The assignment of a Hebrew letter to each of the twenty-two Majors in Tarot has been always
controversial among historians and mystery school students. One basic argument is that the numbers
assigned to the letters and the numbers of the Keys conflict with each other. I personally don’t see it this
way, since I work with both numerical designations (the one given to the card and the one assigned to the
Hebrew letter) with no problem. I believe that this ambivalence of meanings can provide a rhythmic
pattern of nonsensical, ambiguous and amorphous connections that assist us in swimming the murky
waters of the subconscious. Remember that it's always good to build a psychic field of associations
when we do transformational work with any divination tool.
Each Hebrew letter is a personality, an archetype, just like every Arcanum is. Even Robert Place, who has
written an excellent history of Tarot (2000) as well as being the author of the Alchemical Tarot, believes
that the number - letter correspondence is quite odd and a bit forced unto the cards. But, he feels
similarly about mixing astrology with Tarot. To each his own; I believe that one should give it a try and
really meditate on these added dimensions before drawing any conclusions. If it works for you and if it
adds another level of understanding to your reading approach, then use it.
The connections with Hebrew letter symbology, with astrology, numerology and Gematria serve to add
different levels of interpretation that enrich any reading were we to tap them. We should look at all of
these systems as potentialities or additional layers of information that somehow weave themselves into a
reading or healing ritual whenever appropriate. I don’t even know who makes the call; is it us or Spirit?
Does it really matter? If we are drawn to use any of these combinations in transformational work might
be because, somehow, it makes sense and the information is being made available to us to help expand an
idea, or add another layer of understanding to a particular message, card or spread. We must remember
that we each access the Source from very different perspectives and that no method takes precedence
over another because it often boils down to what works with one's personality, level of education,
cultural, social or even ethnic background of querent and reader.
There are several good books available that delve into the mystical dimension of the Hebrew letters. Rabbi
Yitzchak Ginsburgh's The Hebrew Letters: Channels of Creative Consciousness provides an excellent
study that can be used quite effectively with transformational work and, therefore, it works like magic
with any deck that incorporates the use of Cabala or Kabbalah or Qabalah and the Hebrew letters with
Tarot. The interpretations can become quite uncanny and synchronistic in a reading when strong
correspondences between the cards, the letters and the Paths on the Tree are explored. I believe that,
somehow, the various energies do communicate -quite effectively- with each other. Ginsburgh notes that
letters “build and enliven reality much as the encoded ‘letters’ of DNA build and define the characteristics
of the living body. In particular, the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet are reflected in the
number of chromosomes in human seed.” Every Hebrew letter represents a particular form, and is
pregnant with other letters that give it a name. In addition, each letter has a number that relates, through
Gematria, to other mysteries. Creation mirrors the metaphor of speech; numbers help unfold the act of
creation; meaning ‘rests’ (hovers) above individual letters and resides (lives) inside words. But above all,
each letter is a sacred vessel and the Hebrew name of every single creature is a channel for the Lifeforce
to reveal its own divinity. (See pp. 6-12.)
Alchemy plays a pivotal role in the way Cabala has been linked to Tarot since the 19th century. It is
difficult to separate the three when using certain decks, like Crowley’s Book of Thoth or the Golden
Dawn Magical Tarot or Case’s B.O.T.A. As every Major card is interpreted at several levels, from states
of consciousness to archetypal energies, as they are connected to the Hebrew letters, to sounds and
colors, there is a constant alchemical context that sustains the processes within the magical Tree of Life,
the alchemical container that helps us structure our transformation.
The Hebrew letters can also serve as alchemical vessels of transformation. Physicist Fred Alan Wolf’s
fascinating book Mind into Matter (2000) links alchemy to the Hebrew letters and quantum physics to
show us how “the mysterious doctrine of alchemy pertains to a hidden, subjective, abstract, and higher
order of reality that forms the basis of all truths and all spirituality (2-3).” What is interesting for our study
is that Wolf uses the Hebrew letters as mnemonic tools that help achieve higher levels of consciousness
through alchemical transmutation of the mind. This is also how Christian Cabala incorporated the use of
the Hebrew letters into the Major Arcana in Tarot. Wolf’s alchemical connection between quantum
physics and the Hebrew letters demonstrates, once again, the adaptability of these concepts to any method
that cares to incorporate their potentiality and archetypal dimensions. Wolf calls this approach a new
alchemy and calls himself a new alchemist. His imaginal world is accessible to us through the alchemical
transformation of quantum possibilities into actualities.
Paul Foster Case (1884 – 1954), founder of Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), notes in his seminal book
The Tarot (1947) that,
… the pictures do agree, without question, to the occult meanings of the letters to which they are
assigned. …The attribution of the major trumps to the Hebrew alphabet is the crux in Tarot study and we
should respect that. Eliphas Levi knew it, but could not give it, because he received it from a secret
order. …Dr. Waite, Manly P. Hall, and some others have objected that this arrangement makes the
numbers of the Keys and the numbers of the letters conflict. The answer to this is that the numbers
printed on the Keys have one purpose, while those assigned to the letters have another. (Case, 21-23)
controversial among historians and mystery school students. One basic argument is that the numbers
assigned to the letters and the numbers of the Keys conflict with each other. I personally don’t see it this
way, since I work with both numerical designations (the one given to the card and the one assigned to the
Hebrew letter) with no problem. I believe that this ambivalence of meanings can provide a rhythmic
pattern of nonsensical, ambiguous and amorphous connections that assist us in swimming the murky
waters of the subconscious. Remember that it's always good to build a psychic field of associations
when we do transformational work with any divination tool.
Each Hebrew letter is a personality, an archetype, just like every Arcanum is. Even Robert Place, who has
written an excellent history of Tarot (2000) as well as being the author of the Alchemical Tarot, believes
that the number - letter correspondence is quite odd and a bit forced unto the cards. But, he feels
similarly about mixing astrology with Tarot. To each his own; I believe that one should give it a try and
really meditate on these added dimensions before drawing any conclusions. If it works for you and if it
adds another level of understanding to your reading approach, then use it.
The connections with Hebrew letter symbology, with astrology, numerology and Gematria serve to add
different levels of interpretation that enrich any reading were we to tap them. We should look at all of
these systems as potentialities or additional layers of information that somehow weave themselves into a
reading or healing ritual whenever appropriate. I don’t even know who makes the call; is it us or Spirit?
Does it really matter? If we are drawn to use any of these combinations in transformational work might
be because, somehow, it makes sense and the information is being made available to us to help expand an
idea, or add another layer of understanding to a particular message, card or spread. We must remember
that we each access the Source from very different perspectives and that no method takes precedence
over another because it often boils down to what works with one's personality, level of education,
cultural, social or even ethnic background of querent and reader.
There are several good books available that delve into the mystical dimension of the Hebrew letters. Rabbi
Yitzchak Ginsburgh's The Hebrew Letters: Channels of Creative Consciousness provides an excellent
study that can be used quite effectively with transformational work and, therefore, it works like magic
with any deck that incorporates the use of Cabala or Kabbalah or Qabalah and the Hebrew letters with
Tarot. The interpretations can become quite uncanny and synchronistic in a reading when strong
correspondences between the cards, the letters and the Paths on the Tree are explored. I believe that,
somehow, the various energies do communicate -quite effectively- with each other. Ginsburgh notes that
letters “build and enliven reality much as the encoded ‘letters’ of DNA build and define the characteristics
of the living body. In particular, the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet are reflected in the
number of chromosomes in human seed.” Every Hebrew letter represents a particular form, and is
pregnant with other letters that give it a name. In addition, each letter has a number that relates, through
Gematria, to other mysteries. Creation mirrors the metaphor of speech; numbers help unfold the act of
creation; meaning ‘rests’ (hovers) above individual letters and resides (lives) inside words. But above all,
each letter is a sacred vessel and the Hebrew name of every single creature is a channel for the Lifeforce
to reveal its own divinity. (See pp. 6-12.)
Alchemy plays a pivotal role in the way Cabala has been linked to Tarot since the 19th century. It is
difficult to separate the three when using certain decks, like Crowley’s Book of Thoth or the Golden
Dawn Magical Tarot or Case’s B.O.T.A. As every Major card is interpreted at several levels, from states
of consciousness to archetypal energies, as they are connected to the Hebrew letters, to sounds and
colors, there is a constant alchemical context that sustains the processes within the magical Tree of Life,
the alchemical container that helps us structure our transformation.
The Hebrew letters can also serve as alchemical vessels of transformation. Physicist Fred Alan Wolf’s
fascinating book Mind into Matter (2000) links alchemy to the Hebrew letters and quantum physics to
show us how “the mysterious doctrine of alchemy pertains to a hidden, subjective, abstract, and higher
order of reality that forms the basis of all truths and all spirituality (2-3).” What is interesting for our study
is that Wolf uses the Hebrew letters as mnemonic tools that help achieve higher levels of consciousness
through alchemical transmutation of the mind. This is also how Christian Cabala incorporated the use of
the Hebrew letters into the Major Arcana in Tarot. Wolf’s alchemical connection between quantum
physics and the Hebrew letters demonstrates, once again, the adaptability of these concepts to any method
that cares to incorporate their potentiality and archetypal dimensions. Wolf calls this approach a new
alchemy and calls himself a new alchemist. His imaginal world is accessible to us through the alchemical
transformation of quantum possibilities into actualities.
Paul Foster Case (1884 – 1954), founder of Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), notes in his seminal book
The Tarot (1947) that,
… the pictures do agree, without question, to the occult meanings of the letters to which they are
assigned. …The attribution of the major trumps to the Hebrew alphabet is the crux in Tarot study and we
should respect that. Eliphas Levi knew it, but could not give it, because he received it from a secret
order. …Dr. Waite, Manly P. Hall, and some others have objected that this arrangement makes the
numbers of the Keys and the numbers of the letters conflict. The answer to this is that the numbers
printed on the Keys have one purpose, while those assigned to the letters have another. (Case, 21-23)
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