Vav: Path 16, The Hierophant and Taurus

Detail of path 16, Vav, joining Chokmah and Chesed 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 “hook or nail.” Kircher places it between Chokmah and Chesed; the Golden Dawn later aligns it with Taurus and The Hierophant. Each statement belongs to a different historical layer.

Path: 16
Letter and value: ו · 6
Letter class: Simple letter
Connection: Chokmah → Chesed
Golden Dawn: Taurus · The Hierophant
Crowley: The Hierophant

SEFER YETZIRAH LAYER

Vav among the simple letters

Vav 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 Chokmah to Chesed connection assigned to Vav.

Vav is a simple letter in the twelvefold group. Taurus is the Golden Dawn zodiacal allocation; the letter’s hook name is older than its tarot and path address.

PRINTED DIAGRAM · 1653

From Chokmah to Chesed

Kircher sets Vav on the right vertical between Chokmah and Chesed. A hook or joining gloss suits the continuous pillar visually, but that fit is an interpretation of the diagram.

Chokmah contributes wisdom, while Chesed contributes steadfast kindness or mercy.

GOLDEN DAWN ATTRIBUTION

Taurus and The Hierophant

The Golden Dawn correspondence gives path 16 the attribution Taurus and the tarot trump The Hierophant. This row is later than Kircher’s plate and much later than the letter classification.

CROWLEY AND 777

The Hierophant in the later table

Crowley retains Hierophant and Taurus, while changing the broader doctrinal setting in which the card is read. The correspondence row remains inherited even when the theology shifts.

MODERN SYNTHESIS

What later readers make of the path

Modern readings stress transmission, tradition, teaching, or the descent of an organizing principle into mercy. Those themes use the card title and the upper-to-middle pillar movement.

WORKED READING

Read path 16 in sequence

Compare the vertical continuity with the Hierophant’s teaching role. Chokmah supplies wisdom, Chesed supplies ordered mercy, and Vav supplies joining. Taurus adds stability. Four later layers converge on transmission without being lexical synonyms.