The 22 Hebrew Letters

The twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet each carry a literal meaning, an esoteric meaning, and — in Hermetic Qabalah — a fixed attribution to one of the Tree of Life's Paths and one of the twenty-two Major Arcana. Below is every letter's core meaning; tap any letter in the app for its full Golden Dawn, A.E. Waite, and Jewish-mysticism correspondences.

Aleph (א) — Ox

The first letter, representing unity, breath, and the number one — the beginning of all things.

Beth (ב) — House

Beth means “house” — the first structure, a container that gives shape to what is within it.

Gimel (ג) — Camel

Gimel is the camel, the beast of burden that crosses distance and carries what is precious through empty places.

Daleth (ד) — Door

Daleth is the door, the threshold between two spaces — the opening that must be passed through for anything to change.

Heh (ה) — Window

Heh is the window, an opening that lets light and sight through without granting passage itself.

Vav (ו) — Nail or Hook

Vav is the nail or hook — the small connector that joins one thing to another, standing for the conjunction “and.”

Zayin (ז) — Sword or Weapon

Zayin is a sword or weapon — the instrument of a decisive, cutting choice.

Chet (ח) — Fence or Enclosure

Chet is a fence or enclosure, a boundary drawn to contain and protect what is inside it.

Tet (ט) — Serpent

Tet is the serpent, a coiled and hidden force that can either strike or be tamed.

Yod (י) — Hand

Yod is the smallest Hebrew letter, a single hand or point — the seed-form from which every other letter is said to be built.

Kaph (כ) — Palm of the Hand

Kaph is the open palm, the hand that both grasps and offers — associated with what is held, contained, or granted.

Lamed (ל) — Ox-goad

Lamed is the ox-goad, the tool used to direct and correct a beast of burden — instruction and discipline applied to guide, not merely to punish.

Mem (מ) — Water

Mem is water itself, one of the three primal Mother Letters, standing for the formless, receptive substance from which life is drawn.

Nun (נ) — Fish

Nun is the fish, a creature hidden beneath the surface, associated with fertility, continuity, and the things that endure by staying unseen.

Samekh (ס) — Prop or Tent-peg

Samekh is a prop or support, the peg that holds a structure steady — the letter of stability found through balance rather than rigidity.

Ayin (ע) — Eye

Ayin is the eye, the organ of seeing — and, by extension, of illusion, since sight can perceive clearly or be deceived.

Peh (פ) — Mouth

Peh is the mouth, the organ of speech — the letter of the spoken word that can build understanding or provoke sudden conflict.

Tzadi (צ) — Fish-hook

Tzadi is the fish-hook, an instrument that draws something up and out of what conceals it — a quiet act of retrieval rather than force.

Qoph (ק) — Back of the Head

Qoph is the back of the head, the part of the body one cannot see directly — associated with instinct, dream, and what works beneath ordinary awareness.

Resh (ר) — Head

Resh is the head, seat of thought, identity, and the seeing intellect — as opposed to Qoph's hidden nape, Resh faces forward into clarity.

Shin (ש) — Tooth

Shin is the tooth, an instrument that consumes and transforms what it takes in — the third Mother Letter, standing for fire.

Tav (ת) — Mark, Sign, or Cross

Tav is the mark or seal, the final letter — a sign of completion, the signature placed at the end of a finished work.