The Hebrew Alphabet (information compiled by Eric

Rosenbloom)

Letter Also Tarot/

Name Spelt Value Transliterated Representing
Meaning Qabalah
Square Script Rashi
thousand,
clan,
0, fool
A, ’ cattle;
Alef ALPh 1 ox (head) (youth);
(silent) to learn,
AIR
teach,
train, tame

1, magici
household,
Bheth, (builder);
BYTh 2 Bh (V), B house stanza,
Beth Mercury,
2000?
& death

2, high
priestess
Gimel GYML 3 G, Gh camel 3000? (virgin);
Moon, pe
& strife
3, empres
page of
(mother);
D, Dh (hard scroll, first
Daleth DLTh 4 door Venus,
Th) half of
wisdom &
verse
folly
4, empero
lo, behold,
He HA 5 H window (father,
this, and
Aries
5, hieroph
peg, hook, (revelatio
Vav VV 6 V, W
yoke? hearing);
Taurus
6, lovers (
Zayin ZYN 7 Z dagger & id);
Gemini
7, chariot
enclosure,
Cheth ChYTh 8 Ch (guttural H) (victory,
fence
speech);
 Cancer
snake, basket, 8, strengt
Teth TYTh 9 T (palatal) bale, sieve?, (digestion
ear? Leo
9, hermit
(union,
Yod YVD 10 Y hand (open)
touch);
Virgo

sole of
10, wheel
foot,
20, fist fortune
Khaf, spoon,
KPh 500 Kh, K (grasping), (periodici
Kaf cave,
(final) palm of hand Jupiter, w
vault,
& poverty
curve

to learn,
study,
teach,
train; 11, justice
Lamed LMD 30 L ox whip study, (balance)
learning; Libra
studied,
deduced,
defined

12, hange
40,
man
Mem MM 600 M water seas
(submissi
(final)
WATER

50, fish (head), 13, death

to sprout,
Nun NVN 700 N water (liberation
grow
(final) serpent? Scorpio

support; to 14, tempe

tent-post,
support, (control
Samekh SMKh 60 S (emphatic) pillar,
lean, (anger));
foundation
ordain Sagittariu
source, 15, devil
O, ‘, 'A, Ñ? spring, (senses,
'Ayin OYN 70 eye
(silent) ring, hole, mirth);
sight Capricorn
 16, tower
80,
mouth (for (fallacy);
Phe, Pe PA 800 Ph (F), P
speech) Mars, gra
(final)
(beauty) &

17, star
90,
fishhook, (experien
Tsadi TsDY 900 Ts, Tz, J
scythe?, bow? thought);
(final)
Aquarius

monkey,
ape, eye of 18, Moon
Qof QVPh 100 Q back of head needle, (sleep);
hole for Pisces
axe handle
19, Sun
(reason);
to be poor;
Resh RYSh 200 R head (face) Sun,
poverty
fruitfulne
sterility

20, judge
Shin,
ShYN 300 Sh, S teeth, fang? (regenera
Sin
FIRE

sign, 21, world

musical (return);
Thav,
TV 400 Th, T mark note, Saturn,
Tav
postage dominion
stamp slavery

Notes.

All of these 22 characters are consonants. (There are also 16 vowels, indicated by dots and lines dancing
around the consonants.)

The number of consonants is augmented by 5 alternative forms (Bh/B, Kh/K, Ph/P, S/Sh, Th/T), a dot
indicating the less aspirate sound, and by 5 final forms (for Kh, M, N, Ph, Ts).

Many of the representations are presumed from those of Old Hebrew, Aramaic, or Phoenician forms, as the
Modern Hebrew forms are much more abstract. Many of the original forms themselves derive from
Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabets, probably their hieratic forms.

Kabbalistic origin: The spirit of the name (ShAM) gave rise to ALPh as air, out of which came MM as
water, out of which came ShYN as fire; these are the 3 mother letters. Then were made the 7 doubles
(aspirate/unaspirate) to correspond with the heavenly spheres, and then the 12 simples that correspond to
the zodiacal months. [GYML, DLTh, and RYSh were apparently originally doubles. And as ShYN hovers
between being a mother and a double, QVPh is both double and simple.]

Note that 22 letters divided by 7 doubles is a close approximation of pi, the ratio of a circle's circumference
to its diameter, and that 22 plus 7 (plus Q's share of the moon's sphere) is the number of days in a lunar
month.