The 6 Letters: F, O, XSamekh, the 15th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, is the ninth of the 12
simple letters. It means prop or bow, and refers to the bow used to shoot
an arrow.
Its sound is like that of the hissing of the serpent, or of the sound
made by the string of the bow when the arrow is released from the prop.
The arrows that shoot from the bow are, esoterically, the words we speak
that either hiss and wound or kiss and heal.
Samekh’s governing influence is sleep. If we are seekers of truth and
make study and meditation a part of our growth, our spiritual teachers
meet and guide us while our bodies are at rest. Often we awake with an
answer to a problem or have a new enlightenment. Those who are spiritu-
ally unaware often have confusing dreams and nightmares, for they wan-
der unguided in the strange astral realmsrealms they do not understand.
The serpent always represents wisdom, and the picture of a serpent
swallowing its tail makes a circle, which is akin to a full cycle. A cycle
means completion, and like the snake who sheds his old skin to start life
anew, this sign represents the shedding of old conditions and completing
old projects so that it can begin a new cycle.
This is dealing with the “law of the circle.” “What ye give out shall
return to you. As ye sow, so shall ye reap.” It tells us we must ultimately
face what we have created; what we sow becomes our destiny. If we sow
good, X is our cross of resurrection; if evil, it becomes the cross we must
bear.
When the Greeks borrowed Samekh from the Phoenicians, they
changed the glyph and renamed it Xi. It became the Roman X. As the
15th Hebrew letter it is Saint or Sinner. It meant that the animal nature
had to be conquered, or “ex-ed” out and the emotions brought under
complete control before one could become saint-like.
As the 24th letter of the English alphabet it shows a magnetic per-
sonality. Magnetic attraction is X in the + position, a definite love and
family vibration. The 6 is the number of love and family, so it is interest-
ing that both the Hebrew 15th letter ( 22222 ) and the English 24th letter (X)
total 6. (1 + 5 = 6, and 2 + 4 = 6.)
On the negative side, it exes itself out. If it feels another has crossed
it, it becomes bitter and seeks revenge.
The glyph itself, X, is a symbol of self-denial. It is open on all sides so
it is vulnerable. Through hasty action it can X itself out as former Presi-
dent Richard M. Nixon, who had to resign from the presidency or face
impeachment, and actor John Eric Hexum who played Russian roulette
with a revolver at his own head and lost.
The X stands strong on the Earth plane and thus open to materialism.
But arms are upstretched asking for spiritual help. It can be all spiritual
or all material, high-minded or abased.