HRYzTY RPS
The Magvs
"SPR YTzYRH (SEPHER YETZIRAH)
Translated by Wm. Wynn Westcott
Third Edition, pub. 1887.
"CHAPTER I
Section 1. In thirty-two mysterious Paths of Wisdom
did Jah, the Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, the
Living Elohim, the King of ages, the merciful 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, as are the Numbers;
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 by the perception. Search out
concerning it, restore the Word to its creator, and
replace 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 only
God, the Faithful King rules 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,
"running and returning" (the living creatures ran and
returned) and hence was the Covenant made.
9. The ineffable Sephiroth give forth the Ten numbers.
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 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 ministering
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 Name,
I H V, and with this He sealed the universe in six
directions.
Fifth; He looked above, and sealed the Height with
I 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, South
and North.
_______________________________________________________
CHAPTER II
Section 1. 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 from 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 created thing, and the form 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 foundation
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.
6. And from the non-existent He made Something; 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 living body.
_______________________________________________________
a m c
CHAPTER III
Section 1. The Foundation of all the other sounds and
letters is provided by 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 active and passive 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 the Year: from the fire came
heat, from the waters came cold, and from the air was
produced the temperate state, again a mediator 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 breath in the chest (the lungs for
breathing air) in Man: the male with Aleph, Mem, Shin,
the female with Shin, Mem, Aleph. 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 Mem, Aleph, Shin, the latter with Mem,
Shin, Aleph. 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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b g d k p r t
CHAPTER IV
Section 1. The Seven double letters, Beth, Gimel,
Daleth, Kaph, Peh, Resh, and Tau have each two sounds
associated with them. They are referred to Life, Peace,
Wisdom, Riches, Grace, Fertility 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 permutation;
thus Life and Death; Peace and War; Wisdom and Folly;
Riches and Poverty; Grace and Indignation; Fertility
and Solitude; Power and Servitude.
2. These Seven Double Letters point out seven
localities; Above, Below, East, West, North, South, and
the Palace of Holiness in the midst of them sustaining
all things.
3. These Seven Double Letters He designed, produced,
and combined, and formed with them the Planets of this
World, the Days of the Week, and the Gates of the soul
(the orifices of perception) in Man. From these Seven
He bath 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; seven form five 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 our
World, the Planets which 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 His Heaven.
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h w z j f y l n s u x q
CHAPTER V
1. 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
Northwest, 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 kidneys, 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
Simple letters and sounds.
3. Behold now these are the Twenty and Two Letters from
which Jah, Jehovah Tzabaoth, the Living Elohim, the God
of Israel, exalted and sublime, the Dweller in
eternity, formed and established all things; High and
Holy is His Name.
_______________________________________________________
CHAPTER VI
Section 1. 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 (volatilises)
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 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
as between the ten toes of the feet--this is that of
circumcision; and as between the ten fingers of the
hands and this is that of the tongue. And He formed the
twenty-two letters into 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 planets in the heavens, and Twelve celestial
constellations of the stars of the Zodiac."
*Min's Compleat Tarot Deck:
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=0JBWNFN93755...@Gilgamesh-frog.org
*Min's Home Page (updated 20-Oct-2002):
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=P5Q844RM3754...@Gilgamesh-frog.org
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