The Kabbalah Unveiled — S. L. MacGregor Mathers (from Knorr von Rosenroth's Latin) (1887)

1 1 . (The one) Yod is concealed ; the other is manifested. (The one is the understanding or mother, the other is the kingdom or queen ; so' that at the same time it looketh back to the superior paths.) But that which is hidden and that which is manifest are balanced in the equilibrium of forms. (That is, masculine and feminine; the one, the father and the mother ; the other, the foundation and the queen ; meaning principally the female idea, which includeth form and receptacle.)

12. Out of Yod are produced male and female (if, namely, it be fully written as IYD, Yod , they are then its augment), Vau and Laleth. In this position Vau is male, and Haleth is female. And hence arise DV, the two letters which are the duad male and female ; and not only the duad, but also the co-equal duads (of the superior and inferior conjunctions).

1 3. Yod by itself is male (the father) ; He, female
(the mother).

14. H, He, at first was D, Daletli ; but after it was impregnated by I, Yod (so that thence it might produce

THE BOOK OF CONCEALED MYSTERY.

the form H — namely the I, Yod , placed at the left hand lower part of Daleth ) it brought forth Y, Vau. (That is, the mother impregnated by the father produced Microprosopus. But in the shape of the letter out of that minute I, Yod , which is hidden within the H, He, Y, Vau , is said to be formed. Or from the upper horizontal line of the letter H, which is one Y, Vau , and from the right-hand vertical line, which is another Y, Vau , and from the inserted I, Yod , is made YIY, the full form of letter Vau.)

[This is again referring to the shape of the letter. See Table of the Alphabet for Hebrew form.]

15. Whence it is plain that in the letter H, He, are hidden the letters D, Daleth, Y, Vau ; and in IYD, Yod, is hidden H : whence are formed IHY. Therefore it appeareth that IYD in its own form containeth IHY, whensoever it is fully written by IYD, which are male and female (namely I, Yod, male, and Y, Vau , D, Daleth, in the form, H, He, female) ; hence is compounded (the son, who is) Y, Vau , and who overshadoweth his mother. (That is Y placed after H, so that IHY may form the father, the mother, and Microprosopus.)

1 6. (Therefore in the letter IYD, Yod, and in the name IHI are hidden two males and two females, which is symbolized in that saying, Gen. vi. 2 : “ And the sons of the Elohim beheld (the plural in its least form denoteth two) the daughters of men ” (and this also). This explaineth on this account that which is written, Josh. ii. 1 : “ Two men as spies, saying ” (hence is revealed the mystery of the two men). But how (is it proved that two females are understood) by the words, a Daughters of men ? ” Because it is written, 1 Kings iii. 16: “ Then came there twowomen unto the king.”

17. Of these it is written, ibid. 28: “Because they saw that the wisdom of Elohim was in him.” (Here are involved the two males, in the wisdom, the father ; in

KABBALAH.

Solomon, Microprosopus. Therefore) then came they (even the two women, the understanding and the queen) and not before.

1 8. In the palace of the union of the fountains (that is, in the world of creation) there were two connexions by conjunctions among the supernals ; these descended from above, and occupied the earth; but they rejected the good part, which in them was the crown of mercy ; and were crowned with the cluster of grapes. (That is, instead of benignity, they were surrounded with judgments and rigours. Which also can be explained concerning Microprosopus and his bride, first in the mother, and afterwards in the existences below, and in exile with surrounding rigours and severities.)

[Eeferring to the previous symbolical explanation of Joshua ii. i.]