The number six is the gematric value of the Hebrew letter Vau (ו), whose name means “nail” or “hook.” In the Tetragrammaton (YHVH), Vau occupies the third position, linking the divine fire of Yod and the first He to the final He—a hinge that binds the supernal to the manifest. As a number, six is the sum of 1 + 2 + 3, the first three integers, and in Qabalah it is the number of Tiphareth, the sixth Sephirah, the central point of beauty and harmony on the Tree of Life.

Position on the Tree of Life

Path 16, the scale step to which this value belongs, is the path of Vau itself. It runs between Chesed (Mercy, 4) and Geburah (Severity, 5) on the Pillar of Mildness, acting as a reconciling force. The number 6 here is not merely a label but the intrinsic measure of the letter that defines the path: Vau’s value of 6 is the numerical signature of the connector, the “nail” that fastens the upper and lower worlds.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

Vau is assigned to the zodiac sign Taurus, the fixed earth sign ruled by Venus. The number 6 thus carries the earthy stability, patience, and sensuousness of the Bull, as well as the Venusian qualities of love, beauty, and material form. This aligns with Tiphareth’s solar nature—the number 6 mediates between the fiery, expansive Chesed and the contracting, severe Geburah, just as Taurus grounds the creative impulse into tangible reality.

Historical context

The number six has deep roots in Jewish mysticism. The Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation) describes the six directions of space (up, down, east, west, north, south) emanating from the central point, a direct analogue to Tiphareth as the heart of the Tree. In the Zohar, Vau is the Son in the divine family, the “lesser countenance” (Zeir Anpin) that comprises six Sephiroth from Chesed to Yesod. Christian Kabbalists later read the Tetragrammaton as a trinitarian formula, with Vau representing Christ the mediator. In Crowley’s Liber 777, the numerical value 6 appears at Path 16, anchoring the letter Vau to the path of Taurus and to the entire system of correspondences that flow from that number: the 6th Sephirah, the 6th path (though here it is the path’s value, not its ordinal), and the sixfold nature of the Microprosopus.

In the table of Liber 777, the number 6 is the numerical value assigned to Path 16 (the path of Vau/Taurus). It stands as the gematric key to that path, linking the letter’s name, its zodiacal sign, and the harmonizing function of the number itself within the Qabalistic architecture.