| CHAPTER III |
In the following paragraphs, the first item in bold-face type is the English of the letter-name which heads the
paragraph,; the last is the name of the Sephirotic “path” assigned to that letter; the others are Qabalistic
correspondences, mostly from the Sepher Yetzirah . Suggestions as to what these attributions imply are printed in
ordinary type.
paragraph,; the last is the name of the Sephirotic “path” assigned to that letter; the others are Qabalistic
correspondences, mostly from the Sepher Yetzirah . Suggestions as to what these attributions imply are printed in
ordinary type.
א ALEPH
Ox, or Bull: Apis, Mithra, Dionysos; creative energy, vital principle, solar force.
Ruach: “life breath”; Spiritus, Pneuma, Prana; all-pervading cosmic energy; vital principle of all creatures.
Fiery Intelligence: joins Kether to Chokmah.
ב BETH
House: abode; location; concentration; specialization.
Above: “That which is above” is Purusha, the “superior nature”; Adam.
Mercury: Hermes, Thoth; this planet rules Gemini (Zain) by day, Virgo (Yod) by night.
Life and Death: Specialization implies construction and destruction.
Intelligence of Transparency: joins Kether to Binah.
ג GIMEL
Camel: travel; commerce; intercourse; reciprocal action.
Below: “That which is below” is Prakriti, the subordinate nature; Eve.
The Moon: Artemis, Diana, Hecate; rules Cancer (Cheth) by day and by night.
Peace and Strife: implied by commerce; symbolized by the bow of Artemis.
Uniting Intelligence: joins Kether to Tiphareth.
ד DALETH
Door, or womb: passage; transition; conception; development.
East: “womb of light”; source of illumination; opposite of West (Kaph).
Venus: Aphrodite, Ishtar, the Great Mother; Prakriti, termed “the great womb” in the Bhagavad- Gita; rules Libra
(Lamed) by day, Taurus (Vau) by night.
Knowledge and Ignorance: as Buddhi, principle of judgment. Prakriti confers knowledge; as Maya, mistress of illusion,
she causes ignorance' Illuminating Intelligence: joins Chokmah to Binah.
ה HE
Window: admits light and air; gives outlook.
Sight: vision, contemplation, discernment.
North-East: combines North (Peh) and East (Daleth) ; opposite of South-west (Nun) ;
complement of South-cast (Vau).
Aries: diurnal house of Mars (Peh) ; complement of Scorpio (Nun), the nocturnal house.
Constituting Intelligence: To constitute is to make anything what it is, to frame, to compose; this path joins Chokmah to
Tiphareth.
ו VAU
Nail: fastening; union; yoga.
Hearing: unites man to man by speech, and man to Spirit by the Word of the Inner Voice.
South-east: combines South (Resh) and East (Daleth) ; opposite of North-west (Lamed); complement of North-east
(Heh).
Taurus: nocturnal house of Venus (Daleth) ; complement of Libra (Lamed), the diurnal house.
Triumphant and Eternal Intelligence: joins Chokmah to Chesed.
ז ZAIN
Sword: opposition; separation; sex.
East-above: combines East (Daleth) and Above (Beth); opposite of West-above (Samekh); complement of East-below
(Cheth).
Gemini: diurnal house of Mercury (Beth); complement of Virgo (Yod), the nocturnal house.
Smell: keen perception, sagacity, discrimination. A Qabalistic aphorism says, “Properties are discerned by the nose.”
Disposing Intelligence: joins Chokmah to Tiphareth; to dispose is to place apart, to separate, to classify.
ח CHETH
Field: location; that which requires cultivation.
East-below: combines East (Daleth) and Below (Gimel); opposite of West-below (Ayin); complement of East-above
(Zain).
Cancer: diurnal and nocturnal house of the moon (Gimel).
Speech: mastery of language is mastery of thought; the practical occultist devotes much labor to the field of speech.
Intelligence of Influence: joins Binah to Geburah.
ט TETH
Serpent: wisdom, subtlety, secrecy; regeneration; Eliphas Levi's “Astral Light.”
Taste: refinement; experience; enduring. patience, fortitude.
North-above: combines North (Peh) and Above (Beth) ; opposite of South-above (Tzaddi); complement of North-below
(Yod).
Leo: diurnal and nocturnal house of the sun (Resh).
Intelligence of the Secret: joins Chesed to Geburah.
י YOD
Hand: dexterity, skill; power, might, supremacy; symbol of the Supreme Spirit.
North-below: combines North (Peh) and Below (Gimel); opposite of South-below, (Qoph); complement of North-above
(Teth).
Virgo: nocturnal house of Mercury (Beth) ; complement of Gemini (Zain), the diurnal house.
Coition: the union of the male and female, the fixed and the volatile.
Intelligence of Will: joins Chesed to Tiphareth.
כ KAPH
Grasping Hand: control; authority; comprehension; property.
West: opposite of East (Daleth).
Jupiter: rules Sagittarius (Samekh) by day, and Pisces (Qoph) by night.
Wealth and Poverty: the extremes of “property”; the external signs of one's grasp of
circumstances. Intelligence of Conciliation; accommodation of differences; adjustment, establishment of orders; joins
Chesed to Netzach.
ל LAMED
Ox--goad: urges and guides the “ox” (Aleph).
Work: action; Karma.
North-west 5; combines North (Peh) and West (Kaph); opposite of North-east (Heh); complement of South-west (Nun).
Libra: diurnal house of Venus (Daleth); complement of Taurus (Van), the nocturnal house.
Faithful Intelligence: joins Geburah to Tiphareth.
מ MEM
Water: “mother, seed, and root of all minerals”; the first mirror; reproduction; reflected life.
Stable Intelligence: “the source of consistency in the numerations”; joins Geburah to Hod.
נ NUN
Fish: compare Joshua, son of Nun, with Jesus (Joshua), whose sign was that of the prophet Jonah. Early Christians
called Jesus Ichthys. This also was the name of a son of Aphrodite.
South-west *: combines South (Resh) and West (Kaph); opposite of North-east (Vau); complement of North-west
(Lamed).
Scorpio: nocturnal house of Mars (Peh) ; complement of Aries (Heh), the diurnal house. Motion: all motion is change.
Imaginative Intelligence: joins Tiphareth to Netzach.
*Paul Case in 1920 attributed Lamed to South-West and Nun to North-West but later upon further research, changed
these attributions. These have been changed in the text to accord with his later findings. Ed.
Ox, or Bull: Apis, Mithra, Dionysos; creative energy, vital principle, solar force.
Ruach: “life breath”; Spiritus, Pneuma, Prana; all-pervading cosmic energy; vital principle of all creatures.
Fiery Intelligence: joins Kether to Chokmah.
ב BETH
House: abode; location; concentration; specialization.
Above: “That which is above” is Purusha, the “superior nature”; Adam.
Mercury: Hermes, Thoth; this planet rules Gemini (Zain) by day, Virgo (Yod) by night.
Life and Death: Specialization implies construction and destruction.
Intelligence of Transparency: joins Kether to Binah.
ג GIMEL
Camel: travel; commerce; intercourse; reciprocal action.
Below: “That which is below” is Prakriti, the subordinate nature; Eve.
The Moon: Artemis, Diana, Hecate; rules Cancer (Cheth) by day and by night.
Peace and Strife: implied by commerce; symbolized by the bow of Artemis.
Uniting Intelligence: joins Kether to Tiphareth.
ד DALETH
Door, or womb: passage; transition; conception; development.
East: “womb of light”; source of illumination; opposite of West (Kaph).
Venus: Aphrodite, Ishtar, the Great Mother; Prakriti, termed “the great womb” in the Bhagavad- Gita; rules Libra
(Lamed) by day, Taurus (Vau) by night.
Knowledge and Ignorance: as Buddhi, principle of judgment. Prakriti confers knowledge; as Maya, mistress of illusion,
she causes ignorance' Illuminating Intelligence: joins Chokmah to Binah.
ה HE
Window: admits light and air; gives outlook.
Sight: vision, contemplation, discernment.
North-East: combines North (Peh) and East (Daleth) ; opposite of South-west (Nun) ;
complement of South-cast (Vau).
Aries: diurnal house of Mars (Peh) ; complement of Scorpio (Nun), the nocturnal house.
Constituting Intelligence: To constitute is to make anything what it is, to frame, to compose; this path joins Chokmah to
Tiphareth.
ו VAU
Nail: fastening; union; yoga.
Hearing: unites man to man by speech, and man to Spirit by the Word of the Inner Voice.
South-east: combines South (Resh) and East (Daleth) ; opposite of North-west (Lamed); complement of North-east
(Heh).
Taurus: nocturnal house of Venus (Daleth) ; complement of Libra (Lamed), the diurnal house.
Triumphant and Eternal Intelligence: joins Chokmah to Chesed.
ז ZAIN
Sword: opposition; separation; sex.
East-above: combines East (Daleth) and Above (Beth); opposite of West-above (Samekh); complement of East-below
(Cheth).
Gemini: diurnal house of Mercury (Beth); complement of Virgo (Yod), the nocturnal house.
Smell: keen perception, sagacity, discrimination. A Qabalistic aphorism says, “Properties are discerned by the nose.”
Disposing Intelligence: joins Chokmah to Tiphareth; to dispose is to place apart, to separate, to classify.
ח CHETH
Field: location; that which requires cultivation.
East-below: combines East (Daleth) and Below (Gimel); opposite of West-below (Ayin); complement of East-above
(Zain).
Cancer: diurnal and nocturnal house of the moon (Gimel).
Speech: mastery of language is mastery of thought; the practical occultist devotes much labor to the field of speech.
Intelligence of Influence: joins Binah to Geburah.
ט TETH
Serpent: wisdom, subtlety, secrecy; regeneration; Eliphas Levi's “Astral Light.”
Taste: refinement; experience; enduring. patience, fortitude.
North-above: combines North (Peh) and Above (Beth) ; opposite of South-above (Tzaddi); complement of North-below
(Yod).
Leo: diurnal and nocturnal house of the sun (Resh).
Intelligence of the Secret: joins Chesed to Geburah.
י YOD
Hand: dexterity, skill; power, might, supremacy; symbol of the Supreme Spirit.
North-below: combines North (Peh) and Below (Gimel); opposite of South-below, (Qoph); complement of North-above
(Teth).
Virgo: nocturnal house of Mercury (Beth) ; complement of Gemini (Zain), the diurnal house.
Coition: the union of the male and female, the fixed and the volatile.
Intelligence of Will: joins Chesed to Tiphareth.
כ KAPH
Grasping Hand: control; authority; comprehension; property.
West: opposite of East (Daleth).
Jupiter: rules Sagittarius (Samekh) by day, and Pisces (Qoph) by night.
Wealth and Poverty: the extremes of “property”; the external signs of one's grasp of
circumstances. Intelligence of Conciliation; accommodation of differences; adjustment, establishment of orders; joins
Chesed to Netzach.
ל LAMED
Ox--goad: urges and guides the “ox” (Aleph).
Work: action; Karma.
North-west 5; combines North (Peh) and West (Kaph); opposite of North-east (Heh); complement of South-west (Nun).
Libra: diurnal house of Venus (Daleth); complement of Taurus (Van), the nocturnal house.
Faithful Intelligence: joins Geburah to Tiphareth.
מ MEM
Water: “mother, seed, and root of all minerals”; the first mirror; reproduction; reflected life.
Stable Intelligence: “the source of consistency in the numerations”; joins Geburah to Hod.
נ NUN
Fish: compare Joshua, son of Nun, with Jesus (Joshua), whose sign was that of the prophet Jonah. Early Christians
called Jesus Ichthys. This also was the name of a son of Aphrodite.
South-west *: combines South (Resh) and West (Kaph); opposite of North-east (Vau); complement of North-west
(Lamed).
Scorpio: nocturnal house of Mars (Peh) ; complement of Aries (Heh), the diurnal house. Motion: all motion is change.
Imaginative Intelligence: joins Tiphareth to Netzach.
*Paul Case in 1920 attributed Lamed to South-West and Nun to North-West but later upon further research, changed
these attributions. These have been changed in the text to accord with his later findings. Ed.
ס SAMEKH
Prop: support, assistance; improvement, refinement, purification.
West-above: combines West (Kaph) and Above (Beth); opposite of East-above (Zain); complement of West-below
(Ayin).
Sagittarius: diurnal house of Jupiter (Kaph) ; complement of Pisces (Qoph), the nocturnal house.
Wrath: in Greek, thumos, desire or appetite; akin to the Rajas of Hindu philosophy.
Tentative Intelligence: joins Tiphareth to Yesod.
ע AYIN
Eye: the instrument of vision; orb; circle; limitation; bondage; appearances, Avidya.
Laughter: usually caused by incongruity; human weaknesses, distress, and pain furnish the elements of comedy.
West-below: combines West (Kaph) and Below (Gimel); opposite of East-below (Cheth); complement of West-above
(Samekh).
Capricorn: nocturnal house of Saturn (Tau) ; complement of Aquarius (Tzaddi), the diurnal house.
Renewing Intelligence: joins Tiphareth to Hod.
פ Peh
Mouth: organ of speech; out of it are the issues of life.
North: darkness, cold, sterility; place of the sun's annual death; opposite of South (Resh).
Mars: rules Aries (Heh) by day, and Scorpio (Nun) by night. Grace and Indignation: contrasting expressions of the
fiery power of Mars.
Exciting Intelligence: joins Netzach to Hod.
צ TZADDI
Fish-hook: that which pulls the fish (Nun) out of water (Mem); to hook is to draw, entice, procure by artifice.
South-above: combines South (Resh) and Above (Beth); opposite of North-above (Teth); complement of South-below
(Qoph).
Aquarius: diurnal house of Saturn (Tau); complement of Capricorn (Ayin), the nocturnal house.
Meditation: Dhyana, “an unbroken flow of knowledge in a particular object”; a diving into the depths of the mind for
ideas-a fishing for truth.
Natural Intelligence: joins Netzach to Yesod.
ק QOPH
Back of head, or knot: location of medulla oblongata, which forms a knot on the spinal cord near the nape of the neck.
It controls or greatly influences many functions which make it directly responsible for the maintenance of bodily life.
South-below: combines South (Resh) and Below (Gimel); opposite of North-below (Yod); complement of South-above
(Tzaddi).
Sleep: period of physiological repair, during which nerve substance undergoes the subtle changes that make the
advancing student of occultism ready to experience and understand facts, concealed from ordinary men, which are
the basis of the ancient wisdom.
Pisces: nocturnal house of Jupiter (Kaph) ; complement of Sagittarius (Samekh), the diurnal house.
Corporeal Intelligence: joins Netzach to Malkuth.
ר RESH
Head, or face: guiding power, organizer, director; the face is the countenance, from the Latin continere, to hold
together, to repress, to contain. 16
South: place of sun at his meridian height; opposite of North (Peh). Sun: rules Leo (Teth) day and night. Fruitfulness
and Sterility: extremes of the manifestation of solar energy. The sun causes all growth, and is also the maker of waste
places.
Collecting Intelligence: joins Hod to Yesod. Note the correspondence between collecting and countenance.
ש SHIN
Tooth: probably serpent's fang; sharpness; acidity; active manifestation of the fire-principle.
Fire: the Spirit of God is a “consuming fire”; in Hebrew that Spirit is Ruach Elohim
(ohvkt jur) and the letters of these two words represent the numbers 200, 6, 8, 1, 30, 5, 10 and 40, giving a total of
300. This is the value of Shin, the sound of which suggests the hissing of fire.
Perpetual Intelligence: joins Hod to Malkuth.
ת TAU
Cross: the Egyptian Tau was a tally for measuring the depth of the Nile, also a square for measuring right angles;
among the Hebrews it was a sign of salvation (Ezek. ix. 4); in Freemasonry it is a “symbol of salvation from death, and
of eternal life* .”
The palace of holiness in the midst, sustaining all things: the' “heavenly city”; the “temple”; a structure complete,
whole and perfect, built four-square by the Master-Builder.
Saturn: he who swallows his children; that which absorbs all things into itself; rules Aquarius (Tzaddi) by day, and
Capricorn (Ayin) by night.
Power and Servitude: service is the secret of power; he who would rule Nature must obey her laws.
Administrative Intelligence: joins Yesod to Malkuth.
Memorize these attributions. Develop the implicits by your own research and meditation. Remember that the object of
Tarot study is to bring up from the depths of the mind ideas common to all men, which, in the past, have been
expressed only by the few, but are now being recognized by increasing numbers of people. The Qabalistic meanings
of the Hebrew alphabet may be likened to seeds, having within them the whole potency of the Secret Doctrine,
however little they may resemble that doctrine itself. Make them your own. Give special attention to the
correspondences between letters representing directions, sins, and planets. Not until you have mastered every point
of this outline will you be ready to study the occult significance of numbers, which you will be asked to consider in the
next chapter.
*Mackey "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry." p. 791.
Prop: support, assistance; improvement, refinement, purification.
West-above: combines West (Kaph) and Above (Beth); opposite of East-above (Zain); complement of West-below
(Ayin).
Sagittarius: diurnal house of Jupiter (Kaph) ; complement of Pisces (Qoph), the nocturnal house.
Wrath: in Greek, thumos, desire or appetite; akin to the Rajas of Hindu philosophy.
Tentative Intelligence: joins Tiphareth to Yesod.
ע AYIN
Eye: the instrument of vision; orb; circle; limitation; bondage; appearances, Avidya.
Laughter: usually caused by incongruity; human weaknesses, distress, and pain furnish the elements of comedy.
West-below: combines West (Kaph) and Below (Gimel); opposite of East-below (Cheth); complement of West-above
(Samekh).
Capricorn: nocturnal house of Saturn (Tau) ; complement of Aquarius (Tzaddi), the diurnal house.
Renewing Intelligence: joins Tiphareth to Hod.
פ Peh
Mouth: organ of speech; out of it are the issues of life.
North: darkness, cold, sterility; place of the sun's annual death; opposite of South (Resh).
Mars: rules Aries (Heh) by day, and Scorpio (Nun) by night. Grace and Indignation: contrasting expressions of the
fiery power of Mars.
Exciting Intelligence: joins Netzach to Hod.
צ TZADDI
Fish-hook: that which pulls the fish (Nun) out of water (Mem); to hook is to draw, entice, procure by artifice.
South-above: combines South (Resh) and Above (Beth); opposite of North-above (Teth); complement of South-below
(Qoph).
Aquarius: diurnal house of Saturn (Tau); complement of Capricorn (Ayin), the nocturnal house.
Meditation: Dhyana, “an unbroken flow of knowledge in a particular object”; a diving into the depths of the mind for
ideas-a fishing for truth.
Natural Intelligence: joins Netzach to Yesod.
ק QOPH
Back of head, or knot: location of medulla oblongata, which forms a knot on the spinal cord near the nape of the neck.
It controls or greatly influences many functions which make it directly responsible for the maintenance of bodily life.
South-below: combines South (Resh) and Below (Gimel); opposite of North-below (Yod); complement of South-above
(Tzaddi).
Sleep: period of physiological repair, during which nerve substance undergoes the subtle changes that make the
advancing student of occultism ready to experience and understand facts, concealed from ordinary men, which are
the basis of the ancient wisdom.
Pisces: nocturnal house of Jupiter (Kaph) ; complement of Sagittarius (Samekh), the diurnal house.
Corporeal Intelligence: joins Netzach to Malkuth.
ר RESH
Head, or face: guiding power, organizer, director; the face is the countenance, from the Latin continere, to hold
together, to repress, to contain. 16
South: place of sun at his meridian height; opposite of North (Peh). Sun: rules Leo (Teth) day and night. Fruitfulness
and Sterility: extremes of the manifestation of solar energy. The sun causes all growth, and is also the maker of waste
places.
Collecting Intelligence: joins Hod to Yesod. Note the correspondence between collecting and countenance.
ש SHIN
Tooth: probably serpent's fang; sharpness; acidity; active manifestation of the fire-principle.
Fire: the Spirit of God is a “consuming fire”; in Hebrew that Spirit is Ruach Elohim
(ohvkt jur) and the letters of these two words represent the numbers 200, 6, 8, 1, 30, 5, 10 and 40, giving a total of
300. This is the value of Shin, the sound of which suggests the hissing of fire.
Perpetual Intelligence: joins Hod to Malkuth.
ת TAU
Cross: the Egyptian Tau was a tally for measuring the depth of the Nile, also a square for measuring right angles;
among the Hebrews it was a sign of salvation (Ezek. ix. 4); in Freemasonry it is a “symbol of salvation from death, and
of eternal life* .”
The palace of holiness in the midst, sustaining all things: the' “heavenly city”; the “temple”; a structure complete,
whole and perfect, built four-square by the Master-Builder.
Saturn: he who swallows his children; that which absorbs all things into itself; rules Aquarius (Tzaddi) by day, and
Capricorn (Ayin) by night.
Power and Servitude: service is the secret of power; he who would rule Nature must obey her laws.
Administrative Intelligence: joins Yesod to Malkuth.
Memorize these attributions. Develop the implicits by your own research and meditation. Remember that the object of
Tarot study is to bring up from the depths of the mind ideas common to all men, which, in the past, have been
expressed only by the few, but are now being recognized by increasing numbers of people. The Qabalistic meanings
of the Hebrew alphabet may be likened to seeds, having within them the whole potency of the Secret Doctrine,
however little they may resemble that doctrine itself. Make them your own. Give special attention to the
correspondences between letters representing directions, sins, and planets. Not until you have mastered every point
of this outline will you be ready to study the occult significance of numbers, which you will be asked to consider in the
next chapter.
*Mackey "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry." p. 791.
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Introduction To The Study Of The Tarot: Chapter III