Tetragrammaton
The Tetragrammaton is the Hebrew name of God transcribed by the four letters YHWH, considered the most sacred and unpronounceable in Judaism. By extension, the word also designates any four-letter formulation carrying major esoteric significance.
Origin and etymology
The word comes from the Greek tetra (four) and gramma (letter), literally four-letter name. The Tetragrammaton YHWH appears about 6,800 times in the Hebrew Bible, where it is the proper name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14-15). Jewish tradition has forbidden its pronunciation since at least the 2nd century BCE: in its place, Adonai (Lord) or Hashem (the Name) is read. The medieval Masoretes added the vowels of Adonai beneath the consonants YHWH, producing the erroneous reading Jehovah, which spread in some Christian translations. The original pronunciation, probably close to Yahweh, remains conjectural.
Evolution and tradition
Medieval Jewish Kabbalah, particularly the Zohar (13th century) attributed to Moses de Leon, developed a mysticism of the four letters of the Tetragrammaton. Each letter is associated with a level of existence, a world (Atziluth, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah), and an element. This four-part division is found in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1888), which assigns the four letters to the four tarot suits: Yod / Wands / fire, Heh / Cups / water, Vav / Swords / air, final Heh / Pentacles / earth. The Tetragrammaton is used in ceremonial magic as a name of power, and appears in many talismans of medieval and Renaissance grimoires.
Practical use
In tarot practice inspired by the Golden Dawn, the fourfold structure of the Tetragrammaton organizes the reading of the four tarot suits and the four court cards (Page / Knight / Queen / King). This Kabbalistic grid allows a systematic interpretation of the Minor Arcana. On Tarotoui, the Tetragrammaton is documented among the fundamental Kabbalistic concepts. Meditation on the four Hebrew letters is part of certain Jewish contemplative practices, in which breathing is set to the phonemes of the letters. This practice requires a serious spiritual framework.
Going further
Recreational or magical use of the Tetragrammaton outside its Jewish religious context can be perceived as a problematic appropriation. Note also that the transcription Jehovah popularized by the Jehovah's Witnesses in the 19th century is philologically incorrect: it artificially combines the consonants YHWH with the vowels of Adonai. The form Yahweh is closer to the probable ancient pronunciation, but remains reconstructed.