Heth or Hetch, the eighth letter of the Hebrew Alphabet, is the beginning letter of the second septenary. Numerically, it is used to denote the number 8. It is the fourth single letter in order of alphabetical procession. The first seven letters express universality and are cosmic in their import. The second series of seven represent man's endeavor to attain and express that universality. Aleph, the first letter of the alphabet and leader of the procession of letters, has unlimited power on all planes. Cheth or Heth centers in the formative realms and its forces have not yet attained their full complement of power.
As fourth of the single letters, Cheth associates with the sign Cancer, which is the fourth sign of the zodiac. Numerically it is in sympathy with Daleth (4 and 8), its eightfold character signifying the dual feminine, relating inan to the Eternal through intuitive perception. Intuition is that soul wisdom which discriminates unerringly between the true and the false, the real and the unreal, and Intuition is the special keyword of Cheth.
Physiologically, Cheth relates to the breasts as symbols of the fountain of life flowing from the bi-une Spirit Power. It stands symbolic of the great cosmic Hierarchy of Beings who work through the sign Cancer in the zodiac. Cancer is the great Mother sign of the zodiac, the Madonna of the Skies. (Virgo is the Virgin). The keywords of Cancer are Service, Love, and Sacrifice.
Heth means "a field," and cosmically it represents the union of two worlds. It is the field of unlimited possibilities in human nature which is worked by the true or Spiritual Man by way of the mind to bring about what is esoterically termed the union of the lower and the higher Self. In reality there is never more than One Self, the Virgin Spirit which is True Man, but this True Man throws a shadow-image of himself into each of the cosmic planes, and on each plane he has a different name and a different vesture or garment. Each plane is a field of experience for the Spirit as he involves into matter and evolves out of it, and this is the signification of Heth. The cultivation of the Field of Heth requires great labor. It was only from the Sons of Heth that Abraham could purchase the center of spiritual understanding, Machpelah.
Heth (eight) has been called "a field of cosmic possibilities," referring to the varied life experiences of the ego's vast incarnational cycles. The keynote of love and sacrifice which characterizes Cancer and Heth apply also to the feminine Daleth (four). The Book of Genesis says that man's body was formed of the dust of the earth, and it is implied that all pain and suffering result from the limitations of this "dust."
The picture of the Hebrew letter Cheth or Chet resembles the ancient erections of stone found in many places. Jacob slept with a stone for a pillow, and dreamed a dream of the Ladder of Heaven upon which angels ascended and descended. That this Ladder referred to the human being in general is shown in the words of Christ Jesus, "Verily I say unto thee ... thou shalt see the angels of heaven ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
The picture of Cheth shows two pillars crossed with a third, resembling a doorway with posts and lintel. Two other similar letters are He and Tau, but only Cheth has the perfect balance of the two pillars upon which the crossbeam rests.
Bible students are familiar with the columns Jachin and Boaz which stood before the door of Solomon's Temple, and they know also of the two columns of wind and fire which flanked the entrance of the Temple of the King of Tyre. It is not so well known that in Egypt these same two columns confronted the devotee or the Initiate and that he walked between them to enter the sanctuary. Within the Temple he was again required to pass between two columns before he could enter the Holy Place. These inner columns differed from the outer, being united by a crossbeam under which the neophyte must walk, indicating that he had brought to equilibrium the two natures within himself, and only those who had accomplished this work were worthy to enter.
The eighth Tarot card is known as Justice and shows a female figure holding a balance in her hands, in which she weighs each thought, word and deed of every human being who lives upon the earth. If one lives a life of selfish worldly pleasure or devotes his time to the satisfaction of personal ambitions alone, his life's harvest will prove sparse and unfruitful. On the other hand, if one devotes himself to unselfish loving work in the vineyard of Christ, his field of life will produce a harvest that is rich, bountiful and filled with soul satisfaction.
In exact proportion as we send forth, so in good measure will it be returned to us again. This is the message which the Hebrew letter Cheth has for mankind.
Teth is the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, significator of the number 9, and fifth of the singles. It has the sublimated power of 3, representing the 3 x 3 of the Master Initiate who has ascended the nine steps of the Lesser Mysteries to the fullness of knowledge, and suggests the Ennead (ninefold Hierarchy) of the Egyptian gods and the Osiris "who sits at the top of the staircase." In Greece we find Nine Muses, and esoteric Christianity adopted the ninefold arrangement of the celestial Hierarchies. In Greco-Egyptian lore we learn of Thoth-Hermes, or Hermes Trismegistus the Thrice-Great (3 x 3), who spoke the words of life by which the creation came into being and who taught these words to the other gods.
In the kabbalah the ninefold constitution of the universe is reflected in the Sephiroth, with the extra Tenth, and in the ten major vowel sounds (thirteen vowels are named). In the kabbalistic diagram of man's constitution there is a similar triple arrangement of Triads, representing the threefold spirit, the threefold soul, and the threefold body (personality), with the Mind (Hermes) as the crux or crucial point.
The keyword is, I AM THOU AND THOU ART I AM — an Hermetic axiom.
In the Hebrew alphabet the twenty-two consonants united with the ten major vowels give a total of thirty-two letters; and sometimes this is counted as thirty-three, with Shin being written in two forms. This makes Tau the 33rd letter, if the vowels are scattered through the consonants according to an esoteric pattern. In Scottish Rite Masonry there are 33 degrees, the 33rd degree being "honorary," and outside the actual ladder of degrees. It may be conferred even upon an Entered Apprentice. In the York Rite there are no degrees, but there are ten steps, again reminiscent of the staircase of the Mysteries.
Through 3 x 3 the aspirant is lifted up, renewed and transformed upon three planes of consciousness, the physical, the psychical and the spiritual. Gimel, the letter third in the alphabet and signifying the number 3, is the Master Mason. Teth, ninth in the alphabet and signifying the number 9, is 3 x 3. The series culminates, the 3 x 3 is fulfilled, in Tau, taken as the (honorary) 33rd letter. Again, in the Egyptian Mysteries we see an arrangement of 30 steps or stages to which the base and summit add two, all associated with the Tet or "backbone of Osiris." The Tet of Osiris is sometimes said to be the sacrum of Osiris to which the pillar is added, but usually the figure is placed at the top of the pillar. This is the pillar of the tree (the acacia) in which the body of Osiris was found by Isis. Sometimes a head is placed above the Tet, sometimes the face is shown in and through the Tet, but the symbolism is the same. We shall speak of this further in the discussion of the Tau.
Masonically, the Master's Word inscribed with two triangles relates to the same Mystery of Threes, for that Word is the Name of God, the four-letter Tetragrammaton JHVH, which is really only three letters with the H repeated.
Teth or Nine has been called the "serpent number," reminiscent of the serpent which Moses raised up upon his staff in the wilderness. Nine, and the Serpent, relate to Initiation, which is the supreme lesson awaiting humanity. The serpent of the mysteries is not fully unfolded until man passes through the Nine Lesser Mysteries. The Bible has been termed the serpent book of the ages and contains many references to symbolic meanings of the serpent.
The most ancient form of Teth was the cross, referring to the serpentine fire force which wreathes itself about and through the staff of Hermes. Through the misuse of this fire force, mankind took upon itself "coats of skin," which must be acquired at birth and repeatedly cast off in death until at last the disciple is the Initiate over whom death has no power. He then embodies within himself all the powers of Teth. Mankind is still bound to the cross of the body, awaiting the day of liberation. Christ Jesus, the divine Exemplar, was nailed to the cross and resurrected that all men might learn to follow in His steps.
It may be noted that although both Teth and Tau are pronounced T, there is no picture of a cross of any sort in the modern Hebrew alphabet, but esotericists treat of this sign in the Mystery tradition and archeologists have found a crossmark in ancient Hebrew inscriptions.
According to Greek legend it was the Phoenician Cadmus,, or Kadmus, who introduced into the Greek world the alphabet, or Cadmean letters, and especially the sign T or Tau. We find both T and X in the Greek alphabet. (See Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: Alphabet.) However, neither T nor X is the last letter of the Greek alphabet; the last Greek letter is Omega, while T is the nineteenth letter and X the twenty-second. The Greek alphabet differs from the Hebrew in that the vowels are inserted, and it consists of twenty-four letters. In Masonic legend we read that it was Methusael, a descendant of Cain, who "invented the sacred characters, the Books of Tau and the symbolic T by which the workers descended from the genii of fire recognized each other."
Teth being the fifth of the single letters, it represents Leo, the fifth zodiacal sign. Biblically, Leo signifies the royal house of Judah, especially David and Solomon. The king is called "the lion of the House of Judah." The Queen is Cancer, a sign which is sometimes called "the mouth of the Lion." Sheba is the Wisdom-Queen and, Max Heindel points out, represents humanity collectively.
As Leo is the fifth sign, it governs the fifth house of the horoscope which is the giver of children. Here the esotericist observes that every human soul is the child of the Great King of the Universe, Father-Mother God, a Royal Prince or Princess in the Hierarchy of Heaven. He recognizes that the union of Leo with Teth indicates the Mystic Marriage of the soul with God, the transmutation of the lower into the higher self. The heart is ruled by Leo. Out of the heart are the issues of life.
Associated with Solomon as the Grand Architect who had charge of the building of Solomon's Temple is the Master Workman, Hiram Abiff. As Solomon, the Lion of Judah, is represented in Leo, Hiram is represented in Aries. His hammer resembles the symbol of the sign Aries. In the ancient Hebrew calendar there were but two seasons named for the entire year; Spring and Summer were one season, and Fall and Winter the other. Hiram and Solomon were both rulers of the first, the Spring-Summer season. The Masonic legend intimates that Hiram secretly married the Queen of Sheba, so that in addition to being born a Prince of the Son of Fire, he also married the Wisdom Queen.
Certain little-known Masonic legends tell of a quarrel between the Master Builder and the King through rivalry for the Queen of Sheba. It is said that Hiram cast a great brazen sea-not only was it the vessel to contain a sea, but it was also the sea of molten metal itself — and through treachery this masterpiece was ruined. Hiram heard a voice calling to him to leap into the molten sea, which he obeyed, and descended through nine arch-like strata of the earth to its center. There he met his ancestor Tubal-Cain (or Cain in some accounts).
We are told that Tubal-Cain had lived contemporaneously with Noah, and when both he and Noah knew that a deluge was at hand, Noah built an Ark to save the Sons of Seth, while Tubal-Cain caused his people to dig great eaves in the mountains where they might take refuge from the waters. However, all of his race perished except for himself and one son; yet from this son the race of the Sons of Fire replenished itself down to the time of King Solomon when Hiram Abiff, the Master Workman and flower of the race of Cain, united his labors with Solomon's for a great and magnificent undertaking which should turn the earth into Paradise.
The friendship of the two Kings was shattered by rivalry over the Queen of Sheba, and Hiram leaped into the brazen sea, but the fire could not harm him, for it was his own element.
Tubal Cain prophesied to Hiram that a son should be born to him and that although he might never behold this son, presumably born of the Queen of Sheba, yet his descendants would, in the fullness of the ages, inherit the earth, a beautiful race of divine men. Take note that the Sons of Cain and the Sons of Seth are one and the same race — humanity. The Sons of Fire are Sons of the Spirit, not sons of flesh. They represent a new and higher cycle in human evolution.
Hiram Abiff receives from Tubal Cain certain significant objects-a new hammer and a new word. These he takes with him and returns to the surface of the earth, where he brings his great labor to a successful conclusion, but is afterward murdered by the three ruffians, in the legend which is known to all Masons. According to esoteric Christian teaching, Hiram was reborn as Lazarus and raised from the tomb to immortality by the Christ. It is also taught that Lazarus took the name of John as his Initiate — name and was writing of his own Initiation when he wrote of the raising of Lazarus. Hence, Masons not only revere the "Head of John the Baptist" — who is the "head," source, of the new initiatory school preparing for Christ's coming-but also the Gospel of John. (The "Head" may also be compared to the Tet of Osiris.)
In this story, as in the Hermetic texts, the ancient formula occurs, "WHO THEN AM I, AND WHO ART THOU?" Hiram asks this question of Tubal Cain in the center of the earth, and the reply is given, "I am the father of thy fathers, I am the son of Lamech, I am Tubal-Cain."
We note that the name Hiram, if spelled with consonants only, is H - R - M, which is the root of the name Hermes, the vowels being inserted differently in the Greek. In the Hermetic Mysteries, Hermes or Mercury is called the First Man, referring to the time when mankind received the germ of mind and the Lords from Mercury came to earth to establish the Lesser Mysteries, nine in number. Max Heindel says, THE MIND IS THE PATH. In Greece in its great period Hermes was revered as the Ideal toward which mankind should strive. Esoterically, again, we understand that the "First Man" is Spiritual Man, the Thinker, the Image and the Likeness of God.
The ninth Tarot card pictures the high soul wisdom of the 3 x 3 Initiate as a man leaning upon a staff or rod and bearing in his hand a lighted lantern. The Staff is the Staff of Hermes, the Lantern is the Light of the Mysteries. Both are found within the soul sanctuary of every human being. Biblically we see them in the Brazen Serpent of Moses and the Blossoming Rod of Aaron, which were hid in the Temple at Jerusalem for many centuries. Their initiatory meanings will be further discussed under the letter of fulfillment, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Tau.
Masonic esotericists will observe that the 18th degree of the Scottish Rite Masonry involves this same 3 x 3 Mystery of Teth, or Nine. It is the degree of the Rose Cross. When Teth is understood esoterically, one lifts himself to the high consciousness wherein he discovers deeply hidden initiatory truths, and there is none to hinder or forbid. As the aspirant meditates upon the wonderful and far-reaching meanings to be found in Teth and the number nine, he realizes more and more clearly the reason for the esoteric axiom that "Nine is the number of Initiation."
We shall understand Bible Mysteries better if we bear always in mind that the Hebrews have two archetypal ancestors. The one is Abraham, but the other is Melchizedek, who had neither father nor mother but was like to the immortal gods. He was a King in Canaan, ruling at Salem, the early name for Jerusalem, and was by some Hebrew mystics called Michael the Archangel, and again some said that Michael taught the Hebrew language to Abraham. The King could not be a High Priest, but Jesus, the descendant of David and Solomon, is termed not only "Messiah" but "High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek. "
It is Melchizedek who is the symbol of the hidden side of the Hebrew religion, as we may understand when we recall that the Sons of Cain were called "bene Elohim," sons of the gods.
In the course of centuries the inhabitants of Canaan — including the Grecian Philistines — - who were conquered by the Hebrews, assimilated their conquerors, and the resulting race became the Hebrews of history. It is for this reason that we say that Melchizedek is also an ancestor of the Hebrews, though in a special sense. The Hebrews looked upon the Greeks as Sons of Cain, but they recognized their kinship, and this kinship has been substantiated by recent archeological discoveries.
Yod (I, J, Y) is the tenth letter of the Hebrew consonants, and sixth in the series of single letters. Astrologically and physiologically Yod is connected with the virgin of the skies, Virgo, and thus also with the six-pointed star representative of the House of David. Virgo is the sign which rules the digestive organs of the body, the stomach and intestines, but Yod, spiritually interpreted, refers to the ego's assimilation of spiritual essences.
Having passed through the Nine Lesser Mysteries, the masculine principle has evolved through Aleph, Gimel, He and Zain to manifest a high spiritual power in Teth, the Initiate. The feminine principle has ascended through Beth, Daleth and Vau to Cheth, the new body builded through the transmuted powers of regeneration. Now all are summed up in Yod. Yod occurs within every letter of the entire series of twenty-two. These letters symbolize the way of evolution for the masses and the path of Initiation for the few.
Yod represents the ego on the physical plane, the I-Am when reborn into the power of a joint heir with Christ. Yod-He-Vau-He was the Sacred Name of God to the Hebrews; Yod is the number of Adeptship.
The keyword of Yod is Omniscience. Aleph, the white fire of Godhood, lowers in vibration in order to manifest. Yod is this same fire after it has come into manifestation as spiritualized Will.
The glyph in the Tarot representing Yod is the Wheel of Fate or destiny presided over by the Sphinx. Upon the wheel are four letters which mean "wheel", ROTA, but as the wheel revolves, these letters seem to form the word Taro. Also inscribed on the wheel are the four sacred letters of the Tetragrammaton, Yod He Vau He, signifying that God and no other Is the ruler of destiny, both for man and the universe. Yod is the initial letter of the Tetragrammaton.
The sphinx represents cosmic consciousness, which harmonizes with the universality of Yod. We have seen that Aleph, signifying 1, is the Primordial Point, silent but all powerful behind manifestation and acting as a hidden force throughout. Jod, signifying 10, is the selfsame power manifesting openly in the universe in letters of flame upon the heavens and in the powers of the human spirit and life forces of all kingdoms. The Zero is the mystery behind and within the One of Aleph, which is shown openly in 10, or Yod.
Numerically, Yod indicates 10 or the masculine and feminine powers conjoined. A kabbalist writes, "The decad means fully accomplished. It is the grand summit of numbers which, when reached, cannot be passed." Yod is the great masculine significator. It is the first letter of the four-letter name of God, and when written vertically upon the archetypal Man, it resides in the head, while the letters He-Vau-He describe the body. St. Paul was referring to this mystery when he said that the man is the head of the woman.
Jesus, the Master of the New Testament, and Joshua, the Master of the Old Testament-Jesus is the Hellenized form of the name Joshua-are examples of the androgynous powers of Yod or 10, the masculine merged with or containing the feminine.
In every world religion the Divine Equality (polarity) is shown as the basis of Initiation, and for every World Teacher there is a World Madonna-from Isis of the Egyptians to the blessed Mary of the Christians, and among the sages of the Hebrew Mysteries, the Shekinah, whom all Initiates, like Moses, "marry." The Shekinah survives as a symbolic reminder of Anath, the ancient goddess of Canaan, who was the wife of Jahveh, a goddess panoplied for war like the Greek Athena and reminding her children that wisdom and love are mightier than the sword.
The Shekinah represents the same divine attribute as the "female Holy Ghost" of the early Christians. She is the Bride of whom John writes in the Book of Revelation. Hebrew mystics said that all those human spirits whom God created were conceived by the Shekinah. She is the Mother Goddess of esoteric Judaism, and like the Angel Ecclesia of the Christians, she is "Mother Church" carrying all souls in her bosom to the throne of the Father.
The Union with Shekinah is the first of the supernal Initiations which open the Paths from the world (Malkuth) to the higher planes. MaIkuth is called "The Kingdom," and Shekinah flies to and fro in that Kingdom caring for her loved ones.
Ten is often termed the Universal Number, or the All-Number. Its significance is allegorically shown in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, five of whom were wise and five foolish.
There were ten Virgins who carried their lamps as they went forth to meet the bridegroom, but when he tarried, they fell asleep. Then at the hour of midnight came the cry, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh!" The virgins awakened and five discovered that they had no oil in their lamps, so they sought to borrow from their sisters. But the five wise virgins said, "Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you, but go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves." While the foolish virgins went to purchase oil the bridegroom arrived, and the five wise virgins went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Then.-the five foolish virgins came seeking admittance, but the Bridegroom replied, "Verily I say unto you, I know you not."
The foolish virgins are those who squander their sacred life force (oil) in worldly and sensual pleasures and so have no light within themselves to greet the Bridegroom when He comes; in other words, they have not made themselves worthy of the Christ Life of Initiation.
Many keys to Bible interpretation are hidden in the sacred meaning of numbers. Ten (10) is the number of man and woman working together as they travel the Path of Discipleship. Five (5) is the number of the five bodily senses, and also of the activity by means of which the inner lamps of the "golden wedding garment" are kept alight. An ancient utterance long antedating biblical literature is the admonition, "Learn to count aright that thou mayest have oil for thy lamp." So long as man is subject to the lure of the physical senses he can never discover the true meaning and purpose of life. When he has overcome that lure he becomes the five-pointed star and understands the real import of the Master's words, "I am the Light of the World."
The oil forfeited by the five foolish virgins was the divine creative essence within themselves. When that force passes up the spinal cord and reaches the head, it illumines the two spiritual organs located therein, the pituitary body and pineal gland, which then shine forth with rare radiance. This accomplished, the disciple bears within himself his own lighted lamp and is ever ready to welcome the Bridegroom. He who is thus illumined never fails to attract the attention of a Teacher. "When the pupil is ready, the Master appears."
The letters from Aleph to Jod represented the numbers I to 10, but with Kaph the significance changes, the number does not coincide with the placement of the letter in the alphabet. Although Kaph is the eleventh in the procession of letters, it waF written as the sign of the number 20. We therefore have for this letter, and for those that follow, a numeral interpretation and also a numerological interpretation in addition to the mystic meaning of the letter as such.
Kaph is one of the double letters, having two sounds, and like all of the doubles it represents the play of opposites in nature. As 20 it is the second manifestation of the decad, revealing the cosmic powers of Beth, 2, on another level. The double of ten, it shows the mastery of the lower selfhood by the ego. The dual nature of Beth, signified in the number 2 and its second place in the procession of letters, reflects the mystery of the Double Feminine symbolized in the New Testament as Mary of Bethlehem and Mary of Magdala. The Feminine is the Cosmic Love Principle of God, and Love is never other than good and holy in its pure essence, but when it is attached to wrong objects, disorder enters into nature, and with it sorrow and suffering. It is the mind which directs the cosmic forces in manifestation, and therefore when the mind is linked with the spirit, the High Feminine manifests; when it is linked with the senses, Love falls into darkness and degradation.
In the mysticism of the Kabbalah the same mystery is shown in the dual nature of the Shekinah, the feminine or Wisdom Attribute of Godhead, who enters into human souls, like the Holy Ghost of Christian mysticism, and may be said to be the selfsame Principle.
The first ten letters, like the Ten Commandments show the path for the masses, in which morality is the keynote, Cosmic Law reflects in the Ten. With the eleventh letter the tests and trials begin which eventually enable one to become a "Follower of the Way," the straight and narrow way of Initiation. Remember that the early Christians were called Followers of the Way, and for this reason. Every disciple, ancient or modern, must walk this same Way and accept the trials imposed upon him. This Path is described in the initiatory interpretation of all of the twenty-two Hebrew letters. As we proceed in our study we realize increasingly their importance to an adequate understanding of the truths concealed in Biblical names. With Kaph a crucial point has been reached.
Kaph symbolizes the Initiate. We have noted previously that the number 9 represents Initiation; 11, which is a higher number, represents the Initiate himself.
Physiologically, Kaph represents the hands in the act of holding. The hand is a channel for the inflow and outflow of spiritual power; the attitude of holding suggest the keyword, Strength. We are again reminded of the names of the pillars, Jachin and Boaz, which are established in the strength of the spirit. The Tarot picture is that of a virgin holding closed with her hands the mouth of a lion.
The two parallel upright lines which are the modern signature of the number eleven (11) remind us that these two columns have guarded the entrance of every initiatory Temple the world has ever known. We may mention in passing that the Arabic numerals originated, it is thought, in India but were transmitted through the Arabs and incorporated in the Arabic numerology, whence they passed into the Hebrew and finally into the Anglicized Kaballah. Many intricate codes have been constructed from the combination of several sets of letter-numbers. As we have pointed out, the Hebrews did not have numbers but used the letters of the alphabet for numbers, as the Greeks and Romans did also.
Sacrifice is the keyword of Lamed, the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and seventh of the single letters. Numerically, its value is 30, which is the round number of earth years in Saturn's orbital revolution; and the picture which represents Lamed resembles the astrologer's symbol for Saturn. As seventh of the singles, Lamed associates with the sign Libra, sign of the scales, of Law and Equilibrium, in which the planet Saturn is exalted.
Physiologically, Lamed is associated with the kidneys, the bodily organs for purification, astrologically ruled by Libra, the sign of balance. The Gnostics said that Libra was the birth sign of the "New Adam."
Lamed, embodying the vibrations of 12, marks a state of cosmic consciousness, for it implies the complete conquest of the personality when subjugated by the forces of Spirit. This work requires a preparation that is long and arduous, taking many earth lives for its consummation. Those who have made any progress upon the Path know how difficult it is to subdue the personal inclinations. Self truly becomes the Dweller on the Threshold for the average individual.
Goethe, who was an occultist as well as writer and scholar, has stated that some attributes may be developed by solitude and seclusion, but that character can be built only through contact with our fellow beings in the everyday busy world. Many think, when they take up spiritual studies, that it is needful to spend much time in seclusion devoted to mystical dreaming. This, however, is only a small part of the Great Work, for it is only as we learn to give of ourselves in loving self-forgetting service for the upliftment of others that we begin to make real spiritual progress.
Max Heindel had traveled far upon the illumined Path when he wrote, "An Elder Brother will only grasp my extended hand when I extend my other to the younger ones coming behind me in order to lead them to the Temple door. This will open to them if they seek prayerfully, if they knock persistently, and if they work manfully."
We have noted that beginning with Kaph, each of the letters represents some experience encountered upon the initiatory path. The very first lesson set before the aspirant whose inner powers are unfolding is the necessity of Sacrifice.
Out of these sacrificial experiences, if they are accepted in the right spirit and assimilated, come elevation of consciousness and spiritual perception. Cosmically, therefore, Lamed stands for such elevation and expansion as eventuate in man's fulfilling his destiny and being crowned with eternal light.
Numerically, Lamed's power of 30 again associates with the Triune Powers of Spirit; it is the triple power of 10. As twelfth in the procession of letters, however, it is again three, (1+2=3), showing that man must be purified by continued communication with the higher dimensional worlds. Truly, humanity hangs upon the cross of matter and suffers the wounds inflicted by the goad of karma until, by its own efforts, through sacrifice, love and service, it releases itself. The Tarot glyph for Lamed is the Hanged Man, which refers to the ego in the present earth period, who is crucified between his higher and lower natures.
Mem is the second of the three mother letters and thirteenth in the procession of letters. It signifies the Mother as the great Sea of Life out of which all life has come. Aleph, the first mother letter is Fire, and Schin, the third, is Air. When Aleph is called "ether" this does not mean "air" but "fire," the Fire of God. Mern is the primordial Ocean of Life out of which the material universe solidifies. Its numerical value is 40, the fourth level or expression of the decad, and its keywords are Infinity and Transmutation.
As thirteenth letter, Mem shows the Trinity projected from Unity. These two divine numbers I and 3 again produce the 4, which represents time, space and materiality, the wheel of becoming, the Divine Quaternary of the Pythagoreans.
Mem is the "manna" of the Hebrew alphabet. Paracelsus writes, "If I have manna in my constitution I can attract manna to myself from heaven. Saturn is not only in the sky, but,also deep in the ocean and the earth. What is Venus but the artimesia that grows in your garden? And what is iron but the planet Mars? That is to say, Venus and the artimesia are both of the same essence, while Mars and iron are manifestations of the same cause."
Mem as a mother letter reminds us that the prenatal epoch, in which the prospective mother holds within herself the promise of new life, may be the most important period of her entire incarnation; for through the law that like attracts like she may, if her own mind is exalted, bring into the world a Master Soul noble in character and in mind and beautiful in body.
Nun (N), the fourteenth letter of the alphabet, means a fish, one of the symbols of the Initiate. Nun represents "the Son of Man," and its keyword is Individualization. Joshua, the Jesus of the Old Testament, was the "Son of Nun," an Initiate Priest. Nun has been called "the Developed Man." It is eighth of the single letters.
Cosmically, Nun stands for augmentation and extension, attributes of the evolved individual. Its numerical value is 50, which becomes the fifth power of the decanate, and relates to the number 5, the forces of the ego (true spiritual Selfhood) working through the mind toward the spiritualization of the personality. Spiritualization of the mind itself is the ultimate work of all occult initiations and the ultimate goal of evolution. It is when the mysteries of the mind are understood that the Initiate becomes the Adept or God-Man.
Signifying the number 50, Nun has been the cryptogram for many abtruse philosophical concepts, symbolized in the "fifty gates of understanding." It was extremely important to the Essenes and the Messianic Mysteries which they held sacred and secret.
The name Joshua in the Old Testament is the name given in the New Testament as Jesus, the meaning of the name being, "God is My Savior." The letter Nun was the code letter-number for the Messiah who was expected at exactly this time when Jesus of Nazareth was born and grew to manhood.
The fish was the symbol by which Christians knew one another. The fish was the sign of Jonah, who had been seemingly swallowed by death yet was cast out alive to bring his mission to a conclusion. Jonah means "dove," showing that he was an Initiate Priest of the Moon Goddess, and the number 50 relates to the round number of weeks in the lunar year (literally 52). Throughout antiquity the number 50 is found to be sacred to the lunar calendar, having a special importance in the worship of the Moon, who is not only the ruler of the night sky but also of the waters of the oceans.
As the eighth of the single letters, Nun correlates zodiacally with Scorpio, and physiologically with the sacred centers of generation and regeneration. Generation becomes regeneration when the life essences have been transmuted into the divine waters of everlasting life. The Master said, "If one drinks of these waters he shall never thirst again." It is then that the body of the Initiate is truly the holy temple of the indwelling Godhead.
The fourteenth Tarot Arcanum shows an angel maiden with outstretched wings, representing high idealism and aspiration. In her hands she holds two vases filled with precious fluid which she pours from one to the other. In the Waite Tarot series we see that beside the angelic figure there is a nebulous pathway which ascends to the very summit of a distant mountain peak where it seems to disappear into the golden glory of a vast sun.
When the aspirant reaches the summit to which the Path leads, he can proclaim to the world from first-hand knowledge, "I know that my Redeemer liveth"; for it is in that high and holy place that he learns the true secret of immortality or Eternal Life.
The precious substance contained within the two vases is the emanation or essence of the high spiritual life. Great Initiates always emanate from themselves a rare perfume, perceptible to all who come within their aura. The approach of the Blessed Virgin Mary is always announced by a fragrance as of the rarest lilies. The poet Tennyson, in one of his idealistic fantasies, wrote:
We may not all be spiritual enough to cause flowers to bloom in our footprints, but we may so live, so love and so serve all whom, we find in need, in both inner and outer worlds, as to bring a blessing with our presence and leave a benediction as we depart. This is a beautiful ideal held forth for our emulation by the Hebrew letter Nun.
— Corinne Heline
