Power and Wisdom of the Letters

Of all the archetypes given to us by the Divine through the creative life force of Binah, the letters – and specifically, in our tradition, the Hebrew letters – would seem to carry the full weight of hidden wisdom and the key to understanding the Sacred Unity and ourselves.

Language itself, which separates us from our closest relative in evolution, the primate, is what gives us the ability to communicate and express ourselves so that we may pass knowledge and wisdom along. Through writing and sharing – via sacred discourse or the everyday exchange of sparks in conversation – language has and is changing our world. Through language we understand and grow. We should be thankful for language not only because it played a vast role in our evolution as humans but because that evolution plays such a huge part in our spiritual growth as a collective. 

This being said, we can’t help but take notice of the importance of language to communicate our true heart’s desire and intention. If you are going to know me through my language, let me try to communicate it in a way that shows you that I understand the innate power of the words I choose. 

Some might say that the discussion of letters and the discussion of language are very different, but letters are the building blocks of language just as they are the building blocks of our universe. In our tradition we believe that God created the universe with 10 utterances. These utterances are or became letters. These letters became words. These words became language. Rabbi Michael Monk wrote, “The 22 sacred letters are profound, primal spiritual forces. They are, in effect, the raw material of creation.”

There is a great mystery behind Adam’s naming of the creatures. For, at that moment, the power of the letters was given to humanity, and this marked our ability to be co-creators with God. The potential which had existed since the desire or concept of the universe in the mind of Ain Sof Or begins to unfold when Adam is given the power to name. 

We tend to think the power is in the word or in the way we construct beautiful sentences, and there can be a certain amount of splendor there, but a study of the Hebrew letters is a study of the mysteries of creation. I encourage everyone who is interesting in exploring these letters and mysteries in more detail to check out the discussion threads on the letters at the Sophian Forum.  I also recommend The Oracle of the Kabbalah by Richard Seidman. 

For instance, Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, not only signifies the beginning but symbolizes that “God is One” and it represents both unity and multiplicity, thus also Yahweh Elohim. Significantly, Aleph is a “silent” sound or the nothing before the sound. Is this the silence before the Big Bang, the thought or desire that is no sound but holds the power to create or manifest? Aleph is perhaps the hardest to understand just because it has no sound. How can a letter have no sound? It’s almost like a manifestation of the mystery of Ain Sof as no-thingness, that aspect of God which we cannot fully grasp. 

So many mysteries are contained in just one letter. Let us study and contemplate the letters with a prayerful and focused intention so we may understand them in our hearts as well as our minds.

Creative Evolution

“The archons thought they killed the Christ, just as they thought by their own power they had created the world and humanity. But they were self-deluded, for they crushed only an empty husk, like themselves, and they began their own end in so doing.”  

--  Secret Gospel of Mary Magdalene, v. 165

This verse reminds me of many truths as we understand them through individual gnosis, not the least of which is the one surrounding creative evolution itself. Some people still question why Christ’s “real” message wasn’t heard by most people some 2,000 years ago and why his life resulted in an institution that some say stood in the way of our spiritual evolution. But who are we to question the flow of creative evolution that preceded and proceeded this world-changing event? Who are we to question the Holy Spirit’s own plan and how she works through the Sacred Unity of which we are all a part to accomplish God’s will?

We each play a role in evolution as co-creators with God. While the choices we make as individuals and as a collective can sometimes change the original direction momentarily, the Holy Spirit can and does work with whatever we give her. Humans unaware of their place in the Sacred Unity do not work as “conscious” co-creators as much as they do obstructions but through even them God can accomplish much to bring about the enlightenment of humanity.

The archonic forces that make up our world don’t realize their part in the Sacred Unity because they very often believe themselves a force to be reckoned with that is beyond even the Supernal Being. This is the same ignorance that led to the crucifixion of Yeshua the man, releasing the sparks that changed humanity despite their best attempts to squelch them. 

In The Gnostic Gospel of St. Thomas, Tau Malachi writes, “[E]ven the cosmic forces of ignorance serve the Lord, although not intending to do so. In fact, they are a secret operation of the Holy Spirit working toward the fulfillment of God’s plan for creation. The cosmic forces of ignorance provide the friction, resistance, strife, and opposition necessary for evolution to occur.”

Indeed, a “secret operation of the Holy Spirit.” I find this encouraging because it reminds us that in the Sacred Unity we are known, understood, and protected. El Elyon is, ultimately, in control and everything is our world is sacred exactly as it is. By trusting in this we can go through our day and forge ahead on our individual spiritual paths with confidence. When we also have the gnosis that comes with our faith and love than this confidence is magnified many times over. 

Let us hold the confidence and peace that passes all understanding in our hearts and minds.