tarot hebrew letters....

[Occult Forum Archive]

Original post: spiritoflove

hiya
can someone please explain how the hebrew alphabet links to the tarot...in one part Vau means a nail or hook, this is to do with the hierophant card....

just a bit hard to understand how this would be explained in a reading...

thanks

ps would the nail or hook link in with the interpretation...like the magician has a meaning of "house"....

[Occult Forum Archive]

Original post: ~ Serenity ~

The very best way to learn these correspondences is by doing the BOTa tarot course...check into it at http://www.bota.org. I did the course many years after I started reading Tarot professionally and I can't tell you how much it deepened my understanding - particularly of the associations you refer to. Have a looka nd see what you think.
fera

[Occult Forum Archive]

Original post: Hairetikos

[QUOTE=spiritoflove]
can someone please explain how the hebrew alphabet links to the tarot...[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure that the first occultist to link Hebrew with the tarot was Eliphas Levi. If I'm wrong, someone will probably correct me (just can't remember if it was Etteilla or Levi who first made the connection). Anyway, it's been noted that the 22 cards of the Major Arcana bear some sort of resemblance to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which also go towards making up the 22 Paths of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. The Golden Dawn popularized this correspondence and it shows through with many decks.

I don't think many people use the Hebrew correspondence for readings and divinations and such. I think the main purpose they use them for is for meditation and Pathworking on the Tree of Life. Traditionally, a Qabalist will "travel" up the 22 Paths on the Tree while Pathworking, and the trump card that corresponds to that Path can be used to assist in the process. In short, it's my understanding that the Hebrew correspondences serve more of a purpose in ritual than in a normal divination. But, I could be wrong. I'm sure most people just use whatever works for them.

I'm not well versed in Hebrew though, so I can't give you anymore than the exoteric side of things. If you feel ambitious, you could pick up a good book on the Qabalah and study the 22 Paths for yourself to see if you can find any resemblance to the tarot trumps.

[Occult Forum Archive]

Original post: Mosieur D

Vav, means hook, but most of the Hebrew alphabet doesn't mean alot. example: Vav means hook, but I can't guess why someone thought that Aleph is an ox...

the Golden Dawn, Eliphaz eli and the else, took the values of the letters from an old kabballistic text called "Sefer Yetsira" (book of the creation).
The book divides the letters into three groups:
"Amot" - majors (corresponding to the three elements: fire, water and air)
"Cfulot" - doubles*(corresponding to the 7 planets)
"Pshutot" - simples (corresponding to the 12 zodiacal values).

You can download the book via the CM library.
the Golden Down correspond the "Alef-Bet" (alphabet) to the tarot by their order:
Alef- Fool
Bet - Magician
Gimel - High Priestess
...

Vav, in the jewish kabballa, correspond to Taourus and jewish month Iyar (and rarly, also in the Hermetic qabala). so, we can say that the card "Hierophant" is:
containing the powers, values , and the things of the Taurus sign, and Venus - his planet.
That their a relation between Taurus - Vav Hierophant - Iyar.
That What corresponding Vav - also correspond to the Hierophant and taurus.

I hop I answered some of the questions.