The Hebrew Alphabet and it's Occult Meanings and Symbolism

[Spiritwind]

Dalet - door - inspiration
3. Empress
Sphere 1 to 2 (from Chokmah to Binah)

This pathway creates the cross, as it goes through the pathway of Gimel, and delineates what is above, from what is below. Without these dimensions there would be no road map. The energy from Binah, associated with the planet Saturn, and has to do with form, connects to the energy of Chokmah, associated with the planet Neptune, consciousness in its expansive not yet formed state. This makes me think of light, and how light as it travels can be both a particle and a wave, both form, and energy, but it is the dance between the two that creates life. You could say the pillar on the right and left represent this dance of energies in their fluid state. For nothing is ever really solid, it just appears so. And this dynamic interplay of energies is still occurring beyond the abyss, beyond what is physically evident. It is the reality beyond the manifest world we are all plugged into.

You will notice that in both decks of cards the woman seems more mature, with her being very pregnant, especially in the deck I use, Tarot of the Old Path. Still representing the Earth Mother, she is now moving from the maiden to the mother stage of life, and the river of life which started outpouring from Kether is ready to build momentum as it approaches the waterfall over the abyss, to send whatever creative energies have been gathered down into physical manifestation. This is where the rubber meets the road, and where one will see the fruits of ones labor.



Dalet aptly means door in Hebrew. It is the fourth letter, also denoting the four worlds of creation, Aziluth (Emanation), divine energy that is undifferentiated, Beriah (Creation), creation starts with an idea in the imagination, Yetzirah (Formation), where blueprints are drawn up before it is built and takes form, still only in the mind, and Assiyah (Action), where tangible physicality takes actual form, where plans are implemented, and where what we actually do matters. Action is needed.

According to Highlights of the Tarot "this key represents Creative Imagination....reproduction, multiplication, and growth....the Great Mother principle in nature", and she "represents the activity of the subconscious mind". She has a connection to Venus, Goddess of Love and Beauty, as well as Isis Veiled in the robe of nature. One also has the sense of ripening, and the fullness of summer, the bounty of nature, and this force of life as it manifests in all forms, and as part of the cyclical nature of all things. In both decks she is depicted with twelve stars around her head, representing the twelve signs of the zodiac. Just a study of the twelve archetypal signs, being broken into three signs each of the four elements, earth, air, fire, and water, along with three modalities, cardinal, fixed, and mutable, with four signs each, can reveal much about how creation works.

[Spiritwind]

The Empress in Tarot of the Old Path




The Empress in the Rider Waite Deck

[Spiritwind]

I need to introduce these images for my next post on the Hebrew letter He.





The direction attributions in this Cube of Space (above) are derived from The Book of Formation, "in which the manifested universe is represented as a cube....The six faces of this cube and its interior center are assigned to the seven double letters of the alphabet (Hebrew)...the three interior co-ordinates correspond to the three mother letters. The twelve boundary lines represent the twelve simple letters" (which only have one sound).
- From The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages by Paul Foster Case

[Spiritwind]

Hei - window - reason
4. Emperor
Sphere 2 to 6 (from Chokmah to Tiphareth)



The Emperor, and the letter Hei, is a complicated energy for me to describe. So much meaning in there, especially in light of several group discussions of late. The Emperor is numbered four, although with the zero it is the fifth card. Always suggesting to see the hidden behind the obvious. This is where spirit has entered the construct of four dimensional space, as in the cube. This pathway leads straight from Chokmah to Tiphareth, which is represented by the Sun, the heart of the matter.

The Emperor is connected to all forms of reasoning. Hei means window, and connotes the ability to look out, and make decisions about what you let in based on your perceptions, what you "see", and is related to vision. A window lets in light and air (life breath), which can be regulated, and is the beginnings of learning how to navigate independently in a rigidly controlled construct. This energy feels to me like the great regulator, and is possibly why it is so connected to the Astrological sign Aries, which is ruled by Mars.

The previous two pathways were represented as feminine creative aspects, whereas this one and the next are represented as masculine energies. I intuitively sense this is where patriarchy shows up on the scene, and it happened in the spirit world, even before it manifested in the physical. A construct is a construct, and all would seem to indicate some boundaries applying, but this boundary is represented as a cube, made up of squares. I know astrologically squares represent friction, places in our psyche that manifest into our outer experience as challenge, and problems to solve. The better your reasoning skills, often the better problem solver you are.

Building and structures are indicated, and possibly this is where the need arose to defend these structures, and led to fortifications, armies, and war, as well as increasing pressure to make those residing within these various structures conform to what came to be established rules designed to maintain order. Maybe this was a solution that just had to be experienced to see it really doesn't work in the long run. (On a personal note, this seems to be where we got stuck. I believe we were actually created to at least eventually leave the box behind, not to stay there indefinitely.)

As an energy, this pathway is all about establishing and maintaining order. Originally, leaders were chosen by the people because of their demonstrated ability to lead, due to their ability to assess a situation quickly, based on external facts, and then proceed to take action in a courageous manner for the good of the whole. Unfortunately, with more and more structures, comes a need for more complex systems to govern those structures. This probably led to the development of the priesthood, but I'll get to that next. Each of these letters and keys has multiple levels of understanding, and by necessity this is only meant to be an introduction.

According to Paul Foster Case, in his book on Tarot, he points out that this order is connected to the defining and enacting of laws. While this is often thought of on the level of government, it also applies to the individual. Case says, "our personal definitions of the meaning of our experiences constitute suggestions which are accepted, without reservation, by our subconsciousness. Thus, in a sense, every man makes his own law, writes his own constitution of his own personal world, and finds that his life experience is the reproduction of that constitution through the working of subconscious responses."

So, the Emperor represents "the self consciousness of man, when its activities are engaged in the work of inductive reasoning whereby errors arising from superficial interpretation of experience are overthrown. He is the definer, the lawgiver, the regulator. He is the ruling mental activity in human personality."

Before we move on to the next letter I would be very remiss if I were not to mention the fact that the letter Hei is also very important because it "is found twice in the sacred name of God known as the Tetragrammaton, Yud-Hei-Vau-Hei, and connotes divine revelation." (From The Hebrew Alphabet: A Mystical Journey by Edward Hoffman)

My take away on this letter would be to remember that regardless of the construct we find ourselves in, there is still a divine energy behind all creation, so no matter what choices we make, we still answer to a higher order than any secular ruler, or even religious construct for that matter, of this reality.

[Spiritwind]

Sorry I couldn't find better images.




The Emperor in Tarot of the Old Path





The Emperor in the Rider Waite Deck

[Spiritwind]

Vav (Vau, Vov) - nail - inner hearing
5. High Priest
Sphere 2 to 4 (Chokmah to Chesed)



You might wonder what a nail has to do with inner hearing. So let's see if I can explain this in a way that makes sense. The Hebrew letter Vav, as depicted by a nail, indicates a fastener, something that holds things together, from anything to a building to a sentence, as it is also equivalent to the connective word "and" in the English language. It could also be said to be a yoke, "something that joins together, ...symbolizing Union." Interestingly enough, "the Hindu word for union is Yoga"....and has to do with acquired insight and revelation, "coming from your own Inner Self, your true Teacher. That self is represented by the Hierophant. In this connection we must caution you that the true interior hearing is not the negative, lower psychic types of clairaudience. The difference is readily in the quality of what is heard. Intuition is above reason, but never contrary to it, and it never urges you to do an unethical or selfish thing." (Quotes from Highlights of the Tarot by Builders of the Adytum).

Isn't it interesting that what we have, in most of our outer manifestation of religious organizations, is a powerful priesthood that operates behind the scenes, and delineates that inner voice for us. They do not work for the individual, but for the maintenance of the structures created by the ruling classes to keep things running in an orderly fashion to preserve their own notion of how life should be, for them. To keep the lavish lifestyles they have become accustomed to, they must continue to keep the masses who provide the labor and the resources that they, the self appointed ruling classes, have decided they deserve. These original structures, that were designed to ensure the safety and well being of the kingdom, were never intended to liberate the common people, but to actually enslave them, all the while convincing them that this was the logical course of action to achieve a better life experience. The total inverse of the real meaning of proper use of this energy.

I would guess many of those who travel in higher occult circles know this very well. As long as we collectively agree that we need a separate class of "special people" to rule us, we will continue to feed the continuation of the very structures that are steadily marching their way to total world domination. I would say our outer environment is about to get downright hostile if we don't wake up soon. But we will most likely continue to blame those structures that we helped create until we learn how to dismantle the internal belief systems that hold it together.

This letter also indicates that everything exists in relationship to something else, and the more we consciously understand those connections, the better we can navigate and create structures that leave room for growth, and expansion, rather than putting so much energy into maintaining the status quo. If you over trim your tree and don't leave enough room for the roots to grow, it will eventually die, and so it is with all life. You stifle the creative juices too much, and they will cease to flow. It is interesting to observe that this pathway leads to Chesed, represented by the expansive energy of Jupiter. Jupiter astrologically rules the ninth house of higher learning, both spiritual and religious understanding and beliefs, as well as higher law. There is much symbology to ruminate on there.

[Spiritwind]

The High Priest in Tarot of the Old Path




The Hierophant in the Rider Waite deck

[Spiritwind]

Zayin - sword - discrimination
6. The Lovers
Sphere 3 to 6 (Binah to Tiphareth)



I looked up discrimination just to double check its meaning. We often think of discrimination as a way of judging a thing, as if on a scale of good and bad, of lesser or greater value than something else. In the human world we discriminate against things like race, gender, wealth, status, looks and so on. But even this is somewhat misleading, because discrimination at its core is all about noticing differences. It becomes an undesirable trait when we use it as an excuse to withhold acceptance and love for any number of reasons. That doesn't mean anything should go either. It is definitely a balancing act. Everyone notices differences though.

Each of these letters and their attributes, even though I have studied them for years, is revealing new understandings as I go through them again. It is showing me that there is always more to know and even more to understand as I allow myself to reflect on them deeply. It also shows me the ways in which I have grown. So even if no one else reads this thread I am finding I have benefitted.

It is also interesting for me to think of the many ways we use this faculty to also judge ourselves, albeit often subconsciously, in innumerable ways. Which is where it always begins. The Hebrew letter Zayin is represented as a sword. It's tarot correlation is The Lovers. The reason this is so, is that from the outset of our journey here, we often feel something is missing and try to get whatever it is from our relationships with others. Our relationships will show us what we still need to work on, but filling that void within is rarely ever accomplished in our love relationships. In fact, it will almost certainly reflect back, in often painful ways, the places we don't already love ourselves.

Astrologically Zayin is represented by Gemini, the twins. Identical twins can be difficult to tell apart, and a keen sense of perception helps, which is often about noticing small differences in appearance, mannerisms, and behavior. It's easy to see how this ability can be beneficial in some situations, and not so much in others. Focusing too much attention on small differences in your partner is generally not a good thing. But there are many situations where this ability may even be essential.

Zayin is connected to the sense of smell, which is interesting to think about. Sayings like "I smell a rat", or, "something smells fishy" come to mind. Smell has a powerful influence on the mind. Certain smells can serve as a trigger, and have taken me back to certain places and times in my past, almost as if I were there again. Smells can even be overpowering.

The Lovers makes one think about what attracts one to another, one's affections, which is all about what one likes and doesn't like. Often when two people get together, at first they only notice the ways in which they are in harmony, the ways in which they are alike. It is often only after some time has passed that more attention goes to noticing differences. Sometimes one discovers that the differences were greater than they realized, sometimes too great.

But sometimes, if one avails to the higher mind that operates beyond the personality, one can develop the ways and means to bridge those differences, and that can apply to the self and relationships. So this has to do with understanding the drive of the ego, but deciding to cultivate a life where the higher mind is allowed to be in charge. According to Paul Davies (The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages), "the relationship between self-consciousness and the subconsciousness should be one of loving intimacy....They veil nothing from each other. This is not the state of affairs for most people. Too often, self-consciousness and subconsciousness are not on speaking terms." I would say this is true.

[neonblue]

So much of your wisdom accompanying the occult meanings here Laurie... you are a wonder

Thanking you

[Spiritwind]

The Lovers in Tarot of the Old Path (sorry, couldn't find one in English)




The Lovers in the Rider Waite deck