We begin our story about the Cube of Space by referring to the Sepher Yetzirah, translated loosely in English to The Book of Formation. An attempt was made in this book to explain the creative acts of God through the use of numbers, letters and words. The author uses as the basis of his explanation the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each of which has a number and word, or concept, attributed to it.
The form used to express this overall concept is a cube. This is a dot that manifests and extends in six directions, as in the six faces of a cube, to eternity. Needless to say, some have spent their entire lives discussing the ramifications of this teaching. It has been said that this Cube of Space is a beautifully detailed map of initiation that all souls will eventually follow.
In this discussion I will give you a brief outline of the elements that make up the cube. In the lessons on the Tarot cards I explained the tie between each Hebrew letter and each of the 22 Major Arcana Tarot cards. The Hebrew alphabet has three Mother letters, which reside and move in the interior of the cube. They represent the three elements of fire, air and water. The corresponding Tarot cards are Judgement for fire, The Fool for air, and the Suspended Man for water.
The Mother letters stand for equilibrated forces, those that bring balance and perfect harmony. The Fool moves from above to below within the cube. The Suspended Man moves from East to West within the cube. The Judgement card moves from North to South within the cube.
The alphabet has seven double letters. Each double letter is a pair of opposites and is spoken two ways. The double letters represent the seven planets. Each letter adorns a face of the cube, six faces in all, with one double letter at the center of the cube. The double letters stand for changeable forces. An example would be Beth which has the double meaning of life and death, or Kaph which has a double meaning of wealth and poverty. These would be extremes of the same polarity.
The faces of the cube are considered expressing a direction and therefore are named North, South, East, West, Above and Below. The letter in the middle of the cube is called the Center. North is the Tower, South is the Sun, East is the Empress, West is the Wheel of Fortune, Above is the Magician, Below is the High Priestess, and in the Center is The World.
The 12 edges on the cube are made up of the 12 simple Hebrew letters. The simple letters are attributed to the 12 Signs of the Zodiac. They also each represent a part of the human body. They are considered constant forces. Again, directions are used to define each of the edges. North-East is the Emperor, South-East is the Teacher, East-Above is the Lovers, East-Below is the Chariot, North-Above is Strength, North-Below is the Hermit, North-West is Justice, South-West is Transition, West-Above is Temperance, West-Below is the Deceiver, South-Above is the Star, and South-Below is the Moon.
I just know that you’re bleary-eyed by now! If you can find the time, you might consider making a large cube and place the Tarot cards on it, as mentioned above, then it would be easier to visualize. As we go over each face of the cube it will also be easier to follow, since we’ll only be dealing with the five Tarot cards involved on that particular face.
Please also think about that each of the 22 Paths on the cube is assigned a sound and color. God spoke the Word of Creation. The Word is made up of sounds. And sounds are identified by symbols called letters. Sounds are at different rates of vibration, as are colors, and so if you think about it, the use of vibration has the ability to both create and to breakdown that which has been created. The combination of the cards on each face create a particular vibration with which we interact.
So let’s move on. Our next step is to see how we got on the cube! Then we’ll take a look at the first place that we land on its surface, the West face. This has nothing to do with our concept of the planet earth and that we may live in the West and others may live in the East. Please leave that behind. The West face of the cube will be defined by the Hebrew letters located there and thus by the Tarot cards that they represent.
Gates of Light 