 In its essays and other writings , the ONA offers various differing explanations as to the meaning of the term " Nine Angles " . One explanation is that it pertains to the seven planets of the group 's cosmology ( the seven angles ) , added to the system as a whole ( the eighth angle ) , and the mystic themselves ( the ninth angle ) . A second explanation is that it refers to seven " normal " alchemical stages , with an additional two processes . A third is that it pertains to the nine emanations of the divine , a concept originally found in Medieval texts produced within the Islamic mystical tradition of Sufism . Monette further suggested that it was a reference to a classical Indian tradition which divided the solar system into nine planets . 
