The Crown of Divinity & The Alchemy of Seven: Hebrew Crowned Letters and the Path of Grace

Recently, as I was preparing for the Tarot Path teachings across the Tree of Life that will begin in February at the School of Limitation (SOL), I was struggling with a situation I was in and Saturn and Venus came to mind as the dual forces at play for me. From there, as these things go, I was led me to start exploring the path from Tiphareth to the sephirah that correspond to the two planets: namely, Binah and Netzach and their respective paths. This post follows the journey that led me to a single point of understanding: that Grace/Presence reaches us anywhere, at any time, lest we be willing to see.

The exploration is boundless, really—I ended up being quite profoundly transformed through what was revealed—but through this process, I was led to Zayin, which is the Hebrew letter that corresponds to the path between Binah and Tiphareth, the Path of the Lovers in Tarot. Zayin, I found, is also the name given for the seven Hebrew letters that are topped with crowns, which is a particular mythical tale. It is said in the Talmud that Moses sees God adding crowns (tagin/Zayin) to the letters and asks:

"Why? Who's stopping you from just giving the Torah without these extra decorations?"

God answers: "In the future, there will be a great sage who will derive mountains of legal interpretations and deep wisdom from every tiny mark - even from these crowns."

The deeper meaning: Even Moses, the greatest prophet, didn't understand the full depth of these crowns. The message of the Torah's "crowns" is so deep that Moses himself didn't know what it is. They contain wisdom that would only be revealed generations later, through the insights of many sages.

Now, this implied something deeper to me: the crowns represent hidden layers of meaning in Torah that unfold over time—depths that even the original receiver (Moses) wasn't meant to fully grasp—and it is said that these things will be revealed with the coming of Mosiach, which, in my belief, is not a person, but a state of Presence: when God descends and man and God connect as one.

Further illustrating that is this: Zayin is applied to 7 letters and 7x7 = 49 (there are 49 interinclusions of the lower sephirah—essentially all that man can know of divinity before grace must intervene). These are called The Gates of Binah, the 49 of which it is said the human intellect can traverse, but that grace must reach across to pull the human through the final gate, gate 50. Now, I know this exploration was ultimately an extension of where my angel was leading me, because the path between Netzach and Tiphareth, which corresponds to the letter Nun, which is one of the 7, has the gematria of 50—this is the last sephirah before one arises to Tiphareth and into the higher Sephirah, the final gate! Fun fun fun (I say, clapping my hands and actually giddy).

I could go down several trails here, but I wanna talk about the seven letters with tagin or crowns on them and a little gnosis I've had around this. Please note that this is NOT meant to be specifically academic nor extensively confirmed (in fact, I could find little by way of confirmation except to find that it is well known that the secrets of such things will be revealed with the coming of Moshiach - something I believe, from an esoteric framework means when one arises in solar or Christ consciousness), but that my purpose in this is to share a deep-dive I had into symbolic meaning, led by my HGA. UPG or unverified personal gnosis is something I increasingly find to lead me to understandings relevant to the needs of the moment and whether that is following runic threads, qabalistic threads, or buddhist threads I have always arrived at something that has completely transformed an aspect of my understanding, provided an insane amount of energetic adjustment within my being (I usually need to sit and breathe to make space for the large amounts of energy moving through me), and led to a transformation the results of which give a certain "high" for days, sometimes weeks, as I work with it—this "high" allows for more spaciousness in my moods and other transient experiences while the wisdom is working on my being; anything that occurs in these times seems to have less weight and my surrender/flexibility is greater.

Anyway, let's get into it.

The Hebrew Crowned Letters

The seven letters with crowns and their pathways are:

• Shin (Judgment) - Malkuth to Hod

• Ayin (Devil) - Hod to Tiphareth

• Tet (Strength) - Chesed to Geburah

• Nun (Death) - Netzach to Tiphareth

• Zayin (Lovers) - Binah to Tiphareth

• Gimel (High Priestess) - Kether to Tiphareth

• Tzaddi (Star) - Yesod to Netzach

The acronym created from these letters spells Satan Az Gatz, three "negative" or "evil forces." From my research, it is implied that the "crowns"—zayins—are also considered protective forces against these negative forces, but my gnosis went in a different direction: redemption, the resolution of the duality of good and evil.

All seven crowned letters contain the divine pattern of Yod (the hand/divine spark) and Vav (the connector/nail) in various configurations - showing that even within the forces of separation and shadow, the potential for divine connection is built in from the start. Particularly poetic is Ayin, which contains Vav within Nun - and together with Yod, these three letters create the word anav, meaning humble. This reveals that grace finds us in humility, in the depths where the connection is established.

Let me share a bit of breakdown:

The Inner Alchemical Process

SATAN (שטן) = Separation/Nigredo

Letters: Shin-Tet-Nun

• Shin (ש) = Fire, transformation, divine consuming

• Tet (ט) = Serpent coiled, hidden good in the womb

• Nun (נ) = Being brought low, death, descent into depths

With this breakdown, what became evident to me is the transformative hidden power in separation, in The Fall, in being brought low. And as we know "satan" means adversary or the one who opposes—we see inherent separation here as an active force. So there is an opposing that leads to the depths being the new territory in which one dwells. But the fire of Shin purifies and speaks to the potential of perfection; Tet contains the process of gestation, the time of self-reflection and speaks to the "hidden good" within the unpleasant and within the process of gestation or birth—literally the unfolding of latent divine goodness; and Nun represents the familiarity with the depths, the comfort of a fish swimming in the depths of murky water. The symbolism here is POTENT.

You are brought to the depths (Nun), you acknowledge the inner goodness of even the worst (Tet), and you arise as the manifest revelation of the inner flame (Shin).

Let's keep going.

AZ (עז) = Discrimination/Albedo

Letters: Ayin-Zayin

• Ayin (ע) = Eye, seeing, perceiving (both illusion AND reality)

• Zayin (ז) = Sword, discrimination, choice

  
  

The sight of discrimination, the eye of discernment. Ayin and Zayin correspond to the Devil and the Lovers cards—the Devil has the Lovers in chains, but when they are united in the Lovers card, there is redemption, the union of opposites. We see their enslavement and separation in one and on the flip side we see their union and inherent resolution. Depending on what eyes you use to see—the one of illusion or the one of wisdom—either possibility is at play, though both exist simultaneously. In the illusion of separation we have the choice: see the reality of union already existing or be enslaved to the concept of our separation. It's literally empowering you to choice: victim or victor?

GATZ (גץ) = Bridge/Grace/Rubedo

Letters: Gimel-Tzaddi

• Gimel (ג) = Camel, bridge, pursues to bestow, reward/punishment

• Tzaddi (צ) = Fishhook, hunting, the (nearly) righteous one

This one is also fascinating. Let me start with Tzaddi, which is comprise of a Nun (which we already know: fish) and a Yod (hand). To me this is indicative of the hand of Grace reaching to pull us out of the depths. Gimel, the bridge, is also symbolically seen as a man running, presumably a rich man running after a poor man to give him charity. Gimel is seen as a unifying force, the third when there are two at odds. It is also associated with the camel, the vehicle which can bring man across vast distances from one place to another, literally bridging them. This is harmonizing, equalizing, creating balance. Both letters to me speak of carrying one forth out of one place to another and not through their own actions, but as compassionate aid. But there is a sense, too, of giving what one deserves through merit—this is not judgment, but the giving of what one can "handle" and not more. An assessment is made, but it is not moralistic or based on "earning" the aid. It is simply being in a position to receive it, which is often times of great humbling. This is also about nourishing when one needs, but also weaning when one is stronger. We can see both the Star (pouring out of waters) and the High Priestess (serving both above and below) in this symbolism, as well.

In the Satan Az Gatz we find the very process of alchemical transformation. We see Nigredo in Nun and the Death card, Albedo in the choice to see with the eyes of union or separation, and Rubedo as the reddening phase where one is redeemed through Grace pulling you across the 50th gate into Divine connection.

A Complete Story

Satan = A feeling of opposition, of tension, of "falling" from grace to the lowest low

Az = Vision begins to arise, there is a cutting away of illusion, there is a choice made and a process is begun—has one really fallen or is Grace immanent?

Gatz = Grace "reaches" you, perhaps in every moment, perhaps in the final moment of pulling you across the 50th gate—are these different?

This maps to classic alchemy:

• Nigredo (blackening/death) = Satan

• Albedo (whitening/purification) = Az

• Rubedo (reddening/completion) = Gatz

Four of these seven paths lead directly to Tiphareth—the heart, solar consciousness, the place where redemption occurs. There is a sense that the other three paths have a sort of conditional framework that allows for these transformations to occur or provide deeper specific processes one most go through.

The Larger Message

The metaphor itself is lovely. It tells a complete story of the alchemical process and a larger story of the esoteric fall and redemption that we experience when we arise to Awakened Presence. In fact, the symbolism is something that can be analyzed and chased forever, the mental concepts can be absolutely sucked dry. But the larger impact here, is this: transformation is not your work alone, but that of Grace. There is no failure in them who are willing to ask for the assistance of the Divine.

The 49 Gates I spoke of in the opening of this post are the work of looking at the seven emotional sephirah (the lower seven) and their seven interinclusions (that is, every sephirah within the other seven, seven times seven). It could be assumed, then, that we must toil to understand every single possible permutation of the expression of the Divine through these interinclusions and the limitless symbolism at play. But, ultimately, what matters is that no matter how long we toil in the realm of the 49, to be pulled across Gate 50 means to surrender to Grace. To dissolve that which is not True, to see with the eyes of discernment, and to arise to the Awakened Mind.

Personal work and transformation have a limit. The conceptual mind has a limit. Eventually, we see that we have always been at the mercy and orchestration of Grace. Even Moses couldn't enter the 50th gate on his own.

According to Jewish Midrashim, Moses acquired the gnosis of all of the Gates except the 50th Gate, which would be realized by the Messiah. However, before his death on Mt. Nevo, Moses merited the 50th gate—the letter Nun (which equals 50 and, as we know, corresponds to the path associated with the Death card) entered his name, and we find the word "Neshamah," which is the highest attainment of the individual human in connection to the Divine. It is my understanding that this could be associated with Tiphareth attainment: not full transcendence or merging with the Oneness, but the individual connected to their True Will.

This is what we are offered. Personal work only goes so far, but Grace reaches us in every condition and is therefore unconditional, yet will not be bestowed without consent. So the question is, will you consent to receive?