The Secret Science of Numerology: The Hidden Meaning of Numbers and Letters

Introduction to the Mysteries

The Pythagorean Tetractys was the symbol of greatest importance
to Pythagoras and his disciples. By understanding it, the mysteries of the
Universe were revealed to them.

It is called “The Tetractys of
Pythagoras,” although it was not his in-
vention, having been part of the myster-
ies long before his birth. It was, in fact,
invented by the ancient priests long be-
fore man developed any true method of
writing.
Tetractys comes from the Greek
word “tettares,” which means four.
There are four dots (Yods) across the
bottom, along each side, and one in the
center, 10 in all.
When you add the first four num-
bers: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4, the total is 10. To them this was proof that all 10
powers of creation (Sephira) exist in the number 4. So 10 was the ideal
number and represented the Universe.

Pythagoras learned of this when he studied in Egypt in his youth. It
became an important part of his teachings, and all his students are said to
have been bound by an oath:

I swear in the name of the Tetractys, which has been

bestowed on our soul. The source and roots of the

overflowing nature are contained in it.

(Mathematics and the Search for Knowledge, 41)

The dots in the triangle are called “Yods,” and according to the very
first ancient written doctrines of kabbalistic knowledge, The Zohar (Book
of Splendour) and The Sepher Yetzirah (Book of Formation), the Yod is
a point of light called Auir, ether, or space. It sprang forth from a source
of infinite light.

That ray of light is shot directly from the Deity in the form of num-
bers and letters, and a point of light remains in each one. These are the
cause of all that exists.

Yod is the name of the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and there
it means “the origin of all things.” It is translated as “hand,” meaning
the creative hand that fashions and makes things (The Key to the Uni-
verse, 356).

The first three Yods represent the threefold white light which is the
Godhead, containing potentially all sound and color, the unconscious
universal mindthe Creative Principle of Will, Wisdom, and Activity.

All things come from that light and all must return to it, Ain Soph
Aur, where all things have their genesis. That light is the first form of
intelligence (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 2, 128).

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The Pythagorean Tetractys

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