| An adapted but complete version based on the Kalisch and Akiba-Stenring translations – with adjusted correspondences to conform with the researches of the Order of the Golden Dawn.
Declared in manuscript to be forever in the public domain – June, 1976 e.v. (Previously published by serialization 1990 e.v. in “Thelema Lodge Calendar” for 1990, January through August issues.) THE SEPHER YETZIRAH The Book of Creation Chapter One Section One Yah, Jehovah of hosts, the living Elohim, King of the Universe, Omnipotent, All-King and Merciful, Supreme and Extolled, Who is Eternal, Sublime and Most -Holy, formed and created the Universe in thirty-two mysterious paths of wisdom by three Sepharim, namely: Sfor, Sippur and Sapher which are in Him one and the same. They consist of ten Sephiroth out of nothing and of twenty-two fundamental letters. He divided the twenty-two consonants into three divisions: Three Mothers, fundamental letters or first elements; Seven Double; and Twelve Simple consonants. Section Two The ten Sephiroth out of nothing is analogous to that of the ten fingers of the human body, five parallel to five, and in the center of which is the covenant with the only One by the word of the tongue and the rite of Abraham. Section Three Ten are the Sephiroth out of nothing, and not the number nine, ten and not eleven. Comprehend this great wisdom, understand this knowledge, inquire into it and ponder on it, render it evident and lead the Creator back to His throne again Section Four The Ten Sephiroth out of nothing are infinite in ten ways: The beginning infinite ; The end infinite ; The good infinite ; The evil infinite ; The height infinite ; The depth infinite ; The East infinite ; The West infinite ; The North infinite ; The South infinite – , and the only Lord God, the faithful King, rules over all from His holy habitation for ever and ever. Section Five The appearance of the Sephiroth out of nothing is like a flash of lightning, being without end, His word is in them, when they go and return; they run by His order like a whirlwind and humble themselves before His throne Section Six The Sephiroth out of nothing has its end linked to its beginning and its beginning linked to its end, just as the flame is wedded to the live coal; because the Lord is one and there is not a second one, and before one what will you count ? Section Seven Concerning the number ten of the Sephiroth out of nothing, keep your tongue from speaking and your mind from pondering it and if your mouth urges you to speak and your heart to think about it, return ! as it reads: “And the living creatures ran and returned,” and upon this was the covenant made. Section Eight These are the ten Sephiroth out of nothing: One; The Spirit of the living God , praised and glorified be the name of Him who lives to all eternity. The articulate word of creative power, the spirit and the word are what we call the holy spirit. Two; Air emanated from the spirit by which He formed and established twenty-two consonants fundamentally. Three of them are truly fundamental letters, or mothers, seven are double and twelve are simple consonants; hence the spirit is the first one. Three; Primitive water emanated from the air. He formed and established by it Bohu mud and loam, made them like a bed, put them up like a wall, and surrounded them as with a rampart, put coldness upon them and they became dust, as it reads; “He says to the coldness be thou earth.” Four; Fire or Aether emanated from the water. He established by it the throne of glory, the Seraphim and Opanim, the holy living creatures and the angels, and of these three He formed His habitation, as it reads “Who made His angels spirits, His ministers a flaming fire.” He selected three consonants from the simple ones which are in the hidden secret of three mothers or first elements: Aleph — Air, Mem — Water, and Shin — Aether or Fire. He sealed them with spirit and fastened them to His great name and sealed with it six dimensions. Five; He sealed the height and turned towards above. The seal was Yod-Heh-Vau Six; He sealed the depth, and turned toward below. The seal was Heh-Yod-Vau Seven; He sealed the East and turned forward. The seal was Vau-Yod-Heh Eight; He sealed the West and turned backward. The seal was Vau-Heh-Yod Nine; He sealed the North and turned to the left. The seal was Heh-Vau-Yod Ten; He sealed the South and turned to the right. The seal was Yod-Vau-Heh
Section Nine These are the ten spheres of existence out of nothing. From the spirit of the living God emanated air, from the air, water, from the water, fire or aether, from the aether, the height and the depth, the East and the West, the North and the South.
Chapter Two Section One There are twenty-two letters fundamentally. Three of them are the first elements, true fundamentals or mothers, seven are double and twelve are simple consonants. The three fundamental letters Aleph-Mem-Shin have as their basis the balance. In one scale is the merit and in the other the fault, which are placed in equilibrium by the tongue . The three fundamental letters, Aleph, Mem, Shin, signify, as Mem is mute like the water and Shin hissing like the fire, there is Aleph among them, a breath of air which reconciles them. Section Two These are the twenty-two letters which form the foundation , after having been appointed and established. He combined, weighed and exchanged them, and formed by them all beings which are in existence, and all these which will be formed in all time to come. Section Three He established twenty-two letters fundamentally by the voice, formed by the breath of air and fixed them on five places in the human mouth, namely: One at the throat , Aleph, Hay, Chet, Ayin. Two at the palate , Gimel, Yod, Kaf, Qof. Three, at the tongue , Dalet, Tet, Lamed, Nun, Taw. Four, at the teeth , Zain, Shin, Samekh, Resh, Tzaddi. Five, at the lips , Bet, Vau, Mem, Peh. Section Four He fixed the twenty-two Letters of foundation on the sphere like a wall with 231 gates, and turned the spheres forward and backward. For an illustration may serve the three letters, Gemel, Nun, Ayin. There is nothing better than joy and nothing worse than sorrow or plague
Section Five But how was it done? He combined, weighed and exchanged: the Aleph with all the other letters in succession, and all the others again with Aleph; Bet with all, and all again with Bet; and so the whole series of Letters . Hence it follows that there are 231 formations, and that every creature and every word emanated from one name.
Section Six He created a reality out of nothing, called the non-existing into existence and shaped colossal pillars from intangible air. This has been shown by the example of combining the letter Aleph with all the other letters, and all the other letters with Aleph. He predetermined, and by speaking created every creature and every word by one name. For a sign of this may serve the twenty-two elementary substances by the primitive substance of Aleph.
Chapter Three Section One The three first elements, Aleph Mem Shin, are typified by a balance, in one scale the merit and in the other the fault, which are placed in equilibrium by the tongue. These three mothers, Aleph Mem Shin, are a great, wonderful and unknown mystery, and are sealed by six rings, or elementary circles, namely: air, water, and fire emanated from them, which gave birth again to some offspring Section Two God appointed and established the three mothers; combined, weighed and exchanged them, and formed by them three mothers Mem Aleph Shin in the world , in the year and in man, male and female . Section Three The three mothers Aleph-Mem-Shin in the world are: air, water and fire. Heaven was created from fire or ether ; the earth from the elementary water; and the atmospheric air from the elementary air, or spirit, which establishes the balance among them. Section Four The three mothers Aleph-Mem-Shin produce in the year heat, coldness and moistness. Heat was created from fire, coldness from water, and moistness from air which equalizes them . Section FiveThe three mothers Aleph-Mem-Shin produce in man, male and female, breast, body and head. The head was created from fire , the (belly) from water , and the (breast in man, male and female ) –> (Note: The text of Section Five is corrupt. It has here been “corrected” by comparison to sections six, seven and eight as well as an application of the “theory of cyclic permutation” from the modern mathematics of Group Theory.} Section Six First Division. He let the letter Aleph predominate in primitive air, crowned it , combining one with the other and formed by them the air in the world, moistness in the year, and the breast in man, male and female: in male by Aleph-Mem-Shin and in female by Shin-Mem-Aleph Section Seven Second Division. He let the letter Mem predominate in primitive water, and crowned it, combined one with the other , and formed by them the earth coldness in the year, and the belly in male and female; in male by Mem-Shin-Aleph, in female by Aleph-Mem -Shin. Section Eight Third Division. He let the letter Shin predominate in primitive fire, crowned it, combined one with the other , and formed by them, heaven in the world, heat in the year, and the head of male and female .
Chapter Four Section One The seven double letters, Bet Gemel Dalet Koph Peh Resh Taw with a duplicity of pronunciation, aspirated and unaspirated serve as a model of softness and hardness, strength and weakness . Modern Hebrew dialects retain a few of these double pronunciations and add new ones.} Section Two Seven double letters, Bet Gemel Dalet Koph Peh Resh Taw shall, as it were symbolize Life, Peace, Wisdom, Wealth, Beauty, Fruitfulness and Dominion . Section Three Seven double letters serve to signify the antithesis to which human life is exposed. The antithesis of Life is Death; of Peace, Strife or War; of Wisdom, Folly; of Wealth, Poverty; of Beauty, Ugliness; of Fruitfulness, Sterility or Childlessness; and of Dominion, Dependence or Slavery. Section Four The seven double consonants are analogous to the six dimensions: height and depth , East and West , North and South and the holy temple that stands in the center , which carries them all. Section Five The double consonants are seven, Bet Gemel Dalet Koph Peh Resh Taw and not six, they are seven and not eight; reflect upon this fact, inquire about it, and make it so evident, that the Creator be acknowledged to be on His throne again. . Section Six The seven double consonants, fundamentally, having been designed and established, combined, weighed, and changed by God, He formed by them: seven planets in the world, seven days in the year, seven gates, openings of the senses, in man male and female. Section Seven The seven planets in the world are: Saturn , Jupiter , Mars , Sun , Venus , Mercury , Moon . Seven days in the year are the seven days of the week ; seven gates in man, male and female are: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth
Section Eight First Division. He let the letter Bet predominate in Life, crowned it, combined one with the other and formed by them: Mercury in the world, the Fourth day in the year, and the right eye in man, male and female . Section Nine Second Division. He let the letter Gemel predominate in Peace, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: the Moon in the world, the Second day in the year and right ear in man, male and female.
Section Ten Third Division. He let the letter Dalet predominate in Wisdom, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Venus in the world, the sixth day in the year, the right nostril in man, male and female.
Section Eleven Fourth Division. He let the letter Koph predominate in Wealth, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Jupiter in the world, the Fifth day in the year, and the left eye in man, male and female . Section Twelve Fifth Division. He let the letter Peh predominate in Beauty, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Mars in the world, the Third day in the year, and the left ear in man, male and female. . Section Thirteen Sixth Division. He let the letter Resh predominate in Fruitfulness, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: The Sun in the world, the First day in the year, and the left nostril in man, male and female. Section Fourteen Seventh Division. He let the letter Taw predominate in Dominion, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them Saturn in the world, the Seventh day in the year, and the mouth of man, male and female. Section Fifteen By the seven double consonants, Bet-Gemel-Dalet-Koph-Peh-Resh-Taw were also designed seven worlds , seven Heavens seven lands, seven seas, seven rivers, seven deserts, seven days in a week, seven weeks from Passover to Pentecost, there is a cycle, of seven years (widely used in Astrology under various names; e.g. the Saturn Return or Lunation Cycle about 28 years from birth. This country (U.S.A.) has laws based on the seven-fold cycle: legal age at 21, the President must be 35 or older}, the seventh is the release year , and after seven release years is Jubilee . Hence, God loves the number seven under the whole heaven Section Sixteen Two stones build two houses , three stones build six houses , four build 24 houses, five build 120 houses, six build 720 houses and seven build 5,040. From thence further go and reckon what the mouth cannot express and the ear cannot hear. Chapter Five Section One The twelve simple letters HB:Heh, Vau, Zain, Chet, Tet, Yod, Lamed, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Tzaddi & Qof symbolize, as it were, the organs of sight, hearing, smell, speech, digestion or swallowing, touch or coition, work, walking, anger, mirth, thinking or meditation, sleep* Section Two The twelve simple consonants HB:Heh, Vau, Zain, Chet, Tet, Yod, Lamed, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Tzaddi & Qof symbolize also twelve oblique points . They grew wider and wider to all eternity, and these are the boundaries of the world. Section Three The twelve simple letters HB:Heh, Vau, Zain, Chet, Tet, Yod, Lamed, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Tzaddi & Qof fundamentally, having been designed, established, combined, weighed and exchanged by Him, He performed by them: twelve constellations in the world, twelve months in the year, and twelve organs in the human body, male and female. Section Four The twelve constellations in the world are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius and Pisces. The twelve months of the year are: Nisan , Ivar, Sivan, Tamus, Ab, Elul, Tishri, Mavcheshvan Kislev, Tebet, Shebat and Adar. The twelve organs of the human body are: two hands two feet, two kidneys, gall, small intestines, liver, esophagus, stomach and milt (either the spleen or reproductive organs. Both systems have been often confused in Theosophical writings and ancient sources. The degree of absurdity involved in this relationship is incredible. This presumes a “rape” ethos in the culture, owing to the association of violence to the spleen and sex to the genitals.} Section Five First Division. God let the letter HB:Heh predominate in Sight , crowned it, combined one with the other and formed by them: Aries in the world, the month Nisan in the Year, and the right foot of the human body, male and female. Section Six Second Division. He let the letter HB:Vau predominate in Hearing , crowned it combined one with the other, and formed by them: Taurus in the world, the month Iyar in the year and the right kidney of the human body, male and female. Section Seven Third Division. He let the letter HB:Zain predominate in Smell , crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Gemini in the world, the month Sivan in the year, and the left foot of the human body, male and female. Section Eight First Division. He let the letter HB:Chet predominate in Speech , crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Cancer in the world, the month Tamus in the year, and the right hand of the human body, male and female. Section Nine Second Division. He let the letter HB:Tet predominate in Digestion or Swallowing , crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Leo in the world, the month Ab in the year, and the left kidney of the human body, male and female. Section Ten Third Division. He let the letter HB:Yod predominate in Touch or Coition , crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them Virgo in the world, the month Elul in the year, and the left hand of the human body, male and female. Section Eleven First Division. He let the letter HB:Lamed predominate in Work , crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Libra in the world, the month Tishri in the year, and the gall of the human body, male and female. Section Twelve Second Division. He let the letter HB:Nun predominate in Motion or Walking , crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Scorpio in the world, the month Marcheshvan in the year, and the small intestines of the human body, male and female. Section Thirteen Third Division. He let the letter HB:Samekh predominate in Anger , crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Sagittarius in the world, the month Kislev in the year, and the stomach of the human body, male and female. Section Fourteen First Division. He let the letter HB:Ayin predominate in Laughter , crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Capricorn in the world, the month Tebes in the year, and the liver in the human body, male and female. Section Fifteen Second Division. He let the letter HB:Tzaddi predominate in Meditation or Thinking , crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Aquarius in the world, the month Schwat in the year, and the esophagus of the human body, male and female. Section Six Third Division, He let the letter HB:Qof predominate in Sleep , crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Pisces in the world, the month Adar in the year, and the milt of the human body, male and female. He made them as a conflict, drew them up like a wall; and set one against the other as in warfare.
Chapter Six Section One These are the three mothers or the first elements Aleph, Mem, and Shin, from which emanated three progenitors: primitive air, water and fire, and from which emanated as their offspring three progenitors and their offspring, namely: the seven planets and their hosts, and the twelve oblique points.
Section Two To confirm this there are faithful witnesses; the world, year and man, the twelve, the Equipoise , the heptade , which He regulates like the Dragon sphere and the heart . Section Three The first elements Aleph, Mem and Shin are air, water and fire; the fire is above, the water below, and a breath of air establishes the balance among them. For an illustration may serve, that the fire carries the water, is the phonetic character of HB:Mem which is mute and HB:Shin is hissing like fire, there is HB:Aleph among them, a breath of air which places them in equilibrium. Section Four Dragon is in the world like a king upon his throne, the sphere is in the year like a king in the empire, and the heart is in the human body like a king in war. Section Five Elohim has also set the one over against the other; the good against the evil, and the evil against the good ; the good proceeds from the good, and the evil from the evil; the good purifies the bad, and the bad the good; the good is preserved for the good, and the evil for the bad ones . Section Six There are three of which every one of them stands by itself; one is in the affirmative, the other in the negative and one equalizes them . Section Seven There are seven of which three are against three and one places them in equilibrium. There are twelve which are all the time at war; three of them produce love, and three hatred, three are animators and three destroyers . Section Eight The three that produce love are the heart and the ears; the three that produce hatred are the liver, the gall and the tongue; the three animators are the two nostrils and the milt; and the three destroyers are the mouth and the two openings of the body; and God, the faithful King rules over all from His holy habitation to all eternity. He is one above three, three are above seven, seven are above twelve, and all are linked together. Section Nine There are twenty-two letters by which the I AM , Yah , He of the Hosts , God Almighty , He Who Creates the Eiohim , designed, formed and created by three Sepharim, His whole world, and formed by them creatures and all those that will be formed in time to come. Section Ten When the Patriarch Abraham comprehended the great truism, revolved it in his mind, conceived it perfectly, made careful investigations and profound inquiries, pondered upon it and succeeded in contemplations, the Lord of the Universe appeared to him, called him his friend, made with him a covenant between the ten fingers of his hands, which is the covenant of the tongue, and the covenant between the ten toes of his feet, which is the covenant of circumcision, and said of him: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee.” THUS ENDS HB:Samekh-Peh-Resh Yod-Tzaddi-Yod-Resh-Heh BibliographyCopies and translations of the “Sepher Yetzirah”: Kalish, Isidor; first published English translation, 1877 e.v., includes Hebrew text. Reprinted by AMORC and others. Studies: “The Origin of Letters & Numerals According to the Sepher Yetzirah”, by Phineas Mordell, 1914 and 1975. Published by Samuel Weiser, Inc. Manuscripts of the “Yetzirah” abound, mostly in Hebrew. There is an early English translation of the “Yetzirah” among the MSS in the collection of the Percy family (Dukes of Northumberland) at Alnwick Castle. The latter may have been acquired through the influence of John Dee, tutor to the Percy’s in the 16th century. See A.C.L.S. British Manuscripts Project, Alnwick 123, Reel 0 41, for a microfilm copy of this MS — Available through major University Libraries.. |