewish tradition.
Gematria becomes especially powerful when words or phrases share the same numerical value. For example, the words Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) and HaTevah (הַטֶּבַע, "the nature") both sum to 86, suggesting a mystical identity between God and the natural world. Such equivalences are not considered accidental; rather, they are believed to reveal the hidden architecture of divine creation encoded in scripture.
There are several forms of gematria:
Standard Gematria: Using the basic letter-to-number values.
Mispar Gadol: Adds the value of final forms (so-called "final letters") as their own distinct higher values.
Atbash and Albam: Ciphers that replace letters based on alphabetic inversion or shifting, creating additional layers of interpretation.
Ordinal Gematria: Assigns numerical values by sequence (Aleph = 1, Bet = 2, etc., up to Tav = 22).
Kabbalists use gematria not merely for intellectual exercise but as a form of theurgical meditation. By contemplating the numerical relationships between divine names, commandments, and sacred texts, they seek to elevate their consciousness, reveal veiled meanings, and harmonize with the divine structure of the universe.
In modern esotericism and Hermetic traditions, gematria has been adopted into systems of Western occultism, especially within Hermetic Kabbalah, the Golden Dawn, and Thelema. Practitioners often compare Hebrew, Greek, and English gematria to examine words and magical formulae, aiming to unlock multidimensional significance in magical texts and ritual language.
Gematria is both a science of sacred number and a spiritual art. It unifies language and number, matter and spirit, exegesis and revelation. Through its perspective, letters cease to be mere symbols—they become vessels of divine energy, revealing a universe where nothing is random, waiting to be uncovered.
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Back to School: Economic Burden for Families and Multiple Uncertainties
500
At the dawn of a new school year, an immutable reality haunts the many families concerned: the exorbitant cost of supplies and services related to education. They prepare to spend sometimes unreasonable amounts even before their children step through the school door, at all levels. The rising cost of back-to-school goes beyond just notebooks and textbooks: it extends to a set of essential or superfluous items that significantly increase the bill.
There is a consensus around the financial burden of the school bag, a real headache. The average budget allocated per family for school supplies often exceeds 1500 dirhams. This figure rises even more when including uniforms, when required, transport costs, registration fees, and tuition for private schools. In some large cities, the total cost can exceed 3000 dirhams per child, a considerable economic weight for many families.
But the problem is not only the high cost. The heaviness of the school bag, often cited, illustrates inflation not only financial but also material. Children’s backs and developing musculature are put under strain, raising many health concerns. Beyond the essentials—notebooks, pens, calculators, etc.—the supply lists frequently include superfluous items, often imposed by schools for unexplained reasons. These excessive demands weigh down the school bag and complicate students’ daily lives without real educational justification.
In reality, we also face a system out of sync with parents' expectations and, by extension, the country’s. Some school content is outdated and problematic. Textbooks, another major expense, fail to evolve at the pace of the modernity that parents and children themselves aspire to. The modernization the country aims for is also undermined. Many families denounce persistent errors, mistakes, and content poorly adapted to modernity and their aspirations. Announced reforms, generally poorly conceived, have no impact and have always been ineffective. Criticism abounds both pedagogically and substantively: teaching materials struggle to engage students in stimulating and innovative learning. This is a major reason for the large dropout rates observed every year, and for a long time.
Another recurring flaw is that, once again, the school start will be unequal: luxury for some, sacrifice for others. Officially, the school start often looks like an idyllic photo album where everything seems perfect. Yet, for the majority, it is far from a moment of excitement as it should be. Faced with an overly large educational budget, difficult choices must be made: pay rent or tuition, buy textbooks, or ensure family sustenance. These contradictions reflect a profound social divide. In short, Morocco at two speeds, denounced by His Majesty the King in the 26th Throne Speech.
For many parents, school remains a theoretical right, sometimes without interest, especially in rural areas. In reality, it begins with debt that weighs heavily on daily life and sometimes jeopardizes the children's very future. This paradox, far from resolving, repeats every year, without significant measures from public authorities to lighten the burden, except for measures such as distributing school bags with a short lifespan and very meager financial aid.
The quality of teachers has also increasingly raised concern for several years, especially since the so-called contract-based recruitment among unemployed degree holders was "invented," often struggling to find stable employment elsewhere. This situation has led to a qualitative decline in teaching, where many teachers are more occupied with union and social claims than with their primary mission: to instruct and transmit knowledge. The number of strike days is staggering.
This contractual dynamic, far from improving the educational system, sometimes fosters instability and demotivation. Moreover, it is regrettable to note increased politicization among some teaching circles, with ideologies infiltrating beyond the pedagogical framework. These trends, often aimed at the systematic contestation of the established order, harm a serene school climate and compromise the necessary neutrality of any teaching. Children bear the cost.
Thus, more than a simple issue of training or skills, the challenge posed by the quality of teachers in Morocco highlights the need for a global and courageous reform, combining improved recruitment conditions, serious academic and ongoing training, and a clear separation between politics and education. Without this, Moroccan schools risk losing even more effectiveness and credibility, to the detriment of students and the country's future.
Education should not rely on the financial endurance, patience, or indifference of families, but on a coherent educational and social policy. A policy based on a clear projection of what the Moroccan citizen should be at a precise horizon. It is essential that the State and sector actors collaborate to limit costs imposed on families: reviewing supply lists to eliminate the superfluous, improving the quality and relevance of textbooks, further developing support for low-income families, deducting school-related expenses from taxes, without evading the issue of content and teacher competencies.
The "price" of this school start is measured not only in dirhams but in the social divide it deepens, in the inequalities it maintains. The real obstacle to education lies in teacher competence, in curricula, and at the bookstore checkout where families must pay for their children to have even a chance to succeed.
The school start is a serious matter requiring collective awareness and concrete actions to ensure that every child, regardless of family income, can access a dignified education. The time is for reform in practice, not just in speeches and postures. School is the only tool to reduce differences, guarantee social ascension, and ensure a bright future for the entire country, at a single speed.
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Sacred Geometry
795
Sacred geometry is the study of universal patterns, proportions, and forms that shape the structure of the cosmos. Based in both mystical philosophy and natural law, it proposes that certain geometric principles—such as the circle, the triangle, the square, and the spiral—are not mere abstractions of the human mind, but archetypal patterns embedded in the very fabric of existence. From the crystalline structure of minerals to the arrangement of galaxies, from the spiraling of galaxies to the loops of a seashell, sacred geometry reveals the fundamental harmony that unites all levels of being, from the microcosm to the macrocosm.
Historically, sacred geometry has been used in nearly every advanced civilization. In ancient Egypt, temples were constructed in accordance with geometrical harmonies to mirror the cosmic order and to serve as portals between the earthly and the divine. In Greece, Pythagoras and his initiates viewed numbers and forms as the essence of all reality, with the tetractys—a triangular arrangement of ten points—symbolizing the unfolding of the universe from unity into multiplicity. Platonic solids, which are the only five regular polyhedra that exist in three-dimensional space, were seen as the geometric building blocks of the classical elements: earth (cube), air (octahedron), water (icosahedron), fire (tetrahedron), and ether or spirit (dodecahedron).
The circle is the most fundamental and infinite of all shapes, representing unity, eternity, and the divine source. From it arises the Vesica Piscis, formed by the intersection of two circles, symbolizing the intersection of spirit and matter, or heaven and earth. This sacred figure originates other key patterns such as the Seed of Life, Flower of Life, and Tree of Life, each a progressively complex map of creation and emanation. These patterns are found carved into sacred sites around the world, not as decoration, but as invocations of cosmic harmony encoded in symbol.
At a more esoteric level, sacred geometry is not only the structure of physical matter but also the architecture of consciousness. Every line and angle becomes a glyph of spiritual truth. In the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, for example, the Sephiroth are arranged in a precise geometric pattern that mirrors the process of divine emanation from the Infinite (Ein Sof) into the manifested world. In Islamic architecture, intricate geometric mosaics reflect the infinite within the finite, pointing to the divine through abstraction and mathematical beauty. In Eastern mandalas, sacred geometry functions as both map and mirror—a diagram of the universe and a guide to inner stillness.
The mystical power of sacred geometry resides in its ability to bridge the material and the metaphysical. Geometry is not only a tool for measuring space but a sacred science that unveils the divine intelligence at work in all things. To contemplate these forms is to enter a state of resonance with the universal order. When one meditates upon the proportions of a golden spiral or the interlocking symmetry of a mandala, the soul begins to remember its own original harmony.
Sacred geometry is not a human invention, but a revelation—a language through which the cosmos speaks to itself. It is the alphabet of creation, the blueprint of form, and the silent song of order hidden in the chaos of appearances. Whether found in cathedrals or pinecones, in the fractal of a fern or the plan of a pyramid, these shapes serve as portals to remembrance. They whisper that behind all things lies a unified design, and to perceive it is to glimpse the mind of the divine.
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Le Monde and Morocco: Deconstructing a Biased View of a Revered Monarchy...
950
The newspaper Le Monde, founded on the recommendation of General De Gaulle in the context of the Second World War in 1944, is internationally renowned for its investigative journalism and analytical capability. However, it often displays a biased approach when it focuses on the Kingdom of Morocco. The article published on August 24, 2025, titled "In Morocco, an atmosphere of end of reign for Mohammed VI," symptomatically illustrates this tendency, which deserves a response by also recalling the conflictual relationship the newspaper has had with the Kingdom almost since its inception. The impression is that it is probably the fact that Morocco is a Kingdom that bothers or disturbs the paper. The relationship to monarchy, particularly from the French left, is not unrelated to this ideological stance.
For a long time, Le Monde's editorial coverage of Morocco has avoided neutrality. Since the time of Hassan II, the paper frequently adopted a critical tone, sometimes unjustly severe, offering a European reading framework that often reduced the complex Moroccan political reality to a caricature. Between interpretations disconnected from reality and unfounded insinuations, the treatment of the country has often been limited to a black-and-white vision, marginalizing the concrete nuances of its evolutions and its centuries-old history. It must be reminded that the Kingdom, as a nation-state, existed long before what is today called France. It therefore has its own codes and its own evolution and worldview.
The newspaper's stance, inherited from a postcolonial reading marked by a basic socialism fixed on the image of an immutable authoritarian power and a society on the brink of upheaval. Journalists seem to relive by proxy the years before 1789. Conflations and romanticized interpretations are the rule.
Returning to the article, would the King of Morocco be a misunderstood sovereign? Is the Kingdom, for its part, so little known to the journalists of "Le Monde"? Would the secular Moroccan people simply be a copy of the people of medieval France? Or is it simply an ideological stance blinding the paper?
The mention of an "atmosphere of end of reign" in the recent article betrays profound ignorance coupled with a dubious hypothesis. In reality, no tangible sign of decline emerges, quite the opposite. The Moroccan people show notable attachment to their monarchy perceived as an essential pillar for stability, development, and national cohesion. A simple observation of social networks would have spared the authors from such errors, for since 1999, under the impetus of King Mohammed VI, Morocco has achieved important reforms. These are advances that took France two centuries. How can one forget to mention the country’s major achievements in such a short time:
- Sustained economic growth in several strategic sectors, generating jobs and sustainable prospects.
- Modernization of the family code (Moudawana), a symbol of major social progress, particularly regarding women's rights.
- Adoption of a transitional justice policy favoring reconciliation and healing historical wounds.
- Establishment of mandatory medical coverage, expanding access to healthcare for all.
- Assertive diplomacy recognized on the African continent and internationally, demonstrating a well-thought-out, forward-looking strategy.
- The Kingdom is preparing to host the Football World Cup, a sign of great trust from the international community.
These successes, however glaring, are overlooked by the authors because they contradict a sensationalist narrative of monarchical decline which appeals to some French circles nostalgic, under the surface, for the monarchy they killed. The article recklessly mixes rumors, outdated clichés, and baseless hypotheses, portraying power as frozen, aging, and oppressive. The author consciously ignores the multifaceted reality of a country at the crossroads of ancient traditions and sustained modernization. The depiction of a "twilight" reign reflects a condescending gaze, reminiscent of dominant stereotypes that often reduce the Arab and African world to narratives of instability and decline.
Contrary to the dark picture painted by Le Monde, contemporary Morocco under Mohammed VI pursues a dynamic trajectory, marked by concrete progress and real stakes, aligned with popular expectations. Rejection is not expressed through a distancing from the monarchy, but by a demand for thoughtful, gradual reforms that respect traditions and institutions. In this context, speaking of "end of reign" stems from a mistaken reading that distorts the actual function and role of monarchy today.
Here, it is essential to claim rigorous journalism based on documentary research and pluralism, finally freeing itself from postcolonial reflexes and a condescending gaze. Morocco cannot be reduced to an exotic subject of study or a testing ground for imported scenarios. More than a relic, the monarchy embodies a central lever of a nation in motion, led by lucid and committed leadership.
Le Monde’s editorial past seems to weigh heavily on its analysis of current events in Morocco. By assertively stating an "atmosphere of end of reign," the article disconnects its diagnosis from the social, economic, and political realities shaping the Kingdom. The achievements show a sincere will to articulate traditions and modernity, stability and popular aspirations, in a difficult regional environment that the country has managed with discernment.
By omitting these elements, favoring unfounded rumors and finished stereotypes, the text promotes an alarmist narrative that harms both truth and constructive dialogue, feeding prejudices inherited from an outdated postcolonial vision.
Thus, far from a predicted decline, Morocco traces a path based on conscientious leadership, rooted in a millennia-old history and attentive to current challenges, looking towards a hopeful future.
It is time for Le Monde to renew its gaze with honesty and respect, going beyond clichés and integrating the diversity of the Moroccan voice. The arrogance of an external view must never outweigh lived reality.
Readers of this newspaper, as with others when it comes to Morocco, deserve balanced, non-partisan, and open information reflecting the richness and depth of a society and a Kingdom in full transformation, faithful to its institutions and its sovereign.
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