Resh

R
Color your Resh orange. If you are coloring the cards in two colors, the surrounding
color is blue.

Resh is the 20th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. As a numeral, Resh has the value of 200.
The letter name Resh WIR means head, face (human). Related words include WAR

“beginning” and WR “a poor man”. The human face is the countenance, a word that
means to contain and to hold together. The head is also the leader, the director, the
controller, the authority. All these meanings of the word head pertain to Resh as well.

The intelligence assigned to Resh is the Collecting or Collective Intelligence. To collect

is to gather together, to arrange, to combine. Resh brings all the especially human
powers of consciousness together in the head where the brain and main sensory organs
of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch are located. Touch is located over the whole
body, but the most brain area dedicated to touch is focused in the lips, also on the head.
In the head are collected the organs that most define us as human. Resh gathers all the
component parts and combines them together into a new form. Resh combines all the
aspects of our human consciousness into a new, regenerated form.

The astrological correspondence of Resh is the Sun A. The Sun is the ruler of Leo and
is exalted in Aries. One Hebrew word for the Sun is Shemesh WMW. This word is an
excellent example of the self-defining nature of many of the old Hebrew three letter word
roots. Look at the letters of this word. We have two of the three axi of the Cube of
Space. Shin W is the axis that connects North, Mars G to South, the Sun A. Mem M
is the East-West axis that connects East, Venus D to West, Jupiter H. Shin is the fire
W that radiates through all and manifests as the light of our day star. Mem, water X
is the power to limit light into concentrated pinpoints, quanta of energy, and finally into

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atoms. So, the word that means “Sun” starts with W, the subtle fire that is in all things,

concentrates this subtle energy until it is locked into fixed tiny centers M, and then
radiates out W. The language is old, but the Hebrew letters that spell the word for sun
are strikingly similar to description of the formation of a star in modern astrophysics. In
the formation of a star, diffuse gasses (principally hydrogen, the simplest of atoms) are
gathered into to a center. The gravitation becomes so strong that the single proton
nuclei of the hydrogen atoms fuse into helium nuclei, forming an ongoing thermonuclear
bomb that radiates massive amounts of energy outwards in all directions.

It’s no coincidence that the sun is so often portrayed with a human face. We are related
to the sun. It is like our grandfather. The sun of our solar system is a grand being within
which we live and have our being. We are a subset of the solar consciousness. There is
no separation of beingness between us. The Sun is our greater self. The radiant orb at
the center of our solar system is our greater self’s physical vehicle. If you want to see
God, go out and look at the sun (not directly!).

The sun has a human face because who it is, is of the same life being. So it is like us
(has a solar face) because we are of the same family and have resemblance. The sun is
the head of our solar system. It is the collective intelligence.

Like the Sun, Resh gathers the directive power and congeals it together until it bursts
out in radiance.

As one of the seven double letters, Resh has a pair of opposites assigned to it,
Fruitfulness and Sterility. This connects with the Sun very well. Adequate sunlight is
needed for fruitfulness of crops. Too much or too little results in sterility; in no ripe crops.

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On the Cube of Space, Resh is the Southern face. It is “enervated” by Shin, the axis
connecting North and South. South (in the northern hemisphere) is the direction of the
Sun’s greatest radiance. The south side of a house, the “southern exposure” gets the
most sunlight. Now that we have studied Shin and Peh, we are equipped to begin our
exploration of that wonderfully enigmatic occult saying, “Gold cometh from the North”.
Gold is the metal associated with the Sun A. One statement of the goal of the Great
Work is the transformation of Lead into Gold. Lead, the metal of Saturn I, the planet
associated with our Tav X. On the Cube of Space, Tav-Saturn is the center and Resh-

Sun-Gold is the southern face. The only pathway connecting them is Shin W, the
mother letter related to the element of Fire W.

On the Tree of Life, the sphere of Saturn is the 3rd sphere, Binah, Understanding, the
sphere of the cosmic Mother. The sphere of the Sun is the 5th sphere, Tiphareth,
Beauty. Connecting them is the pathway of the letter Zain that we will consider soon.
For now, let’s jump the gun and state that the Tarot key associated with the letter Zain is
The Lovers. Putting these two pieces of the puzzle together reveals that in order to
transform Lead into Gold, you need fiery love. Your love must be radiant, “overcoming
every subtle and penetrating every solid thing”.

North is symbolically the place of greatest darkness. Where things “look like the devil”,
precisely there we need to penetrate with our love and expose the error of interpretation.

There is a related occult maxim: In order to make Gold, you have to have Gold.

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On the Tree of Life, Resh is the pathway connecting the 7th sphere, Hod, Splendor to the
9th sphere, Yesod, Foundation. As the Sun, Resh has a connection with the sphere of
Tiphareth, Beauty, the sphere of the Sun.

Resh is the first letter of Rosh Hashanah, the Hebrew holy day that celebrates the sixth
day of creation, when God finished up and got ready to rest on the Sabbath (note that
Shabattai in Hebrew means Saturn - Binah. The spiritual temple service on that day is
the coronation of the King. The supplicant bows to receive the yoke of Heaven. One
voluntarily relinquishes all personal origination and offers all the vehicles to the King for
Him to direct.

Resh is shaped like this man bowing low. Although Resh looks more like a man bending
from the waist, traditionally it is his head that is bowing low. Jewish mysticism states
that through this self-negation and bowing low in utter surrender, your head is lifted
above your previous level of consciousness. Your head in soul level is elevated to God
level. God’s thoughts become your thoughts. This is the mystery of Rosh Hashanah,
becoming one with God.

Perhaps it is from this elevated spiritual state that Solomon sings of in his Song of
Songs 1:2 “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth--for thy love is better than
wine.” The Kaballists speak of God’s kisses and of the prophetic state in which God’s
mouth and our mouths are united and He speaks forth through us. In less grandiose
words, we become inspired and, at times, are as amazed as the listeners at what we

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bring forth. At such times, God’s love so pours out from our hearts that we are amazed,
agog and a wonder.

When God’s love expresses through you, it feels like the sun is in your heart. The love
light blasts out of you in all directions, blessing all without distinction.

All these things are mysteries of Resh, Sun, WMW, fire-water-fire, collect-transform-
radiate, gravitate to critical mass then blast. Occult fire condenses, ignites and
generates light.

Note that many verbs of dynamic action that transforms begin with the letter R such as
rip, root, ravage, revenge, rampage, riot and the like. Note how often destruction in
involved, how much violent transformation is in words that begin with R. Note here the
repeated interrelations of Resh R Sun A, Peh P Mars G, WShin Pluto M . Shin is
said to partake of the nature of both solar and Martial energies. On the Cube of Space
this is most dynamically illustrated. There Shin flows out from the center toward the
North to Peh P and to the South to Resh R.

When we study the twelve single letters, which flow around the twelve edges of the
cube, we shall return to the story of how Gold (South-Resh R) cometh from the North

(Peh P).

One of the meanings of Resh is a poor man. As we have seen, this principle expresses
itself on several levels. A poor man bends over and serves. The mind bends over in a
fashion to limit thought into words. The personal self bends over to relinquish direction.
God’s thoughts bend down to express through the inspired speech of humans.

This humility brings the story of King David again to mind. David who had it all yet is as
nothing, as empty in his own eyes. In his songs sung with his lyre (Psalms) he often
beseeches God to come and fill him. However, in beseeching God he is overstepping
his role and so he ever concludes his fervent prayers for the arrival of the divine
bridegroom with, “…in Thy time.” Sigh!

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Correspondences

Resh R
English equivalent: R
Number: 200
Letter Name: WIR, Resh-Yod-Shin
Letter Name Meaning: Head, face, chief, first
Pair of Opposites: Fruitfulness and Sterility
Color: Orange
Musical Note: D
Tarot Key: Key 20, the Sun
Chakra: The Heart
Astrology: The Sun A, ruler of Leo e, exalted in Aries a
32 Paths of Wisdom: Resh is the 30th path of wisdom
Path on the Tree of Life: Resh is the pathway connecting the 8th sphere, Hod, Splendor
to the 9th sphere, Yesod, Foundation.
Sphere of the Tree of Life: Resh as the Sun is the 6th sphere of the Tree of Life,
Tiphareth, Beauty.
Location on the Cube of Space: Resh is the Southern face of the Cube of Space. The
South (in the northern hemisphere) is the place of the Sun’s greatest brilliance.
Intelligence: Resh is the Collective or Collecting Intelligence
Mythology: The sun and all solar deities. Prometheus, Hercules, Jesus and all with one
parent in Heaven and one on earth who live sacrificial lives so that we on earth can
become aware of our heavenly nature.
Psychology: The awakening of the heart chakra indicates the first step above the animal
nature of survival (first chakra), reproduction (second chakra) and dominance (third
chakra). Altruism, universal love.