This poster shows the three primary
Hebrew letters - the Three Mothers of
Sefer Yetzirah,
an ancient text of meditative Kabbalah. In the triangle
is a
red Shin.
Shin, a vertical letter with a hissing sound, represents
Fire and is associated with our head. In the rectangle
is a
blue Mem.
Mem, a horizontal letter with a humming sound, represents
Water and is associated with our belly.
Shin
and
Mem are thus two polar opposites, the yin-yang
of the Kabbalah.
In the circle is an Aleph, a silent
letter that represents Breath, and is associated with
our chest.
Breath, which is not cold like Water and not hot like
Fire, moves Air in and out of our bodies. The yellow
diagonal part of this circular Aleph balances
between the blue part with horizontal lines (representing
the inhale) and the red part with vertical lines (representing
the exhale).
Hebrew letters are also numbers. This is called gematria.
The word gematria is very similar to the word geometry.
Thus these letters represent three primary geometric
shapes. The simple gematria of Shin is three
- like the three sides of a triangle. The simple
gematria of Mem is four - like the four sides
of a rectangle.
The gematria of Aleph is one. Notice how the
yellow diagonal of the Aleph is the diameter of a
circle. In geometry, the ratio between the
diameter of a circle and its circumference is pi -
a mystical, endless number with no repeating pattern.
The first three digits of pi are 3 (like the triangular
Shin) 1 (like the circular Aleph) and
4 (like the rectangular Mem)!
Size - 21 x 28 cm
(8.5 x 11 inches)
Price - $10 (including
shipping & handling) |