Kabbalistic Connections of the Functions

I've separated this section from its original post. It was making the rules seem more complex than they were.In this post, I'll explain a bit of my reasoning in arriving at the 12 Functions.  

I have a confession to make here. I struggled with the 12 Functions for a long time before coming to my working list, above. Though the Functions represented the 12 so-called "simple" letters of Hebrew, their Kabbalistic interpretations seemed anything but. I had most of the Functions, but there always seemed to be gaps, both in terms of missing Elements, and mechanical possibilities.

I looked beyond Kabbalah for a group of four human endeavors that I could cross with my Attributes to create a set of 12. On my first Google search, I found The Four Right Exertions from Buddhism. These exertions are (copied and pasted from Wikipedia):

1. Restraint (saṃvara padhāna) of the senses.

1. Abandonment (pahāna padhāna) of defilements.

1. Cultivation (bhāvanā padhāna) of Enlightenment Factors.

1. Preservation (anurakkhaṇā padhāna) of concentration, for instance, using charnel-ground contemplations.^[15]

It struck me that, when generalized away from spiritual pursuits, these would be great for my Functions, because they'd represent things you'd do in a HOUSE. I modified them a bit and changed their order, and here's the table I created:

	Cultivate (Fire)	Maintain (Earth)	Abandon (Air)	Guard (Water)
COUNTER	ANNEX	BRACE	SLICE	BLOCK
ACCESS	TRIGGER	EXPLOIT	EXCHANGE	DODGE
FORCE	CHARGE	HOLD	RELAY	VOID

Next, I placed them on my table of Hebrew letter correspondences, where they seemed to fit. My choices may be "wrong", but here they are: 

Function

TRIGGER

HOLD

SLICE

BLOCK

ANNEX

BRACE

EXCHANGE

VOID

CHARGE

EXPLOIT

RELAY

DODGE

Letter

Heh

Vav

Zayin

Chet

Tet

Yod

Lamed

Nun

Samech

Ayin

Tzaddi

Qof

Labor of Hercules

Mares

Bull

Apples

Hind

Lion

Girdle

Boar

Hydra

Birds

Cerberus

Stables

Geryon

Meaning

"Window"

"Hook"

"Sword"

"Fenced Field"

"Basket"

"Hand"

"Ox Goad"

"Snake"

"Prop"

"Eye"

"Fish Hook"

"Eye of Needle"

Zodiac Sign

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

Capricorn

Aquarius

Pisces

Zodiac Quality

Cardinal

Fixed

Mutable

Cardinal

Fixed

Mutable

Cardinal

Fixed

Mutable

Cardinal

Fixed

Mutable

Zodiac Motto

"I Am"

"I Have"

"I Think"

"I Feel"

"I Will"

"I Analyze"

"I Balance"

"I Desire"

"I Seek"

"I Use"

"I Know"

"I Believe"

Simultaneously, the table below it in the same file was filled as follows: 

	Fire	Earth	Air	Water
	(Cultivate)	(Maintain)	(Abandon)	(Guard)
	TRIGGER	EXPLOIT	EXCHANGE	BLOCK
Cardinal	Aries	Capricorn	Libra	Cancer
+ Initiates	1 "I Am"	10 "I Use"	7 "I Balance"	4 "I Feel"
	ANNEX	HOLD	RELAY	VOID
Fixed	Leo	Taurus	Aquarius	Scorpio
Ø Continues	5 "I Will"	2 "I Have"	11 "I Know"	8 "I Desire"
	CHARGE	BRACE	SLICE	DODGE
Mutable	Sagittarius	Virgo	Gemini	Pisces
- Changes	9 "I Seek"	6 "I Analyze"	3 "I Think"	12 "I Believe"

TRIGGER may be a strange choice for Heh ("window"), but the Kabbalistic meaning is said to be about the way that a window admits light and presents a view of the outside. Energy can pass in or out, and cause a reaction in the viewer. Aries starts the zodiac, and the alleged traits of the sign include impulsiveness. Heh also means to reveal or call out. The Man-eating Mares were only sated when they tasted the flesh of Hercules' companion; and their TRIGGER was spent. 

HOLD  was obvious with heh's meaning of "Hook". Hercules' trial involving the Bull was solved when he held onto to the back of the bull and didn't let go. The Motto of "I Have" fits well. 

SLICE was a gimme, but I waffled a bit with Gemini's lore about being a communicative sign. I strongly considered RELAY, because even the Sefer Yetzirah says that Zayin is the ruler of "motion". However, I  the sword imagery was too much to ignore when combined with the myth behind the sign of Gemini. One Brother gave up his immortality (SLICEd it off) to give to his mortal brother. 

BLOCK was tough, but I needed the Element, and it only seemed to fit here. With the Moon's (SHIELD) astrological rulership of Cancer, it made sense. A fence is there to keep people out, or things in- to BLOCK. The traits attributed to the astrological sign of Cancer only served to confuse the issue, however. Then again, a crab has a hard shell... 

ANNEX fits Leo, because the sign is said to have a strong effect on those around it, it can give a lot, but it can also be controlling-  which is something the ANNEX function allows for. For Tet, in ancient times you made a basket by weaving flattened reeds together. An alternate (more modern) interpretation of Tet's meaning is "Snake", and the form of the letter is said to indicate that the snake is curled back on itself, as if devouring (ANNEXing) itself like the Ouroboros. 

BRACE feels strange for the mutable sign of Virgo, but not so much for the letter Yod. Yod is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and looks a bit like an apostrophe. It's said that its small size belies its great power. In Kabbalah, every other letter is said to contain the Yod, which represents the seed of creation. Additionally, in reading about the sign of Virgo, I've often been reminded of a shy but valuable ally who helps the group immeasurably.

EXCHANGE fits, in my estimation, because of Libra's association with Balance.  Bear with me, it's convoluted. Lamed means "Ox Goad", which indicates a strong tie to COUNTER (Aleph), which is the "Tongue of Balance" in the Sefer Yetzirah- despite EXCHANGE's Governance by ACCESS. It occurred to me that oxen often wear yokes, which incidentally resemble the astrological symbol for libra, the scales of balance...which are used in trade, or EXCHANGEs. Additionally, Lamed stands for "learning" in Kabbalah, and in Jewish tradition a good teacher is neither a dictator nor lazy. He or she interacts with students; promoting the free EXCHANGE of ideas.  

VOID is iffy, but it felt right. In some versions of the texts I've read, Nun means "Fish" rather than "Serpent",  and stands for proliferation. This is at odds with my choice. However the actual word "Nun" in Hebrew also means "To become degenerated", which alone feels like enough evidence to assign it to VOID.  Add to that the fact that the serpent interpretation may be older (dating to Egypt), and Scorpio's reputation for deadliness, and I felt like it was a winner. 

CHARGE was an element that I had assigned to Tet (Leo) for a long time, mostly because of the association with Leo's gregarious nature. However, it fit well once I moved it to Samech which means "Support" or "Prop". 

EXPLOIT fits Capricorn's motto of "I Use", and the Kabbalistic lesson of Ayin ("Eye") which is said to be to learn to change your perspective to find the good or useful in a situation. 

RELAY may be in the wrong place.  Some versions of the Sepher Yetzirah I've seen place the property of "movement" with Lamed, but others place it with Zayin. I've never seen one that placed it with Tzaddi (Aquarius). However, the zodiac sign of "The Water Bearer" can be seen as RELAYing water from one place to another,  and the meaning of Tzaddi - "Fish hook" feels right, because when you hook a fish, you RELAY it out of the water.  On a deeper Kabbalistic level, the "Tzaddikim" are sort of Jewish saints, who could be seen as RELAYs for the divine.  Tzaddi is said to have the power to convert the spiritual into matter.  This would be accomplished in Tribute by simply RELAYing  a Target Effect from one Frame to another.  Again, though, despite my justifications here, I'm not 100% on this one, but I need the Element.

DODGE corresponds to Qof, or the "Eye of a Needle". When you thread a needle, you DODGE the sides of it.  One version of the Sepher Yetzirah I've seen says that Qof governs "mirth", and the key to a good joke is misdirection. Astrologically, Pisces is said to be highly intuitive; able to DODGE obstacles to gain ACCESS to the minds of others. 

Next: How to use the Elements.