Samekh: Path 25, Temperance and Sagittarius

Detail of path 25, Samekh, joining Tiphareth and Yesod on Kircher’s 1653 Tree of Life — Detail cropped from Kircher’s public-domain 1653 plate. The crop preserves nearby labels so the node or path remains visible in context.

The letter name is commonly glossed “support or prop.” Kircher places it between Tiphareth and Yesod; the Golden Dawn later aligns it with Sagittarius and Temperance. Each statement belongs to a different historical layer.

Path: 25
Letter and value: ס · 60
Letter class: Simple letter
Connection: Tiphareth → Yesod
Golden Dawn: Sagittarius · Temperance
Crowley: Art

SEFER YETZIRAH LAYER

Samekh among the simple letters

Samekh belongs to the twelve simple letters in Sefer Yetzirah, associated with months and zodiacal signs. Their exact ordering varies by recension; the text does not draw the later Tiphareth to Yesod connection assigned to Samekh.

Samekh is a simple letter. Sagittarius is the Golden Dawn sign allocation; support is the conventional letter-name gloss.

PRINTED DIAGRAM · 1653

From Tiphareth to Yesod

Kircher draws Samekh down the middle pillar from Tiphereth to Yesod. The direct central descent is visibly stabilizing and avoids the side pillars.

Tiphareth contributes beauty or glory, while Yesod contributes foundation.

GOLDEN DAWN ATTRIBUTION

Sagittarius and Temperance

The Golden Dawn correspondence gives path 25 the attribution Sagittarius and the tarot trump Temperance. This row is later than Kircher’s plate and much later than the letter classification.

CROWLEY AND 777

Art in the later table

Crowley renames Temperance as Art and recasts mixture as an alchemical operation. Sagittarius and Samekh remain, while the card title moves from moderation to deliberate synthesis.

The changed title or letter assignment is substantive. Printing both labels without a date would collapse a historical revision into an apparent synonym.

MODERN SYNTHESIS

What later readers make of the path

Modern readings emphasize integration, testing proportions, or carrying a central pattern into the image-forming foundation. The straight middle path reinforces steadiness.

WORKED READING

Read path 25 in sequence

Keep the vertical line fixed and compare card verbs: Temperance moderates; Art combines. Tiphereth and Yesod make both possible, but Crowley’s title draws attention to active synthesis on a route that the letter gloss calls support.