Agent 007, James Bond & The Secret Cipher

By: Kathryn Cassidy
Submitted: 2007-01-17 11:30:34
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A new James Bond Movie, Casino Royale will soon be reaching a movie theater near you.

It is fairly common knowledge that the character of Bond was immortalised by the writer Ian Fleming and that he picked the name from a book title on his shelves, 'Birds of the West Indies' written by a Philadelphian ornithologist, James Bond. What appears to be a subject of debate though, is why he gave his fictional British secret agent the code name of 007.

It is popularly assumed that he is the 7th agent with a 'licence to kill' and that Fleming took the moniker from the address of a building in Toronto at 1107 Avenue Road, where he had a residence. However, the real origins of the famous 007 are thought to lie somewhere else entirely; a place much more befitting of a spy. The code emanates from the language of the 'occult' i.e. the language of the hidden.

The science of sending concealed messages is known as Steganography, Greek for "concealed writing". An example of this might be the use of invisible ink or writing messages in wax and then covering them up. Steganography, however, has obvious limits. If someone finds the hidden message, all its secrets are revealed. This problem led to the need to obscure messages so that they could not be read even if they were intercepted. The result was Cryptography, Greek for "hidden writing". Encrypted messages hide the meaning, rather than the message itself.

Throughout history it has been important to hide messages and communiques, not only to prevent information reaching enemy ears and eyes, but also for reasons of personal safety. In the days of persecution by the Church and State anyone found dabbling in areas that constituted treason, or those derided as 'sorcery' and heresy, risked at least imprisonment, and at worst torture and death.

Ian Fleming has a background in British intelligence working for the NID. During World War I the NID (National Intelligence Division) was responsible for the Royal Navy's highly successful cryptographic efforts, Room 40, which was later merged to form the GCCS, Government Code and Cipher School. As such he would have been well aware of codes (secret languages) and ciphers (scrambled messages) and their history.

The real reason that Ian Fleming chose the code 007 is likely to stem from knowledge that circulated in the intelligence circles of a very famous Hermeticist and cipher writer, Dr John Dee (1527-1608). Dee was a polymath; an expert alchemist and mathematician, he was also Court Astrologer to Queen Mary I and an advisor to her sister, Elizabeth. He had a lifelong fascination with sigils and mathematical ciphers in both their numerical and geometric forms.

Dr Dee, as a known 'occultist', posed a threat to the other advisors in the Catholic Court of Queen Mary and in a bid to eradicate his influence, he was arrested and accused of plotting the Queen's death. He was, of course, duly vindicated. Queen Mary herself gave him a Royal Pardon, so he continued to work for the Court, even choosing the Coronation date for the new Queen, Elizabeth 1st. However past events, and constant fear of his enemies, forced them both to be more discreet in their political dealings together.

It is known that many of the communications between them were written in code and he used to sign his communications with Queen Elizabeth with the cipher 007. In effect, he acted as an astrologer and a secret agent for the new Queen, looking out for threats to her reign.

In the cipher, 007, the two circles symbolised his own two eyes as well as indicating that he was the secret eyes of the Queen. According to historian Richard Deacon, the two circles are guarded by what may be considered a square root sign. Deacon thinks it told Elizabeth that Dee put not only his two eyes and the other four senses at her disposal; he offered her his occult sense as well.

Deacon also sees the obvious possibility of the two eyes being guarded by an elongated number seven, as the number 7 is replete with esoteric significance. Whatever the true interpretation the majority of scholars and cryptologists have read it as a seven and Ian Fleming chose the code name of 007 for his hero, James Bond. Therefore, one cannot help but think that the longevity of the character may be down to more than just good luck for, as the author John Michel points out, the number is indeed sacred in occult belief:

"... In Revelation there are 7 churches, 7 candlesticks, 7 stars, 7 angels, 7 vials, 7 seals, 7 thunders, 7 plagues and 7 spirits of God; the Lamb has 7 horns and 7 eyes, the dragon 7 heads and 7 crowns, and the beast has 7 heads.

"Seven is the number of things sacred and mysterious, as the 7 veils of initiation. According to Philo 'nature delights in the number seven', for the astrologers know 7 planets, there are 7 stars in the Great Bear and 7 notes in music; God rested on the seventh day, a man's head has 7 orifices and his life proceeds in 7 year periods; the cycles of women and the moon occur in sevens, 28 days making the lunar month.

There are 7 colours in the rainbow and 7 petals on the temple flower,the pomegranate, but the number seven is rarely apparent in physical nature, corresponding rather to the spiritual forces that regulate the cycles of time and human development".

21 films and 6 Bond's later, it certainly looks like Ian Fleming, in choosing the code name 007 for his character, was party to 'hidden' knowledge worthy of the best secret agent.

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