Heh

H
Color your Heh red. If coloring the background, color it green.

Heh is the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. As a numeral, Heh is the number 5. The
English equivalent letter is a nearly silent H as in “honest”. Sometimes the English
equivalent is given as E.

The letter Heh H is shaped like a Daleth D with an unattached curvy line below the top-

left of the letter. Heh is made up of a horizontal top like a big Yod I, an upright holding it
up, and a free “foot” on the left. The horizontal and vertical lines define two dimensions,
a plane. If you imaging the wavy free line rotating back into the screen or paper, you get
the idea of the third dimension. Heh H, like Kaph K, represents the three dimensions of
space.

Heh H gathers all the sensory data from the level of the conscious awareness (Beth B)

and uses it to deduce what the underlying subconscious (Gimel G) principles of truth.
Heh gathers the conscious observations (above), looks for the patterns (below), and
reasons out what they imply. Heh observes what is going on and figures out what it
means.

The sensory function ascribed to Heh is sight. Note that, “I see”, also means “I
understand”. When we survey the situation, get a perspective, watch over what is going
on, examine the details, we are using the mental function of Heh.

The letter name Heh H means window. And the shape of the letter Heh H looks like a
little house with a window. A window is “wind-door”, a little high door for letting in wind.

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A window is what we see through. The window of Heh lets air (Aleph A) and the light of

knowledge into the house (Beth B). From your window, you can look out and see what
is going on outside. And since the primary property of a window is its transparency, this
brings us back to Beth whose intelligence name is the Intelligence of Transparency.

On the Tree of Life, Heh is the pathway connecting the second sphere, Chokmah – the
Father with the 5th sphere, Tiphareth - the Sun and the Son. It is through this pathway
that Jesus was able to say, “I and the Father are one.” Heh as a number is 5 so we may
explore the meaning of the 5th sphere of the Tree of Life via the meanings of Heh.

Heh is the 15th Path of Wisdom. In the short text of the Paths of Wisdom, Heh is said to
be the Constituting Intelligence. A constitution is the result of careful observation and
reasoning. It embodies the vision of those who frame and compose it. The constitution
of the United States is a good example. The founding fathers had a vision of a country
based upon rulership by the people; by their elected representatives. No king, no
dictator, no war-lord to rule but rather those chosen to rule by the majority of the people.
This was a new radical concept and it still remains to be seen how well it will work out.
The authors of the constitution are called the “fathers of the nation”. The meanings of
Heh include paternity and authority.

In grammatical usage, Heh is used like the English definite article, “the”. We use the to
point out, to name, to define. So Heh is an aspect of the self-consciousness of Beth who

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is Adam, the name-giver. Defining sets limits, makes distinctions, makes rules and laws.
This is precisely the office of a constitution, the supreme rules of a land.

When we observe what is around us and then reason out what is going on, we are
defining our reality to ourselves. These definitions are powerful suggestions to
subconsciousness which sets to work in its way to make our vision come true. So each
of us is “a law unto himself”. We write our own constitution. We fertilize our
subconscious with the seed of our beliefs and it reproduces these into our experiences
of our lives. We tend to get what we visualize to be true.

Heh calls our attention to the things around us. Saying the letter out loud in English has
the same effect, “Hey!”

In our study of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, we have not followed their natural
order but rather have followed the order of creation as depicted in the Cube of Space.
So far, we have completed the center, axi and faces of the Cube of Space, which
correspond to the planets of our solar system. Now we will begin with the twelve edges.
The twelve edges of the Cube of Space correspond to the twelve zodiacal signs. As we
shall see, the twelve signs progress around the Cube in a sequential, highly meaningful
order. In fact, for students of the astrological system, the Cube of Space illustrates the
relationships between the planets and signs of the zodiac more clearly than any other
occult diagram.

We finished the planets with the North-South axis of Shin W Fire W Pluto M, Resh R

South Sun A and Peh P North Mars G. Now we will begin with the first zodiac sign,

Aries a which happens to be ruled by the last letter/planet we studied, Peh P Mars
G.

Heh corresponds to Aries a, the ram, the first sign of the Zodiac that marks the
beginning of Spring each year. The part of the body assigned to Aries is the head. As
we shall see, the subsequent zodiac signs rules sequentially lower segments of the
body. Aries rules the brain as an organ of thought and as the source of the nerve
impulses that are sent through the nerves to control the functions of the body, especially

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locomotion. Aries also rules the eyes as the organs of vision. The planet Mars G is the
ruler of Aries, the sign of the ram. The Peh P – Mars G force is the electrical energy
that moves through the nerves to carry our decisions, our will, into action. Aries is the
“day throne” of Mars. Mars also rules the sign of Scorpio h which governs the sexual
organs. Scorpio is the “night throne” of Mars. The same Mars force which makes
observations and decisions, and carries our will into action to fulfill our desires, is the
force that animates our sexual organs and reproductive drives.

In the sign of Aries, the Sun A is exalted. Thus that which is represented by the Sun
(Resh W, fire, the direction South, leadership, kingship, zenith, the individuality,
authority) is brought to its highest expression in Aries. One interpretation: When your
vision is clear, and the personal constitution you compose through your reasoning out of
what you see is accurate and in harmony with what is, then your individuality is elevated
to its highest expression. There is another clue here for finding the Gold, which
represents the goal of the Great Work. Remember the occult saying, “Gold cometh from
the North”? Well, the edge of the Cube of Space assigned to Heh-Aries is on the
northern face. And it is there that qualities represented by Resh - Sun - Gold come into
their highest expression. The alchemists also say, “To make Gold, you must have Gold.”
To make Gold (South) you have to have Gold. And Gold cometh from the North where
Heh-Aries exalts the Sun-Gold. We must see clearly and reason accurately to exalt our
Gold in the North before we can get it in the South. These mysteries can’t be fully told,
but these words will do much to direct you to the Gold mine where you will have to do
your own digging.

The meaning of each of the Hebrew letters is two-fold. There is an outer logical meaning
and an inner hidden one. Heh outwardly is the dominant male ruler and the rational
thinking processes that see patterns and organize plans to realize desires. But realize
that these are also the qualities of a dictator! Heh H without the qualities of the

preceding letter, Daleth D such as warm feelings, empathy, knowledge of what is truly
desired from the heart and worthwhile, without awareness of what is best for the people,
is a tyrant.

To transform the unregenerate Heh into its highest expression that links us to God the
Father in Chokmah, we need to learn to observe in stillness without allowing our
personal feelings to intrude. Everyone has the tendency, when meeting or considering
another person, to make personal assessments of how that person is to us; attractive or
repulsive, intelligent or stupid, caring or hurtful, etc. Even if our snap judgements are
correct, allowing them to be formed in the mind blocks our inner reception, they block
our awareness of the spiritual nature of that which we are observing.

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Everything is an as yet ”unfinished” aspect of the divine. To become aware of the divine
in that which we observe requires that we mentally “shut up” and allow its subtle
essence to flow into us uninterrupted. To do so, we need a strong mind and courage,
both positive qualities of Heh, to not fear that we will lose ourselves or be unduly
influenced by allowing something to freely enter our awareness.

Perhaps most importantly, in order to devote our full attention to receiving from another,
we must care. We have to so love the object of our attention that we are willing to allow
it into ourselves. In our sequence of letters, Daleth D, deep caring precedes Heh H,
reasoning.

Earlier in human history, before the conscious mind was so developed and dominant as
it is today, seers received divine inspiration in cartoon-like visions characteristic of the
9th sphere of the Tree of Life, Yesod. Today, awakening such psychic capacities to
receive “from below” is a regression to an earlier stage of human development and can
lead to great error. The history of religion is filled with devotees who misinterpreted their
personal vision of deity as truth and persecuted all others who had different visions.

Today, spiritual inspiration should be received via the mind. But this is only possible
when we allow the inner nature of that which we observe to reach our awareness. And
this is only possible when we temporarily inhibit our mental processes from making
personal interpretations. When we mentally “hold still” and mentally look (focus our
awareness), the subtle essence of that which we consider flows into us, generating
insights otherwise unobtainable.

When this capacity is established, when the spiritual perception has arrived from
Chokmah into Tiphareth, one may “bring the vision down” into Yesod and observe the
animated pictures it generates there with safety. After the clear impersonal mental
impression is received, the pictures it generates in Yesod can be both quite instructive
and also very entertaining.

When the capacity to receive the inner essence of what we perceive is practiced, we
begin to become aware of the divine beings and divine intent active therein. When we
express this divine intent, we become agents of the divine. This gives us true dominion
in the positive sense. We serve the purpose of the divine. Then nature naturally obeys
and serves us.

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Heh H begins in the Above North East corner of the Cube of Space. This is the
symbolic point of the beginning of any endeavor. Heh descends from this point along
the North-East edge of the Cube, finishing in the North-East-Below corner. Beth B -

Mercury C, the conscious mind is the Above face. Gimel G - the Moon B, the
subconscious mind is Below. So, in a way, Beth “hovers over the waters” of Gimel. Heh
takes a big breath of Beth air and dives into the waters of Gimel.

East is Daleth D - Venus D and North is Peh P - Mars G. The path Heh takes is the
juncture of these two letters and their associated planetary energies. In mythology,
Venus D and Mars G often have affairs but all too often their liaisons get them both
into hot water. Heh is the place where your feelings/desires D and your drives G meet.
Heh is involved with figuring out what to do and then going into action to realize your

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desires. There are always surprises in store when you set out on such an adventure.
There are prices to pay that you don’t always foresee. There is trouble, but when you
have troubled, you will obtain the reward of your efforts.

The word Heh spelled AH, IH or HH means revelation, behold, to be broken, to take
seed. In Kabbalah, it is taught that at the beginning of creation, there was a catastrophe
called, “the breaking of the vessels”. In order to make physical existence possible, the
One appears to shatter itself into many separate pieces. Similarly, a great teacher may
need to shatter his sublime understanding of a topic into many little “bites” in order to
transmit his ideas to his students.

To be broken, IH, is related to the verb “to be” or “to become” HIH. The first time this
verb appears in Genesis is in the second verse where the earth is said to be Tohu
VHX and Bohu IHBV. The earth is not in chaos (as this verse is often translated). It
is chaos and void. This is the stage of the world where the vessels are broken. It is in
this darkness and chaos that plurality first makes its appearance. Then in the third
verse, Vayomer Elohim Yehi Aur va-Yehi Aur, And the Elohim said, “Let there be light”
and there was light. Here is the third verse of Genesis with the vowel pointing modern
Jews use to indicate the pronunciation of the Hebrew letters which are practically all
consonants:

:RV‘A-IH¢Iπv¥ ,rv‘a ih¢iπ ,eih¢la£ RMªai!‘v G

This verse has two more uses of the verb, to be. Note the use of a large Gimel G at the
start of the sentence (at the far right). This is the number 3 indicating that this is the third
verse of the chapter. The sentence above was created using the Hebrew font that you
all have, hebr.ttf. With this font, typing the pointing only works on a Macintosh computer.

In verse four, God sees the light, that it is good, and divides it from the darkness. The
results are reported in verse five in which God calls the light Day and the darkness,
Night. “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” Note that many
English translations say, “of the first day”, but the Hebrew is Achad, DCA, one, unity.
Herein lies the purpose of creation: to create via darkness the condition of multiplicity
and to evolve it via light back to unity.

Kabbalah teaches that the shape of the letter Heh H indicates a healthy state of
pregnancy. The free-floating part of the letter is the fetus in the protection of the womb
of the Daleth D, the horizontal and vertical lines. This makes sense of the word Heh

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AH which means to take, especially as meaning to take seed. The womb takes seed
and life begins there within.

The three lines that make the letter Heh H, also refer to thought, speech and action; all

of which are associated with Heh H and with Peh P. Recall that Peh is Mars G, the

ruler of Aries a - Heh H. Heh is also a short for the word HNH, behold! This refers to
what we will say when we receive the divine revelation we have been waiting for.
However, we are not to wait passively, but rather to fill all our thoughts, speech and
deeds with loving-kindness and longing for the divine.

H
In handwritten versions of the Tora, the word EARB B which means “upon their
being created” is written with a small Heh. The Jewish Midrash WRDM (which literally
means “seeking” and refers to teachings of the Oral Torah and written versions thereof)
tells that the letters of EARBHB can be rearranged to spell EHRBAB with (the
attribute of) Abraham. The attribute of Abraham is loving-kindness, which God used to
create the world and which we cultivate to approach and become one with God. The
small Heh is the small amount of loving-kindness we have and that we must cultivate
and increase.

Recall that Abraham began his life as Abram. When Abram was 99 years old, God gave
him His Heh, his divine revelation and also the power to reproduce and begin the
Hebrew race. His son Issac was born when Abraham was 100 and his wife Sarah was
90 years old. The name Issac means laughter and delight, the state we will experience
when we experience the divine revelation.

Note how in the story, the letter Heh means both divine revelation and the power to
reproduce. The Mars G force of Peh P, ruler of Aries a - Heh H has two main
functions. It tears down everything which blocks divine revelation and it gives us the
power to reproduce.

Heh as the number five has many interesting correspondences. There are five books in
the Torah, the book God gave to Israel through Moses. Torah is called God’s marriage
to Israel. The purpose of the Torah is to redeem all creation back into divine unity. After
the initial darkness in Genesis, the word light RVA appears five times on the first day

of creation. And WVA HRVX, Torah is light.

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There are, in Kabbalah, five levels of the soul. They are each associated with a sphere
of the Tree of Life. They are:
Nephesh WPN in Yesod

Ruach CVR in Tiphareth

Neshamah HMWN in Binah

Chiah HIC in Chokmah

Yechidah HDIHI in Kether

Nephesh is the lower or animal soul. We share this level with all of the animals on earth.
It manifests as instinct and the consequent behavior.
Ruach is the spirit of Adam, of all humanity, active in thoughts and feelings.
Neshamah is the holy spirit, ever pure and undefiled.
Chiah is the life-force, the bridge between the first flash of realization and the melting
therein.
Yechidah is the one-self, the single undivided one.

King David in Psalms 103 and 104 says five times, H XA IWPN ICRB My soul,
bless God. The word “bless”, in Hebrew, refers to the bringing down and implanting of
the divine. Note that the word bless begins with the same two letters RB as the first
two words of creation in Genesis. In this verse, David is invoking this blessing to come
down into the five levels of his soul. Adding the numerical value of the letters in H XA
IWPN ICRB yields 1099. This is also the sum of the names of the five levels of
soul, WPN CVR HMWN HIC DHIHI. Note that in the Psalm quote, David uses

IWPN, Nepheshi (the Yod suffix means “my”) to indicate all the five levels of soul.

There are five final letters in the Hebrew alphabet, JEFU*. These are the forms the

letters KMNPZ take when they land at the end of a word. They represent the five
redemptions, the five ways we get back to God, the five experiences of reunion with
unity. Since these are the end ways, the ways to the end which is in the beginning, we
shall study these in more detail at the end of this course.

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Correspondences

Heh H
English equivalent: H
Number: 5
Letter Name: HH, Heh-Heh – Window
Color: Red
Note: C
Tarot Key: Number 4, The Emperor
Astrology: The sign Aries a the ram, ruled by Mars G, exalted planet – the Sun A.
Aries rules the upper part of the head including the eyes and upper portion of the brain.
32 Paths of Wisdom: Heh is the 15th path of wisdom
Intelligence: Heh is the Constituting Intelligence
Path of the Tree of Life: Heh is the path connecting Chokmah, Wisdom to Tiphareth,
Beauty
Sphere of the Tree of Life: Heh is the number five and is thus related to the fifth sphere,
Geburah, Strength.
Cube of Space: Heh is the North-East edge of the cube. The direction is from Above to
Below.
Mythology: Aries is the ram. Heh corresponds also to Aries/Mars, the god of war,
aggression, weapon-making and smith work in general. Mars is also a god of
agriculture.
Psychology: Vision, Reason
Sense: Sight

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