I just found the following in my wanderings. As WSB used to write in certain books: GETS

Entry: Adventurer; Definiton: risker; synonyms: charlatan, daredevil, entrepreneur, explorer, fortune-hunter, gambler, globetrotter, hero, heroine, knight, madcap, mercenary, opportunist, pioneer, pirate, rogue, romantic, soldier, speculator, stunt man, swashbuckler, traveler, venturer, voyager, wanderer
-Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition [emphasis added]

Ephemerally, while pondering the wonderful treasures found in The Gambler, I discovered Kenny Rogers had 61 albums out at the time. 61, for those of you into Hebrew gematria, equals the numeration of AIN, Hebrew for nothing, also the numeration of the Hebrew transliteration of the word ALL…my current reading at the time was Pacts With The Devil. Earlier in the day I had a slight revelation and began referring to magicians as gamblers. Kia hit home when I found the following quote and then checked the page number. Also, for thelemites, note that Kaph and Resh (KR) add to 220, the same as the total of all the mystic numbers of the 10 sephiroth in the tree of life (or, the sum of the summation of 1-10) and the number of verses in Liber AL…let the mysteries continue.
“[Faustus] realizes, in a kind of satori, that there is more in the world to be explored, and he commits himself to the practice of magic, compromising his soul more in the fashion of a gambler making a bet than as an act of fatalism.”
-Pacts With The Devil S. Jason Black and Christopher Hyatt p61

[by New Aeon English Qabalah, Kenny Rogers = 149 = Jesus Christ…]

0. preceding and not preceding the lyrics

1. On a warm summer’s evening

Kenny Rogers had his first birthday on 21 August 1938 in Houston, TX no air conditioning made it a warm summer’s evening.

2. On a train bound for nowhere

Kenny sings of riding a train into the chaotic void—Nietzsche’s Abyss; Carroll’s chaosphere. The train reference also foreshadows the death of The Gambler later in the song. A train signifies the final escape from prison for those with life terms, as illustrated by the prophet J.C.: “I hear that train a comin’, its comin’ round the bend…” and redemption, “Meet me down there by the train…” again, “Let the train blow the whistle when I go.” This line signifies an escape from frantic searches for stability in chaotic existence to a peaceful beginning-end (in the spirit of Einstein’s ‘space-time’) of chaos. See the 2 of disks in Tarot for elucidation on this concept. This also describes the building of momentum towards the oath of the abyss. On his way toward Death (nowhere), Kenny meets up with his holy guardian angel and/or an adept Taoist magician lighting up Kenny’s way. This refers to the God On as a train bound for nowhere.

3. I met up with a Gambler

A gambler views existence as a set of probabilities. Nothing lies outside of the realm of possibility, thus the gambler acts as a magician, swinging the odds in his/her favor. Kenny meets this magician on his train towards his initiation into “nowhere”, never a more appropriate place to meet a guide/teacher.

4. We were both too tired to speak

KR (Kenny Rogers) refers to the Gnostic trance state induced here through sleep deprivation. They have both met up in a state beyond linguistic description which Zen monks have described by yelling loud and sharp, “AH!” Kenny is in what Leary called a state of high imprint vulnerability. The gambler notices this and meets Kenny there to initiate him into the mysteries.

5. So we took turns a starin’ out the window at the darkness

Obviously, The Gambler instructs Kenny in meditation practice, demonstrating the process, staring out the window at nothingness, at “darkness.” Some Buddhist meditation techniques involve staring at a wall and not allowing the mind to verbalize its perceptions. Kenny then takes his turn and struggles with boredom and silence, as indicated by the next line. The darkness referred to also reminds one of a wise old gambler’s dictum: The magician must have his/her feet planted firmly below hell and his/her head above the heavens. Perhaps Kenny confronts his own demons in this line. As stated below, the window is h. In hwhy,(YHVH, bastardized as Jehovah) the first h refers to the mother and the h final to the daughter. See line 18. window = he’ = 5 = The Star card.

6. The boredom overtook us, and he began to speak

Intuitively sensing Kenny’s frustration with meditation and confronting his demons, the gambler finally interjects with the 1st verbal lesson. Another theory regarding Kenny and the gambler states that the gambler acts as Kenny’s HGA (Holy Guardian Angel), and up until the angel (gambler) speaks, Kenny’s headed “nowhere,” remember? (Only a dualistic mental state can see a singular meaning in each of these lines. No one mind can deduce all the wisdom herein.) In the HGA analysis, Kenny’s descent into crippling boredom refers to the stage in meditation/yoga where the pain of proceeding reaches a climax and the practitioner bursts into Samadhi. This allows communication between Kenny and his HGA (the gambler). The reference to speaking indicates an opening mouth, pictured on the bottom of the tower card in tarot.

7. He said, “Son I’ve made a life, out of reading people’s faces…

In Liber Aleph, Crowley refers to a magickal student as ‘my son.’ This line further indicates the fusing of the microcosm in Christian mythology (Jesus, the Son of God) with the macrocosm (God Itself). Taking Son as a pun on Sun, the mythology slides from Christian to Egyptian and the Gods Osiris and Horus. Both our Sun and the Son act as visible manifestations of God. ‘Reading people’s faces’ refers to both the infamous evil eye of the magician, intuitive perception attained through magical/mystical practice and more overtly the perception of auras. It requires little imagination to understand how one may apply these skills to ‘make a life.’



8. “And knowin’ what their cards were, by the way they held their eyes…

A paradoxically wise cliché states that the eyes are the path to the soul. The cards symbolize both people’s true will and their current intentions, both of which one can easily determine through simple conversation and eye contact applied in conjunction with withholding judgment and measure. Consider every event (thing, place, conversation, person, etc.) that enters into perception as a disclosure to you from the flowing field of experience. Focusing attention on any one of these disclosures reveals secrets about the object of observation. This usually consists of a loss of the illusionary perception of separation between observer and observed and a full understanding of the function and existence of the observed.

9. “So if you don’t mind my sayin’, I can see you’re out of aces…

The magician/Angel asks Kenny for permission to give him advice as well as suggesting what may happen if Kenny does not heed his advice. As in a typical parent to child directive, “You had better mind me kid!” Or, “Mind your own business.” Thus, if Kenny does not mind (heed) the magician’s words, he can see Kenny’s future and it appears as the loss of the roots/seeds of the four elements (Aces in tarot). The ‘out of aces’ comment also refers to Kether, the concealed, 1st sephirah of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. The magician/gambler advises Kenny that he has lost touch with the original creative source. He finds Kenny either very low on the tree of life, completely fallen off of it, or in the abyss itself. Gematria could perhaps reveal which.

10. “So for a taste of your whiskey, I’ll give you some advice.”

Whiskey and other alcohol traditionally get called ‘spirits.’ The gambler asks Kenny to open his spirit up for illumination/initiation. On another level, the ‘taste of whiskey’ refers to sacrament. Since they have whiskey, not wine, they creatively adapt to their circumstances. On a more mundane plane, alcohol (in small amounts, i.e. ‘a taste’) relaxes inhibitions and opens people up to more direct communication. Also, whiskey

11. So I handed him my bottle, and he drank down my last swallow,

Kenny demonstrates his openness to learning by giving away his last bit of whiskey for occult advice. He passes with flying colors this cunning test from the gambler. On the HGA level of the story, Kenny gives over the last of his spirit to his holy guardian angel, for if one atom of Kenny’s self does not get dissolved into the angel, this will grow into a monster, destroying Kenny’s psyche and/or life. Kenny shows his mastership by giving it all over. The magician/gambler/angel drinks up Kenny’s spirit and then proceeds to guide him on his way.

12. Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light,

Tobacco served (and still serves) as a sacrament in many Native American rituals and celebrations. Sharing of it brings connection between all those involved. Again, the gambler asks Kenny for sacrament. The magickal lamp, Prometheus the fire-giver, the purple flame within the sacred heart, varied fire gods/goddesses all come to mind in the ‘light’ reference. Kenny must remove his masks and ignite the flame within his heart; thus purifying himself enough to receive the secret teachings/initiation.

13. Then the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression,

All external noises fade away as the magician begins Kenny’s initiation. It is not mere chance the adverb ‘deathly’ shows up here. Kenny enters into the silent void at the center of his own spirit beyond the duality of life and death. It has been written that one mark of an adept magician is an expressionless face; “the face of a baby before its first smile.” This illuminates the dictum from Liber AL I: 22 “Bind nothing! Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt.” The gambler’s lack of expression demonstrates to Kenny the fruits of such practice. He has passed beyond judgment into constant unlabeled experience.

14. Said, “if you’re gonna play the game, boy, you’ve gotta learn to play it right”

He refers to life again as a game of chance: probability. This acts as a paraphrase of the statement, “Nothing is true, everything is possible.” He then makes another reference to Kenny as a child (see the comment on use of the word ‘son’ above). The gambler issues a directive to Kenny to find his true will. “If you’re going to be alive, you must find and accomplish your true will,” serves as an appropriate paraphrase. There also hides a subtle instruction on avoiding falling into destruction along the magickal path.

[The chorus appears here chronologically, but for the purposes of proper analysis of it in reference to the rest of the song, it appears at the end of this exegesis. The chorus acts as a key to understand the lines of the song, and vice versa.]

15. “Now every gambler knows, that the secret to surviving, is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep,

Every adept magician possesses the secrets to getting by in the world, surviving the treacherous mystic path. Through magickal training, Kenny will achieve what Buddhists refer to as ‘Right Discernment;’ the realization of his true will. Everyone can attain with the hand they have been dealt, it remains a matter of knowing what to do with one’s circumstances. Also, knowing what influences and practices to indulge in and what pitfalls to avoid.

16. “'Cause every hand’s a winner, and every hand’s a loser,

A reiteration of the last line expressing that in existence, possibilities are limitless. This shows life as perfectly balanced. The Gambler here reveals his Taoist tendencies ‘Hand’ serves as a metaphor for individual circumstances. ‘Winner’ and ‘loser’ are simply labels individuals attach to said circumstances; two perceptions of the same existence. Thus, this line compels Kenny to abolish those labels and all perception of duality in order to play his hand properly (to do his true will). The Hebrew letter yod means hand. It also refers to sperm, the means of action. All the talk of playing cards suggests the use of tarot in Kenny’s initiation.


17. “and the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep,”

I speculate this mysterious line refers to a peaceful death occurring while one dreams easy. Perhaps he suggests transcending the fear of death through methods similar to those in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Dying while one is still alive aids in quelling fear of death. Perhaps the gambler suggests lucid dreaming as a method for Kenny to accomplish this death experience. Also, Spare’s school of thought suggests using a “death posture” to attain trance states for use towards magickal working. Traditional yoga practices also contain an asana called “corpse.”

Author’s note:“Lo! On the other side of the grave I have conquered the fear of death, But the fear of life is still here; I am brave Yet I fear my own breath. Now I must conquer the fear of life, The knock of the blood in my wrists, The breath that rushes through my nose, the strife Of desires in the loins’ dark twists.” Believe it or not, as I wrote the last lines regarding the fear of death, this Will Oldham song was playing. The song is called “The Risen Lord.” If this shit didn’t happen so often, I might call it weird. Track 10…

18. When He finished speaking, He turned back toward the window,

The Hebrew letter He’ (h) is indicated three times in this sentence, for the letter h means a window: “the means by which the Light reaches us” –Crowley, 777. The tarot card in The Book of Thoth that corresponds with he is “The Star.” On a ‘warm summer’s evening,’ Nuit, the night sky/star goddess would appear radiantly across the huge Texas horizon. The close of the ritual is indicated by the gambler’s silence and turning away. The speaking refers to the gambler’s mouth. The Hebrew letter p means mouth and the tarot card “The Tower.” Kenny’s tower (his belief systems; reality tunnels) has been blasted by the magical initiation that has just taken place. The magician closes his mouth from whence sprang the fiery force responsible for the blasting. (See the bottom of the tower card for a picture of the mouth referred to.)

19. Crushed out his cigarette, and faded off to sleep,

He puts out the cigarette, officially ending the ceremony. After passing his secret (the chorus) to Kenny; the old gambler can rest.

20. And somewhere in the darkness, the gambler he broke even,

In the middle of nowhere, the chaotic void—the place the song says they were headed all along—the magician finds perfect balance, the yin-yang of the Tao, Kether of Qabala. This perfect balance transcends the constant change and influx of one element into another, and thus, his spirit transcends his body. The gambler’s work here is done, yea, is done. This also refers to the 0=2 equation, 1 plus its opposite (-1) = 0; 1 and its opposite (-1) are both things and thus equal both 2 and zero at the same time. As the gambler realizes this, he achieves the glory of balance. See the “Adjustment” card of the tarot.


21. But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.

The gambler has spoken his last words—the chorus—and in them, Kenny finds the seed of wisdom that shall become the blooming of his true will. The Ace refers also to Kether, the pinnacle of the qabalistic tree of life, of which seemingly nothing linguistic may describe. Kenny lets us know its something that he can keep beyond this life.

High Arcana:
You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em know when to fold ‘em

Know when to walk away, know when to run,

You never count your money, while you’re sittin’ at the table

Ther’ll be time enough for countin,’ when the dealin’s done

To comment on these secret yet obvious revelations could do nothing but taint their perfection. Each person must apply their own interpretation in their own subjective circumstances to attain to the wisdom and understanding herein.

The reader is a fool who views this as a joke; also fools are those who think the author believes that Kenny Rogers had occult intent in his performance of the gambler. Who is the master that makes the money green? –The Gambler, KR Zen

JC-22
-Eugene, Oregon 22 June 2004 e.v.