The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 8 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton
Chapter II (part 1)
PART I.
GENERAL KEY TO THE TAROT, GIVING THE ABSOLUTE KEY TO OCCULT SCIENCE.
CHAPTER II.
יהוה THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE.
The Kabbalah and the Sacred Word--The Yod--The He--The Vau--The second He--Synthesis of the Sacred Word.
ACCORDING to the ancient oral tradition of the Hebrews, or Kabbalah , a sacred word exists, which gives to the mortal who can discover the correct way of pronouncing it, the key to all the sciences, divine and human.
This word, which the Israelites never uttered, and which the High Priest pronounced once a year, amidst the shouts of the laity, is found at the head of every initiative ritual, it radiates from the centre of the flaming triangle at the [paragraph continues] 33rd degree of the Freemasonry of Scotland, it is displayed above the gateways of our old cathedrals, is formed of four Hebrew letters, and reads thus, Yod-he-vau-he , יהוה.
It is used in the Sepher Bereschit , or Genesis of Moses, to designate the divinity, and its grammatical construction recalls even by its formation the attributes which men have always delighted to ascribe to God.
Now we shall see that the powers attributed to this word are real up to a certain point, for with its aid the symbolical gate of the arch, which contains the explanation of the whole doctrine of ancient science, is easily opened.
It is therefore necessary to enter into some detail respecting it.
The word is formed of four letters, Yod (י), he (ה), vau (ו), he (ה).
This last letter he is repeated twice.
A number is attributed to each letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
We must look at those which relate to the letters we are now considering.
י Yod = 10 ה he = 5 ו vau = 6 The total numerical value of the word יהוה is therefore 10 + 5 + 6 + 5 = 26.
Let us now study each letter separately.
THE YOD.
The Yod , shaped like a comma or a dot, represents the principle or origin of all things.
The other letters of the Hebrew alphabet are all produced by different combinations of the letter Yod .
The synthetic study of nature had led the ancients to conclude that one law only existed, and ruled all natural productions.
This law, the basis of analogy, placed the Unity-principle at the origin of all things, and regarded them as the reflections at various degrees of this Unity-principle.
Thus the Yod , which alone forms all the other letters, and therefore all the words and all the phrases of the alphabet, was justly used as the image and representation of this Unity-principle , of which the profane had no knowledge.
Thus the law which presided over the creation of the Hebrew language is the same law that presided over the creation of the Universe, and to know the one is to know the other, unreservedly.
The Sepher Yetzirah , one of the most ancient books of the Kabbalah, proves this fact.
Before proceeding any further, let us illustrate the definition which we have just given of the Yod by an example.
The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the aleph (א), is composed of four yods placed opposite to each other; the other letters are all formed on the same basis.
The numerical value of the yod leads to other considerations.
The Unity-principle, according to the doctrine of the Kabbalists, is also the Unity-end of beings and of things, so that eternity, from this point of view, is only an eternal present.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The passage asserts that the law presiding over Hebrew language creation is the same as the law presiding over Universe creation, implying a structural reflection.
The doctrine that the divine is present within all things and the universe itself, pervading creation rather than remaining solely transcendent above it. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about whether that substance indwells its parts) and from kingdom_within (the divine present specifically IN THE INDIVIDUAL human, accessible without mediation) — divine_immanence is the general pervading-presence claim applied to all of creation, not a human-specific indwelling.
The text suggests the divine law is present in the structure of language and the universe, implying a pervasive order.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The passage mentions things as 'reflections at various degrees of this Unity-principle', hinting at a hierarchical flow from the One.
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The text refers to the 'ancient oral tradition of the Hebrews' and a word 'which the Israelites never uttered', indicating esoteric knowledge reserved for initiates.
The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence.
The text details how Hebrew letters (specifically Yod) form all other letters and words, stating the law of language creation is the same as the law of Universe creation.
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
The passage explicitly defines the Yod as the 'principle or origin of all things' and the 'Unity-principle' from which all letters and words are formed, mirroring the creation of the Universe.
Sacred knowledge transmitted as living speech rather than fixed writing — scripture carried in memory, song, and telling, renewed in each generation; the unwritten canon of a tradition.
The passage explicitly cites the 'ancient oral tradition of the Hebrews, or Kabbalah' as the source of the Sacred Word knowledge.