THE DIVINE NAME YHVH

The Divine name assigned to God the Father is YHVH. The Divine name YHVH, as used in the Bible, logo-centrically signifies the Divine Father as all encompassing; that the word name is composite in that it comprises four letter components, one of which is repeated twice; that through the composition of those components it signifies in brief, and in totality, the Tree of Life and by extension the four worlds of creation associated with that hieroglyphic character; that it is hence a synthesis of the four stages and activities associated with generation, namely, idea, thought, imagery and manifestation. YHVH is and has been a key kabbalistic text ever since this extraordinary teaching was first received by those amongst humanity who had developed the capacity for inquiry, for reception, of listening, observing, reasoning and measuring. Moreover, it is a text whose creative legacy continues to indirectly inform, guide, and shape the various activities of humankind so that one day all men and all women irrespective of their creed, colour, caste or religion.

The first letter of this Divine name is, appropriately, Yod. As a letter, it is unique in the Qabalistic alphabet system in that it is the letter from whence all other letters derive their genesis, individual form and expression. As a symbolic form it signifies the singular creative potency resulting from the union between the One Self, the Indivisible, or Yekhidah, and the Divine Father or Chokmah. Thus the idea communicated to us through this letter is power to the power of infinite power. It is hence concerned with the unlimited capacity for growth and increase. Astrologically, Yod is associated with Virgo, the ninth house of the Zodiac to which is assigned rulership over the digestive tract and small intestine and the processes of that part of the body by which food, the cellular encapsulation of the sun’s energy, is assimilated and transformed into power and vitality.

However, and as sociologists and behavioural theorists observe, the food we eat is not limited to the organic but extends to the inorganic, by which I mean, the creative, conceptual, and spiritual food of life. We well know that exposing ourselves to and participating in certain outer activities is a form of material consumption that can, like certain foods, result in either beneficence or harm. Thus Yod, the hand creative, the hand that both gives and receives teaches us that by becoming ever mindful of the spiritual reality behind all sensory experience, we develop the capacity for assimilation and thereby build deep within ourselves the symbolic place of birth of the Royal Son, the house of bread, Bethlehem. And that further to this it signifies that by becoming ever more receptive to the Will of the One Self, we enable the gestation and birth of that state of consciousness whose dominion and sphere of influence is the Sun and whose activity is one of benevolent mediation.

Think of the extraordinary power inherent in this first letter of the word and marvel at the limitless potential for bringing into conscious manifestation ever greater levels of specialised and differentiated expressions of beauty and unity for all living. And, although this reality is veiled and lies beyond the comprehension of many earth- bound dwellers, our meditation on the meanings of this first letter means that the limitless power and light contained within its symbolism is made, bit by bit, more available to all. Moreover, our constant meditational practice effects cellular change in our bodies with the result that we become increasingly sensitive, touch sensitive that is, to the emanations flowing out from the physical plane as well as emanations flowing out from the astral plane. This increased sensitivity is a blessing and a responsibility for through it we start to see and apprehend the benevolent and magical workings of the Divine. Thus do we become light bearers for all those walking the path and for whom the state of blindness and ignorance is not yet lifted away.

The second letter for contemplation is the letter, Heh. Astrologically, it is associated with Aries, the first house of the Zodiac to which is assigned the function of outer sight and inner vision. It is also assigned to Binah, the Divine Mother. Like the former letter, this symbolic correlation points to a great mystery, one that lies at the heart of our understanding what it truly means to be an enlightened human being treading the fine path between heaven and hell and dedicated to sharing the load of evolution. Here we have a letter that, when viewed through the lens of astrology, signifies the combined power of Mars and the Sun in initiating new beginnings, in having the foresight to perceive the right time to take up and implement new initiatives and undertakings. It is therefore connected at one level with generation and the Old Testament concept begetting, and at another with the future or that state of being which is unknown and hence opaque due to its being hidden or concealed from view – except for those gifted with the ability of extraordinary foresight. Thus, in the Divine word, Heh, the letter that correlates with future planning, with orderly preparation, with systematic organisation is assigned to Binah and the sphere of Saturn on the Tree of Life. Hence is signalled that extraordinary paradoxical process whereby in projecting ourselves into some future or desired state, we immediately start delineating or drawing a boundary or set of limitations around that idea. Binah is the thick darkness, the great auric mystery, spoken about in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis. As a sphere of activity it is the field of limitation, the mysterious matrix into which every seed idea, every thought, every concept is planted and grown.

Yet, truly is this sphere of limitation also limitless, for it derives its existence and mode of expression from a particular concentrated aspect of the One Self, the No-Thing, which has no limit. Hence, it is the root of faith, the sure foundation for the inner and outer work of all the great seers, and all the great initiators such as John the Baptist and the Master Jesus Christ whose responsibility it was to bring into expression modes of thinking and feeling that would enable enslaved humanity to become liberated from the physical and sensory limitations of time and space and masters of the garden of Eden. To assist in bringing this future state about so that it is not just an idle dream or far-off fantasy, we are advised to start with that field of activity that we are most familiar with and in which we can see much room for improvement – ourselves.

Like all great executors and planners we must assess and reasonably plot the actions that will result in whatever desired state we want to see actualised in our everyday lives. Having done this, we must then confidently expect that our actions will produce fruit despite what present circumstances seem to tell us when we take them at face value. Through realistically embracing the principle of limitation and through engaging in responsible and accurate planning we conquer time and space. We become the newborn humanity, the liberated humanity for whom the fourth dimension is a living reality.

We come now to the third letter, Vav, the letter that links the future vision, the true Stone, embedded in the word to the sense of hearing and the creative activity of image-making. Thus is this letter associated with the third house of the Zodiac, Taurus to which are assigned the key planets associated with hearing and imagination, Venus and the Moon. This zodiacal symbolism is significant because it is through these activities that we fully appreciate the reality symbolised by the word, namely, that all outer forms are, to a lesser or greater degree, expressions of the benevolence of the Divine Father. Moreover, this is the letter that, through ist spatial correlation with the sixth Sephirah, Tipareth, links the manifest to the un- manifest and/or, depending on one’s inner perspective and sensory experience of outer conditions, heaven to hell, which, in the teachings of the Kabbalah is associated with the Greek Hades, “the abode of the spirits of the dead”. Vav is thus associated with the sphere of the activity of the Sun. Hidden in this association is the correlation, recognised or not, between our earthly desires, which more often than not, carry the residue of our past and present incantatory patterns of thinking, feeling and acting, and the as yet unrealised reality our individual identity as the SON and offspring of God, the Father/Mother.

Hence is the quality of the Sun’s brightness veiled by that former expression when we first begin our ascent from the material to the spiritual and, more importantly, to identification with the WORD. Here is a warning to pay close attention to the voices that enchant, that seduce, that tempt one into following pathways and behaviours that are not true. The gold promised by engaging in the sensory gratification of earthly material desire is tantalising, but the reward is ultimately bitter and unfulfilling, as I’m sure we have all discovered. Nevertheless, it is through this experience that we gain increased insight into the subtle and suggestive power of speech, and how we each have a tendency to bend our ears, or the ears of others, to the silent, spoken and/or written word for both good and bad effect. Through this testing of our ability to discern, to sift that which is false from that which is true, our Divine Father JH, strengthens our capacity to be, like the Master Jesus, the word made flesh, the true stone, the vital link between the immaterial and the material.

Finally, we arrive at the letter component that completes the Divine word, YHVH. In completing the word, the zodiacal letter of initiation, Heh, signifies that despite appearing to be the summation of former planning, guidance and imagining, the external factors and conditions appearing to us and lived through us now in our daily lives are, in fact, the raw material for the beginning of a new cycle of creation and manifestation. Thus this letter completes the Divine Name YHVH, and is one of the two paternal paths through which flows the benevolence of Chokmah to the Son in Tipareth and, by extension, Malkuth, the Sephiroth to which is assigned the title, the Kingdom. Through this symbolic association we are given the tools to recognise, understand and overcome the events that we encounter on a daily basis. Through this knowledge we come to understand and truly appreciate that every experience we encounter, every seeming evil, is the daily gift, the gift of manna whereby we become the Royal Son and thereby one with the Divine Father, born of the word, living the word so that the word may continue to become materialised and increasingly visible on this Holy mother earth. No matter what our circumstances, no matter the seeming imposition of limitations resulting from our immaturities we are children of the fourth dimension destined to grow in wisdom and understanding. The Divine Name, YHVH, is a gift and our birthright. As aspirants to the secret wisdom of Israel, it signifies what we are, what we have always been and what we will be.