The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols: The Ultimate A–Z Guide from Alchemy to the Zodiac

YAH, the Lord of Hosts, the living Elohim, King of the Universe, Omnipotent, the Merciful and Gracious God, Supreme and Extolled, Dweller in the Height whose habitation is Eternity, who is Sublime and Most Holy, engraved His name and ordained the Universe in thirty-two mysterious paths of wisdom, by the three Sephariam, namely, Numbers, Letters and Sounds, which are in Him and one and the Same

(from the Sefer Yetzirah)

A VERY SHORT HISTORY

Most systems of faith have an exoteric, or external level of understanding that is aimed at the masses, and an esoteric, or inner level of meaning that is the preserve of the priests and initiates. The deeply mystical Kabbalah is the enigmatic aspect of the Jewish doctrine. The word has its root in Hebrew, QBL, meaning “to receive” or alternately “mouth to ear,” or “the unwritten law,” and like most mystery traditions its secrets were originally communicated orally. It shares the same root as the word “Cabal,” meaning “secret intrigue.”

These secrets, so the story goes, were given directly from God to the Archangels who then passed the information on to Adam after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden, in order that he might regain his former favor in the eyes of God. The secrets passed through Noah to Abraham, who shared the mysteries with the Egyptians. From here the Kabbalah spread to other parts of the world. Moses, too, had kabbalstic instruction directly from God. According to Jewish mystics, the third time he climbed Mount Siani he spent forty days learning its secret doctrine from the angels while he was wandering in the Desert. Thereafter, Moses concealed the teachings that appeared for the first time in written form in the first four books of the Old Testament.

In the first century, Rabbi Simeon Ben Jochai had to hide in a cave with his son for twelve years, avoiding execution because of his criticism of the Roman Empire. During this time, the Rabbi taught the secrets of the Kabbalah to his son, and these teachings appeared as a book, published in thirteenth-century Spain, called the Zohar. It is this book which is the cornerstone of the Kabbalistic doctrines.

The universality of the ideas within the Kabbalah means that it has been adopted by numerous different religions. Not surprising, since the beauty and logic of its construction is awe-inspiring and all-encompassing. There was a general upsurge of interest in esoterica in the Middle Ages and this era saw the development of a Hermetic Kabbalah, a combination of Kabbalistic teachings and Greek hermeticism. In turn, alchemy and Rosicrucianism were influenced by its secrets, as was Freemasonry. The Tarot takes its influence from the Kabbalah. The Golden Dawn based its symbolic language on that of the Kabbalah. Its influence has been all pervasive, thousands of years after the angels imparted its intricacies to the First Man.

The doctrines encompass The Four Worlds and The Tree of Life, while the latter, in turn, encompasses The Ten Numbers and The 22 Letters.

THE FOUR WORLDS

The Greatest Name, Jehovah, or IHVH, has an element attached to each letter. Further, the letters also represent the Four Worlds. These are Atziluth (emanation), the world of pure spirit, an archetypal world where there is no separation or division. This is the world of the Gods. Atziluth is associated with the element of fire and the letter I, and from it the other three worlds are “born.”

Briah, “cosmos” or “creation,” is the next world, represented by the letter H and the water element. This is the world where separation begins, where one idea might separate from others, although this world is still formless.

Yetzirah, represented by the V and the element of air, is the next world born from Briah. This is the domain of imagination and thought, corresponding to the astral world, a level of consciousness that immediately precedes the physical.

The fourth world is Assiah, which means “to do.” Assiah is the material world, represented by the final letter H and the earth element. It is the here and now, our physical reality, the world of separation that is constructed from the finer elements that precede it.

THE TREE OF LIFE

This is the most famous graphic representation of the Kabbalah’s diverse unfolding of ideas. All of nature is enclosed within its relatively simple form, which has multi-layered dimensions of significance that belie a straightforward graphic representation. Its ten spheres or sephiroth represent the ten numbers, and are connected by 22 paths or branches that also represent the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The letters and numbers comprise the 32 paths of wisdom that are written about in the Sefer Yetzirah, the very early kabbalistic text said to have been written by Abraham.

The three columns of the tree are symbols in themselves. The central one represents balance or equilibrium. The one on the right is called Jachin, male energy; on the left is Boaz, female energy. These are the

pillars that were represented in the Great Temple in Jerusalem and which also influence the design of Masonic temples. They also appear in the Tarot. Here are the component elements of the tree.

The Ten Numbers

Behold! From the Ten Ineffable

Sephiroth do proceed the One Spirit of the Gods of the Living; Air, Water, Fire, and also Height, Deoth, East, West, South and North

[from the Sefer Yetzirah]

In the diagram, these are represented by the spheres or sephira.

ONE

The uppermost sephira of the tree is One, the Crown (Keter). It is the start of manifestation, positive, but undefinable because it as yet bears no relation to anything else.

TWO

To the right of Keter, just below it, is the sephira of Hokhmah or Wisdom, the number two. It enables a line to be made between it and the number One.

THREE

To the left of Hokhmah is Binah, meaning “understanding.” It makes a triangle and all three numbers give definition to one another.

These first three sephiroth represent Atziluth, the element of fire and the first of the four worlds described above.

FOUR

Next, moving down the Tree, beneath Hokhmah, is Hesed, or Mercy. Now the Universe contained within the Tree can have four elements and four directions, and can form a square.

FIVE

To the left of Hesed is Gevurah, meaning strength. This implies the idea of time, without which nothing can happen in the Universe as we experience it.

SIX

With Tif’eret, meaning beauty, another dimension is added; as well as the four elements and “above” and “below.” The number six contributes the notions of past and future and consciousness of the self.

SEVEN

Netzah, or victory, is the next of the sephira. It sits below Hesed. It represents the notion of the emotional nature and the pure joy of existence. Despite the possibility of suffering, the soul is happy to be made manifest in human form.

EIGHT