Interlude- Kabbalistic Connections of the Frames and Powers.

The seven Frames, and the seven Powers both represent the Seven double letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  Each letter corresponds to an ancient astrological planet, and is represented by a pair of "contrary qualities", as per the Sepher Yetzirah. Translations vary, as do interpretations, but the following table shows the array I've been using.  

Frame	HOUSE	CHANNEL	DRIVE	FOCUS	BOND	POOL	INFLUENCE
Power	CONSTRUCT	MANEUVER	ATTACK	IMPLEMENT	TRUST	PLAN	SHIELD
Letter	Bet	Gimel	Dalet	Khaf	Peh	Resh	Tav
Meaning	"House"	"Camel"	"Door"	"Palm of Hand"	"Mouth"	"Head"	"Seal or Mark"
Planet	Saturn	Jupiter	Mars	Sun	Venus	Mercury	Moon
Contrary Qualities	Alive/Dead	Peace/Evil	Wisdom/Folly	Wealth/Poverty	Charm/Dreamy	Seed/Selection	Freedom/Slavery

This array is mostly from Carlos Suares. I've avoided sources like the Golden Dawn who took a westernized approach to Kabbalah, and who traditionalists have warned me against.

Understanding how I came to my decisions as to the Elements that I chose may be evident for some of the above (HOUSE is obvious), but unclear for others; what does the concept of a door have to do with DRIVEs and ATTACKs, for example?  In some cases I was forced to go to the astrological connotations, even going so far as to look into Babylonian astrology to be sure.

Bet- HOUSE and CONSTRUCT

HOUSE on this one was low hanging fruit. CONSTRUCT  followed from it, because a CONSTRUCT HOUSEs Effects, and you CONSTRUCT a HOUSE.

Gimel - CHANNEL and MANEUVER

With the meaning  "Camel",  Gimel is the only mobile double letter.  I knew it had to do with motion.  Carlos Suares , though hard to understand at times, was pretty clear that Gimel represented motion and an "energy gate".  It was easy to place CHANNEL here, and when I decided on my Power Elements, MANEUVER fell right into place.  I actually decided on the Power Elements based on the needs of the game more than where they would fit, but I modified them after the fact as needed.  An interesting side effect is that CHANNEL seems to represent Zeus' (Jupiter's) lightning bolt pretty well.

Dalet - DRIVE and ATTACK

Some  sources have indicated that Dalet represents a "poor man" (an attribution others confusingly give to Resh), and realizing that a "need" was just a DRIVE in disguise, I put DRIVE there. Mars covers war, so ATTACK naturally fit there. Finally, an ATTACK or DRIVE may be wisdom or folly, so it seemed confirmed to me.

Khaf  - FOCUS and IMPLEMENT

Khaf means "Palm of Hand", and corresponds to the sun. I've read that the Kabbalistic "lesson" of Khaf is to "focus", so it made sense for me to place FOCUS there.  It also fit with the sun's astrological role in ego/self and awareness.

IMPLEMENT may be a bit debatable, but there were a few factors in my decision; you hold a typical tool in your hand, you often use tools while you're using skills (FOCUSes), and the palm of Khaf is said to be ready to receive whatever blessing is placed in it (ostensibly to use).

Peh - BOND and TRUST

This one was mostly about Venus's astrological role. In most of the reading I've done I keep coming across the idea that Peh ("Mouth") is about power or control, but I can't be sure whether it is a corruption of the Golden Dawn who attributed Peh to Mars.

It has to do with speech, for sure, and a well done speech can evoke passion in the listener (TRUST).

The pair of contraries, "Charm" and "Dreamy" feel right to me when it comes to BOND and TRUST.

Resh - POOL and PLAN

This one was tough. Resh connotes leadership, and who is the leader but the man (or woman) with the PLAN.  He or she draws on a POOL of knowledge to come up with a course of action.

"Seed" and "Selection" fits with my choice, after the fact, with PLAN covering the Seed, and POOL giving the Selection.

Tav  - INFLUENCE and SHIELD

Tav means "Seal", "Mark", or "Impression".  A seal is like a SHIELD, as is the Moon, which INFLUENCEs the tides and menstrual cycles, leaving its "Impression" on whatever it interacts with.  

The role of the moon in astrology is to govern your inner self, or inner INFLUENCEs.  According to that system, you often present a SHIELDed version of your true self to the world.

If it works, it works, even if it might be wrong. 

Next: Functions.