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The Phoenician Sacred Letters: Divine Writing for Meditation and Divination
(c) by David Myriad Rosenbaum 5678 / Version 1.07
Table of Contents

The Phoenician Alpu-Betu [alphabet] with commentary.

Divination methods. / Feedback form


Introduction: On the origins of the alphabet, a meditation on the ancient world, and divination in the modern world.

Welcome to the Phoenician Sacred Letters Near Eastern Meditation and Divination System. Based upon traditional mythology and divination methods, this modern system is based upon the most ancient of alphabets. As in the Hebrew Alphabet, each letter is identified with a word ; commentary is added in the areas of archeology, astronomy, Near Eastern mythology, etc.


To start at the beginning of the history of my very distant ancestors, the Phoenicians, I had to look all the way back. Little in their own voice has survived: a few myths, scattered inscriptions, their alphabet. It is the latter which is subtlely revealing her secrets.
The Phoenician alphabet proved to be the mother of virtually all modern alphabets, the direct ancestor of our own Roman letters, as well as the Runic alphabet of the Norse. Now, since the Norse Runes are popularly valued as tools for meditation and divination -- each letter corresponding to a key word in their culture -- it occured to me that each Phoenician letter could be used in the same way.
A note on the sources: in the course of studying the numerous scholarly works I've drawn from for this work, I've learned that each letter of the alphabet does in fact have a hidden, or occult meaning. I've found out that the Hebrew alphabet, the direct descendent of the Phoenician, also has hidden meanings, about which much has been written by the Jewish mystics and kabbalists. And I've learned that there is little, as in none-at-all evidence that the Phoenicians used their alphabet for either meditation or divination; just that it may have well been, and that it certainly can be now.
What I have learned is that each Phoenican letter stood for a word that had great cultural significance in the world of the ancient Near East.
That at least some of the letters have a direct astronomical and astrological correspondence in the zodiac of the ancient world.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated. I hope to update this project The meaning of each letter is often obscure, and we need to discover what interpertations are most meaningful to the modern world.

e-mail: davidmyriad@bigfoot.com

Write: P. O. Box 21701 El Sobrante, CA 94820-1701

NOTE: If for some reason you didn't get the graphics, you can find the phoenician alphabet in any good encyclopedia (under Alphabet, or Writing), and make your own set of divination and meditation cards. For the latest version, and a Divination Card kit, contact me at the above address .
Thanks, David Myriad


THE SACRED PHOENICIAN LETTERS
The Byblian [Phoenician] alphabet was developed circa 1,050 BCE; here the letters are arranged in their traditional order [with the exception of the idea of Ain Sof, which I've added on as a meditation tool.]. The commentary includes my gleanings from archeology and mythology which emphasize the deeper meaning of each letter.

Indexed Links to the Sacred Phoenician Letters:

A - B - G - D - H - V - Z - Ch - T - Y - K - L - M - N - S - O - P - Tz - Q - R - Sh - Th

Link to a printer friendly graphic of the Phoenician Alphabet.
Download my shareware font of this Phoenician alphabet {Macintosh version only}.
.
Meditation and the Phoenician Letters

The Phoenician alphabet was the first in history which created words by using a few letters; this was a vast improvement over earlier writing systems such as cuneiform and hierographics which required hundreds of symbols, one for each word. Reading and writing, which previously demanded years of intensive study, became possible for anyone who could obtain a basic education. While in practice this was limited to the priestly and clerical classes, it laid the foundation for the widespread literacy which we take for granted today.
The Phoenician alphabet is similar to earlier writing systems in that each letter also is a symbol for a word. To mediatate upon the letters you may focus upon both.

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Divination Methods:
Traditional methods for Runic and Tarot divination may be used -- feel free to explore with your favorite method.


The Blank Letter The Nameless Name
The Soundless Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Ain Sof - the blank letter, the soundless sound.

Ain Sof
"In itself"

The unknowable source of divinity. Symbolized by the blank letter. A kabbalistic concept, developed my mystic Jews in the middle ages. It represents the unrepresentable -- the creator of the universe is understood to be beyond human description and understanding.
Meditation: To even meditate upon divinity as "The Endless" is to limit what it is, and loses the point.
Myth: [Hebrew] God is know as Jahwah "I was, I am, I will be what I will be." The name is spelled Y-H-V-H; the vowels are uncertain, since it is forbidden to pronounce the Holy Name. In Hebrew prayer, one substitutes the title "Adonai" [Lord] instead.
Number: Infinity.
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician Name
[Letter]
Sound
Hebrew Name
Meaning
Phoenician Letter A -Aleph Alpu
[A]
ah / e
Aleph
Ox; cow; thousand; teaching; master

Archeology: Since ancient times,the bull has been a symbol of power, wealth,and virility. Representing the traditional masculine principle in nature, it is associated with Sun-Gods, Sky-Gods, Creation Gods, and the primal source of fertility; in Mesopotamia it was also connected with water, as the source of fertility and of life. The Bull was worshipped throughout the ancient Near East; in the most ancient times it symbolized a city's tutelary God, who was often the Mother Goddess's consort. Around 1,000 BCE, Teshub, the Hittite Storm-God is represented standing upon a bull and holding lightning bolts. The Akkadian Storm-God Adad [Syrian Hadad] is similarly pictured.

The mysterious image of a bull-man first appears mid-third millenium BCE; he is a bull from the waist down and has a human head with horns.
The bull was ritually sacrificed , starting in Mesopotamian Spring and New Year's festivals in order to create a good harvest.

The wild ox, hunted to extinction, was the ancestor of domestic cattle. He roamed the wilderness of the Middle East; he was large, at high at the shoulders as a man is tall, and had enormous horns. Known as aurochs (bos primigenesis), these awesome beasts are also remembered in Europe as the name of the second letter of the Runic alphabet [Ur].
The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem (circa 1,100 Common Era) states,
"The aurochs is proud and has great horns;
it is a very savage beast and fights with its horns;
a great ranger of the moors, it is a creature of mettle."
This may be more than coincidental, since the Runes are a descendent of the Phoenician alphabet, by way of South Arabia.

Astrology: Taurus, the Bull; this constellation has been honored since prehistoric times; the stars can be seen to form the points of this letter. Thousands of years ago, the shifting star positions made this image more obvious. Six thousand years ago the Sumerians passed on this cosmic myth of the battle between the Bull and the Lion-- the constellation Leo; a mythic explaination of the stars moving through the wheel of the year.

Myth:
[Hebrew]:The LORD has made man master over his creation, "laying the world at his feet, sheep and oxen, all of them."--Psalms 8:8
The only other use of this word in The Holy Scriptures is in Isaiah's prophesy of plenty, Isaiah 30:24.


[Phoenicia]:The bull is a fitting symbol of the most powerful Gods of the Phoenicians. El, "The Father of Years," is known as a kindly, wise ruler. As the father and Creator of All Created Things -- including mankind - he is represented by the ox; similarly Ba'al Hadad, "Lord Thunder," is closely identified with this power animal.

[Mesopotamia] The highest of the Gods was An (known to the Akkadians as Anum, the Sumerian word for sky; he is the numinous power in the sky, the provider of rain, the celestial calendar -- his changing constellations show the changing seasons, as well as planting times and harvest times. He is frequently pictured as an enormous bull. One of his titles is "Fecund Breed-Bull".

With his spouse Ki, the earth, he was the father of all vegetation; he is also father, or ancestor of all of the Mesopotamian Gods, as well as countless demons (spirits, both benign and evil

.
The God An owned Gugalanna [G u(d)-gal-anna(k)], "The Great Bull of Heaven", who killed by the hero Gilgamesh, and is mourned by the Goddess Inanna. The bull is also known as a dying god, and the husband of Ereskigal; his death symbolizes the fleeting rainclouds of Spring.

The Bull was also used as a symbol by Gods in Egypt [Apis], Persia [Mithra], and in Greece [Dionysos].

Number: 1.
The First Time; the beginning; the time "before two things had come into being in this land." [Ancient Egypt].
1,000 (?) In Ancient Egypt, this was symbolic of a large amount; it's ideogram is the lotus, its hierograph is a tadpole.
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician Name
[Letter]
Sound
Hebrew Name
Meaning
Phoenician B - beth. Beytu
[B]

(b)
Beth
House



Archeology: Inspired by Egyptian hieroglyphics,the house symbolizes home, hearth, and security. It also symbolizes the Temple, and the Mother Goddess.
[Mesopotamia] The Akkadian and Sumerian words for temple are the same as for house (e' = bîium). The divinity was understood to have a close emotional, spiritual, and physical connection with his, or her, home. The Temple was the body of the God.
Astrology: Mercury {?}

Myth:
[Hebrew]"Cedars are the beams of our house, Cypresses the rafters..." -- Song of Songs, 1:17
Plus hundreds of other biblical references. [Phoenicia] Lady Asherah of the Sea, "The Mother of the Gods", was honored with clay votive images placed on the earth, within the home.
Ba'al Hadad has his house of silver and gold and lapis lazuli built for him by the craftsman God, Kothar wa-Khasis.

Meditation: Paired with Aleph, the Father God and Mother Goddess create the Alpu-Beytu -- the Alphabet. In which is the mystery of the Shekinah -- the living word of the Torah, Tanach -- the Holy Scriptures in Judaism [known by some as the Old Testament]. Sacred Marriage.
The maternal image (protection, preservation, marriage); the womb.
Shelter, defense; one's personal teritory; providing sanctuary to travelers proves one to be a civilized host.

Number:2.
[Ancient Egypt]. Duality; up and down; day and night; man and woman created.
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician Name
[Letter]
Sound
Hebrew Name
Meaning
Phoenician G - Gimel Gimu
[G]

(g - hard and soft)
Gimel
Camel


Archeology: In the world before motor vehicles, or even decent roads, the camel,"the ship of the desert," was essential for trade and communication over long distances. Prized by the Bedouin desert nomads, it was used as a beast of burden, for riding, and as a draught animal. Thre Midianites, camel riding nomads, used this advantage to raid Hebrew settlements, especially around harvest time.

The animal is known for being unaffectionate, stubborn, restless, even viscious and dangerous. Despite this, it is an extremely useful as a domesticated animal. The camel's hair is used in clothes and tents, it's skin is used as leather. Even it's excrement is used -- the dung as fuel and the urine for washing. The female produces up to one-and-a-half gallons of milk daily. Despite being burdened with huge loads, it can travel thirty miles a day. Coins of ancient Rome show a camel as a symbol of Arabia.

Astrology: The Moon (waxing, full, waning){?}.

Meditation: A difficult journey, an essential pilgrimage. A spiritual journey; independence. Paired with daleth, the door of the womb, the temple gate.
Myth:
[Hebrew]"Rachel, meanwhile, had taken the idols and placed them in the camel cushion and sat on them; and Laban rummaged through the tent without finding them." -- Genesis 1:34.
Number: 3.
All embracing; triads; father, mother, and child; morning, noon, and evening. [Ancient Egypt]
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician D - Daleth Daltu
[D] Daleth
Door
"a poor man"
"lifting up"
"elevation".

Archeology: The doors of shrines and temples; the gateway to heaven, or the land of the dead.The gate of a city was near the marketplace.
Meditation: Defense, protection; escape, the way in-between, and the way within and without.The door from the womb. Temple door. Initiation; the liminal state- the place of transition.

Mythology: [Phoenician] The Kotharat, Swallow-like daughters of the crescent moon, Goddesses of the womb.They are the wise midwifes who bless a marriage.
[Ancient Egypt] A barrier, a crossing point; a dual symbol of defense and entry; associated with lions to protect those within from typhonic forces; gates through which the dead passed in their journey to the next world. High Gate; Gate of Nut (the Gate of Heaven).
[Hebrew]: [Genesis 4:7] "[I]f you do not do right/Sin crouches at the door."; [Psalm 141:3] "O LORD, set a guard over my mouth,/ a watch at the door of my lips."
[Sumeria] The Goddess Inanna passes through seven gates of the underworld to confront Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Dead.
A myth from Nippur presents the sacred marriage ceremony of the Goddess Inanna who greets the Shepard God Dumuzi:
"The young lady stood waiting
Dumuzi pushed (open) the door,
and like a moonbeam she came forth to him
out of the house,
he looked at her, rejoiced in her
took her in his arms and kissed her."
The opening of the door is a central ceremony in the Sumerian wedding ceremony; by meeting him at the door she accepts him. This commences the marrage, and is immediately followed by it's consummation.
"...In Eanna the heardsman of An, Dummuzi,
has met her,
at the lapis lazuli (ornamented) door
that stands in the Giparu,
the lord has met her!
at the narrow door..."

Number: 4.
Spatial directions (North, East, South, West); four-sided alters; the Ogdoadof Heliopolis-- four pairs of primeval dieties. Link to Top of Page

Phoenician Letter Phoenician Name
[Letter]
Sound
Hebrew Name
Meaning
Phoenician  H - Heh Heyu
[G]

[H] (h)
Heh
"to be broken";
"to take seed";
"behold"- "revelation."

Archeology: Ancient homes had few windows , for ventilation and smoke venting. They were small and narrow, which left the house half-lit, encouraging coolness. Ivory carvings have been found showing a woman's face filling a window.
Meditation: Paired with eynu/ayin, eye, permits vision of the outside world, of approaching friend or foe. Allows light to enter within. The risk is that those outside can see within physically (or spiritually); connected to both Door [D] and House [B].
Myth: [Phoenician:] The Goddess Astarte beckoning from the temple window, offering initiation into Tantric sexual mysteries.
Kothar wa-Hasis, the craftsman God is asked by Ba'al Hadad to build him a house, a temple. He responds, "Hear, Oh Aliyn Ba'al Look, Oh Cloud Rider! I shall surely put a window in the house, a casement in the midst of the palace." Through his window, Hadad lets loose his lightning and thunder.
[Hebrew:]
Number: 5.
(?) 1,000,000: in Ancient Egypt, a million was symbolized by the kneeling god HEH carrying a palm leaf in each outstretched hand, the symbol of eternity, endless years.(?)
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician Name
[Letter]
Sound
Hebrew Name
Meaning
Phoenician V - vau. Wawwu
[V] (v / u / oo / w)
[Vau]
"A hook",
Peg, Mace, Club,
"and"

Archeology: The Hook was used to catch and lead large animals, and to lead human prisoners by their lip piercing or nose rings.
The Nail was made of bronze or iron; used in temple construction; used to strengthen votive images.
Meditation: To capture and hold in servitude. The Hook, combined with the Ox-Goad [Lamed] creates domination. An intimate connection, or union.
Myth: [Phoenician:] Perhaps connected to shepherd gods, such as the ram-horned Ba Khamon (?)
[Hebrew:] Hooks used as a tapestry clasp: "Hang the curtain under the clasps, and carry the Ark of the Pact there, behind the curtain, so that the curtain will serve you as a partition between the Holy and the Holy of Holies." -- Exodus 26.33
(?) Hooks used as parts of a balance Proverbs 16.11; Isaiah 40.12.
(?) Gold nails used to prepare the Holy of Holies. Isaiah 41.7; Jeremiah 10,4; Ecclesiastes 12.11
Number: 6.

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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician Z - zayin. Zainu
[Z] (z) Zayin

Sword,
Weapon
"species"
"gender"
"to sustain"

Archeology: The primary offensive weapon, swords were made of bronze or iron; they were usually straight and two-edged, although some were shaped as a sickle.
Meditation: Attack, defense. As a sword cuts, separates and divides, it is conceptually opposite of wawwu, wav, the nail.
Myth: [Phoenician]: 'Anath, Goddess of the strongest passions -- love and warfare.
Aziz, God of protection. strength, and sanctuary. (?)
Yarick, the Moon God, was known as Lord of the Sickel.
[Hebrew] Symbolized as a ferocious animal ( Dt. 32, Isaiah 1.20. Jer 2.30;12.12; 46.10)
Number: 7.
This number has special significance in the ancient Near East, including the Hebrew Torah. The number of perfection [Ancient Egypt].

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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician Ch - Cheth Khatu [C](ch) Cheth
Fence
Field
"life"
"fear" (?)

Archeology: In Ancient Egypt, offering were made of fresh produce from the fields.
Meditation: The Fence can encircle the House [ B - Betu]. Defining and protecting territory is one of our primal needs -- we need varying amounts of "personal space" to be comfortable. Human history can be viewed as a series of territorial conflicts; the roots are found deep within our evolutionary past. Reflect upon our animal kindred who build fences around their own lives. There is risk in passing over your own fence; the entire world is waiting to be discovered on the other side.
Creating boundaries, claiming possession. The line between known and unknown, home and wilderness. Defense and isolation; protection and withdrawal. Sleep and waking. Conscious and unconscious.
Myth: [Phoenician] Gapen and Ugar -- Vine and Field are the divine messengers of Ba'al Hadad; they are the sons of Ghulumat/Zulumat/Amamis, the vulture of darkness. (?)
[Hebrew]: "The Adversary answered the LORD, "Does Job not have good reason to fear God? Why it is you who have fenced him round, him and his household and all that he has. You have blessed his efforts so that his possessions spread out in the land." -- Job 1:9-10. Number: 8.

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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician T -Teth. Thetu [T] (t)
Theth
Twisted (spun) Flax
Staff
Inclination
Below
Bed

Archeology:
Kaballah: The Theth looks as a snake with the head coiled into the tail.
Myth:>[Ancient Egypt] All of humanity; ennead-- an all embracing company of Gods.
[Greek]: Clotho, one of the three Fates, spins the thread of life.
[Phoenician]The spindle, one of 'Anath's symbols, spins thread.
Shacharu and Shalamu, the twin sons of El and 'Anat, The Virgin; they are the morning star and evening star (the planet Venus); they are the astrological sign of Gemini (?), and the patrons of viticulture, which involves tying back plants in the heat of Summer.
Meditation: (?) Spun flax creates cloth, clothing, pouches, tents -- essential elements for travel and trade.
Number: 9.
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician Y - Yod. Yadu [Y] (y) Yod
arm (with hand)
"A hand."
The open hand.
"To thrust"

Archeology: In armed combat, the hand of the victor.
Myth: Throughout the world, the open hand has the religious symbolism of the beneficence and freedom of the Supreme Divinity.(?)
[Ancient Egypt]:A symbol of creative power.
The God Atum and His Hand -- this primeval serpent and creator God used his Hand, as the female element in himself, to crease the first creatures ( Shuand Tefnut); the God Ptah, "the fashioner of the Earth"; as the Sun Disk Aten, he is pictured with rays, with hands, extending in blessing.

The hand was used as an amulet to avert demons.

[Hebrew]: Song of Songs 5:4, 5:5, 5:14 and hundreds of other Biblical references. Meditation: Power, ability, skill, dexterity; the tool user; communication. The hand of victory, domination, authority. Reversed: the abuse of power.
Number:10
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician K - kaph. Kappu [K] (k) Kaph
Palm of hand.
Sole of foot.
"Clouds"
"The power to suppress".

Archeology: Throughout the ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Ugarit, it was an accepted procedure during warfare to cut off a palm (actually the whole hand at the wrist) of a slain enemy; this was done to allow for quick counting of the dead.
Myth: Egypt: Atum, the primeval divinity, created the first creatures, Shu and Tefnut, using his hand as the feminine aspect of godhead.
Ptah, the Fashioner of the Earth created the world egg, using his hands on a potters wheel.
Since the Old Kingdom ended in Egypt, the image of the hand has been used as an amulet for averting demons.
Ugarit: When the Goddess 'Anath is victorious in battle, she causes heads and palms to fly through the air.
Number: 20. Link to Top of Page

Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician L - Lamed [L] (l) Lamed
Ox-goad
"To teach

Archeology:
Meditation: A goad can force a powerful ox to follow one's will; by fearing pain, this powerful creature obeys the physically weaker human. By using force, the human has turned a wild animal into a force for farming and trade --the foundations of civilization. Similarly,teachers may use painful lessons upon theirstudents; learning often occurs through effort and difficulty.
Number: 30.
Myth:
[Hebrew]: "Shamgar, son of Anath, who slew six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. He too was a champion of Israel" Judges 3:31. This is the only use of the word in The Holy Scriptures. It is noteable that Anath likely refers to the Canaanite warrior Goddess. This may well be a piece of a lost hero myth.

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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician M - Mem. [M] (m) Mem Water
Literally = seas.
Archeology: One of the four primal elements, according to the ancient Greeks.
Meditation: The ocean mother. The unconscious mind. Pools of water were the original mirror, reflecting the self and the world; such self-awareness is a crucial stage in spiritual development, achieved by few species (humans, and apparently, dolphins and chimpanzees).
Myth: [Mesopotamia] Associated with Enki, the water God of wisdom; Tiamat, the primeval chaos of the world-ocean before creation.
[Phoenician]: Asherah, "Treader on the Sea."
Ashtar, son of Asherah, the God of fresh water, water underground, and irrigation.
Yamm, God of the deep sea.
Number: 40.

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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician N - Nun. [N] (n) Nun
Snake (nahash).
"Fish"
Myth: [Mesopotamian]:In the epic of Gilgamesh, the serpent steals the Plant of Rejuvenation from the hero -- suggesting the folklore of the snake being reborn by shedding its skin.
[Phoenician]:The Serpent and Eagle guard the sacred olive tree of the Goddess Astarte, on the island Tyre.

Number: 50.
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician S - Samekh. [S] (s) Samekh
Tent-peg
"To support."

Archeology: The desert nomads home was their tent.
Meditation: That which supports one's essential home; the
foundation of our being, our spiritual sense of being; one's
intimate territory, inner security.
Number: 60.
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician O - Ayin. [O] (') (s) Ayin
Eye
Spring (of water)
Source
Foundation
"Fountain"

Myth: The All-Seeing Eye.
[Egyptian]: The sun and the moon were the eyes of -------
Shapash, the Cannanite Sun-Goddess, sees all in the world -- and the Underworld -- which she travels over in her daily course. Meditation: Creating vision, the eye has long symbolized knowledge of the sensual world. It is limited by surface appearances; beware to not stop here, but to seek deeper understanding of the inner nature of all that is.
Number: 70.
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician P - Peh. [P] (p) Peh
The mouth.
Speech
Present

Meditation: The power of communication; words can heal or hurt, depending upon the intent. The mouth devours as well, nourishing oneself; when necessary, it expells poisens.
Kaballah: the sefirah Yesod.
Myth:
[Hebrew]: "The Earth opened up her mouth and swallowed them..." -- Deuteronomy 11:6
"My mouth utters wisdom,
My speech is full of insight..." -- Psalms, 49:4
"Oh, give me the kisses of your mouth,
For your love is more delightful than wine..." -- Song of Songs, 1:2
And numerous other Biblical references.

[Mesopotamian]:The rite of "mouth-opening" honored Nanna, the Moon God. A sacred copper bath pitcher was used to pour oil in lustration which reinvigorated the moon when eclipsed. This pitcher obtained it's purity and power of purification from Enki, lord of the Apsu. The pitcher was kept in Nanna's bedroom at the top of his ziggurat temple Ekishnugal in Ur. Profane eyes were not allowed to view this sacred object.
Number: 80.
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician Tz - Tzaddi [Tz] (Ts / tz / Cz) Tzadik
Fish-hook
"To hunt."

Archeology: In the ancient Near East, hook and line fishing was practiced, using cooper hooks. Thorns may have also been used (? see Amos)
Meditation: That which draws the fish [Nun] from the water [Mem].Depending what end of the fishhook you are on, this may appear to be a good or evil thing. By "fishing" in the ocean of the unconscious mind, one attempts to solve difficult problems.
Myth: [Hebrew]: [A]ny hope [of capturing] him must be disappointed. --- Job 41:1; Isaiah 19:8; Hab. 1:15.
Number: 90.
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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician Q - Qoph. [Q] (q) Qoph
"Back of the head."
"To surround."
"To touch."
Monkey, ape,
marmoset.

Myth:
[Hebrew]: [T]he Tarshish fleet came in, bearing gold, and silver, ivory, apes and peacocks ---1 Kings 10: 22; 2 Chronicles 9: 21. Number: 100.

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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician R - Resh. [R] (r) Resh
The human face and head
The Chief
The beginning.
Poor man.

Meditation: Our faces express our identity, either our true feelings, or the mask we wish to present the world.
Number: 200.

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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician S - shin. [Sh] (sh) Shin
"Tooth"
A serpent's fang.
"To teach."
A year.

Meditation: Within the mouth ( P - Peh) the Tooth tears down food into manageable pieces. Our teeth are varied, permitting us to eat both plants and animal flesh.
Myth: [Hebrew] Symbolic of predators and other destructive agents. --- Exodus 21:24, Song of Songs 4:2, 6:6; and dozens of other Biblical references.
Number: 300.

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Phoenician Letter Phoenician
Name
Sound
Hebrew
Name
Meaning
Phoenician T - Tav. [T] (th, t) Tav
Mark, signature
Sign; impression;
code.

Meditation: One's signature symbolizes one's identity, word, and honor; crossroads, a choice of paths to follow. A symbol of protection.
Myth: [Hebrew]:"He called to the man clothed in linen with the writing case at his waist; and the LORD said to him, "Pass through the city through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who moan and groan because of all the abominations that are comitted in it." To the others He said in my hearing, "Follow him through the city and strike; show no pity or compassion. Kill off graybeard, youth and maiden, women and children; but do not touch any person who bears the mark." -- Ezekiel 9:3 -- 6.
The Patriarch Abraham migrated to north-western Mesopotamia, where he settled with his family in the city Haran; the name of this city means "crossroads" -- it was a crossing place of major highways, and was a sacred city for the Moon-God Sin. It presented a crossroads in both his life, and in spiritual history.-- Genesis 11:31, 12:1.
Number: 400.

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Divination Methods References and Resources

Jacobsen, Throkild The Treasures of Darkness -- A History of Mesopotamian Religion Yale University Press, 1976. Link to Top of Page

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