The Mathers table of Hebrew and "Chaldee" (Aramaic) letters is a tabular display of the pronunciation, appearance, numerical values, transliteration, names, and symbolism of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet appearing in The Kabbalah Unveiled,[1] S.L. MacGregor Mathers' late 19th century English translation of Kabbala Denudata, itself a Latin translation by Christian Knorr von Rosenroth of the Zohar, a primary Kabbalistic text.
This table has been used as a primary reference for a basic understanding of the Hebrew alphabet as it applies to the Kabbalah, generally outside of traditional Jewish mysticism, by many modern Hermeticists and students of the occult, including members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn[2] and other magical organizations deriving from it. It has been reproduced and adapted in many books published from the early 20th century to the present.
| TABLE OF HEBREW AND CHALDEE LETTERS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Sound or Power | Hebrew and Chaldee Letters |
Numerical Values | Roman character by which expressed |
Names | Signification of Names | |||
| 1. | a (soft breathing). | א | 1. | (Thousands are denoted by a larger letter; thus an Aleph larger than the rest of the let- ters among which it is, signifies not 1, but 1000.) |
A. | Aleph. | Ox. | ||
| 2. | b, bh (v). | ב | 2. | B. | Beth. | House. | |||
| 3. | g (hard), gh. | ג | 3. | G. | Gimel. | Camel. | |||
| 4. | d, dh (flat th). | ד | 4. | D. | Daleth. | Door. | |||
| 5. | h (rough breathing). | ה | 5. | H. | He. | Window. | |||
| 6. | v, u, o. | ו | 6. | V. | Vau. | Peg, nail. | |||
| 7. | z, dz. | ז | 7. | Z. | Zayin. | Weapon, sword. | |||
| 8. | ch (guttural). | ח | 8. | CH. | Cheth. | Enclosure, fence. | |||
| 9. | t (strong). | ט | 9. | T. | Teth. | Serpent. | |||
| 10. | i, y (as in yes). | י | 10. | I. | Yod. | Hand. | |||
| 11. | k, kh. | כ | Final = | ך | 20. | Final = 500 | K. | Caph. | Palm of the hand. |
| 12. | l. | ל | 30. | L. | Lamed. | Ox-goad. | |||
| 13. | m. | מ | Final = | ם | 40. | Final = 600 | M. | Mem. | Water. |
| 14. | n. | נ | Final = | ן | 50. | Final = 700 | N. | Nun. | Fish. |
| 15. | s. | ס | 60. | S. | Samekh. | Prop, support. | |||
| 16. | O, aa, ng (gutt.). | ע | 70. | O. | Ayin. | Eye. | |||
| 17. | p, ph. | פ | Final = | ף | 80. | Final = 800 | P. | Pe. | Mouth. |
| 18. | ts, tz, j. | צ | Final = | ץ | 90. | Final = 900 | TZ. | Tzaddi. | Fishing-hook. |
| 19. | q, qh (guttur.). | ק | 100. | (The finals are not always considered as bearing an in- creased numeri- cal value.) |
Q. | Qoph. | Back of the head. | ||
| 20. | r. | ר | 200. | R. | Resh. | Head. | |||
| 21. | sh, s. | ש | 300. | SH. | Shin. | Tooth. | |||
| 22. | th, t. | ת | 400. | TH. | Tau. | Sign of the cross. | |||
See also
References
- ↑ Mathers, S.L. MacGregor (1887). The Kabbalah Unveiled. London: Redway. p. 3. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ↑ Westcott, W. Wynn (1890). Numbers. London: Theosophical Publishing Society. p. 37. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
Books that reproduce the Mathers table either substantially or exactly:
- Bernstein, Henrietta (April 1984). Cabalah Primer: Introduction to the English/Hebrew Cabalah. Camarillo, CA: Devorss. ISBN 0-87516-526-5.
- Bonner, John (March 2002). Qabalah: A Magical Primer. Boston: Red Wheel/Weiser. ISBN 1-57863-211-0.
- Jones, Charles Stansfeld (Frater Achad) (April 2005). Q.B.L. or The Bride's Reception: Being A Qabalistic Treatise on the Nature and Use of the Tree of Life. York Beach, ME: Red Wheel/Weiser. ISBN 1-57863-331-1.
- Mathers, S.L. MacGregor (2005). The Kabbalah: The Essential Texts From The Zohar. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 0-7607-6977-X.
- Regardie, Israel (1989). The Golden Dawn: A Complete Course in Practical Ceremonial Magic (Sixth ed.). St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0-87542-663-8.
- Zalewski, Pat (1993). The Kabbalah of the Golden Dawn (First ed.). St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0-87542-873-8.