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Sonnet CXXXVI

If thy soul check thee that I come so near,
Swear to thy blind soul that I was thy 'Will,'
And will, thy soul knows, is admitted there;
Thus far for love my love-suit, sweet, fulfil.
'Will' will fulfil the treasure of thy love,
Ay, fill it full with wills, and my will one.
In things of great receipt with ease we prove
Among a number one is reckon'd none:
Then in the number let me pass untold,
Though in thy stores' account I one must be;
For nothing hold me, so it please thee hold
That nothing me, a something sweet to thee:
   Make but my name thy love, and love that still,
   And then thou lovest me, for my name is 'Will.'

Traditional interpretation

This sonnet is another witty sexual joke continuing with the play on the word “Will” as a euphemism for Shakespeare’s penis, which he wishes to insert into his mistress (the dark lady).  The lines “among a number one is reckon’d none …” are interpreted to mean that the mistress has many lovers (ie she is a prostitute).  Shakespeare is just one of the many customers that she has.  In this sonnet it seems that Shakespeare has been rejected (his soul has been "checked" when he approaches her), and he feels that he is but one of many lovers that she has (“that nothing me …”).  He pleads that by being considered just a name, just one of many lovers, that she may then accept his sexual advances as one of her many customers.

Elucidation

This is one of the most beautiful and profound sonnets in the entire collection, and also seems one of the hardest for the English scholars to understand in any context other than sex.  It deserves and long and deep explanation, and I apologise if the reader finds this a bit heavy going.  There are many concepts to understand, beginning with the real the key to understanding this sonnet:

John Napier and the discovery of logarithms

What on earth does the discovery of logarithms have to do with Shakespeare?  John Napier's (1550 - 1617) discovery of logarithms lead on to significant advancements in Engineering and science.  His work was contraversial at the time and his manuscripts were in circulation and discussion in some of the secret societies that Shakespeare probably associated with well before the actual publication.   It was not until the 1600’s that the concept of zero and negative numbers started to be used by mathematicians in the west.  Whilst there is evidence that Indian mathematicians had been using zero for several hundred years before Fibonacci brought it to Europe around 1200 AD, it took a while to catch on.  It wasn’t until the 18th century that negative numbers (-1, -2, -3, etc.) enjoyed widespread use, and this permitted further technological and engineering advancement.

After about 20 years work, in 1614 John Napier published his work on logarithms as a means to simplify the multiplication and division of large numbers.  It seems likely that Francis Bacon and other members of the School of Night saw and discussed Napier’s manuscripts many years before publication.

Numerology was also very important to students of the occult.  In particular:

                1 = unity, or God (Purusha in Hindu religion)
                0 = the manifest Universe, everything created (Prakriti in Hindu religion)

At this stage also note a seemingly trivial but mathematically correct and esoterically significant equation:

One divided by two = zero plus one remainder

If we do this simple arithmetic using long division as you learned back in primary school, you can verify that this statement is mathematically correct.  One divided by two won’t go, so we put 0 in the numerator and carry one remainder to the first zero after the decimal point.  We then divide 10 by 2, and get 5, which we put in the numerator, and as we now have zero remainder we can stop dividing.  However, for the purposes of this esoteric equation we stop after the first operation: one divided by two won’t go, so we place zero in the numerator and carry one remainder.  Esoterically speaking, the division (or sacrifice) of the one God results in the manifest universe, which is represented by zero, and the original God (the remainder) remains unchanged, untainted, unspoilt, from the creation.

As mentioned in sonnet 135, the ultimate goal for the passionate pilgrim is the dissolution of the ego and merging with God – this is the goal of Yoga (Yoga means Union) also referred to as enlightenment, Samadhi, liberation (Moksha) and self-realisation.  Most spiritual paths teach that liberation requires some assistance from God or Guru, sometimes called “Grace” – as in The Tempest where Prospero says: 

“But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands.
Gentle breath of yours my sails must fill …
As you from crimes would pardon’d be,
Let your indulgence set me free.”                

(The Tempest, Epilogue, 19-20)

Here Prospero is asking God to provide the final measure of energy or Grace necessary to bring his soul to the final stage of enlightenment. 

But as every diligent meditation student knows, when the presence of God is felt the experience is not always sweet and wonderful with angels, pure white light and falling rose petals!  It can be a terrifying experience which is not at all what the student is expecting.  Students with practical experience of such events know that they can react quite negatively when the Shakti or Kundalini energy is felt for the first time (when “I come so near”).  After pleading for the Grace of God, when it is actually received the student is terrified and runs away!  They can give up practice altogether for a period of time.   The instruction at the start of the sonnet is to provide encouragement for the passionate pilgrim.

We now come to the puzzling lines about "one being reckon’d none".  Numbers and numerology were very important to members of occult organisations.  I generally avoid the numerology thing, but it is interesting to note that the number of this sonnet, 136, when the digits are added we get 10, ie 1 and 0, the subject of the sonnet and the discussion below.  (Is this a coincidence?).

Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the subject of Tarot card 0.  The Fool is both one and zero – the one divine life-force, and the Ring-Pass-Not of creation.  In Eastern terminology, one represents God (Purusha), and 0 represents the entire creation (Prakriti). 

Recalling that divine equation, which was introduced earlier:

                One divided by two = 0 plus 1 remainder

The entire creation comes into manifestation by the sacrifice of God (Purusha), who remains unaffected and undiminished afterwards.  Every individual soul (Jiva) is part of Purusha, since nothing in the entire creation came from anything other than Purusha in the first place; yet by having individuality we are in a way all separate from it.  Hence both advaita (non-dualist) and dualistic views of God are correct.  It is at this stage that Shakespeare states that in things of great importance (receipt), “one is reckon’d none”.  When is one reckoned to be zero?  The logarithm of 1 is zero.  This may seem trivial to us in the current age, but 400 years ago John Napier presented a thesis to demonstrate how logarithms could transform numbers and make complex multiplication and division operations a simple matter of addition.  This was a major mathematical and scientific breakthrough and to the lay person probably appeared to be magic!  So what do logarithms have to do with a sonnet about the divine Will?  

We have a mathematically correct operation symbolising the transformative power of love under Will (this brings to mind Aleister Crowley's writings, with which Jimmy Page was so enamoured).  Through the operation of logs and anti-logs, we can transform 1 (God) into 0 (the creation), and back again!  Nothing is lost; the operations are mathematically correct.  Logarithms are in this context being used as an analogy for the transformative power of the Will of God - this is real alchemy.  Every soul is indeed part of God (“in thy stores’ account I one must be”) yet we are currently part of creation (“nothing me”), though always inseparably linked to God (“something sweet to thee”). 

The key to the anti-logarithm transformation back from creation to divinity (0 to 1), the enlightenment or self-realisation for the spiritual student, is to remember God’s name, the divine Will.  This “re-membering” requires effort, such as meditation or chanting.  Examples of mantras from various traditions include:

The operation of the mantra is to: “make but my name thy love, and love that still”.  The ultimate goal is the state of Samadhi or enlightenment, full union with God – “then thou lovest me, for my name is Will”.  This is a sublime and complex sonnet full of optimism that the passionate pilgrim will be successful in attaining their ultimate goal.

© In the Light, 18 March, 2011 , Disclaimer, Son of Suckerfish drop-downs from HTML dog