Sefer Yetzirah Letter Body
Sefer Yetzirah Letter Body is a Jewish / Kabbalah — Sefer Yetzirah letter-body cosmology body system as transmitted through the lineage Sefer Yetzirah presents creation through 22 Hebrew letters: three Mothers, seven Doubles, and twelve Elementals. The text supplies elemental, planetary, and zodiacal classifications; the body loci below are an explicit interpretive overlay that uses later zodiac-man and medical correspondence conventions.. This page lists every point in the system with sourced placements and links to cross-tradition correspondences curated for The Body Spiritual.
Open in interactive explorerPrimary sources
- Sefer Yetzirah (transl. Aryeh Kaplan, Weiser 1997) — Chapters 3–5 classify the three Mothers, seven Doubles, and twelve Elementals, with planetary and zodiacal correspondences; cited by chapter and section in Kaplan’s standard English edition.
- Aryeh Kaplan, Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation in Theory and Practice (Weiser 1997) — Commentary and tables explain the letter groups, planets, zodiac signs, and later body analogies; see commentary to chapters 3–5.
Known lineage variants
- The text classifies letters with elements, planets, and zodiac signs; exact organ and limb placements vary across commentarial tables.
- Front-view coordinates are editorial projections; the three Mother loci follow the requested air–chest, fire–head, water–belly convention, while zodiac limbs follow the zodiac-man sequence.
Cross-tradition overlaps
- Tav ת — Saturn / spleen ↔ Saturn — spleen, bones, constraint (coincident)
- He ה — Aries / head ↔ Aries — head (coincident)
- Vav ו — Taurus / neck ↔ Taurus — neck (coincident)
- Het ח — Cancer / chest ↔ Cancer — chest (coincident)
- Tet ט — Leo / heart ↔ Leo — heart (coincident)
- Yod י — Virgo / abdomen ↔ Virgo — abdomen (coincident)
- Lamed ל — Libra / kidneys ↔ Libra — kidneys (coincident)
- Nun נ — Scorpio / pelvis ↔ Scorpio — pelvis (coincident)
- Samekh ס — Sagittarius / thighs ↔ Sagittarius — thighs (coincident)
- Ayin ע — Capricorn / knees ↔ Capricorn — knees (coincident)
- Tsadi צ — Aquarius / shins ↔ Aquarius — shins (coincident)
- Qof ק — Pisces / feet ↔ Pisces — feet (coincident)
- Pe פ — Mercury / lungs ↔ Mercury — lungs, nerves, speech (distance 0.010)
- Kaf כ — Venus / kidneys ↔ ♀ Venus — kidneys (distance 0.015)
- He ה — Aries / head ↔ Àṣẹ — head (distance 0.015)
Related systems
No other systems share this tradition label.
Points
- Alef א — air / chest — Mother letter; breath between fire and water
- Mem מ — water / belly — Mother letter; water / generative depth
- Shin ש — fire / head — Mother letter; consuming fire
- Bet ב — Jupiter / liver — Double letter; planetary and organ analogue
- Gimel ג — Mars / gallbladder — Double letter; planetary and organ analogue
- Dalet ד — Sun / heart — Double letter; planetary and organ analogue
- Kaf כ — Venus / kidneys — Double letter; planetary and organ analogue
- Pe פ — Mercury / lungs — Double letter; planetary and organ analogue
- Resh ר — Moon / stomach — Double letter; planetary and organ analogue
- Tav ת — Saturn / spleen — Double letter; planetary and organ analogue
- He ה — Aries / head — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Vav ו — Taurus / neck — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Zayin ז — Gemini / arms — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Het ח — Cancer / chest — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Tet ט — Leo / heart — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Yod י — Virgo / abdomen — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Lamed ל — Libra / kidneys — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Nun נ — Scorpio / pelvis — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Samekh ס — Sagittarius / thighs — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Ayin ע — Capricorn / knees — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Tsadi צ — Aquarius / shins — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
- Qof ק — Pisces / feet — Simple letter; zodiacal body region
Frequently asked
What is Alef א — air / chest?
Alef is the Mother of air in the Sefer Yetzirah classification. Its chest placement is an editorial body projection for breath and the mediating air element, not a claim that the text identifies a physical organ.
What is Mem מ — water / belly?
Mem is the Mother of water in the letter cosmology. The belly placement follows the later body-reading convention used in Kaplan’s commentary and remains a symbolic projection rather than anatomy.
What is Shin ש — fire / head?
Shin is the Mother of fire. The head locus is the editorial projection specified for this corpus, linking fire with the head and speech while preserving the distinction between symbolic correspondence and anatomy.
What is Bet ב — Jupiter / liver?
The seven Doubles are explicitly paired with the seven planets in Sefer Yetzirah. The organ wording is a later medical correspondence, so each point is rendered as a compact symbolic seat with widened uncertainty rather than as a textual anatomical coordinate.
What is Gimel ג — Mars / gallbladder?
The seven Doubles are explicitly paired with the seven planets in Sefer Yetzirah. The organ wording is a later medical correspondence, so each point is rendered as a compact symbolic seat with widened uncertainty rather than as a textual anatomical coordinate.
What is Dalet ד — Sun / heart?
The seven Doubles are explicitly paired with the seven planets in Sefer Yetzirah. The organ wording is a later medical correspondence, so each point is rendered as a compact symbolic seat with widened uncertainty rather than as a textual anatomical coordinate.
What is Kaf כ — Venus / kidneys?
The seven Doubles are explicitly paired with the seven planets in Sefer Yetzirah. The organ wording is a later medical correspondence, so each point is rendered as a compact symbolic seat with widened uncertainty rather than as a textual anatomical coordinate.
What is Pe פ — Mercury / lungs?
The seven Doubles are explicitly paired with the seven planets in Sefer Yetzirah. The organ wording is a later medical correspondence, so each point is rendered as a compact symbolic seat with widened uncertainty rather than as a textual anatomical coordinate.
What is Resh ר — Moon / stomach?
The seven Doubles are explicitly paired with the seven planets in Sefer Yetzirah. The organ wording is a later medical correspondence, so each point is rendered as a compact symbolic seat with widened uncertainty rather than as a textual anatomical coordinate.
What is Tav ת — Saturn / spleen?
The seven Doubles are explicitly paired with the seven planets in Sefer Yetzirah. The organ wording is a later medical correspondence, so each point is rendered as a compact symbolic seat with widened uncertainty rather than as a textual anatomical coordinate.
What is He ה — Aries / head?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Vav ו — Taurus / neck?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Zayin ז — Gemini / arms?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Het ח — Cancer / chest?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Tet ט — Leo / heart?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Yod י — Virgo / abdomen?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Lamed ל — Libra / kidneys?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Nun נ — Scorpio / pelvis?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Samekh ס — Sagittarius / thighs?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Ayin ע — Capricorn / knees?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Tsadi צ — Aquarius / shins?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.
What is Qof ק — Pisces / feet?
The twelve Simple letters are assigned to the zodiacal cycle in Sefer Yetzirah. Their body regions are the conventional zodiac-man projection used to make the textual sign sequence legible on a front silhouette, not a claim that a letter literally inhabits a limb.