Color your letter Daleth green. You may color the background the opposite color, red.

D
Daleth D is the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The literal meaning of the letter

name Daleth XLD is “door” with secondary meanings of “a poor man”, “lifting up” and
“elevation”.

Look at the shape of Daleth D. The wide Yod makes its top. It’s upright is neither under
the lower right tip of the Yod nor in the middle which would be more mechanically
advantageous. It’s shaped like a door. A door is supported on one side – so it can
rotate, open and close. This Daleth door is at the top of the upright, rather like a flag or
the top of a swinging door. This design was used as the entrance to saloons – a
swinging high double door that you pushed open to walk inside. The support of our
Daleth is toward the right end of the Yod, but not all the way. The only other Hebrew
letter with this shape is the letter Cheth C, the eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In
fact Cheth is shaped just like Daleth with a second support. It’s no longer a door – it’s
more like a doorframe. It surrounds space on both sides plus the big Yod roof. It fences
space in, as we’ll learn when we come to study that letter.

Daleth corresponds to the Greek letter, Delta Δ. A delta is the triangular area where a
river spreads out to meet the ocean. It is a place where rich soil is brought from the
river. The Nile in Egypt is known for its “fertile delta”. Daleth has been compared to the
entrance to the womb (and the womb itself), which is at the lower point of the triangle of
pubic hair. Daleth is the “door of life”.

The psychological function of consciousness associated with Daleth is creative

imagination. When we desire something, we make mental images of how we can get,

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do or be it. So desire is the driving force that determines what we image. As long as our
desires remain limited to concerns of personal gain for ourselves and our family, and
are determined for us by the forces of socialization and advertising, we will not fulfill
what we are here for. It is the imagery we generate that “makes or breaks us” spiritually.
Positively stated, mental imagery is the door to higher consciousness.

As do all of the seven double letters, Daleth has a pair of opposites assigned to it. The
pair of opposites assigned to Daleth is wisdom and folly. If your imagery is based upon
superficial values, the result is a life of folly. If your imagery coincides with what the One
Self wants, then wisdom is the result. Note in this light that the position of Daleth on the
Tree of Life is the pathway connecting Chokmah, Wisdom, with Binah, Understanding.
Daleth is lit up and energized by this Wisdom. When you liberate yourself from your
training, your family and racial karma, resolve the traumas of your life, and harmonize
your conscious and subconscious minds, then what you want is what your inner self
wants too. The result is that your actions are blessed with success and deep happiness.
There’s nothing like knowing that you are doing what you were made for. Your life
becomes an ongoing expression of the “supernal Wisdom”.

On the Cube of Space, Daleth is the Eastern face. The East is the direction where the
sun rises. It is the symbolic beginning or source. Creations are symbolically “birthed” in
the East and find manifestation in the West. Toward the East we turn for inspiration and
wisdom.

As a double letter, Daleth has a hard pronunciation like “do” and a soft pronunciation
like the Indian lentil soup “dhal”. The hard Daleth is written with a dagesh D@. Like all the
seven double letters, it has an associated pair of opposites (wisdom and folly) and an
associated chakra. Daleth corresponds to Venus – the throat chakra. This is the area in
the human body where we generate sound vibrations. Our vocalizations are the way we
make ourselves known (heard) at a distance. The etymology of the word “voice” reveals

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important associations. We voice our opinion. We have a voice in making decisions. In
German, the word for voice, “Stimme”, also means “vote” which is also a way of “having
a say” in important matters. Having a voice means making your own decisions for
yourself and having an influence upon group decisions.

In ancient texts, including the Old Testament, deity creates the universe through sound
vibration. Vayomer Elohim Yehi Aur va-Yehi Aur. “And God said, ‘Let there be light’, and
there was light.” - Genesis 1:3. The Hindus also say that in the order of creation, sound
vibration (Akasha) is first. Also, in every religious tradition, there is the use of singing
and chanting to align the personal with the universal. Singing a hymn brings the
congregation together more than just hearing a sermon. The chanting of divine and
archangelic names in Hebrew forms an important part of aligning the personal with the
universal. After we become acquainted with the letters, we will explore some of these
names together.

Venus is both the planet and the mythological figure associated with Daleth. Venus is
the lady in Revelations who has the twelve stars in her hair, the moon under her foot,
and is “with child”. Venus is the goddess of beauty and love. She represents sensual
enjoyment. Her realm is lavish with objects of art, delicious foods and all manner of
physical delights. Mercury and other gods may bring us exalted thoughts but it is Venus
who brings joy to our hearts and makes us dance and sing. Not enough Venus in our
lives and we live without pleasure. In excess, the Venusian influence becomes self-
indulgence. In proper measure, she enriches our lives and makes it all feel worthwhile.

On the Tree of Life, the sphere of Venus is Netzach, Victory, the seventh sphere. In the
commonly used “queen scale” of colors, Netzach is colored green. Paul Foster Case
calls Netzach the “green apples” of the Tree of Life. Before apples are ripe, eating them
green causes a stomachache.

Venus represents desire. The alchemist, Thomas Vaughn wrote, “when Venus first
comes to us, she is dressed in dirty rags. It is up to us to clothe her in shining raiment.”
This means that when we first become aware of desires, they are “clothed in
separateness”. We want to get what we desire for ourselves personally… and get it all
before someone else discovers and wants it too. It is our work to so purify our desires
that everyone involved receives the most positive effect that we can imagine. In modern
psychological language, this is called a “win-win” strategy. This cleaning up of desire is
what the alchemists called the purification of “our copper”, the metal of Venus.
Unregenerate desire expresses as lust, gluttony, obsession with possessions and over-
indulgence – the faults of Venus. Purified desire expresses as the virtues of Venus –
love of beauty, pleasure, refinement and philosophical aspiration.

In astrology, Venus is the ruling planet of the sign of Taurus. The bodily area assigned
to Taurus is the lower portion of the head including the ears and the neck, the area
where the Venus chakra and our vocal cords are located. Hearing well is a prerequisite

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for singing in key. When we get Venus purified, we become also able to hear with our
“inner ears” the voice of our intuition. Venus also rules the sign of Libra, the sign of the
scales. In order to be able to perceive accurately and judge impartially, we need to learn
to quiet our personal desires and receive our inner direction. Libra rules the bodily area
of the kidneys, the organs that filter and purify our blood, and the skin, another organ of
elimination. We need to eliminate prejudices and be able to temporarily still our personal
desires before we can receive intuitions accurately, uncolored by our personal biases.
Only then can we receive accurate intuitions. Until we have accomplished these
personal transformations, what we call intuitions will be very much influenced by our
personal unresolved issues as well as those of our family, race and species.

In the Zohar, a vast series of books of Jewish mysticism, Daleth “has nothing of her
own” EILK HMRGM HL XILD. (Note here that Daleth XLD is spelled with
an extra letter, a Yod as XILD. Many Hebrew words have alternate spellings that

contain the extra letter Vav V, Aleph A or Yod I. And most all Hebrew words have a
three letter “root” that reveals the basic structure and meaning of the word.) The
secondary meanings of the letter name Daleth are “a poor man”, “lifting up” and
“elevation”.

On the Tree of Life, Daleth is the path that connects the second sphere Chokmah,
Wisdom to the third sphere Binah, Understanding. Chokmah is the divine Father and

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Binah is the divine Mother. Daleth represents their union – thus its associations with
fecundity. Although Daleth is a horizontal “reciprocal path” in which the energy flows
both ways, Chokmah comes “before” Binah so Daleth receives its initiating energy
impulse from Chokmah.

Note that Daleth is the number 4 and so has a relationship with the fourth sphere of the
Tree of Life, Chesed DSC Mercy.

Daleth is the luminous intelligence. Something that is described as luminous is reflective

and has some bright light shining upon it. Chokmah is the illuminating intelligence.
Daleth has no light of its own, and owes it luminosity completely to the light shining upon
and into it from Chokmah. This is one meaning of Daleth as “the poor man”. Though
Daleth is shining gloriously, it has no light of its own. Through the light of Chokmah,
Daleth is lifted up; elevated to a place of glory.

In Jewish Kabbalah, the shape of Daleth is seen as a man bending over at the waist,
bowing in lowliness and reverence. This is to intimate that nothing arises from the
individual person and that everything whatsoever comes from God. Keeping this in mind
leads to being wise. Daleth is seen as the door through which only the humble enter into
God’s presence.

Use every means at your command to eliminate the error of believing that you are a
separate being in possession of a separate will. This is perhaps one of the most
important spiritual practices of all. Let your byword be, “Not I, but Thou doest all works
through me.” Your individual body and other vehicles are like a light bulb. God’s
“current” flowing through you produces light and the sensation of possessing a personal
will. Your awareness of yourself as a separate being is a side-effect – an artifact
produced by the resistance of the vehicles to the energy of the One Life flowing through
them. Use every means your imagination can generate to establish this concept ever in
your awareness.

All strength comes from above. We cannot overcome evil inclinations “on our own”.
What we call “free will” consists of our personal choice to participate in the will of God.
In more modern language, we might say that the farmer who aligns his farming activities
with the timing of the seasons invites success naturally. When we act in timing and
harmony with the forces of nature around us, our actions are “supported” and we are
more likely to succeed.

It is said that God, in His kindness, pays man in accordance with his deed. The word
translated as “in accordance with one’s deed” is VHWOMK which can also be read
as meaning “as though one’s deeds are one’s own”. Here, it is considered God’s
kindness to give us reward for our deeds as if we deserve them as payment for work
done. In reality, nothing whatsoever is done except by the power of God. It is his

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kindness to not embarrass us and to instead reward us as if we are deserving. In this
phrase, the word translated as God is Adonai INDA, Lord. These letters can be

rearranged to spell ANID, Dina, judgement. FID Din, justice is an alternate name for
Geburah, severity, the fifth sphere of the Tree of Life. Thus it is God’s kindness or mercy
that causes Him to appear to judge and reward us for deeds done. Kindness or mercy is
the meaning of Chesed DSC, the name of the fourth sphere of the Tree of Life. In the

Zohar, the meaning of Chesed is revealed by separating the letters to spell D SC,
having compassion on the Daleth – the one who is personally in possession of nothing
at all.

Kabbalah teaches that the upright of the letter Daleth represents selflessness, the
willingness to sacrifice one’s own life for one’s people. The corner of the letter
represents the (usually only) unconscious awareness that one is continually supported
by God in all ways and can do nothing of oneself. The horizontal Yod beam on the top
represents prostration of oneself before God, of diving into the divine source, of
willingness to sacrifice oneself for God. This level is correlated with “letters surrounded
by a pure white parchment” – thus the direction here in these lessons to color your
letters on a white background. This refers to your soul merging with the white light that
surrounds you – to the dissolution of the personal into the universal. Denying individual
self-importance or even self-existence, one of the meanings of Daleth, creates a door
into the universal awareness.

This denial of self-importance is depicted in the story of King David. David was the
greatest king in his day, with the most power, lands, riches and wives of anyone alive.
And although he “had everything” of this world plus wisdom and an excellent character,
his songs (Psalms) reveal that he considered himself to be like a bride awaiting the
bridegroom (God). Though he was the greatest man alive, he considered himself to be
as nothing before God. Thus David is an excellent example of the meaning of Daleth –
opulent with all good things, yet humble – knowing that he personally is the source of
nothing at all. King David is compared to the moon, which has no light of its own, yet is
the shining “light of the night” for Earth. On the night of the new moon, it is said, “David,
the King of Israel, is alive forever.”

The Biblical verse, Psalms 30:2, “I will exalt you God, for you have lifted me up”
INXILD IK ,HVHI JMMVRA, refers to the mystery indicated by the meaning
of Daleth as lifting up. Note the letter name, Daleth XILD, spelled with a Yod, in the
last word of this passage. This lifting up is our ability to increase our awareness of God’s
transcendent being even here within the confines of our physical vehicles. When such
awareness arises, it ever appears to be ascending up and away from the physical. It is
a paradoxical mystery that the revelation of God in the physical ever seems to be arising

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out of and above the physical. Such awareness does not belong to the physical nor to
the individual awareness. God’s light can only be perceived to the extent that we are
humble and aware that it does not belong to us. This is the secret meaning of Daleth as
the poor one, in possession of nothing, yet being the shining receptacle of the divine.

And the message for us as aspirants is that we will succeed in the Great Work to the
extent that we “get out of the way”, deny personal separate existence, negate
separateness, quiet our personal desires, eliminate prejudices and biases, develop and
express our compassion and mercy, and invite the divine to manifest through this, one
of its vehicles.

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Correspondences

Daleth D
English equivalent: D
Number: 4
Letter Name: XLD, Daleth-Lamed-Tav means door, a poor man, lifting up, elevated.
Color: Green
Note: F#
Tarot Key: The Empress
Chakra: Throat
Astrology: The planet Venus D, ruler of Taurus b, and Libra g, exalted in Pisces l
Pair of Opposites: Wisdom and Folly
32 Paths of Wisdom: Daleth is the fourteenth Path of Wisdom
Intelligence: Daleth is the Luminous Intelligence
Path of the Tree of Life: Daleth connects Chokmah, Wisdom to Binah, Understanding.
Sphere of the Tree of Life: By planetary correspondence, Daleth has a relationship with
Netzach, the seventh sphere of the Tree of Life, related to Venus. By number, Daleth is
related to the fourth sphere of the Tree of Life, Chesed, Mercy.
Cube of Space: Daleth is the Eastern face of the Cube of Space
Mythology: Daleth corresponds to Venus, the Goddess of beauty, love and art. Her
realm is lush, lavish, lovely, opulent, rich, sensual, joyful and indulgent. Venus D has
affairs with Mars G, but this often gets them into trouble.
Psychology: Creative imagination, desire, refinement, philosophical aspirations

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