The Tarot of the Bohemians
Papus
Chapter 2
Summary Upon The Word Yod-He-Vau-He
Now that we have separately studied each of the letters that compose the sacred name, we will apply the law of synthesis to them, and sum up the results obtained.
The word Yod-he-vau-he, is formed of four letters, signifying:
| The Yod | The active principle pre-eminent. |
| The Ego = 10 | |
| The He | The passive principle pre-eminent |
| The Non-Ego = 5 | |
| The Vau | The Median letter, the link, which unites the active to the passive. The Affinity between the Ego and the Non-Ego. |
| Ego = 6 |
These three letters express the Trinitarian law of the absolute.
| The 2nd He | The Second He marks the passage from one world to another. The Transition. |
This second He represents the complete Being, comprising in one Absolute Unity the three letters which compose it: Ego, Non-Ego, Affinity.
It indicates the passage from the noumenal to the phenomenal or reciprocal; it serves as a means of ascension from one scale to another.
Representation Of The Sacred Word.
The word Yod-he-vau-he can be represented in various ways, which are all useful.
The circle can be drawn in this way -
But since the second He, the sign of transition, becomes the active entity in the following scale, i.e. since this He only represents a yod in germ1, the sacred word can be represented, with the second he under the first yod, thus -
| yod | 1st he | vau |
| 2nd he |
Lastly, a hrid method of representing the word consists in enveloping the trinity, Yod-he-vau, with the tonalisating letter, or second He, thus -
Now we will leave these data, to which we must return later on, and speak of the occolt or Pythagoras conception of numbers.
1. The second He, upon which we are intentionally dwelling at some length, may be compared to a grain of wheat relatively to the ear. The ear, the Trinity, manifest or yod-he-vau-he, exerts all its activity in the production of the grain of wheat, or second He. But this grain of wheat is only the transition between one generation and another which it contains in germ; this is why the second He is a Yod in germ.