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■ ■- ■ "'"■■ ' ■ ■-■"■ - "^ y^r' \ 

Sepher Yetzirah 

THE 

Book of Formation 



AND THE 



Thirty Two Paths of Wisdo; 

Translated from the Hebrew 



Wm. Wynn Westcott, M.B. 

Supreme Magus of the Soc. Ros. m Anglia. 



SECOND EDITION. 



THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY, 

7, Duke Street, Adelphi, London, W.C, 

'The Path," 144, Madison Avenue, New York, U.S.A- 

"The Theosophist" Office, Adyar, Madras, India. 

1893. 

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CONTENTS. 





Preface to the Second Edition 


4 




Introduction 


5 




The Sepher Yetzirah 


15 




Chapter I. Sephiroth, Numbers, Letters ... 


15 




„ II. The Twenty-Two Letters 


18 




III. The Triad 


19 




IV. TheHeptad... 


21 




,, „ Supplement ... 


22 




V. The Dodecad 


23 




,, ,, Supplement ... 


24 




„ VL Conclusion ... 


26 




The Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom ... 


28 


\ 


Notes to the Sepher Yetzirah ... 


32 


Notes to the Thirty-Two Paths 


43 



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PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

It has been at the earnest wish of many students, 
members of the Theosophical Society, and of my 
Hermetic fratres of the Order of the G.D., that I have 
made a revised translation of the " Sepher Yetzirah." In 
this edition I have followed most closely the Hebrew 
version of Joannes Stephanus Rittangelius, which was 
printed in 1642 at Amsterdam, and I have forsaken many 
of the Latinised renderings which had been adopted in 
the First Edition, from the works of Postellus and 
Pistorius. 

The Notes have been extended, and it is hoped that 
they explain and illustrate difficult passages, and render 
this abstruse treatise more comprehensible than it has 
been hitherto found. 

W. W.W., F.T.S. 



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SEPHER YETZIRAH. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The ^'Sepher Yetzirah," or "Book of Formation," is 
perhaps the oldest philosophical treatise which is yet 
extant in the Hebrew language. The great interest 
which has been evinced of late years in the Hebrew 
Kabalah, and the modes of thought and doctrine allied 
to it, has induced me to translate this volume from the 
original Hebrew texts, and to collate with them the 
Latin versions of mediaeval authorities. Three im- 
portant books of the " Zohar," or " Splendour," which 
is the great storehouse of Kabalistic teaching, have been 
for the first time translated into English by that skilful 
and erudite Kabalist, my fellow student in occult science, 
Mac Gregor Mathers, and the " Sepher Yetzirah " in an 
English translation is almost a necessary companion to 
these even more abstruse disquisitions : the two books 
indeed mutually explain each other. 

The '' Sepher Yetzirah " although this name means 
" The Book of Formation," is not in any sense a narra- 
tive of Creation, or a substitute Genesis, but it is a very 
ancient and instructive philosophical treatise upon one 
aspect of the origin of the universe and mankind ; an 
aspect at once archaic and essentially Hebrew. The 
grouping of the processes of origin into an arrangement, 
at once alphabetic and numeral, is one only to be found 
in Semitic authors. 

Attention must be called to the essential peculiarity of 
Hebrew doctrines, the inextricable and necessary associa- 



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tion of numbers and letters ; every letter suggesting a 
'number, and every group of letters having a numerical 
signification, as vital as its literal meaning. 

The Kabalistic principles involved in the reversal of 
Hebrew letters, and their substitution by others, on 
definite schemes, should also be studied and borne in 
mind. 

It is exactly on these principles that the ^' groundwork 
idea " of this disquisition rests ; and these principles 
may be traced throughout the Kabalistic volumes which 
have succeeded it in point of time, and development, 
and which are now associated together in one volume 
and known as the '^ Zohar," or '^Book of Splendour," a 
collection of treaties which is in the main concerned 
with the essential dignities of the God-head, and with 
the emanations which have sprung therefrom, with the 
doctrine of the Sephiruth, and the ideals of Macroprosopus 
and Microprosopus. 

The '' Sepher Yetzirah," on the other hand is mainly 
concerned with our universe and with the Microcosm. 
The opinions of Hebrew Kabalistic Rabbis and of 
two French mystics may be fitly introduced here. 

The following interesting comment is from Rabbi 
Moses Botarel : — " It was Abraham our Father — blessed 
be he — who wrote this book to condemn the doctrine of 
the sages of his time, who were incredulous of the 
supreme dogma of the Unity. At least, this was the 
opinion of Rabbi Saadiah — blessed be he — as written 
in the first chapter of his book ' The Philosopher's 
Stone.' These are his words : The sages of Babylon 
attacked Abraham on account of his faith ; for they were 
ail against him although themselves separable into three 
sects. The First thought that the Universe was subject 
to the control of two opposing forces, the one existing 
but to destroy the other, this is dualism ; they held that 
there was nothing in common between the author of 
evil and the author of good. The Second sect admitted 
Three great Powers ; two of them as in the first case, 
and a third Power whose function was to decide between 



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the two others, a supreme arbitrator. The Third sect 
recognised no god beside the Sun, in which it recognised 
the sole principle of existence." 

Rabbi Judah Ha Levi, in his critical description of 
this treatise, wrote : " The Sepher Yetzirah teaches us 
the existence of a Single Divine Power by shewing us 
that in the bosom of variety and multiplicity, there is ,a 
Unity and Harmony, and that such universal concord 
could only arise from the rule of a Supreme Unity." 

EJiphas Levi, the famous French Occultist, thus wrote 
of the " Sepher Yetzirah," in his '' Histoire de la Magie," 
p. 54 : ' ' The Zohar is a Genesis of illumination, the Sepher 
Jezirah is a ladder formed of truths. Therein are ex- 
plained the thirty-two absolute signs of sounds, 
numbers and letters : each letter reproduces a number, an 
idea and a form ; so that mathematics are capable of ap- 
plication to ideas and to forms not less rigorously than 
to numbers, by exact proportion and perfect 
correspondence. By the science of the Sepher Jezirah 
the human spirit is fixed to truth, and in reason, and is 
able to take account of the possible development of 
intelligence by the evolutions of numbers. The Zohar 
represents absolute truth, and the Sepher Jezirah 
provides the means by which we may seize, appropriate 
and make use of it." 

Upon another page Eliphas Levi writes : ^' The 
Sepher Jezirah and the Apocalypse are the master- 
pieces of Occultism ; they contain more wisdom 
than words ; their expression is as figurative as poetry, 
and at the same time it is as exact as mathematics." 

In the volume entitled ^^La Kabbale" by the eminent 
French scholar and Membre de L'Institut, Adolphe 
Franck, there is a chapter on the ^' Sepher Yetzirah." 
He writes as follows : — 

'' The Book of Formation contains, I will not say 
a system of physics, but of cosmology such as could 
be conceived at an age and in a country where the habit 
of explaining all phenomena by the immediate action of 
the First Cause, tended to check the spirit of observa- 



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tion, and where in consequence certain general and 
superficial relations perceived in the natural world 
passed for the science of Nature." . . . '^ Its form 
is simple and grave ; there is nothing like a demonstra- 
tion nor an argument ; but it consists rather of a series 
of aphorisms, regularly grouped, and which have all the 
conciseness of the most ancient oracles." 

In his analysis of the '' Sepher Yetzirah," he adds : — 
" The Book of Formation, even if it be not very volu- 
minous, and if it do not altogether raise us to very 
elevated regions of thought, yet offers us at least a 
composition which is very homogeneous and of a rare 
originality. The clouds which the imagination of 
commentators have gathered around it, will be dissi- 
pated, if we look for, in it, not mysteries of ineffable 
wisdom, but an attempt at a reasonable doctrine, made 
when reason arose, an effort to grasp the plan of the 
universe, and to secure the link which binds to one 
common principle, all the elements which are around 
us." 

"The last word of this system is the substitution of 
the absolute divine Unity for every idea of Dualism, 
for that pagan philosophy which saw in matter an 
eternal substance whose laws were not in accord with 
Divine Will ; and for the Biblical doctrine, which by its idea 
of Creation, postulates two things, the Universe and 
God, as two substances absolutely distinct one from the 
other." 

" In fact, in the ' Sepher Yetzirah,' God considered as 
the Infinite and consequently the indefinable Being, 
extended throughout all things by his power and 
existence, is while above, yet not outside of numbers, 
sounds and letters, — the principles and general laws 
which we recognise." 

" Every element has its source from a higher form, 
and all things have their common origin from the Word 
(Logos), the Holy Spirit. . . So God is at once, in 
the highest sense, both the matter and the form of the 
universe. Yet He is not only that form ; for nothing can 



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or does exist outside of Himself ; His substance is the 
foundation of all, and all things bear His imprint and 
are symbols of His intelligence." 

Hebrew tradition assigns the doctrines of the oldest 
portions of the *' Zohar " to a date antecedent to the 
building of the Second Temple, but Rabbi Simeon ben 
Jochai, who lived in the reign of the Emperor Titus, 
A.D. 70-80, is considered to have been the first to commit 
these to writing, and Rabbi Moses de Leon, of Gauda- 
laxara, in Spain, who died in 1305, certainly reproduced 
and published the " Zohar." 

Ginsburg, speaking of the Zoharic doctrines of the 
Ain Suph, says that they were unknown until the 13th 
century, but he does not deny the great antiquity of 
the Sepher Yetzirah, in which it will be noticed the 
*' Ain Suph Aur " and '' Ain Suph " are not mentioned. 

I suggest, however, tfiat this omission is no proof that 
the doctrines of '' Ain Suph Aur " and " Ain Suph " 
did not then exist, because it is a reasonable supposition, 
that the " Sepher Yetzirah " was the volume assigned 
to the Yetziratic World, the third of the four 
Kabalistic Worlds of Emanation, while the '' Asch 
Metzareph " is concerned with the Assiatic, fourth, or 
lowest World of Shells, and is on the face of it an 
alchemical treatise ; and again the " Siphra Dtzeni- 
outha " may be fittingly considered to be an Aziluthic 
work, treating of the Emanations of Deity alone ; and 
there was doubtless a fourth work assigned to the World 
of Briah — the second type, but I have not been able to 
identify this treatise. 

Both the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmuds 
refer to the " Sepher Yetzirah." Their treatise named 
" Sanhedrin," certainly mentions the '* Book of Form- 
ation," and another similar work ; and Rashi in his 
commentary on the treatise " Erubin," considers this a 
reliable historical notice. This work then, or a similar 
predecessor, is at least as old as a.d. 200. 

Other positive historical notices are those of Saadjah 
Gaon, who died a.d. 940, and Judah Halevi, a.d. 1150 ; 



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10 

both these Hebrew classics speak of it as a very ancient 
work. 

The most generally accepted modern opinion is that 
the author was Rabbi Akiba, who lived in the time of 
the Emperor Hadrian, a.d. 120. 

Graetz, however, assigns it to early Gnostic times, 
third or fourth century, and Zunz speaks of it as post 
Talmudical, and belonging to the Geonic period 700 to 
800 A.D. ; Rubinsohn, in the ^' Bibliotheca Sacra," 
speaks of this latter idea as having no real basis. 

The Talmuds were first collected into a concrete 
whole, and printed in Venice, 1520 a.d. 

The ''Zohar " was first printed in Mantua in 1558, 
again in Cremona, 1560, and at Lublin, 1623, and a fourth 
edition by Knorr von Rosenroth, at Sulzbach in 1684. 
Some parts are not very ancient, since some versions 
mention the Crusades. 

Six extant Hebrew editions of the " Sepher Yetzirah " 
were collected and printed at Lemberg in 1680. The 
oldest of these six recensions was that of Saadjah 
Gaon. 

Commentaries by Judah Halevi, and by Eben Ezra, 
of the 12th century, are also known. 

There are now to be found in the best libraries, 
several Latin versions, viz.^ that of Gulielmus Postellus, 
1552, Paris ; one by Johann Pistorius, in his *' Artis 
Cabalisticse Tomus," 1587, Basle ; and a third by 
Joannes Stephanus Rittangelius, 1642, Amsterdam ; 
this latter gives both Hebrew and Latin, and also the 
Thirty-Two Paths as a supplement. 

There is also a good German translation, by Johann 
Friedrich von Meyer, dated 1830. Quite recently, and 
since the completion of my translation, my attention has 
been drawn to a version by Isidor Kalisch, in which he 
has reproduced many of the valuable annotations of 
Meyer. The edition which I now offer is fundamentally 
that of the ancient Hebrew codices translated into 
English, and collated with the Latin versions of 
Pistorius, Postellus, and Rittangelius. 



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II 

The following copies of the " Sepher Yetzirah " in 
Hebrew, I have also examined :- — 

1. A Version by Saadiah, abi ben David, and three 

others, Mantua, 1562, 4to. 

2. A Version with the commentary of Rabbi Abraham 

F. Dior, Amsterdam, 1642, 4to. 

3. A Version with preface by M. ben J. Chagiz, 

Amsterdam, 1713, i6mo. 

4. A Version, Constantinople, 17 19, 8vo. 

5. „ „ Zolkiew, 1745, 4to. 

6. ,, ,, by Moses ben Jacob, Zozec, 1779, 4to. 

7. ,, ,, Grodno, 1806, 4to. 

8. ,, ,, Dyhernfurth, 1812, 8vo. 

9. ,, ,, Salonica, 1831, 8vo. 

10. A MSS. copy dated 1719, in the British Museum. 

I add here the full titles of the three Latin versions ; 
they are all to be found in the British Museum Library. 

'' Abrahami Patriarchse Liber Jezirah sive Forma- 
tionis Mundi, Patribus quidem Abrahami tempora 
prsecedentibus revelatus, sed ab ipso etiam Abrahamo 
expositus Isaaco, et per prophetarum manus posteritati 
conservatus, ipsis autem 72. Moses auditoribus in 
secundo divinse veritatis loco, hoc est in ratione quoe est 
posterior authoritate, habitus." Parisiis, 1552. Gulielmus 
Postellus. 

^'Idest Liber Jezirah, qui Abrahamos, Patriarchae 
adscribitur, unacum Commentario Rabi Abraham F.D. 
super 32 semitis Sapientise, a quibus Liber Jezirah 
incipit : Translatus et notis illustratus a Joanne 
Stephano Rittangelio Ling. Orient, in Elect. Acad. 
Regiomontana Prof. Extraord," Amstelodami, 1642. 

In Tomus Primus of ** Artis Cabalisticae hoc est 
reconditae theologiae et philosophise script orum." 
Basileae 1587, is found ** Liber de Creatione Cabalistinis, 
Hebraice Sepher Jezira ; Authore Abrahamo. Succes- 
sive filiis ore traditus. Hinc jam rebus Israel inclinatis 
ne deficeret per sapientes Hierusalem arcanis et 



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profundissimis sensibusliteriscommendatus." Johannes 
Pistorius. 

The ''Sepher Yetzirah " consists of six chapters, 
having 33 paragraphs distributed among them, in this 
manner, the first has 12, then follow 5, 5, 4, 3, and 4. 

The oldest title has, as an addition, the words, '' The 
Letters of our Father Abraham "or '^ ascribed to the 
patriarch Abraham ", and it is spoken of as such, by- 
many mediaeval authorities : bnt this origin is doubtless 
fabulous although perhaps not more improbable than 
the supposed authorship of the /'Book of "Enoch," 
mentioned by St. Jude, and rescued in modern times 
from the wilds of Ethiopia by the great traveller 
Bruce. 

In essence the work was, doubtless, the crystallization 
of centuries of tradition by one writer, and it has been 
added to from time to time, by later authors, who have 
also revised it. Some of the additions, which were 
rejected even by mediaeval students, I have not 
incorporated with the text at all, and I present in this 
volume only the undoubted kernel of this occult nut, 
upon which many great authorities, Hebrew, German, 
Jesuit and others have written long commentaries, and yet 
have failed to explain satisfactorily. 

1 find Kalisch speaking of these Commentaries says, 
" they contain nothing but a medley of arbitrary 
explanations, and sophistical distortions of scriptural 
verses, astrological notions, oriental superstitions, a 
metaphysical jargon, a poor knowledge of physics, and 
not a correct elucidation of this ancient book." 
Kalisch, however, was not an occultist ; these 
commentaries are, however, so extensive as to demand 
years of study, and I feel no hesitation in confessing 
that my researches into them have been but superficial. 

For convenience of study I have placed the Notes in 
a separate form at the end of the work, and I have 
made a short definition of the subject-matter of each 
chapter. 

The substance of this little volume was read as a 



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13 

Lecture before the Hermetic Society of London in the 
summer of 1886, Dr. Anna Kingsford, President, in the 
chair. Some of the Notes were the explanations given 
verbally, and subsequently in writing, to members of 
the Society who asked for information upon abstruse 
points in the *' Sepher," and for collateral doctrines; 
others, of later date, are answers which have been 
given to enquiring Theosophists, and members of the 
Hermetic G. D. 

The late Madame Blavatsky, my esteemed teacher of 
Theosophy, and my personal friend, at whose sugges- 
tion a friendly alliance between the Hermetic Order of 
the G. D. and the Inner Group of Theosophic students 
was made, expressed to me her recognition of the value 
of the *' Sepher Yetzirah " as a mystical treatise on 
cosmic origin, and her approval of my work in its trans- 
lation, and of my notes and explanations. 



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SEPHER YETZIRAH 

THE 

Book of Formation. 



CHAPTER I. 

Section i. In thirty-two^ wonderful Paths of Wisdom 
did Jah^, Jehovah Tzabaoth^ the God of IsraeP, the 
Elohim of the living^ the King of ages, the merci- 
ful and gracious God^ the exalted One, the Dweller in 
eternity, most high and holy — engrave his name by the 
three Sepharim"^ — Numbers, Letters, and Sounds.^ 

2. Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth^. Twenty-two are 
the Letters, the Foundation of all things ; there are 
Three Mothers, Seven Double and Twelve^^ Simple 
letters. 

3. The ineffable Sephiroth are Ten, so are the Num- 
bers ; and as there are in man five fingers over against 
five, so over them is established a covenant of strength, 
by word of mouth, and by the circumcision of the flesh^^ 

4. Ten is the number of the ineffable Sephiroth, 
ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Understand this 
wisdom, and be wise in the perception. Search out 
concerning it, restore the Word to its creator, and re- 
place Him who formed it upon his throne^^. 

5. The Ten ineffable Sephiroth have ten vast regions 
bound unto them ; boundless in origin and having no 
ending ; an abyss^^ of good and of ill ; measureless height 
and depth ; boundless to the East and the West ; 
boundless to the North and South^* ; and the Lord the 



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i6 

only God^^, the Faithful King rales all these from his 
holy seat^^, for ever and ever. 

6. The Ten ineffable Sephiroth have the appearance 
of the Lightning flash", their origin is unseen and no 
end is perceived. The Word is in them as they rush 
forth and as they return, they speak as from the whirl- 
wind, and returning fall prostrate in adoration before 
the Throne. 

7. The Ten ineffable Sephiroth, whose ending is 
even as their origin, are like as a flame arising from a 
burning coal. For God^^ is superlative in his Unity, 
there is none equal unto Him : what number canst thou 
place before One. 

8. Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth ; seal up thy lips 
lest thou speak of them, and guard thy heart as thou 
considerest them ; and if thy mind escape from thee 
bring it back to thy control ; even as it was said, ^* run- 
ning and returning " (the living creatures ran and re- 
turned)^^ and hence was the Covenant made. 

9. The ineffable Sephiroth give forth the Ten num- 
bers. First ; the Spirit of the God of the living^^ ; 
Blessed and more than blessed be the Living God^^ of 
ages. The Voice, the Spirit, and the Word^^ these are 
of the Holy Spirit. 

10. Second; from the Spirit He produced Air, and 
formed in it twenty-two sounds — the letters ; three are 
mothers, seven are double, and twelve are simple ; but 
the Spirit is first and above these. Third ; from the Air 
He formed the Waters, and from the formless and void^-^ 
made mire and clay, and designed surfaces upon them, 
and hewed recesses in them, and formed the strong 
material foundation. Fourth; from the Water He 
formed Fire^^ and made for Himself a Throne of Glory 
with Auphanim., Seraphim and Kerubim^% as his minis- 
tering angels ; and with these three'^^ he completed his 
dwelling, as it is written, *^ Who maketh his angels 
spirits and his ministers a flaming fire ".^"^ 

11. He selected three letters from among the simple 
ones and sealed them and formed them into a Great 



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^7 

Name, I H V,^^ and with this He sealed the universe in 
six directions. 

Fifth ; He looked above, and sealed the Height 

with 1 H V. 
Sixth ; He looked below, and sealed the Depth 

with I V H. 
Seventh ; He looked forward, and sealed the East 

with H I V. 
Eighth ; He looked backward, and sealed the West 

with H V I. 
Ninth ; He looked to the right, and sealed the South 

with V I H. 
Tenth ; He looked to the left, and sealed the North 

with V H I. 

12. Behold ! From the Ten ineffable Sephiroth do 
proceed — the One Spirit of the Gods of the living, Air, 
Water, Fire; and also Height, Depth, East, West, 
North and South .^ 



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CHAPTER II. 

Section i. The twenty-two sounds and letters are the 
Foundation of all things. Three mothers, seven doubles 
and twelve simples. The Three Mothers are Aleph, 
Mem and Shin, they are Air, Water and Fire. Water 
is silent, Fire is sibilant, and Air derived fron the Spirit 
is as the tongue of a balance standing between these 
contraries which are in equilibrium, reconciling and 
mediating between them. 

2. He hath formed, weighed, and composed with 
these twenty-two letters every soul, and the soul 
of everything which shall hereafter be^. 

3. These twenty-two sounds or letters are formed 
by the voice, impressed on the air, and audibly modified 
in five places; in the throat, in the mouth, by the 
tongue, through the teeth, and by the lips^^ 

4. These twenty-two letters^ which are the founda- 
tion of all things, He arranged as upon a sphere with 
two hundred and thirty-one gates, and the sphere may 
be rotated forward or backward, whether for good or 
for evil : from the good comes true pleasure, from evil 
nought but torment. 

5. For He shewed the combination of these letters, 
each with the other ; Aleph with all, and all with Aleph; 
Beth with all, and all with Beth. Thus in combining 
all together in pairs are produced the two hundred and 
thirty-one gates of knowledge^^. 

5. And from the non-existent^^ He made Some- 
Thing ; and all forms of speech and everything that 
has been produced ; from the empty void He made the 
material world, and from, the inert earth He brought 
forth everything that hath life. He hewed, as it were, 
vast columns out of the intangible air, and by the power 
of His Name made every creature and everything that 
is ; and the production of all things from the twenty- 
two letters is the proof that they are all but parts of 
one body^^ 



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19 



CHAPTER III. 

Section i. The Foundation of all others is composed 
of the Three Mothers, Aleph, Mem and Shin ; they 
resemble a Balance, on the one hand the guilty, on the 
other hand the purified, and Aleph the Air is like the 
Tongue of a Balance standing between them.'^ 

2. The Three Mothers Aleph, Mem and Shin are a 
great Mystery, very admirable and most recondite, and 
sealed as with six rings ; and from them proceed Air, 
Fire, and Water, which divide into male and female 
forces. The Three Mothers Aleph, Mem and Shin are 
the Foundation, from them spring three Fathers, and 
from these have proceeded all things that are in the 
world. 

3. The Three Mothers in the world are Aleph, 
Mem and Shin : the heavens'^''' were produced'^'^ from 
Fire ; the earth from the Water ; and the Air from the 
Spirit is as a reconciler between the Fire and the 
Water. 

4. The Three Mothers Aleph, Mem and Shin, Fire, 
Water and Air are shown in che Year ; from the fire 
was made heat, from the waters was made cold, and 
from the air was produced the temperate state, again a 
media cor between them. The Three Mothers, Aleph, 
Mem and Shin, Fire, Water and Air are found in 
Man: from the fire was formed the head; from the 
water the belly ; and from the air was formed the chest, 
again placed as a mediator between the others. 

5. These Three Mothers did He produce and 
design, and combined them ; and He sealed them as 
the three mothers in the Universe, in the Year and in 
Man — both male and female. He caused the letter 
Aleph to reign in Air and crowned it, and combining 
it with the others He sealed it, as Air in the World, as 
the temperate (climate) of the Year, and as the chest 



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the lungs for breathing air) in Man: the male with 
A.M.S., the female with S.M.A. He caused the letter 
Mem to reign in Water, crowned it, and combining it 
with the others formed the earth in the world, cold 
in the year, and the belly in man, male and female, the 
former with M.A.S., the latter with M.S.A. He caused 
Shin to reign in Fire, and crowned it, and combining it 
with the others, sealed with it the heavens in the 
universe, heat in the year and the head in man, male 
and female^^. 



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CHAPTER IV. 

Section i. The Seven Double Letters, Beth, Gimel, 
Daleth, Kaph, Pe, Resh, and Tau have each two sounds 
associated with theui. They are referred to Life, 
Peace, Wisdom, Riches, Grace, FertiHty and Power. 
The two sounds of each letter are the hard and the 
soft — the aspirated and the softened. They are called 
Double, because each letter presents a contrast or per- 
mutation ; thus Life and Death ; Peace and War 
'^Evil) ; Wisdom and Folly ; Riches and Poverty ; 
Grace and Indignation ; Fertility and SoHtude (Desola- 
tion) ; Power and Servitude. 

2. These Seven Double Letters point out seven 
localities ; Above, Below, East, West, North, South, 
and the Palace of HoHness in the midst of them sus- 
taining all things. 

3. These Seven Double Letters He designed, pro- 
duced, and combined, and formed with them the Planets 
(stars) of this Universe, the Days of the Week, and the 
Gates of the soul (the orifices of perception) in Man. 
From these Seven He hath produced the Seven Heavens, 
the Seven Earths, the Seven Sabbaths : for this cause 
He has loved and blessed the number Seven, more than 
all things under Heaven (His Throne). 

4. Two Letters produce two houses; three form six; 
four form twenty-four; five form one hundred and 
twenty ; six form seven hundred and twenty f^ seven 
form fiYe thousand and forty; and beyond this their 
numbers increase so that the mouth can hardly utter 
them, nor the ear hear the number of them. So now', 
behold the Stars of the Universe (Planets) are Seven ; 
the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter and 
Mars. The Seven are also the Seven Days of Creation ; 
and the Seven Gateways of the Soul of Man — the two 
eyes, the two ears, the mouth and the two nostrils. 
So with the Seven are formed the seven heavens,^^ 
the seven earths, and the seven periods of time ; and so 
has He preferred the number Seven above all things 
under Heaven^"^ 



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Supplement to Chapter IV. 

Note. — This is a modern illustration of the allotment 
of the Seven Letters; it is not found in the ancient 
copies of the *' Sepher Yetzirah." 



He produced Beth, and referred it to Wisdom ; He 
crowned it, combined and formed with it the Moon in 
the Universe, the first day of the week, and the right 
eye of man. 

He produced Gimel, and referred it to Health ; He 
crowned it, combined and joined with it Mars in the 
Universe, the second day of the week, and the right ear 
of man. 

He produced Daleth, and referred it to Fertility ; He 
crowned it, combined and formed with it the Sun in the 
Universe, the third day of the week, and the right 
nostril of man. 

He produced Kaph, and referred it to Life ; He 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Venus in the 
Universe, the fourth day of the week, and the left eye 
of man. 

He produced Pe, and referred it to Power; He 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Mercury in 
the Universe, the fifth day of the week, and the left 
ear of man. 

He produced Resh, and referred it to Peace ; He 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Saturn in the 
Universe, the sixth day of the week, and the left nostril 
of man. 

He produced Tau, and referred it to Beauty; He 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Jupiter in the 
Universe, the Seventh Day of the week, and the mouth 
of man. 

By these Seven letters were also made seven worlds, 
seven heavens, seven earths, seven seas, seven rivers, 
seven deserts, seven days, seven weeks from Passover 
to Pentecost, and every seventh year a Jubilee. 



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CHAPTER V. 

Section i. The Twelve Simple Letters are Heh, 
Vau, Zain, Cheth, Teth, Yod, Lamed, Nun, Samech, 
Oin, Tzaddi and Qoph^\- they are the foundations of 
these twelve properties : Sight, Hearing, Smell, Speech, 
Taste, Sexual Love, Work, Movement, Anger, Mirth, 
Imagination ^^ and Sleep. These Twelve are also allotted 
to the directions in space : North-east, South-east, the 
East above, the East below, the North above, the 
North below, the South-west, the North-west, the West 
above, the West below, the South above, and the South 
below ; these diverge to infinity, and are as the arms of 
the Universe. 

2. These Twelve Simple Letters he designed, and 
combined, and formed with them the Twelve celestial 
constellations of the Zodiac, whose signs are Teth, 
Shin, Tau, Samech, Aleph, Beth, Mem, Oin, Qoph, 
Gimel, Daleth and Daleth.^^ The Twelve are also the 
Months of the Year : Nisan^^ Yiar, Sivan, Tamuz, Ab, 
Elul, Tishri, Hesvan, Kislev, Tebet, Sabat and Adar. 
The Twelve are also the Twelve organs of living 
creatures,^'^ the two hands, the two feet, the two kid- 
neys, the spleen, the liver, the gall, private parts, 
stomach and intestines. 

He made these, as it were provinces, and arranged 
them as in order of battle for warfare. And also the 
Elohim*^ made one from the region of the other. 

Three Mothers and Three Fathers ; and thence issue 
Fire, Air, and Water. Three Mothers, Seven Doubles 
and Twelve Simples. 

3. Behold now these are the Twenty and Two 
Letters from which J ah, Jehovah Tzabaoth, the Elohim 
of the living, the God of Israel, exalted and sublime, 
the Dweller in eternity, formed and established all 
things ; High and Holy is His Name. 



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Supplement to Chapter V. 

Note. — This is a modern illustration of the allotment 
of the Twelve Letters ; it is not found in the ancient 
copies of the '* Sepher Yetzirah." 



1. God produced He, predominant in Speech, 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Aries in the 
Universe, Nisan in the Year, and the right foot of Man. 

2. He produced Vau, predominant in mind, crowned 
it, combined and formed with it Taurus in the Universe, 
Aiar in the Year, and the right kidney of Man. 

3. He produced Zain, predominant in Movement, 
crowned it, combined and formed it with Gemini in the 
Universe, Sivan in the Year, and the left foot of Man. 

4. He produced Cheth, predominant in Sight, 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Cancer in the 
Universe, Tamuz in the Year, and the right hand of 
Man. 

5. He produced Teth, predominant in Hearing, 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Leo in the 
Universe, Ab in the Year,-and the left Kidney in Man. 

6. He produced Yod, predominant in Work, 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Virgo in the 
Universe, Elul in the Year, and the left hand of Man. 

7. He produced Lamed, predominant in Sexual 
desire, crowned it, combined and formed with it Libra 
in the Universe, Tishri in the Year, and the private 
parts of Man. (Kalisch gives *' gall.") 

8. He produced Nun, predominant in Smell, 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Scorpio in the 
Universe, Heshvan in the Year, and the intestines of 
Man. 

g. He produced Samech, predominant in Sleep, 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Sagittarius in 
the Universe, Kislev in the Year, and the stomach of 
Man. 



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10. He produced Oin, predominant in Anger, 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Capricornus 
in the Universe, Tebet in the Year, and the Hver of 
Man. 

11. He produced Tzaddi, predominant in Taste, 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Aquarius in 
the Year, and the gullet in Man. 

12. He produced Qoph, predominant in Mirth, 
crowned it, combined and formed with it Pisces in the 
Universe, Adar in the Year, and the spleen of Man. 



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CHAPTER VI. 



Section i. Three Fathers and their generations, Seven 
conquerors and their armies, and Twelve bounds of the 
Universe. See now, of these words, the faithful witnesses 
are the Universe, the Year and Man. The dodecad, 
the heptad, and the triad with their provinces*; above 
is the Celestial Dragon, T L I,^^ and below is the 
World, and lastly the heart of Man. The Three 
are Water, Air and Fire ; Fire above, Water below, 
and Air conciliating between them ; and the sign of 
these things is that the Fire sustains (volatilizes) the 
waters ; Mem is mute. Shin is sibilant, and Aleph is 
the Mediator and as it were a friend placed between 
them. 

2. The Celestial Dragon, T L I, is placed over the 
universe like a king upon the throne ; the revolution of 
the year is as a king over his dominion ; the heart of 
man is as a king in warfare. Moreover, He made all 
things one from the other; and the Elohim set good 
over against evil, and made good things from good, and 
evil things from evil : with the good tested He the evil, 
and with the evil did He try the good. Happiness^^ is 
reserved for the good, and misery^^ is kept for the 
wicked. 

3. The Three are One, and that One stands above. 
The Seven are divided ; three are over against three, and 
one stands between the triads. The Twelve stand as 
in warfare ; three are friends, three are enemies ; three 
are life givers ; three are destroyers. The three friends 
are the heart, the ears, and the mouth ; the three 
enemies are the liver, the gall, and the tongue^*^ ; while 
God^^ the faithful king rules over all. One above 
Three, Three above Seven, and Seven above Twelve ; 
and all are connected the one with the other. 

4. And after that our father Abraham had perceived. 



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and understood, and had taken down and engraved all 
these things, the Lord most high^ revealed Himself, and 
called him His beloved, and made a Covenant with him 
and his seed ; and Abraham believed on Him^ and it 
was imputed unto him for righteousness. And He made 
this Covenant between the ten toes of the feet — this is 
like that of circumcision ; and between the ten fingers of 
the hands and this is like that of the tongne/"^ And He 
bound the twenty-two letters unto his speech^ and 
shewed him all the mysteries of them.^^ He drew them 
through the Waters ; He burned them in the Fire ; He 
vibrated them in the Air; Seven in the highest 
heavens ; and Twelve in the celestial constellations of 
the Zodiac. 



The End of the '' Booh of Formation.'' 



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The Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom. 

Translated from the Hebrew Text of Joannes Stephanns 
Rittangelius, 1 642 . 



The First Path is called the Admirable or the Hidden 
Intelligence (the Highest Crown) : for it is the Light 
giving the power of comprehension of that First Prin- 
ciple which has no beginning; and it is the Primal 
Glory, for no created being can attain to its essence. 

The Second Path is that of the Illuminating IntelH- 
gence : it is the Crown of Creation, the Splendour of 
the Unity, equalling it, and it is exalted above, every 
head, and named by the Kabalists the Second Glory. 

The Third Path is the Sanctifying Intelligence, and 
is the basis of foundation of Primordial Wisdom, which 
is called the Former of Faith, and its roots, Amen ; and 
it is the parent of Faith, from whose virtues doth Faith 
emanate. 

The Fourth Path is named Measuring, Cohesive or 
Receptacular ; and is so called because it contains all 
the holy powers, and from it emanate all the spiritual 
virtues with the most exalted essences : they emanate 
one from the other by the power of the primordial 
emanation. (The Highest Crown. )^ 

The Fifth Path is called the Radical Intelligence, 
because it is itself the essence equal to the Unity, uniting 
itself to the Binah,^ or Intelligence which emanates 
from the Primordial depths of Wisdom or Chokmah.^ 

The Sixth Path is called the Intelligence of the 
Mediating Influence, because in it are multiplied the 



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influxes of the emanations, for it causes that influence 
to flow into all the reservoirs of the Blessings, with which 
these themselves are united. 

The Seventh Path is the Occult Intelligence, because 
it is the Refulgent Splendour of all the Intellectual 
virtues which are perceived by the eyes of intellect, and 
by the contemplation of faith. 

The Eighth Path is called Absolute or Perfect, 
because it is the means of the primordial, which has no 
root by which it can cleave, nor rest, except in the hidden - 
places of Gedtdah,^ Magnificence, which emanate from 
its own proper essence. 

The Ninth Path is the Pure Intellig ence, so called 
because^ it purifies the Numerations, it proves and 
corrects the designing of their representation, and dis- 
poses their unity with which they are combined without 
diminution or division. 

The Tenth Path is the Resplendent Intelligence, 
because it is exalted above every head, and sits on the 
throne of Bmah, (the Intelligence spoken of in the Third 
Path). It illuminates the splendour . of all the lights, 
and causes a supply of influence to emanate from the 
. Prince of countenances.^ 

The Eleventh Path is the Scintillating Intelligence, 
because it is the essence of that curtain which is placed 
close to the order of the disposition, and this is a special 
dignity given to it that it may be able to stand before 
the Face of the Cause of Causes. 

The Twelfth Path is the Intelligence of Transparency 
because it is that species of Magnificence called Chaz- 
chazit,^ which is named the place whence issues the 
vision of those seeing in apparitions. (That is the 
prophecies by seers in a vision.) 

The Thirteenth Path is named the Uniting Intelli- 
gence, and is so-called because it is itself the Essence of 
Glory. It is the Consummation of the Truth of indivi- 
dual spiritual things. 

The Fourteenth Path is the Illuminating Intelligence, 
and is so called because it is that ChashmaP which is 



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the founder of the concealed and fundamental ideas of 
holiness and of their stages of preparation. 

The Fifteenth Path is the Constituting Intelligence, 
so called because it constitutes the substance of creation 
in pure darkness, and men have spoken of these con- 
templations; it is that darkness spoken of in Scripture, 
Job xxxviii. 9, ^' and thick darkness a swaddling band 
for it." 

The Sixteenth Path is the Triumphal or Eternal In- 
telligence, so called because it is the pleasure of the 
Glory, beyond which is no other Glory like to it, and it 
is called also the Paradise prepared for the Righteous. 

The Seventeenth Path is the Disposing Intelligence, 
which provides Faith to the Righteous, and they are 
clothed with the Holy Spirit by it, and it is called the 
Foundation of Excellence in the state of higher things. 

The Eighteenth Path is called the House of Influence 
(by the greatness of whose abundance the influx of good 
things upon created beings is increased), and from the 
midst of the investigation the arcana and hidden senses 
are drawn forth, which dwell in its shade and which 
cling to it, from the cause of all causes. 

The Nineteenth Path is the Intelligence of all the 
activities of the spiritual beings, and is so called because 
of the aflluence diffused by it from the most high 
blessing and most exalted sublime glory. 

The Twentieth Path is the Intelligence of Will, and 
is so called because it is the means of preparation of all 
and each created being, and by this intelligence the 
existence of the Primordial Wisdom becomes known. 

The Twenty-first Path is the Intelligence of Con- 
ciliation, and is so called because it receives the divine 
influence which flows into it from its benediction upon 
all and each existence. 

The Twenty-second Path is the Faithful Intelligence 
and is so called because by it spiritual virtues are 
increased, and all dwellers on earth are nearly under its 
shadow. 

The Twenty-third Path is the Stable Intelligence, 



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and it is so called because it has the virtue of consistency 
among all numerations. 

The Twenty-fourth Path is the Imaginative Intelli- 
gence, and it is so called because it gives a likeness to 
all the similitudes which are created in like manner 
similar to its harmonious elegancies. 

The Twenty-fifth Path is the Intelligence of Proba- 
tion, or is Tentative, and is so called because it is the 
primary temptation, by which the Creator trieth all 
righteous persons. 

The Twenty-sixth Path is called the Renovating 
Intelligence, because the Holy God renews by it all the 
changing things which are renewed by the creation of 
the world. 

The Twenty-seventh Path is the Exciting Intelli- 
gence, and it is so called because through it is consum- 
mated and perfected the nature of every existent being 
under the orb of the Sun, in perfection. 

The Twenty-ninth Path is the Corporeal Intelligence, 
so-called because it forms every body which is formed 
beneath the whole set of worlds and the increment of 
them. 

The Thirtieth Path is the Collecting Intelligence, 
and is so-called because Astrologers deduce from it the 
judgment of the Stars, and of the celestial signs, and 
the perfections of their science, according to the rules 
of their resolutions. 

The Thirty-first Path is the Perpetual Intelligence ; 
but why is it so-called ? Because it regulates the motions 
of the Sun and Moon in their proper order, each in an 
orbit convenient for it. 

The Thirty-second Path is the Administrative Intel- 
ligence, and it is so called because it directs and asso- 
ciates in all their operations the seven planets, even all 
of them in their own due courses. 



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•32 



NOTES 

TO THE 

*< SEPHER YETZIRAH. 



It is of considerable importance to a clear understand- 
ing of this Occult treatise that the whole work be read 
through before comment is made, so that the general 
idea of the several chapters may become in the mind 
one concrete whole. A separate consideration of the 
several parts should follow this general grasp of the 
subject, else much confusion may result. 

This book may be considered to be an Allegorical 
Parallel between the Idealism of Numbers and Letters 
and the various parts of the Universe, and it sheds 
much light on many mystic forms and ceremonies yet 
extant, notably upon Freemasonry, the Tarot, and the 
later Kabalah, and is a great aid to the comprehension 
of the Astro-Theosophic schemes of the Rosicrucians. 
To obtain the full value of this Treatise, it should be 
studied hand in hand with Hermetic Rituals, the " Isiac 
Tablet ", and with a complete set of the Tarot designs. 

Note that the oldest MSS. copies of the "Sepher 
Yetzirah " have no vowel points : the latest editions have 
them. The system of points in writing Hebrew was not 
perfected until the seventh century, and even then was 
not in constant use. Ginsburg asserts that the system 
of vowel polluting was invented by a Rabbi Mocha in 
Palestine about a.d. 570, who designed it to assist 
his pupils. But Isaac Myer states that there are un- 
doubted traces of pointing in Hebrew MSS. of the 
second century. 

The words'' Sepher Yetzirah " are written in Hebrew 
from right to left, SPR YTzYRH, Samech Peh Rash, 



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Yod Tzaddi Yod Resh Heh ; modes of transliteration 
vary with different authors. Yod is variously written 
in English letters as I, Y, or J, or sometimes le. 
Tzaddi is properly Tz ; but some write Z only, which 
is misleading because the Hebrew has also a true Z, 
Zain. 



Chapter I. 

The twelve sections of this chapter introduce this philo- 
sophic disquisition upon the Formation and Development 
of the Universe. Having specified the subdivision of 
the letters into three classes, the Triad, the Heptad, and 
the Dodecad, these are put aside for the time ; and the 
Decad mainly considered as specially associated with 
the idea of Number, and as obviously composed of the 
Tetrad and the Hexad. 

1. Thirty-two. This is the number of the Paths or 
Ways of Wisdom, which are added as a supplement. 
32 is written in Hebrew by LB, Lamed and Beth, and 
these are the last and first letters of the Pentateuch. 
The number 32 is obtained thus — 2 X2X2X2X2 = 32, 
Laib, LB as a Hebrew word, means the Heart of 
Man. 

Paths. The word here is NTIBUT, netibuth ; 
NTIB, meant primarily a pathway, or foot-made track ; 
but is here used symbolically in the same sense as the 
Christian uses the word, way — the way of life : other 
meanings are — stage, power, form, effect ; and later, a 
doctrinal formula, in Kabalistic writings. 

2. Jak. This divine name is found in Psalm Ixviii. 
4 ; it is translated into Greek as hmos, and into Latin 
as dominusj and commonly into the English word, Lord : 
it is really the first half of the word IHVH or Jehovah, 
or the Yahveh of modern scholars. 

3. Jehovah Tzahaoth. This divine name is printed in 
EngHsh Bibles as Jehovah Sabaoth, or as '* Lord of 
hosts " as in Psalm xxiv. 10. TzBA is an army. 



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4. God of Israel, Here the word God is ALHI, 
which in unpointed Hebrew might be God, or Gods, or 
My God. 

5. The Elohim of the Living, The words are ALHIM 
ChHM. Alhim, often written in EngHsh letters as 
Elohim, or by Godfrey Higgins as Aleim, seems to be a 
masculine plural of the feminine form Eloah, ALH, of 
the divine masculine name EL, AL ; this is commonly 
translated God, and means strong, mighty, supreme. 
Chiim, is the plural of Chi — living, or life. ChIH is a 
living animal, and so is ChIVA. ChH is also life. 
Frey in his dictionary gives ChHM as the plural word, 
lives, or vitae. The true adjective for living is ChIA. 
Elohim Chiim, then, apart from Jewish or Christian 
preconception, is " the living Gods," or '-'- the Gods of 
the lives, i.e., living ones." Rittangelius gives Dii 
viventes, " The living Gods," both words in the plural. 
Pistorius omits both words. Postellus, the orthodox, 
gives Deus Vivus. The Elohim are the Seven Forces, 
proceeding from the One Divine, which control the 
''terra viventium," the manifested world of life. 

6. God. In this case we have the simple form 
AL, EL. 

7. Sepharim. SPRIM, the plural mascuUne of SPR, 
commonly translated book or letter : the meaning here is 
plainly "forms of expression." 

8. N limbers. Letters and Sounds, The three Hebrew 
words here given are, in unpointed Hebrew, SPR, 
SPR and SIPUR. Some late editors to cover the 
difficulty of this passage, have given SPR, SPUR, 
SIPR, pointing them to read Separ, Seepur, Saypar. 

The sense of the whole volume appears to need their 
translation as Numbers, Letters and Sounds. Pistorius 
gave " scriptis, numeratis, pronunciatis." Postellus 
gave " Numerans, numerus, numeratus," thus losing 
the contrasted meanings ; and so did Rittangelius, who 
gave " Numero, numerante, numerate." 

9. The ineffable Sephiroth. The words are SPIRUT 
BLIMH, Sephiruth Belimah. The simplest translation 



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is '' the voices from nothing." The Ten Sephiruth 
of the Kabalah are the " Ten Primary Emanations 
from the Divine Source " which are the primal 
forces leading to all manifestation upon every plane 
in succession. Buxtorf gives for Sephiruth — pre- 
dicationes logicse. The word seems to me clearly 
allied to the Latin spiritus, — spirit, soul, wind ; and 
is used by Quintilian as a sound, or noise. The meaning 
of Belimah is more doubtful. Rittangelius always 
gives " praeter illud ineffabile." Pistorius gives 
'* praeter ineffabile." Postellus evades the difficulty 
and simply puts the word Belimah into his Latin trans- 
lation. In Frey's Dictionary BLIMH is translated as 
nothing, without any other suggestion; BLI is "not", 
MH is " anything." In Kabalistic writings the Sephi- 
ruth, the Divine Voices and Powers, are called " ineff- 
bilis," not to be spoken of, from their sacred nature. 

10. The classification of the Hebrew letters into a 
Triad, Heptad and Dodekad, runs through the whole 
philosophy of the Kabalah. Many ancient authors 
added intentional blinds, such as forming the Triad of 
A.M.T., Ameth, truth ; and of AMN, Amen. 

11. The Two Covenants, by the Word or Spirit, and 
by the Flesh, made by Jehovah with Abraham, Genesis 
XVII. The Covenant of Circumcision was to be an 
outward and visible sign of the Divine promise made to 
Abraham and his offspring. The Hebrew word for 
circumcision is Mulah, MULH : note that MLH is also 
synonymous with DBR, dabar, — verbum or word. 

12. Rittangelius gives "replace the formative power 
upon his throne." Postellus gives "restore the device 
to its place." 

13. Abyss ; the word is OUMQ for OMQ, a depth, 
vastness, or valley. 

14. Hermetic rituals explain this Yetziratic attri- 
bution. 

15. The Lord the only God. The words are ADUN 
IChID AL, or " Adonai (as commonly written) the 
only EL" 



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i6. Seat. The word is MOUN, dwelling, habitation, 
or throne. 

17. Lightning flash. In the early edition the words 
'' like scintillating flame'" are used : the Hebrew word 
is BRQ. Many Kabalists have shown how the Ten 
Sephiruth are symbolized by the zig-zag lightning flash. 

18. God ; the Divine name here is Jehovah. 

ig.. ThetextgivesonlyRTzUAV ShUB— "currendo 
et redeundo," but the commentators have generally 
considered this to be a quotation from Ezekiel i. 14, 
referred to H ChIVT, the living creatures, kerubic 
forms. 

20. The Spirit of the Gods of the Living. RUCh 
ALHIM ChIIM.; or as R. gives it '^ spiritus Deorum 
Viventium." Orthodoxy would translate these words 
" The spirit of the living God." 

21. AL ChI H OULMIM; ''the Living God of 
Ages," here the word God really is in the singular. 

22. The Voice, Spirit and Word are QUL, RUCh. 
DBR. A very notable Hebrew expression of Divinatory 
intuition was BATh QUL, the Daughter of the Voice. 

23. Formless and void. THU and BHU ; these 
two words occur in Genesis i. 2, and are translated 
'' waste and void." 

24. Note the order in which the primordial elements 
• were produced. First, Spirit (query Akasa, Ether) then 

Air, Vayu ; then Water, Apas, which condenses into 
solid elementary Earth, Prithivi ; and lastly from the 
Water He formed Fire. 

25. The first name is often written Ophanim, the 
letters are AUPNIM, in the Vision of Ezekiel i. 16, the 
word occurs and is translated "Wheels." ShRPIM 
are the mysterious beings of Isaiah vi. 2 ; the word 
otherwise is translated Serpent^ and in Numbers xxi. 6, 
as "fiery serpents": also in verse 8 as "fiery 
serpent " when Jehovah said " Make thee a fiery 
serpent and set it upon a pole." Kerubim. The 
Hebrew words are ChIVTh H QDSh, holy animals: 
I have ventured to put Kerubim, as the title of the 



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other Biblical form of Holy mysterious animal, as given 
in I. Kings vi. 23 and Exodus xxv. 18, and indeed 
Genesis iii. 24. Bible dictionaries generally give the 
word as Cherubim, but in Hebrew the initial letter is 
always K and not Ch. 

26. Three. In the first edition I overlooked this 
word three; and putting and for as, made four classes of 
serving beings. 

27. This is verse 4 of Psalm civ. 

28. Here follow the permutations of the name 
I H V, which is the Tetragrammaton — Jehovah, without 
the second or final Heh : IHV is a Tri-grammaton, and 
is more suitable to the third or Yetziratic plane. HVI 
is the imperative form of the verb to he, meaning he 
thou; HIV is the infinitive; and VIH is future. 
In IHV note that Yod corresponds to the Father ; 
Heh to Binah, the Supernal Mother ; and Vau to the 
Microprosopus — Son . 

29. Note the subdivision of the Decad into the 
Tetrad — four elements ; and the Hexad — six dimensions 
of space. 



Chapter II. 

This chapter consists of philosophic remarks on the 
twenty-two sounds and letters of the Hebrew alphabet, 
and hence connected with the air by speech, and it 
points out the uses of those letters to form words — the 
signs of ideas, and the symbols of material substances. 

30. Soul; the word is NPSh, which is commonly 
translated soul, meaning the living personality of man, 
animal or existing thing : it corresponds almost to the 
Theosophic Prana plus the stimulus of Kama. 

31. This is the modern classification of the letters 
into guttural, palatal, lingual, dental and labial sounds. 

32. The 231 Gates. The number 242 is obtained by 
adding together all the numbers from i to 22. The 



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Hebrew letters can be placed in pairs in 242 different 
positions ; thus ab, ag, ad, up to at ; then ba, bb, bg, 
bd, up to bt, and so on to ts, tt : this is in direct order 
only, without reversal ; for the reason why eleven are 
deducced, and the number 231 specified, see the Table 
and Note 15 in the edition of Postellus. 

33. Non-existent ; the word is AIN, nothingness. 
Ain precedes Ain Suph, boundlessness; and Ain Suph 
Aur, Boundless Light. 

34. Body ; the word is GUP, usually applied to the 
animal material body, but here means '' one whole." 



Chapter III. 

This chapter is especially concerned with the essence 
of the Triad, as represented by the Three Mothers, Aleph, 
Mem, and Shin. Their development in three directions 
is pointed out, namely in the Macrocosm or Universe ; 
in the Year or in Time ; and in the Microcosm or Man. 

35. The importance of equilibrium is constantly 
reiterated in the Kabalah. The Siphra Dtzeniouta, or 
Book of Concealed Mystery, translated by Mac Gregor 
Mathers, in his " Kabalah Denudata," opens with a 
reference to this Equilibrium as a fundamental neces- 
sity of stable existence. 

36. Heavens, The I Hebrew word Heshamaim 
HShMIM, has in it the element of Aesh, fire, and 
Mim, water ; and also Shem, name ; The Name is 
IHVH, attributed to the elements. ShMA is in 
Chaldee a name for the Trinity (Parkhurst). ShMSh 
is the Sun, and Light, and a type of Christ, the Sun of 
Righteousness. Malachi iv. 2. 

37. Were pfodttced ; the Hebrew word BRA, is the 
root. Three Hebrew words are used in the Bible to 
represent the idea of making, producing or creating. 

BRIAH, Beriah, giving shape, Genesis i. i. 
OShIH, Ashiah, completing. Genesis i. 31. 



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ITzIRH, Yetzirah, forming, Genesis ii. 7. 

To these the Kabalists add the word ATzLH, with 
the meaning of " producing something manifest from 
the unmanifested." 

38. These several formations then appear in a table 
thus :— 



Emanation. 

Macrocosm. 

Universe. 

Elements. 

Man. 

Year. 



Shin. 

Primal Fire. 
Heavens. 
Terrestrial Fire 
Head. 
Heat. 



Aleph. 

Spirit. 

Atmosphere. 

Air. 

Chest. 

Temperate. 



Mem. 

Primal Water. 
The Earth. 
Water & Earth 
Belly. 
Cold. 



Chapter IV. 

This is the special chapter of the Heptad, the powers 
and properties of the Seven. Here again we have the 
threefold attribution of the numbers and letters to the 
Universe, to the Year, and to Man. The supplemental 
paragraphs have been printed in modern form by 
Kalisch ; they identify the several letters of the Heptad 
more definitely with the planets, days of the week, 
human attributes and organs of the senses. 

39. These numbers have been a source of difference 
between the editors and copyists, hardly any two 
editors concurring. I have given the numbers arising 
from continual multiplication of the product by each 
succeeding unit from one to seven. 2x1=2,2x3 = 6, 
6x4 = 24, 24x5 = 120, 120x6 = 720, 720x7 = 5,040. 

40. In associating the particular letters to each 
planet the learned Jesuit Kircher allots Beth to the Sun, 
Gimel to Venus, Daleth to Mercury, Kaph to Luna, 
Peh to Saturn, Resh to Jupiter, and Tau to Mars. 
Kalisch in the supplementary paragraphs gives a 
different attribution ; both are wrong, as an adept 
cultured clairvoyant could prove. Consult the Tarot 



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symbolism given by Court de Gebelin, Eliphaz Levi, 
and my notes in the ^' Isiac Tablet of Bembo." The 
true attribution is however, not anywhere printed. 
The planet names here given are Chaldee words. 

41. The Seven Heavens and the Seven Earths are 
printed with errors, and I believe intentional mistakes, 
in many occult ancient books. Private Hermetic MSS. 
have alone the correct names and spelling. 

42. On the further attribution of these Seven letters, 
note that Postellus gives : Vita — Mors, Pax — afflictio, 
Sapientia — stultitia, Divitiae (Opus) — paupertas, Gratia 
— opprobrium. Proles — sterilitas, Imperium — servitus. 
Pistorius gives : Vita — mors. Pax— bellum, Scientia 
— ignorantia, Divitiae — paupertas. Gratia — abominatio, 
Semen (Proles) — sterilitas, Imperium (Dominatio) — 
servitus. 



Chapter V. 

This chapter is specially concerned with the Dodecad ; 
the number twelve is itself pointed out, and the charac- 
ters of its component units, once more in the three 
zones of the universe, year and man; the last paragraph 
gives a recapitulation of the whole number of letters : 
the Supplement gives a form of allotment of the several 
letters. 

43. It is necessary to avoid confusion between these 
letters ; different authors translate them in different 
manners. Heh or He, H, must not be confused with 
Cheth, or Heth, Ch. Teth, Th also must be kept 
distinct from the final letter Tau, T, which is one of the 
double letters ; the semi-EngHsh pronunciation of these 
two letters is much confused, each is at times both t 
and th ; Yod is either I, Y, or J ; Samech is simple S, 
and must not be confused with Shin, Sh, one of the 
mother letters ; Oin is often written in English Hebrew 
grammars as Ayin, and sometimes as Gnain ; Tzaddi 



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must not be confused with Zain, Z ; and lastly Qoph, Q 
is very often replaced by K, which is hardly defensible 
as there is a true K in addition. 
' 44. Postdlus gives suspicion^ and Pistorius, mifid, 
45. These letters are the initials of the 12 Zodiacal 

They are : 



signs in Hebrew nomenclature. 



Teth T^h Aries 

Shin Shor Taanis 

Tau Thanmim Gemini 

Samech Saltan Cancer 

Aleph Atydi Leo 

Beth BethiiOi^ Virgo 



Mem Maznim Libra 

Oin Oqereb Scorpio 

Qoph Qesheth Sagittarius 

Gimel Gedi Capricomus 

Daleth Dali Aquarius 

Daleth Dagim Pisces 



46. The month Nisan begins about March .29th. 
Yiar is also written lyar, and Aiar : the Hebrew letters 
are AIIR. 

47. The list of oijgans varies. x\ll agree in, two hands, 
two ieety two kidneys, liver, gall and spleen. Postellus 
then gives, " intestina, vesica, arterise ", the intestines, 
bladder and arteries; Rittangelius gives the same. 
Pistorius giv^, "colon, coagulum et ventriculus," colon 
— ^the large intestine, coagulum and stomach. The 
chief difficulty is with the Hebrew word MSS., which 
is allied to two diferent roots, one meaning private, con- 
cealed^ Jiidden; and the other meaning Hqt^ejied, 

48. The Elohim — divine powers — not IHVH the 
Tetragrammaton, 



Chapter VI. 

This chapter is a resume of the preceding five ; it calls 
the universe and mankind to witness to the truth of the 
scheme of distribution of the powers of the numbers 
among created forms, and concludes with the narration 
that this philosophy was revealed by the Divine to 
Abraham, wIk> rec^ved and faithfully accepted it, as a 
form of Wisdom under a Covenant. 

49. The Dragon, TLI, Theli. The Hebrew letters 
amount in nimieration to 440, that is 400, 30 and i o. 



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The best opinion is that Tali or Theli refers to the 12 
Zodiacal constellations along the great circle of the 
Ecliptic ; where it ends there it begins again, and so 
the ancient occultists drew the Dragon with its tail in its* 
mouth. Some have thought that Tali referred to the con- 
stellation Draco, which meanders across the Northern 
polar sky ; others have referred it to the Milky Way ; 
others to an imaginary line joining Caput to Cauda 
Draconis, the upper and lower nodes of the Moon. 
x\dolphe Franck says that Theli is an Arabic word. 

50. Happiness y or a good end, or simply g(H>dj TUBH. 

51. Misery, or an evil end, or simply evil, ROH. 

52. This Hebrew version omits the allotment of the 
remaining six. Mayer gives the paragraph thus : — The 
triad of amity is the heart and the two ears ; the triad 
of enmity is the liver, gall, and the tongue ; . the three 
life-givers are the two nostrils and the splefen; the 
three death-dealing ones are the mouth and the two 
lower openings of the body. 

53. God. In this case the name is AL, El. 

54. This last paragraph is generally considered to be 
less ancient than the remainder of the treatise, and by 
another author. 

55. The Lord most high. OLIU ADUN. Adun or 
Adon, or Adonai, ADNI, are commonly translated L(?yi; 
Eliun, OLIUN, is the more usual form of " the most 
high one." 

56. Him. Rittangelius gives "credidit in Tetra- 
grammaton," but this word is not in the Hebrew. 

57. Tongue. The verbal covenant. 

SS. Speech. The Hebrew has '* upon his tongue." 
59. The Hebrew version of Rabbi Judah Ha Levi 
concludes with the phrase, ** and said of him. Before I 
formed thee in the belly, I knew thee." Rabbi Luria, 
gives the Hebrew version which I have translated. 
Postellus gives: *' He drew him into the water. He rose 
up in spirit, He inflamed him in. seven suitable forms 
with twelve signs." Mayer gives : " Er zog sie mit 
Wasser, Zundet sie an mit Feuer; erregte sie mit 



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Geist ; verbannte sie mit sieben, goss sie aus mit den 
zwolf Gestimen.**, "He drew them with water. He 
kindled them with fire. He moved them with spirit, dis- 
tributed them^ with seven, and sent them forth with 
twelve." 



NOTES TO THE THIRTY-TWO PATHS. 

1. The highest Crown is Kether, the First Sephira, 
the first emanation from the Ain Suph Aur, the Limit- 
less LightC 

2. Binah, is the Third Sephira. 

3. Chokmah, is the Second Sephira. 

4. Gedniah, is a synonym of Chesed, the Fourth 
Sephira. 

5. Metatron. 

6. This word is from ChZCh, a seer, seership. 
Chazuth, is a vbion. 

7. This word means " scintillating flame." 



The Thirty-two Paths are the Ten Sephiruth and 
the Twenty-two letters, each supplying a type of divine 
power and attributes. " 



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